A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Altar (Your Every Day Hero Book 2)

by Higgins, Marie

  Fear crawled through her once more. She scooted over, not wanting him to touch her.

  “All I’m saying is,” Joe continued, “Hamill isn’t worth it.” He rested his hand on her knee and squeezed.

  Growling, she pushed away his touch. “Oh, and you’re trying to convince me that you are worth it? All I know about you is how disgusting you are, and how power and money drives you, even if it means going against the law. You are nothing but scum, and even if you were a gorgeous man like Kurt, all you would instill inside of me is the urge to spit on you…and then spit on you again.”

  “Why, you little—” Joe slapped her across the face.

  She cried out and fell off the bed, knocking over the lamp in the process. Bent over on the floor, her hair fell down around her face. She placed a shaky hand to her burning cheek. Tears stung her eyes. Without looking up at Joe, she knew he stood over her because she could see his legs. If she looked up, he’d strike her again. She wasn’t going to give him that opportunity.

  The broken lamp caught her attention. It was within reach. She could use it as a weapon.

  “What’s going on out here?” The floor shook when Daren stomped into the room.

  “I was just giving the hussy what she deserved.”

  “Well, you’ll have to deal with that later. We have bigger problems now.”

  Joe moved away from her and she dared turn her head and peek his way through the hair hanging around her face. Daren had taken off his blue suit jacket and the sleeves of his white shirt were rolled up to his elbows. His arms were folded across his chest.

  “What’s going on?” Joe asked.

  “Phillips is in custody. Again!”

  Joe cussed and raked his fingers through his blond hair. “Why did he go and get caught? Now what? Is someone going to try and bust him out again?”

  “Don’t count on it.” Daren’s face hardened. “Security is going to be twice as tight, now.”

  “So what are we going to do?” Joe swung his gaze toward Riley. “And what are we going to do about her? She was our bait to bring Kurt here.”

  “We’ll still keep her here.” Daren moved around the bed, walking closer to her. “Because Kurt still needs to die so he can’t testify against Phillips.”

  Panic gripped Riley’s chest. No! She wouldn’t let them kill Kurt! If he was the only one who could send this Phillips guy to prison, then she’d do everything she could to save Kurt.

  Slowly, she slid her hand to the lamp and grabbed hold. Joe came around the bed and reached for her. With as much strength as she had, she swung the lamp at him. Before he could pull away, the lamp hit him in the head. The lamp broke in half, shattering from her hand. He stumbled back. Blood trickled from his temple, and he appeared as if he was disoriented.

  Swearing, Daren rushed to his friend and helped him sit on the bed. Joe motioned his hand toward Riley. “Don’t worry about me. Tie her up, and get her away from my sight!”

  Tie me up? Slowly, the suffocating feeling crawled over her. She could not have her hands tied. Breathe, Riley. Just breathe… As long as they kept her out here in the open, she might not have a panic attack.

  Daren jumped at her, and on her hands and knees, she tried to get away. He grabbed her hair, stopping her. Pain sliced through her scalp and she cried out. When Daren wrapped his strong arms around her, she struggled. Using her legs, she kicked. She bit his arm, but nothing seemed to work.

  Joe weaved toward them, holding a rope in one hand as his other hand held a cloth to the cut on his head. “Here, tie her up.” He threw the rope toward Daren.

  Daren pushed her to the floor, face first. He yanked her arms in back of her and proceeded to wrap the rope around her wrists. Although her whole body ached from the abuse he was giving her, she worried more about her lungs. Just the thought of being unable to use her hands and legs made her dizzy. Her throat began to close. Her chest tightened, making it harder to breathe.

  You can do this, Riley! She needed to take her mind away from what was happening, and mentally place herself some place where she had felt calm and happy. Closing her eyes, she pictured Kurt. They had shared so much, but she especially enjoyed the times when he kissed her. Their first steamy kiss was in the piping. He’d tried to distract her from the enclosed spot. It had worked. His tender lips and the way he passionately kissed her had swept her away.

  Slowly, her body began to relax. Her mind remained in her dream even though her body felt when Daren jerked her up and over his shoulder. Keeping her eyes closed, she didn’t want to leave Kurt. He was the one helping her get through this terrifying moment. If she opened her eyes, she’d lose it.

