Tough as Nails (COBRA Securities Book 10)

by Velvet Vaughn

  Hillary turned to Reed, his face swimming out of focus. Her lids drooped. She fought but it was no use. The air grew too thick to breathe. She couldn’t die without telling him how she felt. “Love you, Reed.”

  The last thing she heard before the world went black was, “Love you back.”

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Reed gaped in horror as Hillary’s legs buckled and she collapsed to the floor. He slid over and caught her before she hit the ground, ignoring the agonizing pull against the shoulder still anchored to the wall, and her weight against his broken arm. He needed to find where she dropped the keys so he could unlock the cuff and get them out. He was having trouble breathing.

  “Hillary, babe, wake up. We’ve got to get out of here.” Flames completely engulfed one wall. If he didn’t get loose in the next few seconds, the door would be blocked by fire and they would roast like marshmallows. Not to mention there was an underlying noxious odor of chemicals and burning flesh and hair. His eyes were pouring water and smoke clogged his lungs. He was just about to cut his arm off to save Hillary when he felt a lump under her hip. The keys. He grabbed them, found the correct one and unlocked the cuff. He ignored the burning pain in his lungs as he slid his arms under her and dashed for the door. Thankfully, Marty had opened it or Reed might not have found it in time. Smoke rapidly filled the rest of the house as one side was now fully engulfed. He placed Hillary against the far wall where the flames hadn’t yet touched and ran back for Penny. He knew it was a lost cause. He was pretty sure she was dead. But he couldn’t leave her in there to burn. She’d already suffered so much.

  He barged back inside, feeling like he was stepping through the gates of hell. The heat was intense. He dropped down to his hands and knees and crawled to where he’d last seen Penny. She hadn’t moved. He latched onto her foot and pulled her to him. When she was close, he slid his arms beneath her and gathered her in his arms. He turned to leave when an apparition appeared before him, blocking his path. If he didn’t know better, he’d think it was Satan himself.

  “No! You can’t have her! She’s mine!”

  Reed didn’t have time to react as the raving lunatic plowed into him. He reeled backwards, stumbling into the wooden table before crashing to the floor with Penny still in his arms. The smoke was making him light-headed but the thought of Hillary unconscious and at the mercy of the flames spurred his resolve. Marty slammed a flesh-less fist against his jaw and Reed tasted blood. What the hell? The man had been shot twice and his hands were disfigured and still he clawed at him, trying to rip Penny from his grip. Reed swung his casted arm, wincing at the crack when it connected with Marty’s skull. He went down in a heap. Scrambling to his feet, Reed didn’t spare him a glance as he gathered Penny and dove out the door just as part of the roof collapsed. Marty howled in excruciating pain. Reed didn’t think he’d ever get that sound out of his head.

  He staggered over to where he’d left Hillary. She hadn’t moved, except to slide sideways down the wall. He thought he heard sirens, but he was having trouble breathing and his vision had been reduced to spots. He placed Penny over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry, wishing he had something to cover her to preserve her dignity, but getting out was more important. Then he bent down and scooped Hillary in his arms. With sheer determination and grit, he stood and stumbled through the house. Finally, he spotted the door and burst outside, fresh air washing over him in cool, comforting waves like a dip in the nearby ocean.

  “I’ve got her.”

  Someone was trying to pry Hillary from his grip but he wasn’t letting her go. “No,” he croaked. How could Marty still be alive? The man had more lives than Michael Myers, the evil villain from the creepy Halloween movies.

  “Reed, I’ve got her, man. You can let her go.”

  Wait—that wasn’t Marty’s voice. It was Kellan Polizzi. Reed trusted him. He’d take care of Hillary. Reluctantly, he released his hold. Then Penny’s weight was removed from his shoulder.

  “Reed, are you okay?”

  Reed sank to his knees and then the ground rushed up to meet him.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Something beeped in a steady rhythm, dragging Hillary from a floating state of oblivion. Consciousness gradually returned and she blinked her eyes open, wincing at the harsh overhead lighting. Her head pounded like a tribal drum. White walls slowly came into focus. Where was she? And what was up with her nose? She lifted a hand, surprised to find tubes attached.

