Chapter 53
Inhaling the strawberry scent of his daughter’s shampoo, Lachlan clutched her tiny body to his chest, placing gentle kisses on her head. She held him too tight. He swore he’d never let her be in this kind of danger again.
“You okay, hen?” Lachlan asked, his gaze drifting to the closed door his daughter had exited. Britt was inside alone with Wesley Thomas, but he couldn’t focus on her. Not until he was sure that Paloma was okay.
“I was r-really scared, Daddy,” Paloma said, leaning back to look into his face. “I tried to be brave, but I c-couldn’t.”
“It’s okay to be scared, hen. Even Daddy gets scared sometimes,” Lachlan said, rubbing his hands down her arms. “Did the bad man do … anything to you?” He choked the words out through gritted teeth. “Touch you in a … scary way?”
“No.” Paloma shook her head. “He yelled lots and made me cry. He said if I talk, he’d do bad things, so I stayed super quiet.”
“Good girl,” Lachlan said, kissing her forehead. “I’m so proud of you.”
“But the bad man’s gonna hurt Mommy!” Paloma said, her voice hitting a higher pitch as tears filled her eyes.
“Mommy …” Lachlan said, reeling with emotions of hearing his daughter refer to Britt that way. The way their child should think of her.
“You have to help her!”
“Aye.” Lachlan took a deep breath. “I’ll help Mommy as soon as I get ye out of here.”
“No, Daddy!” Paloma said, crying. “Help her now! The bad man’s gonna hurt her real bad!”
“I’m not going to let your Mommy get hurt,” Lachlan reassured her. “I promise. Tell me what happened when Mommy came inside the room.”
“The bad man made Mommy take the scary vest off me,” Paloma said.
“Scary vest?” Lachlan asked, looking down at his daughter dressed in one of her signature outfits—hot pink pants and a t-shirt with a glittering unicorn on the front. She didn’t own any vests.
Paloma nodded, tears streaming down her cheeks. “It was so heavy. It had wires and funny looking boxes all over it. Mommy took the vest off me and put it on.”
Fuck!
He didn’t have to ask for any more details to know the vest was a bomb, configured with pressure plates that would be triggered from some kind of remote device.
Rage coursed through him at the thought of Wesley putting that on his child.
The fucker was far from the man they all knew.
His thirst for justice, at any cost, had pushed him too far, obliterating the line between righteous vengeance and depravity.
He had to be stopped.
And Lachlan would be the one to do it.
Britt wouldn’t become the fucker’s next victim.
“Where’s Britt?” The voice wafted from behind him.
Lachlan glanced over his shoulders to see Sebastian, followed by Adonis, Kane, Rocco, and Everett.
“Has it been twenty minutes?” Lachlan chuckled, grateful to see the guys had disobeyed his order and come earlier.
“Seven,” Adonis said, dropping to Lachlan’s side. “Close enough. How are you, Paloma?” He reached into his backpack and pulled out Mr. Bow.
Paloma’s face lit up as she grabbed her favorite teddy bear. “Better now,” she said, clutching the stuffed animal to her chest. “Mommy is stuck inside there,” she pointed back to the door, “with the mean bad man.”
Sebastian ran a hand over her head. “She won’t be for long. That’s why we’re here. To get your Mommy out.”
Paloma looked pleased, her small shoulders relaxing as she turned back to Lachlan. “Mommy’s gonna be brave,” she said. “I gived her your special necklace. Mommy knows you will save her, Daddy.”
“Aye, I surely will,” Lachlan said, then glanced at Adonis. “Why don’t you go with Uncle Adonis and Uncle Kane back outside and wait for Daddy?”
“Okay,” Paloma said, reaching for Adonis’s hand. His friend lifted her into his arms. “Be super fast, Daddy. I don’t want Mommy to get scared.”
“I will, hen,” Lachlan said, then watched as Adonis and Kane navigated back down the hallway to the exit.
As soon as they were out of sight, Everett stepped toward him. “What are we dealing with?”
“Bomb vest on Britt," Lachlan said. "That bastard had it on Paloma first. Britt traded places with her."
Rocco examined the door, running his fingers along the frame. "Shit. Dual security panel with an auto-lock. When Bobby took the system down—"
"—it locked everything tight," Sebastian finished, placing a hand on Lachlan's shoulder. "We need to bring it back up."
“Then get Bobby to fucking do it,” Lachlan thundered.
"If we do that," Everett warned, catching Lachlan's eye, "Thomas can get a team of PISCOs out here. They’ll swarm the place to help him."
"I don't give a damn," Lachlan replied. "That's Britt in there. How long would any of you wait if it was the woman you loved?"
The men exchanged glances, a silent understanding passing between them.
“Don’t forget about Quattro,” Lachlan reminded them. “They can hold off the PISCOs and buy us time.”
Rocco said, “I’ll head back up and brief them on what’s coming.”
“Tell Bobby we need everything back online,” Lachlan said, already drawing his weapon. “I’m getting Britt out of there. Now.”
“Already done,” Sebastian said. “He says he can flip the switch as soon as we give the word and unlock all the doors in the facility.”
Lachlan walked to the door, pressing his ear to the warm steel. He couldn’t hear a damn thing. Didn’t know what Wesley was doing to Britt, if she was still okay.
The minutes crawled like hours until Rocco returned with confirmation that Quattro was on board and prepared to assist. Sebastian and Everett positioned themselves on opposite sides of the door across the hallway, bathed in the shadows.
