by L. P. Dover
I parked at the diner and watched him go inside the club. A part of me hoped like hell he wasn’t going in there to meet another woman, but then the other part wondered why I even cared. I didn’t want to care, but something inside me couldn’t let go.
The clock ticked away and my eyes grew heavy. I should’ve stayed in bed. The two-hour drive back was going to be torture. Several people stumbled out of the bar and went to their cars, while others walked across the street toward the diner. It wasn’t long before Preston came out. Instead of going to his car, he followed a man heading toward the side of the rundown warehouse.
Was he going to buy drugs? With his complete attitude and personality change, it wouldn’t surprise me. I was either stupid, insane, or both, but I was determined to see what he’d been up to these past few nights. Rummaging through the glove compartment, I found Glenn’s gun. He had them in all of his cars. It was a good thing my dad taught me how to shoot.
Getting out of the car, I slipped the pistol into the back of my jeans and ran across the street. I could see Preston’s shadow against the side of the warehouse wall. Adrenaline coursed through my veins, my steps silent against the pavement. The alley was disgusting, with trash everywhere, and it smelled ungodly. It was the kind of place you’d find a dead body in.
“Who the fuck are you?” the man shouted.
“You should’ve known I’d come for you the moment you got out of jail.” The sound of Preston’s voice made me shiver; it didn’t sound like him.
Peeking around the corner, the only thing I could see was Preston’s back and the man in front of him, holding up his hands, staring down the barrel of a gun. I held a hand over my mouth to keep from making a sound. The man looked angry, his beady eyes blazing. Preston pulled the trigger and there was no sound, other than the thud of the bullet passing through the man’s skull. Blood splattered across the side of the building and that was all I could take.
“Oh my God. Oh my God,” I repeated over and over, speeding onto the highway. I couldn’t get away fast enough. Preston killed someone, in cold blood. He was a murderer. There was no way in hell I was going to stay anywhere near him.
Pulling out my phone, I pressed Glenn’s number. I didn’t give a rat’s ass if it was two in the morning. Glenn picked up, his voice sounding as if he was still awake. “Emma, are you okay?”
“No,” I shouted, on the verge of tears. I was too keyed up to cry, but I knew it’d happen as soon as the adrenaline wore off. “When I get back to Charleston, I’m packing my shit and leaving. I’ll return your car to you tomorrow.”
“Whoa, slow down and breathe,” he soothed. “Now tell me what happened.”
Visions of what I saw flashed through my mind. It felt like I was going to throw up, but I swallowed it down. “I can’t, Glenn. I just can’t,” was all I could say. I hung up and shut off my phone. I didn’t want to talk to him or anyone else about it. That wasn’t the Preston I knew. Or maybe it was, I just didn’t know.
The two hours passed by quickly and once I got to the house, I reset the alarm. If Preston was going to come looking for me, I wanted a warning. Sweat poured down my face as I raced back and forth to get my stuff packed. The sound of the alarm going off, stopped me in my tracks. And when the alarm went silent, my pulse doubled. There was someone in the house. I could hear them moving around.
Reaching for my phone to call the police, I realized I’d left it in the car along with the gun. Shit! The only thing in my room that could be used as a weapon was one of the fireplace pokers. Nabbing it, I walked out of my bedroom and down the stairs. I wasn’t about to sit around and wait for them to come find me.
And since I hadn’t turned on any lights in my rush to get the hell out of there, the entire downstairs was dark. I moved into the living room and a hand grabbed my arm. I swung the poker as hard as I could and screamed as it connected with flesh, only the shout that came out of the man’s mouth was not Preston’s voice.
“Fuck me,” he growled, stepping away. I didn’t recognize his voice at all, so I panicked even more when another man came up behind me, holding me in his vice-like grip.
“Drop the poker, Emma,” he said, whose voice sounded almost familiar.
I wanted to fight, but I couldn’t move. “Who are you?”
