“I’m going with him,” Carter said to Peter.
“Okay, keep me updated.”
Gavin fished his phone out of his pocket to call Natasha as he hurried out. He froze in his tracks, blood draining from his face. “No.”
“What?” Carter asked, looking over his shoulder. “Fuck.”
“You’ve got to organise a police response to this, Carter,” he said snappily, hurrying out to the parking lot.
“I’ll do it from the car,” Carter said, keeping in step with him.
He got into the passenger seat of Carter’s unmarked undercover police vehicle and checked his phone. The Find My Friends app indicated that Natasha—or her phone—was still moving.
Was she okay? Or had Biggs already found out that she’d set up tracking for her phone and was trying to lead them on a wild goose chase?
He shook his head to clear it, his heart beating fast in fear. He didn’t want to think of the answers to his questions. All he wanted right now was for his little picture on his phone screen, indicating his position on the map, to overlap with the picture of Natasha’s beautiful smiling face.
And when it did, he would find her safe and sound. He had to. Anything other than that was too scary to contemplate.
*
Gavin shifted impatiently on his seat. “Can’t you drive faster?”
“What are you talking about?” Carter retorted. “Can you drive faster than this?”
He sighed and shut his mouth. Carter was driving fast. Very. But it still wasn’t speedy enough for his liking.
Natasha’s phone—and, he hoped, Natasha herself—was now in a house on a large block of land backing the Macdonald River, as of a couple of minutes ago. What the fuck was the bastard doing to her now?
“We’ll get to her in time and she’ll be fine,” Carter said gravely.
He nodded, staring again at the map showing them the way. “I hope she knows we’re almost there,” he said, his heart compressing at the thought of his Tash alone with a criminal.
“Tash has an idea how we work. She’s smart, so she’s probably already realised that we dare not text or call her to avoid alerting her captor to what we’re doing—if she’s still...”
He glanced at Carter as he sucked in a breath. He knew Carter was just as terrified as he was that Natasha’s call for help might have already been exposed. It was a possibility neither of them wanted to say out loud. “I should have checked my phone the moment I got her message,” he murmured.
“We’re guilty of the same thing, Gav,” Carter said quietly. “And don’t forget, she’s my sister.”
“I know,” he whispered, Carter’s shared guilt not doing anything to lessen his own.
Five long years of keeping Natasha at arms’ length to keep her safe, and now this. He didn’t know what he’d do if anything happened to her.
“The house is just past that bend,” he said with calmness he didn’t feel. “Best to park here so he doesn’t see us.”
Carter nodded and eased to a stop by the side of the road.
“Do you have a spare gun?”
Carter stared at him. “No.”
“Well, I’ll just have to be careful,” he said, getting out of the car.
He heard Carter bark instructions through the radio not to alert the perp of any police presence until he’d given the go-ahead, then Carter caught up with his long strides.
“There’s the house,” he said in a hushed tone. “We’ll have to go through the back.”
Carter led him towards the driveway of the neighbouring property and into the vast backyard dotted with trees.
“You have your badge, don’t you?” he asked.
“Oh, damn, I forgot,” Carter said sarcastically.
“Just wanted to make sure. We don’t have time to waste explaining to the owners why we’re on their property.”
“We just wanted to admire the river,” Carter quipped.
He smirked, then stopped in his tracks, putting a hand on Carter’s arm to halt him. Up ahead on the next block, two people were chatting near the edge of the river.
His eyes stung with relief. His Tash was okay. She appeared to be telling a story to her companion, judging by her arm gestures, and the guy she was with seemed enthralled.
He squinted his eyes in case they were deceiving him. No, they weren’t. The man wearing the chauffeur’s uniform did look like Cameron Biggs, and he was nodding his head, listening to Tash... amiably.
“Told you she was smart,” Carter said proudly.
“Yeah,” he said with a chuckle.