  A door squeaked open, and Daren sat her on the floor. She leaned up against a wall. Then he slammed the door closed. She didn’t dare look. Instead, her mind moved with Kurt as they had enjoyed each other’s company while hiking up the mountain…and even while sailing down the rapids. Oh, and how could she forget their time at the resort suite. On the bed.

  Sighing, she smiled. Once this was all over with, they’d be that close again. She just knew it. Kurt wasn’t the man Joe was telling her about. Joe didn’t know Kurt like she did.

  Soon, her face grew warm. She still didn’t dare open her eyes. Instead, she shifted on the floor to get situated in a better, more comfortable, position. But when her feet hit another wall before she could straighten them, alarm rose inside of her again. She snapped her eyes open.

  Whatever Daren had placed her in was small. There was a small amount of light above the door, and at the bottom of the door. Although it didn’t lightened the small space she was in, she didn’t need to see anymore. She was in a closet!

  Her chest tightened, and dizziness assailed her again. The closet spun around her. She couldn’t breathe, but the small amount of breath she expelled, she felt it against her face. This wasn’t good. The walls seemed to be closing in around her, suffocating her. If she didn’t get out of here soon, she was going to die!

  FOURTEEN

  Slowly, Kurt came to awareness. The scent of smoke and burned wires hung in the air. His body tingled with the singes he’d received from the explosion, but at least he was alive. He shook off the fog still in his mind and struggled to stand, but something heavy was lying on his legs. A beam had fallen on top of him. Aches and pains from the explosion still restricted his body, but he wouldn’t dwell on that. There was too much for him to do.

  He pushed the beam off his legs and stood. Coughing, he covered his mouth. He couldn’t inhale anymore of this smoke, especially if he didn’t want it damaging her lungs.

  “Talk to me.” Martinez’s voice came through Kurt’s earpiece strong and commanding. “I want to know who is out there.”

  Kurt cleared his voice. “I’m here.”

  “I’m here,” Tyrone said in a tight voice. “I was blown out the window, though, but I’m not broken.”

  “Gibbs here,” the other man gasped a few time. “I’m almost out the door.”

  As Kurt made his way toward the hole in the wall, knowing he’d be outside soon, he anxiously waited to hear Hawke’s voice. But nothing. He listened closer. Was that Hawke breathing fast? If not Hawke, someone was breathing fast.

  “Hawke, talk to me,” Martinez urged.

  Liam released several swear words, sounding like he was out of breath. Kurt’s chest clenched. Had his former partner been injured so severely that he couldn’t catch his breath? Then a loud groan ripped through the earpiece…and a thud, like the sound of someone being punched. Soon, another man’s voice was heard mixed with Hawke’s.

  “You have the right to remain silent…” Hawke’s stern voice bellowed through the earpiece.

  “Hawke, where are you?” Kurt called as he finally stumbled out of the building. The light rain helped clear the air, and especially, his vision.

  “Let me go!” the other voice demanded.

  Then came another thud. It sounded like someone being hit.

  “Did you not hear me
?” Hawke shouted. “I said you have the right to remain silent.” Another thud of someone being hit…and hard. “If you say anything, it can be used against you in a court of law.”

  Kurt held his breath. Was Hawke being hit, or was the other man? And yet, knowing Hawke the way he did, it was definitely his ex-partner who was doing the punching.

  The other voice continued to grumble painfully, and throw out cuss words.

  “Hawke, I see you,” Martinez shouted.

  “Where?” Kurt wondered, searching the smoking surroundings.

  “Past the dumpster, on the other side of our cars.”

  “I’m on my way.” Kurt ran, even though his body still ached. It didn’t matter. If this was the man who’d kidnapped—and killed—the judge, he needed to be brought to justice. He grumbled. If I don’t kill him first!

  When Kurt spotted them, Tyrone and Gibbs were running toward the two men wrestling on the ground. Hawke was punching his fist into the other guy’s face. Kurt was happy to see his former partner hadn’t changed. Gibbs reached them first and pulled Hawke off the perp. Tyrone slapped handcuffs on the man’s hands.

