Chapter 23
Chapter twenty-three
Julius
Gator held me tight as my heart raced. That had been the most terrifying experience of my life. Being down in the basement and hearing what sounded like the door being busted down and fights happening all over, and not being able to see what was going on.
The worst part had been Wade’s reaction.
He’d pulled his gun out and told us all to be quiet or it would be the last sound we would make.
Then he’d paced for a minute, getting more and more frantic, until finally he grabbed up the person closest to him and dragged her up the stairs.
It all happened so fast, we didn’t have time to react. We just sat there, stunned.
All the relief I’d felt when it first started, because I’d known Gator was up there, and that he’d come for me, turned to panic when Wade threw open the door and the shooting started. What if he shot Gator? What if Gator died trying to rescue me?
But he hadn’t. I burrowed in close, and he wrapped his arms around me, and for the first time since this whole mess began, I knew I was safe. It was over.
He was murmuring words of comfort into my hair while he held me tight, and I soaked it all in. Other footsteps sounded on the stairs behind us, but I didn’t care who it was. What mattered in this moment was this, right here.
“I swear, mon petit, you almost gave me a heart attack.”
“I know, Daddy, but they said they had Lainey, so I had to go.”
“Lainey’s safe at home with her mother, bebe.”
“I figured that out, but I couldn’t risk it until I knew for sure, and I knew you would come for me. You told me you would, and you don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
“Damn straight,” he growled.
“Umm, can we get out of here?” Noah asked from behind me, and I turned to see him standing there looking up at Crowe.
Crowe’s dark gaze swept everyone with a medic’s calm efficiency.
“Anybody feeling dizzy or having trouble breathing?” he asked quietly. His gloved fingers brushed a pulse at the wrist of the girl nearest him, then shifted to another. I’d forgotten that Gator told me Crowe was a paramedic before joining their crew, but I could see it now.
Behind him, Wolfe’s boots hit the last stair with a heavy thud. He scanned the room, weapon still low but ready. “Upstairs is secure,” he said before turning to look at Crowe. “We good to move them up there?”
“Yeah, a couple of them have been pretty heavily drugged, but it’s cold and damp down here. We need to take them up.”
Wolfe nodded. “Good. Knox is on his way over with the first aid equipment and some clean blankets. Tuck, get photos for Chance, and then let’s get everyone out of here.”
Crowe gave a short nod and started helping people to their feet one by one, murmuring reassurances, before handing them off to Hawk and Axel. “Take it slow,” he said. “Up the stairs, to the living room. We’ll get you water, fresh air, and some blankets.”
I looked up at Gator. “Everyone is okay?” The memory of those shots and wondering who’d been injured flashed through my head.
“Yeah, Maddox is a little sore, but he’s good. Your buddy Wade isn’t doing so great, but he’ll live.”
“Too bad,” I grumbled. I’d never considered myself to be bloodthirsty, but in this case, I figured I would give myself a pass.
I stayed tucked in next to Gator as movement started all around us. Tuck was snapping quick photos of the restraints and syringes, leaving everything untouched for the Feds. The woman next to me, the one who’d said no one ever came, stumbled as Axel guided her up.
“Your turn, mon petit,” Gator murmured. His voice was low, but his hand stayed firm on my back. “We’re going upstairs.”
I nodded, but my legs still felt shaky. The room smelled like damp concrete, mold, and despair. I couldn’t wait to get out of there. I’d only been there a day. I couldn’t imagine how the others felt.
Gator kept his arm around me as we followed the others toward the stairs. “We have the men who were holding you tied up in the kitchen, and we’ll have to go right by them. I just want you to be prepared. There’s a fair amount of blood.”
“Whose?”
“Wade’s. None of ours.”
“Good. He deserves to bleed for what he did to those people down there,” I hissed.
“He’s lucky Axel shot him, or I might have, and I wouldn’t have aimed for the knee.”
I tried to picture Axel shooting someone, but it just didn’t work for me. “Axel shot him? In the knee?”
“Long story. I’ll tell you later. Let’s just get you out of here.”
When we hit the top of the stairs, he tucked me tighter against him like he was hiding me from the men in the kitchen, which was fine with me. As long as all our people were fine, I didn’t care what those assholes looked like.
Everyone was sitting on the living room floor when we walked in.
The older Latina woman had her arms wrapped around the young girl, and she was sobbing into her shoulder.
The young man, who had been whimpering and rolled up in a ball, was sitting there hugging his legs and drinking a juice pouch.
