Page 88 of Ruined By Protection
"How the fuck did we miss this? Montgomery was supposed to be under constant surveillance!" I ask Daniel.
"I don't understand it either," Daniel's voice is tense and focused. "Our guys swear he hasn't left the hotel. They’re adamant that he's still in his room."
"Well, they're fucking wrong!" I swerve around a taxi. "He's got Evelyn at the bookshop!"
"That's impossible," Daniel says. "I just got confirmation. Thirty minutes ago room service delivered his lunch."
I grip the steering wheel so hard my knuckles turn white. "What the hell are you saying? That this piece of shit can be in two places at the same time?"
My mind races through possibilities. A decoy? Someone helping him? Whatever the trick, it doesn't matter. What matters is getting to the bookshop before Montgomery hurts Evelyn—or uses her to drag Hazel into his trap.
The image of Hazel's face when she got that call flashes in my mind. The terror in her eyes. The monster has already taken so much from her, I won't let him take more.
"Check if Montgomery has a twin or some shit," I say, only half-joking as I blow through a red light, causing a swerving mess of blaring horns.
"Already looking into associates, family members, anyone who could be helping him," Daniel says tapping on his phone rapidly.
Good. We're closing in. I take a sharp turn, tires screeching, ignoring the startled pedestrians jumping back from the crosswalk.
I screech to a halt outside Evelyn's bookshop. Daniel and I hurl ourselves into the cafe. The place looks like a hurricane hit it—books scattered across the floor, shelves toppled, glass shattered everywhere.
"Evelyn!" I shout, scanning the chaos for any sign.
The place seems deserted then I spot them in the back corner. Noah's holding Evelyn tight against his chest, her body heaving with sobs. The look on Noah's face freezes my blood. I've seen him irate before but this is different. This is the face of a man about to unleash hell.
"What happened?" I ask, holstering my weapon as I approach them.
Noah's eyes lock to mine. "That motherfucker is going to suffer." His voice is terrifyingly calm, the kind of calm that comes before someone gets buried.
I look over Evelyn, checking for injuries. "Is she hurt?"
"No, thank God," Noah says, his arms tightening protectively around her. "But he had his hands on her, threatened her. That's enough."
Daniel circles the shop, checking every corner, gun still ready. "Clear," he calls out. "No sign of him."
"He's not an amateur," Noah says, stroking Evelyn's hair as she cries. "He knew exactly what he was doing. Came in through the back, disabled the security cameras first. Wore gloves, face covered."
"This doesn't make sense," I mutter, pacing through the wreckage. "Montgomery's a rich pussy prick who beats women. Since when does he have tactical skills?"
"He planned this," Evelyn says between sobs. "He knew exactly what to say to make me think he was a customer. Then he just... changed. Like flipping a switch."
I scrape my hand through my hair, frustration building. "Daniel, call Marco. I want every inch of surveillance footage from within ten blocks. Traffic cams, ATMs, everything."
"Already on it," Daniel replies, phone to his ear.
I look back at Noah and Evelyn, thinking of Hazel at the mansion. The terror in her eyes when she realized Montgomery had gotten to Evelyn.
"We need to get back to the compound," I say. "If he's this organized he might have more planned."
Noah continues to comfort Evelyn, his normally unreadable face a mask of barely-controlled rage. I've seen that look before—it's the face of a man calculating the most painful way to end someone's life.
"You're staying at the Feretti compound until we neutralize him," he tells Evelyn, his tone leaving no room for argument.
Evelyn pulls back slightly, wiping tears from her face. "Hazel won't want you to kill him," she says. "She's not—she wouldn't want that."
Noah's laugh is void of all feeling. "I don't care what she wants. You could have been killed by this psycho. He put his hands on you." His voice drops dangerously. "Nobody touches you Evelyn."
I step forward, my own rage bubbling just beneath the surface. "He's already a dead man walking," I say, my voice hard as steel. "Has been since the day I saw Hazel's body and what he'd done to it."