Still, he wanted nothing more than to zoom over there and whisk her away to safety. But first, they had to figure out how to do that without undoing the great job Natasha had been doing so far.
He didn’t know how the hell she’d managed to fool Biggs, and damn, he was so impressed. He couldn’t wait to tell her just how much.
CHAPTER TWELVE
“So do you really think he loves me?” Natasha asked, giving John an insecure look.
“Would he have arranged this surprise if he didn’t?” John answered.
“But he’s not here yet,” she said with a sad pout. “I told you he’d do this to me again. He’s often late for our dates. There were even a few times when he cancelled while I was already waiting for him, and work is always his excuse.”
“He’s obviously a very busy man. I think we should get on the boat now and take you to that riverside restaurant he’s booked. No sense continuing to wait here. I’m sure he’ll head straight over there rather than come here first, considering how late he is.”
Her heart raced. “You know what I think?” she said with a huff, hoping she didn’t sound as desperate as she felt. “I think he might be cheating on me with that woman he says is just a work colleague.”
“If that’s the case, he doesn’t deserve you,” John said, taking her arm and steering her towards a speedboat moored at the end of a landing.
Shit. She couldn’t go with him on the boat. What if he took her somewhere out of range of phone signals? How would Gavin and Carter follow them?
But she couldn’t refuse, could she? Once John found out she’d been playing him all this time, he’d quickly drop his own act of being the compassionate listener to a loose-tongued woman. She hid her shudder. He’d be so furious he might even kill her then and there.
“Why should I even see him today at all?” she spat out with bitchy bitterness, stomping and planting her feet firmly on the ground. “I bet that he’s sleeping with that Molly for real, and not just working undercover with her.”
John stopped and faced her. “Undercover?” he asked, giving her that smile again—the one he obviously believed had been encouraging her to share with him information regarding Gavin and his work.
She nodded, her heart pounding hard in her chest. Where on earth were Gavin and Carter? She so did not want to bring up “Molly” and “undercover” in one sentence.
“What do you mean undercover?” John asked casually. “Like with the police or something?”
“I’m not sure, but I think so. Anyway, I’ve seen Molly and she’s very pretty. If they have to act like a couple all the time, don’t you think that’s too much temptation?”
John shrugged. “Depends on what they’re working on. Did he tell you what they’re working on?”
She crossed her arms as if in annoyance. What story could she concoct about this? Would mentioning the name Biggs buy her more time?
“Police! Hands in the air!”
She jumped in surprise at the yell, relief flooding her at seeing Carter appear at the side of the house with his gun drawn. But John was quick to grab her with an arm around her neck and pointed something cold and steely at her temple.
“I don’t think so,” John hissed. “Why don’t you put your gun down or I’ll shoot her.”
Carter obeyed, placing his weapon on the ground and raising his arms in surrender. “Just let her go, Biggs. Please.”
Biggs surveyed their surroundings, snickered, then dragged her backwards towards the boat while keeping his eye on Carter.
“Let her go,” Carter repeated.
Biggs laughed evilly. “Sorry, officer, no can do. But wait a minute, officer. Where’s the rest of your team? Oh, I know. You have no team.”
“They’ll be here any minute. Make it easy on yourself and let her go, Biggs.”
Biggs tut-tutted. “You’re such a liar. No one will be here any minute. You know how I know? Because you’re a fucking electrician. You’re the brother of this stupid bitch and the best bud of that pain-in-the-ass Gavin Redford. How did you find us?”
Carter stayed silent.
“How did you find us!” Biggs said insistently, poking her head with his gun.
No! Natasha mouthed to her brother. If Biggs found out what she’d done, he might pull the trigger.
Carter’s shoulders drooped, looking defeated. “I happen to be working at that house over there,” he said, gesturing to the neighbouring property. “I was surprised to see Natasha standing out here and I thought she was on a date. Then I recognised you. Gavin has told me a lot about you. It dawned on me that you must have dragged my sister here because you think she and Gavin are together. But they’re not.”
