by Peyton Banks
He whipped around and grabbed her by her neck.
“You want love? Is that what this is about? Is that what the white cop promised you? Love?” He squeezed her throat again. He brought his face close to hers. “Hasn’t anything in the history of black people taught you anything? White men have always wanted a taste of our black women. You think he’s going to take you home to meet his parents? His family? You were dumb enough to sleep with him, too.” Lamont pushed her away and sat back, glaring at her.
Her hands flew to her neck, and she rubbed the skin that was becoming raw.
She shook her head at her ex-husband’s statement. It wasn’t her who was dumb. It was him. How could he not know that love didn’t care about the color of one’s skin?
It was people like him who helped spread their hate around the world.
“Just let me go, Lamont. You are free to have any woman you want,” she whispered, angrily wiping her tears from her face.
“You think I haven’t already before I went to prison?”
If she still loved him, that would have hurt.
She wasn’t surprised that Lamont had other women on the side in the past. He never did anything to hide them.
The car slowed for a red light. Her gaze went to the handle of the door. There were a few people milling around on the street corner.
She could make a run for it.
There’d be no way that he would drag her back into the car. If he did, she’d be kicking and screaming her head off for help.
Someone would help her.
Wouldn’t they?
She was about to test out if there were good Samaritans in Las Vegas.
The car rolled to a halt. She glanced over at Dallas and found him texting on his phone. Her heart rate increased to where she had a hard time breathing, but she had no choice.
Now.
She grabbed the door handle and pushed with all her might. The door flew open, and she practically threw herself from the car.
“Candi!” Lamont’s angry shout echoed behind her.
She took off running as fast as she could.
“Help me!” she screamed, rushing by the bystanders on the corner of the street. “Please! Call the police!”
Cursing streamed out behind her. She continued sprinting down the sidewalk, looking for somewhere to hide. Feet pounded the pavement after her. She glanced over her shoulder. An angry Lamont gained on her.
Someone would call the police?
Right?
14
Dallas had to admit, the feel of having body armor on his form felt damn good. The locker room was buzzing with the team getting prepared to go out. Dallas secured the vest on him. He reached inside his locker and grabbed his Glock. He secured it in his thigh holster.
The men of the Las Vegas SWAT team were welcoming him under the circumstances. This wasn’t normally how a man tried out for the team, but Dallas was grateful for the chance to go with them. He had no problem taking orders from Calloway. It was his team, and Dallas would blend right in with the others.
Dallas didn’t want to think of anything else but getting Candi back.
Every available man and woman on the force was out looking for Candi.
“You’ll be needing this,” Calloway said from behind Dallas.
He turned to find the sergeant holding a MP5. A weapon he actually preferred when he was serving.
“I’m sure you’re familiar with one of these.”
“Intimately,” Dallas murmured, taking the weapon. He slid his hand along it and assessed it. It was in perfect condition.
“I’ve heard about you, McNeil, and what happened to your unit,” a newcomer said, coming to stand beside Calloway. He was tall, muscular with a short buzz cut.
He seemed oddly familiar to Dallas, but he couldn’t place him. Dallas stiffened. He didn’t speak much about his time in the service at work. Who the hell would be gossiping about that?
“McNeil, this is Will Alder.”
Will held out his hand for Dallas who took it in a strong shake. Dallas eyed Will and recognized a warrior when he saw one.
“What branch?” Dallas asked.
“Navy.”
The sound of a phone ringing broke through the air. Dallas immediately reached for his, but it was Calloway’s that was ringing. He walked away to take the call.
Alder stared at him. Dallas wasn’t sure what his deal was. He wasn’t looking for any trouble tonight. He had enough shit to deal with now Candi was missing.
“Ross was my brother,” Adler announced.
Dallas’s breath escaped him as if he’d been punched in the solar plexus. Ross Adler had been on his team.
Dallas hadn’t met his brother.
Ross had told him that his brother was in the Navy. Now that Dallas really looked at the man, he saw the resemblance of his teammate.
“I’m so sorry…” Dallas’s words drifted off. He didn’t really know what to say.
“No need. My baby brother died for his country. He, like all of us, knew the risk every single time we were deployed.” Will stroked his chin. The years of high-stress situations were apparent on the weathered skin. “But my brother spoke highly of you and your leadership. Thank you for everything you did for my brother when he was alive.”
Dallas was too choked up to speak.
Ross and his entire unit had been the best. There was no other group of men Dallas would have rather served with.
“Ross was one hell of a man,” Dallas finally bit out. “And one hell of a Marine.” He held his hand out again to Adler, who took it.
“Briefing room,” Calloway’s sharp voice broke though the air.
Every person froze in place.
“Now.”
Dallas and Adler followed behind the other men to the conference room. Dallas strolled to the back of the room, preferring to stand.
The door shut with Calloway walking to the podium at the front.
