I looked at my niece and sighed. “I don’t need his help.”
“Well, you’ll get it anyway. I heard everything, Uncle Luke, even the part about my dad and Cruella…” she motioned to where Audrey sat silently, “… and I asked him to do the right thing for once.”
“I know where she is being held.”
I wanted to be proud, turn him away, and go at it on my own, but I was also not stupid.
“Drop Randy off at home, Audrey,” I said, not looking at her.
“Let’s go,” I growled at my brother. “This doesn’t change anything. This, Seth, is your penance.”
We pulled up at an abandoned warehouse after driving five hours straight. We didn’t talk to each other. There was nothing to say. The man sitting next to me was not my brother. I didn’t need excuses. There were none that would make sense, but things started falling into place.
The way they sometimes looked nervous around each other, the way he was so adamant I not marry her. I should have seen it. I always thought they had a thing for each other back in college, but I ignored it. Enthralled by her beauty and charisma, I fell hard and fast.
Seth cocked his gun, a hand over his lips, and I followed suit. We went around the back of the warehouse. He’d told me there were three guards at a maximum when he’d last been here. My blood boiled to think he’d gone along with this.
I’d asked him whether he knew what they were dealing with, and he winced when I shared the fact that these were low-life human traffickers. They were kidnapping, raping, and selling girls Miranda’s age. I knew he had no idea about any of it, but I took some pleasure in making him cringe.
He went ahead and beckoned for me to follow. We got to a small door with a lock on it, and he pressed his head to the wall and listened. Seth pulled out a wire and started fiddling with the lock, and after a few minutes, it gave in. I remembered how good he used to be at picking locks, even at a young age.
My father always said I was the cop and he was the robber. How profound a statement considering what Seth did to me. I wanted to hate him so much, but it just hurt. Audrey was not the woman I loved. That woman was behind these walls, but she was at one time, and Seth didn’t respect that.
I needed to keep my head in the game.
We rushed into the warehouse, uncertain what to expect, guns drawn, and be ready to shoot down anyone who got between Alyssa and me. I spotted her in the middle of the warehouse, alone.
Light from a window overhead cast light on her crouched form.
I ran and kneeled next to her. “Alyssa, baby, can you hear me?” She opened her beautiful eyes, and when they found mine, she let out an excruciating howl. I untied her and wrapped my arms around her.
“He said you were dead.” She sobbed when she’d managed to get the words out.
“Nothing could keep me away,” I whispered.
I sat her up against the wall, and Seth approached with a blanket and water.
“It’s water…” he assured me, “… from the kitchen.”
She took desperate gulps, and I wanted to kill Gregory for what he’d done.
Someone clapped in the darkness.
“Bravo, a heart-wrenching performance. The valiant knight saves his princess.”
She shivered in my arms.
“You’ll be okay. Nobody can take you from me, remember?” I whispered, meaning every word.
She nodded.
Seth stood in front of us. “Don’t come any closer!” he shouted in a shaky voice. A shot rang out, causing her to cover her ears.
My brother fell before us and curled up in pain. I wasn’t sure where he’d been shot.
I reached out to him. “Seth.”
“Stay with her,” he croaked.
