Page 104 of Arrogant Bastard

“Fuck you, Knight.”

I shrug. “Decide quickly; you’re running out of time.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

I nod at the fast-growing speck on the horizon, but I address the men with the assault rifles.

“Those are my guys in the chopper heading toward us. My guy Linc here has instructed them to block the runway and not allow your plane to take off. I don’t know what Galveston is paying you to help him kidnap my woman, but here’s my deal. I’ll pay each of you one hundred thousand if you drop your weapons right now and step over to my side of the party.”

The men exchange quick, startled glances. Then predictable greed lights up their features.

Galveston’s mouth drops open. “What the fuck? Don’t listen to—”

“His name is Killian Knight. You probably don’t know him, but it’ll take only a minute to look him up,” Faith adds. Then she sends me a little smile. “He’s an amazing guy.”

I nod. “I’m an amazing guy with a few dollars to play with. One hundred thousand. No questions asked. All I want is my girl back, safe and sound. Tell them, Linc.”

“Yep. He has money to burn for days. All he wants is his girl back.”

The sound of rotors approaching grows louder. “Which one of you is the pilot?” I shout.

The man to the farthest right jerks his chin at me.

“I’ll pay you double if you step over here first.”

The chopper is hovering low enough for them to see the six men on board, and the guns they’re wielding. Galveston’s men waver for another five seconds before the pilot drops his rifle. The other two follow immediately.

“You fucking sons of bitches,” Galveston snarls.

He points the gun at his pilot. Faith immediately drives her elbow into his gut. His gun goes off, but I don’t turn to see where the bullet hits because my heart stops as I watch Galveston redirect his gun toward her.

But I hear Linc’s curse and hiss of pain as I leap forward. I reach for the gun tucked into my pants. I drop to my knees, take aim, and shoot at the same time Faith pivots and knees Galveston in the balls. He doubles over and grabs at his jewels as blood erupts from his shoulder.

I’m not a fan of kicking a man when he’s down, but I barely stop myself from cheering when Faith delivers a roundhouse to his head that sends him sprawling on the tarmac. “That’s for tasing me too, you motherfucker!”

I can’t deal with the fact that he tasered her right now. If I do, I’ll probably shoot him again. I stop long enough to kick his gun halfway across the runway before I scoop her up in my arms.

“You’re safe. God, you’re safe.”

She wraps her arms around me and buries her face in my neck. One of us is shuddering. The other is shaking. I don’t care. She’s alive.

Somewhere behind us, the chopper lands. Minutes later, sirens rip through the air as local law enforcement arrives. Through it all, I clutch her harder, and she weeps against my shoulder.

“It’s over,” she mutters.

“Yes.” I sweep her into my arms and head for the chopper. We pass a couple of cops kneeling over a cuffed Galveston. His shoulder is wrapped in a thin bandage but he’s still bleeding.

There’s a little harmonious justice in knowing that Faith’s bullet in Cairo caught him in the right shoulder and mine caught him in the left. Still, I stop anyway to deliver my last piece of advice.

He glares at me as I smile.

“Congratulations, you’ve just become my pet project. I’m going to devote a considerable amount of money to make sure you stay in prison for the rest of your life. If I hear that you’re attempting to gain parole, I’ll pay a few skinheads to make sure you don’t leave prison with your balls intact.”

He pales further but keeps his mouth shut as I walk away.

“I can’t believe we nailed him,” Faith mutters.

I grip her tighter. “Believe it. He had you in his fucking clutches. That’s not something I’m going to forget quickly.”

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