Chapter 18 #2
For the first time in his life, Pipe was truly terrified.
He’d been through some scary shit in his previous career, but nothing was more frightening than the possibility of Cora being hurt.
He felt himself swaying and knew it was only a matter of time before they were all overcome by the gas.
Once they were unconscious, he had no doubt the bodyguard would return…
and who knew what would happen to them then. What would happen to Cora.
Ridge Michaels had already kidnapped one woman, and done who knows what to her. There was no telling what he’d do to his Cora.
And she was. His. Right then, with all the bullshit stripped away, Pipe knew what was truly important. Cora. His friends.
He’d always looked death in the eye, ready to give his life for the greater good, the safety of others.
And he’d had no doubt the men fighting at his side had felt the same way.
But things were different now. He didn’t want to die.
Didn’t want Owl to die. And he certainly didn’t want anything to happen to Cora.
As a last-ditch effort to do something, Pipe shifted until he could get his phone out of his back pocket. His fingers shook as he clicked on Stone’s name. He needed to tell his friend what was happening. Get help.
But as he stared down at the text string, he frowned.
Oh, yeah, he’d already tried to contact Stone and the message wouldn’t go through. Bloody hell, he was so confused. He needed to get up. To do something. But he couldn’t seem to move. His limbs were heavy, his head hurt, and he felt as if he was going to hurl.
Looking up, he saw Owl sitting in the chair with his head back, his eyes closed. That seemed like a fine idea. He was so tired. A nap would be good.
Pipe leaned back, keeping Cora in his arms as he did so. She snuggled against him, and he smiled. Yeah, he liked when she curled into him. He remembered that so vividly from this morning. Except now, oddly, their bed was much harder than before.
It didn’t matter. He was so tired, he could sleep anywhere.
He’d just close his eyes for a moment, then he’d get up and do whatever it was he was supposed to do. And he definitely needed to do something…but for the life of him, he couldn’t remember what. He was simply too tired. And dizzy.
The room was deathly silent as Pipe slipped into unconsciousness, a boneless Cora in his arms.
Stone tried not to panic. He kept hoping that any second now, Owl, Pipe, and Cora would reappear.
But the more time that passed, the more he knew that wasn’t going to happen.
Something had gone wrong inside that house, and he had no doubt that his friends were in trouble.
He should call 9-1-1…but what would he tell them?
He could do what they’d planned to threaten Michaels with, ask for a welfare check.
But something told Stone he didn’t have time for that. Michaels had every right to deny the cops entrance, and it would take way too long for them to get a search warrant. No, he had to do something now.
Stone’s hands started shaking and he couldn’t help but think of a different situation where he’d felt just as helpless. When he and Owl had been prisoners.
Once upon a time, he’d been a cocky son-of-a-bitch who didn’t think anyone could ever get the drop on him. Then he’d found himself being held hostage. Tortured. That experience had changed him. Made him doubt his abilities.
It took a moment for his head to clear, to shake the memories of the pain and absolute terror he’d felt as a POW.
Stone straightened in his seat. He had to do more than simply sit on his ass. Pipe, Owl, Cora, and even Lara, if she was still alive, needed him to figure this out. To do something.
He realized he was holding his phone so tightly, his fingers were tingling. An idea came to him. Stone had no idea who the unknown person was who kept saving the day, but maybe, just maybe, they would have some sort of idea on how to reach his friends. His fingers flew over the keyboard.
Stone: I can’t get a hold of Pipe or Owl. They’re inside the house already and my texts and calls aren’t going through.
Unknown: Shit. Okay, give me a second.
Stone didn’t know what the person needed time for, but he felt better already for having shared what was happening.
After what seemed like forever, but in reality was only a minute or two, his phone vibrated again.
Unknown: Bastard has a signal jammer, but I’ve disabled it. Try to get a hold of them again. Now.
Stone had no clue how the hell the person knew about the signal jammer from wherever they might be, but he wasn’t going to question it. He was also a little annoyed by the bossiness of the unknown stranger, but since he was helping, Stone couldn’t complain.
Stone: Owl, get the fuck out! Now!
He waited a moment, but Owl didn’t respond. Neither did Pipe when he texted him. He replied to Unknown.
Stone: They aren’t answering. What’s the FBI’s ETA?
Unknown: Keep trying. You have to get them out of there. I don’t know when the FBI will arrive and Carter Grant is not someone you want near any female, under any circumstances.
Stone gritted his teeth, unsure how he could get them out.
He had zero intel. Didn’t know if the arrival of Owl and Pipe had put the entire household on high alert.
For all he knew, there were a dozen people just waiting to take him out the second he tried to break in.
If anything happened to him, it could mean the end of any hope for his friends.
He continued to try to get a hold of either Pipe or Owl. He called, he texted. He tried Cora. All with no luck.
But his calls weren’t going straight to voicemail anymore, and the texts seemed to be going through. That was both encouraging and terrifying. The latter because despite going through—his friends still weren’t answering.
He chose to focus on the little glimmer of hope, which gave him the motivation he needed to keep trying.
Pipe and Owl were smart, they’d figure out a way to outmaneuver Michaels. And when they did, Stone would be waiting to get them the fuck out of there.