Page 62 of Fast Vengeance

Everything Trinity and Briar had shown her came flooding back.

Victoria twisted around in his grip and drove the heels of her hands into the underside of his jaw, snapping his head back. He tripped, grunted as she landed on top of him.

She scrambled to her feet and took a lunging step away but he managed to snatch her ankle. Down she went, her knees slamming into the pavement with bruising force. With a snarl of rage, she turned on him, used her momentum to break his grip and deliver a solid roundhouse to the side of his head.

He went down, stunned, and she didn’t wait to see whether he stayed down.

She ran, her shoes thudding on the pavement, veering around the corner, past a group of startled people and into the lobby. “Help! Help, there’s a man after me!”

The two men behind the front desk gaped at her, then hurried toward her. But before she could reach them, a familiar voice shouted from behind.

“Victoria!”

She skidded to a halt, spun around to face two marshals, their faces masks of concern. “A cop,” she panted, her knees beginning to quake. “Or a fake one. He came to my room. Tried to get me into a van in the alley out back. He’s down.”

The one in the lead cursed, glanced at his partner, who took off toward the alley while he came up to her. “Are you all right?” he asked, holstering his weapon, scanning her for injuries.

A wave of queasiness rolled over her. “Y-yes.” Oh God, that had been way too close. Who the hell was that guy, and what did he want with her?

She bent over, put her hands on her knees and struggled to breathe. You’re safe. You’re okay. Her nervous system wasn’t listening to her, her body still in flight mode.

The marshal put his hand on her back. “It’s all right now. Take a minute.”

She nodded, but couldn’t answer, too overcome by what had just happened. By what could have just happened if she hadn’t gotten free.

A ringing sound registered a minute later.

The marshal straightened and pulled out his phone. “You got him?” He listened, then nodded at Victoria. “He got him. Guy’s not a cop. Apparently someone in the cartel paid him to bring you to them.”

She barely suppressed a shudder at the news. “Who?” Terror forked through her at the thought of how close she had come to being their prisoner again. There was no way she could have survived that a second time.

“Don’t know. But we’re gonna find out.” He grasped her upper arm gently, turned her and hustled her through the lobby while people stared at them.

Victoria didn’t care about the stares. She just wanted out of here, and back to where someone would know what was going on with the op to rescue Brock. “So Taggart never s-sent for me.”

“No. But you’re not staying in this shithole a second longer, and we’re not abiding by any bullshit protocol down here anymore.” He stalked toward the front doors. “I’m taking you back to HQ to wait this out, and I don’t care who doesn’t like it.”

“Good.” She was shaken but not hurt. And she was still free. But she was damn lucky on both counts. God, what she wouldn’t give to feel Brock’s arms around her right now. The thought pushed her precariously close to the tears she was battling.

“I’ll call Taggart.”

“No.” She grabbed his hand when he raised his phone to his ear. When he looked at her sharply, she shook her head. “Don’t. I don’t want anything to distract from the rescue op. I’m fine. This can wait until after.”

He stared at her a second, then nodded and ushered her toward a car parked at the curb. “How did you get away?” he asked as he slid into the driver’s seat beside her.

Victoria wrapped her arms around herself and took a deep breath. “I head-butted him, then gave him a roundhouse to the side of the head.” And damn, it was empowering to realize she had fought back and saved herself this time. She owed Trinity and Briar a big thank you when this was finally all over.

One side of the marshal’s mouth kicked up. “Well, good for you.” He chuckled as he pulled out into traffic. “Good for you.”

She didn’t care about that now. “Have you heard anything more about Brock? Or Oceane?”

His expression sobered. “No. But the team’s on their way down there with her now. Won’t be long until we know something more. And if you’re at headquarters, you’ll know as soon as it happens.”

Closing her eyes, she fought the sting of tears and the sense of hopelessness invading her. Oceane was putting herself in grave danger to do this. Brock’s life depended on her convincing Nieto to let him go, or his teammates finding and freeing him in time.

But with every second that passed, the odds of him surviving dwindled more.

****

---