Knox was walking around, handing out blankets and drinks to everyone.
“Wow, you guys came prepared, didn’t you?”
Gator shrugged. “We take blankets, snacks, and juice in the vehicles anytime we roll. You never can tell when you might need them.”
Hawk walked up to us and smiled at me. “Glad to see you’re okay. Mika would’ve been mighty upset with me if we didn’t bring you home.” He pulled Gator into a bro hug and said something in his ear.
“Me, too, brother,” Gator said, stepping back. “What’s Chance’s ETA?”
“They should be here any minute. Knox called them as soon as we went in.”
“Really, what did he say?” Gator asked.
“Knox,” Hawk called over. “What did Kelly say when you called him?”
Knox grinned. “Muttered something about not killing anyone this time.”
Gator laughed. “See, mission accomplished.”
It took a couple of hours to get everything sorted out. Chance had blown in and immediately taken charge, but the Three Bears Tactical team didn’t seem to mind. Their part in it was done.
The EMTs on scene had to check all of us out, and the agents had to question us.
In the end, both the men who’d been drugged had to be transported by ambulance, but everyone else was physically okay.
The two women hadn’t wanted to be separated, so Chance had one of his agents put them in a car and transport them to the hospital.
He said they would put them up in a safe house after they were released.
The young man who’d been so distraught had family close by, and his family had been called and would be meeting them when he was released.
That only left me and Noah. We’d both insisted we didn’t need medical care, and they’d grumbled about it, but they couldn’t force us to go. Something Gator was happy to remind them of.
“What about you? Do you have anyone you can call?” I asked Noah.
“No, Agent Kelly asked me the same thing, but like I told him, I was in town for the night when they grabbed me, so I don’t live here, and my family—” He shrugged. “Well, I haven’t talked to them in years. He said they could find me a place to stay for a few nights, though.”
I looked at Gator, and I didn’t even have to tell him what I was thinking. He just smiled at me and nodded.
“Or you could come with us,” I said.
“Come stay with you two?” he asked doubtfully.
“Sure, if you want to, we have plenty of room,” Gator said. “And the building we live in has empty apartments we use for safe houses, so if you don’t want to stay with us, you could stay in one of them.”
“If you’re sure that would be okay, but maybe the apartment. I haven’t been alone since the day they grabbed me, and I think I would like a little time to process.”
“Absolutely. Let me make a phone call so we can have it all ready for you.” Gator pulled out his phone and stepped away to call the office.
“Wow,” Noah said. “No wonder you were so sure they were coming for you. Your man had like an army at his disposal.”
I looked over at Gator, talking on his phone surrounded by Hawk, Wolfe, Crowe, Axel, Maddox, and Knox. “Not quite an army, but close enough, but even without Three Bears behind him, he would’ve come for me.”
“You’re lucky.”
“Don’t I know it? I’m glad you’re coming with us. The building where we live is basically the safest place in town. See all those guys over there. They all live there, so you’ll have protection twenty-four-seven.”
“All of them?” he asked.
“Well, all of them but Crowe. He’s the one who was checking everyone earlier. He used to be a medic or something.”
“Well, after everything I’ve been through, it’ll be nice to feel safe for a change.”
Gator finished up his call and came back over to us. “Okay, we got you all set. Caden is getting your key programmed, and Wolfe is letting Agent Kelly know where you’ll be staying.”
“Thank you both so much.”
“I’m just glad we found you. I wasn’t sure we would,” I told him.
“Oh, we were going to,” Gator insisted. “Julius here wasn’t giving up. He was determined to find you and bring you home.”
Hawk jogged over to us and held out a key fob. “What’s this?”
“I’m going to hitch a ride with Knox and Crowe. I thought y’all might want to get going. We’re almost done here, but not quite, but there’s no reason for you three to stick around.”
“Sounds good to me,” I said. “I would love a nice hot shower.” The idea of washing that basement off of me sounded amazing.
“Oh wow. A nice hot shower with a door that locks. Now that’s something I can get behind,” Noah said, and it hit me that what I’d been through today was nothing compared to what he’d endured over the last couple of weeks.
The thought must have shown on my face because he shoulder-bumped me and said, “Stop it right now. Even if you weren’t there long, you still got threatened, grabbed, and dumped in a basement by a couple of psychopaths. You’re allowed to want to wash it all away.”
“I don’t know how you survived with them that long, but I’m glad you did.”