Tempted by Love

by Jennifer Ryan

  “I’ll have Jay and the DEA come. They’ll get her back.”

  “If you don’t come, he’ll kill her. You have to leave right now.” His desperation made her want to act fast.

  Jay pulled her hand close so he could speak to Noel. “He’s not going to kill her until he gets what he wants. She’s his leverage. So what exactly does he want?”

  “He’s smart enough to know I have money and a stash of drugs. He’s dumb enough to think he can get them and kill Alina and get away.”

  Lee covered a gasp and anguished sob. Noel had finally admitted to his part in the illegal activities. Others had told Lee the horrible truth, but she’d never heard it from her husband’s lips and the impact hit her hard.

  “He’s pissed she killed his friend and ruined your business,” Jay guessed.

  “If he’d left well enough alone and let me handle it, none of this would have happened.”

  “Because you’d have blackmailed Alina to keep her quiet, right? Even though you had your side business up and running before she became your partner, you made sure to make it look like she joined both businesses. You made her look guilty so you could use it against her and keep her quiet.”

  “I thought she’d see the benefits and the future it would give us.”

  Lee sat up straighter and stared at Alina, past suspicions taking on a new reality.

  Alina gave her a sad smile.

  Jay cleared things up. “Alina turned you down flat and turned her back on you and you sent that thug after her.”

  “I just wanted the files back.”

  “You wanted to keep the cash flowing.”

  “I wanted to give my family everything.” Those earnest words belied the reality he’d put himself and his family in danger.

  “All the while trying to seduce Alina even after she and I got together so you wouldn’t be alone.”

  Alina put her hand on Jay’s arm. “Stop. She gets it.” Alina didn’t like Jay’s tactic of letting Lee in on all the dirty secrets her husband kept.

  Lee needed to face the truth about her husband, but enough was enough.

  Overwhelmed, Lee sank back into the chair, tears spilling down her face. “He’s completely lost his way.”

  “I never meant to hurt anyone. I feel like I’ve already lost you, and I needed someone—”

  “Shut up. I don’t want to hear any more excuses. I want my daughter. You get her back, or I swear to God, jail will feel like a picnic compared to what I’ll do to you.” The strength and conviction in Lee’s voice made even Jay raise an eyebrow in admiration.

  “I’ve hurt everyone I love, I know that. I want to make it right. I want Heidi safe. So please, Alina, you have to hurry. I’m sure Jay has already started forming a plan. I can help. I want to help because I don’t want anyone else to get hurt.”

  Jay’s mouth drew into a tight line. “How do I know you’re not setting this up to get back at Alina?”

  “I think you know the answer to that,” Noel admitted. “You’re right. I got greedy. I reached for far more than I deserved at the same time I had everything I ever wanted.”

  Alina and Lee shared a poignant look. Noel thought he wanted Alina, but what he really wanted was his wife back after the cancer stole her from him.

  Alina pulled a small notebook and pen from her purse and handed them to Lee. “Write down the address.” She spoke into the phone. “We’re on our way.”

  Noel’s heavy sigh along with his relief came through the phone loud and clear.

  Jay swore, went to the front door, walked out, then walked back in with the cops behind him.

  “Where did they come from?” Lee asked, surprised they appeared so quickly.

  “They’ve been watching your house since Alina was attacked in case your husband decided to come home. They’ll stay with you until we get your daughter back.” Jay held his hand out to Alina. “Let’s go.”

  Alina leaned down and hugged Lee. “I’m sorry.”

  “This is all his fault.” Lee glanced up at Jay. “You’ve got a good man. Hold on to him.”

  Alina took Jay’s hand. “I’ll never let go.”

  She and Jay ran out of the house. Alina held on to the cell phone with Noel still on the line. They jumped into Jay’s SUV. He handed her his cell before he sped down the road. “Call Caden and Beck. Get them on the move. We’ll fill in details as we set up this plan on the fly.” The sarcasm and frustration in his voice let them both know he didn’t like this one bit. “And there’s no way in hell I’m letting you go in there,” he bit out.

