When we found her father, it would all be over. I knew Jeffrey would put his foot down and though Ellie will want to stand up for me, she will crumble. With her mother gone, Jeffrey would be all she had left, and I was pretty sure if I saved the man’s life, Jeffrey will still want me dead.
I checked my mirrors and switched lanes as I sped toward the address. About a block away from our destination, I pulled over behind Grim’s truck. My friend climbed out, hurried over and climbed into the backseat of mine. He reached over to tap Ellie on the shoulder in greeting then cleared his throat.
“There’s movement inside.” He reported. “Nothing’s parked out front. I’m guessing they’re hiding them in the garage.”
“Makes sense.” I looked in the direction of the house. “By now, I’m pretty sure it’s reached Otis we’ve been knocking down his doors.”
“Well, Maia was saying he might make a run for the airport or a private plane.” Grim told us.
“I can see that.” Ellie spoke up. “What’s the plan now?”
“The plan?” I turned to look over at her. “We go in and try finding your father.”
Ellie
Lover Tarek was starklydifferent than soldier or even US Marshal Tarek. The latter two terrified me. The look in his eyes made me want to hide, even as he did something to his gun and slammed the butt of it into his palm. The weapon clicked and he shoved it into his holster.
“Okay.” Tarek said. “Ellie—you should come with us. If your father is in there, he won’t want to see me.”
I knew Grim wanted to ask me questions, but he climbed out of the backseat. We inched closer to the house and my heart wanted to jump out of my chest. Still, I walked between Grim and Tarek.
Entering the property wasn’t easy. I could see the beast raging through Tarek’s body. I chewed on the inside of my cheeks as he stopped suddenly causing me to crash into his back. He didn’t even look back—Instead, he peeked around the corner quickly then drew back to motioned to Grim. To my surprise, Grim merely nodded and took off toward the other side of the building.
I didn’t like that—I didn’t want him out of my sight. We had to bring him home. Him leaving meant he could get hurt—Grim could get hurt and then Tarek and Maia would have another reason to hate me.
My heart raced harder, louder and I swallowed the lump in my throat, trying to stop it. Tarek pulled his gun as he seemed to be counting down inside his head. Tarek took a good look at me, peered around the corner then drew in once more.
“Shit.” He swore. “Stay here.”
All I wanted to do was cling to him. I didn’t want him to leave me there. Still, I mustered up enough courage to lift my chin and met his eyes. Tarek inhaled, lifted his gun and stepped around the corner. He fired once then twice, and the air erupted in a boom that threatened to drive me mad. I fought the urge to cover my ears. Tarek motioned for me to go with him.
It was freaky stepping over dead bodies. I wanted to throw up but now wasn’t the time to be a coward. As I moved to step over one body, someone grabbed my foot. The fear curled my insides as my heart threatened to leap from my chest. Panicking, I turned and dropped the heel of my free leg into the man’s face.
He grunted.
Tarek went Rambo and stepped on his arm while aiming the gun at the man’s face. “Let—go.”
The man’s hand slipped from my ankle and I moved to stand behind Tarek. The roar of Tarek’s gun told me the man was dead, and I couldn’t even cry. I didn’t like people dying around me, but I get it—it was either him or us and I chose us.
I didn’t look back.
The sound of another gun went off and was answered by one more. “Grim…”
“He’ll be okay.” Tarek said as he drew me in through a back door.
I followed him, daze while trying to remain strong. We went through one room after another. Men with guns popped out of dark corners and after a while I felt safe. Tarek was like a dump truck, out of control and careening down a hill. From somewhere else in the structure we could hear Grim going through as well.
When we finally met up, there was one room left. I stood to the side and watched as Tarek and Grim entered the dimply lit space like superheroes. When they called me, I stepped in to find my father tied to a chair with a soft beeping sound echoing in the silence. I mean to run to him but Grim caught my arm to hold me back.
Tarek put his gun away and approached my father. My dad didn’t look so good. His eyes were swollen close, his lips were battered and bruised. The beeping continued but I wasn’t paying it any attention. I wanted to check on my dad, to feel his pulse.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. “Is he dead?”
Tarek reached for my father’s neck and shook his head. “He has a pulse.”
“So, what’s the problem?” I pushed.
Tarek didn’t answer. Instead, he walked behind my father and his face fell.
