Chapter 14 #3
“Yeah, cool,” Bat Guy said, before leaning down and grabbing Pyro by the arm. “Stand up and walk or the next thing broken will be your fucking head.”
The initial shock of the pain was fading, but Pyro was still in no shape to effectively fight back. His only thought at the moment was not to let them leave with Bowie. To not allow them to be separated. If they were taking him wherever they were taking her, he still had a chance to protect her.
He hadn’t missed the conversation about human trafficking—and he knew instantly Colvin hadn’t just let go of the debt he felt Penny owed him, as everyone had hoped.
His worst nightmare was coming true.
He had a brief moment of thanks that Penny hadn’t been the one to pick up Bowie today, because if she had, it was likely he never would’ve seen either of them again.
These men had chosen poorly by deciding to take him too.
Getting up made his head spin with pain, and walking was impossible.
He had to hop in the direction of the vehicle the other man had carried Bowie.
She was silent now, but only because she had a huge, dirty hand covering her mouth.
She was kicking and squirming in his grasp, desperately trying to get away.
Pride filled Pyro at her refusal to give up. To fight. But pain was making his head fuzzy.
“Get his phone. Boss said to make sure we didn’t take anything digital so she couldn’t be tracked.”
Pyro felt the man’s hand in his back pocket before he was shoved headfirst into the trunk of the car. He almost had a heart attack, thinking they were going to put Bowie in the other car. But thankfully, the man holding her practically threw her into the trunk with him, then slammed the lid.
Pyro couldn’t see his hand in front of his face, but he immediately wrapped his arms around Bowie, who was shaking like a leaf.
“Shhhhh, Bowie-Bear, I’ve got you.”
“W-W-What’s happening?” she asked between panicky breaths.
“Breathe, sweetheart. Slow down your breathing. You’re okay. I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m here, and I’m not going to let anything happen to you. I need you to be brave, okay?”
She didn’t respond, just did her best to burrow into him instead as she sobbed.
Pyro blocked out the pain from his leg as fury filled him. How dare someone scare a child like these men had done. How fucking dare they kidnap them off the street in order to sell them!
They’d gotten the drop on him for sure. His leg hurt like hell, but he wasn’t going to give up. He was a Night Stalker, their motto was literally all about not quitting.
They should’ve left him on the pavement.
Their greed would be their downfall. Broken leg or not, he’d bounce back and figure this out.
Even though they’d taken him by surprise and his concern for Bowie had worked against him, he wasn’t going to let anything happen to the little girl shaking in his arms.
They’d taken his phone, so he couldn’t call for help.
And Bowie’s phone, for emergencies only, was in the backpack that he’d dropped when they were attacked.
But Penny would realize something was wrong when he didn’t return to the apartment with Bowie soon.
She’d text and call and when she got no response, she’d surely contact Casper, or Zita, or someone.
His team would get the ball rolling to find them, of that Pyro had no doubt. He trusted them way more than he did the police. He was sure the cops were competent and good at their jobs, but they didn’t have the resources the Night Stalkers did.
Namely, Tex.
Pyro had no idea how Colvin had arranged this kidnapping without Tex knowing anything about it, but the computer genius would figure this out and find him and Bowie before they could be shipped off to who knows where.
His arms tightened around Bowie, and he winced when one of her feet brushed against his broken leg. He didn’t make a sound though, swallowing and internalizing the pain. He wouldn’t do anything to make this little girl more scared than she was already.
He felt the car pull out of the parking lot, and Pyro did his best to try to figure out where they were going, but after a while he lost track of the turns and realized he’d simply have to wait until they arrived at their destination.
Blinking, and still not able to see a thing, brought it home in a very tangible way what Bowie lived with on a daily basis.
The darkness was complete and scary as hell.
As a Night Stalker, he and his team were very good at operating in the dark.
But they had all sorts of tech to help them see.
Right now, he was completely blind, just like the girl in his arms.
Respect for her grew. As did his determination.
No one would hurt his Bowie-Bear. No fucking one.
They’d regret putting their hands on her.
Scaring her. Using her for money. He’d protect her with his life, do whatever it took to make sure she was reunited with her mom.
And to make not only the men who took them pay, but take Colvin Jackson out—permanently.
Because if he could arrange for a six-year-old to be kidnapped and sold, he had no soul.
And had probably done this exact thing to others.
His reign of terror ended here. One way or another, the man would die.
Pyro closed his eyes and tightened his arms around Bowie.
His mission was clear. Protect her at all costs.