Page 40 of Fighting Conviction
Devil found her.
Chapter Fifteen
Devil’s truck skidded to a stop and he stormed out, slamming the door and yelling in frustration as he made his way inside the park. He never entered situations half-cocked, but lowlifes and dealers frequented Hatcher Gardens Park. He was alone so intimidation was more important than stealth. Announcing his presence as loudly as he could would hopefully scare them away, leaving Ellie safe.
Tucking low, Devil held his firearm at a ready stance. Whatever Ellie had gotten into, he sure as fuck wasn’t about to be caught without a weapon. He scanned the park, checked his phone for Ellie’s location, and cursed before stuffing it back into his pocket.
He was in the right place, but the app wasn’t precise enough to get a good hit on her location. He blew out a breath, attempting to calm down before scanning the park. A gust of wind pushed at his back and the sound of footsteps several yards northwest brought his attention in that direction.
“Ellie!” he shouted her name so harshly it grated against his throat. Devil could see a faint light bobbing up and down away from him. If whoever was over there was anywhere near Ellie, he hoped his angry bellow scared the shit out of them. He sped his steps, forgoing caution in favor of catching the faint glow.
With about ten meters between them, the flashlight clicked off entirely, and it took a second for his eyes to adjust. When they did, he saw a short, wide silhouette run off into the thicket and Devil broke into a sprint after it. Whoever it was, sure as hell wasn’t Ellie, but it was the only lead he had.
The figure stupidly tried to bulldoze through the brambles, probably attempting to hide, so Devil slowed to a stop outside the bushes. He tapped the trigger on his Glock as he assessed which way the person—a man, if the grunting and cursing was any indication—would escape.
The branches stilled and Devil held his breath as he tried to access all of his senses. When he heard a whimper, he tilted his head to listen. It’d sounded like it came from the large tree behind him.
Devil gritted his teeth and considered waiting out the man, but his ears were tuned into the soft cries coming from…above?
Was it Ellie? Was she hurt?
He waited another beat for the man to come out, before cursing under his breath at another sniffle. Backing away from his prey, he prowled backward to the tree.
Immediately, there was movement and rustling in front of him, and Devil bit back a groan, knowing the shady shit was clambering out of his hiding spot. He considered following the unknown target, but the medic in him was being pulled to check on the person crying behind—
“Dev?” The tentative whisper above him made the hair on the back of his neck stick up and settled his decision for him.
He kept his eyes forward to make sure the runner was fleeing in the opposite direction before he answered. “El? That you?”
“Yeah, it’s me. I-I want to get down but I c-can’t see.”
“Down?” His gaze shot up and he retrieved his phone from his pocket to shine the flashlight up the tree. Blonde tendrils hung like tinsel from a crude makeshift platform in the tree. A head peeked over the edge and relief coursed through him when Ellie peeked over and shielded her eyes from the light. “Fuck, Ellie. What the hell are you doing up there?”
She disappeared from view, and after some rustling, yellow and pink tennis shoes slid into view, reaching down for the platform underneath it.
“Careful, angel.” She was already halfway down and Devil still held his phone up to shine a path for her while scanning the park for threats again. He hadn’t cleared the area and despite the fact he’d been below a teammate fast roping out of a chopper hundreds of times, covering for Ellie as she descended the tree made him edgy.
“Psh. I did this a million times growing up. Now that I’ve got light I’m good to g—” Ellie yelped as her foot slipped on a branch.
Devil cursed and positioned himself under where he thought she’d fall. Ellie yelped and groaned as she hit two branches. He shifted his weight to his back foot and bent his knees slightly, holding out his arms in preparation for her plummet.
His angel landed in his arms with anoofand Devil had to take a steadying step backward to keep from falling. When she was secure, he cradled her to his chest, bending his head low to smell her fresh spring scent in her hair until his rapid pulse slowed its painful beat. He brushed his lips over her forehead so lightly she probably didn’t feel it. Too bad for her. His hold couldn’t be that gentle.
“Ow, Dev, that’s a little tight.”
Devil loosened his grip, only easing up enough to make sure he wasn’t contributing or exacerbating any injury she’d sustained. “You hurt?”
Ellie groaned. “Kinda.” Her head lolled to rest against Devil’s chest. He closed his eyes briefly in reverent thanks before making the trek to his truck.
“You can put me down now, ya know.”
Devil grunted in response. “What’re you doing in the park alone? At night? Are you fucking insane?”
Golden orbs shone silver in the moonlight before she averted her eyes. “I-I… I don’t know, can’t you put me down?”
“So you can do something stupid again? Not a chance in hell, angel.”
“Excuse you. What right do you have to call me stupid?”