  “She has to or he’ll kill my daughter.”

  “He won’t, not when what he really wants is Alina.”

  “You don’t know that. This guy is out of his fucking mind thinking she’ll come here without you guys coming with her.”

  “You know why criminals get caught?” Jay asked Noel. “Because they’re stupid. They always do something that gets them caught or killed.”

  “I don’t want my daughter to be collateral damage.”

  Alina got Beck on the line. “It’s me. I’m on the phone with Noel. Brian has his daughter and wants me. We’re headed to Noel’s cabin now. I need you and Caden on the move ASAP.”

  Jay took over talking to both Noel and Beck at the same time, while Beck used Ashley’s phone to get Caden involved. Alina listened to them go over the cabin and property layout. They laid out a tactical plan with several contingencies. Brian had chosen a good place to try to tie up loose ends and escape. The cabin was wide open on all sides. He’d see a SWAT team moving in. With Noel helping them, they’d work around that problem and hopefully end this before it became a hostage situation that ended in a standoff.

  Jay, her brothers, none of them wanted her involved, but this didn’t work without her. The longer she listened to them coordinate, the more at ease she became. Yes, she was scared, but with them backing her up, she found the courage to face this head-on.

  They kicked in doors and took down drug dealers much more organized and deadly than Brian and his crazy plan for revenge. He didn’t know what he’d gotten himself into, asking her to come. But he’d find out, because Jay was smart and cunning and organized her brothers and the rest of the team who’d be on standby near the cabin for backup.

  Brian would walk into the cabin, but he wouldn’t walk away.

  Jay understood criminals like him, feeding off their greed and vengeance. They thought they could play with fire and not get burned. Brian had no idea the kind of man he’d faced off with, but he would soon.

  Alina wouldn’t want to be in his shoes when Jay’s plan played out.

  She’d always worry about Jay on a case, but this up-close view of how he thought, how he worked, proved what she already knew but needed to see to ease her mind: her boyfriend was a badass.

  Chapter Forty

  Beck held up the bulletproof vest. “Take your shirt off, sis.”

  Alina raised one eyebrow. “It’s creepy when you say that to me.”

  Jay couldn’t even find a smile for the absurdity of the situation. He took the vest from Beck, turned Alina so her back was to her brothers, and helped her put the vest on and pull her shirt over it. She’d taken the sling off her arm in case she needed to use both hands to defend herself.

  That thought led to a dozen more of how this thing could go wrong and it knotted his stomach and twisted his heart.

  “You keep him in front of you at all times. Never turn your back on him. Stay out of his reach. He’s not really interested in killing Heidi. He wants you. Remember that. Don’t give him an opportunity to do it.”

  “I got it. We’ve gone over this ten times.”

  “It’s second nature to us,” Beck pointed out.

  “It’s only been five days since this guy tried to kill you.” Jay took her trembling hand. “Fear can do funny things to people. I don’t want you to freeze. I want you thinking about what I’m drilling into you. Always protect yourself. Trust us to keep you safe.�
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  She stared up at him, her gaze direct and resolute. “I trust you. I want this over and done. This is the only way to do it. You storm in there without me, he will kill her.” She’d made that argument the whole way here every time he and her brothers tried to come up with a plan that didn’t involve her. All those plans had a slim chance of ending with Heidi’s death because Brian had nothing left to lose. None of them wanted to take the chance with Heidi’s life.

  As much as Jay wanted to kill the bastard for hurting Alina, he’d never put an innocent person in jeopardy.

  “Where the fuck is she?” Brian yelled at Noel again.

  “She’ll be here. You don’t need to point that gun at Heidi.”

  Yeah, the gun hadn’t exactly been a surprise thanks to Alina tying the burglaries and pistol-whipped murder victims together with Brian and Davy. Thank God Brian only used his knife on Alina. Bad as that was, he could have killed her with one bullet.

  That wouldn’t happen today. Jay would make sure of it.

