CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
JOSH
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“Man with a trolley, long hair, and glasses. Did he come through here?” I yell across the noise of the kitchen as we race inside the room.
They fish-mouth it for a moment, so I incentivize them.
Lifting my gun.
“A woman has been kidnapped. Think fast.” I yell.
Aidan and Ryder keep moving, looking in doorways and under shelves.
“Faster!” I yell, ready to let my trigger finger be even more encouraging.
“He...I think it’s the guy out back,” someone squeaks.
I move without hesitation and start running.
“How long ago?” I hear Aidan ask behind me.
“Just a few minutes,” the same guy answers.
The rear doors are wide open, and I run through them, my suit jacket long since discarded. I have a gun holster over my white shirt and the sleeves rolled up.
I spot the discarded trolley...then the exhaust pipe of a car that’s just started up.
Fuck.
“He’s here!” I scream, sensing Aidan and Ryder behind me, with our employees in tow.
A set of eyes meet mine in the rearview mirror of the car, and I know. I know without a shadow of a doubt that it’s Isaac Miller.
He plants his foot and the wheels of his car start squealing.
Bad move asshole.
“All teams,” Aidan directs into his earpiece, giving them the location. “Move in and surround.”
I move, my eyes remaining on Isaac’s as I lift my gun and race to the driver’s side of the vehicle.
“Do not shoot. Repeat do not shoot.” Ryder tells the team.
He’s right. Cassy is in there somewhere. No one will fire until there is good reason, or I give the order.
In this car is the woman I...fuck...the woman I am falling in love with.
“Isaac Miller,” I shout as four of our men step in front of his car, rifles lifted.
Aidan slams his hand on the side of the car and Isaac jumps. He tries to steer in another direction, but the tires are squealing and he’s losing traction snaking sideways.
He’s not going anywhere.
I reach the driver’s door and yank, but it's locked.
Fuck.
He floors it and the car lurches forward away from me.
Someone leaps on the hood and the madman slams on the brakes. Likely a natural reaction, but one that allows me time to catch up again.
“Gun,” I yell to one of the men.
He tosses me his rifle. I spin it, grip the weapon, and smash the end of it into the driver’s window.
Once.
Twice.
Three times...and it smashes.
Isaac covers his head with his arms and screams.
“She’s mine! Let me go. She’s mine.”
Okay, psycho.
But sorry, she’s actually mine.
Aidan is behind me as I tug the lock and rip open the door. “Get your girl.” He grunts as he yanks Isaac from the vehicle and tosses him to the ground.
“No, Cassy. Baby.”
I hesitate a second, turn and glare at the dead man walking on the ground.
“Don’t do it Josh,” Aidan warns me as I stare down at the asshole, the rifle still in my hands.
“She’s mine, let me fucking go!” He screams from his hands and knees. “We’re getting married.”
I take a step.
“Oops,” I say as my size twelve Tom Ford shoes crush down onto his hand.
Isaac screams.
I lean down and grip his chin, forcing him to look at me. “Stay the fuck in prison this time. Trust me when I say it’s the safest place for you.”
“Fuck you,” he spits at me.
“On second thought, maybe it won’t be.” I grin, wiping my face on my bicep. “Remember my name, asshole. Josh Hawke. US Navy SEAL and your worst fucking nightmare.”
This man is going to die.
Not by my hands, but I have contacts. Nobody fucks with what’s mine, especially not my girl.
My girl.
I’ll deal with that little piece of information later.
“Walk away Hawke,” Aidan growls. “The cops are on their way.”
We lock eyes, and I nod, dropping Isaac's head.
Hard.
On the ground.
He doesn’t need it. He won’t be alive much longer.
“Call the US Marshals.” I say, then lean into the vehicle to find Cassy.
Fuck. She’s not there.
Sweetheart, where the hell are you?
Ryder yanks open the trunk as I race around the back. “In here!”
I skid on my feet as I reach him and stare at the tiny body lying helpless in the dirty space. Cassy’s wet, terrified eyes blink back at me and my heart fractures seeing her like this.
I toss the rifle on the ground and reach in, lifting her into my arms. Then I hold her against my chest like she’s the most precious thing in my world.
She might just be.
“I’ve got you, sweetheart. I’ve got you. You’re safe.” I say over and over, tugging the cloth out of her mouth. “Cassy, I’m here. I’m here.”
“Josh,” she croaks as I press her head into my neck, walking back toward the building.
“It’s me, Cass. I’ve got you.” I crouch when I get to a covered quiet area. “We’ve got him. We caught him. That motherfucker will never hurt you again.”
I’m not sure how long I was crouched there holding her, but a medic team appears beside me and starts taking her vitals.
“She was drugged,” I tell them.
I reluctantly let them put her onto a stretcher, but demand they let me go with her.
“You’ll need to get rid of that,” one of the paramedics says, shooting a glance at my weapon.
Despite the threat being over, unarming isn’t natural to me. But then again, my entire body is a weapon.
I toss it to Aidan and climb in.