Page 108 of Reluctantly His

When the elevator doors slid open on the first basement level, I saw the trail of blood leading out. This was where they had taken her. I wanted to run after her, shouting for her, but I knew better.

There was too much I didn’t know. I didn’t know how many men had her. I didn’t know if they were armed or what condition she was in.

I had to be smart about this.

Moving as swiftly as I was able, I crept down the corridors, keeping close to the wall, my gun aimed at the floor directly in front of me. I saw a black canvas bag that had a few strands of her beautiful hair left in it. Whoever had put it on her had ripped it off, clearly not caring if she knew their identity.

My heart froze in my chest as a cold sensation crawled up my spine. The only reason an attacker would remove a blindfold from their victim was if it didn’t matter if the victim knew who had attacked them.

They weren’t trying to hide their identity, so they were either stupid, or they intended to kill her.

I moved faster, needing to get to her now.

I followed the trail around a corner, and that was when I saw them.

Three assailants, all wearing ski masks. It looked like at least two were armed with a single pistol each, and probably a few that were hidden. The third man, a much slimmer man, didn’t have anything other than the audacity to hit my woman.

I saw them through the glass double doors. The two larger men ran through the rain to get to the truck. The skinny one stopped and ripped her hair back, holding her under the torrential downpour of freezing rain.

The son of a bitch was essentially waterboarding my girl, watching her choke as she tried to breathe, tied down to a fucking wheelchair. There was a sick smile on his face that I could just see in the mask. He liked it. He liked watching her suffer.

I knew exactly where he was planning on taking her and why he didn’t give a fuck if she knew who he was. He was going to take her and force her to marry him so he could drag her out of this country and keep her from my grasp.

They picked the wrong motherfucker to mess with.

With a fire raging through my veins, I marched through the double doors, lifted my pistol, and fired. One shot in the shoulder of one of the assailants, the other into the van.

I just needed them gone, and it worked the second they realized what had happened. Both men were in the van, the doors closed, the tires squealing, and the back end of the van fishtailing as they left.

All that was left was Zeigler, standing between me and my woman.

I aimed my gun at him, ready to place a bullet between his eyes.

“What do you think you’re doing? Do you know who I am?” he screamed. I had to admit, for a man wearing a mask, that was a really fucking stupid question.

I pulled off his ski mask, making sure to grip his hair and yank a chunk of it out. A little retribution for my girl. Then I punched him square in the jaw hard enough that I knew he would be out for at least a few hours.

And if, in those few hours, he happened to drown in a 4-inch puddle of rainwater, well, that was just an act of God, now wasn’t it?

He didn’t matter, but protecting my girl from him did.

Slicing through the zip ties that held her down as quickly as I could, I bundled her up in my arms, not realizing I hadn’t been able to breathe for the last several seconds.

It wasn’t until I held her, and I knew she was safe, that my body allowed oxygen to enter my lungs.

I didn’t know how it had gotten like this so fast, but I couldn’t breathe without her.

“Reid.” Her voice sounded so small, so frail. How could I not have been here to protect her? How could I have let her be in a position where she was so vulnerable?

She threw her arms around me. “I’m so sorry. I tried to fight them. I tried to be strong and make you proud.”

“Shh, princess. I got you. I am so proud of you, babygirl.” I kissed her forehead before cutting the ties on her ankles. “I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry.”

Her brow furrowed as she clung to my wet shirt. “What for?”

“For not anticipating this tactic. I thought Zeigler was a neutralized threat.”

She sniffed as she buried her face against my neck. “This isn’t going to end. There will always be another threat as long as my father doesn’t approve of us.”

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