Page 24 of Master Cordell

Forcing her into the boat, he finally released her hair and then pointed the gun at her. “Lay down on your stomach and keep your fucking mouth shut.”

The hem of her skort was dripping from the depth of the water, and her leather sandals squeaked as she moved. Trembling, she lowered herself to the floor behind the passenger seat, as he started the motor, backed the boat up a little, and then hit a button that retracted the anchor. As soon as they were free, he gunned the engine and within seconds, they were flying across the surface of the water.

Tiffany had no idea what was going on and why this man wanted revenge against Sir, but she didn’t care. All she wanted was to see Sir again and have a chance to tell him that she loved him.

* * *

Slowly spinning in a circle,Cordell forced himself to breathe. His brain needed oxygen to keep him standing and help him figure out who had taken Tiffany at gunpoint and why. They’d arrived back at Master Key, screaming into the parking lot ten minutes after Ty had called Cordell, to find several sheriff’s department vehicles, a paramedic unit, and an ambulance outside Cordell and Tiffany’s cottage. Jared had been shot in the right side of his chest, but somehow he was still alive. As they’d loaded him into the back of the ambulance, Cordell noticed his skin was ghost-white, and his torso was covered in blood. He was also unconscious, so what little they knew about what’d happened had come from Tori and Ty who were both still shaken up. Thankfully, the second bullet the assailant had fired hadn’t hit anyone.

Unarmed and unable to save Tiffany, Tori and Ty had checked her cottage as they called for help and found Jared. Thank God, because Tori had grabbed some towels and slowed down the bleeding from the injured man’s chest.

Troy had jumped into the back of the ambulance with his coworker and best friend, promising to stay out of the paramedics way and encouraging Jared to hang on. Cordell had told him to keep him up-to-date with Jared’s condition. Until he found Tiffany though, his employee came second in Cordell’s mind.

Cooper had followed Tiffany’s scent through the woods out to the east shoreline where he’d lost it in the water. Cordell and Dante weren’t surprised, since that’s how the bastard had gotten onto the island before—if it was the same guy, which Cordell was sure it was. Unfortunately, the description Ty and Tori had given of the suspect hadn’t rang any bells. It could be anyone at this point.

When a local detective was done asking Cordell questions, he stepped away, leaving the anxious man alone. It was then that Ty walked over and tilted his head for Cordell to follow him a little bit away from everyone else.

“What’s up?” Cordell murmured as he eyed a deputy stringing crime scene tape up around the cottage. An explosion, a shooting, and a kidnapping right after the resort opened.Fan-fucking-tastic.But MKR was the least of his worries right now. He had to find his woman.

After checking over his shoulder to see if anyone was paying them any attention, Ty furtively handed Cordell a piece of paper. Cordell turned his back on the small crowd of deputies, employees, and friends and glanced at the note in his hand, written in crude lettering.

If you want your whore back, keep your phone on. No cops or she’s dead.

“It was on your bed,” Ty explained over Cordell’s shoulder. “I didn’t notice it until after I called 9-1-1 and Dante and Troy came running in to help with Jared. After I read it, I thought maybe you wanted to handle this without the police knowing about it. It’s up to you if you want to show it to them.”

Ty must have been hanging out a lot with the TS teams, since this is something they would’ve done too. The man had taken a chance by tampering with evidence, but Cordell didn’t give a fuck. In fact, he was grateful. Whoever had taken Tiffany was a dead man—something that may not happen if the cops were involved. Cordell had never gone afoul of the law before, but this was different. This was the woman he was in love with, and she was in danger because of him. The note made it perfectly clear, he had to be the ultimate target, not the resort as they’d believed before this afternoon.

Or was Tiffany the real target? Had her asshole ex-boyfriend, a wannabe Dom, tracked them down?

He glanced at the note again, before crumpling it up in his fist. No, he doubted Bruce Whitfield was involved. First, the bastard didn’t have the guts to go head to head with Cordell. He’d backed down very quickly when Mitch had told him to stay away from Tiffany when he’d escorted her to a wedding that they’d all attended in Vegas. That was how Cordell had eventually come to meet Tiffany.

So, if it wasn’t Whitfield, who the hell was it, and what was their end game?

He tucked the wadded-up note into his front pocket, then turned back to Ty. “Thanks. Let’s keep this between us right now.” Cordell glanced around at the others milling about. Boomer was there, and so was Dante who was talking to a few deputies he was friends with. The retired SEAL and Australian SASR were a good start for backup, but he needed more. “Did anyone call Jake and Nick? I’m gonna need them to haul ass back here.” It was about an hour from Key West to Master Key.

“I called them right after I saw the note. Figured you’d need them. They’re already on their way.” Ty checked his watch. “Should be about another thirty minutes. Jake said they’d floor it and pray no cops pulled them over.”

Good. That added two more retired SEALs to the team Cordell was quickly putting together in his head. Too bad everyone else from Trident Security had returned to Tampa.

An approaching vehicle caught his attention. A huge, box-type van, with “Crime Scene Unit” on the front and side, pulled up. Meanwhile, there were numerous guests standing near the valet, watching the controlled chaos taking place on the other end of the parking lot. Wonderful.

Cordell grabbed one of the two women on his security team, Margo Hoffman, and pointed back toward the hotel. “Put a lid on the lookie-loos. Tell them something, I don’t care what, but don’t fucking tell them we had someone shot and someone else kidnapped for Christ’s sake.”

“You got it, boss.” The retired Army lieutenant hurried to do his bidding.

Good, one less thing to worry about.

Milo, Tori, Ty, and Mitch drew near, but it was the latter who spoke. “The detectives are done with the interviews, so we’ll get out of everyone’s way. Not sure how much help Ty and I can be if you go after Tiffany, but we’ve both been hitting the shooting range at the TS compound lately. Just tell us what you need us to do, and we’re there.”

“I’m in too if you need me,” Milo added.

It was clear Ty had filled them in about the note. While he could use the extra hands, or guns in this case, he didn’t want to risk the three men getting shot if everything went south, which was a big possibility. They didn’t have the military or law enforcement experience the others did.

“Thanks, guys. I appreciate it. But for now, I think you’re better off handling the resort. I’ll let you know if things change.”

Tori stepped forward and threw her arms around Cordell’s neck. “Bring my cousin home.”

He wrapped his arms around her waist and gave her a reassuring squeeze. “I will, Tori.”

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