“They’re not?” Biggs asked, amused. “I see you haven’t told your brother the truth,” he said to Natasha.
“Um...”
“Natasha!” Carter bellowed. “I told you not to go out with Gavin, even if he’s my friend!”
“I’m sorry,” she said in a small voice. “But he’s really hot. I couldn’t help myself.”
Biggs chortled, obviously finding the situation extremely funny.
A force propelled Natasha forward, almost making her stumble. Next thing she knew, Biggs was face down on the ground with Gavin on top of him.
Her heart thundered. Gavin. He must have tackled Biggs from behind.
Biggs was putting up a struggle, but Gavin had the upper hand. My, he was strong.
“Hello, Biggs,” Gavin said. “Great to see you.”
“Fuck off, you son of a bitch,” Biggs retorted, trying once again to get up. But Gavin was practically sitting on him and was holding his face against the ground.
“Stop moving, Biggs, or I’ll shoot you,” Carter warned, aiming his weapon at the perp.
“It’s over, asshole,” Gavin growled, before looking up at Natasha, his features softening. “Hi, baby.”
“Hi,” she said, her throat suddenly closing up. She wanted to kiss him... so she ran to where he was, cupped his face, and gave him a thorough smooch.
“Tash,” Carter said dryly. “Can’t you see I’m pointing a gun at the bastard? Please get out of the way.”
She sighed, giving Gavin one more peck on the lips before getting up to kiss her brother on the cheek. “I’m so glad you guys found me.”
“You made it easy,” Gavin said, digging his knee against Biggs’ back to stop him from thrashing around. Biggs yelled profanities at his action.
“Don’t you have handcuffs?” she asked with a frown.
“They’re in the glove compartment of the car,” Carter said with a shrug.
“I’m so proud of you, Tash,” Gavin said, his gaze warm and tender.
She smiled at him.
“We both are,” Carter said. “So how did you to fool this idiot?”
“Well, he asked for my phone as soon as we got in the car. But I’d already anticipated that he’d sequester it, so I made sure I took an old one with me and showed him it had a flat battery. I was sure he’d prefer that so no one could call me or track me down. But my real one is here.” She lifted her top to reveal her phone still securely held against her body by the band of her jeans. “Anyway, I had this crazy idea that if I made up stories about Gavin’s work, employees, cases, exes, then he might hold off doing what he’d planned to do until you guys found me. And it worked! While I was putting on this act, he was pretending he was just a friendly driver so I would keep on pumping out information.”
“And you probably thought she was just a talkative bimbo, hey?” Gavin goaded Biggs.
The perp glared at her.
The sound of approaching cars distracted them and soon, several police officers appeared.
Gavin got up, letting the other guys cuff Biggs, and hastened to her. “I’m so glad you’re okay,” he croaked, taking her in his arms.
His words triggered her tears. Suddenly, the enormity of what she’d just been through hit her and she let out a soft sob.
“Shh,” Gavin crooned, caressing her hair. “I’m here. You’re safe.”
She clung to him, relief and gratitude making her knees weak.
“Can I give her a hug too?” Carter asked.
“Sure,” Gavin answered, holding her tighter.
“Well... can you let her go for a second?”
“No.”
She smiled against Gavin’s neck, content to stay in his arms.
Carter exhaled loudly, and put his arms around her and Gavin.
“It’s not over between you and me, Redford!” Biggs called out. “This is not the end!”
The three of them looked at Biggs, who was being led away.
“I’m afraid it is, Biggs,” Gavin responded.
“What about your other girlfriend, huh?” Biggs said with a snarl. “I know you haven’t forgotten about her.”
Natasha couldn’t help her snicker. “I was pulling your leg when I said to you that I think Gavin and Molly are sleeping together,” she said to the bastard.
Biggs laughed mirthlessly. “You think I’m talking about Molly? No. I’m talking about his one and only. Amber.”
