"We're going to play a peeking and listening game. You have to keep your eyes closed, and your hands over your ears, and if either of us catches you peeking, you lose. If you keep them closed until we say you can open them, you win."

I wasn't sure how well that was going to work, but if it made the two of them feel better, I was all for it. As the three of us walked back into the main roomCindy leading Lacey the whole way I was struck by the notion that I'd like to be the one who got to keep my eyes closed.

"We're all going to take a seat," Matthew said. "Until Bruno gets back. Then he and I are going to go for a little walk." He glanced at Lacey and Cindy, but his eyes came to rest on me.

The realization hit me. He wanted me. The moment I'd realized who he was, I'd assumed everything had been a lie, but I could see the desire in his eyes, even now. That part hadn't been a game. I could use that just like with Brian. However, I'd learned that a front kick and grab for a gun wasn't a good idea. I had a feeling Matthew was a better fighter than Brian, but Luke had taught me well, after all fighting was his forte and maybe, just maybe, if I could get the guy off balance, I'd have a chance. If nothing else, Cindy could get Lacey out while I fought Matthew. The stakes were high-hell, nearly impossible, but it was all I had to work with if I wanted to out-maneuver this guy. The cold tone in his voice and the searing glares told me he was dead serious. If he had his way, no one was getting out of this cabin alive.

I leaned closer to Cindy on the pretense of checking on Lacey and whispered in her ear, my words barely above a breath. "I'm going to try something. If he goes down, take Lacey and run."

I didn't know if she heard me or understood me, because she didn't respond, but I hoped she was just being cautious. She had to get Lacey out. Everything else was extra.

"Matthew." I stood and walked towards him. I made sure I moved slowly and kept my hands where he could see them. I didn't need him jumping the gun, literally. I didn't, however, try the sultry smile thing I'd done with Brian. Matthew was too smart for that. Instead, I acted pissed off. I stopped less than a foot from him launched into my tirade. "You used me, you bastard!"

His eyebrows went up, but he didn't look angry. If anything, his surprise appeared to be almost pleased. People didn't call him names too often.

"You pretended to like me, made me feel guilty for turning you down even though I had a boyfriend." I shifted my weight so that I was partially blocking Lacey from view. "Was your plan to fuck me into giving you what you want?"

He shrugged. "It's my job."

"You used me, Matthew." I put more hurt in my voice than I actually felt.

"Hey, I did like you."

"Yeah, right." I crossed my arms and looked at the ground, trying to play up the emotions.

He touched my arm and I looked up at him. "I'm sorry, Dani. If we'd met under other circumstances, maybe things could've been different between us."

"But not now?" I tilted my head, in a gesture that indicated I wanted him to kiss me. What I was really doing was pin-pointing the exact spot in the throat I was supposed to hit to disable him.

I could see his desire warring with duty and I decided to go for a little push. I stepped closer to him until the fronts of our bodies were almost touching.

That did it. He started to lower his head, his gaze on my mouth. I waited until his lips were almost on mine and I swung.

Almost immediately, I realized that I'd chosen the wrong move. The angle was all wrong and my hand glanced off of his shoulder. I started to turn and he grabbed me, spinning me around so that my back was pressed against his front.

"What the hell were you thinking?" His voice was cold.

"Instep, solar plexus," I whispered the words.

"What?" he snapped.

I drove my foot backwards and he cursed as I caught him off guard. My elbow swung back, but he'd already started twisting and I missed my target. I did get his ribs and earned another curse, but he was starting to move. I was desperate, but I had to make a move quickly. My last lesson with Luke popped into my head and I knew I had to try the one thing I'd never even practiced. He had told me, don't hesitate, don't falter, just do it fast and hard. I'd never practiced it, but it seemed simple enough. I reached behind me, remembering what Luke had said about not hesitating. I grabbed the front of Matthew's jeans, feeling soft flesh under denim. His fingers jumped to my hair, yanking hard enough to bring tears to my eyes. Two could play at that. I twisted my wrist and pulled as hard as I could.

"Fuck!!" Matthew bellowed. He shoved me away from him and I hit the edge of the table, the hard wood knocking the wind out of me.

I stumbled around to face him, gasping for air. He was bent over, his face contorted with pain, but his gun was still in his hand. I had a feeling the heavy denim of his jeans had kept him from being damaged as much as I'd wanted. He came toward me, grimacing with each step, but still more than my match. I straightened and lifted my chin, hoping that Cindy would use my death as a distraction to get Lacey out of here.

He didn't point the gun at me. Instead, he backhanded me, the butt of the gun slamming into my cheek with enough force to drop me to my knees. I could feel blood running down the side of my face and tears were streaming from my eyes in response to the pain. Between Brian's punch and this hit, I wouldn't be surprised if I had a concussion.

"There are consequences when you do things."

I looked up as Matthew walked over to the couch.

When he stopped in front of Lacey, I struggled to push myself to my feet. "No, no." I couldn't get any other word to come out.

"Sorry, it's just business."

Everything slowed down, like something out of a nightmare.

