My head was pounding. The incessant beeping wasn't helping either. My head felt so groggy. I opened my eyes and immediately regretted it, as the bright light in the room only increased the pain in my head. I controlled my breathing and worked on the techniques the doctors had shown me in the past. I knew it hurt, but I needed to figure out where I was. I opened my eyes once more, this time much more slowly. I looked around the room, searching for any clue as to where I was.My heart dropped at the realization. I was in pure hell, otherwise known as the hospital. It was a location I wish I could erase from my mind. I'd spent so much of my life here as it was. I resented having to come back here.I saw Maverick asleep on the chair next to my bed. I slowly reached over and tapped his hand, waking him up."Sienna?" Maverick said, groggily, slowly opening his eyes. "Mav? What's going on?" I ask, unsure as to why I was back in the hospital."Hold on. I'll get a nurse." Maverick says, quic
...Maverick POV...The moment Kieran stormed into my room in the middle of the night, I knew something bad had happened. But this was the absolute last thing I had expected to hear. Questions were running a mile a minute. Why was she even out that late at night? Why wasn't she home? Where was she?It seemed like with each new question, I would think of several more. None of this was making sense. But I knew no one else had the answers. We would have to wait to find out for ourselves. My dad had immediately found a location from her phone, so within seconds, we had all piled into a car and tracked her phone. Zander called the local authorities and response team and had them sent to her location as well. By the time we got there, the emergency response team had already arrived.My jaw dropped when I saw the scene. Trees and branches had been destroyed as it was clear a vehicle had gone off the road. There was broken metal and glass littering the side of the road. I walked over to the e
After the girls were pulled from the ravine, my dad immediately began to make a slew of calls. My dad wanted to be the one that told Rylee's parents about what had happened. He didn't want them to find out from anyone else. He also managed to take care of anything that they would need. Rylee was like a daughter to him as well. So he pledged to do everything and anything for Rylee's family. He made sure to take care of any funeral costs. He even hired a maid and a grief counsellor for them so that they could try to move on with their lives. My dad had also made some phone calls to the hospital and had Sienna moved to a more private wing of the hospital. Once word got out about this, the paparazzi would be relentless, trying to uncover what had happened. I couldn't deny that I shared the same interest. All of this was just so sudden. How could we go from our normal everyday lives to this? There was nothing that could be done to prepare someone for this. But at the same time, I couldn't
"What about it?" My dad asks, wondering why this should be alarming."We can't prove for certain, but we believe your daughter may have been involved with a heist, several actually." "Wait.. what?" What do you mean by that? And what could her coordinates do to prove such an atrocity?" I ask."From the information pulled from her car, we were able to pinpoint her involvement with some art that had gone missing.""What? What theft? Surely we would've heard something if there had been art stolen." My dad asked, seemingly irritated."That's true. However, whatever role your sister played in all of this, she managed to cover her tracks well. The art was never reported stolen, as even the owners were unaware of it.""That doesn't make sense. How could something be stolen if nothing was missing?" I ask, confused."My team followed your sisters' coordinates from the past few weeks. She seemed to make unusual trips to the art gallery and to a locker unit further down the road from where she w
Even though the Gallery agreed to sign a contract, I knew we had to tread carefully. I would make sure our lawyers checked it over before it was finalized, making sure there was no loophole that could account for them being able to come after Sienna. "There's one more thing that I would like to discuss." Officer Johnson commented before we wrapped up."Ok." My father replied, allowing him to continue.Officer Johnson looked nervously in my direction."What's going on? Why are you looking at me like that?" I ask."Have the doctors gone over Sienna's test results with you?" Officer Johnson asked.I heard my dad take an intake of breath before nodding. I felt as though I had been left out of the loop."Maverick? Why don't you go wait by the car? I'll be out soon." My father remarked, dismissing me."NO! I'm not going to leave. Anything you're about to discuss can be discussed in front of me. I want to know what all of this is about." I say, sitting on the edge of my seat in a furious ma
Sienna woke up a few days ago, and it's been hard to see her. When she found out what happened to Rylee, she pretty much shut everyone out. She had stopped talking and refused visits from everyone. She no longer showed an interest in anything. It was as if my sister also died that day. Her will to live had slipped and gone off the cliff with her. I was growing concerned about the twins. It appeared they were keeping something from us. Ever since Sienna had called them for help, they hadn't been the same. They remained at her side day and night. They were more like our dad than any of us had realized. From what Mom had told me, Dad had done the same thing when she was nearly killed. I was glad that my brothers took after our father. It showed how much they truly cared, even though they always displayed a hard exterior. I was more like our mom. Calm, cool and collected in times of extreme turmoil. My parents had to talk to the doctor about arrangements for Sienna, leaving me alone wi
