Chapter 58
Now how I planned on spending my night. I glance at my watch and confirm it’s three. Argh.
I can’t believe it. I brush sweat from my brow, feeling the salty water that’s leaking from my face mix with the other sweat on my forearm.
This isn’t how I planned on my night going. I should have been in bed hours ago with Camile.
The op should have been wrapped and we should have cruised home, celebrating closing her case.
Should have.
But the end is in sight. So close I can pretty much touch it now.
A satisfied feeling settles into me, driving out the fatigue from rucking the last thirteen miles.
Now…
Now the good stuff.
A grin curls my mouth. Fuck, yes. This feels good. I never want this feeling to end.
I get to deliver the news that we got all the evidence Camile needs. But more importantly, I get her in my arms.
I realize now that she’s the light that chases my shadows. She softens the edge, letting me breathe again for the first time in years.
Now I feel light on my feet as I cut across the field behind the rental houses and pass between two of the small cabinas, not even bothering to see if both of the team’s trucks are in the parking area. Evan and Scout should be back, and hopefully with good news about locating and rescuing MZ.
If my fucking cell phone hadn’t died, and I forgot the sat phone in the truck, I’d know. I could have called Camile.
Shit, the night just didn’t go as planned.
I shrug off my pack as I turn on the path of stepping stones that lead to my place. That’s when I hear something.
A whimper. The sound makes my skin chill.
I speed up, crossing through the shadows.
Then I see my worst nightmare. In a flash, all the blood in my body runs like a river of flaming lava. I burst into a sprint. “Get the fuck off of her!”
Instead of letting Camile go, the shadowy figure drags her in front of him. The glint of metal makes my heart collapse and my throat tighten.
I skid to a stop and hold up my hands.
Be smart. You know what to do. Don’t let emotion put Camile in more danger.
“Drop the knife. Let her go.”
A rage-filled voice crackles across the space between us. “You fucked everything up!”
“Let her go. This is between me and you. Man to man.”
“Fuck. You!”
The knife glints as the man angles it closer to Camile’s neck. Camile squirms and gasps.
“It’s okay, Poppy. Don’t fight him.”
I still myself, putting my mind into the place where rage and pain turn me into an animal. Where unknown strength lies.
Focusing back on the face of a man I’ve never met, but that I know is Camile’s boss at FamFind, Ralph, I let visions of my father flood into my head.
Gasoline to fire. “You touch her with that knife, you die. It won’t be slow and it won’t be painless. I’ll make you wish you were never born.”
His breath is chugging. Rage making his veins bulge and his eyes shine with evil. “She was supposed to be easy. To be seduced by the money. To look the other way. Fuck… not ruin everything!”
I draw a slow breath, fueling my blood, allowing my muscles to coil.
A shadow emerges from the side of my rental. Truck’s sleek, black handgun is raised as he moves silently toward the man.
He doesn’t have a good shot. Not without putting Camile at risk. I trust him with everything. He won’t endanger her, not unless this goes even further south.
“Put the knife down.” My tone is low and lethal.
“She’s coming with me.”
“You’re not taking her anywhere. You’ll have to kill me first.”
He shifts nervously, rocking between his feet. He’s starting to realize just how dangerous this situation is. That I’ll never let her go.
The man squeezes her neck, choking her more.
She goes up on her toes, silently grimacing, but being stoic as fuck. The look in her eyes is complete trust.
I can’t let her down.
The fury inside of me explodes.
I launch myself forward, head butting the man before he can flinch. We slam to the ground, taking Camile with us, but an instant later, she’s scrambling up. Safe.
But I’m nowhere near done.
We roll and tangle.
The knife catches my arm, slicing me.
This bastard has zero chance of beating me, but he’s wild with adrenaline, flailing below me, hitting me with one hand. Jabbing wildly at me with his knife with the other.
Camile cries out. Her shrill scream piercing the grunts and thugs of flesh against flesh.
I flip him on his back, crushing the hand with the knife to the ground.
He cries out as I break his wrist. The knife drops, and Truck grabs it.
My teammate’s got my back. But he doesn’t stop me from delivering a much-deserved punishment.
I wrap my hands around Ralph’s neck and shake him violently. “You fucking terrorized her! You put a knife to her throat. You motherfucker.”
Letting the rage sear through my hands, I bash him to the ground over and over, screaming in his face. “You’ll never lay a hand on her again!”
Ralph looks rightly terrified, spittle and blood covering his chin. His eyes are flashing with horror.
“Enough.” Truck lightly kicks my thigh.
I draw a shuddering breath, the haze of my rage fading just enough to see him off to my right with his gun trained on the man’s head.
Enough, my fucking ass.
I squeeze until Ralph’s eyes bulge.
At the last second, I let go with my right hand, and pull back.
He’s gasping for air when I knock him out cold with a single punch.
Out. Lights out. Mouth hanging open. Eyes rolled back.
But not dead.
I drop my hands, sitting astride the man, with my chest heaving.
It’s over. It’s over,I scream inside my head, but my fingers still ache to feel the life leak out of him. To exact revenge.
A trembling hand touches my shoulder. “Lucas… honey. It’s okay. Everything is okay.”
I lift my eyes and turn my face toward that soft, beautiful voice.
I almost lost her. Again.
If I had been a minute later, that monster would have taken her.
She holds my cheek in her hand as she looks down at me. Tears have streaked down her cheeks. The color is gone from her face.
Camile looks like she’s been to hell and back. But her words are strong. “I’m safe. You saved me.”
“Fuck, come here.” I drag her against me even though I’m still astride the asshole that threatened her life.
She wraps her arms around my shoulders as I bury my face against her chest.
A strong hand wraps around my left arm. It’s Truck. Scowling down at me. “Come on, let me get that asshole out of here.”
Truck tugs me away from the unconscious man. I never let go of Camile, taking her with me as I stand, keeping her tight against me.
I bury my nose in her hair, drawing in the sweet scent of her shampoo. It’s apples mixed with her own sweet scent.
“How did that asshole grab you?”
“Truck was getting his gear together so we could come look for you. I ran to the bathroom and when I came out, Ralph was there. He just appeared out of nowhere. Before I could run, he grabbed me.”
My anger flares again, burning hotly through me until my hands tremble. “I’m never letting you out of my sight again.”
She curls into my arms, banding me with hers. “That’s fine by me. I was so scared when they said you were missing.”
“I wasn’t exactly missing. I just couldn’t communicate. After I finished the op, I had to steal a car… unfortunately, it broke down. I ran thirteen miles to get back to you.”
She shakes her head against me. “You ran? You are superhuman.”
“I’d do anything, fucking anything, for you.”
She pulls back and looks up at me. Then she stands up on her toes and kisses me. “I know you would.”
“I didn’t know what love felt like until now.” It’s a confession that draws the warm feeling inside me to a tight, intense knot just below my throat.
Her eyes widen, but soften. Whisper soft words follow. “Neither did I.”
Behind me, something moves. My protective instinct kicks into action. I turn, ready to leap into action again to keep Camile safe.
Only, it’s Truck. The other man is gone from the ground. My teammate tips his chin. “I’ll call the team, reach out to PCI, and get up with the federal agents. You two should get a room…”
I’ve never wanted to hug the man until now. “Best idea ever.”
I swing Camile up into my arms and stalk toward the little rental, the place we’ve been sharing. The place where she and I are going to figure out what our future looks like.
“You really don’t have to carry me,” Camile protests, but she leans her head against my shoulder.
“It’s a privilege sweetheart, and I’m going to keep doing it. And if I have my way, I’ll be carrying my bride across the threshold very soon.”