The gun was pointed at Lacey, who was still playing the game. Her eyes were closed, her hands over her ears, and she was completely oblivious to the danger at hand.

My treacherous body didn't want to obey my command to move myself the half-a-dozen feet between Matthew and me.

Even as I watched Matthew's finger start to squeeze the trigger, Cindy threw herself at him. His arm jerked up, the shot going wild. Lacey screamed, but didn't open her eyes.

"Not my daughter!"

Cindy and Matthew tumbled to the ground, cursing and screaming at each other.

I managed to push myself to my feet and headed for the fireplace. I picked up a good-sized log and hoped that I could still swing like I used to as a kid. I'd played in a free city league for a few years until I'd gotten too old.

I turned toward Cindy and Matthew just as the gun went off. The sound was muffled and wet, telling me a bullet had hit flesh. As Matthew pushed himself up off of Cindy, I didn't hesitate or wait to see what would happen next. I took a step, swung and followed through. The crack was loud enough that, for a moment, I thought another shot had been fired. Then Matthew dropped. I looked down at him, with the log raised, waiting to see if he'd get up. He didn't. He was still breathing, so I knew I hadn't killed him, but after what had just happened, I did give a shit. I felt no remorse for a fuck-wad like him.

I dropped the log and turned towards Cindy, my heart plummeting as I saw the red pool of blood widening on the floor. I dropped to my knees next to her, praying Lacey would keep her eyes closed. It went everywhere, underneath her, on the front of her shirt, the blood and her life draining out of her until it was soaked through and she barely had a breath left in her.

"Is Lacey...?" Cindy's voice was filled with pain.

"She's okay," I said. "We've got to get an ambulance."

She shook her head. "Phone's don't work out here." Her face contorted and she bit her bottom lip.

I finally spotted the entry wound. It had gone straight through her stomach. Fuck. I'd never had more than high school biology, but I'd spent enough time at the hospital with my mom to have picked up a few things. One was that a stomach wound, if it hit enough vital organs, could be more deadly than a chest shot.

"Get Lacey safe. Send help. I'll be okay."

I shook my head. "I'm not leaving you here. If he wakes up, he'll kill you. If Bruno comes back..."

"I'm dead," she finished. "I know. I never should have gone with him."

"Don't worry about that now." I stood and grabbed a dishtowel from the sink. I knelt next to her again and pressed the cloth over her wound. "Hold this here. I'm going to tie Matthew up, then get you to the truck. I'll come back for Lacey and the three of us will get out of here."

"I've made a lot of mistakes," Cindy said softly. She looked up at me. "And I lied about Lacey's dad." She coughed and I could see blood on her lips.

"Shh." I swallowed hard. "You don't need to say anything."

"I do." She nodded. "Because I need you to get Lacey to her dad."

I took her hand. "I know, Cindy. It's okay. I'm here with Luke."

She struggled. "Luke's here?" she whispered, her eyelids getting heavy, her alertness fading.

I nodded. "I'm going to get Lacey to him after I get you to a hospital."

"Tell him I'm sorry." Tears glistened in her eyes.

"You're going to tell him yourself," I said firmly. "You just hold on."

I pushed down everything I was feeling and forced myself to focus. I ignored Cindy's labored breathing and set about finding something to tie Matthew up with. I had no idea how long he'd be out, but I didn't want to risk him getting loose. Fortunately, I found a bunch of zip-ties in a drawer and laced them together. I secured Matthew's hands behind his back, his ankles together, and then his ankles to his wrists. It looked like a painful position to be in, but I was beyond feeling anything but hatred toward him for what he'd done.

Once he was secure, I went out and pulled the truck as close to the cabin as I could. Cindy was a bit smaller than me, but I didn't know how much help she was going to be. The dishtowel was soaked already and her face was pale. At the rate she was losing blood, I didn't know if she'd make it to the hospital, but I was damn sure going to try.

I got her into the truck and then went back for Lacey. I had to be fast, but I also had to prepare her for what she was about to see. I put my hands over hers and gently pulled them away from her ears.

"Lacey, sweetie, it's me. I'm going to lead you outside and then have you open your eyes. We're going to get into Emma's truck and go, but I have to tell you something that's going to be upsetting. I need you to be strong though, okay?"

She nodded.

"Your mom's been hurt. She's bleeding a lot and I need to get her to the hospital. So when we get in the truck, you're going to sit next to her and keep talking to her, okay?"

"Okay." Lacey's voice trembled, but she didn't freak out. She was definitely Luke's kid.

"That's my girl," I said. I took her hand. "Let's go."

She let me lead her out of the cabin and didn't open her eyes until I told her to. I helped her into the truck, watching her face as she saw her mom. She went pale, but she did what I'd told her I needed her to do and began talking to her mom right away. I helped her buckle in and then began to drive. I winced with every bump I hit, torn between wanting to slow down to cause Cindy less pain and wanting to go faster to get her to a hospital. I may have hated Cindy for the way she treated Luke and the stupid choices she'd made, but I didn't want her to die-especially not like this.

