Chapter 35
Cy had no clue if they were going to get to Willa in time. They’d raced out of Jump’s house and hopped into two cars, speeding toward the address Willa had given him, but were they going fast enough to get to her before Robert got back?
The seconds stretched out and felt like minutes. It was difficult to breathe, and his head swam with worry. It felt like the world was closing in on him.
He’d been in shitty situations, shot at, almost blown up, gone down in helicopters, dropped in the middle of the ocean, and other shit that was unreal, but nothing he’d experienced in all his years felt this awful.
“We’ll be there in two minutes,” Foster said.
“Fuck. This is bad.”
“I’ve called for an ambulance,” T said.
An ambulance would mean police. If he got his hands on Robert, he couldn’t kill him. He had to remember that even though he wanted the guy to die, he had to keep his wits about him and keep the guy alive.
“That’s the place,” T said from the back seat.
Foster pulled into the lot, and Cy’s gaze combed the front of the motel, searching for the room numbers.
Then he saw Robert, and anger whipped through him hard. He opened the door as Robert slowed, stepping out before the car had come to a complete stop.
“Hey!” Cy yelled, hoping Robert would come at him instead of stepping into that room. Once the door closed, the only way in was breaking the window. They didn’t have charges to blow the door, or the battering ram they used on missions.
The wail of a siren traveled on the wind, then blended in with the background noise. The cops and the ambulance were still minutes away. He had to draw Robert out.
“What are you doing, Robert? Get over here,” Cy called out, acting like he knew the guy.
For a moment, Cy thought Robert was going to step into the room and slam the door shut.
But the jerk took the bait. Did that idiot think they were buddies, or maybe someone selling something?
This was the type of place where illicit substances would flow from sellers to buyers. But that wasn’t why he was here.
About five seconds after Robert shut the door to the room, Cy could tell the guy realized his mistake. Cy took off, sprinting the last few steps to Robert. The man actually yelped as Cy caught up and slammed him against the wall of the motel.
“I don’t know where she is,” Robert squealed.
“Bullshit. Give me your room key.”
“Fuck you!”
Cy pressed harder, resisting the urge to beat the shit out of the guy. Foster was there, taking over for Cy as T grabbed the dropped door key and opened the door for Cy to enter.
“Cy, go get her.”
He stepped into the room as the ambulance pulled into the lot. The lump on the floor across the room wasn’t moving, and for a moment, he feared she was gone.
Then she put her hand over her eyes and moaned. Relief flooded through him. Willa was alive.
He made sure the door didn’t shut and moved to her. Already, the bruises were evident. He didn’t want to hurt her, so instead of picking her up and pulling her to him, he went low and spoke in a soft voice.
“I’m here. You’re safe.”
Her sob didn’t surprise him. She didn’t open her eyes, but her hand found his.
The guys in the ambulance came in and took over, telling him to move. He stepped back but said he was riding to the hospital with her. They didn’t argue.
She looked like shit with blood crusted in her hair and dirt and bruises on her face.
When the EMT opened her eyelids to shine a light into her eyes, he could see that both of her eyes had broken blood vessels, which made her look even worse.
Even with that, she was the best-looking woman he’d ever seen.
He stayed by her side or right outside the door to her hospital room.
She was exhausted, and the doctors confirmed she had a concussion.
The lights were dimmed in her room, and she was hooked up to machines.
They had a drip with a painkiller along with antibiotics, so she would be hydrated and medicated.
Hours later, the police showed up. Detective Riser came over and introduced himself.
“It looks like we have a doozy of a situation.”
Cy lifted his chin. “What do you mean?”
“Piecing it all together, from what we’ve found, the texts from Cindy to that guy, Drake. That’s the name of the guy in the parking lot at Aces bar. Turns out, Cindy paid Drake to kill Willa. So I don’t know whether to be glad Robert got hold of her or not.”
“So if Robert hadn’t been there, she would be dead?”
