Contents
Chapter 32
Overview
Ace and Romeo reach the Toledo safe house and find Phoenix holding Mia hostage in a basement. Forced to disarm, they attempt to negotiate Mia’s release while Phoenix threatens to kill her. Keres arrives with guns, creating a volatile standoff and revealing unexpected fear that complicates loyalties and next moves.
Summary
Before dawn, Ace and Romeo ride into Toledo guided by Lorenzo’s address. They plan a quiet extraction to avoid attention and approach a small house that appears empty, but a muffled scream confirms Mia is inside. Entering from front and back, they coordinate toward a closed door and descend toward the sound.
Phoenix warns she will kill Mia if they advance. Prioritizing Mia’s safety, Ace places his gun on the stairs and has Romeo do the same. In the basement, they find Mia gagged and chained, trembling in her soiled yellow dress, with Phoenix behind her pressing a knife to her throat. Ace offers information on the man Keres and Phoenix seek in exchange for Mia’s release, but Phoenix, unhinged and distrustful, presses the blade until Mia bleeds.
As Ace searches for an opening, Phoenix keeps them at bay, threatening to “paint the walls” with Mia’s blood. The tension spikes when footsteps and the scrape of metal on wood announce Keres’s arrival. Keres appears aiming guns at Ace and Romeo, yet her wide, fearful eyes suggest she isn’t fully in control of the situation or confident about the unfolding trap.
The chapter closes on a three-way standoff: Phoenix ready to kill Mia, Ace and Romeo unarmed but poised to act, and Keres holding both guns while projecting fear. Allegiances and intentions remain uncertain, and any move risks Mia’s life.
Who Appears
- AcePOV; leads a careful rescue attempt, disarms to protect Mia, negotiates with Phoenix, confronts Keres’s sudden arrival.
- PhoenixCaptors Mia at knifepoint; unstable, distrustful, threatens to kill Mia, rejects Ace’s offer.
- KeresArrives armed with two guns; appears unexpectedly afraid, turning the rescue into a tense standoff.
- RomeoSupports Ace’s plan, enters via the back, surrenders his revolver, stands ready during the standoff.
- MiaPregnant captive; chained and gagged, bleeding slightly from the neck, remains focused on Ace for reassurance.