  “Welcome back, sunshine.”

  She knew that voice. “Kayla?” The name came out in a croak, her throat scratchy and raw.

  “Here, drink slowly.”

  She blinked up at her roommate as she held a red and white striped straw to her lips. Cool liquid coated her throat and she sucked deeply, sighing as it soothed damaged tissues. When she’d had all her stomach could handle, she nodded and Kayla placed the glass on a table.

  “What happened?” Her voice sounded like sandpaper.

  “Do you remember the fire?”

  Fire? There’d been a fire? Suddenly it all came rushing back. Making love with Reed. Going to the reno house with him. The call from Tyler. Finding the hidden room. Penny. Marty Grimes coming in. His gun connecting with Reed’s head before he injected her with something. She frantically searched the room but Reed wasn’t there.

  “Reed?” Marty hit him hard. He was just getting over one concussion. She vaguely remembered him saying he was okay. Was that a dream?

  “Relax.” Kayla stroked her arm and she realized she’d bolted upright. “He’s strapped down next door.”

  Hillary’s head whipped around, the pounding intensifying. “Why is he strapped down?”

  The words were croaked but Kayla understood. “Because he dislocated his shoulder, and he needs breathing treatments but he refused to leave your side. It took both Sawyer and Wyatt to manhandle him into the bed. Under doctor supervision, of course.”

  “Breathing treatments?”

  Kayla eased her back to the mattress and tucked the covers around her. “He scorched his lungs getting you out and then going back for the other woman. Do you remember any of that?”

  “No.”

  “Then you’ll want to see this.” Kayla swiped her phone off the bedside table and punched buttons. She held the screen up to Hillary. A video began to play of orange flames licking up one side of the reno house. Swirling lights of red and blue came into the frame as emergency vehicles pulled up just as the door of the house burst open. The video zoomed in on Reed as he staggered out carrying her in his arms, with Penny draped over his shoulder. Kellan Polizzi raced up to him and tried to take her from him but he vehemently shook his head, hugging her tighter. Soot darkened his face, making the whites of his eyes stand out in stark relief. Tears blurred her vision. He didn’t want to let her go. Kellan must have gotten through to him because he finally let go and the detective handed her off to a paramedic who raced over with a stretcher. Another cop removed Penny from Reed’s shoulder. Thankfully, whoever taped this was thoughtful enough to add black boxes to cover her exposed body. Then Reed sank to the ground and collapsed. Hillary gasped and covered her mouth. She stared at the screen, long after the video cut off. Kayla finally pried it from her grip.

  Reed had gone back inside a burning building to save Penny. “Is she…”

  Kayla shook her head sadly.

  Hillary closed her eyes. The pain that girl must have suffered. She’d been battered. Bruised. “The house?”

  “Burned to the ground. Total loss.”

  “Good.” That house would forever be tainted with the blood that had been shed inside. Too many lives had been lost. Someone would rebuild and hopefully eradicate the bad karma that filled the old home.

  “Kota?”

  “He’s fine. I made sure his food and water bowls were filled and let him out to do his business.”

  “Marty Grimes?”

  “Dead.”

  Hillary was sad that he wouldn’t hav
e to face the consequences for his actions. He’d destroyed so many lives. Death was the easy way out. “Did I do it? I shot him…tried not to kill him. I wanted him to name his victims.”

  “No, it wasn’t the gunshots. Reed bashed him in the head, too. Marty charged at him when he went back for Penny. Reed got out just as the ceiling collapsed. Marty didn’t. Officially, the fire killed him.”

  Hillary yanked the oxygen tubes from her nose, tossed back the covers and swung her legs over the side of the bed.

  “Wait—what are you doing?” Kayla moved in front of her.

  “I need to see Reed.”

  “No, Hillary, you can’t—” Kayla blew out a breath. “I know that look. There’s no stopping you. I guess you can. Wait…let me help,” she chastised as Hillary struggled to her feet. Kayla draped the line from the IV on the pole holding the bag and helped her stand. A breeze hit her backside. She tried to close the gap before she mooned the entire floor. Kayla was there to help, pulling the ties tight to preserve her modesty.

