Liam woke to the sound of Jagger’s excited voice. Blinking his lids open, he squinted against the pounding in his head and tried like hell to remember what had happened.
“Thank God,” another relieved voice reached his ears.
“Yeah, look. He’s opening his eyes.”
His teammates’ faces came into view as Liam continued blinking to clear his vision. Jagger, Christian, and Brody hovered nearby as someone pulled at something on his arm. He looked that way and realized only then that he was being treated by a pair of paramedics.
What the hell?
Like a slingshot forcing the recent memories to the forefront of his mind. In rapid succession, Liam began to recall the events that had led up to this moment.
He’d been in the bedroom, double-checking the contents of his go bag when he’d heard the loud noise from the front of the house. A beat later, he’d heard Allison’s scream.
Liam had grabbed his pistol and raced her way just as that fucker punched her in the side of the head. He’d wanted to kill the man right then and there. He’d even started to lift his gun.
His mistake came in his rush to get to Allison while also trying to keep Maddie safe. Liam had spotted the gun pointed back at him half-a-second too late. He’d turned his head at the very last second, causing the bullet to graze him, rather than piercing his brain.
“You’re damn lucky to be alive.”
Yeah, he sure as hell was. But what about?—
“Allison and Maddie?” He shot his teammates a panicked stare as his thoughts finally began to clear. His eyes felt like they were about to pop out of his head as he scanned his living room to see if they were there.
“Maddie’s at my place with Megan and Ro,” Christian informed him. “Cade and Rocky are there, too, just in case.”
“And Allison?” Hope raced through his veins. “Is she there, too?”
The other three men shared a look that said it all. Allison wasn’t at Christians. She also wasn’t here. Which meant either Tommy took or, or she was already?—
“She’s gone, man.” Brody’s dark stare was almost as black as the beard covering the man’s hardened jaw. “He took her.”
It wasn’t close to being good news, but it was far better than the alternative.
“But she’s alive?” he asked, praying they had some sort of confirmation.
“She was when they left here.” Jagger shoved his hands into his front pockets. “And you know as well as I do, if he wanted her dead…”
She’d still be here.
“We have to find her.” Liam pushed himself up to his feet. His legs felt weak a shit, and the room was spinning.
“Easy, brother.” Jagger put a supportive hand to his shoulder. “We need to get you to a hospital.”
“I don’t need a fucking hospital, I need to get my gun.”
Christian shot back with a stern, “You’ve got a concussion and need to sit your ass down.”
Liam glared back at his teammate and friend. “Like you stood down when Megan was in trouble?”
It was a cheap shot, and one he knew he’d later regret. But right now, all he could think of was getting to Allison before it was too late.
Liam’s phone began to ring, and he reached to his back pocket in hope that Allison had somehow managed to get her hands on a phone. Disappointment was crushing when he saw Knox’s name instead.
“He took her,” was the only greeting he gave the other man. “Gallo busted into my house, shot me, and then the son of a bitch took Allison with him when he left.”
“The kid?” Knox’s first thought was of Maddie.
“She’s safe.”
