I ran for the door, nearly stumbling over a bulge in the carpeting at the doorway. Was Colin behind me? I had no idea. I cared…but at the same time I didn’t.
One thought and one thought only permeated every membrane of my body.
Get. The. Hell. Out. Of. Here.
And that was what I did.
I ran.
I ran back through the kitchen.
Through the living area where I’d been when I’d woken up here.
Out the door.
Into the darkness.
I opened my mouth to scream, but nothing came out.
Still I ran.
And ran.
And—
Until the breath was knocked out of me by the force of a mountain in my way.
“No!” I yelled.
Massive arms wrapped around me, forcing me to stop in my tracks.
“Let me go! Let me go!” Tears welled in my eyes as I drummed my fist against the hardness of the mountain holding me. “Let me go! Let me go!”
“Easy, honey.” Strong fingers stroked my hair. “Easy. It’s me.”
I inhaled.
The sweet scent of familiarity.
The sweet scent of the man I loved.
All the tears I’d held back since I’d been taken gushed out of me. Crying was for girls, I’d always said, growing up with three older brothers.
I used tears sparingly.
Not this time. This time, I let them out. Let them flow. Let them flow onto Bryce’s chest and shoulders.
He kissed the top of my head. “Thank God,” he murmured. “Thank God.”
I let myself weep for several minutes unchecked.
Bryce held me. Simply held me and let me break down. I reveled in it for these few minutes, let myself go, until I knew it was time to gain my composure. I didn’t know where Colin was, and Alex was inside the mobile home bleeding to death.
I gulped down my last sob and wiped my face on Bryce’s shirt. “It’s you. It’s really you.”
“I’ll always come after you,” he said, stroking my hair, which had to be a ratty mess by now. “Always.”
A few more seconds of gentleness passed.
“You okay?” he asked.
What a loaded question. I was far from okay. I’d been drugged and abducted. But I hadn’t been beaten or raped. I nodded into his chest.
“Hey,” Bryce said.
I moved my head to look around. Colin was behind me.
“They didn’t hurt us,” he said. “Other than drugging us and taking us. They actually fed us and everything.”
Colin seemed coolly fine for someone who’d just slit a woman’s throat. Not that Alex didn’t deserve it, but still.
Or had he just recaptured his confidence? Done something to help himself when earlier he hadn’t been able to?
“The woman inside needs medical help,” he said to Bryce.
I nodded. I didn’t want to see Colin charged with involuntary manslaughter or anything. Was that possible? Jade would know.
“I already called 9-1-1 for a guy in another trailer. They’re on their way.” He stroked my cheek. “We found your mom.”
Sweet relief swept through me. “Is she okay?”
“She passed out. Talon got her to the truck.”
“Tal is here?”
“Yeah. Plus Ruby and Ryan.” Bryce tossed his phone to Colin. “Call 9-1-1 and tell them about the woman.”
Colin caught the phone easily—confidently—and made the call.
“I want to know everything,” Bryce said. “Every detail. But first we’re going to get you to a hospital. Both of you.”
“We’re okay,” I said.
“Not good enough. I want you checked out.”
“Bryce—”
“Nonnegotiable. Your brothers will agree with me.”
I nodded numbly. He was right. I had no idea what Dominic had injected me with. I’d go to the hospital.
Then I wanted to go home.
And put an end to this madness once and for all.
“By the way,” Bryce said, “you have a new nephew.”
I jerked. “What?”
“Melanie’s water broke earlier today. The baby’s small but doing well. He’s expected to be fine.”
“It’s my fault,” I said. “All the stress from my being taken must have made her go into labor.”
“Don’t take this on,” he said soothingly. “You didn’t ask for this, and the baby is doing fine.”
“Joe doesn’t know about you being here, does he?”
“He knows you were missing, but no. He doesn’t know about Colin’s message to Jade.”
“Thank God it worked.” I sighed.
Bryce gripped my shoulders and pushed me away slightly, meeting my gaze. The moonlight slid over his features. He looked both beautiful and insanely mad at the same time.
“Thank God,” he echoed. “I’m never letting you out of my sight again.”
Chapter Nineteen
Bryce
Marjorie.
I held on to her, relishing her body melded against mine. We fit together so perfectly, almost divinely, even like this.
I hadn’t let the fear overtake me while I searched for her, hadn’t let myself give in to the fear that threatened to consume me. No, I’d had to focus—focus enough to be able to use every bit of my muscle to kick in doors. For her.
But now? Holding her like this, letting her cry into me…
All the fear flew through me in retrospect.
I couldn’t let her go. Didn’t want to let her go. If I let her move away from my body, would I be able to protect her?
I’d meant what I said. I wanted her and Colin to go to a hospital to get checked out. Talon was probably already on the road with his mother. Had he checked in with Ryan and Ruby?
Colin still had my phone.
Even if I had it, I wasn’t sure I’d have let go of Marj to text them.
I wasn’t ready to let go just yet.
I might never be.
“All good,” Colin said. “They’re on their way.”
I nodded.
“Now what?” he asked.
“Go to my contacts. It’s a short list on this burner phone. Text Ry and Ruby and let them know I have you and Marj. Tell them Tal has Daphne as well. I’m not sure if he texted them.”
Colin nodded and began pecking at my phone.
And still I held on to Marj.
“I’m never letting you out of my sight again,” I said echoing myself. “Never again.”
I expected her spitfire personality to emerge and fight my words. But she didn’t. She just leaned into me. She was no longer bawling, only a sniffle now and then.
We stood, and even though clothing separated us, I felt like we were one body. Like we’d always be one body.
Ryan and Ruby found us, and though I spoke to them, told them what had occurred, it didn’t seem like me talking. The real me was glued to Marjorie.
Time moved slowly, and it seemed like hours before the police and ambulance showed up. Ruby took the lead with the police, and the paramedics brought the woman inside the unit out on a stretcher.
“Is she alive?” I heard Colin ask.
“She’ll be okay,” one of the medics said. “We got here in time. The other guy just has a flesh wound on his lower leg.”