Page 74 of Deadly Little Hearts

Stepping back inside Hazen’s house, I take the stairs two at a time and storm down the hallway.The door to Freya’s room is open.I take one step inside and my heart sinks.Where the fuck is she?I move through the room and into the bathroom, but it’s empty.

There’s a knock on the door, and one of the new guards clears his throat.

“Where the fuck are the girls?”I ask.

He frowns.“Freya and Mia left about twenty minutes ago.They said you approved it.”

“They what?!”I yell, and his face pales.Of fucking course she left.Fuck me, this girl.

“Where?”I ask, barging past him, and he shakes his head.I raise my gun and pull the trigger.As he falls to the ground, I storm past him.Fucking useless.

The front door opens and slams shut.I run down the hallway and stop at the top of the stairs.Mia’s standing on the landing, her face red, eyes wild.I’m down the stairs and off the bottom step in seconds.I reach her, grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her.

Hazen comes through the door, his gaze moving between us.

“Where’s Freya?”I ask Mia.

She shakes her head, her brow furrowing.My grip tightens, and she winces, but I can’t pull away.If anything’s happened to Freya, I’m going to kill the motherfucker who caused her pain.

“He’s got Freya,” Mia sobs, and I’m frozen, unable to move or breathe.Everything turns dark, and I can’t see straight.Mia’s face blurs.“You have to come.I managed to escape, but we don’t have much time.”

A hand lands on my arm, and it takes a moment for my vision to come back into focus.I release Mia, and she stumbles backward before spinning around and running toward the door.We follow her out and all pile into my car.

My foot hits the gas.The security gate opens just in time for us to fly through.I’m not stopping for anyone.My girl is in trouble, and if anyone walks in front of the car, I’ll run them over without remorse.My fingers grip the steering wheel so tightly it feels like I might be able to rip it off.

I pull the car to a stop a few houses back from where Dominic is holed up, my tires screeching.I’m out the door, running after Mia and Hazen.The smell of burned rubber fills the air.

“Where is she?”I ask, and Mia stops at the house next door.I want to scream at her for coming here with Freya alone, but now isn’t the time.

There are at least a dozen guards patrolling Freya’s old house, and I recognize most of them; they are members of our Brotherhood.What the actual fuck?I should just pull out my gun now and shoot them because they are dead to us anyway.You betray your brothers, you pay with your life.

“We have to go through the secret passage.Dominic uses the old underground passages that connect Daringhood and the Ville.I’ve used this one to escape a few times,” Mia says, moving onto the porch of the house next door.

“Do we need backup?”I ask as we step into the house.

Mia looks over her shoulder, scrunching up her nose.“You guys can’t handle a little trouble?”

“You know we can, but I still think we should alert someone.Message Ronald and tell him Freya’s been kidnapped and to send out the men,” I say to Hazen, and he nods.

I pull out my own phone as we follow Mia deeper into the house and tap out a message to Amirah.

Me: Freya’s been kidnapped.Be on alert.Don’t do anything stupid or reckless.Stay put.

I hope to fuck Amirah listens for once.I can’t lose her or Freya.It’s not an option.

We follow Mia down a flight of stairs into a dark basement, the stairs creaking under every step.Hazen flicks the light on, and there’s nothing in here, apart from a little door in the middle of the wall straight ahead.

If Mia fucks with us now, I’ll lose my mind.

The stale, musty air clings to my nose the longer we stay down here.Mia stops in front of the wooden trapdoor.She opens it, and I peer inside.There’s nothing but darkness ahead.

“Give me one good reason to trust you,” I demand.

Mia snorts.“You’re giving me exactly what I want—more power.So why would I fuck that up?”

She’s right, but still, I don’t trust her.

“You first,” I say, and Mia shrugs, kneeling and crawling through the hole.

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