Of course, that wasn’t saying much. But the Landon in front of her was a monster that maybe Gunner never saw, never wanted to acknowledge.

“That’s where you’re wrong, Avery. James doesn’t know me, and you don’t know him.” His eyes were so dark and angry, the fury palpable even though his expression was outwardly calm. She tried to remain equally calm, but her fear bled through. And that was what he wanted.

She was a fighter and he’d taken that away from her physically. But inside, she was still strong.

Break them before they break you. She could hear Gunner’s mom saying that to him.

“Yolanda, help me,” she said out loud.

“I don’t know who that is, but she can’t help you.”

I don’t know who that is. How could he not know Gunner’s mom’s name?

“You’re taking Gunner away from jobs he does best, Avery. He saves helpless women and children. Don’t you think that’s important?”

“He doesn’t need you to help people.”

Landon smiled, a cunning, chilling look. “You can’t really believe that.”

There was more blood every time Landon put the knife in her face. She whimpered because her body was cold now, numb and cold, and she was running out of time.

“Did your perfect James tell you what he did for me? What a good worker bee he was?”

“He was trying to save his wife. He was trying to survive.” God, her voice was clearer now, which meant the drugs were wearing off. Soon, she might feel everything.

She didn’t know how much worse that could be.

Landon smiled, that wicked, horrible smile that told her he was getting so much enjoyment out of this. “He’ll do anything to survive.”

“So would most people. But Gunner would never sell out the people he loves.”

“No, he’ll just kill children to protect them.”

She blinked, wanted to call him a liar, but she knew that it was true, and that’s why Gunner couldn’t talk about it. “I’m sure that whatever he did, it’s because you tricked him into doing it.”

“I never had to trick him into doing what he was built for.”

“You can’t know him nearly as well as you think you do.”

“He spent time in my life. My bed. I knew him intimately.”

“And now I do. And I’m the one he wants.” She drove that dagger in deep, smiling as she did so.

“He’ll always come back to me. He always has.”

“Not this time. Never again.”

“You think James is yours?” Landon sneered.

“I think Gunner is his own man. I’ll be damned if I let you force him to do your dirty work.”

“Force him?” Landon bit out a laugh. “No one forces James to do anything. This job’s in his blood. He’s a legacy.”

“I know all about legacies,” she spat. “You have no idea what my pedigree is.” She forced herself to calm down. “I want you to know that the next time you see me in person, you won’t breathe longer than ten minutes.”

“Threats, Avery.”

“It’s a goddamned promise.” She’d been in that place before. She’d sought vengeance for her mother, killed the men who’d killed her, and she’d discovered it hadn’t made things better at all.

In fact, it made them somehow worse. But this time, it would be different. She couldn’t save her mother, but she’d be damned if she couldn’t save Gunner.

But first, she’d have to save herself and survive this. She closed her eyes for a long moment, willing the courage she’d always had to come thrumming back through her body. She noted she was shivering. And her body was aching.

Oh God, it was wearing off. And he wasn’t done cutting her.

“Is this the only way you can get it up, by killing the women Gunner loves?” she spat out.

Instead of answering with words, Landon held up the knife and pressed it to her skin.

She tried not to scream and failed.

“Playtime’s over, little girl. You have no idea who you’re up against. But don’t you worry, I’ve got plenty of time to show you.”

“No matter how long you take, you’ll never show me.” She didn’t care about making him angrier. She’d take her power any way she could, would hang on by her nails, leaving deep claw marks.

Her hands moved as she thought about that. They moved—only slightly, but the tingle meant that the drug was metabolizing.

It wouldn’t be fast enough. Because he was still cutting her, and she would wear those scars forever.

“Remember this. Every time you’re with James, he’s going to see these and think of me. And so are you. If you’d stayed apart . . .”

“If you’d done a better job of trying to kill me,” she taunted. She wanted to pass out, but she couldn’t. Adrenaline coursed through her body, made the pain bearable. Made her somehow unable to look away.

The blood welled from the deep cuts. She knew where he was going . . . her beautiful flowers.

She wouldn’t beg, not even when Drew said, “If you ask nicely, I’ll leave this alone.”

She didn’t believe him and she forced herself to stay calm. “What kills you more, the fact that Gunner would rather work with me than you, or the fact that Gunner marked me first?”

