“Christ,” I say under my breath.

  “Hey,” he says. “None of that shit. We’re going to get through this.” He pats me on the shoulder. “We’re going to get your lady back, man. The Phoenix always rises.”

  I hope to God he’s right.

  I sure as hell don’t want to go back to the slammer, but I’ll do it if it means saving Savannah.

  Leif messes with his lockpick, and within a few seconds, the door is open.

  I’m expecting a couple Dobermans to lunge out and go for our throats, but they don’t, thank God.

  “All right,” Leif says. “No talking at this point. Not even a whisper.”

  “How do we communicate then?”

  “With our hands.”

  Yeah, right. That’s not going to work, but I don’t want to be the one to tell Leif.

  We walk in and are greeted with the hallway and two staircases, one going down and one going up. The servants’ quarters are clearly not as elegant as the main part of the mansion. The entryway is small and dimly lit. The floor beneath our feet is weathered and scuffed linoleum and the walls are plain and painted in muted, peeling colors. It’s an area of functionality rather than beauty, a stark reminder of the social hierarchy within the mansion.

  I raise my eyebrows at Leif. This place obviously has a first floor, but we can’t access it from here.

  “If they’ve got her here,” Leif says. “She’s either in the basement or on the second floor. She’s definitely not on the first floor.”

  “Thought you said no talking,” I say.

  “I did. But we need to figure out where to look first.”

  “Is she a prisoner?”

  “I don’t know. You know more about these people than I do.”

  I look at the floor. “Except I don’t, man. I don’t know shit about the Texas Mafia. I didn’t even know there was a Texas Mafia.”

  “They came for her,” Leif says. “They came to your house, with guns, for her. So yeah, I’d say she’s a prisoner, but probably not the kind of prisoner they keep in the basement.”

  I say no more, because I know exactly what he means. She is definitely a prisoner, but her chains will be invisible. Invisible bindings of husband and wife.

  Over my fucking dead body.

  “Second floor,” I say, my teeth gritted.

  He nods. “I agree.”

  We stealthily walk up the stairs.

  It’s dark outside, but not that late yet. Servants are probably going to be wandering these hallways, so we have to be ready.

  I run my hands over the gun in my waistband. I can fire any piece, but I prefer to be dealing with a gun that I know. I’ve never fired this one.

  Still, if I have to, I’ll do it. For Savannah.

  I’ll gladly go back to hell to free her.

  She’s come to mean so much to me in such a short time. I love her. She’s the other half of my soul.

  We reach the top of the stairs. Leif looks around. It’s a hallway, with doors speckled on each side. Servants’ quarters, no doubt.

  They wouldn’t be keeping Savannah here. She’s a prize and would be kept in the highest luxury. This is just a way for us to get into the house.

  We walk through the hallway and get into the main wing. It is as plain as the entryway. Simple overhead light fixtures flicker throughout, and the air has a sterile tinge to it.

  I peek into one of the rooms. It is furnished with simple wooden tables and chairs, unadorned dressers, and beds with simple white linens. The walls are scuffed.

  As we continue, we come across an empty communal area with a plain dining table and a few chairs. On the other side of the room is a door, this one in a dark cherry, much grander than those of the servants.

  That must be how to get into the main part of the house.

  That’s where we’ll find Savannah.

  If she’s even here.

  And if she’s not? It will be my fault. I’m the one who told Leif to start here, at the senior McAllister’s house.

  Why does the McAllister family want her so badly?

  There’s got to be a reason. Maybe Savannah herself knows. After all, she kept her family history from me when we first met.

  I don’t fault her for that, though. Neither of us expected to fall so hard and so quick.

  But she’s going to have to level with me about it. That’s the only way I’ll be able to help her.

  We managed to get through the hallway without encountering any wayward servants. The day servants are probably in their rooms already, and the night servants are in the other wing of the house.

  Which means we will probably encounter them there.

  Fuck it all.

  Leif grips the doorknob on the large cherry door with his gloved hand.

  And he looks as surprised as I am when he finds that it’s unlocked.

  He raises his eyebrows at me, and I do the same.

  But at this point, no talking. We both know we’re going to encounter people behind this door.

  He cracks it open just a bit.

  This is my woman we’re going after, and I feel like I should be taking the lead. But Leif and I both know he’s better equipped to do this job. If we end up behind the slammer, I’ll take the lead there.

  Walking into this mansion hallway is like walking from steerage up to first class on the Titanic.

  Plush carpeting under our feet instead of cold tile, which actually works in our favor, as it’s easier to disguise our footsteps.

  White and gold wallpaper, as opposed to flat gray paint on the walls.

  And the doors are solid wood and ornate, with brass fixtures.

  Where to look?

  It doesn’t escape my thoughts that we could very well be on a wild goose chase.

  It’s possible she’s not here at all.

  It’s possible she’s on a plane on her way out of the country.

  In which case? Leif and I are both going to prison if we get caught.

  Leif begins checking each door.

  First one is locked. Second one too. Third one⁠—

  Thud thud thud. “Let me out of here!”

  I cock my head.

