by Katie Reus
“We’d still be drinking them if someone hadn’t got us kicked out,” Montez muttered.
Ford nodded, looking at Ivan. “I think you horrified the sales clerk, talking about making sure her wedding dress had an easy access—”
“Dude, I do not need to hear that again.” Montez stood, shooting Ivan a pointed look. “She’s still my sister. Keep some shit to yourself.”
Ivan just grinned and shrugged again, which seemed pretty standard for the guy’s communication style.
Montez rolled his eyes before nodding at the café next door. “I’m gonna grab a drink. You guys want something?”
Ford stood as Ivan said, “Iced coffee.”
“I’ll go with you.” He wanted to stretch his legs and he needed to use the restroom. And Raegan had said it would take at least another hour for them to finish getting fitted. “You gonna go anywhere?” he asked Ivan, needing to know that someone would stay put in front of the store.
“Nope.”
He nodded once. The guy was a former Ranger and he worked for Red Stone. Not to mention he’d been there the other night at the club and knew the deal with Raegan right now. Nothing had happened in the last week—no threats, no phone calls, no weird messages or attempted attacks.
But…his gut told him it wasn’t random. Not after the things the unknown guy had said to her in that bathroom. It was just too personal. He knew the detective who’d been assigned her case, but the truth was, she wasn’t a priority to the department.
Even with some of the guys at Red Stone working on finding out who’d tried to hurt her, they hadn’t found much. They hadn’t been able to get a matchup of faces from both the club and the event. When people wore hats or hoodies or anything that obscured their faces, it messed with the facial recognition software, making it virtually useless.
It wasn’t like she was receiving strange messages they could track either. Which was good and bad. Maybe she didn’t really have a stalker. Or maybe the guy who drugged her was just very patient.
That scared Ford more than anything. Someone who was patient was a bigger threat. They’d be less likely to make a mistake.
He rolled his shoulders once and glanced up and down the street as they reached the door to the café. There was a tingling sensation between his shoulder blades.
It put him even more on edge, made him wonder if he was being paranoid, but he’d seen enough combat to never ignore his instinct. Right then he needed to see Raegan, needed to know that she was okay.
“Hey, I’m gonna go talk to Raegan. I’ll meet you back outside,” he said to Montez. “Get me a bottled water?” he asked, pulling out his wallet.
Montez nodded and waved away his money.
A cool breeze rushed over him, making the wind chimes outside the boutique next door jingle as he reached the glass door to the bridal shop. He smiled at the sight of Raegan on the other side, already starting to push it open.
“Hey,” he said, opening it for her.
“Hey, you,” she murmured, lifting up on her toes to brush her lips over his. He covered a groan as she stepped back.
She gave him a wide smile and he could tell she was a little tipsy. The women had been drinking mimosas during the fitting and he knew she hadn’t eaten much for breakfast that morning.
“Are you done?”
She nodded then glanced around him. “Jules said you can come back in if you’re good.”
Ivan just laughed but gave Ford a pointed look. One that clearly asked if he wanted backup right now.
Ford shook his head and held the door open again as Ivan stepped past them. He was armed and he’d been well trained.
“Can we grab something to eat really quick? I have a small buzz going and I’m starving,” Raegan said. “I was the first done so we’ve got some time.”
He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. After the second chance she’d given him, he wasn’t letting her go. He knew he’d let his past cloud his judgment, but the way she’d truly let everything go told him everything he needed to know about her. “Sure, let’s head next door.”
“Can we head to the food truck instead? I’ve been to that one before and they’ve got amazing veggie empanadas.”
“Sounds good. I’ll snag one too.” Out of habit he scanned their surroundings as they waited to cross the street.
There were half a dozen people in line across the street, waiting. He could see them looped down the sidewalk from their angle. A female couple walking a small dog was approaching from the right, but he couldn’t see to the left of the food truck. He didn’t like it, but he knew that Raegan couldn’t live in a bubble.
Besides, he was with her. He’d do anything to keep her safe. As they reached the other side, he was relieved to see nothing out of the ordinary on the other side of the truck. A few benches occupied by people eating food from the truck. It was a typical, sunny Florida day. Everything seemed normal.
Raegan half nuzzled her face against his chest as they got in line. “What’s going on in that sexy head of yours?” she murmured.
He laughed lightly, kissing the top of her head. “You are definitely tipsy right now.”
“Mmm hmm,” she agreed. “And I think we need to head straight back to your place after the fitting.”
“Is that right?” he asked quietly. The two college-aged guys in front of them were talking to each other—loudly—about how drunk they’d gotten the night before, and how they needed hangover food. Definitely not a threat.
“Yep. I only got to see it that once. God, that feels like a lifetime ago.” She seemed to sober at the comment.
“Yeah.” It really did. “I hate what happened, but for the record, I’m glad it brought you into my life.”
She looked up at him, eyebrows raised. “I was sorta already in your life.”
He grinned. “Yeah. But I was still figuring out how to ask you out.”
“Afraid of my cousins?”
He snorted. “More like afraid of you.”
She blinked in true surprise, then that slightly wicked smile he loved spread across her face. “I’ve been told I’m quite scary.”
