Chapter 34
The hard barrel of a gun pressed into the swelling bruise on Tessa’s cheek. The sharp, flaming pain froze the tears in her eyes. Biting her tongue so she didn’t whimper, she struggled to keep up with the smuggler dressed all in black she’d named Shadow.
She darted her gaze around the empty corridor and prayed for somebody to emerge from a door.
Nobody did.
Chairs, folded tables, and several trays of cutlery she could use as weapons lined the wide corridor, but Shadow clamped her arm, locking her under his control.
A rancid stench, like an overflowing dumpster, wafted from around the corner and mingled with the faint scent of cologne clinging to Shadow’s clothes.
Vomit raced up her throat. She slapped her hand over her mouth and stumbled over the torn hem of her dress.
Come on, Hudson. Where are you?
Had he even looked at his phone?
A cry gurgled from her lips. What if Hudson had been taken too?
No, Hudson was trained. He wouldn’t let himself be captured by a bunch of smugglers. He was coming for her, but she couldn’t wait. She had to find him and tell him that she was sorry for getting mad at him.
That she loved him.
The open loading dock waited ahead. Cold air hit her as Shadow shoved her onto the dark platform. Noxious exhaust fumes joined the reek from the dumpster. Through the moonless night, she made out a black van at the bottom of the ramp.
She opened her mouth to scream as the van door slid open. Agony surged through her cheek with each grating click. A harsh light illuminated the entrance to the van.
She blinked.
And blinked again.
Frank perched on his knees inside the vehicle.
Her breath caught. Of course he was here. What did she expect?
Blood ran from his temple into a blackened eye. More blood crusted under his nose. No matter how many times in the past she’d run from him, and despite all the precautions she’d taken, he never went away.
“Find me, Hudson. Please.”
The plea slipped from her lips on a whispered prayer.
Shadow pressed the gun into her cheek harder. “If your boyfriend shows up and messes with our plans again, we’ll blow up his mansion like we did to your house. And this time we’ll make sure everyone in it dies, including him.”
She choked on a gasp. “No.”
But as she uttered the word, she knew what she had to do to protect the people she loved.
Slumping her shoulders, she slipped off the ring. Nobody but her noticed it land in a pile of wet newspapers.
She knew Hudson would come charging unarmed into smugglers with guns for her. She couldn’t let that happen. She didn’t doubt they’d carry through on their threat. Shadow had just confirmed they’d known Lia and Malcolm were in her house when they’d detonated the bomb, and they hadn’t cared.
She loved Hudson too much to put him at risk.
To put everyone they loved at risk.
She’d fight her own way out of this somehow. She had to.
As they shoved her down the ramp, Frank screamed, “Tessa, run.”
The gun cocked against her cheek. The metallic click of the hammer echoed in her ears. Her vision and her memories narrowed until all she could hear was the sound of her shallow breathing. But it wasn’t the gun that shocked her into silence.
Frank finally put her safety first, but he was too late. He’d already broken her, and she’d just given up her only connection to the man who made her feel whole.
Hudson surged down the empty hallway toward the scream. He’d never met Frank before, but who else would yell for Tessa to run? Was he in danger too?
He gripped his gun tighter and forced himself to calm down as Malcolm motioned him forward. Peering around the corner, he spotted open doors to the loading dock about thirty yards in front of them. Scant moonlight silhouetted the dark building on the other side of the alley.
He checked Tessa’s tracker. His pulse surged to a level that would earn any of his patients an immediate trip to the ER.
She was out there. Despite the garbage stench, he caught the fragrance of roses and everything he loved, like she’d left a trail for him to follow.
He tensed to run, not caring if his heart beat out of his body.
Malcolm held up a hand and mouthed, “Slow.”
Shit, Malcolm was right. They didn’t know what kind of situation awaited in the dark beyond the doors. There could be two dozen of Fry Jack’s associates with guns out there.
Forcing himself to calm the hell down, Hudson and Malcolm moved through the hall, steady and cautious, taking turns clearing the area before they advanced to the next point. The only part of this clusterfuck that kept Hudson sane was the pulsing red dot on the phone.
The screech of tires slashed through him as they approached the doors. Feet flying, he raced outside into heavy darkness and raised his gun at the vanishing taillights of a dark van.
Malcolm clamped a hand on his shoulder. “Stand down. We can track her.”
Hudson’s fingers trembled as he lowered the gun. Fuck, Malcolm was right again. He couldn’t risk blowing out a tire and putting her life in danger.
He checked Tessa’s tracker. Her dot wasn’t moving. His heart stopped beating as he tapped on his phone. “Move, goddammit. Move.” He banged the phone against his thigh and checked again.
And again.
The fucking dot stayed still and silent.
Malcolm swept the area with the flashlight on his phone. “Is that…?”
A flash of ruby red caught the thin beam.