Page 36 of Saving Scarlett
“Well done, boys,” he said, as they shoved me to my knees in the mud before him. “You’ve brought me quite the prize.”
“Who are you?” Twisting in their grip, I lifted my chin, glaring daggers up at him through my sodden hair. “What do you want from me?”
He crouched down, grasping my chin with his ringed fingers. “You, my dear, are worth a lot to some very important people.” He shrugged, lifting my chin more. “You are a very nice bargaining chip to have in my pocket.”
My heart pounding hard enough for him to hear it, I wrenched my head from his grasp. I had to get away somehow. For Bane. For Ethan.
“Bargaining chip for what?” My question fell on deaf ears as the man running the show straightened, all pretense of civility gone.
“Take her back to headquarters,” he barked, sauntering toward one of the vehicles.
As they dragged me to my feet, he added, “And if she causes trouble, don’t hesitate to punish her.”
Bile rising into my throat, I swallowed hard, my mind racing. There was no way I would go without a fight, but I had no weapons.
“Let go of me!”
Balling my hands into fists, I tried to fight my way free, but they were too strong. Dragging me to the SUV, the two men forced me inside one of the vehicles and kicked the door closed, tires spinning in the mud as we sped away from the clearing. The separation from Bane was like tearing out my heart, the physical pain more crippling the farther we drove away from the forest. His strength was like a living thing, pulsing in my blood and bones, lending me his power. I strained against the seatbelt, but they were too well-armed to fight them with my bare hands.
Bane would come for me. I could feel it in my soul—and when he did—we would make them pay for what they’d done. I steeled my resolve, knowing I would survive, and when I did, I would find my way to him, and together, we would show them what it meant to test the strength of our bond.
Chapter 32
The Savior
Iawoke with a start, my head throbbing, unsure how long I’d been out. The dim light of the moon filtering through the broken windows did little to illuminate the destroyed cabin, but I could see blood and bullet holes covering nearly every surface in the light it provided. Blinking, I tried to clear the fog from my mind. It took me a moment to realize what had happened, but then it all came flooding back—the ambush, the fight, and Scarlett’s scream as they dragged her away. Scarlett! My heart seized with panic and I bolted upright, ignoring the pain and wave of dizziness that washed over me.
Nothing mattered but finding her. I couldn’t let anything happen to her, not after everything we’d been through together. I loved her. There was no doubt, as scary as that was.
The creaking floorboards protested as I hauled myself to my feet. Blood dripped from my busted lip, leaving a coppery tang in my mouth. I didn’t have time to tend to my own injuries—Scarlett needed me. The bullet wound in my shoulder throbbed, but it had been a clean shot, so I didn’t have to dig the bullet out. A small mercy. Still, it would need bandages and antibiotics. Both of which I had at my cottage. I wrapped my shirt around the wound as I walked around the room and gathered my things.
Wasting not a second longer, I slipped a knife into my boot and tucked my gun into the back of my jeans. Fire surged through my veins with my need to get to Scarlett, but I had to be smart about my next moves, which wouldn’t be easy since I had no idea who’d even attacked us. Rushing in without a plan would only get us both killed, but every minute I delayed was another minute she spent in their clutches.
No matter who they were, the cabin wouldn’t provide any answers. I needed to get back to the city, see what my contacts knew about the Mob’s movements. With any luck, I could pick up my Little Red’s trail before they got too far.
I couldn’t fail her.
Gripping my bag, I strode out the door and into the shadowed forest, leaving the cabin in flames behind me. If I had to burn the entire world down, I would find her, and gods help anyone who stood in my way.
After searching the immediate area for tire tracks or any trace of her and finding none, I headed in the direction of my cottage. With fractured ribs and untold other injuries, it was not an easy trek as I moved through the forest on silent feet, senses on high alert. The trees were dense there, branches clawing at my skin as I slipped between their gnarled trunks. It would have been easy for someone to hide amongst the shadows, waiting to ambush me, so I couldn’t let my guard down, not even for a second. Letting my guard down in the cabin the night before had gotten us attacked—it had gotten her taken.
With worry and anger warring within me, I clenched my teeth until my jaw hurt and picked up my pace to a near jog, the gloomy forest matching my mood. I should never have let my guard down and given into my desires. I’d failed her, and now she was paying the price.
Although my phone had survived the river, I didn’t chance using it as I traversed the forest, not that I would have had the signal to do so. With the Mob finding us in the middle of nowhere, I couldn’t take the chance that they’d somehow cracked into that device. I had other burners at the cottage, so I intended to contact Phantom once I had a new one. I’d worked with Phantom long enough to know he wouldn’t double cross me, but it was possible that whoever had found us had their own team of skilled hackers who’d beaten us at our own game. The thought pissed me off.
As I walked, my fingers brushed over the hilt of my knife, taking comfort in its solid presence. The assholes who took Scarlett had no idea who they were dealing with. I hadn’t built my reputation as one of the most dangerous men in the city by being careless or squeamish. People may have not known my name, but they knew my work, and I couldn’t wait to teach each one of them a very valuable lesson for stealing my girl.
The trees began to thin as I got closer to my cottage, so I slowed my pace to make sure none of the intruders had lingered. If I was lucky, they’d taken for granted that I was dead, that they no longer had to worry about me coming for her, and I would catch them when they were least expecting it. Then, when I finally found the men who had taken her, I would show no mercy. They would regret the day they ever crossed me. I would make sure of it.
Crouching in the bushes, I watched my cottage for several moments, making sure no one had stayed behind on my property.
When I was sure the coast was clear, I left the cover of the forest and darted across the yard, sliding into the basement entrance. As soon as I was inside my cottage, I moved in the shadows, making sure it was empty before going into my bedroom.
Opening the hidden compartment in my closet, I opened the safe and pulled out a backup burner phone, weapons, and an extra laptop, filling my bags with everything I needed. With the worst of my wounds cleaned and bandaged, and the first aid kit in my hand, I headed back outside, setting the security system before securing the door.
I scanned the area as I ran to the barn on the back of the property. Even with the pain stabbing and throbbing in every part of my body, I wasted no time climbing into my car and leaving the Alabama mountains in the rearview mirror, heading back toward New Orleans. The pain would only serve as more fuel to find her and kill them.
With six hours of road still in front of me in the dead of the night, I pulled out the burner phone on the seat beside me and dialed Phantom’s number, his voice coming through on the first ring. “Hey Boss, I’ve been waitin’ to hear from ya. Everything okay?”