Page 22 of Dirty Little Vow

“I recognized the location that picture of Bella was taken in,” Gavin chimes in to explain, as if I wasn’t about to plant my fist in his face fifteen minutes ago. The man is nothing if not resilient. “Really a picture on the back wall. If she’d been angled another direction, I’d have never figured it out.”

“Which wasn’t an accident. That picture on the wall wasn’t in the first photo. That’s because they didn’t want us to find them, but now they do. Our tech guys can do image searches and find a place of just that much. They know that, whoever the fuck they are. Which could mean all kinds of things, and not many of them are good. Dierk’s men are meeting us there.” He motions to Gavin. “You stay. We don’t need you getting shot and then suing us.”

“If I sue you, I lose my job,” Gavin replies. “That’s not on the agenda. I’m not staying behind. I know the exact location. Do you?”

Dash’s lips thin. “When we get there, you stay outside.” He eyes us both. “We walk. Don’t run, and that means you, Tyler. I know you want to get her back and so do I, but if we spook them, they’ll flee with her or worse, kill her.”

“Stop suggesting they’ll kill her.” I glance between them. “Both of you.”

“You think I want to hear that any more than you?” Dash snaps back. “But it’s reality.”

“We need to move,” I say and reach for the door.

He catches my arm. “Wait. Listen to me.”

“Get your hands off me, Dash, or I swear to God, I will flatten you. I’m hanging on by a thread here.”

“Hang on tighter andjust wait.” His hand falls away from my arm and not a second too soon. “They expect us,” he adds. “If we walk together, we draw attention we don’t want. Gavin leads the way. I’ll fall back and follow him. Tyler, you’re on the opposite side of the street.” He glances toward Gavin. “When you reach the destination stop at the door and pretend to change your mind and walk onward. Are we on the same page?”

Gavin nods, while I’m repeating in my head, “They’ll flee with her or worse, kill her.”“What’s the name of the bar?” I ask.

“I don’t remember,” Gavin replies. “I’ve been inside for a couple happy hours, but the sign is either non-existent or too small to notice. But I know where I’m going. It’s in between a bank and a salad joint.”

I have no idea where he’s talking about, and that’s the only reason I’m not out that door right now, me, alone and charging down the street to rescue my woman. Everything inside me screams,run to Bella, get to Bella, and do it now, and yet somehow, I manage to allow Gavin to exit the store without me.

“Keep that mighty control of yours in place,” Dash orders. “We’re close to getting her back.” He doesn’t wait for my reply. He turns and exits the door, and I don’t hesitate to follow.

I step outside to a low-hanging sun, and crowds that are dissipating and moving north, toward Broadway, where the bars and parties dominate after hours and weekends. Cutting right, I cross the street on a walkway and don’t stop until I’m on the opposite sidewalk, with Dash in my sights. I’ve been all about adrenaline the past two hours but it’s over the top now, a drug driving me forward, my energy barely contained. I’m coming out of my own skin.

Miraculously, my pace is even and intentionally slower than Dash’s, but it’s a mammoth effort not to throw caution to the wind and go rogue. I force myself to think, not react to the buzz of my energy. Dash is a former FBI agent. He’s faced-off with hitmen and killers. He knows what he’s doing, and he loves Bella. He’s not just her brother, he’s her best friend aside from me. That’s what makes what I have with Bella so unique to me. I can lust after her and still see her as a confidant. And now that I’m using my brain, not my emotions, I know that losing the control I’ve always known to be an asset isn’t in Bella’s favor.

Cool.

Calm

Calculated.

That’s how I get Bella back, and then I’ll make whoever did this pay the price and I won’t stop until they do.

I catch sight of Gavin, who seems to actually be on our side, though I’m not objective about anything right now. He appears to be helping, and how he handles himself right here and right now will go a long way in how I judge him as a friend or enemy.

My mind shoots right past my evaluation of Gavin and back to Bella, conjuring another flash of her this morning, how intensely she’d watched me sample the new coffee, how easily she’d lit up over my approval. I never knew how important those little things shared with someone else mattered. I never dreamt I could look forward to sharing coffee in the morning, choosing what we’re eating for dinner, or sex in the shower that ends with us laughing in bed…not until Bella. She has changed me. She has fulfilled me. But I swear to the good Lord above, that if she is taken from me, every part of me that is my father will go after those involved. I will not stop until they suffer.

Gavin stops in front of a building, and I spy the bank right next to it. I eye Dash, and he motions me to join him. I cross in between cars and fall into pace with him. At this point, Gavin walks away, just as directed. I glance at Dash. “Where are Dierk’s men?”

“I told them to stay close but stand down and be ready.”

“What about a back door?”

“I’m going to the rear,” he says. “You go in the front. They’ll expect you. They might not expect me.”

“Then I’m going in.” I start to move.

“Wait!” he barks out.

“On what?” I demand.

“Don’t reach for a weapon or overreact. I’ll be there. I’ll back you up.”