Page 3 of Protected Hearts

The best he could do…was follow.

He leaped in the van. The officer rapped on his window just as Oaks whipped the van into a tight U-turn in the middle of oncoming traffic in pursuit.

The black car wasn’t making a fast getaway. New York City traffic prohibited that, and the driver wasn’t trying to draw attention.

Oaks had seen him force the woman into the back seat by her hair.

She hadn’t even screamed. Why hadn’t she screamed?

There were plenty of reasons she’d allow herself to be taken, but Oaks wasn’t going to waste brainpower on them—not when he had to get a plan in place.

The whoop of the police siren forced a groan from his throat. Fucking hell. The last thing he needed to deal with was an officer who had no clue as to what Oaks was.

He was no longer military, but did anyone ever truly stop being military? Besides that, his job as a personal protectionofficer for Black Heart Security, his family’s company, gave him certain privileges.

Like disregarding the officer giving chase.

A bullhorn blasted from behind. “Stop!”

Ignoring the command, Oaks continued to tail the car.

The vehicle was clearly armored judging by the glass. Obviously, the man thought highly of his personal safety. It was a huge red flag and raised a lot of questions.

Who did he think was after him? And what did he need the woman for?

Luck was on Oaks’s side—he blew through a dozen red lights. The thirteenth one he ran with the cop right on his tail.

He’d had enough of this and ordered his phone’s automated assistant to call his brother, Carson.

A second later, Carson answered. “Where’d you go, man? We have a lot more boxes to put in the van—”

“Stop talking. Listen to me. I need you to call off the cops on my tail.”

“What thefuck, man? What did you do?”

“I’m following somebody. She’s been kidnapped.”

“What the hell? Jesus, Oaks.”

“Carson.” His brother’s name came out as a warning.

“Okay, okay. Give me a minute to handle the cops. Keep me posted on the rest.”

“Will do.” He bit off the words and ended the call with the same level of abruptness.

Another car managed to get between him and the black vehicle he pursued. It was a good thing, as now it didn’t look like he was directly following them. The driver must be crapping his pants with a cop flashing his lights a short distance behind, but he never slowed, nor stomped on the gas, continuing with his nonchalant act.

The vehicle between them acted as a buffer, but it also made it impossible to spot the black car’s turn signals. When they took a right, headed over the river to New Jersey, he had to whip into the other lane.

With a glance in his rearview mirror, he noticed the cop had shut off his lights. The siren stopped, and the cruiser continued on a straight path through the city.

Good—Oaks was on his own. Just the way he liked it.

Chapter Two

Hard fingers bit into Shiloh’s elbow as William yanked her through the door of what she could only call a McMansion.

Damn, when did he get so strong? He was always fit—unfortunately she recalled the lines of his body far too well—but he wasn’t one of those musclehead men who hit the gym daily.

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