Page 79 of Unchained

One name Nash had said clung to his brain.

“Cam?” Brooks asked, one eye on the new guy.

The dark-haired man raised his eyebrows. “Not me. Shit, tell me he’s not hallucinating and thinks I’m his piece of ass.”

Anger flared inside him. “Don’t fucking call her that.”

“You!” another man shouted. “Stay put.” Leonetti stopped in his tracks, turning from the exit. He growled with irritation as he raised his hands in surrender to the newcomer.

A name sprang to Brooks’s mind. “Dare?” He swept his gaze back to the dark-haired one. “Cole?”

“Yeah, that’s us, buddy,” Dare said. “Sorry you got hit with that drug again. You going to do something about the fucker who enslaved you, or can I have the pleasure?” Dare swiveled the gun to point it at Leonetti.

“No, no. Pleasure’s mine.” Cole bunched his shoulders, steadying his weapon.

“Don’t listen to them, thirty-six. We’ve made huge medical advancements together. Without you, I’d still be stuck at animal trials. You showed us how powerful this drug can be. I know we have our differences, but I’ll make you a rich man for all your troubles.”

“Troubles?” Brooks said slowly.

His chest puffed out, and rage forced its way through his veins. All the pent-up anger he’d held for longer than he could remember came to a head. He grabbed the metal table, picked it up, and threw it at his target.

Leonetti stumbled out of the way, but the edge of the tabletop caught his knee, taking him down.

“Troubles?” Brooks screamed.

“Holy shit.” The voice next to him barely penetrated his thoughts.

He opened and closed his hands and took a step toward the man who’d brought him to death’s door more times than he could count.

Leonetti scurried to his feet, his palms in front of him as if they’d somehow shield him. “Son—thirty-six. You can’t do this to me. You take orders from me.” His pupils dilated with terror. Taking another step backward, Leonetti spun on his heel and raced out of the tent.

Brooks rolled his shoulders back, and the control the drug had over him fell away like broken chains. Leonetti held no more power.

* * *

Gripping her mom’s hand, Cam ran through the forest. Her chest squeezed painfully, but she didn’t slow. Her foot landed on a rock. She winced, her knees buckling.

“Cam!” Her mom’s frantic wail pierced Cam’s heart.

She pushed herself up from the dirt. Circling her arm around her mom’s elbow, she pointed south. “There’s a truck this way.” Pain shot through her toes as she placed her weight down. Something warm coated her skin—blood.

Her eyes stung as she squinted in the darkness, but she continued moving swiftly through the brush. Leaving Brooks behind was wrong. Every atom in her being screamed at her to turn back, to do something, but she couldn’t let her mom face the same fate as Isaac. Her mom couldn’t die because of her. No. Getting Linda to safety was paramount.

“Honey, who are all those men?”

The breeze kicked up, making the leaves overhead sway ominously. An owl hooted, as if warning them to hurry. Cam’s teeth chattered despite the fact that the temperature was mild. Her mom’s question hung in the air. How could she explain Brooks, let alone his family?

“Camryn.” Warning filled her mom’s tone.

Cam stopped, noting the gravel road ahead. All they had to do was cross it. The truck was waiting on the other side. The keys pressed against her thigh in the pocket of her pants. “I’ll explain everything later, Mom. Brooks and his brothers are the good guys. I promise.”

“Oh, god. Are you romantic with him? Brooks?”

Romantic.

Memories of their hot sex ran through her mind. Part of her wanted to deny any involvement—not because she was ashamed of Brooks, but because admitting to their relationship, or whatever it was, would open Pandora’s box. Getting assaulted with questions was the opposite of what she needed right now.

“Please, Mom.” Cam jerked her head from left to right, scanning the gravel road. Not a soul. They stepped onto the loose rocks, and Cam let out a hiss of pain. She might as well be walking on scorching-hot coals.

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