Chapter 9
Chapter nine
Diving for cover behind a couch, Jayson fired off another shot at one of Ferrante’s men.
While charging through the door, he’d clocked four armed tangoes, and he and Corey had each neutralized one so far.
Counting the fucker who answered the door, that meant three down, two left.
At least, until more bad guys showed up.
Because they always fucking did. He and Corey needed to haul ass.
Sabrina’s father said two men had been seen taking Emma up to the penthouse.
Quite possibly one of these assholes, so he didn’t want them all dead.
Crouched down behind the couch, he looked around the edge and spotted one of the thugs sitting on his ass, leaning against the wall and clutching his bleeding arm.
Staying low, Jayson aimed his gun at the injured man as he sprinted forward, dropped to his knees and slid across the floor in an epic move that brought him directly in front of his prey. He shoved the pistol’s barrel up under the guy’s chin and growled, “Where’s my daughter?”
“Fuck…you,” the thug gritted, grimacing in pain.
Jayson pulled the trigger. Zero hesitation from a desperate father.
“Jay!” Corey called.
Standing up, Jayson swiveled around to see Corey dragging the final thug over. He was zip tied and seemed willing to cooperate. In fact, he wouldn’t shut up. “She’s in there! Third door on the right. Just let me go. Please.”
Jayson lifted his gun and slammed the butt down hard against the base of the man’s skull. He dropped to the floor with a thud. Then he and Corey hurried over to the door, and Jayson hoped to Christ this wasn’t a trap.
“Emma!” He twisted the knob. Locked.
“Dad?” Her frightened voice consumed his heart with relief, but also with absolute rage that these men had taken her. The most precious thing in his fucking world.
“Stand back, honey,” he ordered, lifting his gun and firing off a shot. No time for picking the lock. The wood splintered and he finished it off with a kick. The door crashed inward, and he saw his daughter, standing in the middle of the room, hugging herself tightly, green eyes full of fear.
“Dad!” She ran straight over, throwing her arms around him.
“Are you okay?” She nodded, and he pressed a quick kiss to her head. “Don’t worry. We’re getting you out of here.”
“Hey, Uncle Corey,” she said, voice shaky, clutching onto Jayson’s vest. “You look good in black. You’re still baking my wedding cake, right?”
“You know it.” Corey sent her a wink.
“Stay between us, Emma,” Jayson ordered, and together they turned as he led them forward.
Moving fast, they were halfway through the living room when they heard a hail of gunfire split the air outside in the hall. His heart fell.
Sabrina.
Her voice came through the comms, loud and clear. Not a trace of panic. “I’ve got six gunmen trying to reach the sixtieth floor, but I’m holding them off in the stairwell,” she reported.
“Fuck,” Jayson ground out.
A second later, Brand’s voice crackled in his earpiece, “We’re on our way up! Keep them in the stairwell, Sabrina, and we’ll attack from behind.”
“Copy,” she responded. Damn, she sounded cool as a cucumber, like she’d done this a hundred times before, and Jayson couldn’t help but be impressed.
“Emma is secure,” Jayson said. “We’re coming, Sabrina. Hang on!”
The staccato sound of gunfire echoed all around them as they raced toward the exit stairwell. “Stay right here and get down,” Jayson told his daughter, needing her to be as small a target as possible and keeping a wall between her and any flying bullets. Then he shoved through the door with Corey.
They moved up on either side of Sabrina and began firing down at the level directly below them.
Side by side, he and Sabrina fired off consecutive shots.
Even in the midst of the fight, he could see she’d been well-trained.
Her stance, her grip on the gun, her aim—all perfect technique.
But what struck him most was her absolute bravery and fearlessness.
She’d willingly accompanied him into the den of a vicious, murderous monster to help rescue his daughter. And he would never forget that.
The firefight raged on until Brand, Wes and Chaz snuck up behind the unsuspecting thugs and attacked. It was over in less than a minute.
“Emma!” Jayson called, and she ran into the stairwell. He tucked her under his arm and gave a grateful look to Sabrina and Corey.
They made their way down to the sixtieth floor and everyone hustled into the freight elevator, stowing their weapons and lowering their gaiters. As the cab zoomed downward, Jayson looked at the men who’d become like brothers to him. He owed them, and Sabrina, for helping him rescue Emma.
“Thank you,” he said, voice gruff, arm tightening around his little girl. There was no way to fully express his gratitude and how much he respected the hell out of them all.
“No need to thank us,” Brand grunted. “You know we’ve got your six. You and Emma.”
“Hell yeah, we do,” Chaz added. “You helped me get Lottie back from these fuckers. It was the least I could do.”
“And Ellie,” Wes said, referring to when his wife had been kidnapped by pirates.
“And Sera,” Corey added.
“Julia, too,” Brand said.
“It’s just what we do.” Chaz reiterated, then focused on Emma. “How’re you doing, Emmie G?”
She laughed at the nickname, and Jayson was glad to hear the joyous sound. “I’m good now. I don’t think I’ve ever heard you guys cuss so much.”
“Pretend you didn’t.” Jayson grimaced, knowing she got an earful. Might’ve even learned a new phrase or two because they could be damn creative. Her attention slid to Sabrina, and he could see the curiosity written all over Emma’s face.
“Emma, this is Sabrina Ross, my neighbor and…an FBI agent,” he introduced. “Sabrina, my daughter, Emma.”
Emma’s green eyes grew bigger when she heard the woman’s title, her attention dropping to the tactical vest and then moving to the gun in Sabrina’s hand. “Wow,” Emma murmured, clearly impressed, “you’re like a female version of these guys.”