The man I hit walked over to the light switch and turned them on. My eyes adjusted to the light and I thought I was going to be sick. Another man walked in and I dropped the poker in shock. He was someone I did recognize.
“Oh my God,” I cried.
He nodded toward the door. “It’s time to go.”
Preston
I didn’t know what I’d been thinking breaking into Emma’s room, but I sure as hell never expected to find the song we’d written together. I hadn’t played my guitar or sang in years.
Seeing her notepad frightened me, and my plan on telling her I never forgot her, our friends, or our band, flew out the window. Instead, I hunted a target. Now that was what I knew how to do.
After making the kill, I drove back to Charleston and watched the sunrise. I didn’t even try to sleep, knowing I’d dream of her, of what could’ve been. It wasn’t easy seeing her in that bed alone. It made me wonder how many men had had the privilege of being with her, of having her legs wrapped around them.
“Fuck,” I hissed, pacing the pool house. I wanted her and I couldn’t get her out of my goddamn head.
A quick knock jerked my attention to the door. Mrs. Walker hurried in, her breath coming in rapid pants. “Is Emma in here with you?”
“No, why?” She was panicked and I didn’t like it.
She waved for me to follow her. “Looks like there was a scuffle in the living room involving an iron poker. There’s blood on the floor. I’m thinking Emma used it on her attacker.”
“Are you fucking kidding me? Have you called the police?” My chest tightened and I rushed past her. Fear flooded my veins; something I hadn’t felt in a long time.
“I wanted to make sure she wasn’t with you,” she cried. “I tried calling Glenn, but he’s not answering. And we can’t call Emma because her phone’s in Glenn’s car.”
I took the stairs two at a time. I knew I shouldn’t have left her alone. If her phone was in her car, there was no way I could track her without it taking forever and a goddamned day. When I got to her room, I wasn’t expecting to find her bedroom lights on, and all of her clothes stacked beside a suitcase. Where was she going?
My hands shook when I pulled my phone out to call Glenn, only to realize I’d missed several calls from him.
“Make it quick, son. I’m in an important meeting,” he answered, sounding slightly annoyed.
“I don’t give a shit what you’re doing. Emma’s gone,” I growled. The sinking feeling in my gut grew worse each second she was gone. Whoever took her wouldn’t live long once I got my hands on them.
“Yes, I know. She was upset last night when she called. What’d you do to her?”
That took me completely off guard. “What did I do to her? Not a fucking thing. What was she upset about?”
“I don’t know. She said she was leaving and would return my car to me today. I figured she’d be here by now, giving me her resignation. I tried calling you to see what happened, but you obviously had better things to do.”
“I was doing my job,” I stormed. “But it doesn’t look like she left willingly. Someone broke in and took her.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Just like I fucking said. Someone broke in and took her. Why didn’t the alarm go off?” I could feel my resolve slipping. Images ran rampant through my mind—Emma beaten, raped, and left for dead in an alley. I had to find her.
“I don’t know. But you have to calm down.”
“Fuck calm! She’s gone!” I ran back to the pool house to grab my guns and knives. It was time for a hunt. I strapped my knives to my belt and holstered my guns before charging toward the driveway. Glenn’s car was unlocked and I took h
er phone out from the center console.
“Where did you go last night? You should’ve been there to protect her,” he snapped.
Frozen, I stared at Emma’s phone, at the picture of her, Andrea, and Cliff. I knew where I was last night. I’d chosen to kill instead of protect. The guilt I harbored inside my soul came back with a vengeance. We should’ve been there to protect them, was what my father said to me all those years ago.
My chest felt like it was going to rip apart, the rage too much to contain. I glared at the front door, the place where Emma was no doubt dragged out, screaming and frightened. Then up in the corner there was a flashing, red light.
“I’ll find her,” I barked.
Through the phone, I heard a car door slam. “I’m on my way back to Charleston. I’ll call my friends at the PD to get a search on her.”
