Page 548 of Sinfully Savage Mafia

Click.

I toss the handset aside and grab Zeno’s keys from the counter just as the front door jingles. A frustrated squeal slips from my lips. My body freezes and a sense of impending dread consumes me like a tidal wave.

They’re coming back for me.

They’re going to take me, too.

I grab Vito’s leash and tiptoe out of the exam room. I’m close enough to the back door to slip out in enough time to get to Zeno’s car and?—

“Lily? Lily!” Allie’s terrified voice calls out.

“Allie!” I run toward her, throwing my arms around her. “Thank God you’re here!”

“I saw you and that man on the cameras!” Her voice rises in fright. “I was so afraid I wouldn’t make it in time. I called the police and rushed here as fast as I could. Are you okay, sweetie? Who was that man?”

I swallow hard. “I’m okay. And he was an intruder, someone who is seriously disturbed. But I can’t stay. I need to leave right now!”

“Are you insane? What if that man is just waiting for you to leave so he can attack you again? You can’t go! You need to wait for the police and tell them everything that happened!”

I grab Allie by the shoulders and hold her still. “Allie,” I say in a shockingly calm voice. “If I wait for the police, somebody is going to die because ofme. I have to stop it.”

“That is ridiculous! You can’t walk into God only knows what by yourself, not knowing who or what you’re up against. If you wait for the police, they will handle it. They will find your friend. You cannot go alone! Nobody will be able to save you!” Allie’s eyes are filled with dread.

“Yeah, well,” I flex my fingers before balling them into tight fists at my sides. “This time, I’m not the one who’s going to need saving.”

CHAPTER21

ZENO

“Where are you taking me?” I ask through clenched teeth, peering out the window. We’re well outside of Vegas, and I see nothing but the purple peaks of the Sierra Nevada mountains, patches of tall grasses, and desert in the distance.

In other words?

The middle of fucking nowhere.

“I don’t think you’re in a position to ask any questions right now,” Messina says in a flat voice from the front seat. A small, out-of-commission gas station appears on the right side of the road, and the van takes a sharp turn off of the highway, driving around back of the dilapidated building.

I press my lips together, knowing that anything I say won’t just hurt me, it’ll hurt so many others.

And I’ve already done enough.

The guy in the driver’s seat stomps on the brakes and I fly forward into the back of his seat, slamming my nose against the leather. He lets out a sharp chuckle as he jumps out of the van and pulls open the door, yanking me out by the arm. He drags me through the dirt as Messina follows behind us with a gun targeted on the back of my head.

My heart thuds hard in my chest as we get closer to a doorway.

And I’m damn scared about what I’m going to find inside this shit hole.

“Where is Gallo?” I hiss as I’m pulled along the rocky terrain. Seeing that picture on Messina’s phone and knowing they have him stashed somewhere is the only reason I let them take me without much of a fight.

I’m his only shot out of whatever hell they plunged him into.

Messina reaches out, and with a lightning fast swipe of his hand, he cracks the gun against my jaw.

Fuck. I can actually feel the bone shatter upon impact.

But the pain pales in comparison to what I will suffer if my worst fears are confirmed.

“You need to speak a little less and listen a little more,” Messina growls as his guy shoves me into the dark, dank building. I scramble to my feet as a scorpion scurries by along the dirty floor. It’s cold, dark, and dry, so I’m sure he’s not the only creepy crawly that calls this place home.

---