“I have a grappling rope in my truck,” Levi said and took off running to retrieve it.
Garrett ran to the building with the cross and up the front stairs, only to find the doors locked tight.
“I’ll have the police call the building manager,” Josh said, but Garrett shook his head.
“No time.” He pulled his gun and fired several shots at the locks, then kicked the door open, causing an alarm to sound. The gunfire also caused a roar among the street full of police behind him. He ignored it all and headed for the stairs. The alarm could barely be heard over the police and sirens and roar of the fire next door. He would gladly pay for the door he’d busted and any other damage he did, but he had to reach that top floor.
He heard Josh’s footsteps on the stairs with him as he climbed and finally burst through the stairwell door and into one of the offices with windows facing the Royal. He pushed open the window and leaned out. “I’m coming to get you, Ashlynn,” he called out to her.
She must have heard his voice over the roar because she looked his way. Relief flowed over her when she spotted him, momentarily drowning out the fear in her expression.
“Hang on. I’m coming.”
She nodded her understanding but remained pressed against the building. She was breathing heavily and he knew she was frightened, but he saw something else in her face now. Hope.
Levi appeared moments later carrying his grappling ropes and launcher. Garrett was glad he had those. He’d thought he might have to improvise something that wouldn’t be as safe.
“Try to get it close to her,” Garrett instructed as Levi loaded up the grappling gun. He half expected Levi to give him that duh look because it was so obvious a direction, but he didn’t. Garrett pointed to a window only a few feet from where Ashlynn stood on the ledge. “See if you can hit that window right there.”
He took aim then stopped and looked at Garrett. “This won’t be very stable. The building is compromised, so don’t take your time.”
“Understood,” Garrett said.
Levi took aim again and shot. The grappling hook hit the empty window sill then bounced off, not connecting. Levi unlatched the rope and it wound back up. He reinserted the hook and fired again. This time, it connected with the open window about a foot from Ashlynn.
“Got it!” he shouted. He pulled on the rope to make sure it was secure and nodded at Garrett.
Garrett felt his fear turn to steady determination. He couldn’t think about the consequences. All he knew was that he had to reach her. He allowed Josh and Levi to secure the ropes around him.
“They’re fine,” he barked, as they double-checked them, knowing it was only his agitation at work.
Josh tightened them. “They’re not fine. This rope could be the only thing that keeps you both from plummeting to the street below.”
Garrett stared at Ashlynn out on that ledge and the fear in her face was nearly more than he could stand. “I have to get to her.”
“The rope isn’t stable,” Levi told him. “I can’t guarantee it will hold with the building crumbling around it.” He wasn’t saying it in a way to try to talk Garrett out of going because he was sure Levi knew nothing was going to change his mind, but rather just for clarification.
Josh touched his shoulder. “We’ll be praying for you,” he said before tapping Garrett’s shoulder in a way that meant he was good to go.
Garrett whispered a prayer of his own then released the lever and zipped across the expanse separating the two buildings. He grazed the crumbling ledge of the Royal then kicked his feet until he felt the landing. He spotted Ashlynn, still frozen in fear, and shouted to her over the roar of the fire and the noise.
“Ashlynn, come toward me!” She was still a good distance away from him and the fire that raged inside was still blocking her path, but she nodded and took a deep steadying breath before she started moving his way, inching along at a snail’s pace. He watched her, the horrible feeling of being unable to do anything to help soaring through him. He didn’t dare try to hurry her. If she fell, that would be the end. He reached out his arm for her, coaxing her along like a child learning to walk.
“Come on, baby. You can do it.”
Fear shone in her eyes but she locked her gaze with his, nodded and kept moving, her hands pressed against the building and her feet sliding along the ledge. The heat of the stone she was clinging to had to be unbearably hot against her skin, but she didn’t show it.
He held his breath. She was only a few inches from him now, nearly close enough that he could reach out and grab her. He stretched his arms, pulling the expanse of his gear to the edge of functionality. She reached out her hand for his and he coaxed her along.
“You’ve got this, baby. You’re nearly there.”
He saw her face change a second before the ledge cracked beneath her feet. “Garrett!” she screamed as it gave way and crumbled, sending her falling.
* * *
Something hard grabbed her, stopping her in midair. She looked up and saw Garrett’s hand firmly around her arm. Her other arm was dangling along with her feet, and she was certain she heard a collective gasp from the crowd below.
Every muscle in his shoulder and arm seemed to tense and his face grimaced in pain, but he pulled her up slowly.
“Hang on, Ashlynn. I’ve got you. I’m not letting you go.” His voice was clipped, but the determination on his face was very real.
