“Wrong,” the guy snapped. “You should have left her to burn in the bar. Why the fuck would you bring her here?”
“We didn’t have time to think it through,” her attacker growled. “We acted and grabbed her. There are security cameras there. Killing her was too risky.”
There was a long pause. Then, “The boss isn’t gonna like this.”
The men around Kinsley shifted on their feet.
Kinsley’s hand went straight to her belly. She knew she had to run, get away. Because, suddenly, it wasn’t if she was going to die, but when. A cold sweat washed over her, fear pumping her heart until her head swam.
Rhett…
Her hand pressed tighter against her belly…Oh, little one…
Her family, her friends, her life, it was all flashing through her mind. She wasn’t ready to say goodbye. Nowhere near ready.
A pair of shoes clicked against the cement floor. Each click deepened her breath a little bit more. Until the man stopped in front of her. The power emanating off him had her lifting her head even though she told herself that she shouldn’t look. Her eyes met the dark stormy depths of his, and she knew there was no getting out of there. The coldness there, the lack of humanity, made her shiver.
Tears welled up in her eyes before she forced herself to blink them away, not wanting to show weakness. Never. Not in front of this killer.
The man finally looked at her attacker with his gun aimed at her. “Do you realize who this is?”
Her captor shifted nervously on his feet. “We had no choice but to bring her.”
“You most definitely did have a choice,” he countered. “You should have put a bullet through her head and left her there.”
Kinsley froze at the sheer callousness that dripped from his voice. She’d never really believed in evil people. She’d always thought that people just made bad choices. But here, with these men, who knew she was pregnant and yet were still speaking about killing her like she was some spider on the wall, she believed evil was very real and present in this room.
She stared into his cold, dark eyes that made her want to flee. Everything about him from his worn black leather vest with the WILD DOGS logo on it, to the way his thin lips dipped down, screamed of danger. “Please don’t do this. I’m pregnant.” That had to make someone stop.
The man didn’t even flinch. Nothing showed on his face, except pure boredom.
Two men strode up and stopped behind him, assault rifles in their hands. They were like soldiers ready to go to war, but this wasn’t war, she wanted to scream at them.
She’d never wanted any part of this. She wanted to go home to Rhett and her family and friends. To her life. A life that was not perfect and was full of flaws, but it was most certainly hers. She wanted more time…
The leader eventually broke the heavy silence. “Bringing her here was fucking stupid.” He shoved his hand into his pocket. “Did you not think about how they will move the earth to find her?”
They meaning Rhett, Boone, and her father. And they would. They would stop at nothing. But she knew there was more at stake here than just her own life and the life of her child’s. Rhett would never forgive himself. He’d never recover. So many lives ruined, all because of the greed of these scumbags.
“They’ve got the security cameras,” the guy on her right said. “We couldn’t kill her there.”
“Again, you could have, and you should have.” The leader turned around and Kinsley heard a telling click. “I’m growing very tired of fixing your sloppy mistakes.” He turned around and fired two shots, killing both her attacker and the guy on her other side.
Kinsley threw her hands over her ears, the bang near deafening, as she stared into her attacker’s dead eyes while blood poured out of his wound. The click of a gun being cocked again lifted her eyes. She scrambled back, the wall stopping her from getting anywhere. “No,” she barely managed. “No. Please.” She’d nearly had it all. Everything she ever wanted. Love, happiness, family, it’d all been right there, ready for her to grab it.
No, it couldn’t end this way. She wanted the husband, the family home filled with memories, the big dinners celebrating people and achievements. She wanted to grow old with someone. There was so much more she wanted to do.
And yet…and yet…the man squared his shoulders and took aim. Kinsley shut her eyes, holding on to her belly. I love you.