That was the end of the conversation and the numbness, but only the beginning of the excruciating pain.

* * *

Gunner buried his face in his hands, knew what she was doing and why, but Landon was going to hurt her. The man had lost control . . . if it was truly Drew Landon, Gunner knew he was capable of carrying out his threats. He’d seen Landon torture people firsthand. A lesson he’d never forget.

“Find her, Jem.”

Jem nodded, his eyes never leaving the screen. Ten minutes later he had a lock on her location, but Gunner wouldn’t stop listening. He’d been deadly silent, fisting his hands so tightly they’d gone numb. Holding himself ruthlessly in check rather than risk losing the audio link, the only link they had to Avery now, was all he could do as Avery screamed in pain and terror. And then she went quiet, only whimpering occasionally.

He’d barely noticed that Jem had maneuvered him into the car, driven them back to the airport where the police presence was still heavy. He was still listening as Jem yanked him onto the private plane he’d called in that favor for.

They didn’t know how sophisticated this audio link was, didn’t know if they’d lose contact in the air, but they had little choice. “Tell him to go, Jem,” Gunner said, after one particularly brutal scream from Avery.

“Fuck,” Jem breathed, and then yelled, “we have to go now,” and the plane began hurtling toward the runway.

“Who’s the pilot?”

“Guy I used to work with. He’ll get us there.”

“Suppose he moves her?”

“We’ll fucking find her, Gun. That’s what we do.”

The audio never cut out. Gunner and Jem didn’t stop listening, even when things went silent on the other end. Silent, but not over.

“No more,” he heard Avery say softly. She sounded . . . so far away. As if she was fading away and fast.

“You and James both think you run the show. This should show both of you just where you are on the food chain.” Landon’s voice was clear as a bell, which meant Avery was seriously hurt.

“We’re landing!” the pilot yelled back. The cockpit door had remained open and Gunner knew they were going at a speed that wasn’t allowed on any airline or private plane. How he was managing to stay off the radar, Gunner had no clue, but he’d owe this man everything.

As the plane touched down, a hard landing, Gunner could barely hear. As things settled down and the flight came to a stop, Landon asked, “Do you think I should let her live, James?” and Gunner gripped the arms of his seat tightly.

“I’ll kill you, Landon,” he said, with no way of knowing if the man could hear him. He and Jem raced off the flight into a waiting car that Jem must’ve arranged with the pilot. Gunner took the wheel, pushing the car with the sport engine up to one hundred on the dusty road as Jem tracked the link.

“We’re close,” Jem said. “Another couple of miles, Gun. Hold steady.”

Jem already had his weapon drawn. His eyes held a life-or-death look that Gunner had only seen once before and it hadn’t ended well for the man who’d gone up against Jem.

Gunner pressed his lips together, not wanting to say anything that could make Landon do something stupid. But his suspicions were confirmed when Landon said, “I’m sure right about now, you’re threatening my life. Unfortunately, this audio only streams out. The thing is, James, I keep my promises but you didn’t keep yours. You didn’t stay away from Avery and her friends. You left me after I gave you a second chance. Now your friends will have to pay.”

“Signal’s split,” Jem said. “One’s moving away fast. One’s still.”

“We’ve got to check the one that’s not moving,” he said quietly.

“Then turn right up here. Up the hill.”

Gunner parked the car with a slam as close to the old porch as he could. It was a cabin, nestled in a quiet, lush parcel of land that belied any ugliness that had happened here. He used his foot to kick the door in, and Jem went ahead, weapon drawn, clearing room after empty room.

They got to the final bedroom. Gunner stood in the doorway and blinked. The only thing he saw was blood everywhere. And his flannel shirt shredded on the floor.

* * *

Avery didn’t know how much time had passed when she heard muffled voices. She pulled herself off the tile floor where she’d curled up, finally able to move. The pain was excruciating, but moving too much would make her lose more blood she couldn’t afford to lose.

She’d just prayed for Gunner to come get her. Now she couldn’t be sure who it was on the other side of the bathroom door and she grabbed the bloody knife she’d found on the floor of the bedroom after Landon left her. The knife he’d used on her—she had no choice but to take it and defend herself with it.