The smile left her face.
“Don’t listen to him,” Gavin said, steering her away. “He’s pissed off at you because you made a fool out of him. But he can’t hurt you now. He’ll end up in jail for the rest of his life, just like his wife.”
Oh, she hoped that was the case. But still, the mention of Amber’s name dampened her spirits. Even Biggs seemed to know that Amber had been Gavin’s great love. If she wasn’t the only one who thought that, it really must be true.
*****
“There’s Gladys,” Natasha murmured, spotting the lovely lady tending to the plants at the front of her apartment building.
Gavin shook his head as they got out of his car. “Someone should educate her on the dangers of letting unknown people in the building.”
“I know,” she said with a sigh. “But she’d be so crushed, poor thing.”
“She could have been hurt by someone like Biggs,” Gavin pointed out.
“Yeah. I’ll say something to her.”
A thrill ran through her as Gavin placed his arm around her waist. She’d been waiting for the day that she and Gavin could date openly. The time had come, it seemed.
“Natasha!” Gladys said with delight. “And you must be Gavin, the boyfriend who planned something special for her today.”
“I’m afraid I didn’t send anyone to pick up her up this morning, Gladys,” Gavin said with a smile.
“Oh?”
Natasha told Gladys who John really was.
“Dear Lord,” Gladys said, eyes round and hand on her mouth. “He was so charming and convincing. I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”
“Yes, thank you. And he’s in police custody now,” she said soothingly. “I guess all of us just need to be careful in the future, and not let anyone in the building until we’ve checked with whoever they’re supposed to be visiting.”
Gladys narrowed her eyes at Gavin. “I haven’t seen you around here before.”
“Oh, I’ve been here a few times. We just haven’t met previously.”
“How do I know you haven’t threatened Natasha so you could get into the building?”
Natasha chuckled. “He is my boyfriend, Gladys.”
“After what you’ve told me, I want to see some
ID,” Gladys muttered.
“Of course,” Gavin said with a grin, pulling out his wallet and showing Gladys his driver’s licence.
Gladys nodded. “You’re very handsome.”
“Why, thank you.”
“The two of you will make beautiful babies.”
Natasha blushed. “Well, we better go in,” she murmured.
“Enjoy yourselves,” Gladys said, giving them a big wink.
Gavin was still chuckling as they entered the building. “I like her.”
“Everyone does.”
The elevator door opened, and Gavin pulled her to him as they boarded. “Are you really okay?”
“Yes,” she said with a laugh, pressing the button to her floor before curving her arms around his neck. “That’s about the fourth time you asked me that. Don’t I look okay?”
Gavin smiled, tucking hair behind her ear. “You look more than okay. You look beautiful. I just wanna make sure you’re not covering it up so Carter and I won’t get too worried.”
“I’m really okay,” she murmured, drawing his head down for a kiss. And to prove to him just how fine she really was, she pressed herself against him, and encouraged his tongue to play with hers.
Gavin let out a low, sexy groan that had her moaning in response—which became a little shriek of delight as Gavin lifted her off the floor.
She wrapped her legs around his waist, kissing him hungrily... until the elevator doors opened. She tried to get off him as they exited the lift, but he merely held on to her tighter.
“Give me your key,” Gavin said as he carried her to her door.
She hurried to get her key from her bag, not exactly keen on being caught by one of her neighbours in a position that suggested they were about to have sex. In her haste, she dropped it.
Gavin set her down with a sigh and looked around for the key.
Spotting it first, she bent down to pick it up... and felt a hand on her ass. “Gavin! Someone might see us,” she whispered urgently, although she really didn’t mind him being comfortable enough to show some public display of affection.
Gavin grinned cheekily. “Can’t help it. Missed you so much.”
She rolled her eyes, although she was sure her smile gave away her pleasure at his declaration.
The Unforgettable Ex (Captured by Love Book 5) (Volume 5) Page 10