  They’d kept Noel’s phone hidden from Brian but still live so they knew where everyone was in the cabin, what they were walking into, and if Brian said anything that meant they needed to alter their plan. They muted Alina’s phone so Noel and Brian couldn’t hear them. If Noel tried to double-cross them, they’d know about it. But with his daughter’s life on the line, that seemed highly unlikely.

  Still, Jay didn’t trust Noel or Brian when it came to Alina’s safety.

  Caden slid another rifle into the back of the SUV. “Ready to go?”

  Jay stared down at Alina as her brothers backed off. “I’m not happy about this.”

  “I’ll do exactly as we planned. I’m scared but I’m not stupid. You promised me forever and that doesn’t end today.” She tapped her index finger against his chest. “You got that?”

  Jay nodded. She worried about him, too, and it did his heart good. He’d be even better if she was a million miles away from here right now. “I’ll be there with you even if you can’t see me.” He kissed her hard and fast, no time for anything else. “I love you.” When this was done, he planned to hold on to her and never let go.

  “I love you, too.”

  Alina drove the SUV with Jay and her brothers lying down in the back with several guns and rifles. Packed tight as sardines, she bet they couldn’t wait to get out.

  Her hands shook, so she tightened her grip on the steering wheel. Odd time to notice, but her left hand remained weak and tingling, but responsive. She’d feared that asshole had left her disabled. Hope grew that with more time to heal and physical therapy, she’d be back to normal. She hoped her mind would heal, too. A car crash, an explosion, a knife fight followed by this tragedy in the making had her adrenaline working overtime and fraying her nerves.

  She took a deep breath and spoke to the guys in back without moving her mouth. “Pulling in now.” She didn’t want Brian to look out the window and see her talking to anyone.

  She parked just as they planned with the car parallel to the cabin, front end close to the door, back end at the side of the cabin where the bedroom was located away from the living room space where Brian held Heidi and Noel as his captive audience. Once she distracted Brian inside, they’d slide out the back and take up positions around the house.

  “Make sure that bitch is alone,” Brian ordered.

  The cabin door opened and Noel stood in the opening, his face grim. “She’s alone.”

  “You’ve got this, sweetheart. We’re right here with you. We won’t let anything happen to you.” Jay’s faith in her and assurance that he’d protect her, they all would, gave her the strength to step out of the vehicle, hands raised, and walk into the lion’s den.

  “About damn time.” Brian stood in the corner of the room, a gun pointed at Heidi. She sat in a chair in front of the window. Brian had tucked himself into the corner, making it impossible for anyone to shoot him through the windows without potentially hitting Heidi. “Check her for a weapon.”

  Noel did a cursory search, sweeping his hands down her sides and up her legs. He didn’t reveal the small pack at her back for the wire she wore under her loose shirt so the guys and the team waiting could hear everything. “Nothing.”

  “Damn bitch, your face is all fucked up. You’re not so pretty anymore, are you?” Brian’s proud smile pissed her off.

  She took in his gray pallor, the sweat beaded on his forehead, and the bandage wrapped around his leg over his torn, dirty jeans. An open medical kit and discarded bloody, pussy, disgusting bandages sat on the table beside a large plastic bag filled with money and several bottles of pills. Noel’s stash. “You think I look bad? You look like shit. How’s the leg? Infected? Rotting? Poisoning your blood?”

  “Fuck you.” Spittle dripped onto his chin. He wiped it away with the back of one shaking hand.

  “What are you doing, Brian? You should be in a hospital, not frightening young girls.”

  “Don’t pretend you care one fuck about me. You’d have killed me just like you did Davy if you’d gotten the chance.”

  “You shoved me into Davy. You made me stab him. You came into my home to kill me.”

  Brian cocked the gun and pointed it at Heidi’s head. “Shut the fuck up or I’ll blow her head off.”

  Heidi whimpered behind the gag, tears falling from her eyes.

  “What’s the plan here, Brian? You shoot me, take the money, and make a run for it? Do you really think you’ll get away now that you’ve brought me here?”

  Brian moved the gun away from Heidi and pointed it straight at Alina. “I bet lover boy is close by along with your fucking brothers. Doc went and got himself a partner tied to the damn DEA. Stupidest fucking thing ever.”

