Page 98 of Sweet Deception

Luca's voice comes out of the phone as if he's moved the phone away from his face. "Where does he live? Which apartment?"

"The apartment below her. The older neighbor … he's visiting or something."

Gio and I are already running into the building when Luca barks out, "Did you hear that? Break it down. Find her!"

"We're on it." I shove my phone into my back pocket and then reach for my ankle holster right as Gio rams into the door, nearly breaking it off the hinges.

First thing that hits me is the odor. It's stronger in the apartment than the laundry room and I'm already expecting to find the old man who rents this place dead somewhere in here. How he's kept the majority of the smell from the rest of the building is beyond me.

I follow Gio down the hall and before I can warn him; he rams into the bedroom door just as a gunshot rings out. He drops to the floor while I move to the side and shoot before the guy can shift to get another shot off. My shot hits him in the forehead. His hand goes lax, and the gun drops to the floor while his body falls.

"Fuck." Gio grabs his bicep, blood pouring down his arm.

I holster my gun while visually assessing Kylie and Talia. Talia is sitting on the floor with her arms handcuffed to a handicap bar above her head. She's awake but quiet. Tears run down her face as she stares blankly at me.

Kylie whimpers and my gaze snaps to where she's lying on the bed. She has blood running down her wrists where they are handcuffed to the headboard. Her eyes are at half mast and her gaze is unfocused, but the tears marking a trail down her face tells me she's somewhat aware of what's happening.

The bastard cut her shirt down the middle and it's splayed open. Her jeans are pulled down and barely hanging onto her right foot. Scissors lay on her chest where it looks like we interrupted his attempt to cut her bra off.

The realization that we almost didn't find her in time hits me in the gut. Focusing on one thing at a time, I turn back to Gio. He's the most injured at the moment.

"I'm taking your shirt off to use as a tourniquet for your arm until an ambulance gets here."

"I'm fine. Take care of the girls first." His eyes are on Kylie, with brows furrowed and his jaw clenched.

"The faster you let me do this, the sooner I can take care of them. Right now, the most important thing is to stop your bleeding." Thankfully, he doesn't argueand helps me yank his shirt off. "What were you thinking barging into the room like that? You're lucky he was a lousy shot," I vent while tying the shirt as tight as I can around his bicep.

Gio turns his head to me and whispers, "She was whimpering."

I glance up to see his anguish. He looks almost as haunted as Talia.

Understanding, I nod before straightening and turning my attention to Kylie. She's still whimpering, and it's more than I can handle. I rush to her side, unbuttoning my dress shirt so I can cover her. "Kylie, it's Rafael. You and Talia are safe now. He can't hurt you anymore." After pulling my shirt off, I remove the scissors from her chest and toss them off to the side before covering her. "Kylie, can you hear me? It's Rafael. Luca is on his way and you're safe." I cradle her face as she tries to focus on me, but whatever drug he's used still has a hold on her. The crusted blood on her face is another cause for concern.

Gio moves over to Talia to check on her. Hank's body is lying next to her on the floor, and I get Gio's attention. "Check his pockets for a key to these handcuffs."

I straighten and turn to the dresser to search when I see a phone propped up with the screen showing Kylie on the bed.

"Motherfucker." I spat.

"What? Is she okay?" Gio pulls his hand out of Hank's jean pocket to whip around and look at Kylie.

"The asshole was filming this." I grab the phone and stop the recording before placing it in my back pocket with the intention of giving it to the police when they arrive. I blow out a breath and run a hand through my hair. "At least we have proof of not only his crimes but also that my shot was self defense."

Gio stands, looks at Kylie again and then turns back to Hank and kicks him. "The fucker died too quickly. He deserves to suffer for what he did here."

Sirens can be heard, so we go back to searching for the key. I'm hoping the ambulance will arrive before Luca and Kylie's dad does. This image of her will likely haunt them both.

"Found it," Gio shouts.

I turn in time for Gio to toss me the key. I undo Kylie's before tossing it back to him so he can free Talia.

Once I remove her handcuffs, Kylie brings her hands down her chest and grips my shirt that covers her. "I got you, Kylie. I'm going to take you out of this room, but first I'm going to pull your jeans back up. Okay?" I don't wait for an answer since I'm not sure she understands what I'm saying. I just hope the sound of my voice is enough to keep her calm.

After fixing her jeans, I gather her in my arms and walk her out of the apartment just as Luca and Kylie's dad burst through the front door of the complex.

Luca takes one look at Kylie in my arms and his face twists right before he roars with rage. Kylie jolts in my arms and turns, burying her face in my neck, whimpering as her whole body shakes.

Before I can even attempt to calm her, Luca's in front of me, body tight, eyes fixated on her. His hoarsely whispered, "Angel," is all it takes to have her turning away from me and reaching out for him. When I transfer her to his arms, she wraps herself around him and buries her face in his neck right before he does the same.

---