Rocco stood next to the door, back pressed against the wall.
The plan was to trick Wesley into thinking Lachlan had come alone to find his daughter and rescue Britt.
At Lachlan’s signal, Bobby executed the plan to return power to the facility. The faint hum of the generator powering the building clicked off, bathing the underground tunnels in darkness for several seconds before blinding fluorescent light flooded the corridors.
Lachlan wasted no time pushing the door open.
The scene before him froze his blood.
Britt and Wesley crashed into the small sink as they wrestled violently for control of a black rectangular remote.
The explosive vest strapped to Britt's chest shifted precariously with each movement.
Her face was contorted with determination, eyes wild with a murderous resolve he'd never seen in her before.
"Let go, you crazy bitch!" Wesley snarled, driving his knee toward her stomach.
Britt twisted away, her fingers clawing at the device in his hand. "We're both going out tonight," she growled. "I won't let you hurt anyone else because of me!"
Lachlan's mind reeled with confusion. The scenario wasn't what he'd expected at all. Wesley wasn't trying to detonate the bomb—he was desperately trying to keep the remote from Britt's grasp. She was fighting to trigger it herself.
"I'm not dying because of you," Wesley spat, slamming her against the wall. "You're not worth it!"
"brITT!" Lachlan's voice boomed through the tiny room as he trained his gun on Wesley.
She jerked to a stop, her head whipping toward him, eyes widening in shock. "Lachlan? No! You can't be here."
The momentary distraction was all Wesley needed. He wrenched the remote from her grip and stumbled backward, breathing heavily, his face slick with sweat.
Lachlan tossed the gun to Britt, then lunged forward, catching Wesley by the throat before he could recover. They crashed to the floor, the impact knocking the wind from the PISCO agent. Lachlan drove his fist into Wesley's jaw, feeling bone crack beneath his knuckles.
"You put a bomb on my daughter," he growled, punctuating each word with another blow. "You threatened my family."
Wesley's bloody fingers clutched the remote, trying to keep it out of reach. Lachlan grabbed his wrist, slamming it against the concrete floor until the device clattered free. He kicked it across the room.
Sebastian, Everett, and Rocco poured through the doorway, weapons drawn and trained on Wesley.
"It's over, Thomas," Sebastian said, his voice cold and professional.
Wesley laughed through bloodied teeth, struggling to sit up as Lachlan released him. "You think it's over? PISCOs will be swarming this place in minutes." His eyes darted between them. "You're all dead men."
"Not likely," Everett said, unmoved by the threat.
“Quattro is topside," Rocco added. "Your PISCO friends will have a warm welcome waiting."
Lachlan turned away from Wesley, his focus entirely on Britt. She stood rooted to the spot, the explosive vest a grotesque accessory against her.
"Let's get this off you," he murmured, carefully examining the crude device.
His fingers worked methodically, disconnecting wires with surgical precision.
The vest's weight was considerable—designed to maximize casualties while ensuring the wearer couldn't escape.
He felt sick, knowing it had been on Paloma first.
"I thought," Britt's voice cracked. "I thought you'd taken her and gone."
"Is that what you think of me?" Lachlan asked softly, lifting the vest from her shoulders. "That I'd leave you here to die?"
He placed the deactivated device carefully in the corner.
Britt's face crumpled. "I wanted you to. I wanted you both safe." Tears streamed freely down her cheeks now. "This was my mess to fix."
Lachlan eased the weapon from her hands, then pulled her into his arms, one hand cradling the back of her head as she collapsed against him. "No more sacrifices. Not from you."
"Paloma?" she whispered against his chest.
"Safe. With Kane and Adonis." He tilted her face up to his. "She gave you my necklace.” He grabbed the charm, flipping it between his fingers.
“She told me you’d protect me.” A watery smile broke through her tears.
“Smart girl,” Lachlan replied, then captured her lips with his.
The kiss was soft, gentle—a sweet caress in the aftermath of the terror they'd both endured. When they finally broke apart, both were breathless.
"I love you," Britt whispered. "I've never stopped loving you."
"Not even when you couldn't remember me?" Lachlan asked, his thumbs wiping tears from her cheeks.
"Especially then," she said. "My mind forgot, but my heart never did."
Sebastian cleared his throat. "We need to move. Now."
Lachlan nodded, keeping an arm around Britt's waist. "Get her out of here," he said to Sebastian. "Take her to Paloma."
Britt stiffened beside him. "What about you?"
"I'll be right behind you," Lachlan said, his gaze drifting to Wesley, who was now secured with zip ties, Everett standing guard over him.
She followed his line of sight, understanding dawning in her eyes. "What are you going to do?"
He didn’t respond.
Britt searched his face, then nodded once.
Sebastian guided her toward the door. She paused at the threshold, looking back over her shoulder. Her eyes met Lachlan's one last time—a silent communication of all they'd been through, all they'd endured.
"We'll be waiting," she said, and then she was gone.
Everett moved toward the door. "Two minutes enough?"
Lachlan nodded. "More than enough."
As the door closed behind Everett, Lachlan stepped closer to Wesley, his gun balanced casually in his palm.
"You kidnapped my family," he said softly. "That was your first mistake."
He crouched down, bringing himself to eye level with the captured PISCO agent.
"Your second ..." Lachlan continued, "was thinking you'd ever leave this room alive."