Payne and Dante together

★★★★

"Payne," Dante whispered, his voice trembling as he nudged her shoulder. They were trapped in a small, dimly lit room, with a man slumped in a chair nearby, a gun loosely dangling from his hand.

Payne's eyes fluttered open, and she froze when she saw Dante's face inches from hers. Panic surged through her, and she was about to scream when Dante swiftly clamped a hand over her mouth. "Look," he hissed, nodding toward the man. Payne's eyes followed Dante's gaze, and she felt a wave of fear wash over her. The man’s grip on the gun tightened even in his sleep, a stark reminder of the danger they were in.

Payne swallowed hard, her throat dry, and looked back at Dante, her eyes wide with terror. "What do we do?" she mouthed, her lips forming the words without sound.

Dante shook his head, his expression grim. "I don’t know," he whispered back. "They took my phone when they grabbed me." The memory of her own phone, taken from Nadia, suddenly surfaced in Payne's mind. She patted her jeans