“On it.”
“Lehr, make contact with Detective Callum McGuire with Orange County and let him know what’s going on.”
“Will do.” Lehr turned to Harley, and the two of them left the room.
Perone put the phone on speaker. “This is Lieutenant Walker, OPD SWAT, I have the coordinates pulled up. It appears that the house is set back about one hundred yards from the road. I don’t see any houses close by, so that means we will be noticed. We’ll have the go-ahead to move once in place.”
“Thank you.” I disconnected and turned to all the worried faces in my office. “Can you send this to me?” I asked Sunday. These women not only saw it necessary to protect Bridget but also, they’d done something about it when I hadn’t.
“Sunday, ah . . . thanks. Let me know if she moves at all.”
“Of course, she’s our girl, too.”
Sunday was being kind, but I wanted to scream that Bridget wasn’t hers, she was mine, which was ridiculous since Sunday had become one of Bridget’s friends.
I mumbled, “Thanks,” before turning to my team. “Let’s go.”
“Wait, Grey.” Perone stopped me. “I’ve watched you two, she’s your girlfriend?”
“Yes,” I admitted to someone other than Bridget’s family.
Perone reached one arm out and placed it on my shoulder. “You can’t go, it’s conflict of interest.”
“Bullshit, I’m not investigating anything, I’m going to be there for her when she is rescued.”
It took about an hour for SWAT to gather their team and get out to the area. According to the radio, Bridget had last been heard from close to two hours ago. When I saw the large box truck and command station pull up, the first sense of hope that I’d been afraid to have washed over me.
“Lieutenant Walker?” He nodded. “I’m Special Agent Grey, what’s the plan?”
“Eli.” I glanced over as Piper, Harley, Kat, and Sadie came barreling through the cordoned-off area to join me. They were each carrying a county standard active shooter kit, including ballistic shield with view window, plated vest that went over the top of their kevlar, and a helmet.
“We have the blueprints your guy sent us, it is a basic two bedroom, one bath, with the front door entrance and a door at the back that leads into the kitchen. Here are the bedrooms”—he pointed to the two boxes—“with windows on the south side only. The kitchen has windows on the west while the living room, which is in the front of the house, has them on the east. From what we can tell, it looks like a carport has been added on the north side with no windows or door access. The plan is to enter via the three sides of egress at the same time, two into each bedroom, and three through each door. Once we’re in and give the all clear, then you can move in.” He turned to Bridget’s friends. “Deputies, you’ll need to remain outside while the building is still active.”
“We understand,” Piper spoke for all of them.
“We need to hit it hard before they have time to react,” Lieutenant Walker emphasized.
“Patrol has confirmed they have all roads blocked. They’ll be scanning all cars coming into this area,” I told Walker as the information was fed to me through my radio earpiece.
“We’re ready, let’s go,” Lieutenant Walker said to his team. They were all suited in dark tactical clothing, their gear wasn’t as bulky as what the girls had, because it was designed for flexibility, which made it a little less resistant to high-powered rifles. SWAT relied heavily on skills and preparation. That and an AR-15, strapped across their chest and held like the dangerous animal it was, firmly placed in both hands as they spread out and got into position.
“Do we have a view on people inside?” Walker asked into a radio.
“It appears to be only two, sir. One is on the move, one stationary.”
I liked those odds.
“Sound off,” Walker said.
“South.”
“West.”
“East.”
It was a roll call, each one a different voice spoken into the radio.
“Let’s move,” Walker ordered.
It was organized chaos, people did as commanded, even me and I was a federal agent. It was the most choreographed routine, a divide and conquer. As I and others stayed back behind a safety, other members of SWAT were positioned around a barrier, guns drawn, while snipers had set up in the trees. This take-down was a combination of bringing home one of their own and taking down members of one of the most heinous crimes…human trafficking.
“Anything?” I turned at the sound of Callum’s voice, Aiden was standing behind him, both were decked in ballistic gear.
“No. Just tell me that she’s okay,” I asked softly.
“She will be.” He placed one hand on my shoulder as we waited and listened to the count as Lieutenant Walker gave the order.
It was a flash, windows exploded, and shards of glass caught the sunlight and cast reflections in all directions.
My mind was working like a fucking cuckoo clock, each second slowly ticking by as I waited for the signal, something, anything.
“Clear. Subject subdued.”
I had never heard better words in my entire life.
I raced forward, Callum and Aiden behind me. When I moved through the broken door hanging off its hinges, the first thing I saw was Bridget, her eyes bright, her face bruised, and lip busted. I was going to kill the bastard. Screw my career, I could make it look like an accident. But as I stared at her longer, with all of her bumps and bruises, she was still the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.
“I have her arms and legs free. I’m going to cut the duct tape, come hold her, she’s liable to fall from being held so taut for so long,” a SWAT member said as I came to her side.
“Fuck. Baby. He do that to you?”
“Yes, it hurts.” Bridget’s voice cracked.
“How about the others?”
“What others?” I turned to Callum to make sure he was hearing this.
“Justin was on the phone with someone, whoever his contact is, they were on their way to get me but they haven’t shown yet.”
