“Hey, she assaulted me,” I said angrily. It was like they weren’t listening to a word I was saying. “She attacked me. And all because I was trying to help her out.”
“You don’t need these other guys,” Knight said, stepping forward. “I’ll give you some advice, only because I like your style.”
Hunter shook his head. “There’s nothing you can do to help him out, Hud. Even you never blackmailed Kate.”
“No, but I did threaten to kill her.”
“What?” Cap barked. “When did this happen?”
“When we were at the safe house that got burned down. Cole asked me to make sure that she knew I wasn’t interested in her anymore.”
“So, you threatened to kill her?” I asked, curious how this all worked out.
He shrugged. “It worked. She was terrified of me.”
“So, how did you end up together?” Derek asked.
He smirked and slapped Hunter on the back. “She overheard this asshole saying that I loved her. It kind of gave away the whole lie.”
“See,” I shook my finger in Knight’s direction as I grinned. “This is the guy I need to talk to. If you can come back from threatening to kill a woman, then I’ve got this in the bag.”
“Not quite. See, I had already been with Kate for some time. We had established a connection. You…have nothing.”
I stared in stunned silence. “So, you mean that I don’t have a chance?”
Knight sighed. “Everyone out.”
“What?” Cap shook his head. “No, there’s no fucking way that I’m leaving you alone with him.”
“You think I’m gonna shoot him?” Knight chuckled. “I have a plan, but there’s no way in hell any of you are gonna be around to hear it.”
“Why?” Hunter asked suspiciously.
“Plausible deniability,” Knight growled.
Hunter stepped back, almost as if he had been hit. “Hud, this is a bad idea.”
“Fuck off.”
“He’s right,” Cap agreed. “You go through with this and get caught, you’re fucked.”
“Why is he fucked?” I asked.
“Relax, no one’s getting caught. Well, except Reese,” he smirked.
“What would we get caught doing?” I asked urgently.
“Think of what Kate would say,” Hunter said, stepping toward him like a caged lion.
“She’s not gonna find out.”
“Find out what?” I asked again. Why was everyone ignoring me?
“What are we talking here?” Derek asked. “Code Black or cover your dick?”
Knight thought about it, bouncing his head side to side for a moment. “Depends on which way it goes. Code Black if you don’t keep Sean out of it. Cover your dick if any of the women find out.”
“My dick is perfectly happy where it is with my woman,” Hunter replied. “I’m out. Sorry, Craig, you’re on your own.”
“On my own for what?”
“I’m out too. I’m trying to have a baby with Claire. I kind of need my dick for that.” Irish slugged me in the arm and followed Hunter out of the room.
“My dick is ready for this mission,” I pleaded. “Just tell it what to do.”
“What about you, Cap?” Knight asked.
He huffed out a breath and nodded. “I’m in. You know if I don’t go along, Maggie will be pissed.”
“Why would Maggie be pissed?”
Knight chuckled slightly and turned to Becky. “I’ll need you on standby.”
“Wait, I thought I was here for a woman’s perspective, but I don’t even know what you guys are talking about.”
“Just be ready to do the usual cleanup,” Knight instructed.
“See, this is why I’m leaving. I don’t have any details, but I’m expected to follow along.”
“I don’t have any details either, if it makes you feel better,” I grumbled.
“That’s not why you told me you were leaving.” Cap crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Becky.
“Well, I just added it to the list of reasons.”
“And when are you leaving again?” Cap asked.
“As soon as I can finish up my projects.”
“Right,” Cap snorted.
“You know what? Fuck you, Cap.” Becky stormed out of the room, leaving me with my boss and a former assassin. I shouldn’t be so excited to hear this plan. After all, two of my teammates just walked out of here and refused to be part of it. But it was Knight. Whatever he had up his sleeve, it was bound to be good.
Later that night, we sat outside her house in one of the company SUVs outside her house. Knight had come up with a brilliant plan to get Reese back, but I made one thing very clear. If anything went wrong, they were both to haul ass out of there and have Becky wipe the street cams so that no one could place them at the scene with me. I wasn’t about to let anyone else go down for what I was about to do.
“Craig, are you sure you want to do this?” Cap asked. “There’s still time to back out.”
“Yeah, if you’re a pussy,” Knight grumbled.
“It’s not being a pussy to decide not to break the law.”
“Yeah, and you’ve never broken the law, right?” Knight mumbled.
“Hey, I’m all in. I need to get her back.”
“You know that if you don’t convince her to listen to you, you’re gonna end up in jail,” Cap reminded me for the tenth time.
“Yes, I know. Now, can we get on with this?”
“Alright, she called Brooke ten minutes ago and made plans to meet up at a bar in town,” Knight said.
“How do you know?” I asked.
“I tapped her phones.” He stared at me like I was stupid. This was Knight we were talking about. It wasn’t that far fetched that he would do something like this. “Now, when she comes out of the house, you need to snatch her before she comes around to the front of the house. Once she’s in view of the street, you’re fucked.”
“Right. Okay, I’m ready for this.”
