Chapter 25
Ryder
“Hey,” I say as soon as Tiago answers his phone.
“’Sup?” he asks.
“Where are you?”
“The Kennetts’ kitchen. Just finished the best sandwich of my life. Too bad Claire doesn’t have any sisters.”
I smile. I’m glad my brother approves of my woman and her parents. “Listen, I got tied up with Thomas. Claire’s not answering her phone. Can you let her know I’m on my way there now?”
“Sure, but if you’re on your way from the law office, you’ll be here in like two minutes. You can tell her yourself,” he jokes.
I blow out a breath. “I just wanted to give her a heads-up.”
He chuckles. “You’re so whipped. Fine. I’ll tell her. See you soon.” He hangs up as I climb into Claire’s car.
I pocket my phone and start the engine. I don’t know why I called Tiago, except that something has my hackles up. It’s a weird feeling. I’ve had it for the last ten minutes. I finally had to tell Thomas I needed to go. We’ll finish our meeting about his idea to suspend everyone’s rent for a few months another day.
His plan is a great one. I bet the townsfolk would be greatly relieved if they didn’t have to pay rent and could get back on their feet. Nearly every business in town is in the red. A rent freeze would boost morale and buy time.
But I can’t focus on that because my mind is on Claire. Maybe I’m being overprotective. I know I’m almost suffocating her, and she would freak out if she knew I just walked out on Thomas because I had a bad feeling.
Claire is fine. She’s packing her room. Tiago is with her. I’m overreacting. It’s just that I’ve finally found the most perfect woman in the world, and I want her to be with me, not my brother.
I want Claire attached to my hip. I hate it when I’m away from her. It’s irrational. Nothing is going to happen to her. That Smith guy wouldn’t harass her in broad daylight.
I pull Claire’s car up next to the Cadillac my brother used to drive Claire around. I smile when I see the clothing bag hanging from the hook in the back seat. That would be her wedding dress.
I’m getting married tomorrow. I never thought this would happen to me. I’m forty years old. No woman has ever tempted me to walk down the aisle—until Claire. God, I love her.
I enter the kitchen from the back and find Tiago stuffing a pastry in his mouth.
He groans. “Damn, this is delicious.”
Unease creeps back up my spine. “Did you talk to Claire?”
He nods and swallows. “Yep. She’s in her room. I went up there and knocked. I didn’t want to open the door for fear your woman was packing panties or some shit. I told her you would be here momentarily.”
I’m already moving toward the stairs. “What did she say?”
“She said to tell you to wait down here. She’ll be down in a minute.”
No. I don’t like that a bit. I haven’t seen her for hours. I need to touch her. Something is fucking bothering me. I run up the stairs and grab the door handle with no intention of knocking.
It’s locked. “Claire? Open the door, baby.” My voice is strained.
There’s no response. Total silence.
“Claire?” I try the door again. It’s definitely locked. “Claire!”
Tiago must have heard me shouting because he’s right behind me in seconds. “What the hell?”
I jiggle the doorknob again, and then I hear something that makes my blood run cold. “You told me we had two hours,” the voice growls.
Fuck. Smith? I’ve never met the man, so I don’t know his voice, but what the fuck is any man doing in my girl’s bedroom?
“I thought we did,” Claire whispers loudly. Her distressed tone makes me step back so I can get a hard kick at the door. This apartment is old and in disrepair. The door to her bedroom is flimsy. It gives way on the first kick, crashing into the room and slamming into the wall.
The sight before me makes me beyond furious. The man—I assume this is Smith—is holding my girl with her back to his chest. He has one hand around her torso, pinning her to him. The other hand holds a knife to her neck.
Claire’s eyes are wide. She’s not moving. Her eyes are glistening with unshed tears.
“Let her go, Smith,” I order.
Smith backs up. “Not a chance. She’s mine, you fuckwad. She’s been mine for years. You can’t waltz into town and take what’s mine. She doesn’t want your fucking money. She wants a real man her own age. Not someone who could be her father.”
