...Asher POV...When I woke up, I was alone in the park. My head felt like someone had used it as the bass drum during a rock and roll concert. It was pounding like nuts, and my ears were ringing. I slowly stood up, only to see no one else around me. I could see signs of someone being dragged away and then loaded into a nearby car.My heart sinks. The only thing I can pray for right now is that she's alive. They wouldn't have taken her if they wanted her dead, whoever it is. I didn't miss when the one in charge of the group told the others to let me live, as they wanted me to send a message. I wasn't an idiot. I knew what they wanted me to say. While I may not know who's involved, I know that they've taken Sienna as a message to Damian. I slowly make my way to the condo and grab my phone from the drawer. I make a two-way call to both Damian and Maverick. I know they'll want my head for what happened, but I can't think about that now. Sienna's in trouble, and it's only a matter of time
...Maverick POV...While I know Sienna going away was my idea in the first place, it didn't change the turmoil I was putting myself through. I was stressed that something would happen to her, and we wouldn't get to her on time. I knew I shouldn't underestimate her, as she was a fighter. She's proven time and time again that she can take care of herself. But that doesn't change the way I feel. She's my baby sister. I will always be protective of her. It's my job as her older brother to be the overprotective and overbearing brother. I knew getting out of the States would be very cathartic for her. It was what she needed. She's been living in the shadow of Rylee's death for too long. She can't keep living like this. Can't keep blaming herself for what happened. While none of us fully know what happened, I can easily say that Sienna was not to blame. She did everything she could. We had tried to get her to talk to us about what had happened that night, but Sienna would remain closed-lip
...Sienna POV..."Bueno. Ella está despierta. Es hora de divertirse." Good. She's awake. It's time to have some fun. I hear a man say. I see the guard from earlier entering my cell and walking toward me with an evil smile.Before I can ask what's happening, the man grabs me by my wrists as another man enters the cell. I recognize him from earlier- Silvio. But I thought Hunter had banned him from coming near me. Why was he here now?The man from earlier pulls me up from the ground, places handcuffs around my wrists and pulls my hands above my head. I look up to see a hook in the ceiling. Silvio walks over and helps the man lift me so that the cuffs are linked through the hook on the ceiling, forcing me to hang by my wrists. I'm too short, so my feet just dangle in the air. Whatever is about to happen can't be good if they're chaining me up. As I'm about to ask, the first man punches me directly in the chest as Silvio steps back to watch. I gasp as the pain reverberates throughout my b
...Hunter POV...It's been a few days since I gave Damian proof of life, informing him that I had his precious princess. I thought for sure that I would've heard back from Damian right away. But it irked me knowing that Damian hadn't even attempted to contact me. I should have his company in my hands, and yet, here I was, not even a single step ahead.As if on cue, both Silvio and Kevin walked into my office. I stopped myself from groaning out loud at their unwanted presence."Hunter. What's this about?" Kevin asked."What's what?" I ask, not following."Silvio tells me that Damian hasn't even attempted to contact you. Is that true?" He asks. I raise my brow at his question, wondering why my men were talking to Kevin behind my back. I had thought, after my example with Xaver and Enrico, that my men would be much more in line. It seemed I still had some work to do."Silvio? Care to explain?" I ask, visibly irked."I'm sorry, sir. I thought he knew." Silvio commented, making me roll my
...Kevin POV...I watched as her eyes opened wide in surprise. I was no longer the Kevin her parents once knew and tried to destroy. I was a man on a mission. I wanted her family to pay for everything they have ever done to me. Including stealing Haley from me. "You seem to be under the impression that I care." She says, frowning at me.I raise a brow in suspicion. I know how close she and her family are. So I know she wouldn't want anything to happen to them. So what's with the change?"You don't?" I question, calling her bluff.She remains stoic and expressionless, refraining from saying anything further, just watching me. Her eyes dart between me and Silvio; who is standing behind me."Even if you kill me, my dad will never give you what you want." She replies instead, making me cock a brow."The problem here is that you think you know what I'm after." I comment, making her turn her attention solely to me."You're not exactly a complex guy. I'm guessing you want revenge on my dad.
...Sienna POV...Silvio nods his head and then instructs the nurse to continue. We watch as she places her thumb on the applicator, ready to insert the liquid into his IV.Every possible scenario is running through my mind, but as Kevin is more than aware, I'm at a crossroads. Either I remain silent, and Tomás dies, or I agree to help him and possibly get Hunter killed in the process. I had no idea what to do. But as I watched the nurse, I knew what I had to do. I don't even know what Kevin wants me to do, but I can't let anything happen to Tomás. I care for him as if he was my own brother. It would kill me to see him die, knowing I could've stopped it. So instead of delaying the inevitable, I shout out."NO! STOP! I'll do whatever you want. Just leave Tomás alone!" I shout, hoping I'm not too late.I watch Kevin triumphantly smile, and Silvio nods, instructing the nurse to back off."What do you need me to do?" I ask, defeatedly. Knowing I'm not going to like anything Kevin has to s
"But why, after all these years? Why did you suddenly come after me? I never did anything to you? Why have you done all of this?""Your dad and I have been at odds with one another ever since we met. Your father took what was mine. He then had my brother killed.""Step-brother. And my dad never killed him. Chase got himself killed when he created a vendetta against my mom. It was only a matter of time until someone killed him." I comment, earning me a slap. I'm so numb to everything now that I couldn't even care. "Also, who said I only just started coming after you?" He comments, making me look up at him in curiosity."I've been watching you from the moment you were born. I know you better than you even know yourself." He comments with a hidden meaning. Making me look at him as if trying to decipher what he was talking about. As if answering an unspoken question, Kevin signals Silvio to come closer. He whispers something in his ear before looking back at me with a triumphant smile.I
I don't know how long I've been out. I don't think that long, as I don't see any remains of food that the guard would've brought me if it was close to mealtime. Just the thought of food has my stomach in turmoil. I kept my eyes closed, trying to calm my stomach and head. I kept my breathing even as I focused on keeping my head up. I knew I wouldn't get anywhere if I focused on the pain. I tried to sit up, but it was increasingly difficult. It was hard enough with my arms tied behind my back and my feet tied together. But with my shoulder dislocated and my elbow fractured, it was practically impossible. But I couldn't lay on the floor forever. So I tried my best to offset my weight by avoiding having to use my injured arm. After a few attempts, I finally managed to sit up. I closed my eyes as my head leaned against the cool wall. My head was still spinning, but I had to overcome it. I needed to think of a way out. I couldn't stay here much longer. Now that I knew Kevin and Silvio's p
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