“Nice digs you got for us, Tyana girl,” Gabe offered with a grin.
She started after Eli with the others trailing behind. Eli opened the door and pulled his pistol. Taking her cue from him, she gripped one of her knives in one hand and reached for her Glock with the other.
Behind her, there was a slight rustle as the others prepared to go in.
They walked into the darkened foyer.
Eli motioned toward the large living room to the right. Tyana stayed close behind him, and when they entered the living room, she flipped her backpack off and dropped it onto one of the chairs.
Eli turned as the others came in behind him. “We need to fan out and make sure the house is secure,” he murmured. “Meet back here in five minutes and we’ll figure out our next move.”
There was no warning for what happened next. Tyana heard Eli grunt, felt Gabe stumble beside her, heard Ian curse and Braden gasp. She whirled, her eyes widening in horror when she saw the multiple darts protruding from the men.
Then she saw Esteban step from the shadows of the dining room, three men with dart guns surrounding him. She yanked up her pistol and prepared to launch her knife with her other hand.
“Nicely done, Miss Berezovsky,” Esteban said as he walked further into the living room.
Beside her, Eli had crumpled to the floor, and he seemed almost paralyzed. But his accusing stare found her. God, he couldn’t think she’d set them up.
And when things couldn’t get any weirder, the front door burst open behind her. She jumped to the side to assess the new threat but froze when she looked into the very angry eyes of Jonah.
Jonah, Mad Dog and Damiano swarmed into the room, assault rifles up. Tyana yanked her pistol back to Esteban.
“What did you do to them?” she demanded.
Jonah stepped in front of her, his gun pointed at Esteban. “You have what you want, Morales. Now we have what we want. I’d say it’s in our best interests to stand down. Or we can shoot each other and shed a lot of blood. Your choice.”
“Take her. She served her purpose,” Esteban said.
Mad Dog grabbed her wrist and Tyana yanked it away. “No! Goddamn it, Jonah, no! You can’t do this!”
Mad Dog yanked Tyana to him and applied enough pressure to her other wrist to make her drop her gun. He knocked her knife out of her hand with the butt of his rifle and then simply threw her over his shoulder and barreled out the front door.
Tyana looked back to see Eli and his men still helpless on the floor, but Eli’s gaze followed her the entire way. Cold rage burned in his dark eyes. Betrayal. Dear God.
Tyana exploded in fury, kicking and flailing at Mad Dog. Jonah backed from the house, his gun still trained on Esteban while Damiano hurried toward the truck that Eli and Tyana had driven to the house.
Mad Dog tried to stuff her into the SUV, and she fought like a deranged woman. She executed a kick to his midsection, knocking him back a foot.
“Damn it, D, hurry up with that shit,” Mad Dog barked out.
Tyana launched herself from the truck, her intention to go in after Eli and the others. Jonah caught her, and she punched him full in the face. His neck snapped back, but he retained his grip on her arm.
In the end, it took the combined efforts of both Mad Dog and Jonah to force her to the ground. Through tears of rage, she saw Damiano approach and then felt the prick of a needle in her arm.
She stared accusingly up at Damiano. “How could you?” she whispered.
“How could I not?” he asked.
The world swayed and blurred around her. She felt herself being lifted and then tossed into the backseat of the SUV. A hot tear slipped down her cheek as her eyes fluttered closed and everything went black.
Eli lay there, helpless fury blowing through his veins. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t shift. He just lay there like a fucking vegetable as Esteban’s men swarmed around his team.
She’d played him. Played him in the worst way. She’d made him care, and then she’d knifed him in the back.
Because of him and his stupid decision to trust Tyana, his team would likely die. He couldn’t save them this time. He couldn’t even save himself.
A hard boot rammed into his ribs, and he grunted in pain. He felt himself lifted by three men. He was thrown onto the couch, his arms twisted behind him and tied. His feet were bound next.
Gabe, Ian and Braden were receiving similar treatment as they were restrained.
Eli closed his eyes. He hoped to hell it was worth it to Tyana. He hoped whatever she got out of this deal would enable her to sleep at night. If he managed to escape with his life, though, he’d make damn sure she never had another night’s peace.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Tyana climbed back to consciousness, her head aching vilely, and her tongue felt like it was three sizes too big. She blinked to try and bring the room into focus, but she wasn’t having much success.
She heard voices. Jonah. Mad Dog. Damiano. And then she remembered.
“How much of that shit did you give her, D? She’s been out like a fucking light for hours.”
She surged upward and immediately regretted it. The room swam around her, and she had the sudden urge to vomit.
“Whoa, not so fast,” Damiano said as he gripped her shoulder to steady her.
She put a shaky hand to her head. God, it hurt. It pounded as she tried to put together what had gone down.
“How long?” she rasped.
“How long what?” D asked.
“How long have I been out?” How long had Eli and his team been in Esteban’s clutches? Nausea rose in her stomach again.
“Exactly six hours and twenty minutes,” came Jonah’s stony reply.
She rocketed to her feet, shrugging off Damiano’s hand. She weaved, and her knees threatened to buckle, but she remained upright by sheer willpower.
“Where are we?” she demanded. She looked around, her vision clearer now, and answered her own question. “Paris.”
She locked gazes with Jonah. “Why? Why did you do it? Goddamn it, Jonah, how could you do that?”
“Now hold on a minute, baby girl,” Mad Dog began.
“Stand down, Mad Dog,” Jonah said in a controlled voice. “Let her say her piece. Then I’ll say mine.” His eyes glittered with anger, and she knew he was simmering beneath his deceptive calm.
“How could you set me up that way? How could you set up Eli and his team? Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”
Jonah walked forward, his features locked in stone. “One, we didn’t set you up. Two, I don’t give a damn about Eli and his team. Three, you brought this on yourself when you blatantly disregarded a direct order from me to stay your ass on the island.
“What the fuck were you going to do, Ty? What were you thinking confronting Esteban like that? What would have happened if we didn’t show up? I’ll tell you what. He would have killed you.”
She shook her head. “Esteban wouldn’t have known we were there if you hadn’t told him. How did you know?” And then it hit her. “Tits. That son of a bitch.”
“Tits doesn’t owe you any loyalty,” Jonah said coldly. “And we didn’t say jack to Esteban. I don’t even know why the fuck you’re so hot to trot for this guy. Why were you there with Eli and his team? Last I heard you were going after Eli, not changing your loyalties, Ty.”
The pounding in her head was vicious. She closed her eyes and swallowed back the rising nausea.
“Jonah, we don’t need to do this now.” Damiano’s concerned voice filtered through the fog surrounding her. “She’s not well.”
Her eyes flew open again. “No, D, now is precisely when we have to do this. We’re losing time.” She turned her attention back to Jonah. “You know why I went after Eli. What you don’t know is why Esteban wanted him too. He’s the bastard who unleashed the chemical agent on Eli and his team. On Damiano. He’s the reason Damiano is the way he is. It was a goddamn experiment. One that didn’t work out too well. I thought Eli might have answers. He’s stable. I thought his team would be stable like him. I was wrong.”