Chapter 2

Carole lunged for the door handle. She pulled it hard, but it did not budge. The child locks were engaged.

Hollis slowly turned his head. His eyes were cold and empty.

"Keep moving," Hollis said. "And I promise you will wish you stayed in the mud."

"Who are you?" Carole yelled, her voice shaking. "You have no right to take me!"

Before Hollis could answer, a loud crash shook the Maybach.

Carole looked in the rearview mirror. Three black SUVs were riding their bumper. The Pennington guards had caught up.

Another violent jolt hit the car. Carole lost her balance. Her forehead slammed hard against the reinforced glass of the window.

A dull thud echoed in the cabin. Carole groaned, holding her head.

At the exact same second, Hollis let out a sharp hiss. He grabbed his own forehead. His face lost all color. His chest heaved, and his eyes turned murderous.

"Do I return fire, sir?" K. Sterling asked, gripping the steering wheel.

"Get rid of them," Hollis ground out through clenched teeth.

Sterling yanked the steering wheel. The Maybach drifted around a sharp curve. The heavy rear bumper clipped the first SUV, sending it spinning into the metal guardrail.

The other two SUVs swerved past the wreckage and kept coming.

Hollis reached under his seat. He pulled out a handgun with a silencer attached. He rolled down his window.

The cold wind blasted into the car. Hollis leaned out, squinting against the freezing rain and the severe, throbbing pain pounding behind his eyes. His first shot went wide, ricocheting off the pursuing SUV's side panel. He cursed under his breath, taking a sharp, agonizing breath to steady his trembling hand, and fired again. This time, the bullet found the tire.

The front tire of the pursuing SUV exploded. The vehicle flipped over, sparks flying across the wet asphalt.

The final SUV tried to speed up and cut them off. Sterling slammed the brakes and turned sharply into an abandoned warehouse district. The Maybach tore through an open loading bay. The Pennington SUV followed right behind.

Sterling hit the brakes. The Maybach slid to a halt inside the dark warehouse.

The Pennington SUV stopped, but it was instantly surrounded by ten heavily armed men stepping out of the shadows. Wall family security.

Hollis kicked his door open. He marched toward the SUV. His men had already dragged the driver out onto the concrete.

Hollis pressed the barrel of his gun against the guard's temple.

"Please," the guard begged, shaking violently. "Adalberto ordered us to bring her back."

Hollis stared at him with dead eyes. He flipped the gun and smashed the heavy metal grip directly into the guard's kneecap. The bone shattered.

"Crawl back and tell him she is mine," Hollis said.

Carole watched through the window. Her stomach twisted into a tight knot. The violence was casual to him.

Hollis turned around. He walked back to the Maybach, bringing the smell of rain and blood with him.

He got into the back seat. The moment the door closed, he suddenly grabbed his chest. He let out a low groan and leaned forward. Sweat formed on his forehead.

Carole stared at him. Her own forehead was throbbing from hitting the window. She noticed Hollis was rubbing the exact same spot on his head.

She looked down at her hands. She pinched the back of her left hand with her fingernails.

Hollis's left eyebrow twitched.

Carole's breath hitched. A crazy, impossible thought entered her mind. She reached down and pinched her own thigh as hard as she could.

Hollis sucked in a sharp breath. He turned his head and glared at her.

"Stop doing that," Hollis snarled, his voice vibrating with rage.

Carole pressed her back against the door. "What did you do to me?"

"You did this to yourself," Hollis said, wiping the sweat from his brow.

Sterling handed a clean handkerchief over his shoulder. "Sir, we should go."

Hollis grabbed Carole's wrist. His fingers dug into her skin like steel.

"From this second on," Hollis said, his face inches from hers. "You are not allowed to feel any pain. Do you understand me?"

Carole tried to pull her arm away, but he did not let go.

The Maybach drove out of the warehouse and back into the night. Carole looked down at her red wrist. She was tied to a monster, and she had no idea how to break the chain.