I tore inside the house. “I’m not waiting. Where’s the security footage? It has to show something.”
“In my office, there’s a hidden door that leads to the media room. I have no doubt you’ll see it. Everything should be in there.”
Heart racing, I ran to his office and spotted the hidden door. It blended in with the wall, but the difference of texture was easy to find. Inside, there were six different TV’s, all displaying different areas of the house. However, none of them showed anything from the inside. Fuck. There was no way to see if Emma was hurt.
I put the call on speakerphone and set it down.
“Seeing anything yet?” he asked.
Once in the system, I turned back the feed to the night before. I saw myself leave, knowing damn well I set the alarm on the way out. Then it wasn’t two minutes later when Emma walked out the front door and got in her car.
“Fuck me,” I hissed.
“What is it?”
She drove away and disappeared down the street. “Emma left last night. I checked on her before I left and she was sound asleep.” Obviously, she hadn’t been. Where the hell was she going?
“She called me around two in the morning. Search the feed around that time.”
I did as he said and fast forwarded the footage. It was right after two when she pulled into the driveway and ran up to the front door with a look of terror on her face. My protective instincts went on full alert. Emma could be a pain in the ass, but she wasn’t the scared type. It had to have been bad for her to react like that.
“Something happened. She’s scared,” I reported.
“If you were making a kill, shouldn’t you have been back by then?” Glenn huffed.
I clenched my teeth. I should’ve been. “I fucked up, okay?”
About that time, a man in black circled around the side of the house. I couldn’t see his face because it was hidden by a hat. A car approached, the headlights off as it pulled into the driveway.
“What the hell?”
“Tell me,” Glenn demanded.
“Someone was already here, waiting on Emma before she even showed up. Then another car pulled in when she was inside.” The one guy disappeared through the front door, and another one followed. Not a minute later, another man got out of the car and walked around the side of the house toward the back. “There were three of those cocksuckers,” I growled.
Three against one. The thought made me so fucking sick, I couldn’t see straight. Emma was a pistol, but she wouldn’t have been able to fight off three of them.
“I’m getting the PD on this now. You’ll need help finding her.”
I watched two of the men drag her out of the house and put her in the car. As soon as they sped away, I paused the footage, getting exactly what I needed when I zoomed in on the license plate. “I don’t need help,” I thundered. “I know what to do.”
Emma
Nothing made sense. I wasn’t hurt and I wasn’t going to be, definitely not by the men who took me. Once I’d been put in the car, I was told I would not be harmed—I was being hidden for my own safety. If I’d have seen their faces through the dark, I’d have known who they were. There was no mistaking the Chandler charm. Ian, one of Glenn’s other sons who happened to be my age, had taken the poker to the side of the arm, while his twin brother, Bryce, held me back from doing more damage. That was when Glenn appeared and said it was time to go. We were headed to one of his other houses.
Was I scared? Hell yeah, but not for my life. I was terrified of the unknown. That was why, the next morning, I was afraid to open the bedroom door. I didn’t know if I was ready to know what was going on. Glenn said he’d give me answers first thing in the morning and it was time.
A knock sounded on the door and I froze, heart racing. I didn’t want to open the door. It didn’t matter because it opened anyway and Ian walked in, bare-chested and wearing a pair of running shorts, his light brown hair drenched. Ian Chandler didn’t live in Charlotte like his father and Wade. All I knew about him was that he spent most of his time out west along with his brother, Bryce. His skin glistened with sweat but it was the bandage on his arm that caught my attention.
A mischievous smile spread across his face when he noticed me staring at his arm. “You know, you can always kiss it and make it better. I have no doubt you could take the pain away.” His gaze roamed up and down my body and I glowered at him, crossing my arms over my chest. He burst out laughing. “Damn, Turner, I’m kidding. My father told me you’re a feisty one. My brother’s gonna have his hands full when you start working for him.”
“After last night, I don’t think I want to work for you people anymore,” I said in all seriousness.