  Out of breath, Kurt finally reached them. Bending over, he took several deep breaths, to clear out his lungs.

  “What happened?” Martinez asked as he helped Hawke stand.

  “After the explosion,” Hawke coughed, “I saw this man running in the opposite direction, so I chased him down.”

  Kurt marched to the man wearing black clothes and a black knitted cap. Kurt roughly grasped his collar. “Who are you, and why did you kill the judge?”

  The man snarled through bloody lips, and spit into Kurt’s face. “I’m not saying a word. You can torture me all you like, but my lips are sealed.” To prove it, he tightened his mouth into a straight line.

  Shaking his head, Kurt glared at the man. “We’re not going to torture you. We’re just going to get the bomb squad over here and hook you up to your own homemade device.”

  The man rolled his eyes. “What’s that going to accomplish?”

  Kurt produced an evil grin out of one side of his mouth. “I know enough about bombs to know this one didn’t detonate fully. We’ll get it tied to you and wait for it to go off.”

  The man’s eyes widened and his face paled. “You…know that?”

  Kurt shrugged. “Of course. I’ve learned quite a lot during my years searching scumbags like you.” He tightened the man’s collar around his neck. The man choked and gasped. “Now tell me what I want to know, or you’re as good as dead.”

  When the man remained silent, Tyrone and Hawke pulled out their glocks and pointed it at the man’s head. He cringed. When the man said nothing, Hawke shrugged, took one step back, aimed his gun at the man’s foot, and shot. The man cried out, and crumbled to the ground and out of Kurt’s grasp.

  “Oh, did that hurt,” Hawke asked, giving the man a dramatic pouty look. “If you don’t start talking, I’m going to slowly shoot my way up your body, from your leg to your head.”

  Kurt bit his lip to keep from laughing. This certainly wasn’t funny, and yet Martinez—who followed the rulebook perfectly—didn’t stop Hawke. Kurt was reminded of some of the stunts Hawke had pulled since they became partners, and he couldn’t help but smile.

  “Fine,” the man shouted. He glared at Kurt. “You were supposed to die in that explosion. What are you? Frickin’ immortal?”

  “Why am I supposed to be dead?” Kurt snapped as he crouched down to the other man’s level “Who wants me dead along with the judge?”

  “Mark Reynolds…and his brothers. It’s because of you, and Judge Peterson, that the brothers are in prison. Not to mention, Mark is pissed because you kidnapped his bride.”

  He shouldn’t be surprised, but shock was a mild word for what Kurt was feeling right now. Apparently, Mark—or his brothers—still had serious connections in Seattle. Judge Peterson had mentioned receiving threats to her life, and her family’s lives, and the woman was correct to assume the Reynolds brothers were behind this.

  Anger surged through Kurt again. “How did Mark know I’d kidnapped his bride?”

  “Because Mark doesn’t trust anyone, so he had a bug placed in Riley’s engagement ring. Mark knows everything.”

  Panic welled up inside of Kurt. Riley was in serious danger, now…and Brittany would be in danger, too. “Unfortunately for Mark and his brothers, you will go to prison for murder and attempted murder.”

  “I didn’t kill anyone!”

  Kurt arched an eyebrow. “No? Then who was the woman tied to the chair in that building?” He motioned his head toward the smoldering structure.

  “It wasn’t the judge,” the man sighed and hung his head. “I haven’t killed her yet. I was waiting for the ransom money from her husband first.”

  Relief washed over him as hope sprang to his chest. “Who was the woman in the chair?”

  “A dummy! I had wanted you to believe that was the judge. I wanted the last thought that went through your head before you died was that you hadn’t saved the judge.”

  Kurt grasped the man’s shirt collar again and jerked him upright. “Where is she?”

  When the perp’s mouth thinned into a line again, Kurt’s hopes dropped. The man knew he’d said too much already. Would he say anymore?

  Hawke tsked and stepped closer to the perp, aiming his glock toward the man’s thigh. “Wrong answer.”

  “Don’t shoot!” The perp screamed and held up his hand to stop Hawke. Swearing, he shook his head. “What are you, a cross between Rambo and James Bond?”