...Two weeks ago......Kevin POV...Val and I had been working hard trying to get the Reaper's attention. However, regardless of our efforts, the Reaper seemed to be ignoring us. We were running out of time. I needed to find a way to get the Reaper on our side or risk the Triad coming after us."Kevin!" I hear Val cry out, running into my office with a tablet in hand."What's going on? Why are you yelling?" I ask."I think I found our in." She says, handing me the tablet. I look at her oddly as she begins to jump on the spot. Clearly, whatever she's found is making her excited."The men you had posted watching the Stone family just sent an update. Look at this." She says, reaching over and sliding her finger across the screen.I look at it in mild confusion, not quite sure what I'm supposed to be looking at."What is this?" I ask."Look!" She says, as if wondering how I wasn't seeing it already.I roll my eyes, but look closer at the image."I don't get it. What am I supp-..." I begin
...The day after the accident......Hunter POV...I was growing anxious about my date with Sienna. I don't know why. I've never cared to take a girl on a date before. I've only just f*cked and dropped them. I never cared about any of them to show an attachment. But for whatever reason, Sienna was different. The need to wine and dine her was unparalleled. I couldn't explain why she was different. Perhaps it was because she was the first girl I met who willingly challenged me. She didn't fear me, which I found both refreshing and concerning. Why did she never seem to fear me? I wondered. Even the strongest of men feared me. To the point that I had grown used to no one being able to look me in the eye. However, Sienna wasn't like that. Rather, she seemed captivated by my eyes. I caught her a few times staring aimlessly at me. A smile graced her lips each time. It was as though she didn't see me for the monster I was but the man I am. No one has ever looked at me like that. But yet, it w
About an hour later, Silvio reenters the room, looking directly at me. Though the odd thing is he seems neither surprised nor upset to see the sudden disappearance of Ash and Hunter. Were they captured? Is that why? I wonder to myself. "Ah, good. I see we're right on schedule." Silvio comments, making me turn my head to look up at him. "Don't look at me like that. I know you're a smart girl. You don't actually believe that I would be as stupid as to confess my ultimate plan with you, then to let you escape?" Silvio asks, making me quirk a brow. I remained silent, unsure of what to say. I didn't understand what was happening. I could feel my mind working to figure out what I had missed. "I told you what I wanted you to know." Silvio comments, making my eyes go wide. A thought suddenly comes to mind. Silvio had gone into detail about his plan and then left us unattended. He wanted us to escape, which could only mean one thing. Hunter and Ash's freedom was nothing but a delusion. Si
“Mariposa.” Hunter comments, making my desire for him increase. It’s been so long since Hunter last called me that. He used to only ever call me that. But with everything happening lately, he switched to calling me by my name. I couldn’t even be mad either, as I would’ve done the same thing if I were in his shoes. He tried desperately to give me the benefit of the doubt, regardless of how much incriminating evidence there was. So to hear Hunter calling me his Mariposa once more makes me far happier than I could imagine.Without realizing it, I had closed the distance between us. My lips found Hunter’s with no abandon. Time seems to freeze as we deepen the kiss. So many unspoken conversations are taking place in unison with this kiss. I can feel all of Hunter’s emotions. His desires, his anguish, but most importantly, his love. I can feel his uneasiness when it comes to my plan. As well as the dread he feels knowing that this may be our only chance. While he may have put up a fight abo
The more time I spent in this room, the more familiar it was becoming. I just couldn’t place how. I’ve never been here before. So why does it look so familiar? I looked around the room, trying to pinpoint what it was about this room that looked so familiar. Which is when one thing caught my eye. The chair Hunter is sitting on is the same chair Ash was sitting on in the video that Silvio and Kevin had shown me earlier, which could only mean one thing. Silvio’s taken us to where Ash was tortured. This could end up being a good thing. Silvio hasn’t said a word about Ash which probably means that Ash is still alive. If Ash were dead, Silvio wouldn’t hesitate to let me know. So the fact that Silvio has remained quiet about Ash’s presence means that Ash is very much alive and could be our way out. I’ll just need to make yet another distraction. This one, however, will have to provide us with a lot more time. I’ll need to figure out how to get Hunter out of here. I already have an idea in m
