Page 73 of Salvation

Is someone lost?

Grabbing Max’s gun from the desk, as a second weapon to the one I pull out of my waistband, I hurriedly descend the stairs and cross the warehouse, stalking to the door with weapons in both hands. Flinging the door open, I gasp in disbelief, staring at what’s in front of me.

A familiar cop is standing there and in his arms is an unconscious… Hope.

Blinking to make certain I’m seeing correctly, I realize I am. Yes, Detective Rodgers is standing in front of me, and Hope is still unconscious in his arms.

He barrels past me and into the warehouse.

I snap out, “What the fuck are you doing here, Detective? Why would you ever come here? You know damn well you are never to come here!” I stare at Hope. She’s completely still. Reaching out for her, I snap, “What’s wrong with her? Why do you have Hope?”

He sneers, jerking back from me. His hold on Hope tightens.

My blood instantly runs cold.

What the fuck?

Why is he here?

And what is he doing with Hope?

I speak calmly and unwaveringly. “Give her to me.”

He sneers at me again and moves slightly. Now, I see the barrel of the gun pressed into her back, directly beneath her ribs, angled up. He nods at me. “No, I don’t think so. You see, Gabrial, we have a problem… a big one, and I don’t plan on leaving here until you give me exactly what I want.” He looks down at Hope. “And this beauty is here to help me guarantee I get what I want from you.”

He laughs at my shocked expression. I can’t help it. I have no idea why he’s here or what it is he could possibly need.

He’s been on my payroll for five years. It’s very handy to have a detective with Guns and Gangs on your payroll when you sell guns and drugs to gangs and crime rings. He’s paid very well to keep the heat off me and make it impossible to match me with any crime.

I snap again. “You have lost your damn mind. Are you seriously in my warehouse threatening me and holding an innocent woman hostage to blackmail me? You must know that this will not end well for you…

“You’ve just made the biggest mistake of your life.”

Detective Rodgers laughs again, the sound sending chills down my spine, revealing how unstable he is, and rubs the barrel of his gun down Hope’s face, before deliberately trailing it over her chest. He traces her nipple, visible beneath the thin t-shirt, and bra, she’s wearing slowly with the tip of the gun. “She is a beauty, isn’t she? It’s not surprising that she has both you and Sanchez panting after her like dogs in heat.” His gaze trails over her body and my vision blurs with my rage. “She must be an animal in bed. It’s always the ones that look so innocent, isn’t it?

“Is she a hellcat in the sack? I bet she can wrap those plump lips around a cock and send you straight to heaven, right?”

My heart is beating a thousand miles an hour as he disrespects Hope, while standing in front of me. My rage is palpable, my blood thickening in my veins. My hands are clenching with the barely controlled desire to rip his head clean from his body, and then, dismember him limb by limb. But I can’t let him know how angry he’s making me. To let him know is to show weakness, and that would be a danger to not just me, but to Hope.

If he harms her… He’s a dead man.

He’s a dead man anyway. He signed his death warrant as soon as he touched her. But what he does now will determine if his death is quick and merciful or slow and painful.

Yes, I cannot show a hint of weakness. My poker face should come in very handy right now.

Crossing my arms, I regard him. “What is it you want, Detective?”

He smiles coldly again and adjusts Hope more firmly into his arms. The hand not pointing a gun at me cups her full breast, caressing it as she’s unconscious, while he holds her against his chest.

Every time you touch her, asshole, you’re drawing your death out that much longer.

He says, “Well, Gabrial, I want five million dollars wired into an offshore account and you’re going to help me leave the country.”

* * *

I wakeon the couch of the conference room, and it takes a minute to get my bearings.

What the hell?

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