Page 103 of Better Day

“Safe! I don’t think I was safe with you from the day I was born. And fucking Jason! He was selling women and children. As a man with a daughter you supposedly loved, how could you let that happen? What part of being safe was making sure I was living with a sex trafficker? You really are the devil.”

“Standby,” I say into the mic, putting my team on notice. We have enough information now to finish all of them, and I’m not leaving Cassie in danger for a moment longer than I need to. And that includes from being so upset that her body will be pushed over the edge. A brain bleed is still a possibility at this stage.

“That was all Jason’s money-making business idea. As long as he got me the information I needed, I gave him the contacts he required to trade his women. Powerful men need compliant women, Leah. That’s why you never would have been enough for Jason. You expect choices in your life that you aren’t entitled to. You are just a woman.”

That’s it. I’m done waiting. Nobody speaks to my wife like that.

I push open the door, gun raised. My team knows I’m in the room, and any moment when I say the word, they will be in here too. But first, I need a moment just me and him.

“That’s where you’re wrong. A woman is someone a man should treasure. And before I put a bullet in your head, know that this woman in front of you, my wife, is the strongest and most precious woman of all.” His hands twitch ever so slightly, telling me he’s going for a weapon. I can’t look at Cassie. I need to keep my laser focus.

“Don’t even think about reaching behind you. Keep your hands in front. Because I can assure you, I never miss. Your hands won’t even make it to your weapon before you are bleeding out on the floor.”

“Oh, the big tough boyfriend is here. You think you can protect her forever. I found you once, I’ll do it again.” Frank’s cold look tells me he could easily kill Cassie without feeling a thing.

“I’m her husband,” I grit between my teeth. “And not if you’re dead. You won’t be alive to look for anything.”

“You won’t kill me. That would hurt her too much. I’m the daddy she loved all her life. She might be angry now, but if you kill me, then it will always be something that will sit between you and niggle away at her. You won’t pull the trigger…”

The door slams open and hits the wall with force, and Cassie screams in fright, but I can’t turn, keeping my eyes on Frank the whole time, trusting my team that they’re watching her.

“He won’t have to, because I will, and I’ll be smiling while I do it, asshole!” Badger growls at him, gun raised, and the red laser dot of his gun scope sits right between Frank’s eyes. Ashton moves behind Frank, grabbing the pistol that was hidden under his scrubs. Not believing it’s his only gun, Ashton then whips out a pair of cuffs from his pants pocket and secures Frank’s hands behind his back, before he even has time to respond.

“This is a big mistake. You just put a bigger bullseye on you wife. You think I’m the only one here?” This is where he has messed up. Trying to use his words against me is never going to work.

“You wish you had eyes on you in this hospital, backup ready to respond and help you, and there may be someone on a computer, but they aren’t here with you. See, the biggest mistake you made was thinking you could do this on your own. Being a lone wolf isn’t smart. Every wolf needs a pack, and you are looking at mine, including my wife who is the strongest one.” Finally feeling like I can lower my gun now that he’s contained, I move to Cassie and pull her tightly into my side while I stand next to her bed.

Through my earpiece, I hear the best piece of news, and my grin widens. “So, surprise, Frank, you actually aren’t here alone. The FBI are on their way upstairs now, and the person you had on the computer feed is already in custody. Because as smart as you thought you were…” I look around the room and straight at the camera that is feeding everything to my team who aren’t here, and I feel the swell of pride for the friends I have surrounding me and my family. “We as a team… we are smarter.”

“Abso-fucking-lutely!” Bull yells in my ear.

I shake my head at Frank. “You think seven years didn’t give me time to collect what I needed? You were just the last piece of the puzzle, and stupidly you put yourself in this position to finish my picture for me.”

The whole time I’m speaking, I can hear Susan feeding me what she’s seeing on the computer images from all over the country.

“As we stand here saying goodbyefor the final time, as you put it, there are raids happening in several homes, places of businesses, and government offices across the country. Yes, including Jason’s, who is currently squealing like a pig about his innocence, dumping you right in the thick of it. I’m sure tomorrow’s papers will be telling an interesting story, featuring both you and Jason as the stars. So, say goodbye to your daughter who won’t be visiting you while you rot in jail. You will be wishing you did die that day on the boat. We all know what the inmates think of men who hurt children.” I can see he still thinks he is getting out of this, but that won’t be happening. I’ll make sure of it, even if I need to make sure that there is an “accident” behind bars to finish it once and for all.

“Rocket is on his way up with Agent Lester and his officers,” Ashton tells me, as he was the only one who has the feed from the FBI in his ear. We need to keep focused and didn’t need any unnecessary chatter distracting us. It took a while, but I learned that Rocket was on our side, and I could trust him. So, when it was time to set all this in motion, I knew I wanted him as part of my team, to bring closure to something that has haunted us all these years, not being able to nail Jason.

“Did you ever love me?” The desperate question comes from Cassie, and the coldness in her father softens for a moment. Her tears aren’t loud sobs but a pain that she can’t contain.

“You won’t believe me, but still to this day, I love both you and your mother. That will never change.” And as much as I don’t think he understands what true love is, in his own way he thinks he loved them. Feeling her body sag further into mine, I know it’s enough for her to take to her grave, that although it won’t be a love she wants, that she wasn’t living a complete lie from the day she was born.

“Is this where the party is?” Rocket’s voice coming through the door brings me a sense of relief. Because behind him are so many men in bulletproof vests and armed enough to take out every person in this hospital. Nothing like being inconspicuous.

“Yeah, but it’s time to shut it down. I think the room occupants would like some quiet time.” Badger is always the father of our team. He knows what we need before we do.

* * *

There was a lot of congestion, and after reading Frank his rights and starting to lead him away, the real pain that Cassie has been holding in is finally released.

Her hands are clawing at my skin like she can’t breathe, and the noises coming from her are like she has a wound that is more painful than anything she has ever felt in her life. Not caring what is happening around me, I push her down onto the bed and climb onto it with her. Wrapping her as tightly as I can into my body, I whisper to her over and over again, “I love you and you’re safe.” It’s all I can think at the moment, while I finally allow myself to let everything that has happened sink in too.

The room is quiet around us, and I hear Susan’s voice in my ear telling me that the audio and video from this room’s feed are now off. We are alone except for one other person.

The only voice I hear above Cassie’s crying is Tate.

“I’m sedating her, she needs to rest. It’s the kindest thing we can do for her now.”

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