Claire is holding her breath. She has a grip on Smith’s forearm at her chest, but she’s not strong enough to hold him off.
I inch into the room, Tiago next to me.
Smith grips my woman tighter, bringing the knife closer to her neck. I swear if that fucker cuts her… One drop of blood, and there’s a good chance he won’t live to see another day.
Suddenly, and surprising the hell out of me, Tiago lifts a gun in front of him. His voice is menacing as he grits out, “Put the fucking knife down and let her go, or your brain is going to be splattered on the wall in about two seconds.”
Smith’s eyes widen, but he’s a moron. He pulls Claire more firmly in front of him as a shield. “Get the fuck out of here, or I’ll stab her in the neck and you can watch her bleed out.” He bends his knees to keep his head mostly behind Claire’s. What kind of fucked-up piece of shit uses the woman he supposedly wants as a human shield?
Claire’s eyes are on the knife, and the moment Smith moves to adjust his grip, she tips her head forward a few inches and slams it back—right into Smith’s nose.
Smith screams as he releases her to grab his face with one hand.
Claire drops to her hands and knees and scrambles out of the way.
I lurch forward, swing out a leg, and hook Smith behind the knees, taking him down.
The knife hits the floor and slides across the hardwood while I pounce on Smith at the same time as Tiago. There is no contest. Smith is lanky and weak. Tiago and I are in much better shape and larger than him.
We have him pinned face-down in seconds, and I’m particularly pleased that blood is gushing from his nose. My woman did that.
When I glance in her direction, she’s holding out a roll of packing tape. I can’t believe she has the wherewithal to think of that. She’s strong and fierce, and I love her more at this moment than I ever have.
Tiago holds Smith while I start taping his wrists together. I make it far tighter than necessary and move down to his ankles next. I glance at Tiago. “Why did you happen to have a gun on you?”
Tiago smirks. “You told me to protect your woman. I was prepared.”
I’ve never loved my brother more. Bless him.
Smith whimpers like a fucking baby the entire time, muttering nonsense about Claire being his girl. I’m tempted to tape his goddamn mouth shut. As it is, he’s struggling to breathe with all the blood running into his mouth. I’m not about to wipe it up. He can go fuck himself.
I hear my incredibly strong woman behind me on the phone with the sheriff. She’s shockingly calm as she gives the details to whoever has answered the call.
Seconds later, I hear sirens, and I turn to see Claire fleeing the room. I’m sure she’s heading down to let law enforcement into the building.
The next hour is a whirlwind of activity as the sheriff and one of his deputies enter the room to take Smith into custody. Smith’s father arrives, too. The man seems none too pleased with his son’s behavior. If I had to guess, I’d say he was totally embarrassed.
Claire’s parents arrive in the middle of things. They came immediately when they heard the sirens. Most of the town is outside. I’m sure incidents like this are rare in Wilde. The gossip mills are probably already running at full speed.
I don’t care about anything but Claire’s safety. I keep a knee on Smith’s back until I’m certain the authorities have him under control and he’s no longer a threat to my girl, and then I take her in my arms.
She’s so fucking strong. She holds it together until everyone is gone and it’s just her and me in the room. Tiago has taken it upon himself to escort the sheriff back to the station to ensure Smith is truly locked up. Claire’s parents have hugged their daughter ten times before finally slipping out of the room.
I cup her face with both hands and meet her gaze, wanting to take stock of her emotions.
Finally, her lips tremble, and tears run down her cheeks as she wraps her arms around me. She sobs. “I was so scared.”
“You were so brave, baby.”
She hiccups as she tells me what happened before I arrived, gasping for oxygen several times in between snippets about lying to him about meeting me at the estate in two hours and how she told him she’d made a mistake falling for me and wanted him to take her away from Wilde.
I’m so fucking proud of her. I hold her closer and rock her back and forth as I smooth my hand down her messy braid. “You’re safe now, baby.”
Her chest keeps heaving as she tries to stop crying, but there’s no need. I don’t care how long she cries. I will be here, holding her. I will hold my woman through good times and bad for the rest of our lives.
She is my heart and soul.