Page 7 of Four Love (Ever and Always 2)

“Yeah. Yeah, it’s me. I’ve got you. I’m so sorry, Holly. Are you okay?”

Every single one of her bones dissolved. It was him. And only one thing made sense. If he knew where they’d be, that meant he’d come to buy her freedom. Even if it had required giving up his fortuneandhis dream. Because she’d seen his budget. If he gave the blackmailers what they’d told her they were going to demand from him—half of the big fat pile of gold his dad had left him—the remainder wasn’t enough to get where he wanted to go.

Holly’s vision cleared until she could make out the briefcase he had apparently dropped in order to catch her. It had cracked open, and wads of hundreds spilled from within.

“The money! Take it, Trent. Run. Before they get itandyou.” She squirmed again. This time to save him, not herself.

Because that’s what love was about, wasn’t it?

Even after everything that had happened the day before, and the danger she’d been in, the most frequent thought she’d had during the endless night was about Trent and the position he’d be in if he had to choose between her and his fledgling company. The damage it would do to him either way would be devastating. Maybe, just maybe, they could fix this.

Right then, a man with a prosthetic running hook bolted past her, far faster than she could have managed with both of her natural feet. He clutched a gun and shouted at someone to stop. Holly couldn’t see who he was yelling at because several other men surrounded her and Trent, Owen and Lorzeno among them, and shoved both of them to the ground over top of the cash.

Safe. Her body had survived. So had his fortune.

But what about their future together, and their hearts?

4

“Holly!” Trent bellowed, and careened toward her, dropping the briefcase full of money he’d intended to exchange for her freedom, so he could scoop her up sooner. He couldn’t believe she was right there. Within reach.

In that moment, the bullshit he’d tried to convince himself of when he’d watched her walk out of his home was proven false. Only having her in his arms was going to make him whole again. Fortunately, Holly seemed to agree. Or at least she preferred him to the monsters who’d attacked her. That was a pretty low bar, but he’d take it.

She flew to him and slammed into his chest. By the time his arms came around her, two more shadows fell over them: Lorenzo and Owen.

They bristled as they faced out, protecting them from anyone who might be following.

Lucas raced past, thundering toward the man with dark glasses and a ball cap, who’d been circling the drop spot Trent had been approaching, despite the advice of the specialty team Ford and his friends had mustered to get Holly back.

Trent hadn’t even known guys like that existed in real life. Super spies who’d seen more shit than he could imagine. He would be perfectly happy to return to his boring, everyday life after a glimpse at what they dealt with on the regular.

Next thing he knew, he was being shoved to the ground along with Holly. He blanketed her smaller body and felt Lorenzo and Owen do the same, sheltering them both as two other agents—Jordan and Ransom—stood back to back, booted feet spread, weapons drawn.

The screech of tires and the wail of sirens, trailing off as good guys raced after the blackmailers, reassured Trent that their protectiveness was probably unnecessary. The immediate danger faded.

A clicking from beneath him made Trent tense. He ran his hands over Holly, who shook uncontrollably, making her teeth chatter as she tried to summon some smartass comment to cover up her terror.

The whoosh of relief slamming through him made his stomach feel like it turned inside out. His face went hot and his head spun. All he wanted was to get Holly somewhere safe. Somewhere he could make sure she was protected before he tried to fix the damage he’d done.

As Lorenzo and Owen got to their feet, dusting off their jeans, he did too. He scooped Holly up and turned, heading toward the rest of the agents and police officers who streamed from vans and buildings nearby as if someone had kicked their nest. Holly clung to his shoulders, burying her face in his neck as he climbed into the open back of a plain white commercial van. Despite its innocuous appearance from the outside, the inside was loaded with gear and weapons and who knew what else his new friends needed to save the world. Including their resident nerd mastermind, JRad.

Trent took a seat on a bench against one of the walls, cradling Holly as he did.

It kind of freaked him out that she didn’t resist or even protest.

Lorenzo and Owen were right behind them. They settled across from him and Holly, shoulder to shoulder. Someone closed the door from the outside with a deafening clang. Holly shuddered.

“It’s just us now. We’ve got you.” Lorenzo promised, leaning forward to rub her back.

Holly nodded. “Reminded me of the trunk lid slamming on those fuckers’ car. They locked me inside.”

“Wrap her in this.” JRad, wearing a high-tech headset quit toying with a computer that had three screens long enough to extend a blanket to Owen.

Holly recoiled, leaning away from the stranger and closer to Owen, Lorenzo, and Trent.

Owen accepted it and worked with Trent to tuck it around her. “Thanks, man.”

When Holly felt Owen’s hand on her, snuggling her into the soft fabric, she relaxed, settling against Trent’s body. Lorenzo leaned in and adjusted the fabric on her other side, covering her legs as well as possible in the tight space.

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