His jaw tensed as his hand slipped on her skin. She felt his grip giving way and saw a spot of what looked like blood on his sleeve brighten and get bigger. His shoulder had been injured yet he was still holding on to her with all his might.
That was love.
He tightened his grip and took a deep breath then hauled her quickly toward him.
She used her other hand to grab hold of his vest.
“Pull yourself up, baby,” he said and she did.
Finally she clutched his shoulders and wrapped both arms around his neck. His body relaxed, but his non-injured arm tightened around her.
“I’ve got you,” he whispered, breathing hard. “I’m not letting you go again.”
Fear rippled through her, along with relief and gratitude, but they weren’t out of danger yet. They were still hanging on a rope in the air far from the street below and she wasn’t yet convinced they were out of danger.
But she wasn’t alone. Garrett had come for her just as she’d known he would.
He tied the rope around her and secured it to the pulley. But it was useless a moment later when fire burst through the windows and the structure began to creak. Ashlynn noticed his friends motioning for them to hurry. She could bask in her thankfulness once they were safely away from the Royal Hotel.
He pushed off the building, but the rope above them went slack as the top of the hotel began to crumble.
“Hold on!” he shouted to Ashlynn as their lifeline gave way and sent them falling. She burrowed her head into his shoulder and held on tight as they swung toward the other building.
They hit the side of the building hard. Garrett took the brunt of the force with his back and she doubted that was by accident. He’d steered them so he would be the one to sustain the hit, and she could see from the way his face paled that it hurt. It hurt her, too, causing her breath to leave her for a moment as pain riddled her body. She lost her grip on him and nearly slipped away, but Garrett pulled her tighter against him.
He used the building as leverage, swinging outward then back to the building, this time aiming for a window near where they’d landed before. He had to hit it twice before it shattered and he could grab hold of the ledge. She saw blood and knew he’d cut his hands on the glass. But he steadied them and carefully unhooked her from the rope.
She climbed through the window and was nearly bent over with relief to be
back on solid ground. Garrett followed and she glanced up at him. He looked bloody and tired, but his eyes shone with happiness.
She threw herself into his arms and he swept her up in them, claiming her lips with his, as relief and elation flowed through her with so much joy she thought it would overwhelm her. She’d never been so grateful in her life and so thankful that God had brought them to safety.
But she realized it wasn’t over. She suddenly pushed away from him as thoughts of her son rushed through her. “Jacob!”
He pressed a finger to her lips to quiet her. “He’s safe,” Garrett quickly reassured her. “We caught Ken leaving the hotel. He’s dead and all those working with him are in custody. Jacob is fine.”
She relaxed and leaned into him, realizing she’d been wrong before. Now, she’d never been so grateful. Her child was safe, her tormentor dead and the danger to them gone. She looked up into Garrett’s wide, green eyes and felt herself finally, blissfully relax. Tears pooled in her eyes and she didn’t bother trying to stop them. “I knew you would come for me,” she whispered to him. “I knew you wouldn’t let me down.”
He pressed his forehead to hers. “I’m never leaving you again,” he said, his voice low and gruff with emotion. “Never.”
She gave a small sigh of relief as she settled into his embrace and he closed his arms around her. “I believe you.”
She heard heavy footsteps approaching and shouts. Garrett glanced towards them. “That’s just Josh and Levi coming to make sure we’re okay.” He shrugged. “Let them wait.” He took her face in his hands and kissed her long and hard.
EPILOGUE
Ashlynn parked her car in the garage and entered her house, noting how quiet it seemed. Fear darted through her for a moment, reminding her of the day she’d returned home to find Mira dead and Jacob gone, but that fear quickly dissipated when she walked toward the back door and heard Jacob’s squeal of delight coming from the backyard.
She pushed open the sliding doors and smiled when she saw what was happening. Garrett had Jacob across his arms and was spinning around, flying him like an airplane. Jacob was loving every minute of it.
“Faster, Daddy,” Jacob hollered, causing Ashlynn’s heart to fill again at her son’s use of the name.
She smiled at their antics. It had taken a while for Jacob to warm up to Garrett, but Ashlynn’s encouragement had helped the boy along. Jacob had been through a lot in the past few months. He missed Stephen, who he called his first daddy, and missed the way Mira made him PB and J sandwiches. And he still occasionally awoke screaming in fear that the bad men were going to come get him again. But the therapist she’d taken him to had assured her that the nightmare would eventually fade for him now that he once again had a stable home environment.
It pained her to think of all the time Garrett had spent alone when he’d had a family here. He should have been with them from the start and while she still didn’t understand why God had allowed them to be separated for all those years, she was thankful He’d brought Garrett back to them.
