Page 58 of July 27

The officer took out a business card and held it out to her. "When Jeremy comes home, please call that number and for Officer Ricker."

She nodded, staying outside until the two cop cars were headed away from the house, and then she slipped inside. She breathed a sigh of relief as a deep vibration filled the house. Rushing to the window, she looked out.

Ruger pulled into the driveway. Relief swept through her, and she opened the door and ran out.

He caught her halfway down the driveway. "You need your ass spanked."

She held him tighter. There was no use arguing. She was stupid to come here, but even Ruger couldn't stop her from wanting to protect her brother despite how much Shady deserved what was coming to him.

"I had to come."

"Not without me. Never without me." He pulled her head back and looked her in the eyes. "Do you know what went through my head when I pulled onto the street and found two cop cars in front of the house, knowing you were here?"

She cringed. "I'm sorry."

"You have no fucking clue." He palmed the back of her head.

His hand shook. The truth hit her hard. She'd scared him.

He hadn't tried to call her back when he got her message. He'd come riding to her as fast as he could, and then, with the cops here, he thought he'd lost her.

She threw her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly, wishing she was as big as him to give a proper hug. The kind of hug he gave her when it felt like he held her together and wouldn't let her fall apart.

Chapter Twenty Seven

Rachel woke up screaming. Ruger rolled over in bed and pulled her down beside him, wrapping his arm and leg around her. She buried her face in his chest and continued screaming.

It was one of many nights that she'd wake up from a nightmare. She'd gone through hell and back at the hands of Los Li.

Today's stress over her brother missing only added to her trauma.

"Sh. I've got you." He pulled the blanket up higher without letting her go. "You're safe."

Hopefully, she'd settle down and be able to go back to sleep. It wasn't even daylight out.

Her body shook. He closed his eyes, hating that she suffered. She wasn't a crier. Even when no one would blame her for crying while in pain, she internalized it all. If it weren't for the nightmares, the shakes, and her clinging to him, he wouldn't know when she struggled.

"They killed him," she whispered.

He kept his breathing the same. "Killed who?"

"Shady."

"Whose they?"

"The kidnappers."

"Rach." He opened his eyes. "They're dead."

He never talked about that last day. In the back of his mind, he was afraid of bringing it up, in case she'd mentally blocked the murders out. He'd killed them in front of her. At the time, she was in shock, barely holding on. He hoped she'd blacked it out. It wasn't clean or fast. It'd taken everything he possessed to kill four men in the condition he was in.

"There are more of them," she whispered. "You killed the ones who kidnapped me, but other men were telling them what to do. I know how men like that think and act because my family was the same way."

Fuck. She understood more than he'd assumed. As far as he knew, she wasn't aware of the organization out of Mexico that called themselves Los Li. If she knew about them, knew what they were capable of, knew how close she was to losing her life, she would never walk outside again without worrying about her safety.

"Before you found me, they threatened me that if I didn't bring Shady to them, they'd kill him on July twenty-seventh." She raised her head. "That's why I went back to the house yesterday. I wanted him to stay safe and know the dangers, but he was gone. Now, it's too late." Her voice broke. "I think they killed my brother."

He kissed her softly. "There's no sense worrying until there's something to worry about."

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