He snorted again. “I’m sure.” That word was pretty much the opposite of her. He’d just been a coward. Never again though. He’d let his past hold him back for too long. And deep down…he knew Raegan was it for him. It was that gut instinct. She’d knocked him on his ass and he was never letting her go. Yeah, it was too soon to make any declarations or be completely positive about their future, but he saw the writing on the wall. He knew where this was going. The fact that he was actually looking forward to going to couples showers with her was a pretty big indicator that she was damn special.
Only a couple more people to go now, he realized. When he made eye contact with the man behind the flipped down metal counter, he gave a polite smile, nodded. The guy didn’t smile back, barely acknowledged him.
Ford kept his expression neutral, slid his sunglasses over his eyes as he scanned their surroundings again. “You said you’ve been to this food truck before?” he murmured.
She shifted slightly against him. “Oh, yeah. It’s parked right on our street outside work. I bet the owner does crazy-good business, considering the area. Red Stone even opened it up to him to do deliveries a couple months ago.”
“So you know the owner, personally?” Ford kept his voice low.
She shrugged against him. “Not really. I mean, we say hi, you know, the normal polite stuff. He delivers to Athena and me once a week along with our whole floor. I don’t know of any food trucks that add that type of extra service. It’s pretty great.”
Ford’s radar was going nuts as the guy continued to shoot looks at him and Raegan. The guy’s body language was all wrong. All his muscles were pulled tight as he continued taking orders and preparing food. Ford was surprised no one was in there with him. He also wondered about the location of the truck. He knew that food trucks moved around a city, but he didn’t like that this was the same one th
at parked outside Red Stone, and just happened to be at this location at the same time Raegan had a dress fitting here. Or that the owner had access to Raegan’s office, to her at work. No, it was time to get her the hell out of here.
He didn’t care if he was being paranoid, he was going with his gut. “You trust me?”
Raegan straightened next to him. “Uh, yeah. Of course.”
“We’re going to head back across the street to the bridal boutique. Stay to the left of me.”
“Okay.” There was a note of concern in her voice, but she didn’t say anything else as they broke away from the line.
A sense of relief had already started pulsing through him as they headed back toward the street and away from the food truck. He didn’t want to pull his weapon out in full view of everyone but as soon as they stepped down onto the curb, rounding the back of food truck, he reached behind his back for his pistol.
Just as the back door to the truck flew open.
A muscular man about five feet, ten inches tall was holding a pistol directly at Ford, his dark eyes glittering with hatred. Barely four feet separated them. He’d never survive a direct shot this close. It didn’t matter how much training and experience he had, he couldn’t draw fast enough to shoot someone who had a weapon pointed directly at him only feet away. Maybe on television that shit worked.
Everything slowed down in that instant as he stared down the barrel of the weapon. He wanted to shove Raegan behind him, but she’d clutched onto him tighter and he didn’t want to make any sudden moves.
“Get your hands off her,” the man snarled. “Raegan, get in the back of the truck.”
There were gasps coming from people on the sidewalk and someone said “Gun,” before running away. Ford could see other people scattering in his periphery but all his focus was on this threat.
“I’m going to take my arm from around her,” Ford said slowly, moving just as slowly. Adrenaline surged through him, but he forced himself to remain calm. No sudden movements, nothing to spook the guy into shooting her. There was no way in hell he was letting her get in that truck, however, but one step at a time. “You don’t really want to shoot anyone. You haven’t done anything you can’t take back yet.”
The man’s hand shook, his eyes just a little wild. “I’ll shoot you right fucking here! I know you were going to take her away from me! You think I’m stupid?”
“Please don’t shoot.” Raegan’s voice trembled but her words were clear.
The man’s focus lasered in on her even though he didn’t move his weapon in her direction. Thank God. “Didn’t I tell you to get in the truck?” he snarled. “Why’d you come over here today? Just to show off that you’re with him? I know what you want and I’m going to give it to you. Get in the fucking truck!”
A siren wailed in the distance, cutting through the air and making Raegan jump. The man turned at the sound, as if on instinct. His weapon hand wavered to the side. Not by much, but it was enough.
Ford knew this might be the only chance he ever got. He had to take it.
Years of training had prepared him for this moment. It would take too many steps to draw his weapon, bring it around his body and fire at the threat. No, he had to go with the only other option.
Adrenaline punching through him, he shoved Raegan to the side as he lunged at the man. Since the guy was raised up on the back of the truck, Ford rammed into the guy’s upper legs and lower torso with a full-on tackle.
A shot boomed through the air as Ford slammed him to the floor. He heard the clatter of the weapon but couldn’t see where it had gone as the guy screamed.
The man punched at Ford’s head. He ducked to the side, the blow glancing his temple.
He struck out with his fist, slamming it against the guy’s nose. Bone crunched under the force of his punch as the man’s head slammed back against the metal floor.
Ford needed to take complete control of the situation, disable the threat. Everything else around him funneled out as that thought took over. He wasn’t even sure if Raegan had been hit by that bullet and he couldn’t risk looking out the door, couldn’t take his focus off this man.
