Ciara kisses me back, opening her mouth and surrendering herself as everything else falls away until it’s just me and her.
When I finally pull back, the fear I felt at losing her gives way to the anger that has been simmering just beneath the surface ever since I found out she snuck out of the house when I specifically told her to stay put.
“What the hell were you thinking? You could have been killed. When the call cut out?—”
I drag a hand through my hair, trying to stop myself from completely losing my shit at her. “I thought you were fucking dead, Ciara. Do you have any idea what that felt like?”
She opens her mouth, no doubt to apologize, but I don’t want to hear it right now. I’m too damn pissed to think straight.
I want to shake her for being so reckless. She has no idea how close she came to leaving this warehouse in a body bag, and that reality has a cold sweat breaking out on the back of my neck. But despite that, I can’t deny that part of me is fiercely proud of what she did to save her friend.
She’s braver than anyone I know.Stupidlybrave, but brave all the same.
I exhale slowly as I reach out to cup her cheek, stroking my thumb over her soft skin before turning my attention to Mila.
“Are you okay?” I drop to my knees in front of her and work to undo the rope around her ankles.
I glance up and see Mila’s eyes fixed on her kidnapper, at the blood that is slowly staining the floor red.
“He’s not going to hurt you,” I assure her as I pull the rope free.
There are angry red burn marks on her ankles from the rope, which makes my stomach turn.
She should never have been caught up in this, and it’s thanks to Ciara that she’s walking out of here alive.
I work quickly to untie the rope from around Mila’s wrists, and when she’s finally free, her body sags, and I have to wrap an arm around her waist before she slides off the chair and hits the floor.
“Mila.” Ciara clings to her friend. “Oh, god.”
“Brennan, I’m taking the girls to the hospital,” I state as I take the brunt of Mila’s weight. “Don’t take your eyes off of him, do you hear me?”
“Don’t worry, he’s not going anywhere.” My brother lands a swift kick to his ribs.
The guy groans as he fights to stay conscious.
I turn to Mila. “Can you walk?”
She nods, her dark hair limp around her face as she gingerly takes a step. She’s weak, no doubt from dehydration, which is exactly why I want to take her straight to the hospital to get checked out.
Keeping an arm around Mila’s waist, I lead the girls back outside into the cold, frigid air.
She leans into me, her steps sluggish and uneven, but I don’t want to overstep by hauling her into my arms. So, I settle fortaking as much of her weight as I can until we reach the waiting SUV.
I help her into the backseat, and Ciara climbs in beside her, her hand never loosening its hold on Mila’s.
Once the girls are buckled in, I slide into the driver’s seat and start the engine. I’m quiet as I pull away from the warehouse and head back toward the city, not trusting myself to speak, because every time I look at Ciara through the rearview mirror, I see her stepping into that warehouse alone. I see the gun in her hands. I see the possibility, the terrifying, gut-wrenching possibility, of losing her.
And Mila.
I glance at her now.
She’s staring blankly out the window, her hands trembling in her lap and her lips parted slightly like she’s still trying to process where she is. The poor girl is clearly in shock, not just from what happened to her, but perhaps from what she witnessed.
“Mila.” I keep my tone even and non-threatening. “What did you see?”
Ciara glares at me in the mirror. “She’s not talking about that right now.”
“She might know something?—”