Chapter 18
Rhett sat next to Boone in the van, with Asher on the other side, wearing full tactical gear. They’d joined the Whitby Falls SWAT team after getting a location from King. This was their fight, and luckily the Whitby Falls chief understood that and allowed them to assist. Rhett had to give it to the Whitby Falls PD—they got their SWAT team assembled and in the van in thirty minutes. But those thirty minutes had felt like hours, and every minute was more daunting than the last. He needed Kinsley safe in his arms, nothing but that. And while the address that King gave Rhett could still have been fictitious, Rhett oddly believed him. The last thing King needed was word that he’d taken out a biker gang to clear away the competition. King appeared to want money, not a war, and Rhett hoped his instincts to push King had set them on the right path.
“We’re going to get her back.”
Rhett glanced up, finding Boone’s determined gaze on him.
“And when we do,” Boone added, “I think you’re gonna need this.” He offered him a card in a brown envelope.
Rhett took the card. “What is it?”
Boone gave a soft smile. “To be honest, I don’t really know. It wasn’t mine to open when I received it. You’ll have to tell me once you open it.”
Rhett glanced down at the envelope, which was slightly weighted. The van hit a pothole, and Rhett hurried to slip the envelope into his cargo pants, zipping up the pocket.
The men across from Rhett suddenly sat up a little straighter, shifting their clothes and bulletproof vests and righting their helmets. They were close.
Not even a second later, the van pulled up to a large square warehouse. On the outside, there were no distinguishing features, nothing telling anyone what lay inside. Probably just how the Wild Dogs wanted it. Rhett let the Whitby team exit first and lead the way inside. They moved as a highly trained unit, and Rhett didn’t want to interfere with that.
In seconds, they blew out the door and triggered the alarm. The team rushed forward, and mere moments after that, the flash grenades were launched and immediately followed by rapid gunfire. With Boone behind Rhett and Asher at the rear, guarding the back, Rhett took the hallway on the left lined with offices. Each one he passed was empty. They’d studied the building’s layout, and Rhett wanted this hallway. Logic told him they’d keep Kinsley as far away from the main entrance as possible.
The gunfire got louder and closer together as Rhett closed in on a doorway at the end of the hall, which led into the open space at the back of the warehouse. Rhett burst into the room, his assault weapon trained forward. He scanned the room in a quick sweep. No one noticed their arrival, every man there focused on the SWAT team putting them under heavy fire.
Rhett moved then and said a silent prayer for their safety as he looked for Kinsley. A pulsating energy filled the room, like a beacon, calling him forward. She was there; all he had to do was find her.
A man suddenly jumped out from behind a cement post, and Rhett fired, the threat immediately removed. The gunfire became nearly deafening, but he kept on, needing to get to her. To keep her safe—to keep them both safe—like he’d promised.
Two more men stormed from the back, their guns spitting bullets. Rhett stayed behind the beam, keeping cover. He caught sight of Boone, hiding behind a large metal barrel. He held up his fingers and counted down: 3, 2, 1. Rhett spun and fired, taking out the first threat while Boone took out the other.
Rhett moved quickly, his gaze trained ahead of him, knowing that he had Boone and Asher at his back.
As he passed a sports car, his gaze flicked left. There, in
the corner, Kinsley sat with her head down, her hands covering her ears. Everything stopped for him then. Rhett wasn’t thinking at that point. He sprinted for her then slid on his knees until he had his hands on her. Alive…She was alive.
She jerked her head up, teary eyes wide with surprise and fear.
“Hold on to me,” he told her.
“I can’t,” she gasped.
He began to pull her away when he caught sight of the rope binding her wrists. He grabbed his knife from his leg and cut her free then helped her to her feet. “Stay close.”
“Yes, yes,” she cried, her legs barely supporting her.
Boone was there a second later. Once he was by their side, Boone spun around quickly, taking the front, his weapon ready to keep her safe. Rhett positioned himself beside Kinsley, keeping his attention on their left, and Asher closed in and took the back. He fired off two rounds, and Rhett knew that whatever threat was coming for them was now gone.