His smile faded and he sighed. “Look, I was just trying to lighten the mood. I came up here to see if you’re hungry. There’s food downstairs. My father will be back in a few minutes and I know he wants to talk to you.”
I glanced down at the clothes I wore last night, wishing like hell I could take a shower or at least brush my teeth. Ian nodded toward the closet. “There’s some clothes in there if you want to change. And there’s toiletries in the bathroom.”
Brows furrowed, I met his gaze. “Thanks, I think.”
He winked. “I’ll see you downstairs. And don’t even think about trying to run away. I’ll catch you before you could even get out of the house.” Stopping at the door, he glanced at me over his shoulder. “We’re not your enemy, Emma. Remember that,” he said, shutting the door behind him.
After showering and putting on a fresh set of clothes, I took a deep breath and opened the bedroom door. Everything was quiet, except for the sound of pots and pans clanking together in the kitchen. My first thought went to Mrs. Walker. Was it her?
I tiptoed into the kitchen and it was Ian making all the noise, his back to me as he cooked. “You can sit down if you want.”
“How did you know I was in here?” I asked. I hadn’t made a sound as I entered the room.
He chuckled. “I know a lot of things, Emma.”
There was juice on the table with a couple of empty glasses so I poured me one and took a sip; my mouth was very dry. “Why am I here?”
He scooped some eggs and bacon onto a plate and turned around, setting it right in front of me before making his own plate. He sat across from me and poured himself a glass of juice. “We need your help,” he said with a sigh. “And you’re the only one who can do it.”
“I don’t understand. What do you need me to do?”
A door shut behind me and I gasped, jerking around to see who it was. Glenn stood there, dressed in a pair of khaki pants and a white button down, his gaze sad as he stared down at me. He looked like a completely different man, not the powerhouse everyone back home saw him to be. “Finish eating and I’ll tell you everything.” Then he looked at Ian and said, “Outside, now.”
Ian inhaled his food and hurried outside. I saw them through the window, but I couldn’t hear what was being said. Ian nodded a few times and then took off around the side of the house. Glenn sat down on one of the patio chairs, his shoulders hunched over as he watched the waves.
Once I f
inished my food, I joined him outside, shutting the door behind me. His body stiffened but he kept his focus on the water. “I need answers, Glenn,” I demanded. “Why am I here? You’re supposed to be in Charlotte.”
Releasing a heavy sigh, he got to his feet and faced me. “Let’s take a walk. I promise I’ll tell you everything, but just know, you’re safe here. The last thing I want to do is scare you.”
He nodded toward the beach and I followed him onto the sand. “Are you trying to keep me safe from Preston? If so, you should’ve thought about that in the first place when you left me alone with him.”
“Preston would never hurt you,” he murmured. “But I know what you saw him do. That’s what scared you off.”
My throat tightened and I froze. “How do you know?”
Glenn’s serious, crystal green eyes met mine. “Because I had him followed. I didn’t expect for you to be there too.”
“Do the police have him?”
He chuckled but there was no humor in it. “No. We fight on the same side.”
It felt like the breath had been knocked out of my lungs. “We? Does that mean you . . .” Feeling sick to my stomach, I closed my eyes and sucked in a breath.
Glenn touched my shoulder, but I was numb. “It’s my job, Emma. I’m the leader of a secret FBI group that targets criminals who escaped the justice system. We’re called the Circle of Justice and we’re not cold-blooded killers. The man Preston killed last night had just gotten out of jail for child pornography.”
He grabbed my shoulders, the fire blazing in his eyes. “The bastard pimped out his younger nieces and filmed them with older men. They were seven and nine. He deserved to die. Those girls will never get their innocence back. Preston kills men like him, to protect the people of this country.”
Tears filled my eyes. I was appalled, yet grateful there were people who sought justice when the system failed. To think that kind of shit actually happened in our world made me ill. The fucker deserved to die. “So Preston is part of the FBI?”
