Page 29 of Last Resort

The boys shook their heads. “No, not hurt anyone. Just follow and be sneaky.”

Chance looked over at Weston, his stomach sinking. “They were a distraction. I sent Maci inside alone.”

Alone in an apartment that the stalker had already proven he could get into.

Chance was moving before he’d even finished his sentence, sprinting to his car. He could hear his brothers talking to each other about who would stay with the kids, but didn’t care.

He drove as fast as he could back toward Stella’s apartment building, dialing Maci’s number as he went.

No answer.

Not the first time he called. Not the second. Not the third.

A couple of miles had never seemed longer as he drove at reckless speeds. Finally, he pulled up to the building and left the car illegally parked at the front.

The doorman stared at him as he sprinted to the elevator and pressed the button for the penthouse. Anxious energy prickled across his body, his fingers twitching as the floors passed in no time.

Maci was okay. She had to be okay. She’d been so tired. She’d probably fallen back to sleep.

Why didn’t he believe that?

The second the elevator doors opened, he knew he was too late. The door to Stella’s apartment was cracked open. Lock the door, he’d said. He didn’t know if Maci had even had a chance to try.

Please let her be alive. He pulled his gun from under his jacket and pushed through the door.

Please let her be alive.

The stillness of the apartment made the hair on Chance’s neck stand up. He wanted to call out for Maci, but he didn’t want to risk alerting anyone that he’d arrived before he was in place to take them out. He quickly and silently glanced around the living room, then headed down the hallway toward the bedrooms.

He heard a slight noise behind him and spun back with his weapon raised. He lowered it when he saw it was Weston.

Weston gave him a brief nod, his own gun in hand. Without a word they both moved silently down the hall. Chance cleared the guest bedroom; Weston cleared the office.

Where was Maci?

She wasn’t in the master bedroom or any of the bathrooms. Had she been taken?

They made their way back out to the living area. When he caught sight of her foot lying limply on the floor of the kitchen in the doorway, he dropped all pretense of silence and ran to her.

If it wasn’t for the cut on her forehead, he could’ve believed she was just sleeping right there in front of the dishwasher. Ignoring the blood, since head wounds always bled a lot, Chance dropped to his knees beside her. His fingers shook as he searched for a pulse.

Please. Please. Please.

“Is she—” Weston didn’t finish.

A pulse. Thank God. “She’s alive.”

Chance pulled out his phone, and his voice cracked when the operator asked about his emergency. “We need an ambulance.”

Chapter Nine

Maci woke slowly to the sound of steady beeping and the realization that she wasn’t where she was supposed to be. Before she could figure out why, the incessant tone stole her attention again.

Had she left on an alarm?

“Make it stop,” she croaked. Her mouth was dry and her voice sounded weird. She heard rustling nearby and forced her eyelids open, wincing at the bright light. Lights too bright for her apartment or Stella’s. “Where am I?”

“You’re in the hospital.” Chance. Just the sound of his voice was enough to help calm her.

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