Page 16 of Her Protective Lumberjack

“Just something to knock the girl out.”

“The girl?” I growl. “You mean Chloe.”

“Yeah. Roman Drake’s kid.”

“What were you going to do to her?”

He’s silent for a beat too long and my anger flares, turning me feral. I swing my fist back and punch him hard, feeling the crack of his nose beneath the ski mask.

“WHAT WERE YOU GOING TO DO TO HER?” I shout.

“K-kidnap her!” The man’s voice is thick and muffled, and he groans in pain. “Will told me to take her to this ab-abandoned warehouse in Yuma. We were gonna keep her there until Roman agreed to c-cooperate. Will wanted him to stop working on the investigation and work for us instead. An inside m-man on the police force.”

“So you were going to kidnap his daughter and use her to make him play along with your plan?” I ask, baring my teeth at him. “Then what, huh?”

“If Roman agreed to be our guy on the inside, we were going to let his daughter go with a w-warning. As long as he kept his end of the deal, she’d be free.”

“And if Roman didn’t agree?” My body is trembling with rage. “If he backed out of the deal?”

“I…I don’t know. It would be up to Will.” A trickle of blood pours out from the bottom of his ski mask. “Look, man, I’m just following orders. I wasn’t gonna hurt the girl, I was just gonna take her?—”

He doesn’t get the chance to finish speaking. He’s cut off by my fist slamming into his face again, then again, my hand screaming with pain as I hit the son-of-a-bitch who dared to try and take Chloe from me.

“I’ll fucking kill you before I let you touch her,” I snarl between punches. “You think you can take my girl from me?”

“Trace!” I freeze, my fist dropping to my side as I look over my shoulder. Chloe is standing there in her pajamas, her eyes wide. She reaches out her arms toward me, and I leave the intruder groaning on the floor, hurrying toward her.

“It’s okay,” I say, hugging her tight. “Everything’s okay. You’re safe now.”

“Is that Will Mercer?” she asks, her voice breathless with fear.

“No. It’s one of his minions.”

“Oh, God.” She lets me hold her, trembling slightly. “How the heck did he find me?”

“I don’t know.” I raise my voice, directing my question to the man on the floor. “How did you know Chloe was staying here?”

“One of our guys…hacked Roman’s phone.” His words are slurred and heavy. “When Roman called you earlier, Will was listening. Heard the girl was staying with you…” He breaks off, coughing hard before he adds, “Will traced the call t-to here.”

My gut twists to know that our call put Chloe in danger. Roman won’t be happy.

“How did you get here so fast?” I demand. “The call only ended five or six hours ago. We’re nearly twelve hours from Phoenix.”

“I wasn’t in Phoenix. Was doing b-business in Santa Fe. That’s w-why Will sent me. I was closest.”

“Lucky you,” I mutter darkly as he’s hit by another coughing fit. Then I turn back to Chloe. She’s already on the phone to 911, asking for the police. Once they’re on their way, she throws her arms around me. I hug her back fiercely, my heart squeezing when I think about what might have happened if I’d fallen asleep tonight. I’d have woken up to an empty bed, an empty cabin, while Chloe was tied up and drugged, taken to some warehouse back in Arizona. It’s a thought that terrifies me, and I know it will haunt me for much longer than just tonight.

“Thank you, Trace,” she says, raising on her tiptoes to kiss my cheek, “for protecting me.”

I lean down, resting my forehead against hers. “I will always be here to protect you, Chloe. Always.”

9

CHLOE

The next fewhours blur together. A couple of deputies from the Crave County Sheriff’s Office arrive at Trace’s cabin, along with the EMS. They remove the intruder’s ski mask to reveal a scruffy man in his thirties with a bloodied face and a broken nose. He used a lock-picking device to break in—they find it sticking out of his pocket and collect it as evidence, along with all his kidnapping gear. After he’s whisked away in an ambulance, Rocky noticeably relaxes, sniffing curiously at the deputies as they take our statements. Trace explains the situation, and they assure us they’ll liaise with the cops in Arizona to further the case against Will Mercer.

When the deputies are finally gone, Trace calls my dad. It’s a brief conversation—Dad says he’s on his way and ends the call without another word. Then Trace and I collapse on the couch together, holding each other close as the sky outside slowly starts to lighten. It’s been a crazy night, and I know the danger hasn’t passed yet. Will Mercer is still out there. But maybe, now that another one of his followers is in custody, the cops will be a step closer to putting him behind bars. All I know is that I feel safe with Trace by my side, despite the danger. He protected me just like he promised, and I trust him with my life.

---