Page 44 of Single Mom for the Firemen

“Alright, over and out.”

The walkie-talkie goes dead again, leaving me alone in the quiet of the car—but that suits me. I’m trying to keep my focus, watching the road that leads up to the warehouse to make sure nobody is coming or going, and I don’t want to miss a thing.

It’s not exactly our best-planned operation—we didn’t have the time to string together anything that would change the game. No, we just needed to make our move as soon as we got the chance. Once we knew the location of the warehouse, we shook loose every bit of information we could about this cartel and then took off to shut them down. I have a few license plates to refer to, a handful of references to help locate anyone who might be out to cause us trouble, but there’s no guarantee they’re still using the same cars—or that they won’t have switched out the plates to avoid detection, especially if they know the cops have them.

It looks as though there’s just one person there with them now, but it’s not going to stay that way for long. If I know criminal groups like this, and I do, I know that the story Vanessa published is going to serve as a chance for them to make a statement—to prove, to anyone who might be paying attention, that standing up to them isn’t worth it.

And they’re going to use Vanessa and Callie to make sure their point gets across. A sick nausea twists in my guts, and I bite down on my teeth to contain it. Not now. I need to stay focused. I can’t let anything else get the better of me. If a car makes it past me and down to the warehouse, that could be all it takes to cost them their lives.

Or worse.

I reach for the coffee I poured myself before we left—I don’t know how long I’m going to have to be here, and I want to bealert no matter how far I get into this day. Jake and Killian need to move quickly, but they’re relying on me to make certain that they’re not dealing with any more stress than they need to. I don’t know how well trained these cartel guys are, but I’m not going to let my brothers walk into this without the best possible chance of pulling it off.

I take a long sip of the coffee, but I can hardly taste it. I can feel my heartbeat in my ears, the sound of blood rushing around my head, and it feels like every inch of my body is pulled taut as I try to figure out what I’m meant to do next. Just wait? I’ve never been good at just waiting. I have to stand by and pray that Killian and Jake can handle this. Because if they can’t, I might lose them along with Vanessa and Callie, and I know I can’t live with that.

And it strikes me, all of a sudden, how quickly all of us moved into action when it came to getting them to safety. When Jake discovered the footage from the cameras last night, there was no conversation about whether or not we were going to get involved. As soon as we all saw it, we leapt into action. We know we’re walking into something dangerous, but truth be told, it’s hard to give a damn when I know it’s them on the other side of this.

When I know there’s next to nothing I wouldn’t do to get them both out of there in one piece.

I tighten my grip on the wheel, and fix my gaze on the road again. The sun has risen now, and I know we’re going to get more traffic passing along the main road—but it’s anyone cutting down into the warehouse lane that I need to keep an eye for. I won’t have a lot of time to react, given that it’s barely a quarter-mile long, but it’s better than nothing.

A few more cars streak past, most of them trucks and vans heading down to whatever business they’re taking care of. But then something catches my eye. Something that doesn’t look right. I frown as I peer over the top of the steering wheel, trying to lock on to what has caught my attention—and then it hits me.

The car that’s coming toward me is starting to slow. A few dozen yards from the lane, it’s slowed enough that it has to be planning a turn. I put my foot down, drawing out so I can get a better look—and sure enough, the car is nothing like the rest of the vehicles that have come and gone over the course of the morning so far. No, it’s dark and glossy, with black-tinted windows—as though whoever is inside wants to make sure they’re not seen…

And then, all at once, it takes the turn down the road toward the warehouse. I pick up the pace, moving in behind them and trailing close, trying to get a look at the license plate to see if it matches with the list that we got from the cops earlier this morning. I can only catch a glimpse of the first four letters, but it seems to match up with one of them…

The one that’s tied to the boss. Lewis Jacobson. My heart slams against my ribs. Oh, so this isn’t just about getting rid of Vanessa to make sure she never talks again. No, this is about making a statement, making her pay for even thinking she could stand up to them.

And there’s no way in fucking hell I’m going to give him a chance to enact whatever twisted revenge he has in mind on the woman that I’m falling for, and the daughter she adores so much.

I slam my foot down on the accelerator and drive forward, hitting the back of the car—not hard, but enough to send them juddering off-center. I need to get some more space, a run-up so I can make some real damage. They’re all of a few minutes awayfrom the warehouse, and when they get there, it could be too late.

The driver slams on the brakes and pulls across the road to block me. I reverse quickly, and then put my foot down hard, sending the car shooting in the direction of the parked vehicle. I make contact with a sharp thud and crumple of metal, and I’m thrown forward in my seat as I try to keep my focus.

Reversing once more, the driver climbs out of the car—and I aim my vehicle squarely at him. All I can think about right now is what they want to do to Vanessa and Callie. I might not be a killer, but I’m not going to back down and let them hurt those girls. No way. Not a chance in fucking hell…

I put my foot down, sending the car screaming toward the driver—and his eyes widen in terror as he dives back inside the car, grabbing for the wheel before he even has a chance to close the door. I crash into the front end, knocking off the open door and sending it crashing to the ground, and then leap out of the vehicle to close the distance between us for good.

I grab the driver and pull him from the car. His hand darts for a gun at his side, but I snatch it up before he can pull it out, using the butt to land a blow to the side of his head that knocks him unconcious. He slithers out of the front seat of the car and onto the ground, and I hear a yell from the back seat.

“Mark, what the fuck do you think you’re?—”

But before he can say another word, I cock the gun and aim it over the seat toward Lewis Jacobson. He stares me down and slowly lifts his hands as I steady the weapon. I’m not going to kill him, not unless he gives me damn good reason to, but the look of terror in his eyes right now is all the satisfaction I need.

“Shut your fucking mouth,” I growl as I reach for my phone. “And don’t try anything smart, you hear me?”

His face is pale, his eyes darting toward the car doors—but he knows he won’t be able to get away from me, not when I have this gun and a vehicle to pursue him with. Did he really think it would be this easy, that he would just be able to step in and take Vanessa and nobody would be there to stand up for her?

Clearly, he did. I fire off a message to the local police station, letting them know I have someone with me they might want to see. Because I am going to take great satisfaction in handing him over to the authorities—not just because he’s the kind of monstrous psycho who has caused havoc all over this state for years, but because he tried to hurt Vanessa and Callie.

And I don’t know if there’s anything I wouldn’t do to keep them safe.

23

JAKE

“Just got a message from Mason,”Killian mutters to me as I join him once more at the edge of the clearing that leads to the warehouse. “He has the cartel leader. Intercepted him before he could make it down to the warehouse, it looks like.”

---