Page 136 of Creed

“We’ll go willingly with them.”

Beams of light blind us and triumphant jeers in Spanish surround us.

Severyn slowly stands with her hands up. “Don’t hurt us.”

I mirror her actions and am quickly shoved against a tree. My eyes meet Severyn’s and understanding passes between us.

“Hija,” my father says from behind me. “Eres un dolor en mi trasero.”

“I’ve been a pain in your ass?” I snark at my absolutecuntof a father, briefly forgetting the part of being compliant.

“Miralo, puta.” Salome grinds my cheek into the rough bark of the tree, but I refuse to cry out in pain. He presses his hips into my backside before I’m spun around.

My father’s eyes are dark and beady, like a demon straight from hell. “You’re my ticket to the big show, Sophie. And your friend will be a bonus.”

Salome slams a needle into my neck and depresses the plunger. His evil face and rancid breath fill my world before the blackness overtakes me.

Chapter 40

Creed

I watch Sophie andSeveryn run for their lives.

Two vehicles screech to a halt on the street and men unload. They don’t join in on the attack on us, but race after the girls. I heave against Tag’s weight, pinning me against the side of a destroyed vehicle.

“Get the fuck off me,” I snarl at him, then roar, “Sophie!”

“I know.” Tag slams me back down. “Ifucking know!” He fists my shirt. “That’s the woman I love, too, running for her life. Now are we going to get ourselves killed, or are we going to get the fuck out of this jam and go get our girls?”

My eyes snap to his, seeing the dark,lethaldetermination that matches mine. He’s right; we can’t do shit if we’re ripped to shreds by bullets.

Tag reaches up to his left ear, and I don’t realize he has something in his hand until he presses his finger into my ear. I’m about to snarl and clock him until I hear a voice. The voice sure as hell isn’t God, but I want to fall to my knees and worship it as if it is.

A man with a calm, slightly accented voice provides updates through the earpiece, which I quickly realize are based on what he sees from a drone. “I am into the remote gun on the rooftop and disabling it now. Severyn’s tracker is online, and her comms are still in place.”

Tag meets my eyes. “I’m trusting you with more than my life, Santoro.”

“You have it.” My grip around his wrist tightens. “My trust. My gun. My family. Whatever you need, it’s yours. Today. Always.” Tag nods, and I slam our palms together, wrapping my hand around his, knowing this is a momentous deal. “I’ll never betray you or your secrets. You have my word.”

“Aw, sweet,” another male voice says over the earpiece.“We’re witnessing the birth of a bromance.” He grunts, sounding pained. “Now, a little help would be nice.”

The rooftop gun has been disabled, but the swell of even more armed men in the area behind Electric makes us need to fight for our lives. I see Nexin get slammed into a Land Rover by a mercenary, and the huge guy, Rolf, wraps his arms around the guy’s neck and instantly snaps it.

So, not just an emergency and trauma doc… Who the hell is this team?

I don’t have long to ponder that, as Vito howls like an unhinged psycho, using his knives instead of his guns against two attackers. Massimo attacks the guy aiming at Rolf, my brothers protecting our allies without hesitation. Tag shoots a guy without blinking to save Andro.

All for one, one for all.

“Ryn?” Tag demands, and I know he’s directing it to the man in our ears.

“She and Sophie are running through the park.”

“She can hold off four,” Tag says confidently, reloading his gun with a full magazine.

“There are… eight men.”

“Eight?” Acid eats at my gut.

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