Captured

ZANE

I woke up later, my hands refusing to move when I tried to lift them to my face. I blinked my eyes open, the room around me a blurry mess. As my vision cleared, I took in my surroundings—I was in a bedroom, tied tightly to a chair. I shook my head, trying to clear the fog from my mind.

Damn it, I should have known Luca would pull something like this. I tugged weakly at the ropes binding me. My feet were also tied to the chair’s legs. I was still trying to figure out where I was when I heard a voice from the corner.

“You’re finally awake. That stuff really packs a punch, doesn’t it?” Luca sauntered over to me, stopping at my feet. If I weren’t tied up, I’d have my knife in his crotch in a heartbeat.

“You’ve been a tough one to catch. Three years of planning and you still put up a fight. I thought you’d like to know what my mole managed to get from your house.

“He had to knock your dad out to get her, but I’ve had my eye on her since the day you took her shopping.

“She gave me some great ideas about what she likes to wear to bed, and I bought them, pretending they were for my girlfriend.”

My eyes darted to the bed where she was lying, tied up. I pulled hard against my ropes, but they were too tight.

“She’s got a beautiful body, you know. So soft. And that shampoo she uses is almost arousing.”

I could feel my body shaking at his implications. “If you lay a finger on her, I swear to God it’ll be the last thing you ever do.” My hands were balled into fists.

He sat down in front of me, his chair turned backward, his arms resting on the back of it.

“I plan on touching her again and again, while you watch. I think you’ll slowly lose your mind watching the woman you love being fucked by another man.

“Just like what happened to my brother. Your sister drove him mad. When he found out she was pregnant by another man, he lost it.

“One night, they crossed paths and he flew into such a rage that he accidentally killed her.

“He wanted to kill Chris, but she stepped in between them and took the brunt of his attack before Chris could get her away. Remember how her face was torn up and her neck was snapped?

“He did that thinking it was Chris; he didn’t realize it was her until she stopped screaming.

“When he finally understood what he’d done, he attacked Chris, but he was already exhausted from beating her. Chris managed to land a few good hits before I arrived.

“When he saw me, he ran. Then Mateo picked up her body and cradled it, crying his eyes out.

“I had to literally pry her dead body from his grip. He kept saying he didn’t mean to—he wanted him dead so they could be together again. After that, he was never the same.

“His mind was gone after what he did to her; he retreated into himself and never came back out, no matter what we did to help him. That’s a dark place to be.

“I tracked Chris down about a year ago and tortured him to death over five days. I took pieces of his body off slowly. When I cut his dick off, he bled to death in about ten minutes.

“I told him I was sending him to Mateo so he could get his revenge as his eyes rolled back in his head and he took his last breath.”

“Luca, I swear to you. You better leave her out of this, or you’ll be the one tied to a chair being tortured slowly.

“My men are probably looking for me right now, especially with her missing and my dad knocked out.

“So you were the one who put that chef in my house, then. I thought it was Danny. Wait—he was second-in-command. He was yours?”

“Bingo. I sent some men to see what they could find out for me. They screwed up and got caught, then paid the price with their lives. Did you enjoy your hunt with them?”

He smiled, clearly enjoying the fact that he’d had the upper hand the whole time.

“Let me out of these ropes, and we can go play in it to see how you like it. Then you can tell me about it when I beat the shit out of you after I find you.”

The beast inside me stirred as I looked at Luca. I might have to let him take over for us to get out of here alive. God, I hoped Shay would forgive me for what was about to happen as soon as I got loose.

Between Shay, Connor and Noah—but especially her—they could snap me out of that trance. I closed my eyes and let him creep in slowly, still keeping him at bay but feeling that fire back in my soul.

Then I heard a voice that made my heart leap and want to get out of here faster.

“Zane? Where are we?” she asked groggily. She started to move a little on the bed.

Luca turned his head toward her, then back at me, smiling evilly.

“That’s my cue. I’ve been waiting for her to wake up. That way, she can feel everything that I’m doing while she cries for you.

“I hope you enjoy the show, ’cause I know I’m going to enjoy every fucking minute of it.”

He got up and I pulled hard against my ropes. Where were my men? They should be here by now. I tried to delay him for a few minutes.

“Hey, Luca, where are we exactly? I don’t recognize this house.”

He laughed coldly.

“This was Mateo’s house. It’s about two hours from where the boat was docked. When you blacked out, we took off out of the dock and then came here.

“You know, it took four men to drag your ass up here. When did you get so muscular and built?”

“I’ve been working out a lot over the last five years. Just been doing it a whole bunch more within the last three years. Have to keep in shape, you know.”

I knew exactly where we were; he had brought us down the coast just over the New York line. I shifted and felt the tracker still on me. They had better hurry because I will kill this motherfucker tonight.

Shay had already been through this nightmare once; I couldn’t bear to see her endure it again. Plus, she was carrying my child. I’d be damned if he laid a finger on her.

Her eyes flickered open, and she looked up at Luca, who was now standing next to her. “Hey, you’re the guy from the store. Why am I here? Please, let me go. Why am I tied up?”

Panic was starting to set in.

“I want you to try on those pretty clothes you showed me. You said you loved them, so now I want you to model them for me.”

He sat down on the bed next to her, his hand tracing her face. She recoiled, and her gaze found mine.

“Oh, God! Zane, please! I can’t go through this again! Zane! Please, help me!” Tears streamed down her face.

“Stay calm, love. I’ll get you out of this. I promise.”

Luca’s eyes met mine. “And how exactly do you plan on doing that? Your men have no idea where you are.”

Suddenly, the sound of gunfire echoed from downstairs, followed by men shouting. Luca sprang off the bed. “You son of a bitch! You’re going to pay for this!”

He lunged at me, a knife gleaming in his hand.