Page 64 of These Reckless Hearts

Lance chuckles into the phone. “Yes, she’s being resistant so far, but she doesn’t understand that I have the upper hand.” He pauses for a few seconds. “Have you ever seen her bleed, Stone? It’s kind of crazy how the blood keeps coming and coming. She’s practically taking a bath in her own life force.”

I hear screams through the phone. They’re unintelligible, but I get the gist.

“No, I won’t stop. I’ve had enough of playing games with the two of you. Now that I know you’ve had a map these last couple of months, I’m even more intrigued to push through. Now, now, don’t lie. I know for a fact.”

Lance chuckles lightly. “I would’ve taken you up on that offer if you agreed two weeks ago. You had your opportunity. Don’t you remember me teaching you that? You never offer the same thing twice. Once they refuse the first time, you come at it from a different angle and a lower offer. Just remember that you had your chance, Stone.”

The leader drops to his knees beside me and uses the paper towels to mop up some of the blood, then starts applying more bandages. It’s a matter-of-fact transaction, as if he’s taking money out of an ATM. He’s not doing it to help me, he’s making sure I don’t lose too much blood so they can continue in a little while.

Mr. Blade Happy meets my eyes as Lance talks in the background. “He’s a dick, isn’t he?”

I narrow my gaze at him. I really might fucking bite his hand now if he doesn’t stop acting like we’re friends.

“This is the reality of where we find ourselves,” Lance continues. “She’s refusing to help me find the treasure. Torture doesn’t seem to bother her because she has no value for her own life, apparently, but I know what she does value, Son. I think you know, too.” He pauses, sighing. “It doesn’t matter how many times you ask, I’m not going to let her go. It’s getting trivial now. I’m going to give Dakota one last threat that I know she won’t be able to pass up. Are you listening, Son?”

My heart beats in my chest so hard and so loud I can feel it in my head; I can feel it everywhere, as if the very world stopped turning and is waiting for Lance’s next move. I wait on bated breath to hear his demand, already knowing that I’m going to hate it, but it doesn’t matter. He can do whatever he wants to me. I won’t give in. Stone and Cole, Wyatt and Lucas, they’ll figure out a way to get me out of here. Eventually.

Hopefully before I die.

“You see,” Lance starts, and even in the tease of his voice, he makes me want to vomit. “Dakota mistakenly thinks the only thing she has to gamble with is her own life, but that’s not true.” He moves into view, and I peer up at him from the ground. “If she refuses to help me find the treasure, my team will find you and they will kill you.”

His words knock the breath right out of me. Mr. Blade Happy tugs his hand away from my mouth. “You wouldn’t,” I protest.

Lance takes the phone away from his ear and grins. “Do you really want to bargain with his life? I can already tell you that Stone will make it easy. He’ll try to find you, he wants so much to be someone’s white knight, and in his attempt to rescue you, I’ll kill him. I’ll wipe him from the face of this earth. Then what? You might have the treasure but at what cost?”

“You wouldn’t do that to him,” I choke out.

“I think the question is, wouldyoudo that to him?”

My heart squeezes out a cry. Stone yells unintelligibly through the phone again.

Lance ends the call and grins down at me with a confident mile. “That’s what it’s like to hold all the cards. Your friend was right, but you really do have to have everything. Stone would’ve done better to explain to you how business works. You have to be ruthless. You have to go for what you want with no qualms. And most of all, you can’t care. That’s where you went wrong. You have feelings for Stone, and that means I own you now.”

“You won’t hurt him,” I say, using the only angle I think I have left. “He’s your son.”

Lance taps his chin. His hollow eyes alive, and that scares me more than anything. He thinks he has this won now, and I...I agree with him. I won’t let anything happen to Stone. “I don’t know. I wouldn’t count that out, but if I can’t bring myself to hurt my son, you can bet that doesn’t extend to Lucas and Wyatt. I have no problem whatsoever using them as chess pieces. Frankly, death would be welcome in both their lives. Lucas has no one, and no money whatsoever, and Wyatt’s family is as fucked up as they come. Neither of them has what the Jacobs’ have, and that’s why they’re expendable. I’d just as soon be rid of them and their influence on Stone.”

He licks his lips, crouching next to me. “I hope we see eye to eye now, Dakota. You can put an end to this or I’ll put an end to them.” He stands, Stone’s matching cocksure smile on his bastard face. “Next time, make sure you are the smartest person in the room before you go making bold claims.”

At that, he walks away, and the walls close in around me.

We’re so fucked.

28

Iwake up under the hot spray of a shower, choking on water, and it’s as if I’m back in the river, fighting for my life. When I open my eyes, though, I’m in a small bathroom, the door slamming behind a retreating form. I relax, only to peer down and find that I’m in the only dry outfit I have. Scrambling out of the shower, I pull out the crumpled note from my father and toss it on the simple vanity before it gets too wet.

Once the shock wears off, the sting of my injuries pushes to the forefront. The water seeping behind my new bandages make my skin throb, and that’s not to mention the searing pain in my side. I grip the plain countertop in front of me, breathing in through my clenched jaw. However, I’m not about to look a gift horse in the mouth. I undress slowly, tossing my now damp clothes to the floor and careful not to put too much weight on my leg since my fresh wounds protest my every move.

The warm water welcomes me back into the shower like an old friend. Well, an old friend that also likes to backstab. Everywhere I’m not injured, the hot spray feels like heaven. Everywhere I am, it stings like a bitch.

Leaning against the wall, I let the showerhead pressure sandblast the yuck right off me. The knowledge that Stone’s alive mutes the internal outcry of my battered body, and I only think one thing: He’s safe.

I press my cheek to the cool, white tile surrounding the shower. Everything about this house is cookie cutter—like it was flipped by the most boring investor ever. A search of my surroundings turns up no shampoo or conditioner or even soap for that matter, so I hobble under the showerhead and let the spray itself clean the mud from my hair. For several minutes, the water runs brown, then it lightens little by little before I run my fingers through my soaked, curly strands despite the warning tug in my side.

A gruff voice calls out from the other side of the door, “You have two minutes.”

I should’ve realized they were right there; that this wasn’t some charity shower. Everything is planned and scheduled. And now that Lance has me right where he wants me, I can’t deny that I won’t help him. I’ll do anything to keep Stone, Wyatt, and Lucas safe.

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