Page 30 of Healing Her Cowboys
Reese tried to keep her voice calm. “Tony, step back. I don’t want any trouble.”
But he didn’t move. Instead, his hand shot out, gripping her arm tightly, his face hardening as he leaned in closer. “Maybe you don’t get it. They care about you now. That means you’re valuable.”
Reese tried to scream, but Tony only covered her mouth with a damp cloth that smelled like chemicals. She struggled against his grip, panic flooding her veins.
Her heart raced, fear tightening her throat as she struggled against him. She’d never felt so vulnerable, so helpless, and the reality of her situation hit her like a punch to the gut.
With each second, it felt like she was getting dizzy. Her vision blurred and her limbs felt like molasses.
“Don’t fight it,” Tony said. “It’ll all be over soon.”
That was the last thing she heard him say before everything went dark.
***
With Reese gone, it was hard for Atlas to focus on his chores. He couldn’t think straight without knowing where she was. Although he knew he couldn’t keep her on a leash, he hated not having her within walking distance of him.
She had become that important to them in such a short period. It was hard to imagine what their lives were like before she entered it.
His last conversation with Reese lingered in his mind, and he hoped she listened to them about telling them when she got into town.
As he approached the house, he spotted Brik standing on the front porch, his face pale as he stared at the phone.
“Brik?” Atlas called, frowning as he walked up. “What’s going on?”
Brik didn’t respond immediately. He just held out his phone and played a voicemail.
Tony’s voice was unmistakable. “If you want to see Reese again, come to the docks next to where they had the festival. Come alone, Atlas, or she gets hurt.”
Brik’s eyes narrowed, fury sparking in his eyes as he looked back at Atlas. “That bastard took her.”
Atlas’s jaw clenched tight. A multitude of emotions filled his head. “He wants me to go alone. He’ll hurt her if I don’t.”
Brik shook his head, his voice a low growl. “There’s no fucking way you’re going alone. He’s unhinged, and if you go in there by yourself, who knows what he’ll do?”
His memories came flooding back. All the men who died because he made one grave decision. He couldn’t let the same thing happen to his woman. Their woman.
Then Atlas realized something that had never clicked before now. He realized that Tony looked just like someone he knew years ago, one of the men who died under his command.
“I know him,” Atlas said. “I know who Tony is. How did I miss it?”
“What are you talking about?” Brik looked at him, confused as hell.
“I think he’s the younger brother of a soldier in my squad. He’s Brendan’s younger brother.” He remembered Brendan telling him stories about him and his baby brother and how they always looked after each other.
“So what does that mean?” Brik asked.
“He’s got a personal vendetta against me. I have to fix it. I don’t want to risk him hurting her because I didn’t follow his instructions.”
Brik grabbed a hold of Atlas’s shirt and shook him hard. “You listen to me. Reese belongs to both of us. She’s our woman. Whatever we decide, we decide on it together. You’re not doing this alone. If something goes wrong, you’ll need backup. Besides, I’m not sitting around here while that little shit has her. We’re going together.”
Atlas nodded. “You heard what he said, right? He took her to the docks. That means she’s on a boat somewhere. He’s using her fears against her.”
“I know,” Brik said. “That just means we need to work faster to get to her. She’s counting on us, and we can’t let her down. We won’t let her down.”
After a tense moment, Atlas relented. “All right. But we need to be careful. He’s not exactly acting rationally if he wants revenge for Brendan.”
“Trust me. He won’t get to harm a single hair on her head.”