Fear and rage surged through him that she might have been injured, or worse. He slammed his elbow across the guy’s face, breaking more bones.
The man cried out in pain, blood gushing out his nose as he punched at Ford’s middle. Either he had training or he was just jacked up on adrenaline—or drugs—to keep fighting with broken bones.
His fist landed against Ford’s ribcage, once, twice—Slam! Ford landed another face shot. When the guy’s head thumped back against the floor again, his entire body went limp.
Not taking a chance that the guy wasn’t out, Ford rolled him onto his stomach and yanked his wrists together behind his back. At a shuffling sound, he went to reach for his weapon but stilled when he saw Montez coming in through the front of the truck, his expression fierce and a weapon in his hand. He briefly wondered if Montez had a concealed permit, then dismissed the thought. He didn’t give a shit right now.
“Raegan?” Ford rasped out.
“Okay,” Montez answered.
Relief nearly overwhelmed him, but he shoved it back down. “I need something to secure him,” he said as Montez moved into action, rummaging around the small kitchen.
Spicy scents teased the air as he suddenly realized the sirens were growing even louder in the distance. “Anyone get shot?”
“No.” Montez hurried over with a type of bungee cord. “I saw what was happening as I came out of the café across the street. Ivan must have seen it from inside the shop.”
Ford nodded, securing the man’s wrists as Montez continued to talk.
“Ivan had to carry Raegan across the street. She didn’t want to leave you. But she’s fine, man. Completely unharmed. Someone saved us the trouble of calling the cops too. They should be here soon.”
If those sirens were any indication, Ford guessed fewer than sixty seconds. “Got something for his feet?” he asked as the man started to groan softly. Ford kept his knee firmly against the asshole’s back. He resisted the urge to hurt the guy more as the words the man had thrown at Raegan replayed in his mind. ‘I know what you want and I’m going to give it to you.’ He could just imagine what the fucker had planned for her. A shudder racked him, but he tightened his control.
Seconds later Montez was back with white zip ties. “We use these at my place for chill bags.”
Ford just grunted, grabbed a handful of the ties. He secured the man’s feet, then his hands again for good measure, making sure they were double-tied. Heart racing, he looked up at Montez. “Will you—”
“Go. I got this.”
Ford was glad he didn’t have to waste time with words, that Montez understood he needed to see for himself that Raegan was unharmed.
He jumped down from the food truck, immediately saw a giant hole in the back of a silver car. Bullet hole.
The relief that surged through him was almost too much when he saw Raegan on the other side of the street behind the glass doors of the bridal shop. Her eyes were wide as she stared at him, one hand pressed to the glass. Ivan was next to her, his hand on her shoulder. More people lined the windows, staring out in horror, but he only had eyes for her.
After looking for oncoming vehicles, he raced across the street, his heart thundering in his chest. He just needed to hold her. He’d made it halfway across when she shoved Ivan’s hand off and pushed the door open.
As he reached the sidewalk edge she threw herself at him, a sob escaping. “Ford! I thought…” Her words were garbled as she buried her face in his neck.
He was unable to say anything as he held her tight. Probably too tight, but she didn’t complain. “You need to wait inside,” he finally managed to rasp out, still holding onto her. The subtle vanilla scent of her shampoo wrapped around him, grounded him. She was okay, he repeated to himself. She was unharmed and in his arms. She wasn’t going anywhere.
And th
e threat to her was down. That was what was important. Ford was going to find out everything there was to know about that bastard and make sure he never got the chance to hurt anyone again.
She shook her head against his neck. “Not leaving you.”
At the sound of the sirens screaming down the street he turned, saw a line of police cars coming. But he still didn’t let her go.
They’d face this together. The way he intended to face everything life had to throw at them from now on.
Chapter 17
Raegan was exhausted, but at least she wasn’t still shaking out of control. She’d thought she’d never feel normal again. Still didn’t. Not really.
Everything about earlier today was too surreal. The way Ford had taken on that guy with a gun like a real-life superhero, the way he’d just tackled him.
It was…God, she didn’t even know. The only thing she did know was that she’d never get that image out of her head as long as she lived. She’d been terrified for him. Then Ivan had appeared out of nowhere and carried her away like a linebacker. He’d moved with such precision and speed, clearly just as trained as Ford.
Ford squeezed her hand and she realized she’d zoned out. “What?”
“Detective Duarte asked if there was anything else you wanted to add,” he murmured.
They were sitting in the detective’s office in front of his desk. “No, I’m just glad this is all over. I can’t believe he cloned my phone. It’s so…” There were too many words. Invasive, horrifying… She shuddered. “Are you sure he won’t be getting out?”
The detective gave her a sharp, satisfied grin. “Yes. And I don’t get to say that nearly as often as I’d like, but he won’t even be eligible for bail. Not after what we’ve found at his house.”
She shuddered again, was so grateful for the Miami PD—and Ford. Once Teo King had been arrested, they’d searched his house and discovered an insulated, padded room with a bed and hundreds of pictures of her covering all the walls. Not only that, but boxes of pictures of her by herself and with friends, taken over the last couple months. Right about the time he’d started delivering to Red Stone Security.