21. He Who Hesitates
CHAPTER 21
He Who Hesitates
H eath let his senses check out the house before he moved. The air was empty, and he didn’t think anyone was on this level, but there was a basement and a second floor.
Upstairs to a bedroom or downstairs to keep her isolated and afraid?
He pointed down, and Marcus nodded. The farmhouse was older and probably squeaked as people moved across the floor. When they moved, they’d need to be coordinated and fast.
The basement door was probably one of the two they could see in the hallway. Marcus sent another quick text and then pointed to the first door for Heath while the deputy would take the second. It would only take a second to realize which door was correct, so the other person would be only moments behind.
As long as they were choosing correctly by heading down, they should have the advantage of surprise.
Marcus counted down his fingers from three, and they moved. It only took Heath three strides to open the door and start down with his gun out and ready. He knew the instant the door opened that they’d chosen right. The light was on, but he didn’t need that to know Addy was there.
Her light scent carried on the air, and he could almost feel her heartbeat.
But Jonas was there as well, and he was the one who required Heath’s attention. He was the one who needed to be contained.
Heath knew it was Jonas before he reached low enough on the stairs to see the man. He was a hunter, and the man was his prey. Adamson didn’t know it yet, but he didn’t stand a chance.
“Stop. Don’t make me hurt her.”
Heath slowed his movements but took another step down before complying. Jonas was crouched against the wall, Addy held in front of him like a shield.
Heath didn’t dare look into her eyes. He kept his entire focus on Jonas, who held a large kitchen knife to her throat.
“It’s over, Jonas. You need to let her go.”
Jonas’s laugh was a happy sound. “No, I don’t. Not ever. She belongs with me. We’re going to be together. We’re getting married.”
Heath didn’t respond to that ridiculous comment. No one else was in the room and a few quick glances showed no other exits but a few windows. His team would be at those soon. They all had enough training to shoot through the thick basement windows and hit their targets.
But Heath kept the man’s forehead in his sights, anyway.
Jonas smiled. “Addison is part of my family. She lives on our land, and I take care of her. I’ve always taken care of her. She doesn’t need you or anyone else when she’s got me. I knew the minute she moved to live on my land that we belonged together.”
Heath wanted to stall for a few minutes and give Marcus and the others time to get in place, but Jonas wasn’t rational. His words showed that his interest in Addy had turned into an obsession. The man wouldn’t act as expected.
He kept his gun steady. “You’ve been a good neighbor to Addy.”
“Her name is Addison, not Addy. It’s a beautiful name. Addison Adamson. It’s beautiful.”
Well, that was creepy. “Addison is a beautiful name for a beautiful person.”
Jonas seemed to relax at that. His face cleared. “She deserves to be taken care of. She shouldn’t have to work so hard. Obviously, she needs me to take care of her. We belong together.”
“Addison has always worked hard. She’s an amazing person.” Heath wanted to take great care of her, too, but not in a takeover, creepy way. She took care of herself and Nina, but he wanted to share the load with her.
Heath wondered if his arrival in town had somehow broken Jonas. He would bet that Jonas was behind all the incidents with her utility room, her car, her phone, and maybe even her tree. While those things had been happening for a while, they’d escalated recently.
Jonas had been content to be the helpful neighbor. Now, he saw Heath as a rival and that had maybe triggered these escalations.
Heath’s biggest fear was that Jonas might be thinking, if I can’t have her, no one can . Then he might use the knife, which hadn’t moved away from Addy’s throat.
Heath tried to keep his tone conversational. “When did you and Addison first meet?”
Jonas smiled. “She moved here a few weeks after my mother died. My mother had known we needed each other and sent her to me.”
Addy shuddered at the words, and the knife nicked her skin. Jonas didn’t seem to notice. His voice had softened and Heath didn’t want him to get angry again. “You enjoy helping Addison, don’t you?”
Jonas nodded. “I do. My father always took care of my mother. Until he died, and then I stepped in to help. I moved back here for her. I did everything for her.”
And had isolated himself with his mother if Heath had to bet. “How do you like to help?”
“She shouldn’t have to plow her driveway. That’s my job.”
And it probably pissed him off when Addy didn’t need him. So he’d sabotaged her snowblower to be the hero. While Jonas continued to talk about how he helped, Heath scooted down to a lower step. Once he sat, he got his feet on the floor and put more weight on them while trying to appear as if he was relaxed on the stairs.
Jonas smiled suddenly, and Heath could see the glazed look in his eyes. “You can have the girl to take care of, and I’ll keep Addison. That’ll be fair. That will work.”
Like hell. When Addison’s body shuddered this time, Heath was ready. She seemed to read his mind as she slumped to the side, taking herself away from the knife.
Heath crossed the distance before Jonas reacted. He knocked the knife out of the man’s hand. “Don’t move, Jonas. Stay right there. Addy, you okay?”
“Of course, she’s okay. She’s with me. I’m going to take care of her. Nothing bad can happen to her while I’m taking care of her.” Jonas sounded truly confused.