With a quick look ahead, Rhett saw three SWAT officers taking up position near the door they’d entered, clearing a path out. With a guy now on Rhett’s other side providing cover, Rhett grabbed Kinsley’s arm, keeping her close, and placed a hand on her head, covering her body with his as much as possible. Bullets rained down, and the noise ricocheted, making it impossible to identify where the gunfire came from.
On the way to the door, his foot slipped on blood, and he held Kinsley tighter, hoping she hadn’t seen the river of death on the floor. Boone went out the door first, with a SWAT officer in front. The door was right there, so damn close. Gunfire burst into the hallway. Instinctively, Rhett pushed Kinsley down and shielded her with his body.
When the noise silenced, he had her up again and moving swiftly toward the door. She didn’t belong in the middle of a gunfight. She was too pure. And this was too raw. Too real. His two worlds were meshing, and he fought to pull them apart.
Once outside, Rhett squinted against the sunny day, quickly guiding Kinsley toward safety. The van doors were still open. Boone stopped just before the doors, providing more cover. Rhett picked her up by the hips and hoisted her into the van, blocking her body with his. He lay over her until Asher and Boone jumped in the van, and the SWAT officer yelled, “Go!” He slammed the doors shut.
The van took off, squealing out of the parking lot. Rhett knew another van would arrive any minute to replace this one. But nothing else mattered except the woman lying next to him.
“Kinsley,” he said, helping her to sit. Her ashen face and dull eyes made his chest ache, and she shook violently. “Blanket,” he said to no one in particular, rubbing her arms, knowing exactly what she needed right now.
He wasn’t even sure who handed him the blanket. He simply wrapped it around her and brought her into his arms, holding her against his chest. Shock was a very real thing that happened to a body. Rhett had seen people take hours to come out of it. Boone’s hand came down on her shoulder, and Rhett dropped his head into her neck on the other side.
Safe. He’d almost lost her. He held on tighter, feeling her trembles get harder as a sob broke free.
“That’s it. Don’t hold it in,” he told her.
“Rhett,” she finally cried.
He dropped a kiss on her neck, feeling her fierce shudders beneath his mouth. “Yeah, darlin’, I’m here.”
“Don’t let go.”
He locked his arms around her. “I never will.”
* * *
Four hours later, Kinsley felt a little more like herself again. She had given her report, cried enough not to have any tears left, and hugged everyone as much as she could. All her family and friends had been at Rhett’s house, and no one left until she finally believed she was safe. Her captor, their leader, and everyone else was dead. The SWAT team came out a little bloodied, a couple with gunshot wounds, but alive, and they’d all go home tonight, and from what she learned, so would Cameron.
She thought she should feel happy now, but she couldn’t find happiness anywhere, only sadness that any of this had happened at all. She had seen her life flash before her eyes. Had Rhett, Boone, and the others stormed the warehouse even two seconds later, she would have been dead. Now, with life giving her this second chance, she realized she couldn’t waste it. She couldn’t simply wait and wait and wait, because in a snap, it could all be over, just like that.
She had to live. Fully. Authentically.
And that’s why when Rhett asked her if she wanted to go home, she asked him to bring her somewhere else instead. Now, in her favorite place on top of the summit, staring up at the stars above, with a blanket resting on her lap, she couldn’t hold off any longer. “Rhett, I…”
He glanced sideways and took her hand. “Can’t keep loving me the way you’ve been loving me.”
Surprised he got that so right, she drew in a long breath, emotion tightening her throat. “No, I can’t, and I’m sorry for that.” She wanted a commitment, and she wanted forever with someone.
“Damn, Kinsley, never be sorry. Not for anything.” He slowly shook his head, his mouth thinning before he addressed her. “You’ve been so loyal and good to me. More than anyone ever has.”
Her heart leapt up in her throat; tears welled in her eyes. “No matter what, even if there isn’t an us, we’re going to be okay. Our baby will be okay. We’re going to make all this work.”
He hesitated then leveled those warm eyes at her. “What do you need for there to be an us?”
