Chapter Twenty-Five

 

 

 

“Steel, get your ass on straight,” Dare growled through their com unit.

“Fuck you. She’s terrified.” Ian knew it, could feel it. That ‘I’m scared’ had his heart twisting.

“Yeah, and fear does work, so watch and wait. We’ll get her out. Is that Devon? Can you tell?”

Ian hadn’t taken his sights off the men. Devon stood in the middle. “It’s him.”

“Then be ready.”

Ian was ready. He’d been ready for years, but he felt it this time. This was the end. It was here that they would either take Devon in or kill him.

Dare had given him one hell of a talking-to on the benefits of killing Devon. It hadn’t helped that Dare had pointed out how wealthy the man was or how connected Devon could be and still use his money—even behind bars—to harm them. Ian knew all that. That was what made his skin crawl the most.

Devon was dressed in a suit. The crazy shithead was truly insane. His hair was combed back and his face was clean-shaven, but the way he carried himself gave away the animal inside he barely held under control.

“He needs to be put down.”

“He does,” Dare agreed.

Casper was putting on a show. Boss was playing the silent gun at his back. Andy, though… Andy was sobbing and crying, begging Casper to not let her go with Devon. Her sobs were ripping his heart to shreds. It was the plan but it was killing him. His rage was rising, beating in tempo with his heart.

“Easy.” Dare’s voice held a firmness that Ian held on to like a lifeline. Protect. Protect her. Keep her safe. Devon lost his suspicious scowl and his grin made Ian’s trigger finger itch.

“Easy,” Dare repeated. He understood how important Andy was to him. He had his own wife.

Ian exhaled and removed his finger, easing his body so he could hold back for the signal.

“Easy. We wait,” Dare muttered, still in that damn calm tone.

“I know the plan.” He couldn’t keep his temper in check, not with Andy sobbing and begging like she was.

Casper must have known he wasn’t going to make it much longer. He laughed suddenly and shook Andy, then threw her down beside a stack of empty fifty-gallon drums. “Shut up, bitch. You think one sorry-ass bitch is worth a million cold?”

He didn’t take her hood off, but Ian had known the plan might change. Ian breathed deeply—watching, waiting. He caressed the trigger. Devon wasn’t near her. His four men weren’t near her. Come on. Come on. The money, Casper. The money.

“How about that cash now, bro? I’m feeling an itch, and when I feel that, shit needs to get flowing.”

“Ah, of course. Money… You wanted double.” Devon motioned with a hand.

“Not good,” Ian growled. This is too easy. Devon doesn’t part with money.

“Not likely, not like that.” Casper motioned to Devon with his gun held sideways, gangster-style, giving his best drug-dealer-wants-his-piece act. “You fuck with me and my friend here is going to fuck with you, jefe.”

The four men standing guard over Devon paused. Devon appeared to be considering. Ian held him in his crosshairs, ready to squeeze his finger and end the man’s life. Devon finally grinned. “Man, you are a lucky son of a bitch. Give him his dough. I might need him again.”

“Damn straight, amigo. We got a deal, yeah? You get the girl and we get one million cash. Untraceable.”

Devon waved his hand impatiently to two of his men. “Of course.” One of them had a duffel bag that he dropped at Casper’s feet.

“And real greens,” Casper said but opened the bag to check.

“I only deal in the real greens. Now go fetch that pain-in-the-ass bitch. I need my cock sucked.”

Ian almost pulled the trigger. It was there. Dare growled his name, but it was a distant, almost-hollow sound. Red flashed before his vision, outlining Devon perfectly. The world resurfaced as all hell broke out below them.

Casper dropped the act since he’d confirmed that there was cash in the bag. Boss was right with him. A flood of agents poured into the warehouse. Shots were fired. Andy was already under the protection of the barrels, hood off, holding the Glock twenty-six Ian had tucked down the back of her jeans.

Ian shouted into his com, “On my way. Get Andy out of there. Repeat. Get Andy out of there.”

“Got it. We’re on it,” an agent responded.

“Dare,” Ian called into the com, “going down.”

“Already heading there. Make sure you check where she’s at.”

Ian didn’t bother to respond. He was already racing down the stairs, taking them three at a time.

“Steel, come in.”

“Steel.” Ian took two more, turned at the bottom and ran for the doors to the warehouse. Gunfire was still going strong.

“Andy is not in position. Repeat. Andy is not in position. Where was she supposed to go for second position?”

“What the—” Ian pulled his handgun and met Dare at the doors. “She’s not—”

“I heard. There is no second position,” Dare told the agent. “Fan out. Find her.”

A scream ripped through the air and had his heart stopping. He spun toward the sound. Another scream, this one definitely Andy’s and coming from his left. He took off.

“She’s in the yard. Repeat. She’s in the yard. Watch your fire,” Dare shouted after him.

