Page 125 of Unlawful Seduction

Brady was struggling and I was hesitant to move any further. “What are you talking about?”

“You convinced him you were the right man to marry her. He wanted me dead. That’s why I was there at his house. He had a gun to my head and would have killed me had you not come along. I guess I should be thanking you.”

I found that difficult to believe, but it honestly didn’t matter at this point. All that did matter was ending the hunt and saving my son. “Your boy is thriving, Gio. He’s a happy kid. I made certain of it.”

He looked away, becoming somewhat emotional. “I cared about Tessa, but she blindsided me with her goddamn pregnancy.”

“And your son?” I took the chance to climb a little higher, placing my finger across my lips to try to keep Brady as quiet as possible. He was close to hyperventilating, but the kid was as resilient as his mother.

“I wanted to love him. I did. I just… I was told to get rid of him. Do you know what that does to a man?”

“I can imagine. He’s a strong kid and growing stronger by the day. Maybe you can see him.”

His laugh was full of hollowness. “That’s not going to happen. You know that. You ruined my life. Now, I’m going to ruin yours.”

I was close, almost close enough, climbing another two feet when Gio decided to hang Brady from the capsule. I had one chance at this. I lunged up to the capsule they were riding in, jarring the enclosure. Gio lost his grip.

Brady screamed as I managed to snag his arm, yanking him against my chest. There was no chance I could reach for my weapon, not now.

Gio had his in his hand, leaning over the capsule and pointing it at my head. “For old time’s sake, buddy.”

I had no idea what possessed the attendant to ignore my plea, but he did and the moment he started the ride back up, Gio lost his balance. So did I.

Only I had an advantage. I tumbled forward, somehow managing to wrap one hand around the capsule below. Fuck.

As Gio tumbled over the edge toward the ground, the crowd screamed. Suddenly, hands were right there, helping pull Brady and me to safety. As I pulled him to the floor of the ride, I peered up at the person who’d provided assistance.

“Hank.”

He peered down at me, shaking his head. “You had me worried there, bud. But I gotta give it to you, you’re my kind of hero.”

I laughed and hugged Brady, who was only sniffling at this point. As the ride began to slowly make its progression down, I sat up, pulling Brady slightly away from me. “Hey, little man. Are you okay? You went on a little adventure.”

He nodded, tears streaming down both sides of his face. Kids would never cease to amaze me. Suddenly, his little eyes lit up. “Can we do dat again?”

Fuck. Fuck. “Not for a little while, buddy. Okay?”

As we neared the platform, bystanders began clapping. By the time I stood, there were a half dozen security men surrounding the area, two trying to do their best to keep everyone away from the body.

I scanned the crowd as Mallory pushed through, her two friends right behind her. She was remarkably calm, but I could tell it was just the beginning of the storm.

As I climbed out, Hank tousled Brady’s hair, even squeezing his shoulders. Brady acted like a big kid when he climbed into my arms and the clapping and cheering started all over again.

Mallory wrapped her arms around both of us and we were surrounded by love and support. Now she allowed herself to weep.

“Mommy. I’m o-tay.”

We both laughed as Brady tried to disengage himself from us, peering up as if no worse for the wear.

Mallory wiped her eyes, reaching out to squeeze Hank’s hand.

“Now, that was a date, Hank,” the man’s female companion said. “You’re my hero.”

I took a deep breath and pulled Mallory to me once again, kissing her head.

“Is it over with? Is this nightmare over with?”

“It’s over with.” I glanced over at Gio’s broken body. In the few minutes I’d seen and heard the agony in the man. He’d sold his soul to the devil as I had, only he’d never been given a second chance.

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