Corden

Sienna Stone proves she's as intelligent as the media claims she is when she takes a tentative step away from the crates. I push one out of the way, seeing a handle near the floorboard leading to a secret compartment or room if what Delano says is correct.

I found her.

It's all I can think of as I pull a pistol from the waistband of my jeans and cock it back, attempting to remain level-headed when I'm anything but. Inside, I'm losing my shit at what and who I'll find on the other side of this door. And I've never been like this. I'm trained not to put others before me and my team, and yet here I am, about to burst through this fucking door for Carmen when my brother and probably soon-to-be sister-in-law are right behind me.

I straighten my shoulders, careful to remain in control. "Take a few steps away for me," I instruct. "This could get messy, and I'd hate for your..." I do a brief once-over of Sienna's tracksuit, unsurprised at the designer. "Chanel to get ruined."

Lincoln scoffs. "How do you—"

I flip open the trap door before he can finish his sentence, and I'm met with a gun pointed at my face. The man is wearing another black mask, but he's met with the same fate as all the others I've encountered today. A bullet hits his skull before he has time to pull the trigger, but I'm not naive enough to think they'd only have one man down there. More bullets ring out, but I quickly press my back up against the wall, away from the trap door, to see my brother covering Sienna on the floor with his body. He's shielding her from the bullets, putting his life in danger to save hers, and for the first time in a long time, we have something in common.

Because I'd put my life on the line for Carmen, too.

"We found the other women," Delano says into my ear. "Getting them out now. Carmen isn't with them, though."

I approach the trap door again, and after looking at another man who has approached the entry and isn't wearing a mask, everything makes sense.

The reason Carmen was captured.

The reason Carmen would willingly leave with one of these bastards.

"Jesse," I snarl. "Why am I not surprised?" The one insider part of Rafino's circle who was supposed to be on our side has turned against us. He's a traitor, but I can't dwell on that for long when I hear a fucking whimper that has my finger hovering above the trigger.

The woman who never cries and is stronger than anyone I know is whimpering.

What the fuck did they do to her?

"Carmen," Sienna gasps. Out of the corner of my eye, I watch her push my brother off of her and scramble to her knees before attempting to crawl to the trap door. Thankfully, my brother holds her back.

My voice drops lower. Lethal when I say, "All of your men are dead. Hand her over, and if she says no one has laid a finger on her the entirety of her time with you, then I might just grant you mercy by killing you swiftly."

"Y-You just ruined everything," he sneers.

"Headed to you," Delano says into the earpiece.

"You ruined everything yourself. Trafficking is the one crime I won't let occur in my city, Jesse. You knew the consequences and still chose to partake in it. Freeing those women wasn't taking shit from you. It gave them their life back." Mentally, I tell myself to keep my cool, but knowing she's down there, possibly hurt, has me thinking irrationally. I'm not in the right mindset. Fuck rationality.

I need my girl.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way," I tell him tightly. "I either come down there and grab her myself, where you will face a slow and painful death, or you hand her over to me now, and I'll kill you swiftly. Up to you."

But a strangled, muffled cry breaks through the tension, and all the restraint I've been holding back snaps. "Delano," I bark because I know he's close by. He emerges from the shadows, towering over even me with an expression that says he's done this thousands of times before. He grabs Jesse with one fucking hand and pulls him out of the trap door, throwing him to the dusty floorboards in one swoop.

"P-Please," he splutters. "I'll get her! I'll get her!"

"Too late," I reply with a sardonic grin. With a jerk of my head, Delano drags him up from the floor and pins his hands behind his back. "Put him in the trunk with the...other ones."

Delano nods and stalks off with a whimpering Jesse, and I don't waste time before I climb the ladder into the tiny room. Crates line the walls, dimly lit by a single lamp, but time ceases to a halt when my eyes finally collide with hers.

Carmen is shackled to the back wall with her wrists and ankles bound. A trickle of blood is dried from a cut on her cheek, and her chin is split open. She's still wearing her set from The Harbor, but it's ripped in multiple places, which leads me to think...

I can't fucking think.

Can't speak.

Can't do anything but stand here with my hand tightened around my gun as my heart shatters into a thousand shards.

"I'm here, Carm," Sienna cries. She grabs an old tablecloth from one of the crates and wraps it around her shaking body. "I...I'm so sorry this happened to you, but I'm here, okay?"

My vision blurs, and the only thing I want to do is put a bullet through Jesse's skull. Fuck painfully slow. I want his life to cease immediately. I want to watch the light fade from his eyes. I want to ensure he never lays a finger on another woman again.

My life did this to her.

It's all I can think about as she trembles in Sienna's arms.

But then a hand clamps down on my shoulder, and I jump until I realize it's my brother's. "We found her," he reassures. "She's safe, but we need to get her out of here."

Carmen opens her mouth, where a rag is stuffed inside of it, and the desperate plea in her eyes when she looks at me is all it takes for me to spring into action. Fuck my feelings. They don't matter when she's falling apart in front of me.