…Sienna POV…This was beginning to feel like a pattern. Being knocked unconscious and waking up somewhere else. Though this time, I couldn’t figure out where I was. All the other times, I had known that Hunter was behind it, and I was at his estate. But now? I couldn’t say the same. For whatever reason, something felt off about this. I don’t know why, but it was as though I could tell that I was no longer in Colombia. Which made me question how long I have been out.Shouts of anger and aggression can be heard from somewhere in the distance. My head is slightly dizzy, and I feel partially lightheaded. However, I know I need to figure out what’s going on. I see a stream of light coming from the far side of the room. I take a quick look around to get a better feel of what I’m dealing with. To see if there’s anything nearby that I could use as a weapon. After scanning the room as much as I can, I can’t seem to find anything that would make a decent enough weapon, so instead, I focus on
...Hunter POV...I paced the floor of the hospital for what felt like hours. I had yet to see or hear from any of the medical personnel that were helping Tomás. I couldn't deny that not knowing almost seemed worse than what the final outcome would be. Every bloody scenario rang through my mind. Will Tomás make it out alive? If he does, what will happen to him? If he doesn't, am I prepared to live without him? While I may not exactly know the answer to that final question, I do know for sure that if Tomás does die, then I'm beyond prepared to burn everything around me. There's nothing that won't face my wrath. The memory of seeing Sienna standing over Tomás lifeless body will forever haunt my mind. I couldn't believe I'd been so reckless. I had singlehandedly brought the traitor into my house. I had given up my weak point to the one person I thought I could trust. To this day, I don't even know why I did that. It was as if just being near her made me feel, for the first time ever, th
....Sienna POV...The moment I saw Kevin, I knew he was here for one purpose and one purpose only. To kill me. Now that I had executed the last part of his plan, he no longer needed me alive. As they say, dead men tell no tales. So with my death, Hunter would be forced to believe what Kevin has continually fed him. I tried to move my arms and legs when I realized that they were immobile, and it wasn't just because I was once again strapped to the ceiling. Rather, my entire range of motion was gone, which made me realize that Kevin must've administered some sort of temporary paralytic. Well, I hope that it was only temporary. Otherwise, I'll be in far more trouble than I'm already in.I knew Kevin would want me to beg for my life. But I wouldn't allow myself to do that. No amount of begging would save me anyways. I just had to hope that Hunter got here soon. While there was a strong chance that Hunter would kill me, my only chance of survival relied on Hunter giving me a chance to ex
...Kevin POV...When I saw Silvio slowly crawl his way out of the dungeon, I knew for a fact that my plan was right on schedule. From the state of Silvio, I could see that Sienna happily took the bait. She must be on her way to save Tomás as we speak. The house was in an utter frenzy. From the moment Hunter opened the door to reveal a panicked Sienna, chaos erupted. Hunter started shouting commands at anyone within earshot. He attempted to get to Sienna. However, she managed to evade him. I had to hand it to her; I didn't think she'd have it in her to be able to fight back to the extent that she was. I thought for sure that her body would be too drained from the torture that Silvio had been dishing out to her for nearly a week now. It took everything inside of me to hide the smile that continually threatened to escape the more I watched from the side. Hunter was chasing Sienna out of the house toward his car. I couldn't lie; even the fact that she was able to think so quickly on her
...Hunter's POV...Javier's question had thrown me off guard. Why was Silvio in the dungeon with her? Since meeting with her, I had relieved Silvio from his torture duties. I didn't want anyone down there with her, other than Javier and myself until I had decided on what to do with her. I had reassigned Silvio to look after Tomás. It was his original assignment before Sienna arrived, so it only made sense to put him back on that task. I wanted to make sure Tomás was safe. He was vulnerable enough as it was. I didn't want to exploit that fact.No one was as stunned as I was when I opened the door to see a panicked-looking Sienna on the other side of the door. My mind was flooded with questions. Why was Sienna there? Why wasn't she tied up? How did she escape? What happened with Silvio? Did he let her escape? Before I could get an answer to any of those questions, a bloodied Silvio stumbles down the hallway behind her, taking my attention off her momentarily and providing her with the
...Javier POV...Hunter had requested that I personally see to Sienna's well-being and inform him of any changes. I could tell he still cared for her, regardless of what happened down there. It was as though he was pretending to be cruel to her to keep up a facade. Which made me wonder why? Did Kevin have a much larger hold on Hunter than I had assumed? Whatever the reason was, I knew to keep any findings to myself and Hunter. If Hunter wasn't able to trust anyone else, then neither would I.I was heading toward Hunter's office when I saw Silvio turn down the hallway to the basement. I was about to meet with Hunter, so I didn't have time to investigate further. However, his presence in that hallway had my nerves on edge. I don't know why, but something just felt wrong. Once I had finished the meeting with Hunter and the others had left the office, I closed his door and talked to him about my concerns."Hunter?" I called, using his first name instead of his title.Hunter immediately s