Page 55 of Protect and Serve

He stared ahead; the taillights before him blurred. “She’s the woman I love, Henry. I don’t have to get her back. I need to.”

“Ah.”

Yeah. That said it all.

Or not.

Cody leaned forward, nearly smashing his nose against the perp grate, and clipped, “What did you say?” He frowned at Cade. “Did you hear what he said?”

“I heard what he said. He said he loves Claire.”

“You love Claire? Love her?”

Charlie frowned at him. “Yes. I love her.”

Cody blinked. He looked at Cade again, as though he just couldn’t wrap his mind around the idea. “He loves her? What do you think that means?”

Cade huffed a laugh. “I think it means he loves her.”

“As in loves her, loves her?”

“Probably. He did say he loved her. And he seemed pretty sincere.”

“But—”

“I love her,” Charlie snapped. “I am in love with her. Head over heels. I want her to be my wife. I want to see her face every morning when I wake up. I want her in my arms every night. I want a family with her, lots of children.” He paused, but only for a second because it looked like Cody was fixing to say something else, probably something stupid. “And most of all, I want her to move in with me. Into my house. I want her to sleep in my bed. Eat at my table. Destroy my kitchen.”

The brothers gaped at him. They exchanged a glance and, in tandem, they grinned.

“Well, okay then,” Cody said. “Let’s go get her.”

But there was no going to get her. When Charlie glanced at the GPS again, she was right there. His head shot up and he began scanning the cars ahead of them. His heart jerked when he saw a dusty black Ford in the next lane. “There.” He pointed. “Can you get closer so we can check the plates?”

Henry nodded and changed lanes, coming up behind the truck. Charlie’s stomach knotted when he recognized the license number, but not so much as it did when he saw a flash of light glint off Claire’s hair.

“It’s him,” he said, his teeth gritted. “And she’s in the cab too.”

“Be careful,” Cade said. “Don’t spook him.”

The last thing they needed was a high-speed chase with Claire at risk.

But apparently, having a cruiser behind him was enough to spook Dustin. He veered into the right lane and headed for the upcoming exit ramp.

Henry followed. He flicked on his lights before Dustin reached the ramp, but the truck didn’t pull over. Then again, Charlie didn’t expect it to. Not if Dustin was up to no good.

And he was.

He floored it.

The truck took off on the arterial and Henry pulled in behind him with his siren wailing. Because Dustin hadn’t pulled over, Henry was justified in calling for backup, so he did and got a response from troopers near Vega, Texas.

Charlie’s heart was in his throat as they followed the truck. He could see Claire’s form in the cab, but couldn’t make out her features until they passed a streetlamp and her face was illuminated in a flash.

Horror crawled through him when he realized there was duct tape on her mouth. It was validation that she was in peril, though he hardly needed it. His soul had known. “Faster,” he snapped.

Henry frowned. “They’re not going to get away, Charlie,” he said, “and we want to make sure Claire is safe.”

He snarled in frustration, but Henry was right. Dustin was heading straight for a roadblock, and they were in hot pursuit. Anything more might cause him to do something desperate. If Dustin did something desperate, Claire could be hurt…and he couldn’t bear that.