“I need to hear that I’m loved,” she said, a tear slipping down her cheek before she wiped it away with her mitten-covered hand. “I want a house for my family to grow in. I want to grow old with someone. I want a husband. I want forever. I want it all.”
Unfamiliar softness reached his expression and his voice. “You deserve all those things. Every single one of them.” His gaze bore into hers, the world fading away, the cold wind on her cheeks barely there now. “I don’t know why you love me the way you do,” he added gently. “Why you see the good in me and reach to bring it out. I never thought I needed anyone, but when I thought I was going to lose you, I realized my world cannot exist without you.”
“Rhett,” she barely managed.
A long pause. “I think you need to see this.” He reached into his jacket pocket then and pulled out a card. She immediately knew what it was, had seen similar ones many times in her life. It was one of her grandmother’s handmade cards.
With shaky hands, she opened it, and her breath hitched at the familiar handwriting.
Dear Kinsley’s future husband,
I’m guessing you must be a spectacular man if my Kinsley has picked you. But as her grandmother, I thought I should tell you something you should know about her. You’ll never meet anyone more loyal, but if you break that loyalty, you’ll lose her forever. Don’t mess this up! She needs hugs even if she tells you she doesn’t want one. Please hug her all the time, real tight. Those are her favorite. She’s got really soft spots on her soul, even if she doesn’t show them often. Protect those soft spots. Always! Sometimes, she’ll need you to love her extra hard when she remembers her mother and gets sad about that. Remind her the best people are here with her, and that’s all that matters. Nothing and no one else but that. She loves without restraint, without fear, and is brave enough to fight for what her heart wants. Since you’re her guy, the man her heart wants, always remember that she needs that love back.
Take care of my girl,
Margie
Kinsley choked on a sob, blurry eyed. “I had no idea that my grandma wrote this letter.”
Rhett took the letter back, setting it beside him. “I’m glad she did. Sometimes”—he chuckled—“most times, it’s good to hear it straight. It also only confirmed that this is exactly what I should do…”
She felt something in her hand and she looked down, slowly opening it. Her vision suddenly became even blurrier as she stared at her grandmother’s engagement ring. “Is this…”
“Your grandmother’s ring.�
�
She blinked. “I don’t understand. I thought the ring was buried with her.” Only now that she thought about it, she hadn’t seen her grandmother wear the ring in her later years.
“Your grandmother gave the ring and the card to Boone for safekeeping.” Rhett hesitated then added, “Well, I’m not exactly sure he even knew what was in the envelope. Only that he was supposed to give it to the man who wanted to marry you.”
“Wait…are you…” Her heart exploding, words just gone.
He took the ring then turned her hand around. “Yes, Kinsley. I want us. A family. I want you forever.”
Her breath hitched, tears falling.
“I love you, Kinsley. Will you marry me?”
She stared at him, her fingers and feet tingling, her voice absent.
Silence settled in for so long that his mouth twitched. “I know I’m not great at all of this,” he said, “but usually there’s a response at this point, isn’t there?”
She forced her voice to work. “I have envisioned this moment so many times. Dreamed of it, really. But now I’m actually wondering if maybe I died in that chop shop and I’ve gone to heaven. Everything you just said is too good, too perfect. It can’t be real.”
He took her finger and slid the ring on. It was a perfect fit. Whenever her grandmother let her try on this ring, it hung off her finger. She both laughed and cried when the ring settled into place. “Does that feel real?” he asked.
“Yes, but still too perfect,” she said. “I need something…something more to show me this is real.” She wanted him—no, needed him—but Rhett had been worried and scared, and she knew he’d be too gentle, too soft. She didn’t want that. Not now. Not when she needed to believe that all this was actually happening.
A frown tugged on his mouth. “You’re hurt.”
She shook her head. “My hip is tender from landing on it, but otherwise, I’m fine.”
He pulled back. “Today was traumatic.” He jumped off the truck, reaching for her waist. “I’ll take you home, and we can discuss this more there.”
Ruthless Bastard Page 21