“I can’t say for certain. Loads of people think they can kill someone, but when push comes to shove, they can’t finish the deed.
But this Drake guy, I think he could have.
He’s not a good dude. Willa’s only interaction with him was at the bar.
He admitted as much. Cindy isn’t talking, but we got a warrant for her place and all electronics, so we’ll get the full picture.
She didn’t even delete her texts to Drake. ”
Cy ran his hand down his face. “Wow. It’s hard to be thankful Robert was there, but I guess I am.”
“It’s not often that a total shithead turns out to be heroic. Still, he ended up abusing her and holding her captive. He will go to prison for a long time. This time, we’ll make sure he doesn’t get bail.”
Cy shook the man’s hand. “Thank you.”
Detective Riser nodded before turning to leave. He turned back. “I’ll be back to talk to her in the morning. Get some rest.”
Cy nodded, but had no plans of leaving the hospital. His buddies showed up after the detective left. They’d all given statements, leaving out the part about Cy wanting to kill Robert.
By midnight, Willa had been moved to a private room, and he was alone with her. His heart broke as he stared at her bruised and battered body.
From his job, he knew evil existed. He’d seen worse on missions, but the damage done to Willa hurt him. It had been a while since he’d cried at anything other than funerals for fallen SEALs, but as he sat beside Willa’s bed, his emotions were too much, and the tears spilled out.
He must have drifted off, but woke when a nurse came in. Willa was also awake, and when her gaze met his, her face lit up. The smile only stayed on her lips for a moment because the bruises and cuts must have hurt.
He stood and took her hand. “Hey.”
She choked out a sob as she found his hand and held on. “You found me.”
“I’m sorry it took so long.”
“You’re here, that’s what matters.” She swallowed and closed her eyes for a moment, then flashed them open. “I thought I wouldn’t get the chance to tell you I love you. I love you so much.”
His heart splintered. “I love you, Willa.” Emotions squeezed his throat tight. “I love you, too.”
The nurse left the room, and he lowered enough to brush a gentle kiss over her lips. It would take a while for her to heal, but she would heal, and then he would show her how much he loved her.
“What happened to Robert?”
“He’s in jail. Detective Riser stopped by. Said he’ll be by in the morning.” There was no way he would tell her that Cindy had hired someone to kill her. Later, once she was out of the hospital, she could learn that bit of information.
He wanted to run his hands over her hair or her body, but he didn’t want to cause more pain, so he held her hand, knowing that once she healed, he could kiss her as much as he wanted. Her eyes were closed, and he stood, but her eyes flashed open.
“You should get some rest,” he said.
“Will you stay?” Her voice was still weak, but it was better than she’d sounded on the phone.
“Yes. I’m not leaving your side today. I took the day off work.”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that.”
“Of course I do. Work will be there on Monday.”
Her eyes slid closed, and he watched her until he was sure she had drifted off.
The pain of almost losing her still sat heavy on his chest. No question, he needed to get past this and be the man she needed.
He could do it. He’d recovered from losing some of his best friends in the world.
He would recover from this because she was still here, and he hadn’t lost her.
He got a little more sleep and was up when the doctors made their rounds.
They explained to Willa what she needed to do over the next few weeks.
Of course, with the concussion, she had to take things easy.
There were restrictions on television and reading.
Willa seemed a little disappointed, but she took the information in stride.
A little after noon, she was released from the hospital. Close to noon, Detective Riser called, stating he would meet up with them at Cy’s house.
His buddies had brought his car over to the hospital earlier. He had the best friends in the world. Without them, he would have had to call a taxi to get them home.
When he pulled into the driveway, Willa pushed open the passenger side door but didn’t get out.
“I’ll be around in just a second.”
“Hold on,” Willa said.
He turned to her, seeing the serious look on her face.
Unease shifted through him. She’d been through a lot, and sometimes after traumatic events, people changed things in their lives.
He hoped she still wanted to live here with him.
If she wanted to take a break, he would support her.
It would be hard, but he would do whatever she wanted.