  Leif simply nods at me, turns to the door. “Mr. McAllister?” he says, disguising his voice so it’s a bit higher than normal.

  “Yes, it’s me, damn it. The bitch locked me in and the intercom isn’t working.”

  I raise my eyebrows.

  Leif smiles. Ah…so the intercom is down because it’s part of the system that Leif dismantled. Nice.

  “Get me out of here, damn it. Open this door!”

  “Right away,” Leif says. “Give me just a minute, sir, to find the right key.”

  I look around hesitantly. If there’s anybody else in any of these rooms, surely they can hear him.

  Or perhaps not. I would imagine most of these rooms are soundproofed.

  Bitch locked me in.

  Savannah.

  He’ll pay for calling her a bitch.

  But if he is talking about Savannah, that mean she’s escaped.

  Thank God.

  Whoever is behind that door finally stops pounding on it, obviously thinking we’re going to find someone to let him out.

  We only have about five minutes before he starts pounding again.

  “We need to hurry,” Leif whispers softly.

  I nod.

  4

  SAVANNAH

  My heart thumps wildly, and I try to bring back a memory of a happier time. Something to get me through this.

  And I think of it.

  A time with my mother—before I knew who our family really was.

  Late spring. Mama always said it was her favorite time of the year. I liked the fall, when the leaves changed colors and then fell to the ground. When the breeze got cooler and I wore a scarf around my neck to stay warm.

  But for Mama, it was spring.

  One time, because we were the only girls in the family, we went on a picnic. Mama took me to a meadow, where flowers were just beginning to bloom and the grass was a lush green. A tiny stream flowed through the meadow and the waters were so clear I could actually see my reflection in it, kind of like a mirror, except it was blurry and changed a lot because the waters were moving.

  It was a warm enough day that Mama let me take off my shoes, and I walked in the soft grass and looked up at the sun. It wasn’t a hot summer day, just a warm day. The sun felt like it was giving me kisses on my face. The warm spring breeze made the trees rustle.

  Mama spread out a checkered picnic blanket, and inside the basket were sandwiches, fruit, and homemade chocolate chip cookies.

  We had a maid and a cook, and Cook usually made our food, but Mama made all of this herself. I watched her prepare it this morning. Even the cookies.

  I breathed in, and I could smell the outdoors. The wildflowers, the grass, all mingling with the chocolate chip cookies, which smelled best of all.

  Mama filled a plate for me. A peanut butter sandwich on sourdough bread, which was my favorite. Apple and orange slices, and because it was a special occasion, she gave me potato chips as well. Mama didn’t allow much junk food in the house, but every so often we could have things like potato chips and pretzels and popcorn.

  Then we sat together on the picnic blanket, and once I had eaten everything she gave me, I got a chocolate chip cookie.

  Mama patted me on the shoulder. “Look, Savannah. It’s a butterfly.”

  Sure enough, a butterfly had landed on her checkered picnic blanket. It was an interesting butterfly—black with some purple and blue spots on it.

  “Life is full of beautiful moments like this, sweetheart,” Mama said. “Whenever you’re feeling down, remember this day, this meadow, and how much your mama loves you.”

  “But Mama,” I said, “I don’t ever feel down. Only when I’m sick or something.”

  She smiled at me and pulled me onto her lap. “I know that, Savannah. You’re such a special little girl. You’ll find out that sometimes, when you grow up, life isn’t always quite so happy. So remember this day.”

  Funny. I haven’t thought about that in a long time. Not since I found out Michael had died.

  But I think of it now.

  Perhaps a sweeter memory would be a newer one—one involving how much I love Falcon—but I can’t go there.

  If I think of him, I’ll never be able to get through the rest of my life as Miles McAllister’s wife.

  I’m going to have to erase all images of Falcon, all feelings of the love I have for him.

  In my troubled moments—and I know there will be many—I’ll go back to my mama in the meadow and our special picnic just for the girls.

  That is all I’ll have to uplift my spirit.

  I close my eyes, bury my head again, and⁠—

  A gasp escapes my throat as I hear something.

  The movement of the doorknob.

  Miles has found me.

  And now I’m going to be punished.

  I rise, determined to accept my fate with strength and fortitude.

  I will stand tall and proud, and I’ll⁠—

  The door opens.

  I gasp again.

  The light in the hallway shines not on Miles McAllister, but on Falcon Bellamy.

  The tightness in my chest loosens, and a wave of immense relief washes over me.

  I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding, and fear drains away from my body. My legs still tremble, but this time not in fear.

  I run into his arms.

  “Oh my God, Vannah. Baby.” He kisses my forehead, my face, my cheeks, my lips.

  I swallow. “I’m covered in my own vomit,” I say quietly.

  “Do you think I care about that?”

  Another man tugs on Falcon’s arm. “This is all great,” he whispers, “but we need to get the fuck out of here. Someone’s going to let shithead out of his room soon.”

  “Leif?”

  “Yes, it’s me.” He points out the door. “We need to go.”

  I lean down and pick up the wallet, phone, and keys. I hand them to Falcon.

  “I locked him in,” I say. “And I have all these keys. And his wallet and phone.”