I fall to my knees beside her just as Sienna flings the rag to the ground. "You found me," Carmen whispers, almost in disbelief.

My hands stroke her cheeks, careful to avoid the cuts. "Of course I did," I whisper. "I always will." I can't believe she's here. That she's alive and okay. She's mine, and it makes me sick to think about what she's endured for the past few hours. I run a thumb over a cut on her bottom lip and mutter, "I'm going to take my time with him."

When my gaze meets hers again, my shoulders sag in relief at the fire still burning in those gorgeous brown eyes. They didn't break her. "We are going to take our time with him."

I shouldn't be surprised when I saw her drop someone cold in the alley that day. Shouldn't be surprised when she hardly flinched when I pulled the trigger on him. She's so unlike any woman I've ever met.

She was made for me.

"Vicious little thing, aren't you?" I hum.

Sienna clears her throat from beside us, and Carmen breaks our moment to look at her best friend. "I kind of wanted it to be Travis," she whispers.

"What? Why would you say that?"

"Because you live in fear of this happening to you every single day. As much as my nightmares have just begun from today's events, you're still living with yours, and I want them to end for you. I wanted that fucker to be here so I could kill him myself." She eyes the shackles, blinking away tears. "Or at least try to."

"The last person you should be worried about is me right now." Sienna wipes away a stray tear off Carmen's cheek before I get the chance to. "I'm going to be just fine. Besides, your—" She waves a hand over me instead, but I wish she'd finish that sentence. I wish she'd call me her boyfriend because that's what I want to be. "He's going to help find him."

I arch a brow at Lincoln. "I am?"

"If the offer still stands," he replies. A silent conversation passes between us, and it feels like an olive branch has been extended. He trusts me enough to do this. To help the woman he loves. And I won't take it for granted.

"It does," I say.

Delano pops his head into the chamber before he can reply, a key dangling from his fingers. "Thought you could use this, boss." Then, when he sees Carmen and all the cuts covering her, I see the deadly killer that hums beneath his skin come to life. He wants revenge for her, too, and that means more than he'll ever know. "Glad you're okay, boss lady."

"I'm not your boss lady," she snaps.

His eyes twinkle with amusement. "Also glad you didn't lose that enticing attitude or sense of denial."

I take the key from him and make quick work of undoing her shackles, and as soon as they clatter to the ground, she launches herself in my arms, crawling on my lap and holding me like her life depends on it.

Carmen and I have done a lot of dirty things together, but never have we done...this. Her head is nuzzled into my shoulder, new tears staining my suit, and it feels like I can breathe again for the first time today.

I tentatively wrap an arm around her, unsure if it's okay, but she only nuzzles in deeper, softly crying into my suit. It has me caressing her braids, holding the back of her head in a gentle, calming manner that I'm not with anyone else.

"Carm, do you want to stay with him?" Sienna asks. "It's okay if you do."

Please, I internally beg. I won't be able to sleep. Won't be able to breathe if she isn't beside me tonight.

Thankfully, whatever prayers I whispered are answered because she nods against my chest with her body still shaking like a leaf. It has me pulling the tablecloth tighter around her, shielding her from exposing any parts of her body she doesn't want.

"I'll check on you later," Sienna promises.

"If she's unable to speak today, I'll update you." Because who knows what the hell she experienced in here? Who knows if she'll be up to talking to anyone?"

Lincoln helps Sienna rise from the floor, holding her hand with his.

"I'll be in touch," I tell him. "We'll catch that fucker in no time, Lincoln."

With a jerk of his chin, they climb the ladder and leave us alone. It's not safe to stay here, I know this, but I also don't want to move her when she's so comfortable in my arms. I don't know if she'll ever want me to hold her like this again.

"I've got you," I whisper into her ear. "It's over. You're okay."

"I-I don't want to go home," she replies. "I don't want Riley to be put in any danger."

"You aren't going home," I soothe. "You're coming back to New Jersey with me. We're getting out of New York for a few days, okay?"

"Yeah." She nods. "I'd like that."

"Delano," I call, knowing he's guarding the room. A few seconds later, he pokes his head in. "Grab a sweatshirt of mine from my overnight bags."

"Got it, boss."

Carmen snuggles closer to my chest. "I can use the tablecloth."

"You aren't using anything from here. I don't want you to be reminded of this place for another goddamn second."

Less than a minute passes before Delano climbs down to pass the sweatshirt over. He turns his back while I help Carmen put it on, and after I'm finished, I don't bother letting her walk. She's not wearing shoes, so I hoist her around my hip and follow Delano to the ladder.

"Corden?" She whispers.

"Hmm?"

"Will they find us in New Jersey?"

A dark chuckle escapes me, one that causes goosebumps to pepper across her skin. "Trust me," I promise her. "Those fuckers won't lay a finger on you ever again."