Chapter 41
Chapter Forty-One
SIERRA
I don’t know how long I lie with my muscles tensed. But the light sliding through the window changes. I’m so spent from adrenaline surges, I finally lower my face onto the concrete and just breathe. The pain in my wrists is as acute as the pain in my shattered heart.
My eyes snap open to almost pure darkness. Instantly, my heart rate shoots up.
The warehouse.
God, I hurt all over. My throat is dry. My eyes are gritty.
My muscles tense and shake as I fully come awake.
How did I fall asleep? I must have run completely out of adrenaline. Obviously, it’s back in supply, because I’m squarely in fight-or-flight mode now.
I shift against my restraints. My legs and arms are throbbing. Nothing I do makes them comfortable now.
Blinking, I turn my neck as far as I can and try to scan the interior of the warehouse. It’s too dark to see much. There’s barely enough light to make out the boxy shapes around me.
Maybe if I scoot around…
I manage to work my way around so I can see a little more. Not that I can see far. Wooden crates are stacked in columns around the space, between the cages, and along the walls.
Terror takes flight in my veins like bats screeching madly in the night air. Dizziness hits me. My body sags. Stars blink in front of my eyes as a blackout threatens to swallow me.
No. I can’t pass out. Gritting my teeth, I coach myself. Breathe. Breathe. I will not pass out. I won’t let it happen.
I take a few shaky breaths, even though it hurts like hell. There are definitely cracks in my ribs.
But I’m more worried about why Bryan isn’t answering me.
Thud. Thud. Thud-thud. The unmistakable sound of feet dropping onto concrete.
Then the sounds of running boots.
A shadowy figure angles toward me. A man. Broad shouldered, completely in silhouette. His face is impossible to see.
I recoil.
He slides in on his knees like he’s skidding into home base. “Hang on, baby. We’re getting you the hell out of here.”
Am I dreaming?
It can’t be… Cole.
“Sierra, can you hear me?”
“Y-yes. It’s really you?”
“Shhhh.”
My heart squeezes so hard behind my ribs that it feels like I’m shattering.
Cole came for me. He charged into the midst of a building full of bad guys to save me.
“I love you,” I whisper. The emotion flashes so hot inside of me I have to be glowing.
This could be the end. I might not live to see tomorrow, but I know what love truly feels like in the heart-pounding seconds his eyes hold mine.
I breathe and whisper, “God, am I glad to see you.”
“So fucking relieved.” His words are raspy and low as he gets to work, cutting the cage with some kind of hand tool. His eyes are electric with something I’ve never seen before.
He looks every bit the hero I knew he was.
Nothing at all like the man who touched me so tenderly when I was coming apart at the seams. This is a man with a mission, and I’m going to live another day because of his bravery.
Ten seconds later, the hole in the cage is big enough for him to drag me out. I whimper in pain. His eyes flash to mine. “I’ll have you free in a sec.”
He hisses and curses as he works on the cuffs on my hands. I’m sure they’re a bloody mangled mess. “Jesus, Sierra, I’m going to destroy whoever did this to you.”
I realize he’s talking to someone else on some kind of radio system when he says, “Hostage in custody. Over.”
My weak arms fall to my sides. My legs spasm as he cuts the last of the restraints.
He rolls me carefully to my left side and leans close to my ear. “Start moving around, get the blood flowing in case they hit me and you need to run on your own.”
Hit me… Oh god.
What? Then I realize he’s talking about him taking fire. The thought of him being hit by bullets sends me into nuclear panic. Cold sweat instantly covers my chest.
But Cole is as calm and cool as if he’s napping under a palm tree in a hammock. He’s not even breathing hard.
I, however, am breathing hard enough for both of us.
He wraps his big warm hands around my shoulders and sits me up. Smooths back my hair. “Let’s get you home.”
Tears threaten my vision.
Home.
I’ve never heard a more beautiful word.
I sway under his touch, overwhelmed by emotions. “Cole, Bryan’s here. You have to help him too. He said he was in a cage—”
“He’s out already. He helped us get in.”
My words comes out breathless. “He did?”
He nods as he rubs his knuckles across my cheek.
I fight the urge to throw my arms around him because I know we have to move. But I want to wrap myself around him and hold on forever.
If we make it out of this alive, I’m going to tell him exactly how I feel. That I want to marry him. That I want his child growing inside of me. That I want to spend every winter night for the rest of my life tucked away in his cabin together.
I grab his hand. “I’m ready. Let’s go.”
Gunfire shatters the quiet. We both duck, but a split second later, he yanks me to my feet and tosses me over his shoulder. He’s so strong. Somehow he makes it seem like I weigh nothing.
Cole runs fast, staying low. His powerful body crossing the warehouse in seconds flat.
I flinch when he fires his gun at the chain on the door. And sag in relief when he bursts out into the black night like he’s running for a touchdown.
His shoulder bounces hard against my gut as he sprints toward the cover of trees. I want to yell in pain, but I fight it by keeping my teeth clenched.
We’re free. To hell with my ribs.
As soon as we’re clear of the building and safely behind an oak tree, he lowers me to the ground.
I’m shaking. He’s focused. Every ounce the trained hero when he drops to his knees in front of me. Every few seconds, he glances toward the building.
“Where are you injured?”
Decked in tactical gear and looking like an angel if I’ve ever seen one.
“Just my wrists, that’s nothing… and I got kicked in the ribs. They hurt like a bitch, but I’m okay, I promise.”
He snarls. Pushes back onto his heels like an animal ready to pounce on something it’s eager to kill. Cole has vengeance in his darkened gaze. My captors will soon be in his sights.
He’s tight with anger. “Think you can walk?”
I nod as I rub a shaky hand over my face. “Yeah.” He pulls a gun from his waist and presses it into my hands. “There’s a black SUV one block west of here. Keys under the windshield wiper on the passenger side. Get there. I’m going back in.”
“No. Don’t—”
He leans down and kisses me fast and hard. “I love you. Now get the fuck out of here.”
Then he’s gone.
Silent and nearly invisible in his black tactical clothing, he slips into the shadows like he’s one with them.
My first few steps are stumbles, then my brain and feet get their act together. I’m dehydrated and queasy. But I’m not dead.
Not dead.
I made it.
Bryan is alive too.
Cole said he loves me.
Sirens echo in the distance.
Time feels both fast and slow as I run-walk as fast as I can to the black Ford SUV. I crawl into the back floorboard and lock myself inside as I say prayers. Lots of prayers.
For Cole. For his team. For Bryan.
For the future I hope is ahead for us all.