Page 64 of Protection for Rowan

Maybe he was overreacting, but there was something inside that told him he wasn’t wrong to race to Rowan’s side. His chest was too tight, and his stomach too knotted. A warning echoed in his head that he couldn’t get rid of.

“We’re almost there,” Jay said as they turned down a two-lane road.

He clenched his fist, hoping Rowan was okay. She deserved happiness, and it seemed like she’d had to put up with so much crap.

Shine saw a building in the distance. “Is that it?”

Jay checked the maps on his phone. “Looks like it.” They drove toward the house but Jay slowed suddenly as they approached a gate on the right side of the road. “I think this is the retreat. That over there where we were headed looks like a barn of some type.”

“Yeah. Do you think they’ll let us in? This is a women’s only retreat.”

“Go to the box and talk to them.”

Jay pulled the car up to the gate, putting it in park. The person who answered the call didn’t seem happy.

“We believe Rowan Kays is in trouble,” Jay said.

“Sir, you need to leave.”

“Is she in there? We just need to make sure she is safe. The guy who took her captive is in the area.”

There was no reply. Shine was getting angry and stepped out of the car. He was at the trunk when he heard a loud scream. That wasn't a normal scream. His heart rate ramped up as he tried to pinpoint the location where the scream had come from.

Jay was out of the car with him, pointing out to the field behind the house. “There.”

Shine took off, running toward the woman screaming in the middle of the field. At first, he couldn’t tell who it was, but then he realized it was Rowan. She was running away with a man chasing her.

They were too far from him. He wouldn’t catch up before the guy caught up with Rowan. He needed to distract the guy and make him pause.

"Rowan!" Shine screamed, hoping the guy would slow down.

Rowan glanced over her shoulder and then adjusted her path and started to head his way. The jerk chasing after her adjusted. too. Still, the man would catch up to Rowan before Shine could get there.

He needed a weapon, but they’d flown commercial and didn’t have their guns. Horror washed over him as he watched the man get closer and closer to her. He couldn’t let this bastard win. He had to do something.

Rowan tried to run faster,but the man chasing her was too fast. She wasn't used to moving at this speed, and rocks intermixed with dirt made it difficult to keep her footing. When someone shouted her name, she'd been confused. Then she'd glanced over and seen Shine. She'd never seen anything so perfect as Shine running from the other end of the field.

She adjusted her path, hoping she could get to Shine before the bastard caught her. It would be difficult to get to Shine before Charles caught up. Her stalker was moving so fast. Rowan wondered if the guy was on some kind of drugs or something. She could see the desperation on his face as he chased after her.

She couldn’t believe she was in this position, running for her life because of her work. She was a psychologist. Her job wasn’t supposed to be dangerous.

Charles was seriously messed up, and his actions proved it. How he’d gotten the job in the first place was a mystery to her. Someone had messed up along the way.

She kept running toward Shine, hoping a miracle happened. After a moment, she noticed that it wasn't justShine running toward her. There was another man headed their way. It was one of Shine's friends. Her stomach clenched as she heard Charles's footfalls grow closer. She didn't dare look back.

There was a cut-through on the row about five feet up, and she took it, hoping it messed Charles up. Taking the cut-through would get her closer to Shine.

Maybe she would make it to him before Charles caught up. She was about to look back when she heard something that made her duck and freeze. The loud boom sounded like a gun. She stumbled and had to work to right herself.

When she looked back, she could see that Charles had slowed. Another man, one of the workers, was racing toward her and Charles. He must have fired the gun.

Rowan couldn't wait for him to catch up with Charles. She had to get to Shine. She took off, running to her man. Because of the worker coming to help, she was close enough that she knew she would make it to Shine before Charles got to her.

She slowed as she approached, and Shine caught her, pulling her to him as she huffed. Jay raced past, and then there was another big bang followed by a scream. The worker had pulled the trigger again, but who had he hit?

Chapter 49

Shine watched as Jay ducked.It took him a few seconds to realize Charles had been hit, not Jay. He breathed a sigh of relief and then pushed Rowan to arm's length. She looked good, unharmed.

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