The Rescue

ZANE

Luca was barreling towards me, knife in hand and a murderous look in his eyes. He was about to strike when the door burst open, splintering into pieces.

Noah stood in the doorway, gun aimed at Luca. Luca didn’t stop. The gunshot echoed in the room, and Luca crumpled to the floor, clutching his leg and howling.

“Noah, don’t kill him.” I met Noah’s eyes through the smoke curling from his gun. “That son of a bitch is ~mine~.”

Conner burst into the room. Spotting me, he rushed over and started untying me.

“Sorry, boss. This place is like a fortress. Took us a while to get in. Good thing they didn’t find your tracker. We wouldn’t have found you otherwise. Did he hurt you?”

“No! But he threatened my baby. Threatened to do things I swore would never happen to her again. I’m going to kill him for this. He won’t see another sunrise.”

I glared at the man writhing on the floor.

“Easy, boss. Let me get these off you. You’re making them tighter by pulling,” Conner said, freeing one of my hands.

With my free hand, I shattered the chair and broke the legs where my own were tied. I yanked the ropes off my ankles and arms.

“Conner, tie him up with these and take him back to the house,” I ordered.

I hurried over to Shay. She was crying as I untied her. The moment her arms were free, she threw them around my neck and pulled me close.

She buried her face in my neck, her tears soaking my shirt. I stroked her hair, whispering soothing words.

“You’re safe, love. Nothing’s going to happen to you. I promised you that, and I meant it.”

I glanced over to see Noah untying her feet while Conner was securing Luca. Once she was free, I scooped her up and headed for the door.

She trembled against me, her face buried in my chest.

“You won’t make it out of here,” Luca hissed as Conner hauled him to his feet.

Conner laughed. “You mean the dead guards outside? They’re taken care of. Boss, you should thank Forest.

“He sent two hundred men as soon as we called. He’s down there now, surveying the scene.

“We borrowed your plane, hope you don’t mind. Forest filled his, and we filled yours.

“He had contacts here. They scoped out the place and briefed us when we arrived. The snipers took out Luca’s men, and we mopped up the rest.

“They didn’t know what hit them.”

I nodded, holding Shay close. She was still crying.

“Thank you, Conner. Your quick thinking saved us. If you hadn’t suggested the tracker, I’d be dead by now.”

Luca muttered, “You’d be dead by dawn if I hadn’t let my guard down.”

We left the room and descended the stairs. Forest looked up and exhaled. “Thank God! I was hoping we’d be in time.”

“Your quick thinking probably saved us both. Thank you, Forest.”

Forest approached and looked at Shay, still shaking and crying in my arms. He gently stroked her hair. “Did that bastard touch her?”

“No, he was about to, but then the shots went off. She was tied to the bed, but that was it. We need to let the men clean up this mess while we head back to the house.”

I stepped over a pile of bodies.

Forest nodded to some men I didn’t recognize. “My guys will handle it. What about him? Should we tie him up here and torch the place?”

“No, he’s coming with us. I have a few days of fun planned for him. This time, I’ll finish what I should have years ago.

“We can all have fun with him. Make sure his men can’t find us or figure out who did this. Leave the house, don’t destroy it.

“My sister loved this place. Let it stand until it falls apart on its own. It can be a monument to her.”

Forest gestured towards the yacht. “What about that? We could use it for missions. We could share it.”

“Sounds good, but let’s rename it. Let’s call it ~My Angel~. That’s what my sister and nephew became when Mateo killed her.

“They’ve been watching over me since. It’s a fitting name, since it also describes her.” I nodded at the sleeping angel in my arms.

He nodded and ordered some of his men to take the boat up the coast to his place. The rest continued cleaning up the bloodbath.

We walked out and I slid into a waiting car, careful not to wake Shay. We drove to the airstrip where my plane was waiting. I took her to the bedroom and laid her down gently.

I curled around her, my hand resting on her belly.

“I told you I’d do anything to protect you and our child. That’s a promise I’ll never break.”

I kissed her softly, brushing her hair out of her face. Exhausted, I closed my eyes and drifted off as the plane carried us home.