  “Thanks. When did you get here?”

  “I was already on the way. After all that went down with the bodies in the floor and the stolen money, Luke and Logan sent us to back you up.”

  “Us?”

  “Sawyer and Wyatt are with Reed, standing guard so he doesn’t try to get up again. Besides, they enjoy hanging out with him. They bonded during our last visit and they’re bros now.”

  Hillary’s strength was gradually returning as the drug Marty injected her with left her system. Her head pounded and her throat ached, but she could deal with the pain. What she couldn’t handle was being away from Reed. She needed to see for herself that he was okay.

  Kayla held up a hand, halting their progress. She stuck her head out the door and checked the hall. “Okay, we’re good. I don’t want to get in trouble for aiding and abetting a fugitive.”

  Hillary smiled. She was such a smartass, but she was so thankful her friend was here.

  Kayla hooked an arm around her waist to steady her and guided her to the room next door, pushing it open. “Knock, knock. Mr. Steele has a very persistent visitor.”

  Wyatt and Sawyer leaped up from their chairs, each taking turns hugging her. She swirled to the bed and gasped. Reed was lying in bed with an oxygen mask attached to his nose and mouth. Cuts and scrapes marred his handsome face and a darkening bruise bloomed on one temple. His shoulder was covered with ice packs. Kayla hadn’t been kidding. He was strapped down, which was painfully obvious as he jerked and twisted, rattling the metal rails. The ice packs went flying. She rushed to him, ignoring Kayla’s cries to wait as her IV pole toppled to the floor. She felt a pull on her hand, but she didn’t care. She leaned over the rails and hugged him, so thankful he was alive. She needed him to quit struggling so he didn’t reinjure his shoulder. His big body shuddered. “Thank God you’re okay.”

  “Mmumfh.”

  She inched back to look at his face. “What was that?”

  He jerked his head. “Mmumfh.”

  She eased the oxygen mask aside, wincing at the split lip. “Untie me,” he rasped, his voice ruined.

  “I guess we better do as he asks before he injures himself more,” Sawyer smirked, strolling to one the side of the bed. He unbuckled a strap while Wyatt tackled the other. The next thing she knew she was engulfed in Reed’s strong embrace and he was kissing her. He tasted of smoke and his cast bit into her back but she didn’t care. He broke the kiss and rested his forehead against hers. His exhale was shaky, or maybe it was hers. All that mattered was that they were alive. They clung to each other, neither relaxing their grip. She didn’t even realize when her coworkers quietly filed out of the room, giving them privacy.

  “Hillary.”

  She hugged him tighter “No, don’t talk. Save your voice.”

  “Have to,” he croaked, his hands gripping her shoulders so he could peer into her face. “What you said…did you mean it?”

  She had a vague memory of telling him she loved him before she lost consciousness. She nodded, tears in her eyes. He exhaled roughly and gathered her close again. “Love you, too.” The words sounded like they were dragged over gravel but she’d never heard anything more beautiful in her life. He loved her.

  “What do you think you’re doing?”

  Hillary twisted to see a nurse stomp inside with Kayla trailing her. Her roommate mouthed, “I’m so sorry.”

  “You shouldn’t be in here. And you’re bleeding.”

  Reed’s eyes widened before he gripped her arms again and raked his gaze over her. He spotted the blood seeping out of her hand and held it in his palm.

  “I pulled out the IV.” The nurse took over, holding a pad on it until it stopped bleeding. Then she reinserted the needle.

  “And you,” the nurse continued, pointing at Reed, “need to keep that mask on.” She reached over and affixed it over his frowning mouth while he rolled his eyes.

  “Visiting time’s over. Back to your room.”

  When Hillary refused to leave, clinging to Reed harder, the nurse threw her hands in the air. “I give up. You can stay for a few minutes. But he has to wear the mask.” She bent to gather the ice packs. “And these.” She arranged them over his damaged shoulder.

  Glad for the reprieve, she sighed against him, content to just hold him. The next time the nurse came in, she insisted Hillary leave. She slid out of bed and promised she’d be back as soon as possible.