Feet thundered down the stairs, and Marcus appeared. Then Sean and Troy. Levi and Sam. Animosh too. The dog moved right up to Jonas and growled more deeply than before. Smart girl.
Heath holstered his gun as he turned his complete attention to Addy, who had slumped to the ground. Her hands were bound with a cloth, which he sliced with his jackknife.
There weren’t any bindings on her feet, so he ran his hands over her to check for other injuries. “Are you okay? Where are you hurt? Did he hurt you?”
Addy’s soft smile was the best thing he’d ever seen. “I’m okay.”
Her voice chattered, and he scooped her up and hurried up the stairs to where there was more warmth. Her entire body shook, and he sat on one of the kitchen chairs to wrap himself around her. Animosh appeared and rested her head on Addy’s lap.
Her breathing was harsh, but not like the day in the parking lot. “Don’t talk. Let yourself warm up first. We’ll get Lia to check you over soon.”
Then he buried his face in her hair and just breathed her in.
She was safe.
A ddy’s chest and lungs ached, but the relief of being in Heath’s arms eased the panic and made it easier to breathe.
She squashed the urge to burst into tears. She could do that when her lungs wouldn’t rebel. For now, she gulped in deep breaths and held onto Heath.
Someone tucked a blanket around them, but she couldn’t lift her head to acknowledge them. Hanging on was enough.
“I love you, Addy. I’ve never been so scared in my life.”
She whispered, “I love you, too, Heath. Thanks for finding me. I knew you would.”
He lifted his head to grin down at her. “I bet you were working on a kickass plan to take him out, but I’m glad you didn’t need to implement it.”
When she started to speak again, he hushed her. “Not now, let those lungs get used to the warm again. Lia said you were to limit your talking last time. We’ve got all the time in the world ahead of us. For now, just breathe.”
Her heart warmed at his words. All the time in the world sounded amazing.
Footsteps sounded on the stairs behind them, and she flinched. Had Jonas gotten free?
Heath kissed her forehead. “It’s okay. It’s Levi coming with an update. They’ve got Jonas contained downstairs.”
Levi chuckled as he came into view. “Slick could always tell our footsteps apart.”
The quiet man squatted in front of them and patted her leg. “We’ve got Jonas secured. He’s unharmed and very confused. He’s going to need some psychiatric help to deal with whatever snapped inside of him.”
Levi’s gaze switched to Heath. “We’ve got some vehicles heading up. Lia and Joe are in the first one, ready to take you both back to Addy’s house. The car will be warm, and Lia will check you over where you’re comfortable.”
She smiled her thanks as Levi patted her leg again and stood. “We’ll keep Jonas downstairs until you’re gone.”
Addy didn’t want to be a coward, but she couldn’t deny the relief she felt at not having to see him until she was in control of her body and her emotions.
It wasn’t long before Heath bundled her into the back of Joe’s car. He didn’t let her go on the short trek down the hill to her home. Once they were inside, he kicked off his boots, and Lia slid off Addy’s. When she tried to protest that she could handle it herself, they both reminded her to stop talking.
Her one-word answer of Bossy had them both grinning.
In her bedroom, Heath set her on the edge of the bed and slipped off her jacket, hat, and scarf. Then he wrapped her in his arms again, and for a long minute, they just held on.
Then Heath grabbed her some flannel pants, fuzzy socks, an oversized t-shirt, and one of her sweaters. He knew her so well. It didn’t take long to change, but the air chilled her and she was shaking again when Heath tucked her into the bed. “I’m going to grab Lia and another couple of blankets.”
Addy didn’t have a moment to feel afraid and alone because Lia walked right in. “Joe’s making tea and we’ll get Heath back in here soon. Okay, let’s make sure you’re okay.”
It didn’t take long to figure out she was fine. Well, she would be. She knew the drill with recovering from too much cold and sore lungs. Warmth and love. Not much talking. Lots of rest. The bump on the head was new, but she didn’t have any signs of a concussion.
When Lia opened the door, Heath came in with a mug of tea and concern written all over his face. His gaze moved between her and the doctor. “She’s okay?”
His voice shook, and Addy moved to go to him. Lia turned and pointed a finger for her to stay there. Then the doctor turned back and patted Heath’s arm. “You got to her in time. She’s going to need to rest and stay warm, but she’s good.”
Heath leaned down to hug the doctor with one arm. “Thank you.”
Then he crossed to the bed and kissed Addy on the forehead. He handed her the mug and sat on the bed beside her. His strong arm reached around her and tucked her into his strength. Animosh jumped up and curled up at her feet.
Lia smiled at them. “Nina and Kimi are on the way. Troy went to Kimi’s to tell them what happened. He figured it would be easier with Kimi there for Nina.”
Less than a minute later, Nina flew into the room, the fear on her face disappearing as they made eye contact. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she flew to the bed and wrapped her arms around Addy. Heath rescued the tea in time to keep them dry and she wrapped her daughter in her arms. Then Heath pulled them both in and the tears she’d been holding back loosened.
Family. She had her family. And they were all safe.