  Hawke grinned wide. “Indubitably. Now tell me where you are holding the judge, or I’ll give into my itchy trigger finger.”

  After the man rattled off the address, Martinez turned to Tyrone and Gibbs. “Go check it out.”

  Martinez withdrew his cell and called for some squad cars, a fire truck, and an ambulance to their location, and another squad car to be sent to the address the perp had given them. Martinez switched his attention to Hawke. “Take this dirtbag and toss him into the back of my car. I can’t stand the sight of him.”

  Hawke grinned. “I give you permission to shoot his leg. It’s quite entertaining, and fully satisfying.”

  Rolling his eyes, Martinez chuckled. “Just get him out of here.”

  Kurt sighed and tilted his face toward the sky. The drops of rain grew heavier, and helped to clean off the dirt, smoke, and spit that were on his face. He wiped his sleeve across his face. It wasn’t over yet. Once Mark and his paid thugs were arrested, Kurt would feel much better.

  He turned and walked toward his car with Martinez beside him. His cell phone vibrated in his pants pocket, so he withdrew it and looked to see who was calling. It was Brittany. He’d warn her that she and Riley still might be in danger, since Mark knows where they are now because of the bug in Riley’s ring.

  “Hey,” he said. “How are things—”

  “Kurt,” Brittany sobbed.

  His body froze as ice thickened his blood. “What’s wrong, Britt?”

  “She’s gone. They took her.”

  Sevier pain clenched his heart and he couldn’t breathe. “Who took Riley?”

  Captain Martinez’s head whipped around and he stared at Kurt with wide eyes.

  “I took her to Happy Hour Bar. I figured we would be safer there. But,” she sniffed. “Oh, Kurt. When I returned from going to the ladies room, Riley was gone. I asked around and discovered that Captain Daren Lewinski and Officer Joe Parsons had taken her. I called the 25th precinct to see if they had arrested her and brought her in for booking, but they told me that Lewinski and Parsons had the night off.” She took a deep breath. “Kurt, they are dirty cops, I just know it!”

  Kurt tightened his grip on the cell as he held it to his ear. “But who are they working for?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “I think I do. I think it was the Reynolds Brothers, and her fiancé, Mark. That was who had kidnapped the judge.”

&
nbsp; “Is the captain with you? We need to know how to proceed with this.”

  Kurt rubbed the pound hammering in his skull. “Britt, you’re a great detective. Tell me you found out the type of car they drove.”

  “Of course I did. You think I’m stupid?”

  As she rattled off the address, Kurt repeated it, mainly so that Martinez could write it down. Immediately, Martinez was on the phone with the precinct, having the car tracked.

  “Oh, Kurt. I’m so sorry. I never would have thought—”

  “It’s not your fault, Britt.”

  “But I let you down.” She hiccupped a cry.

  “No, sweetie. You did what I would have done. Taken her someplace public that had a crowd. And the Happy Hour Bar is full of badges. Who knew that place wasn’t safe?”

  “I know.”

  Kurt heard a man’s voice in the background. Instead of irritation flowing through him like what usually happens when Austin Reeder is around, Kurt felt better knowing that Brittany was with her husband. He’d make sure she was protected.

  “Oh, Kurt. Austin wants me to tell you that if you need him for anything, let him know.”

  “All I need from Austin is for him to stay by your side and keep you safe.”

  “He will.”

  Martinez snapped a few more orders over the phone and quickly disconnected. “They have been traced to the Sleep-E Motel. I’ve ordered back up.”

  “Britt,” Kurt said quickly as he ran to his car. “Stay by Austin, he’ll protect you. We’re off to rescue Riley. Pray that she is all right.”

  “Of course, Kurt. Please take care of yourself—”

  Kurt ended the call before she finished her sentence. He jumped into the car, started it, and stomped on the gas. He passed a squad car coming their way. Martinez and Hawke would be right behind Kurt. But he couldn’t wait for them. Getting to Riley quickly was essential. If these men laid one hand on her, Kurt would kill them both. He didn’t care. Nobody messed with the people he cared about and got away with it.