"Lacey," I reluctantly interrupted as I turned onto a dirt road. "In my purse is my phone. It's not safe for me to try to talk and drive, so I need you to take it out and call 911 as soon as you get a signal."

"I don't know what to say." Lacey was already reaching for my purse.

"Say that your mom's been shot and you're in a truck on your way to the hospital. I need to know the closest one to go to." Summerville had a hospital, but it was on the opposite side of town as the cabin. I wasn't sure Cindy had that long.

We were onto a second road before we finally got a signal. As Lacey talked to the operator, I caught Cindy looking at me. She was fading fast. I could see it and she knew it.

"Just hang on," I muttered and jammed my foot down on the gas pedal as far as it would go. We were on pavement now.

"She says Summerville Memorial is the closest," Lacey said.

I tried not to frown. That's what I'd been afraid of. "Okay, now I want you to tell them that you're going to put her on speaker phone." Once the operator was listening to me, I quickly told her what had happened and asked her to send police to the cabin. I also mentioned that the FBI was involved. Luke wouldn't be happy if they got to Bruno before he did, but now that the cartel was here, things were different.

By the time I'd finished, I could see the hospital in the distance. I told the operator that and ended the call.

"We're almost there," I said, glancing over at Lacey and Cindy.

My heart fell as I saw Cindy's eyes were closed. Her face was almost chalk-white.

"Lacey, I need you to talk to your mom," I said, trying to keep my voice calm. "Tell her we're getting close and to hold on just a little bit longer."

I heard Lacey repeat my words as she stroked her mother's hair, but something inside me knew that it was already too late. I pulled up in front of the ER's doors, my tires screeching as I stopped. With the engine still running and my door wide open I ran around to the passenger's side and yanked the passenger door open.

I heard doctors shouting behind me, but I couldn't make sense of anything they were saying. I didn't need to touch Cindy to know the truth. I could see it in Lacey's eyes.

"She's gone," I said as the doctors reached for her. I didn't look away from Lacey as her mother slid from her arms. The bits of conversation I heard confirmed it.

"No pulse."

"No breath sounds."

"Skin's too cool."

"She's not even bleeding anymore."

I went back around to the driver's side and moved the truck to a parking place, neither Lacey nor I speaking. She climbed out my side to avoid the blood soaked into the seats and floor mats, and we started toward the automatic glass doors of the ER.

We were almost to the entrance when Lacey reached out and took my hand. I looked down at her and her eyes were swimming with tears.

"What's going to happen to me?"

I knelt in front of her. "What do you mean, sweetheart?"

"Bruno said my dad didn't want me anymore, and if my mom..." Her voice trailed off and the tears spilled over. "Where am I going to go? Who's going to take care of me?"

I wrapped my arms around her. "Oh, honey, your dad wants you. Bruno lied. Your dad has been looking for you all this time and he misses you terribly."

I stepped back from our hug and pushed the hair out of her upturned face. "How do you know?" she asked in a small voice, still shaky from tears.

I smiled and brushed a thumb across her wet cheek. "Because I've been helping him look for you for a long time. Don't worry, honey. Everything's going to be okay." I lied the best I could to that sweet little face. What I really needed to do was call Luke Part of me want to just drive over to the arena with Lacey, but with Cindy inside and the police on their way, that was impossible. I had to do the right thing now and that meant Lacey and I had to go inside and wait for the doctors to officially tell us what we already knew.

Chapter Twenty-Five.

Luke Coach said, "You gotta stay loose before the match," but I knew even the best masseuse in the world wouldn't have been able to work the tension out of me. When he said it for the third time, I snapped. If I could've fucked Dani last night I wouldn't be wound up tight as a spring. He actually looked startled, but he eased off.

"Just promise me one thing," I said as we walked toward the ring. The screams of the cheering fans rang in my ears, but I knew he could hear me. "Keep an eye out for Bruno. You see him, you tell me."

Coach nodded. "Keep your head in the game, champ."

I waited until we were in our corner of the ring so it wouldn't look suspicious. I leaned close to him. "Listen, Coach, I want to win, but Bruno comes first because he has my daughter. I can live without the fight. I can't live without Lacey." I paused, and then added, "Or Dani. This is the way it has to be."

To my surprise, Coach cracked a grin. "Good for you, boy. Now, get in there and kick some ass. I've got your back, Luke. I'll keep my eyes peeled for that slippery son of a bitch."

I narrowed my eyes and sized up my opponent. He was taller than me, but thinner, which meant he didn't have quite as much protection for his ribs and kidneys. I scanned the crowd as I rolled my neck and stretched my legs out. If everything was going as planned Dani should've been getting to the cabin right about now.

The bell rang as I shoved my mouth guard in. It was go time and the fight began. I landed a couple good kicks and a punch to the jaw, but the guy was more solid than he'd looked. The first hit he landed sent me back a step. Damn. Coach and I had seriously underestimated the guy. I tried to focus, looking for openings as we danced around each other. We were evenly matched and traded blow for blow, until a movement caught the corner of my eye.