Chapter Sixteen
Bodhi
I groan in pain as I lie in the gravel lot.
I hear the car speed away, kicking up rocks as they chase down Jett and Olivia.
“I’m sorry,” I mutter, wishing she could hear me.
I promised her she wouldn’t get hurt, but they were always one step ahead.
I didn’t realize until the gun went off that they let her run.
They had no interest in me. The second Jett shoved her in his car, they forgot all about me.
Now I’m lying in the dirt bleeding, and I feel defeated.
I pull myself up to sit, keeping my arm pulled to my chest. That fucker shot me in the goddamn arm. It’s bleeding pretty heavily, but it’s not anything vital, and there is an exit wound. I got lucky… but maybe not lucky enough. I refuse to believe she is dead.
I get my phone out of my pocket in time to see Rhett calling. “They got her,” I mutter.
“What? Where are you? What the fuck happened?” Rhett rushes out. He’s going to be fucking heartbroken if she dies.
“Fuck,” I hiss as I stand up. “They fucking slashed my tire and shot me in the arm. Jett got to her, but they took off after them.”
“Maybe Jett will…”
“They planned this,” I say. “They got her. They let her run, and probably intended for me to run with her. They didn’t expect Jett, I don’t think. When he showed up, they looked almost panicked.”
“How are you so calm?!” Rhett shouts at me.
“Because,” I groan, pulling myself to sit in the driver’s seat of the truck. “She’s with Jett. He will keep her alive. She will keep him alive. I’m fucking bleeding out, so if you wouldn’t fucking mind…”
“I’m coming. I’m almost there,” he says, softening his tone. “How the fuck do we get her back? The FBI will never…”
“Fuck them,” I snap. “They had a chance to protect her. We figure it out and get her back. Buy her back if we….”
I hear Rhett’s truck pull up, so I end the call. He jumps out to run around to me. “Shit, that’s a lot of blood,” he says, turning back to his truck to grab a shirt from the front seat.
“You fucking motherfucker,” I hiss in pain when he ties it tightly around my arm.
“I know. I know,” he says. “Hospital or…”
“No,” I snap at him again. “Home. I can handle it.”
“Alright. Come on,” he says, not arguing. He helps me into his truck, and we leave mine to drive toward the house.
When we get home, Kate and Luke are already waiting. “Holy fuck,” Kate says, opening my door. “Wait, where is…”
“No,” Luke says. “Fuck!”
“You…” Kate starts to yell, but Luke glares at her. “I’m sorry. Fuck. This is bad.”
“She’s with Jett,” I say. “She will survive. We just need to find a way to get her out.”
“He wants to buy her,” Rhett says.
“Not me,” I say, unlocking the front door. “You.”
“Me?!” Rhett says as we walk in. “I am a literal cop. I will get us all killed.”
“You aren’t going as a cop, and none of them know you,” I say, walking to the bedroom. “I’ll get Dad to help get you an alias. I’m sure he has sketchy connections. You go, you do whatever you have to do, and you bring her back to us.”
I sit on the bed, and Kate brings me my medical kit I keep here. Luke cut his hand open once, and she helped me stitch him up, so she located everything I’ll need with ease. I inject something to numb the area, and relief slowly washes over me.
“What if…” Rhett starts to say. “What if they tell me to fuck her?”
“Rhett,” I say.
“No. I won’t hurt her,” he says louder. “I can’t. I… Jesus, Bodhi, I’m not a rapist.”
“Rhett,” I say again.
“No. I can’t do that to her,” he says, his eyes welling up with tears. “I care too much about her to… I won’t be another man who hurts her.”
“I know,” I say gently.
“You know?” Rhett asks, caught off guard.
“I know you love her,” I say.
“No,” Rhett says quickly. Kate barks out a laugh, but Luke covers her mouth. “I… Fuck… Yeah…”
“She trusts you,” I say. “If the only way to bring her home is to prove yourself, you bring her home.”
“What if she hates me?”
“Then you think of a really good fucking way to apologize,” I say, using his words against him. “If it breaks both of you but brings her home alive... you can help me put her back together.”
“Okay,’ he whispers, wiping his eyes. “Fine. Yeah. I’ll do it.”