“I’ll take care of this.” Aiden picked up his phone and called someone, obviously whoever was leading the patrol units.
“You’re safe. Are you hurt anywhere else?”
“Just sore and stiff. My neck, is there something in my neck?”
I leaned back and looked. “You have a bruise in front, looks like a pin prick, did they drug you?”
“I think so, I remember something pinching my neck and then not much after that until I woke up here. Eli?”
“Yes, baby.”
“Get me out of here.”
“Of course, give me a second.” SWAT had moved in, apprehended the subject, secured the residence, and moved out in mere seconds. But Callum was ahead of me, he had Justin standing, well . . . standing was a bit optimistic. Aiden was helping to hold Justin’s head up, which was mighty nice of him, Justin had thick hair, so he sort of came with his own handle. As I watched, all I could think about was that he had sworn under oath to serve and protect and had done neither. He had used the trust we work so hard to build as LEO to take advantage of women, my woman. He had put his hands on Bridget…my Bridget.
Cocking my arm back, I let my right fist cross my body, using my own body weight to add power to my punch. My fist made contact with Justin’s jaw, the impact knocked him out of Callum’s hold which caught him off balance. The most satisfactory thud echoed around the room as his body landed on the old wood floor.
“What the fuck?” Callum asked. “Are you okay?” Callum was directing his question to me and not the sleaze-ball on the floor who was trying to catch his breath.
“Yeah, didn’t you see the mosquito, I thought I saw a mosquito on his face.”
Aiden raised one hand. “I saw it.” He chuckled. “You totally saved him.”
“You broke my jaw,” Justin whined. “You fucking broke my jaw.”
“I seri
ously doubt Eli did it, you probably broke your own while you were abducting a sheriff’s deputy. You know, after you drugged her, tied her up, and held her hostage,” Callum explained. “But I’ll help you up.”
“Feel better?” Bridget asked as she gingerly reached for my right hand.
“Not yet.” I swept her up into my arms. “Now I feel better.” I carried my girl out of what had been her personal hell for a few hours.
Callum, Aiden, and Justin were behind us. I smiled when I heard another loud thud, like a head bouncing off a doorjamb. “That’s gotta hurt,” Aiden said.
Bridget was trying to smile, but I could tell that her lips hurt. “You do this a lot, you know.”
“Do what?” I asked.
“Carry me, I have two legs.”
“I know you do, but when I carry you, I can see down your shirt.”
“I love you.”
“God, Bridget, I love you. I knew you were special the first time I saw you, but I’ve been falling in love with you all of these years.”
“You’re the reason.”
“Reason for what?”
“Just the reason, my reason for everything.”
Her words. That moment, I forgot all of the people around us, and all I knew was that she was it for me. I lowered my mouth to hers and touched her lips, lips that, for a moment, I thought I may never taste again.
I lifted my head at the sound of clapping and scanned the area then smiled. Bridget’s friends were applauding, not at us, but at Aiden walking Justin with his hands cuffed behind his back.
“Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy,” Kat hollered.
Piper chuckled. “Orange is the new black.”
“I’m running the book, who wants odds on how long he stays a virgin in the slammer? He’s a pretty boy,” Harley joked.
“How about the odds of how long he makes it period, cops in prison don’t usually have a long shelf life.” Sadie’s point was scary but true.
“Your friends are evil, you know that, right?” I whispered.
“Not evil, vindictive. People just need to learn not to fuck with us. We’re a gang.”
“A gang?” I asked, somewhat surprised.
“Okay, not a gang. But still, we are strong together.”
“I get that.” I leaned down and kissed Bridget again.
The radios of all of the deputies crackled, “White van stopped, driver and passenger being held at gunpoint. Need backup at Kelly Branch.”
“Can you walk?”
“I can run,” Bridget assured me. Holding her hand, we headed for my car. Once in and secured, we headed out, it was an entourage of vehicles as we fled one place and headed to another.
“After this, you need to get checked out, I want to make sure that whatever they gave you is out of your system, okay?”
“Yeah, whatever.” Bridget waved one hand at me. “Just hurry.”
When I pulled up alongside the other emergency vehicles, I left Bridget in the care of her friends, because standing there were Nazari and Salib. “Well, today is my lucky day, three for the bargain price of one.” I turned to the two officers who had originally pulled them over. “These are our men, if you could transport them that would be great.” I smiled at Nazari and Salib. “Federal crimes are a bitch, you don’t get all of those perks like good behavior and shit.”
I was in the mood for taunting while the deputies arrested them when Callum’s voice broke through my mood, “We need paramedics now. Eli, get over here.”
“You’ve got these two?” I asked the officers who had originally pulled them over.
“Yes, sir.”
I left them to take care of Nazari and Salib. I ran around the van to where Callum had shouted from. With the side door pulled open, I peered in. Lying out on the bench seats and on the floor were several of the missing girls. They weren’t moving. Callum was pressing his fingers on the pulse points on the girls’ necks. I jumped in and started unstrapping them.
“They’re drugged, they’re drugged. Just like Bridget, they’re just drugged,” I chanted over and over.
“Paramedics are here. Holy fuck,” Aiden announced, then was taken back by the sight in front of him.
