The guests tonight were a mix of legitimate businessmen, and not-so-legitimate.
Cam heard more gunshots, the crowd panicking.
Fuck.
He ran into the party. Guests scattered and screams broke out. Cam fired a shot into the air, and people ran.
He spotted a soaking wet Saskia darting away from the pool.
The little fool was alive.
He charged toward her.
A guard in a suit ran at Cam. A lethal chill settled over him. These people were hurting women. Hurting Saskia.
A hard chop knocked the gun out of the man’s hand. Cam followed through with a wicked punch to the man’s gut, followed by an elbow to the guy’s face.
The guard dropped like a waterlogged coat.
Cam charged on. He couldn’t see Saskia anywhere.
Damn. Had a guard gotten to her?
Then he spotted a trail of water on the pavement. It headed straight into the grapevines.
He swiveled, and caught a glimpse of a guard charging into the vines after her.
Oh no, you fucking don’t.
Cam raced after the man, sprinting between the two long lines of vines.
Ahead, he heard a woman scream, and saw the shadow of a guard looming over a struggling Saskia in the darkness. Her dress was a pale blue on the dark ground.
“Let me go!” she yelled.
Cam came in hot.
He threw an arm over the guard’s head and pulled back hard against the man’s throat.
His arm dug in, and the man gagged. Cam dragged the man down, and a few hard hits had him slumping to the grass, moaning.
Cam straightened.
Saskia stared at him, her face pale and her lips parted.
Damn. She’d just watched him choke and beat a man unconscious. She must be terrified—
“Camden.” She leaped up and flew at him.
He caught her wet body and pulled her in tight.
God. She was alive and felt perfect against him.
“Cam. God, Cam. I prayed that you would find me.”
“I’ve been searching since the first time you called me.”
She made a sound, burrowing against him and he tightened his hold.
“I was so afraid.” She lifted her head and their gazes met in the faint light. She cupped his stubbled cheeks, went up on her toes, and kissed him.
He’d been holding back all his brewing feelings for this woman for months now.
At the touch of her soft lips, at the tiniest taste of her sweetness, something detonated inside him.
She was alive.
She was in his arms.
She was kissing him.
He deepened the kiss, pulling her harder against him. He stroked his tongue into her mouth.
She gasped against his lips and Cam slid a hand down, palming her ass through all the damp layers of her dress.
She made a needy sound, gripping his shirt.
The sound of more gunfire had Cam jerking back to reality and breaking the kiss.
Saskia shivered and he realized how cold she had to be.
He touched his ear. “Vander, I have her. We’re in the vines.”
“Acknowledged.” Vander’s clipped voice. “Guards are running. I’ve called in Hunt.”
The distant wail of sirens caught Cam’s ear.
“Mikhailov?” he asked.
At the name, Saskia jerked against him. He ran a hand down her back.
“We haven’t found him yet,” Vander said grimly.
“Find that scum, Vander, or I will.”
“Your priority is to keep Saskia safe.”
And he’d do that. No one was getting to her again.
She shivered and he pulled her closer.
“It’s going to be okay. Vander and the others will sort out the Russians. The police are on the way.”
“There are—” her teeth chattered “—other women in the house, Cam. God.” She pressed her face to his chest. “They drugged us, kidnapped us.”
“I know.” He rubbed a hand up and down her back. Her sense of safety and security had been shattered. He’d joined the Army to protect innocents back home. To make sure kids, families, regular people could have normal lives. To insulate them from evil.
It gutted him that Saskia hadn’t been safe in her own country.
If she was yours, you’d protect her.
Cam tried to block that dangerous voice in his head. If she was his, she’d see the darkness inside him.
It would kill him to see her look at him with horror in her eyes.
“Come on.” The sirens were louder now, and the gunfire had stopped.
As they neared the pool, he saw Siv leap up and kick a guard. She took the man down fast and a second later, had him pinned face down, his hands zip tied behind him.
Cam rubbed Saskia’s back. “We’ll wait here—”
A man charged through one of the grapevines. “The woman comes with me.”
He was an ugly brute, his accent thick, and he had a heavy scar on his neck.
Cam didn’t reply. The asshole pulled a knife. He didn’t want to give away their location by shooting. The hard glint in the man’s eyes said he knew how to use the blade.
Saskia gasped and Cam pushed her behind him.
The guard rushed him, his arm swinging.
Cam sidestepped, but the knife nicked him. Ignoring it, he lunged and landed a sharp jab to the man’s ribs. The guard grunted. Cam stepped close and hammered at the man’s elbow. He dropped the knife and cursed. He sloppily swung at Cam, and got lucky, hitting Cam’s side. It wasn’t a neat hit, but the guy had power. Cam blocked the pain, crouched, and grabbed the knife.
He narrowly avoided the guard’s kick and surged to his feet.
He buried the knife in the guard’s side with brutal efficiency.
The man made a gurgling sound and dropped.
“Saskia, you okay?” Cam quickly divested the man of his weapons and tossed them into the vines. “Saskia?”
“I’m okay,” she said quietly.
He helped her up. He saw that she was hanging on by a thread, but she was holding it together.
“I won’t let anyone hurt you,” he said.
Her lips trembled, her gaze on his face. “I know.”
Chapter Five
Saskia couldn’t stop shivering.
She was still damp, and the cool, night air wasn’t helping. She pulled the blanket someone had given her tighter around her body.
But thankfully Cam’s intense body heat was slowly warming her up.
They were sitting by the pool, police striding around everywhere. The guests had been corralled inside for questioning. Police officers were with the women.
Saskia was sitting on Cam’s lap on an outdoor chair, her face pressed against his neck. She shivered again and his arms tightened around her.
“How’s she doing?” a deep voice asked.
“She’s cold. She’s still wet and a little shocky.” Cam’s voice rumbled under her ear.
“I’m okay,” she whispered. She looked up at Hunt.
Her best friend’s man was good-looking, with a muscled body under his suit, and a rugged face. It was obvious that he and Cam were brothers, although Hunt looked very cop-like, while Cam had a harder, sharper edge.
“How are the other women?” she asked.
“They’re being questioned and taken care of.” Hunt blew out a breath. “Some of them have been here a while.” Anger vibrated through his voice.