“About fifteen minutes ago, twelve calls to emergency services was placed. Each caller spoke to dispatchers claiming a woman matching Candi Jennings’s description running from a car screaming for help.”
Dallas’s blood chilled.
“A man matching one Lamont Jennings’s description was witnessed chasing her down the street and tackling her down to the ground. A few good Samaritans tried to assist, but Mr. Jennings pulled out a weapon on them and took Ms. Jennings hostage.”
The room grew silent with the report of the public violence.
“Was anything captured on video?” someone asked.
“Yes. A few witnesses pulled their phones out and recorded the entire altercation.” Calloway typed some commands on the keyboard, and the television against the wall revealed a grainy shot of the neighborhood.
Dallas refused to look away from the video on the screen.
Candi never stood a chance of outrunning her ex-husband. He was in top physical shape, thanks to prison.
Somewhere he’d be lucky enough to be sent after this.
Lamont had practically run her down like a cheetah chasing after a gazelle.
Gasps went around at the sight of him dragging her kicking and screaming to the car that pulled up on the curb.
Lamont had better hope they didn’t come face to face.
If Dallas had an open shot, he’d be sending the man straight to Hell where he belonged.
“Where are they now?” another person asked.
“There are good people in this world. A group of men jumped in their car and followed them at a safe distance. We have the location of the house they’re holed up in.”
Grunts and curses went around.
“We have Officer McNeil joining us tonight. The captain would like for him to be tried as a member of SWAT. He comes to us as a highly decorated Marine and a member of our force. I’m sure there won’t be a need for much training.”
All eyes turned to him. Dallas recognized a few of the men and returned a couple of nods.
“Al
l right, SWAT. Let’s roll.”
Candi groaned. She rolled to her side, and her body ached in ways she’d never experienced. She cringed at the memory of her body hitting the ground when Lamont had slammed into her.
He’d dragged her kicking and screaming back inside the car. Her cheek still burned from where he had slapped her to shut her up.
Why he’d chased her, she didn’t know.
She looked around the small room she was locked in. She was on the only piece of furniture. The bed was a twin size, and even with her short stature, it was almost too small for her.
She wrapped an arm around her waist and sat up. Her hair fell around her shoulders in disarray. She was sure she was a sight for sore eyes. Her clothes were damaged beyond repair
Once Lamont had tossed her in the room, she hadn’t seen him. There were no clocks or ways for her to tell how much time had passed.
Her purse and duffle bag had got left back at Dallas’s house.
Dallas.
Tears welled up in her eyes. She was sure he’d found her things left behind. She breathed in deeply, knowing he would come for her.
She just prayed some of those people who had been watching the altercation between her and Lamont had called the police.
Wincing, she stood from the bed and walked over to the window. There were metal bars on the outside of the glass. There would be no escape for her from this route.
The click of the lock sounded behind her. Candi slowly turned around. The door opened, revealing Lamont standing in the threshold.
His hard glare hit her hard.
Fear spread through her.
She’d seen this look before.
Had become all too familiar with it when they’d been married.
Lamont stepped inside.
“What do you want, Lamont?” she asked. Her gaze roamed the room, and she felt defeated.
There was nowhere for her to run.
“I see you moved from our house,” he began. He stopped midway into the space.
Confused, she didn’t know what to say right away. “I didn’t need that much space anymore.”
That was a safe response. She didn’t want to anger him by saying she didn’t want any reminders of him in the house staring at her.
“I miss us.”
She gawked at him, unable to formulate any words. This was a side of him she’d never seen before. Had he hit his head when they’d fallen on the sidewalk?
Candi swallowed hard and listened as he continued.
“I used to think it was cute when you’d be cuddled up on the bed asleep with that mangy bear of yours.”
Cute? It would have been after a night of crying her heart out because of his drinking, attitude, and verbal abuse that led her to lock herself away in their bedroom. She had been lonely. Isolated because of him. Larry had been a comfort to her.
“What was his name?” He paused, focusing his attention to her.
“Whose?” she asked, playing dumb. What the hell was her wondering about her stuffed animal for?
Lamont flew across the room with a snarl. Candi cried out, trying to run far from him, but he caught her by her arm and brought her close to him.
Candi turned her face away from Lamont. His warm breath blew across her cheeks.
“Don’t play dumb with me, Candi. I know you don’t go anywhere without that damn bear,” he murmured in her ear.
She cried out from his hand squeezing her arm tighter. “It’s just a bear from my childhood. You know that,” she whimpered, trying to pull her arm free, but his death grip was not loosening.
“And now I need it.”
Her gaze flew to his. His hard gaze bored into her.
“What?” she gasped.
Something hard slammed into the house down below. Shouts echoed from somewhere in the building.
Lamont released a curse and stormed to the doorway, dragging her behind him.
She tried to pull away but froze at the sight of him drawing a gun from the back of his waistband.
“What are you doing?” she whimpered.
“Shut up!” he roared, placing her in front of him. He held the gun on her and pushed her into the hallway.