One by one we carried the girls out and then delivered them into the care of a team of paramedics.
When the last medic truck had left, I turned to Callum and Aiden. I knew they didn’t like me being with Bridget, but we would deal with that later. Now, I just needed to take care of her. “I’m going to take Bridget up to the hospital, I want to have her system flushed. I’m not sure what they gave her.”
“Do you need anything from us?” Aiden asked.
“No, I got it.”
“You need me to run over to Bridget’s and get some of her stuff for you? You probably aren’t going to want to let her out of your sight for a while.” Callum stared at me waiting for my answer.
We had been best friends for eight years and in that time, I’d learned a thing or two about him, well, about the Irish in general. Rule number one, take the apology any way you can get it, even if it’s in a roundabout way.
“Yeah, I’d appreciate that.”
I headed back to my car and to the girl who was my future.
Epilogue
One year later
Eli
* * *
I pulled into my driveway and smiled. As usual, I was one of the last to arrive. It was weird, knowing that my future mother-in-law came into my house every Wednesday, but it wasn’t something I would ever mention. It was Bridget’s girls’ night, which had become more of a family night, and even though Colleen filled our fridge with meals for the week, she had finally stopped insisting she clean for us.
Bridget and I had sort of turned it into a cleaning game.
I straightened the front of my pants at the mere thought of the last time we were cleaning. Well, actually Bridget cleaning, on her knees and bent over the bathtub scrubbing. It was a great position.
I took a deep breath, praying that everything went as planned. I twisted the knob and walked in.
“Hello, sweet boy,” Colleen greeted me.
“Hey, Ma.” My calling her Ma seemed to make her happy, so I made sure to do it. I normally dropped a hello kiss on her cheek, but this time, I couldn’t get close to her because Kenny was losing his ever-loving mind. “Yes, I see you.” I gave him a pat.
“You asshole.” The words came from my living room.
I shook my head. “Sounds like Harley and Aiden are at it.”
“When aren’t they? One of these days, they are going to wake up and realize that they are just alike.”
“God help us all,” I said and then grabbed a beer from the fridge before moving into the living room. “Hey, sweetheart.” I leaned over and gave Bridget a light kiss. “Crazy day?”
“Yes, the girls decided we had to go get pedicures and manicures. Do you know how much I hate sitting still for that long? People find it relaxing? How the fuck? It was torture.”
“Your nails look good.” I wasn’t sure what really made nails look good, but I knew to compliment them. I glanced over to Piper, who winked.
“Hey, Ryan.” I gave Sadie’s fiancé a chin nod before heading into my room to change. Ryan and I had become good friends over the last year, and I was glad he could make it tonight.
“Dinner’s ready, come grab a bowl,” Colleen said when I finally emerged.
“What are we having?” Aiden asked.
“Really? Why do you always ask that? Who cares? It’s food, it isn’t as if you’re going to say, screw that I’m leaving,” Piper questioned him.
“Beef stew and soda bread,” Colleen told him as she dished up a bowl for Patrick.
The room was loud even though we should all have our mouths full of food. I couldn’t imagine how loud it would be when the rest of the people in this room started bringing a guest. When dinner and the plates were cleared, I smiled. “Cards Against Humanity?”
“Sure, we haven’t
played that in a while,” Kat agreed.
I got up, grabbed the set, and then claimed my seat again as I tried to bite back my smile as everyone settled in with fresh drinks.
Everyone drew ten white cards except for me, I drew nine and slipped the custom one that I had professionally made into my hand.
The game started with “normal” questions, and when it was my turn, I palmed the black card that I also had had made. When I reached for the stack of black cards, I slid it down, so it looked like I drew it from the top. I’d practiced this move so many times that it had become second nature.
Those fucking butterflies were going crazy in my stomach again as I read, “Will you marry blank.”
I saw a few faces look around somewhat puzzled. We played this often enough that most of us recognize all of the black cards by now. But everyone played along and I read. “Will you marry . . . A horde of Vikings, hot people, geese, a little boy who won’t shut the fuck up about dinosaurs, man meat, Morgan Freeman’s voice, Barack Obama, elderly Japanese men, the entire Mormon Tabernacle Choir, my black ass.” I had just picked up the last card . . .
“Wait, that’s one card too many,” Piper pointed out.
“Yeah, I also put a card in the pile,” I announced.
“Um, you can’t,” Harley informed me.
“Well, your answer sucked,” I told her.
“Okay, Einstein, if yours is so great, tell us.” Piper played it perfectly.
I picked up the black card again. “Will you marry”—then I waved the white card—“me?”
Everyone gasped when I slid both cards over to Bridget and they realized what I was doing. Then I got up and moved to kneel next to her. Pulling out the box, I opened it to show the ring I had chosen.
“Will you marry me?”
Bridget nodded. “You win.”
“Is that a yes?”
“Yes.”
Meet Danielle
Before becoming a romance writer, Danielle was a body double for Heidi Klum and a backup singer for Adele. Now, she spends her days trying to play keep away from Theo James who won’t stop calling her and asking her out.
Book ‘Em Bridget: Iron Badges Page 16