“Mommy’s home,” Jacob cried, and Garrett set him down, whispering something into his ear and sliding something into his hand.
Jacob ran to her. “Mama, Mama, I got this for you,” he said in his sweet little voice.
“What is it, baby?” She held out her hand and he placed something in it. She expected another flower picked from the grass or a slimy frog he’d found hopping around, but the object he placed in her hand was small and round and shiny. It was a ring...an engagement ring.
She glanced up at Garrett, who was grinning big and broad.
“What is this?” she asked, her breath on hold as her heart skipped a beat.
He pulled her to her feet, grasping her hands in his. “I love you, Ashlynn, and when I was away from you and Jacob my life didn’t have any meaning. I was an empty shell of a man. You brought me back to life. You and Jacob gave me back the one thing I thought I’d lost, a reason for living. I don’t ever want to be without you again. Will you be my wife?”
She couldn’t have stopped the waves of giddy laughter that erupted in her even if she’d wanted to. Her heart swelled and tears pooled in her eyes. “Nothing on this Earth would make me happier than becoming your wife, Garrett.”
“Mama, why you crying?” Jacob asked.
She scooped him up and hugged him. “Because I’m happy, baby. I’m so very happy.”
Garrett slid the ring onto her finger, then leaned in and kissed her.
She had her son back and the man she loved with her. Most of all, she had the family she’d always dreamed of having.
God had truly blessed her with everything she’d ever wanted.
* * * * *
If you liked this story, pick up these other
RANGERS UNDER FIRE books
by Virginia Vaughan:
YULETIDE ABDUCTION
REUNION MISSION
RANCH REFUGE
Available now from Love Inspired!
Find more great reads at www.LoveInspired.com.
Keep reading for an excerpt from SURVIVING CHRISTMAS from ROOKIE K-9 UNIT CHRISTMAS by Valerie Hansen.
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Dear Reader,
Thanks so much for reading Garrett and Ashlynn’s story!
Have you ever felt like God just wasn’t on your side? Sure you have. We all know that feeling. Life is hard and in some seasons of our lives we get beaten up by circumstances. It is so easy to forget that God is present and active in our lives. This is how Ashlynn feels at the beginning of the story. Everything she has fought so hard for all her life has been ripped away from her, and she is so angry and bitter at God that she cannot imagine putting her trust in Him. But Garrett’s reappearance in her life at just the time she needs him helps show Ashlynn that God, indeed, is with her and that He works all things for good.
In Deuteronomy 2:15 God assured Moses and the Israelites that He had been with them throughout their forty years of wandering in the desert. We have the same assurance that God is with us, watching over us and providing for us.
I love hearing from readers. You can connect with me through my website, www.virginiavaughanonline.com, or through the publisher.
Blessings!
Virginia
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Surviving Christmas
Book One of Rookie K-9 Unit Christmas
by Valerie Hansen
ONE
Sean Murphy hated to close his eyes. A terrifying past waited for him in sleep, a past that sometimes invaded even his waking hours. Love for his six-year-old son, Patrick, was what kept him sane, kept him battling to return to normal. Patrick needed him, now more than ever. All they had left was each other.
The St. Louis apartment Sean had rented on his return to the States was small but adequate for the present. The future would take care of itself. At least Sean hoped so. There had been a time when he’d believed God was guiding him through life. Now, he felt adrift.
Fog of sleep dulled his senses, but not so much that he failed to hear a strange sound in the dark. He froze. Listened intently. Heard nothing more. Sighing, he wished he knew how to stop being so jumpy. Every creak of the old building brought irrational fear.
A cadence of soft steps followed. Sean sat bolt upright. “Patrick?”
The sound ceased. Sean slipped out of bed, wishing he still had his rifle and full battle gear. St. Louis might not be Kandahar, but that didn’t mean there was no danger. Yes, his emotions were raw. And, yes, chances were that he was merely imagining a threat. There was only one way to find out. He must see for himself.
Since Patrick’s near-drowning accident in the swimming pool at his maternal grandparents’ estate, the boy had been having trouble with speech as well as motor skills. Therefore, he sometimes sought out his daddy without explanation. That was probably what Sean had heard. Still, he refused to disregard an instinctive warning.
Barefoot, he tiptoed to the open bedroom door and waited in the shadow from the night-light in the hallway. A low mumble reached him. How could Patrick be talking in his sleep when he had so much trouble doing so awake?
Sean pressed his back to the jamb and slowly eased forward. The voices were clear. For an instant he wished they weren’t.
Mistletoe Reunion Threat Page 17