Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 54589 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 273(@200wpm)___ 218(@250wpm)___ 182(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54589 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 273(@200wpm)___ 218(@250wpm)___ 182(@300wpm)
“I don’t remember,” Gavin replies. “I’ve been inside for a couple happy hours, but the sign is either non-existent or too small to notice. But I know where I’m going. It’s in between a bank and a salad joint.”
I have no idea where he’s talking about, and that’s the only reason I’m not out that door right now, me, alone and charging down the street to rescue my woman. Everything inside me screams, run to Bella, get to Bella, and do it now, and yet somehow, I manage to allow Gavin to exit the store without me.
“Keep that mighty control of yours in place,” Dash orders. “We’re close to getting her back.” He doesn’t wait for my reply. He turns and exits the door, and I don’t hesitate to follow.
I step outside to a low-hanging sun, and crowds that are dissipating and moving north, toward Broadway, where the bars and parties dominate after hours and weekends. Cutting right, I cross the street on a walkway and don’t stop until I’m on the opposite sidewalk, with Dash in my sights. I’ve been all about adrenaline the past two hours but it’s over the top now, a drug driving me forward, my energy barely contained. I’m coming out of my own skin.
Miraculously, my pace is even and intentionally slower than Dash’s, but it’s a mammoth effort not to throw caution to the wind and go rogue. I force myself to think, not react to the buzz of my energy. Dash is a former FBI agent. He’s faced-off with hitmen and killers. He knows what he’s doing, and he loves Bella. He’s not just her brother, he’s her best friend aside from me. That’s what makes what I have with Bella so unique to me. I can lust after her and still see her as a confidant. And now that I’m using my brain, not my emotions, I know that losing the control I’ve always known to be an asset isn’t in Bella’s favor.
Cool.
Calm
Calculated.
That’s how I get Bella back, and then I’ll make whoever did this pay the price and I won’t stop until they do.
I catch sight of Gavin, who seems to actually be on our side, though I’m not objective about anything right now. He appears to be helping, and how he handles himself right here and right now will go a long way in how I judge him as a friend or enemy.
My mind shoots right past my evaluation of Gavin and back to Bella, conjuring another flash of her this morning, how intensely she’d watched me sample the new coffee, how easily she’d lit up over my approval. I never knew how important those little things shared with someone else mattered. I never dreamt I could look forward to sharing coffee in the morning, choosing what we’re eating for dinner, or sex in the shower that ends with us laughing in bed…not until Bella. She has changed me. She has fulfilled me. But I swear to the good Lord above, that if she is taken from me, every part of me that is my father will go after those involved. I will not stop until they suffer.
Gavin stops in front of a building, and I spy the bank right next to it. I eye Dash, and he motions me to join him. I cross in between cars and fall into pace with him. At this point, Gavin walks away, just as directed. I glance at Dash. “Where are Dierk’s men?”
“I told them to stay close but stand down and be ready.”
“What about a back door?”
“I’m going to the rear,” he says. “You go in the front. They’ll expect you. They might not expect me.”
“Then I’m going in.” I start to move.
“Wait!” he barks out.
“On what?” I demand.
“Don’t reach for a weapon or overreact. I’ll be there. I’ll back you up.”
“I’ve got this.” I step around him and head for the door, the swooshing of my heart in my ears, energy pinging through my body.
Calm the fuck down, I mentally chide myself. Calm down.
Control.
I reach for the gold handle entry to the bar and yank the door open. I enter to find a room with a bar as the centerpiece and high-back booths lining the walls. At first glance, there is no one in the place, but the height of those booths and the way they wind the bar make that an impossible assumption.
A server walks in my direction. “Sit anywhere and I’ll be right with you.”
“I’m looking for a pretty blonde. I’m meeting her.”
“Oh, right. She’s in the very back booth.” She points to my right.
I’m already walking, my footsteps hitting the carpeted floor with the force of a furious man on a mission. I check every booth as I pass with no luck, turning a corner with one, two, and then the final third booth. It’s empty, and that realization is a punch in the gut, but there is an envelope that reads “Tyler” on the outside in Bella’s handwriting, perched in front of a drinking glass.