Page 99 of Guarded from Treachery

I run towards her, feeling closer to tears than I’ve ever been.

“Isla, honey.” Slowing to keep from crashing into her, I pull her into my arms the second we meet. “What happened? Are you?—”

But now that she’s in front of me, I get a closer look at her face. And the blossoming bruise rising on her cheek. Red and purple. Blood trickling sluggishly from a tiny cut beneath her eye. Her eyes pink and swollen from tears.

Something cold and furious rushes through me. Something deadly. Even as I touch her cheek gently, my voice is low and dangerous. “Who did this to you?”

She takes her hand from her stomach and gestures at the group of people. At the center of them, sprawled on the ground, is a man being held at gunpoint by one of the employees. “He did.”

While my instinct is to race over there and punch him, I hold myself back, needing answers first. “Who is he? And why did he?—”

Isla grasps my hand with trembling fingers. Her watery eyes meet mine. “That’s Peter. My ex. He—” Her voice cracks. Wobbles. “He was following me. And when I went to the bathroom, he was there. Waiting.”

“What?”

“He had a gun,” she replies. “And he said if I didn’t come with him, he’d start shooting everyone inside. He wanted me to go out the back entrance and to his car.” She points at a dark sedan parked at the edge of the rear lot. “He threatened to hurt the baby if I didn’t go with him.”

Rage erupts into an inferno. “He held agunon you?”

“Yes.” She shudders. Fresh tears spring to her eyes. “He was a part of it, Matt. He knew Remington. Played golf with him at the same club. And Peter… he was the one who suggested me. He knew what Remington was doing, but he never got involved before. But he thought I’d bring in a good price, he said. And he was going to get half the profits.”

I take a step towards the man on the ground. “I’m going tokillhim.”

“He said…” Isla shudders again. “That he knew the client. Who wanted me. And he was going to finish what Day and Remington started. Take my baby and sell it. And then… he said if I was good, he might not kill me. He might keep me for himself instead.”

In the distance, sirens approach.Finally.

Although on second thought, I kind of wish the police weren’t on the way, because now I can’t beat the living shit out of this asshole.

Swallowing against the impotent fury in my chest, I manage a fairly calm, “How did you get away?”

She lifts her chin. Pride shines in her eyes. “I knew he wouldn’t really shoot me. Not if he wanted the baby. I just needed to wait until we got outside.”

From the center of the circle, Peter yelps as one of the women kicks him. Glancing over, I realize it’s Maeve, and she snaps at him, “Be lucky that’s all I did, you wanker.”

“Once we got out here,” Isla continues, “I pretended to have a cramp. I told Peter I thought it might be the baby. From the stress. He freaked out. And when he was distracted, I kicked him.”

“You what?”

“I kicked him in the balls,” she explains. “And then I punched him. In the throat. Like you showed me.” She holds up her swollen hand as evidence, and fresh anger rushes through me all over again.

“By then, my mother came looking for me,” Isla adds. “She was worried something was wrong. Once she realized I was in trouble, she yelled for help inside. Everyone came out right after I punched him. And Iris, one of the baristas, brought out the gun they keep behind the counter.”

The woman holding Peter at gunpoint calls over, “I knew having a gun here would come in handy one day.” Then she kicks him for good measure, grinning as he whimpers in pain.

From the crowd, Isla’s mother approaches, white-faced and shaking. She nods at me as she says quietly, “I wasn’t sure what to do… If I rushed over, I was afraid he’d hurt Isla. So I thought I should make sure the police were coming. But I was coming back. I wouldn't have let—” Her voice breaks. To Isla, she sobs, “I’m so sorry. I failed you again.”

“You did the right thing,” Isla replies. “He would have hurt you if you interfered. Calling the police was best. And I knew Matt would come. That he wouldn’t let me get far, even if Peter did force me into his car.”

Yes, I would have found Isla. With her tracker, it wouldn’t have taken long. And this piece of garbage Peter wouldn’t have been a match for me. Not a chance. But still. The idea of her being abducted again, hurt, terrified…

“Oh, honey.” The emotion I’ve been trying to suppress comes surging to the surface. I lift her wounded hand to my lips and kiss it gently. “I’m so sorry. I should have been here.”

“Matt. I told you to leave. It’s not your fault. And there was no way to know… Peter? I haven’t spoken to him in over a year. He was just this shadowy slime who didn’t want to risk his own neck.”

“Still.” Guilt drapes heavy over my shoulders. “I should have realized.”

“You couldn’t have. From what he said in the bathroom, he never got involved in the actual organization. He had a connection with Remington, and that was it. If Remington hadn’t died, maybe we would have known.” She pauses. “But if he hadn’t died, I would have been held captive. I would never have made it to that parking lot. And you wouldn’t have saved me.”

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