  “You’re a genius, Vannah.” He shoves the stuff in the pocket of his black jeans. Then he pulls off his black hoodie. “Put this on.”

  I nod, throwing it over my head.

  “I wish I could give you something to cover your legs,” he says.

  “I’ll be all right.”

  “Damned right you will.”

  He takes my hand, and together we follow Leif out of the room, closing the door quietly.

  Thump thump thump.

  “Guess he got tired of waiting,” Leif says in a whisper.

  We walk briskly through the hallway to a door, and then through it.

  The hallway is now different. I know from my grandfather’s house that we’ve entered the servants’ wing. All of these organized crime families are the same. Live in opulence but keep the help in the unkempt wing of the house so they know their place.

  The good news is we’ll be safer here.

  When we reach the stairs, Falcon takes me in his arms, holding me as we go down.

  Then a door.

  And behind it…

  A barking dog.

  “Damn,” Leif says. “I guess this one didn’t get any beef jerky.”

  He opens the door carefully. “Hey, boy.”

  The dog snarls.

  “Got something you’re going to like.”

  Leif takes some beef jerky out of his pocket. The dog takes interest, sniffing. Leif throws the beef jerky, and the dog scrambles after it.

  “I don’t think that’s a guard dog,” Leif says, “but just in case, let’s get the fuck out of here quickly. They’re bound to realize the system’s down any time now.”

  Falcon is still holding me, but he puts me down. “We can probably move faster if you walk. You okay, Vannah?”

  I look down at my bare feet. “I’ll do my best.”

  “Let me know if you can’t. If you need me to carry you, I will.”

  “I can do it, Falcon.”

  Inside I’m at war with myself. I should tell him to put me back. That I did this for him. That he’s in danger now if I don’t marry Miles.

  But I can’t leave him.

  I absolutely can’t.

  I’ll tell him everything, and we’ll deal with the fallout. Together we can do anything.

  Falcon and I follow Leif, who keeps to the shadows until we finally reach the wrought-iron gate.

  Leif pushes it open. “Good,” he says, “they haven’t gotten the security system back online yet.”

  We walk past the gate, still keeping to the shadows when⁠—

  A siren blares, making my blood run cold.

  “Fuck,” Leif shouts over the sirens. “They figured it all out. They’re going to be looking for you, young lady.”

  “How far is the car?” Falcon asks.

  “It’s about a block. We’re going to have to run for it.”

  “Savannah isn’t wearing shoes.”

  “Can you do it?” Leif asks me.

  “I swear to God. I can do anything you need me to do.”

  I keep my hand in Falcon’s, and I take a deep breath, ready to run my ass off.

  And I do it. I run, keeping up with the two men. I step on several small jagged rocks, but I don’t feel the pain. Too much adrenaline. When we finally reach the car, I look down at my feet. They’re covered in small cuts and a lot of dirt, but I’ll live.

  Leif unlocks the car and I launch myself into the back seat.

  Leif gets us the hell out of there, the tires screeching.

  “How much time do you think we have on them?” Falcon asks Leif from the front seat.

  “Not much. But they won’t call the cops. They were obviously keeping someone under duress. Kidnapping and false imprisonment.”

  “No,” I say quietly. “They weren’t.”

  “What the hell are you talking about, Vannah?” Falcon asks.

  “I went willingly, Falcon.”

  He turns around, glaring at me. “Why the fuck would you do that?”

  “I… I made a deal. For you.”

  His eyes widen. “Fuck.”

  “I made a deal so you wouldn’t be charged with Abel’s murder. Miles can take care of it. I thought I’d go with him, marry him.” I grab his arm and squeeze it. “I didn’t want you to go back to prison.”

  He whips his arm out of my grasp. “Vannah, I’d go back to prison for a thousand lifetimes for you.”

  “But I don’t want you to.”

  He crosses his arms. “I didn’t kill the motherfucker anyway. They can’t pin it on me.”

  I shake my head. “You don’t know the kind of power these families have. They have judges in their back pockets. Cops in their back pockets. They can pin anything on you.”

  “She’s probably right,” Leif says.

  “Then what the hell are we going to do?” Falcon says. “Because she is not going back to that degenerate.”

  “Falcon, I⁠—”

  He holds a hand up to quiet me. “Absolutely not, Vannah. You belong with me. I belong with you. And if we have to stay on the road our whole lives, so fucking be it.”

  A smile spreads across my face. “I don’t want that for you, Falcon. But I love that you’re willing.”

  “Are you kidding me? I have no life without you.”

  I look down at my puke-stained nightie and wrinkle my nose. “I’m covered in my own vomit.”

  “I don’t care.”

  “It actually… It actually saved me.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Miles. He… He was on top of me, about to⁠—”

  “Vannah…” he says through clenched teeth.

  I put my hands in front of me. “He didn’t, Falcon. He didn’t. I was ready for it. I had accepted my fate, but then… They fed me a meal. Salmon and some vegetables. And I didn’t feel like eating, but I knew I had to. I knew I had to eat to keep up my strength, to be tough. To get through this for you. And I…”

 

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