Page 97 of Coerced

He remained silent.

“You didn’t listen, motherfucker. I told you to leave her alone, and you didn’t fucking listen. This is going down. For you and everyone you work for. You should have listened. Now tell me where she is.”

Before he could respond, Banks was in my space. “I’ve got him, Pax. This floor is secure. Five men.”

I released my hold on Ronnie, shoving off him as I stood. Jesse and Damon were standing, ready to join me upto the second floor. With guns drawn, we ascended the stairs, crept down the hall and looked around corners into each room along the way. But I had a feeling from the moment we’d made it to the top stair that it was the closed door at the end of the hall that I’d find Aria.

Unfortunately, to keep things safe for her, myself, and my entire team, we had to make our approach the way we were. And it was a good thing we did, because just as we made it to the room right before the one with the closed door, the other guy who’d come to Aria’s house had jumped out with his gun. Damon’s hand caught his wrist, sending the barrel of the gun up as the man fired off a shot.

I checked inside the room as Jesse and Damon worked together to disarm and subdue the man. Nobody else was there.

And since nobody else came running in our direction after hearing that single gunshot, I was relatively certain we’d gotten all of them.

When I needed to unlock the closed door from the outside, I felt reassured I’d find Aria inside. I just didn’t know what state I’d find her in.

Needless to say, of all the thoughts I had about how I might find her, what I saw when I stepped inside wasn’t one of them.

When I opened the door, I first scanned the room for signs of anyone standing guard with a weapon. All was clear.

But then I took in the scene and wanted to kill someone.

Aria was sitting on the ground, her ankles and wrists bound. Judging by their looks and the resemblance to her,I could only assume the man and two other women in the room were her family members—dad, mom, and sister. None of them were tied up, and they weren’t doing anything to help her.

They stood there, unmoving and stunned to see me. Perhaps they were unsure who I was or who had been shot. I didn’t care what they thought of me.

I returned my attention to my girl. Her eyes locked on mine, and there was something I couldn’t quite read in her stare. For a few brief seconds, we didn’t say anything. But then it happened.

Aria burst into tears.

Instantly, I moved toward her and untied her ankles. As I moved to her wrists, she leaned her body into mine and sobbed. I took her weight, wanting to offer whatever comfort she needed while I worked on releasing her.

“You’re okay, Aria. I’ve got you.”

Her body shuddered with the deep breath she tried to take to settle herself.

“Are you hurt?” I asked.

She shook her head.

I lifted her in my arms, one arm around her back and the other beneath her knees. Then I stood, glared at her family, and walked out of the room, passing Jesse as I did.

“Is she okay?”

I gave him a nod. “Yeah. Her family is in there. She was tied up. They weren’t, and they weren’t helping her, either. Can you make sure they stay where they are until I can get a handle on this?”

“You got it.”

By the time I got downstairs, the last of the five menwas being cuffed by Hart. Banks was on the phone, likely making a call to the police. Kane moved in my direction.

“All good?”

“Yeah. There’s one guy upstairs. Damon’s got him. Is Banks on with the police?”

“Yeah.”

“Good. I’m taking her out of here for a few minutes. We’ll be back in when it’s necessary.”

“You’re good, Pax. Go.”