37. Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Seven
DYLAN
I rolled to a stop in front of the address I’d found for Josh, and just as I climbed out, two patrol cars pulled up with their lights and sirens off.
“You two cover the front in case he tries to make a run for it.” I pulled my weapon out of its holster and turned to Ethan. “You’re with me.”
“Yes, sir.”
In a crouched position, I inched to the far corner of the house and peered into the large front windows. It was dark inside, apart from radiant light coming from the back, but all was quiet.
“Stay on my six.” I whispered over my shoulder.
The greenhouse in the middle of the backyard came into view as we came around the house. The walls looked like they were made of a thick polycarbonate, and the door was ajar.
Shadows moved against the opaque panels of the structure, and faint voices carried on the air.
Crouching lower, I silently crept to the door that faced the back of the house.
“Tomorrow we’ll head to Mexico. It’ll be you and me forever.” Josh’s nasally voice sent fire coursing through my veins.
That wasn’t ever going to happen. She was mine .
“Why Mexico?” Hattie asked.
Tension eased from my shoulders at the sound of her voice. She was okay. But I still needed to get her out of there safely.
I signaled to Ethan to stay put, then I moved to the back of the greenhouse. Josh had Hattie toward the front, so if I came in from the back, I could maybe sneak up behind him without being noticed. Slowly, I tried the handle, and when I found it unlocked, I breathed a sigh of relief.
Still in a crouched position, I moved down the aisle of plants until I was standing behind Josh and had a visual on Hattie.
She noticed me right away, but other than a slight widening of her eyes, she didn’t react. Good girl .
“Hopefully you don’t make me use this.” He set a large knife on a table and picked up a syringe filled with God knew what.
Now that he’d put the knife down, it was time to draw his attention to me and away from Hattie. No way would I let him inject anything into her.
“You won’t need to,” I said, quickly observing the open space around us. The aisles ended right behind me, and there was only a chair and workbench at the front.
In the space of a heartbeat, he grabbed the knife and spun to me, his eyes wild and his hair sticking up all over. “You.”
“Put the knife down, Josh.” I kept my gun aimed at him and took a few small steps, circling him and hoping to get in a position where I could get between him and Hattie if I needed to. Or, worst-case scenario, have a clean shot at Josh without her behind him.
“You turned her against me.”
I knew better than to try to rationalize with him. I took a steadying breath and cursed my hands as the slight quiver drew my attention. I’d never had this issue before. Always in control. Always confident and steady. But then again, I’d never had so much on the line until this moment. And for the first time in my life, I was worried about making a single mistake. But I had to keep it together, so I took another deep breath in and kept my attention trained on the asshole in front of me.
“Set the knife down, and we’ll talk about it.”
“No.” With a scowl, he shook his head and looked over at Hattie.
My heart dropped to the floor. I would do whatever it took to protect her, but the last thing I wanted to have to do was fire my weapon.
“Josh,” I warned. “Don’t move.”
“Either I get her, or no one does.” In a heartbeat, he turned toward Hattie.
No, no. no . Fear swamped me, and my vision blurred as adrenaline pumped through my veins. With my body taut with worry, I moved quickly.
Praying I wasn’t too late. Praying I could save her.
HATTIE
Was this what it felt like to die? My body vibrated with fear and my head thrummed with pain. I wasn’t ready to open my eyes yet, afraid of what I’d find. The last vision I had was of Josh lunging at me with a knife in his hand as I attempted to throw myself, and the chair I was still tied to, over to avoid being stabbed. But I couldn’t remember anything after that.
Shuffling noises and then the sound of someone howling in pain hit my ears. Was that me? Maybe I was having an out-of-body experience.
Dylan called my name—an agonizing hitch to his voice—finally forcing me to pry my eyes open. My stomach tightened. Was he hurt?
On the ground in front of me, Josh lay on his stomach while Dylan pressed a knee to the middle of his back. Dylan held my stare, agony radiating in his eyes, as he holstered his gun and pulled Josh’s arms behind his back before securing his wrists with a zip tie.
A stream of blood running down Dylan’s arm caught my attention, and I gasped at the sight, my heart lodged in my throat. The cut looked deep, and blood continued to gush from it as I lay, immobile, tied to this damn chair and now, feeling utterly useless.
Dylan glanced down at the slash across his bicep and groaned. “You chose the wrong woman to fuck with.”
As he shifted his weight on Josh’s back, Josh howled out in pain.
“All clear.”
Ethan stepped inside and headed straight toward them, wearing a cocky smile. “Well, that was easy.”
Easy? He wasn’t the one who’d had a psychopath with a knife lunging at him.
Dylan glared at him, then stood and let him take over. “Read him his rights and lock him in the back of a squad car.”
“Sure thing, Boss.” Ethan tipped his head at Dylan’s arm. “You need to get that looked at. Definitely gonna need stitches.”
He nodded but kept his gaze focused on me. “Yeah, it’ll have to wait, though. I have more important things to do first.”
Those words sank deep into my soul, making me feel seen and important to someone for the first time in a very long time.