CHAPTER TEN
Reese
After having conferences all afternoon and evening, I was exhausted. I kicked off my heels and went straight for the wine in the kitchen. This day sucked. I had parents come in that weren’t happy because their child wasn’t reading at the level they expected. It was the beginning of the year and they were in kindergarten. Most kids didn’t read that well at this age. Then I had another parent that was upset when I sent her child to the office for repeatedly pulling down his pants in class. And that was just in my first hour of conferences. The rest of the night was a little better, but the first hour had really set the tone for me.
My phone rang and I knew who it was without looking. “Please tell me you want drinks at the bar,” I pleaded with Brooke.
“I figured you would want some fun. Thank God it’s Friday, right?”
“You have no idea. I need this weekend more than I realized. I say we get shitfaced and pick up some hot guys.”
“Since when have you ever wanted to do anything to tarnish your good image?”
“Since I’ve had the Wolf on my mind all day and I need to get laid.”
“So, call him and tell him to come over for a hook-up.”
I snorted and drank some more wine. “Not a chance. He tried to have me arrested!”
“I know, but he just really wanted to get to know you.”
“How is it that you see my stalker as someone that I need in my life? I could be wrapped up in plastic and have duct tape over my mouth by the end of the night.”
“Okay, your stalker is a friendly stalker, so that would never happen. He’s a wolf.”
“Right, and wolves kill people.”
“Not true. They hunt their prey, and you my friend are the thing that man wants to devour.”
“So, you would have me risk the trunk of a car over a man that could potentially be a good lay.”
“Potentially? Oh, honey. Just one look at that man and you know he won’t disappoint.”
&
nbsp; “You know, call me crazy, but I think I’m going to play it safe and just take the average bar hopper home with me tonight.”
“Fine,” she grumbled. “But I think you’re missing out on some potentially nasty sex.”
“Right. I’ll see you at the bar in thirty.”
I hung up and finished my wine, then headed upstairs to get ready for my night out. The hard part about being a teacher was that I had to always have a certain look at school. So, I didn’t have a lot of clothes that were just for fun. I threw on my one cute top and some tight jeans and headed downstairs. After spending all day in heels, I opted for flip flops. Not ideal for looking hot, but at this point, I didn’t really care.
I snatched my purse off the counter and headed for the side door. I stepped outside and dug in my purse for my keys, but couldn’t find them. Opening my purse wider, I practically shoved my head inside my purse to find them.
Something pressed hard to my mouth and jerked my head back. My eyes went wide as I realized what was happening when I started getting dragged backward. Instincts kicked in and I started fighting back, kicking and punching at whatever I could, but whoever had ahold of me was much stronger than me. If I didn’t get away from this man, I would end up dead or as someone’s sex slave.
Heart hammering in my chest, I knew I had to do whatever I could to get away from this guy. I wouldn’t survive if I was taken. I clawed at his face and heard a low curse when I felt his skin tear. I bit down on the hand covering my mouth. I was momentarily released, but when I made a run for it, something hit me hard on the head.
I tilted toward the ground, but was swept up in strong arms before I could hit the ground. The whole world started to grow fuzzy, and somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew this wasn’t going to end well for me. I felt myself being tossed somewhere and then it was black. I heard a door slam and then I was jerked around wherever I was lying.
Blinking my eyes rapidly, I forced myself to focus on what was happening. My head was killing me, but other than that, I seemed to be fine. I took a deep breath and felt around me for some sign of where I was. The rocking motion finally clicked in my brain and I realized I was in the trunk of a car.
“Okay, think. Think, think, think.”
I slapped at my head, instantly regretting it when it reminded me of how much my head hurt.
“Okay, I’m in the trunk of a car. I need to get away before he drives me too far away. Okay, trunks of cars have…that’s right!”
I felt around for the locking mechanism that was installed inside trunks in case someone got locked in, but there wasn’t one.
“Shit!” I pounded against the trunk repeatedly until I was tired and slightly less irritated. “I should have stuck by the Wolf. At least he would have found a way to protect me.”
As soon as the words were out of my mouth, it hit me that he was probably the one that took me. I rolled into the sidewall as the car turned sharply. Then we were bouncing and my body was collecting bruises like shells at the ocean. My body was flung harshly around the trunk as I felt the car going out of control. I was going to die in this trunk, and it was all because I had a stupid fucking cup of coffee.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Craig
“What’s happening?” I was just about to go make my move when Knight grabbed onto my arm, stopping me in my tracks.
“I have an alert on the property. Someone else is here.”
“Who?”
He flipped through the screens on his tablet as I leaned over his shoulder, and then I saw it. Someone attacked Reese from behind and now they were hauling her over to a car in the alley. I flung the door of the SUV open and sprinted across her property, but I had to make it to the other side, and I doubted I would make it to her in time unless a miracle happened. I saw the man slam the trunk of the car and as he slipped into the driver’s seat, he smirked at me and gave me a finger wave.
I pulled my gun to fire at the car, but I couldn’t risk that something would happen to Reese if it caused an accident. I ran as fast as I could, but the car was already turning out of the alley and further away from me. Cap screeched to a halt behind me in the SUV. I got in, just barely shutting the door, and he was already tearing down the alley in pursuit.