Sabrina holstered her weapon, lips twitching in amusement. “I don’t know about that, but I did my best to keep up.”
“She’s being modest.” Jayson’s gaze met Sabrina’s electric eyes. “Very, very modest.” They shared a smile.
Suddenly, the air in the cab seemed to shift between them and, unfortunately, they had a rapt, extremely nosy audience who watched closely.
Clearing his throat, Jayson tore his attention off Sabrina’s mouth and forced himself to ignore the knowing looks and smirks from his team and daughter.
The moment the elevator door opened, he couldn’t get out fast enough.
“See you soon,” Brand said as he, Wes and Chaz headed for their vehicle. As they walked away, Wes flashed him an enthusiastic thumbs-up and Chaz waggled his brows.
Idiots.
Slightly ahead of him, Sabrina easily took charge, ushering Emma toward the Range Rover, and Jayson hoped the women had missed Wes and Chaz’s blatant shenanigans.
He glanced over at Corey. Amusement flashed in the other man’s arctic-blue eyes and he slapped Jayson on the back.
In the distance, sirens blared. Time to jet.
“Another win for the Motley Crew,” Corey said. Then, under his breath, he added, “I like her.”
Yeah, so did he. More than he should considering her original purpose for moving in next door.
But she’d told him the truth and helped rescue his daughter.
And Lottie had explained to her what had happened with Donato.
None of them would be going down for murdering a mafia heavy hitter.
It was self-defense, protecting the people they loved from pure evil.
Corey got behind the wheel again and Jayson opened the back door for the women. “We can talk once I get you safely back home, okay?”
Emma gave him another hug. “I’m good, Dad. No one hurt me.”
Thank God. He let her go and she climbed in behind Sabrina.
Once they were inside, he carefully closed the door and settled himself in the front passenger seat.
He wasn’t surprised when Emma started chatting it up with Sabrina.
His little girl’s resilience made him damn proud.
She must’ve inherited that strength from him, and it made him smile.
Leaning back against the seat and listening, he thought of how hard he’d worked to give his daughter everything she needed since the day she was born. But the one thing he hadn’t been able to provide for her was a mother.
Maybe it wasn’t too late, a little voice whispered.
If he was going to start dating again, he planned to shoot his shot with Sabrina. No doubt about it—the gorgeous woman made his palms sweat and his pulse thunder. Not to mention the wicked things that were happening below his belt.
Raking a hand through his hair, he decided to do it. Stop overthinking shit and just do the damn thing. He was going to pursue Sabrina and see where things went.
But, fuck. Now that the Motley Crew had been cleared, she probably wouldn’t be in Cielo Springs much longer.
Better move fast, old man.
The flight back to Cielo Springs went fast. Sabrina spent the entire time talking to Jayson and Emma over the clatter of the Spitfire’s engine.
Emma gave them a rundown of what had happened from the moment she was kidnapped.
She was a tough cookie and Sabrina admired how easily she rebounded. Clearly, she took after her father.
Sabrina enjoyed getting to know father and daughter better.
They shared a close relationship filled with easy conversation and lots of smiles.
Nearby, the rest of the men talked among themselves a bit, but they mostly seemed to be watching her interaction with Jayson and his daughter.
As though they were deciding whether or not to give their stamp of approval.
It was ridiculous to think long-term. Now that her original mission was completed, she would be leaving Montana soon and returning to D.C. Unless, of course, things changed.
Do you really want to rush back to a city and job you don’t even like?
Plans had a way of changing all the time, so why couldn’t hers?
Oh, God, maybe she was jumping the gun. Imagining things.
Possibly catching feelings for a man who wasn’t on the same page.
Well, that’s what she needed to find out.
You’re not twenty-five anymore, she reminded herself.
There wasn’t time to dick around and play games.
If Jayson liked her, she wanted to know so they could damn well do something about it.
Chewing her bottom lip, she could admit she’d never been one to pursue a man.
She’d always played coy and let him make the first move.
But after turning forty, time seemed to speed up.
She certainly wasn’t getting any younger and, for the first time in forever, she was so interested in a man that she was willing to take a leap of faith and risk the humiliation of rejection by putting herself out there first.
If he wasn’t interested, then she’d return to D.C. with her tail between her legs and die an old maid with zero prospects. But if he was on the same page…
Her belly fluttered and an arrow of heat shot straight to her core, threatening to incinerate her uterus.
She hadn’t slept with a man since Agent Asshole over two years ago.
Her hormones were all over the place, and perimenopause was wreaking havoc on her body.
Navigating the hormonal changes, mystery aches and pains, and waking up in the middle of the night, hot, uncomfortable and unable to fall back asleep was frustrating.
Sometimes, it also made her insanely horny.
She glanced up and caught Jayson staring at her intently.
Her heart sped up as they held each other’s gaze, neither looking away.
God, she could drown in his eyes. The shade seemed to change depending on his mood.
Sometimes they appeared more green like Emma’s, but only when he was angry.
They had snapped green lightning when he’d caught her snooping in his office.
But after he’d kissed her, they’d been a warm brown with skeins of molten gold.
And right now? They looked like brown sugar spun with gold and green flecks.
Letting out a soft breath, she wondered what he was thinking. Pressing her lips together, she decided it was probably better that she didn’t know. She crossed her legs and swallowed hard, shifting in her seat. Thinking about how his kiss made her unpredictable hormones perk up and take notice.
Because the silver fox sitting across from her looked ready to pounce. And, damn, she couldn’t deny it—she wanted him to pounce her good.