He reached for the knob, but the quiet thump of footsteps echoed from the tunnel, growing louder, closer, and Rafe switched off the flashlight. His fingers folded around mine, and he pushed me behind him as we moved to the side.

The door opened, and I held my breath, my pulse throbbing in my ears. A stream of light flooded the space between the door and the jamb, and a slim, shadowy figure filled the entrance. A hand reached out and flipped on the overhead light.

Rafe launched at the guy with the speed of a rattler, the flashlight cracking against the other man’s skull in three swift strikes. He wrestled him into a choke hold, the muscles in his arm bulging as he applied pressure to the guy’s throat. They slammed into the wall, and the flashlight dropped to the floor.

Jax stormed inside, his dark eyes swerving between Rafe and me, then he yanked me in front of him and pressed a gun to my head. The handcuffs slipped from my trembling fingers and clattered to the ground.

10. Impasse - Rafe

10. IMPASSE - RAFE

“Dude, let him go.” Jax pressed the barrel to Alex’s temple with a steady hand, but the lines around his eyes hinted at his reluctance. “C’mon, man. Don’t do anything stupid.”

I tightened my hold on the guy who’d found us. He was a puny little thing, probably not even old enough to drink a fucking beer, and I wondered what the hell he was doing in a place like this. He flailed in my arms, but I refused to give an inch. Just a little more pressure and the guy would sink to the floor, out cold.

Jax wrenched Alex’s head back and placed the barrel under her chin. “Don’t make me do this. Let him go.”

The longer I stared at Jax, at the gun he threatened Alex with, the more I wanted to squeeze the life out of this guy.

Alex returned my gaze from beneath hooded eyes. Her lips parted, breaths escaping in shallow puffs. She clawed at her arms, nails digging into the jagged scars left behind from when she’d sliced herself up.

“Put the gun down,” I said, keeping my voice even, much calmer than the boiling rage rioting through me.

“Let him go!”

Cursing under my breath, I removed my arm, and the guy slumped to the ground like deadweight.

Jax let out a breath. He took a step backward, pulling her with him, and kicked the door to the office shut. “I don’t wanna do this. If you’d just stayed put…fuck, Rafe! What part of ‘trust me’ did you not get?”

I gestured toward his weapon. “Why don’t you put the gun down so we can talk all about it?” I lifted both hands, a show of surrender, and hoped to keep him talking.