“What do you have, Knight?”
“There’s no signs of her being watched from the camera feed. This looks random.”
“How the fuck could it be random? He snatched her right outside her door.”
“Maybe if you knew more about her, I might be able to give you something. All I know is that she’s a fucking kindergarten teacher that you met at a coffee shop. That tells me jack shit about her life.”
“Fuck!” I smashed my fist into the dash and ran my hand over my head, trying to calm myself. I needed to stay calm and think rationally here. I had this. “It’s fine. It doesn’t matter who the fuck it is. We just have to catch up to him and I’ll fucking kill him.”
“You’re not curious who this is?”
“Doesn’t fucking matter right now. I just have to get her back. The rest is just details.”
Cap turned the corner and sped up. The tail lights weren’t too far away. It would only take another mile to catch up and then I’d make my move.
“What do you need?” Cap asked.
“Nothing. I’ve got my gun. Anything else is too dangerous. Just get me close enough and I’ll jump on the fucking roof of the car.”
“Are you sure you want to go that route?”
“Hell yeah.”
“That means throwing him out of the car,” Cap said, almost like a reminder.
“I’m well aware of what it means.”
“He could die before we ever find out why he was after her.”
I took a deep breath and calmed myself down. “It’s fine. I’ll make sure he stays alive for you to interrogate.”
Cap drove faster and Knight tapped me on the shoulder. “Here.” He handed me a piece of paper with an address. “This is a safe house I have set up. Head there until we give you the all clear.”
I nodded and took the scrap of paper, shoving it into my wallet. Cap pulled up on the tail of the car and I lowered my window so that I would be ready when he made his move. He jerked the SUV to the left, speeding up until he was alongside the car. I started climbing out the window, just barely hanging on as he moved into position. With one last nod to Cap, I leapt onto the roof of the car, gripping onto the edges by the doors. My fingertips ached from gripping so tightly.
The guy swerved the car, almost flinging me off the roof. I could see Knight poised in the back, ready to shoot the guy if he made the wrong move. But I wasn’t in control of the car, and that meant that Reese could get seriously hurt.
“Fuck this.” I pulled my gun and smashed it into the passenger side window. I slipped in feet first and kicked him in the face. He lost his grip on the steering wheel and I grabbed onto it, shoving the gear shift into neutral. The car started to slow, but the man started fighting back.
“Hey there,” I said cheerily. “Just dropped in for a quick hello. Beautiful weather we’re having, right?”
I punched him in the face, just to get out a little frustration, but he came back with a gun to my face.
“Get the fuck out of my car!”
“That’s not a very nice way to greet me after I dropped in,” I said, snatching the gun rather easily from his hands. He grasped at the steering wheel, trying to jerk the wheel to throw me across the car. I could use my own gun on him, but guns in close quarters were never a good idea. I slammed my fist twice more into his face and reached across his body and yanked on the door handle.
“I wish we could chat a little longer, but this is your stop.” I shoved the door open and just barely caught the terror in his eyes before I shoved him out the door. I pulled the door shut as the car slowed to a crawl and straightened the rearview mirror to suit my needs. There were headlights coming up on us and I had no idea if they were friend or foe. There wasn’t time t
o let Reese out and deal with the hysterics that were sure to ensue as soon as I popped the trunk.
I honked at Cap, waving him down as I pulled away. I motioned behind him and saw his head turn to the oncoming traffic. Knight was out of the SUV and kicking the shit out of the guy. As much as I wanted to go back and give him my own beat down, I needed to get Reese to safety. I watched in the rearview mirror as I took off down the road. Knight had hauled the guy into the back of the SUV and they were heading back to Reed Security. Now the only problem I had was where to let Reese out so that she didn’t cause a big scene.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Reese
I had no idea how long I had been in the trunk, but the ride had definitely been easier the last half of it. Now though, it seemed like we were slowing down. I held my breath as the car stopped and the door opened. What would happen now that we stopped? Would I end up dead on the side of the road?
I heard a key in the trunk and then it opened and I was met with darkness and a figure looming over me. My heart thundered in my chest, making me nauseous and dizzy. But I had to hold it together if I had any hope of getting out of here. I saw him move and thought about jumping up and attacking him, but my muscles were sore from laying in such an awkward position for so long.
A bright light shone in my eyes and I squinted, trying not to be blinded by the light. I felt hands on me and then I heard Craig’s low rumble.
“Are you alright, Reese?”
I swatted at his hands, fighting to stay free of him. “Stay away from me, you psychopath!”
“I’m not- hey, stop hitting me! I didn’t take you!”
I shuffled back further into the trunk, wishing that I could see him. “You’re driving the car! How could it not be you?”
“It wasn’t me. I swear. I saw you being taken and I came after you.”
“Oh, that’s a great story! Too bad no one will believe you. Sean knows that you’ve been stalking me for weeks. He won’t believe you!”
“You scratched him.”
I stopped for a second and thought back. I had scratched the guy on the face. If I could just see Craig’s face, it would prove it was him. “Fine, shine the light on your face.”
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