“She’s been out there long enough, hypothermia’s probably already set in. That will slow her heart rate, causing less blood loss.”
The fact that they were now praying her body temperature had dropped low enough to slow her heart told Grant just how dire the situation was.
Hold on, baby. I’m coming.
Grant’s legs moved even faster, as though he was running for his life. In a lot of ways, he was.
He couldn’t lose her. Not now. He’d finally opened himself up again, and it was all thanks to her.
After what felt like an eternity, Grant threw open the door leading into the parking garage. Running at full speed, he didn’t bother to wait for the others as he made his way up the ramp.
Following the same path Downing had taken, he went left. His mind raced to remember the cars he’d seen on the footage.
“Brynnon!” he screamed. “We’re here, baby. Where are you?”
Ignoring the cold, night air, he screamed her name again, pleading for her to call out for him. The only thing he got in return was the sound of the bitter wind.
“Here.” Derek heaved a breath from behind him. When Grant looked over, he realized his teammate had brought the laptop with him.
“You really are a genius.”
Derek pulled up the frame where Martin started dragging Brynnon out of the camera’s viewpoint. “Remind me later to make a huge fuckin’ deal about the compliment.”
They studied the frozen image, committing to memory the cars surrounding Downing and Brynnon. Almost simultaneously, they began scanning the parking lot in search for those same vehicles.
Coop pointed to a red car several spaces down from where they stood. “That’s the Honda on the screen!”
Grant looked back to the computer, and sure enough, that same car, along with the ones parked beside it, were those Downing had passed.
“Let’s go!”
About that time, four security guards came running up behind them. Having already been filled in on the basics, Coop quickly explained they were searching for Brynnon.
The group of men ran against the wind, yelling out as loud as their lungs would allow. With every second that passed, Grant grew closer and closer to a complete fucking meltdown.
“Spread out!” he ordered roughly, desperate to find his woman. His knees nearly buckled as an unimaginable thought hit.
This whole time they’d been assuming she was still alive. But what if...
No!He couldn’t start down that path. Grant knew in his heart—one he’d only recently discovered he still had, thanks to her—Brynnon was still alive.
Along with her father, the three R.I.S.C. operatives searched between the cars and beside the building. They hollered her name, Grant praying he’d hear her voice calling for him. But, he didn’t.
Claws of doubt began digging their way into his core, and he was about to give up hope when Coop shouted, “I found her!”
Grant swung his head up to see his teammate standing in the shadows between two cars. Coop was waving his arms and yelling, “Over here! Hurry!”
Moving faster than he ever thought possible, Grant took off in that direction. His heart stopped when he saw her.
With Coop squatted next to her, Brynnon was lying face down on the ground. And she wasn’t moving.
His teammate’s tormented eyes flew up to his. “She has a pulse, but barely. We’ve got to get her inside.”
Grant all but pushed Coop out of the way. A strange, guttural sound escaped his chest as he saw where she’d been shot.
Kneeling down next to her, he lifted the hem of her shirt. The blood-soaked material stuck to her skin as he slowly peeled it up and away from the wound.
Grant closed his eyes, allowing himself only a second to fight off the consuming rage within before putting the shirt back down.
