Chapter 47

TAYLA

I woke up, shivering in the cold, alone in my bed.

Had they left me again, with Dominic on guard duty?

This might be my chance to ask him about the secret tunnel.

I glanced at the clock as I climbed out of bed—it was three in the morning. I padded out to the kitchen.

It was deserted.

No sign of Dominic.

A whiskey bottle and two glasses were abandoned on the island. My gaze drifted to the basement door, slightly ajar.

Hayden had mentioned Dominic was making a delivery tonight. Could he be down there?

Suddenly, I jumped at the sound of raised voices. They were coming from Walker’s room.

Hayden and Walker were arguing about something.

If things got out of hand with Dominic, I could scream loud enough for them to hear.

I pushed the basement door open wider and slipped inside, descending the stairs.

My mouth fell open in shock.

Logan was tied to a chair, his face a mess of blood and bruises.

He looked like he’d been beaten to a pulp and was barely conscious.

Had Walker and Hayden done this?

Even after Walker promised he wouldn’t hurt him?

Logan was panting heavily, his eyes barely open.

I rushed over to him, touching his face gently.

“Can you hear me?” I whispered.

“Tayla, is that you?” he managed to rasp out.

“What the hell happened to you?” I asked, horrified.

“Your boyfriends beat me up. I think they’re planning to shoot me,” he said, wincing in pain.

“I won’t let that happen,” I assured him.

“Untie me,” he pleaded.

I remembered the door that led to the tunnel under the house. I moved to the back of the room, where boxes were stacked high.

“What are you doing? Untie me, Tayla!” Logan called out.

I shifted a few boxes, stirring up a cloud of dust that made me sneeze.

Once the dust settled, I spotted a door in the wall. It had a simple handle, no code lock.

I returned to Logan, quickly untying him. He nearly collapsed as he stood up.

“This way,” I directed him, supporting him under my shoulder.

“Where are you taking me?” he asked, confused.

“Through a tunnel that leads to the beach,” I explained.

“I’m going to leave town,” he groaned.

“You might have to. I’m so sorry they did this to you,” I said, guilt washing over me.

“Do you see what kind of people they are?” he hissed, anger seeping into his voice.

“They’re just being protective over me,” I mumbled in defense.

I pushed on the door handle, and the door creaked open.

“Fuck’s sake!” Logan cursed.

I helped him through the door, and we emerged into the opening where the cot bed was.

“What is this place?” he mumbled.

“Let’s just get you out of here,” I said, avoiding his question.

I guided him down the narrow tunnel until we reached the door that led to the beach.

Just as I reached out to open it, the door swung open, revealing Dominic.

He froze when he saw me helping Logan, his face hardening into a glare.

“What the fuck are you doing?” he roared at me.

“Getting him out of here,” I retorted.

“They’re going to kill me!” Logan cried out.

“You destroyed three grand’s worth of their goods!” Dominic shot back.

“What?” I asked, confused.

Logan leaned heavily on me.

“He didn’t tell you? He set fire to their warehouse last night and destroyed some stock.”

I glared at Logan.

“I thought they beat you up because you tried to kiss me!”

“It doesn’t matter; they said they’re going to kill me!” he insisted, his weight becoming heavier.

I struggled to support him and looked at Dominic, who was sneering at Logan.

“They can’t kill him. He’s my cousin,” I told Dominic.

“He knew the price if he got caught.”

“Why did you do it?” I asked Logan, my body shaking under his weight.

“I wanted to get back at them for taking you away,” he mumbled.

“Dude? She’s your cousin and can make her own decisions,” Dominic pointed out.

“Whatever!”

Suddenly, Logan slumped against me, and I stumbled against the stone wall.

“Help me!” I pleaded with Dominic.

Logan slid to the floor, unconscious, probably from blood loss.

“Just leave the prick,” Dominic shrugged.

“I can’t. Please!”

“You’ll owe me a debt if I help him.”

Dominic’s gaze raked over me, and I realized I was only wearing my pink negligee.

“What do you want?”

“I’ll tell you what I want when the time comes. And you have to stop being an asshole to me.”

“Fine.”

“I assume you found the door in the basement?”

I nodded.

“Go out to the deck and pretend you were just getting some air. I’ll handle things from here,” he instructed.

“But the cameras?”

“They’re offline. There are no witnesses to what happened.”

“Are they really going to kill him?” I asked, looking down at Logan’s limp form.

“I think that’s what they’re arguing about.”

I nodded.

“Just stay calm and play dumb if anything happens. Should be easy for you, being all cute and all,” he said, grinning.

“Fuck off!” I snapped.

Dominic grabbed Logan and dragged him out onto the sand outside the secret door.

“I’ll go back and cover up the basement door. Then, when I leave, I’ll take this prick home,” he told me.

“Do you know where he lives?” I asked.

Dominic flashed me a white-toothed smile.

“Where do you think I picked him up from?”

He grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the tunnel, then shut the door, leaving me alone with an unconscious Logan under the house.

I remembered I needed to be on the deck, so I left Logan sprawled on his back and hurried up the deck stairs. I made sure the coast was clear before I settled down on the couch.

The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon, and I could feel my heart pounding in my chest.

I took a deep, steady breath and stretched out on the couch.

Thankfully, it wasn’t chilly, and I closed my eyes, trying to erase the image of Logan’s bloody face from my mind.

“Tayla?”

I let out a scream as Hayden loomed over me, a gun in his hand.

Once again, I hadn’t heard him approach.

“What are you doing out here?” he asked, sounding irritated.

“Just getting some air. I woke up feeling hot and sweaty,” I replied.

He cocked his head to the side and frowned at me.

His gaze swept over my body, lingering on my legs.

“Are you alone out here?”

“You’re here with me,” I pointed out.

“No. I mean, did you see anyone out here or on the beach?”

I made a face.

“No.”

Walker emerged, gun in hand, and walked over to us.

“House is clear. The fucker must have just run for it!”

Hayden turned to Walker and shook his head.

Walker’s gaze landed on me, and he frowned.

“Why are you out here, little one?”

“Just getting some air,” I repeated.

He glanced at Hayden and then walked over to the railing.

I watched as he scanned the beach before slamming his fist against the railing.

“What’s going on?” I asked, feigning ignorance.

Hayden sat on the table in front of me and looked at me.

“Your cousin set fire to our warehouse last night and caused three thousand dollars’ worth of damage,” he informed me.

“Logan?” I asked, feigning surprise.

Hayden nodded.

“We roughed him up a bit as payback and were about to drop him off at home with a warning, but he seems to have escaped,” Walker explained.

Shit!

They weren’t planning to kill him after all.

Dominic stepped out onto the deck and walked over to us.

“I must not have tied the rope tight enough. I’m sorry, Boss,” he said, looking down.

“It’s okay. Let’s just hope he doesn’t go to the police about this,” Hayden said.

I frowned.

“Or we’ll have to kill him for sure,” Walker added darkly.

“I’m off,” Dominic announced, turning on his heel.

“Thanks, Dom!” Walker called after him.

“Come on, back to bed for you,” Hayden said, taking my arm.

He gently helped me up from the couch and led me back into the house.

Walker locked up the house and joined us in bed, where both men fell asleep on either side of me. I lay awake for hours, thinking about the debt I now owed Dominic.