  Her legs felt stronger and she walked without assistance. Her coworkers were waiting in the hall when she came out. “Go back to the cottage and rest,” she told them. “I have to stay until the doctor releases me.”

  Kayla hugged her. “We’ll be back in a few hours.”

  She thanked Wyatt and Sawyer when they hugged her and then she followed the nurse back to her room. Once she was settled under the covers, exhaustion washed over her and she fell into a deep sleep.

  #

  Reed was about to cause a scene…well, a bigger one than he’d triggered when the two assholes sitting next to him manhandled him into bed and slapped restraints against his wrists, all under the amused supervision of Connie and the doctor. He’d dislocated his shoulder when he slid to catch Hillary. No biggie. They’d popped it back in already. And he needed breathing treatments, the physician insisted. Fine. He understood that. It felt like he’d poured gasoline down his esophagus and lit it ablaze. Each swallow was trying to force a mixture of sandpaper, rocks and razor blades down his throat. But he needed to see Hillary, make sure she was okay more than he needed to breathe. Didn’t they realize that?

  She’d said she loved him.

  He’d been assured she was fine and that the drug Grimes injected her with was harmless. She just needed to sleep it off. He just needed to be with her.

  Sawyer was reclining in a chair, his feet propped on Reed’s bed with his hands clasped behind his head like he hadn’t a care in the world. Wyatt was flipping through a magazine, discussing the benefits of this sports car over that one. Apparently, the guy liked to go fast. It annoyed him that they’d taken the doctor’s side. With the mask attached to his face, and his hands restrained, he couldn’t tell them off, so he settled for narrowing his eyes at them. This seemed to amuse them and that pissed him off more. He really liked Hillary’s coworkers, but they were currently numbers one and two on his shit list.

  He closed his eyes, only half listening to the conversation around him. Sawyer told him that Hillary had activated a panic button, alerting her office to the fact that she was in trouble. They pinpointed her location and instructed Kellan and the local authorities on where to find her. Connie had been with him since he was admitted but she’d been bombarded with phone calls from the network and reporters. Apparently, someone had been passing by and saw the flames. They started recording on their cell phone and captured the moment he stumbled out the door with Hillary and Penny in his arms. The video went viral and every major network and news outlet wanted to talk to him. Connie left to
handle the fallout, but warned him that he would have to give interviews when he felt better. Super.

  “Hey, Reed, you up to having a visitor?”

  He nodded at Kellan Polizzi as he stepped inside the room. Sawyer and Wyatt shook hands with the detective and then he stood beside the bed. “Are you doing okay?” Reed nodded. “That was a hell of a feat you managed. You looked like Superman coming out of a burning building.”

  Reed tried to ask a question and when Kellan couldn’t understand him, he moved the mask aside. “Penny?” His voice was scratchy and rough.

  Kellan shook his head sadly.

  Reed closed his eyes. “Knew she was dead when I went back.”

  “Why did you do it? Why run back inside a burning building when you knew she was already gone?”

  Because the girl had suffered so much. He couldn’t save her, but he could give her family her body so they could give her a proper burial. “Couldn’t let her burn.”

  Kellan nodded as if he understood. “The house is gone. A total loss.”

  Reed was both greatly relieved and deeply saddened. Relieved because too much evil had occurred under the roof and no matter how much work they put into it, how much glitz and gloss they applied, it would always be tainted. He was sad at the loss of equipment and materials, not to mention the hours of work that had already been put into the rehab. And it was the last project he’d ever work on with Neil.

  Thankfully Connie’s network equipment had been locked up tight in the production truck and TT’s Beach Builds stored their equipment in a trailer. His crew would have to replace all their tools. “Grimes?”

  “Died in the fire. The firemen found his body pinned beneath a beam.”

  That garnered mixed feelings in him as well. The guy needed to pay for his crimes. His victims deserved justice. Death was too easy. “Souvenirs.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Grimes. He kept them from his victims.”

  “What were they?”

  “Scalps. Hair. Dozens. Hands, too.”