  “Stupid? You’ve put yourself up against well-trained agents who are master tacticians. They take down thugs like you all day, every day. My brother, they call him Trigger.”

  Brian’s eyes went wide at that piece of disturbing news. He should be scared.

  “He’s the best sniper the DEA has ever had. But all I need is Jay.” Reminded of the intensity in Jay’s eyes before they drove to the cabin, she knew to her soul he’d lay down his life for her. “You really fucked up there, coming after me. You think he’ll let you get away with hurting me, you stupid fool?”

  “Shut up,” Brian raged, fisting his free hand and punching his thigh.

  Alina signaled Heidi to run to the bedroom. Instead, she jumped up and slammed her shoulder into Brian’s. The gun went off, hitting the back window. Glass shattered to the floor. Heidi ran for the bedroom where Jay waited to get her to safety.

  Brian swung the gun back to Alina and fired, hitting Noel in the shoulder as he stepped in front of her. Noel dropped to the floor, blood pouring out of his wound as he pressed his hand over the hole. Blood oozed over his hand.

  Heidi screamed for her father from somewhere outside.

  Alina dropped to her knees and pressed her hand over Noel’s. She couldn’t believe he took a bullet for her. Brian ran forward, grabbed her by the hair, hauled her up in front of him, and jammed the gun into the underside of her jaw as her scalp stung and her hair pulled in his fierce grasp.

  She waited to see if Caden rushed in the back and Jay came out of the room. Due to the circumstances, she expected them to alter their plan and take Brian down in here. But they held back and she could only imagine their fear that this thing hadn’t exactly gone to plan.

  With the gun pointed at her head, they wouldn’t risk her life.

  She needed to get Brian outside in the open.

  Idiot accommodated her. “Grab the bag, we’re out of here. Your boyfriend or brothers make a move on me, I’ll kill you.”

  “Then they’ll kill you.” She pointed out the obvious.

  “Maybe I’ll just shoot you in the side and let you bleed out for hours while I get away.”

  Okay, score one for the bad guy.

  She grabbed the bag with her left hand and tried to hold on to it but
her grip wasn’t that strong, especially with his hand gripped around her upper arm. He moved her to the door, his chest pressed against her back, the gun digging into the soft underside of her chin. She desperately wanted to look into the bedroom at her left, but headed straight for the door, opened it, walked out onto the porch, and down the single step toward his truck parked by a tree.

  Her heart thrashed in her chest, fear squeezed her throat tight, but she pushed the fear away and did what she needed to do to save herself and end this once and for all.

  She dropped the bag on the path and stopped short, making Brian stumble into her back. Off balance, Brian tried to keep from falling. She took advantage of his misstep, twisted toward the left, away from the gun in Brian’s right hand, and fell to her knees.

  Jay stood on the porch, his hands in front of him, gun pointed at Brian behind her.

  She covered her head and closed her eyes tight.

  The second Alina hit her knees, Jay fired. Three shots rang out. Two shots hit Brian dead center in the chest, his and Caden’s. Beck fired from the roof, hitting Brian right between the eyes. He dropped to his knees and fell forward onto his face, dead in the dirt.

  Jay was by Alina’s side in one leap from the porch. He took her gently by the shoulders and pulled her into his chest and wrapped his arms around her. “Are you okay? You’re not hit, right?” He didn’t think so, but his brain and heart weren’t working in reality at the moment.

  He needed her to be okay.

  “I’m fine.” Her voice quivered and her body trembled against his. “Have we concluded the Take Your Girlfriend to Work day? Because I’m done. I want to go home now.”

  He held her tighter. “You’re okay. You did so good.”

  “She okay?” Beck called down from the roof.

  “I’ve got her,” Jay assured him. “She doesn’t want to join the DEA.”

  “Thank God, I don’t think my heart can take it.” Beck tossed his rifle to one of the agents who closed in on the cabin as the ambulance rolled into the driveway, then jumped down from the roof, landing hard on the porch path.