There are many reasons why I should hold on to life, but now that my sister’s life is at stake, I’d rather die than turn my back on her again.

Besides, it’s not a lie as I say, “I don’t know.”

He raises his hand and I brace myself for the slap, but he punches me in the face. I jerk in my seat as blood explodes on my lower lip and I taste metal. Coughing, I meet his gaze again.

It’s filled with the hunger for power, the need to rise, to crush everyone. It’s almost laughable how obvious he is. I don’t laugh, of course, because I still need my life.

“My nice phase is coming to an end, Reina.” He slams a hand against my face, only allowing me to look at him through his fat, meaty fingers. “Where. Is. She?”

“I d-don’t know.” I choke on the words.

His next punch makes me see stars. My teeth chatter and my fingers tighten against each other behind my back. I cough up the blood that gathers in my mouth.

“Last chance.” He closes in on me, his face mere inches from mine. “Where the fuck is she?”

People say you can never see your end coming. It happens too suddenly, and once you realize it, it’s too late.

I see it, though—my end. I see it in his unfeeling blue eyes and the desperation they reek of. He’ll kill me no matter what I do or say. He’s been planning that since the moment he got his men to kidnap me.

I might not be able to finish him, but I have belief Reina would. I hope she makes him regret the day he was born. I know she’ll get justice for Mom, Dad, and me.

“I don’t know.” My voice is broken due to how I speak over the blood. “Even if I did, I would never tell you.” Then I do the only thing I can under the circumstances. I spit blood on his clean-shaven face, the droplets splattering on his skin. “You’ll die like a fucking pig.”

For a second, he watches me with wide eyes, as if he never expected me to do that. I smile with triumph, but it doesn’t last as he punches me again.

This time, the chair topples and I fall backward. My limbs don’t catch me since they’re tied, and my head hits the ground. Pain explodes in my body as a boot connects with my ribs, knocking the air out of my lungs.

I gasp for air and find nothing.

A pop sounds in my body as he kicks me again and again.

“I’ll make your death the most painful possible.” He calls a name and the door opens. I barely hear the words or make out my surroundings.

It’s blurry and dark, shadows dancing in my vision as if they’re real.

“Bring me my tools,” Ivan says with a smirk. “We have a long night ahead.”

It’s supposed to scare me, but I’m too numb for that, too…out of this world.

One face keeps flickering in my mind as my vision slowly withers away.

Asher…our last encounter and the way I ran away from him…

I wish I hadn’t. I wish I’d kissed him harder and told him I love him.

I wish I’d let go of my shackles and confessed my feelings earlier. Maybe everything would be different.

Maybe I wouldn’t be lying here, choking on my own blood and leaving the world with so many regrets.

But it’s too late.

It’s true, you know. The end comes once you realize it’s too late.

Ivan’s shoe slams into my ribs and darkness sucks me into its clutches.

Alexander didn’t want me to come here, but fuck him and anyone who thinks I’d stay still when Reina’s fate is unknown.

After I received that phone call, we shot into action.

The only one who matters right now is Reina.

I haven’t been able to breathe since she went out of my sight this morning. It’s as if I’m living on borrowed time and borrowed air until I find her.

And I’ll find her even if it’s the last thing I do.

“Check your vest,” says the man at my side. His name is Kyle, as Alexander introduced us. No idea if that’s a real name or an alias, but I don’t give two fucks right now.

If he has the skills to get Reina out of that hellhole then he can be an alien for all I care.

“It’s fine.”

“That’s what amateurs say.” He has a slight Northern Irish accent and appears to be in his late twenties to early thirties. No idea why he sounds familiar when we’ve never met before.

He’s too laid back for all the hitman work Alexander said he does. According to my father, he’s the best man for mafia-centered jobs, and I trust Alexander to always find the best for shady jobs.

Kyle clicks his gun and hides a few knives in his waistband and offers me one. It’s only me and him and another hitman who runs in his crowd.

Naturally, Kyle and his sniper friend don’t function well with the police, so they’ll do the rescue and disappear before cops show up.

The sniper is positioned somewhere on the opposite building. Since I can’t see him—and I’m looking—it should mean he’s good.

“If you hinder me, I’ll knock you out.” Kyle doesn’t look up from his weapons as he says the words.

“Give me a gun.”

He pauses. “Do you even know how to use one?”

“Yes, I do. I’ve had shooting lessons.” And boxing ones and a whole lot of fucked-up shit I thought would keep me from acting out my obsession with Reina.

They didn’t.

“Lessons and real life are different.” He points the gun to my chest and clicks the magazine. “There would be a hole here and a lot of blood. Just saying, in case you’re squeamish.”

“I tortured a man nearly to death for her. If you think I would have second thoughts about shooting any motherfucker who hurts her, you don’t know who you’re dealing with.”

The fact that he’s holding a gun straight against my chest doesn’t faze me or scare me. Determination shoots through my veins, and all I can think about is finding her.

Kyle drops the gun in my hand. “Count your bullets and never leave yourself without backup.”

I give a curt nod as we slip into the back entrance of what looks like an old factory. Like some apocalypse, the area is deserted and there are no people in sight. It’s the perfect location to dispose of a body.

Those thoughts won’t consume me.

Reina will be fine. She’s a survivor.

As Kyle instructed, I remain behind him. He’s wearing a white T-shirt and black slacks as if he just left a business meeting. His build is tall and fit, and he makes no sound.

I try to walk as quietly as possible, but I don’t match the way he moves through the shadows as if he belongs in them.

The inside of the factory is shabbier than the outside. The windows are half-broken, allowing the wind to slide into the space. I stare at the roof, speculating if the sniper has a good range from here.

“Forget about him,” Kyle says in his bored voice. “Imagine you’re on your own. If you keep waiting for others to save you, you’ll die.”

That’s true in some ways.

“Why did you agree to do this?” I ask. He sure as hell didn’t seem on board when he talked to Alexander.

“It’s what I’m paid to do.”

Suddenly, he stops at the corner and places a finger to his mouth before grabbing his gun with both hands. He motions at me to remain where I am. I do, tightening my hold around my own pistol.