Page 53 of Stealing His Christmas Present

Chapter 20

THE WHOLE SITUATIONshould feel surreal. My kidnapper and I were in a car together, on our way to save my kidnapped nephew and niece. I even had a gun tucked in the holster he’d given me.

But this was Pablo.

Not some guy who actually wanted to hurt me.

Maybe Pablo had wanted to do it before because he’d believed it would somehow help him, but now, I just didn’t think he’d do it.

The truth was, all I cared about was saving the twins. If they were really where Pablo believed they were, then we had to get them.

I just didn’t know how we were supposed to do it on our own.

“How many guards will there be?” I asked.

“There should be three outside. Not sure how many might be inside. Maybe a few more.”

I furrowed my brow.

He’d shown me a photo of the house in the middle of nowhere where they were supposed to be, but it seemed so ordinary, old, and dilapidated.

“Wouldn’t they have some hideout like yours?” I asked. “I mean, something big and spacious, with tons of security.”

“No. The traffickers move around a lot so they wouldn’t get caught. They don’t want to risk attracting too much attention. When you have an area full of old houses that all look the same, would you really build a fortress in the middle of it and post all your guards outside? It would be like putting a target on your forehead.”

“Right.”

When he pulled over in the middle of a thick forest, I raised an eyebrow at him.

“The house is not too far away from here. We can’t go any closer because they’ll see us. Stay here,” he said. “If anyone comes your way, and it’s not me, get the hell out of here. I’ll leave the key in the ignition.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but he looked very serious about it. “Okay.”

He hurried away through the trees. The night had almost fallen, and it was getting very dark. But instead of staying in the car, I got out.

Pablo might think he could do it all on his own, or maybe he believed he was protecting me, but the twins were our priority. I couldn’t risk anything happening to them because I stayed behind and Pablo couldn’t do everything on his own.

A part of me was terrified of doing anything at all.

Petrified that I might make another mistake that would destroy many lives.

But I couldn’t be afraid forever, could I?

The twins needed me.

I followed Pablo, hoping he wouldn’t see me. Well, he was probably going to figure it out eventually, but I didn’t think he was going to yell at me and drag me back when the traffickers could see and hear us.

Pablo moved so swiftly and agilely that I almost lost him. But as I pressed myself against a tree trunk, I saw him sneak up on a guard.

A flash of silver, and the guard was on the ground.

Pablo had his gun out.

I heard a shot, but I couldn’t see him anymore.

My heart thudded loudly in my chest, and I pulled out my gun, inching forward.

More shots echoed through the air, and I raced toward the house. As I pressed myself against the wall, I took a quick peek around the corner.

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