“If she’s hurt…” Ian couldn’t finish the thought. He ran through the warehouse, avoiding piles of garbage and jumping over discarded piping without slowing. Dare was on his heels. The warehouse was huge, but they broke through the double doors and into the junkyard within seconds. Outside cars were stacked like enormous bricks, one on top of the other. He knew from the plan that the junkyard was easily twice the size of a football field. Baby, where are you? “We fan out. We have to find her.” He gripped Dare’s forearm. “He could have stashed a car, already be out—”

“No one has left the scene. The entrance is blocked,” Dare reminded him.

Ian flicked his chin to the left for the com channel. “Do they have Devon? Repeat. Do you guys have Devon?”

Static on the line, but no one answered.

“Casper, answer. Do you have eyes on Devon?’

A moment more of static then Casper. “Negative. The motherfucker clocked me, caught me by surprise.”

Dare grabbed his arm. “She’s well enough to scream. She’s going to survive. He’s desperate, which means dangerous. Slow down.”

Ian slowed, trying to listen over his own breathing. There was a sound ahead of him like a low, grunting groan then a blood-curdling scream had his heart nearly exploding. No. No. Andy, baby, you can’t be hurt, not with me here. No.

Another grunt and now a louder, pissed-off scream of rage.

“You stupid animal!” Andy yelled. “You had…everything. Everything was given to you and you still…never appreciated a damn thing. It’s…not my fault! You’re a low-life…scum-sucking…tiny-dicked piece…of…shit!” Every few labored words were followed with a thud and muffled groan.

Dare shot Ian a glance, but Ian didn’t wait. He ran for the corner, gun out and ready, but slowed to a complete stop.

Andy was holding a piece of two by four, her hair streaming around her. Her breathing was so fast and hard that loose tendrils were puffing up and away from her face with each heavy exhale. At her feet lay Devon, his back criss-crossed with bloody lines, bleeding through his expensive shirt, apparently from where Andy had beaten the hell out of him with the two by four.

“Now, if you survive the first real ass-kicking you’ve ever gotten, remember this. I will kill you next time—either me or my husband. And you know what, you sorry piece of shit? I hope you do, so he can. Because you know what else? You’re stupid. And stupid is dangerous.”

Devon could barely lift his head to groan.

“Damn.” Dare gave him a grin. “She is never hanging out with my wife.”

“The hell she isn’t. They’ll get along great.”

Dare laughed. “Man, Sorcha’s gonna love her.”

Ian ignored him. Sorcha, on the other hand, wasn’t getting within a mile of Andy. The ex-spy, maybe assassin, was wild. He’d heard she’d married, but still… Andy’s eyes met his. She dropped the two by four and raced for him. He had no idea where her gun was and he didn’t care. He caught her, biting off the painful groan as she connected with his bruises but held her as tight as he dared.

“Oh, Ian. I was so scared, so scared.” She was trembling so hard that she frightened him. He held her tighter, willing her to feel how strong he was.

She burst into tears, but he knew what to do now. He carried her off to the side so he could sit and hold her. Men came and took Devon away. More men came to check on Andy. They asked if they could give her something to calm her. She nodded and clung to him as she sipped whatever they’d brought her. She relaxed but didn’t loosen her hold on him. He didn’t either. When she was down to sniffles then a warm weight in his arms, he glanced up to see Casper sitting across from him.

Casper sighed. “This love shit is harder than it looks. How did you handle that without screwing up?”

“I love her. That’s how. I give her what she wants, what she needs.” And she gives me as much. More. Andy tightened her hold on his shirt—in her sleep, he knew—but he brushed a kiss to her temple.

Casper winced. “To cry?”

Ian nodded at his question. “If she needs to. She did good.”

“Hell, yeah.” Casper grinned. “She kicks ass, bro. You are one lucky man. But those tears?” He shook his head. “That shit makes me anxious, like I stepped into a room full of kittens.”

Ian shook his head. “It’s not that hard, Casper. Love her. That’s all. The rest becomes instinct.”

“Huh, well, you’d better get a ring, and this time, invite us, because she’s going to want a real wedding, bro. Brush up on your proposal skills, too.”

“We’re already married, dickhead.”

“Naw, you’re not. She’s Andy now, and you’re really Ian. Sorry, amigo. You’re not legally married. But don’t let that stop you from enjoying yourself. Call me when you have a date. Don’t mail me no stinking invitation. I never know where I’m going to be.”

Ian nodded, not at all sure he liked that he wasn’t married to his wife. Casper would know, though. He held a law degree. Andy murmured and shifted in his arms, opening her eyes to blink up at him.

“Hey, wildcat. How about we get out of this junkyard?”

A slow smile and kiss were his answer, but he knew. Soon enough, he’d have more of those, enough to last a lifetime.