Page 78 of Guarded Hearts

He shot into the hallway and started running for the main doors. Oaks’s footsteps pounded right behind him. But once they were outside, in the air full of exhaust fumes and the cloying smell of flowers in planters outside the entrance, Oaks took the lead.

Carson’s breaths came in ragged gasps, and not because he was winded from the short sprint.

He was too close to losing it.

He didn’t have time to lose his shit. He had to rescue his future wife.

His goddamnsoulmate.

His mind was a whirl of fear and desperation. The echoes of his footsteps resounded off the brick structure behind them. Dodging past car after car in the lot, he ground his teeth.

“Where the hell are you parked?” he called to his brother.

“There!” He jabbed a finger toward the black SUV just as he clicked the key fob to unlock it.

They threw themselves into the vehicle. Carson aimed a look at his brother. “I don’t know if I should let you drive. Last time you almost didn’t get us home.”

“Not my fault. And you’re wrecked. Shut up and let me drive.”

He snatched Oaks’s phone out of his hand. He stared at the address and ran his thumb over it to program it into the GPS.

“Greenwood Place.”

Oaks gave a hard nod as he jammed his boot on the gas and took off at a race toward the highway. “I’ve heard of it. Big housing development between the mountains.”

“I know of it, but I’ve never been there. Turn right.”

Oh god. Layne. He’d missedso muchon this case. He was a trained bodyguard, and he hadn’t kept her safe at all. But who would ever think of a surgeon kidnapping their patient?

Colt’s name flashed on the dash screen. The car connected the call, and his voice projected through the speaker system. “I’ve got the coordinates and I’m on my way.”

Carson wasn’t surprised that Oaks had shared the address with their brother the second it came in. “What’s your ETA?”

“Nine minutes.”

“We’re eleven. When you get there, don’t make any moves. I’m going in first.” He pressed his fist to his lips hard enough to trap the bellow of rage in.

She had to be okay. He’d find her and then provide her access to all the therapists on the Black Heart Ranch. They specialized in PTSD, triggers and traumas. They could help her after this. Make her whole.

He’d given up on such a dream for himself. The best he could ask for was enough peace to get through each day. Peace she brought him.

Colt’s voice broke into his dark thoughts. “Willow did a deep dive into the surgeon’s background. He bought his house in Wyoming a year ago.”

“How the fuck did he meet Layne?” Carson already knew the answer to that question.

His brother followed it up with fact. “He worked with an interior designer to buy art and antiques through Layne’s business. I guess he became as obsessed with her as you are, Carson.”

“Colt, I will drive your teeth down your throat with my fist.”

Colt’s low chuckle defused him the smallest bit, but it was enough for him to laser focus on the plan.

All of his hope lay in the hands of Layne’s stalker. If the man wanted her bad enough to take her by the darkest means…he wouldn’t take her life.

Carson clung to that with every throb of his heart.

Chapter Nineteen

Layne tasted copper on her lips. But when she swiped her tongue across them, she didn’t pick up any trace of blood.

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