He was just about to cut her hair when the door burst open. Someone stumbled in, running into the jerk right as he closed the scissors. The pain from him pulling her hair was gone because he’d chopped off the small amount of length from the strands he caught. Then the jerk ran into her, his elbow clipping her right in her cheek.
She cried out and her hands flew to her cheek before she felt back against the wall. It took a moment for her to realized Griz was there, punching the jerk in the face.
It only took two more punches and then the jerk dropped to the ground. Griz’s shoulders rose and fell as he stared down at the man on the ground. It took a few seconds before Griz turned to her, danger flashing in his eyes until he locked in with her and his gaze softened.
“Elowen,” he breathed out on a sigh.
He wrapped the sheet around her then picked her up, carrying her out the door he’d entered through. They were outside, she was free. Freedom felt good and Griz was there. Maybe she was hallucinating, but it didn’t feel like she was horribly drugged still.
She turned to look the way they were going. Then she saw someone in front of them, pointing a gun at them. Fear blasted, and she screamed.
Griz hadher in his arms, and they’d escaped. When he saw sky above him, he knew they were free. He couldn’t be happy yet. He didn’t know how bad it had been for Elowen, celebrating seemed premature.
They’d made it to the edge of the jerk’s yard when Thario pulled his gun. For a second Griz thought it was aimed at him, then he realized Thario had someone behind him in his sights. He couldn’t look back, or he’d riskit all. He just had to hope Thario had kept up his target practice and didn’t miss.
“Put down your gun.” The voice boomed through the neighborhood, making Griz cringe.
Thario didn’t budge as Griz ran past him. He didn’t hear any shots, which sent a huge load of relief through him.
Frog had been put up in Thario’s vehicle and wasn’t happy. But Griz was more worried about Elowen.
There was an ambulance, and he moved to the guys standing at the back, looking like they were ready to hop into action.
“What happened?” the EMT asked.
“She was held captive. I don’t know what happened.”
“Okay, put her on the stretcher.”
He gently set her down and stepped back only enough for the guys to get to work making sure she didn’t need immediate medical treatment. He listened, and learned that she probably had a concussion, but she kept mentioning the hack job the guy had done to her hair.
The paramedic was good and told her they could easily find someone to shape up her hair who would make it look good. Her hair was short, just a few inches long, so it would have to be cut shorter, but she was alive, and that was what mattered. He blew out a breath in relief and felt great until the detective showed up.
The man pulled Griz away from the ambulance, his lips down in a frown. “That could have gone badly.”
“Yes, but it didn’t.”
“Fuck, you military—you’re lucky you were able to overpower him. And you’re lucky he kept trophies of all the women he abducted and that I was smart enough to get an open warrant on the man’s house, so everything will be admissible in court. Also, his mother was drugged and ison the way to the hospital. We can prosecute him and will probably get a guilty verdict.”
“Do you think he will get bail?”
“No way. There’s too much evidence. He won’t breathe free air ever again. Without even really investigating, I found enough stuff to tie him to Gracie Bennet. He will go down for her murder.”
Griz gripped his chin and pulled on his beard, relief mixing with the worry still boiling inside. “I need to get back to her.”
“You’re lucky. Don’t ever do that again.”
He held the detective’s gaze as he spoke. “If she’s ever in danger again, I won’t hesitate to save her, because she is my world, and life would be nothing without her.”
He made his way back to the ambulance. On the way he saw that Thario had let Frog out. The dog must have forgiven him for tricking him to get into the car. Frog was a good dog, and he hated the idea of what would happen once Frog died. Thario and that dog were perfect for each other, he just hoped Thario had someone else in his life before Frog grew too old to stay with him.
Chapter 37
Elowen startled awake.She sat up, seeing Griz beside the bed. He stood and reached for her hand.
“Hey, you’re in the hospital.”
His words surprised her. She blinked as she glanced around, noticing the monitors she hadn’t seen before. “What?” She rubbed her face, trying to remember. “Oh God, you saved me.”
