Searing pain brought me to the surface of the ocean of oblivion. I moaned as I tried to get away from it. What the hell had happened to me?I licked my lips as I blinked against the brightness that was trying to stab my brain. My stomach revolted and my eyes slammed shut again. I tried to breathe through my nose, felt something in my chest snap. Shrieking screams ripped from my mouth as another burst of agony swamped me. "Ma'am, you're in an ambulance. Do you remember what happened to you?" someone asked. I couldn't answer. Everything inside me was focused on the torture. As if the pressure in my chest wasn't enough, my left hip started shrieking her pain. I wanted to curl up into a ball and die. "Ma'am. Can you hear me?" the person asked again. "You're on the way to the hospital. Good Shepherd. Your friend is following us in his car."I heard the words but could do nothing but silently scream. I had no air, no voice, no control. Every molecule in my body was angry. I d

The swirling black slowly eased away. Gone was the bone crushing pain and the struggle to breathe. I could feel my fingers and toes as my body yearned for a full stretch. I coughed around something in my mouth. Felt my entire body tense up as I realized something was hooked against my lips. It invaded my mouth, slid down my throat. A beeping went crazy behind me as my heart rate seemed to match the loud, irritating signal. Blinking away the tears of fear that flooded my eyes, I saw two familiar faces appear at the side of my vision. One of them leaned forward. The other went back out into the hallway."You've got an intubation tube in. You're fine," Willow said. She looked at something over my shoulder. "On my count, you're going to take a big deep breath." She slid her hand into mine. "Ready...now."She squeezed my hand as I took as big a breath as I could handle. My head went a little fuzzy, but I pushed that part away. "Good, Nik. And push it out." She squeezed my ha

I looked at the clock over the door once more. Gritted my teeth when I saw only ten minutes had passed since Jessa had called Turo. I needed that fucking phone and a laptop. If he wasn't here in the next twenty minutes, I was going to steal Jessa's car and go find him myself. I paced the small room, my breaths panting, my chest aching. Stupid body. Stupid asshole who'd run me over right after a snowfall. What the fuck was the matter with people? Didn't they know how to drive any better than that? I'd been on the freaking sidewalk and the guy had obviously lost control of his car, jumped the curb, and flattened me. I hope they caught the guy behind the wheel. The whole incident washed over my mind's eye. The black car had swerved and bounced around the street like a pinball. Either the guy driving had been high as a kite or he didn't deal well with adrenaline, because the last thing I remembered seeing were his teeth as he smiled wide. I shivered, thankful I didn't have any

I glared at the cocky man in the front passenger seat. If he thought I was going to be okay with being kidnapped, the man obviously had suffered some kind of brain damage. As soon as I got myself free, I was going to beat the snot out of him. Maybe even before I got free. I did have to give the big Viking guy props. He'd had me trussed and gagged in very short order. Edi had never seemed fast or quick. More of a lumbering oaf kind of fella. That'll teach me to make rash decisions. The man was faster than a snake. Since it seemed the two men who had abducted me were content to ignore me, I looked around the mostly empty cargo van. No seats in the back. Just black lining on the floor. And a selection of bags that looked big enough to hold bodies. I shuffled around until I could lean against one. My left hip was now screaming bloody murder at me. I just wanted to ease some of the pain that was trying to consume all of my attention and mental focus. With everything going on in

I blew out a breath. "Damn."Turo nodded. "He was making bad decisions for the family. Professionally and personally. Some said he went crazy. Momma wasn't willing to stand for his mismanagement or assholic behaviors anymore. She shot him at the dinner table in front of everyone else when he hit my grandmother in the face for saying something he disagreed with."I blinked. "Damn, Momma is a queen." If it were humanly possible to love a person platonically and still want to carry her babies, mine was Momma. That woman was everything I aspired to be. Strong, loving, protective, stalwart, funny, a fabulous cook, had the respect of not only her family, but everyone under her, and was also the head of a seriously scary organization of crime and shady dealings. Okay, I could leave out the organized crime and shady dealings in my future, but damn did she make it look easy and appealing. She was my adult goals. I sighed. "That's beautiful," I said softly. Amato turned to me. I cou