“Oh,” she says a little disappointed. “My name is Breck, I’m new here.” She holds out her hand for me to shake.
I don’t. Instead, I just stare, her face so familiar to me.
Something tickles my throat. I cough, clearing it. “I’m Cade. Welcome to Madison.” My voice sounds formal, like I work for the damn welcome center.
Breck laughs. “It’s nice to meet you, Cade.” She sticks her hand out farther, undeterred that I didn’t take it the first time.
I look down at her outstretched hand and then back to her expectant face. Her lips strain to hold her smile and I know that if I don’t take her hand, this time it will crush her. And, I don’t want to seem like a dick. Unsteady, I reach for her hand, her smile ratcheting up into something more genuine. Her delicate fingers close around mine and she squeezes like I’m a family member that she hasn’t seen for a while. Like she truly is happy to know me.
I give Breck a timid smile before pulling my hand away. “It’s—” My phone rings, interrupting me. I look at Breck apologetically. “Excuse me.”
She nods, smiling, backing away to give me some privacy.
“Yeah.”
“Major.” Hayes’ voice is frantic.
I’m immediately on alert. “What happened?”
“He has her, sir.”
My stomach drops straight through my ass. I might puke right here on the fucking sidewalk in front of everyone. “What do you mean, ‘he has her’?” I already know who “he” is but I need to hear Hayes say it. I need to hear that I failed my team, again.
“Lou. He has Commander and Lawson in the barn. He’s armed.” Hayes chokes on the words, barely getting it all out.
I’m in the car before I even register what I’m doing. I vaguely think of Breck as I peel out of the square, jumping a curb when I take the corner too fast.
We let our guard down. Again. And Lou got her.
Fear is the only thing driving my truck right now. Fear has me speeding down Old Mill Road, skidding on the gravel of the driveway and barely putting it in park before leaping from the truck.
I’m fighting back nausea trying to think of what I need to do.
Call Theo. We need reinforcements.
“Major!” I’m up the steps, following Hayes’ voice into my office. The guys are huddled around the security monitors. They each bow their heads as I approach.
“How the fuck did he get in?” I question, my voice teetering on the brink of a meltdown, searching Hayes’ face for an answer.
He shrugs, unsure of what went down as he moves away from the video monitors, allowing me my first glimpse of the situation.
There, against the wall of the barn, is my angel. Her head is tilted back at an awkward angle, as a man I recognize as Lou yanks her forward by her ponytail, screaming something we can’t hear in her face. Lawson is unconscious on the floor of the barn as Nicole cries in the corner of one of the horse stalls.
“I’ll fucking kill him!” I rage, shaking as I back away from the monitors. “Gear up,” I order the guys. I don’t need to say more. They know. This is what they were trained for.
Extraction. Protection. Killing.
I dart upstairs to my bedroom and throw on my combat gear that Anniston purchased, telling me one day I would want to put on a uniform again. I thought she was crazy, and stashed it away in the closet. But yet again, she was right. Even if I’m wearing it under protest.
As bad as I hate it, I have to call Theo. He would want to know the situation. He’s still in Atlanta at the charity event for a local hospital he supports. Thor is probably with him. And at this point I could use all the help I can get.
I hit Theo’s name in my contacts and push call before I can talk myself out of it.
“I’m busy. Your sweet talk will have to wait.”
“He got her.”
Silence. And then I hear, “Excuse me. I need to step out a moment.”