There was a wide landing at the top of the stairs. One end led to a large window, while the other part of the landing opened up to what appeared to be additional bedrooms and a bathroom.
Men in dark fatigues stormed the stairs with their guns trained on them. They spread out and dropped to their knees, their weapons aimed straight at Candi and Lamont.
Lamont released a curse, apparently realizing they had nowhere to go.
The SWAT officers’ faces were hidden by black masks, but their eyes were focused on her and Lamont.
Fear gripped Candi, paralyzing her. She’d never been in such a situation as this where loaded guns were trained on her. She was usually a woman who’d never really been around firearms, and to now have four of them pointed in her direction left her heart racing.
“LVPD! Release the woman and throw down your weapon!” a hard voice ordered.
Candi held her hands up where the police could see them.
“Hell no!” Lamont growled. “You’ll kill me as soon as she’s out the way.”
“There’s nowhere for you to go,” the leader of the SWAT team stated. “Let’s have this end peaceful with no bloodshed.”
Candi winced from Lamont shoving the gun farther into her side.
“I didn’t do anything wrong,” Lamont said.
“About ten people who called nine-one-one would disagree with you,” the officer replied.
“People need to learn to mind their own business. This is between my wife and me,” Lamont snapped.
“Let her go.” The cop’s voice hardened. “We won’t ask again. My sniper has his sights on you now and is waiting for my order.”
Lamont’s hand shook while he contemplated his options.
“Lamont, let me go,” she whispered. Her vision blurred from the tears gathering in her eyes. “Just let me go.”
“Fuck,” he snapped.
But he let her go.
Candi’s legs crumpled beneath her, sending her falling to the floor.
The police swarmed around her and Lamont. She lost sight of him as she was dragged away.
She was swung up into the arms of one of the cops and carried down the stairs. She shut her eyes tight and held on to the officer.
Candi opened her eyes and was met with the sight of chaos.
“Where are you taking me?” she asked, looking around at the police cars and hundreds of people standing around outside the house.
The cop grunted but kept walking. She turned her head and saw they were headed to an ambulance.
“I don’t need an ambulance,” she breathed. She needed to find a phone so she could call Dallas. “Thank you, sir. But I need to find someone.”
They arrived at the ambulance, and the EMTs immediately took the stretcher out and readied it for her.
“Put her here,” one of them instructed, patting the cart.
The cop gently laid her down, and it was then Candi glanced up at his face and froze.
She slowly reached up and hooked her fingers on the mask, pulling it down. A familiar face was revealed to her.
“Dallas?” she gasped in disbelief. She cupped his jaw while tears spilled down her cheeks.
He leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. Everyone around them was forgotten, and all Candi could think about was Dallas.
15
“Did he ever say what he wanted with you?” Detective Belkin asked, scribbling notes down on the pad of paper before him.
Dallas watched Candi swallow hard. She glanced at him, and he gave her a nod. They were seated at a table in one of the interrogation rooms. He had remained next to her side for all of the questioning. Dallas was still dressed in his dark fatigues. He’d removed his weapons once they’d entered the station.
There was no way he was going to separate from Can
di. She was visibly shaken from the drama. Aside from the scrapes and bruises, she was physically fine. Thanks to the good Samaritans, they had found the house Lamont and his goons had been holed up in.
Lamont had been taken into custody along with every other person in the house.
The building had been full of drug dealers and gang members.
It wasn’t any surprise when SWAT raided it that they had found a pretty hefty stash of drugs, money, and weapons.
“He was asking about a stuffed animal I own.” Candi shook her head before resting her arms on the table.
“A stuffed animal?” Belkin repeated, glancing over at his partner.
“What would he want with that?” Detective Tull asked, sitting back in his chair.
Dallas frowned. What would her ex want with her mangy little bear? When she’d reached for it while they were grabbing her things from her place, he didn’t have the heart to tell her to leave the stupid toy at home.
Now his curiosity was piqued.
Her bag had been brought to the station to be processed as evidence. Since it was ruled a kidnapping, they had tagged and bagged everything, just in case they would need it later.
A knock sounded at the door.
Tull pushed back from the table and strolled over to the door. He opened it, revealing the captain.
Dallas and Belkin stood from their seats.
“Captain,” he murmured.
“McNeil,” the captain replied, closing the door behind him.
“Ms. Jennings, my name is Captain Jarvis,” he said, stretching his hand toward Candi, who took it.
“Hello, Captain.” She offered him a strained smile before releasing his hand.
“Can I speak to them alone please?” Jarvis straightened to his full height and turned his gaze to Belkin and Tull.
“Sure. We’ll be outside. Holler if you need us,” Belkin said.
The two detectives exited the room, closing the door behind them.
Dallas wasn’t sure what the captain wanted. Unfortunately, Candi didn’t have any notions of what her ex had been up to since being released from prison. They had been there for a little over an hour and were still in the dark about why Lamont had kidnapped her.