When I reached Alex’s street, I parked three houses down from hers. I didn’t know how many of Sigel’s men had her. After I killed the engine, I escaped off the driveway and started sprinting through the heavily tree-lined yards. At the corner of her yard, I ducked behind a bush to survey the scene. The streetlamp overhead gave enough light that I could see there was no car parked in Alex’s driveway. However, just down the street, a dark car sat outside a house with a FOR SALE sign in the yard.

Keeping low to the ground, I hustled across the driveway. With the garage door down, I made my way around the side of the house, searching for another way into the garage or the house. I found a side door to the garage that was locked. Taking my wallet out of the back of my pants, I used one of the oldest tricks in the book to shimmy the lock open.

I slipped inside the darkened garage, stepping lightly to avoid making any noise. I was halfway around the side of Alex’s car when the sound of struggling caused my chest to constrict. “You fucking cunt!” a man’s gruff voice shouted. When I got to the door, I peered inside. Rage burned within me at the sight of Alex bound, gagged, and unconscious. It took everything within me not to rush forward. But I had to keep my head and use reason in the situation. I’d come armed with only a gun, and anything that loud was going to alert a neighbor and the police. That was the last thing I wanted. I was going to take care of this fucker with my own hands.

But all reasoning went out the window when the man pushed up Alex’s skirt, revealing her thighs. Before his hand could go any farther, I stormed through the door. The man whirled around. Before he had the chance to raise his knife to me, I landed two hard punches in his jaw and gut. The knife clattered to the floor. When he reached for it, the heel of my boot smashed down on his wrist, grinding the heel into the back of his hand. As he cried out in pain, I brought my leg up to kick him hard in the chin. He went spiraling back.

I nailed him with two hard punches to the gut and then to the jaw. Blood spattered over my knuckles and onto my hands. I grabbed him by the hair and began slamming his face into the stove. When he finally slumped over, signaling I had beaten him unconscious, I released his hair and shoved him onto the floor.

At the sound of a whimper, I whirled around. Alex must’ve woken up sometime while I was beating the scum who had dared to attack her. When I met her eyes, they were wide with fear. I took a few steps toward her and held up my hands. “Alex, it’s okay. It’s just me. No one is going to hurt you anymore.”

When I reached for her, she shrieked and shifted away from me. I didn’t know what kind of fucking shock she was in. I had expected her to fall into my arms. At that moment, Rev and Bishop, along with Case and Mac, came busting into the house from different entrances.

“House and perimeter are clear,” Case informed me.

“Good.”

“So it was just that one fucker?” Mac asking, motioning to the man crumpled on the kitchen floor.

“Yeah. Hopefully the piece of shit is down for a while.” Glancing back at Alex, I said, “But I don’t know about her.”

“She in shock?” Mac asked.

I nodded. “Won’t let me near her. I think it’s something about seeing me beating the hell out of the man.”

Case nodded. “She’s spooked about you.”

“Wash your hands and face,” Rev ordered. I almost told him to go fuck himself until I caught a glance at my reflection in the stainless-steel refrigerator. I realized then how I frightening I must look to her with blood spattered on my shirt and face, not to mention that my hands, all the way up to my elbows, were coated in it.

With a nod, I stepped past him and made my way over to the sink. My feet slid in something, and I glanced down. “Son of a bitch! That fucker killed her dog.”

At the mention of the departed dog, Alex whimpered. “I’m sorry, babe. I’m so fucking sorry,” I muttered over my shoulder. When she didn’t respond, I went on to the sink. I ripped my shirt over my head, wiping some of the blood off my arms. As I turned on the hot water, I craned my neck to watch what Rev was doing.

Taking a knife from his pocket, he slowly approached Alex. “Alexandra, it’s Rev. Will you let me cut you down?”

She stared at him with eyes like a wild animal that had been caged. But Rev didn’t back down. He kept inching closer and closer to her. “None of us are going to hurt you. I want to cut you down, so we can get you out of here and back to the compound. You’ll be safe there, and we’ll take good care of you.” Rev spoke evenly and in a soothing tone. Finally, it seemed to be getting through to Alex.

“I’m going to cut you free now.” She eyed him warily, but she didn’t try to move away. Rev sawed at the bindings that held her to the kitchen light fixture. When she was free, he eased her arms down, rubbing them to help the blood flow back into them. “Will you let me cut the gag now?”

Slowly, she nodded her head. He reached behind her and sliced the cloth. He peeled it gently away from her mouth. Tenderly, he rubbed her cheeks, which were lined red where the gag had been. “Go get her a blanket, B,” Rev instructed.

Bishop nodded and disappeared into the living room. Now that she was down and being comforted by Rev, I dipped my head under the water to wash away the blood. I was only halfway through rinsing my face and hair when I heard Alex scream my name. I jerked up, water cascading down my back. “Deacon!” she cried again.

I didn’t even bother with a towel. All I cared about was getting to her. When I reached the table, she dove into my arms, pressing her face against my bare chest. “Shh. I’m here. It’s all right,” I said. I tried not to wince as she dug her fingernails into the skin over my shoulder blades. I didn’t think she was going to be satisfied until she had completely climbed into my skin.

“He wanted to draw you out—he wanted to use me to draw you out so he could hurt you.”

Pulling back, I stared into her face. “What are you talking about?”

“The man said his boss wanted to draw you out. That he couldn’t get to Willow, so he had come for me.” Her wild gaze met mine. “Don’t let him get to you, Deacon.” She gripped my shoulders tighter. “Promise me no matter what that you’ll stay safe.”

“I promise,” I said, fully aware I was lying through my teeth. Now that Sigel had struck against me, there was no way I could promise her I would be safe.