With a gasp of relief, I lifted my gaze to his, the scent of himfilling my senses as his arms wrapped around me. He allowed me a second to breathe before holding me at arm’s length, his eyes boring into mine.
“Baby, you’ve got to get out of here,” he said sternly, pushing me towards the exit. Digging my feet into the concrete flooring in defiance, I held my ground. I wasn’t leaving this place without Charlie; I wouldn’t abandon her.
“I’m not leaving without her,” I sobbed, the dam of emotions threatening to break.
“I’ve got her,” he promised, looking back at Wade, who I hadn’t noticed was standing behind us, and giving him a slight nod. With a brief nod in return, his hand found mine, a reassuring pressure as Max’s grip loosened.
I looked back in Max’s direction as he rushed forward towards the room to get our daughter, a gun held firmly in his grasp. I sent up a silent prayer, not knowing what was waiting for him on the other side of that door.
THIRTY-THREE
max
Walking down the hallway,I did my best to keep my footsteps light. I didn’t bother glancing behind me, too focused on the task ahead to check if Wade had managed to get Stella out as instructed. My sole focus was on reaching Charlie and getting her to safety.
I slunk along the cold, damp brick wall, the weight of my firearm a comforting presence in my hand. Reaching the door at the hallway’s end, I heard Charlie’s shuddering cries, muffled but urgent, from the other side. A burning rage filled my veins, a fire that threatened to consume me at the thought of someone hurting her.
Before I could think, I rounded in front of the door, using my booted foot to kick it open with a resounding crack. A piercing scream ripped through the air as the woman, her face contorted in horror, stood next to my girl. She attempted to grab Charlie from the ground, but I was quicker on the draw.
My weapon was trained on her center mass as I yelled, “Don’t touch my fucking daughter!” My heart hammeredagainst my ribs, a frantic drumbeat in the tense silence. I saw the fear ignite in her eyes—a sudden flash of terror—as she held her hands up in a gesture of defeat, her knuckles white.
The pungent smell of urine wafted through the air, and I noticed a dark wetness pooling between the woman’s legs. My heart hardened, unable to muster even a sliver of sympathy for the woman who had the audacity to steal another woman’s baby. This world was filled with monsters, but the most unforgivable were the ones who targeted children.
I kept my gun trained on the woman’s chest as I slowly made my way towards where Charlie was seated on the ground. Upon seeing me, her sobs subsided, but her body trembled as she cowered, eyes wide with terror, a silent whimper escaping her lips. I couldn’t imagine the silent battle she’d fought, the loneliness, the confusion; the struggle she’d faced over the last day, separated from her mother and me in a strange, unsettling place, without any idea of what was happening.
“Hey, little one.” I cooed, slowly reaching out my hand in offering. A moment of apprehension passed over her features, but upon seeing me, she straightened, and with a rush of relief, embraced me tightly.
“Mass” she sobbed. “Mass da.”
The overwhelming urge to cry threatened to consume me, but I held back the tears as I held the little girl, her innocent call of “Dad” echoing in my ears. My gaze remained fixed on the woman across the room, even as I carefully lifted Charlie, the soft weight of her nestled into my chest a comfort to my soul.
Walking backward out of the room, my firearm stilltrained on the woman, I carefully made my way toward the exit. I assumed that once we left the building, Sheriff Cortez would immediately dispatch his deputies to apprehend the suspects.
As soon as Charlie and I crested the doorframe to the hallway, a guttural cry, like something strangled and desperate, rang out, and a heavy body slammed into us, knocking us off balance. Stella’s sobs were ragged and choked, a desperate sound as she snatched her daughter from my arms and held her so tightly.
A wave of relief washed over her face, visible in the softening of her features as her hand reached for mine, a silent sign of thanks. I squeezed her palm gently, pulling my girls into a hug, feeling their small bodies relax against mine as relief washed over them.
“Thank you,” Stella sobbed into my chest. “Thank you, Max.”
Speechless, I could only nod, their small bodies trembling slightly as I held them close, feeling the frantic beat of their hearts. I didn’t need thanks. Stella and Charlie were my entire life, my entire future, and my entire world. I would have walked through the blazes of hell to reach either of them.
“Bro, we’ve gotta get out of here.” Wade called from the other side of the hallway. I lifted my head, acknowledging him with a slight nod as he turned toward the brightly lit exit.
As he turned to leave, a shadowy figure stumbled from the room Stella had been held in, the sound of flesh dragging across concrete accompanying its unsteady gait. A deafening crack echoed through the silence, turning my blood to ice.
I saw Wade’s body crumple as he fell face-first through the doorway, the sickening thud echoing through the hall, abullet piercing his back. A raw, desperate cry escaped my lips, the sound bouncing off the walls echoing down the vast hallway.
A second gunshot echoed, the sharp report followed by the sickening thud of the man falling backward into the wall, blood blooming on his shirt where the bullet had ripped through his chest.
Emmanuel stood opposite Wade, gun trained on the attacker, his hands steady, a steely gaze reflecting years of police work. Lowering his weapon, the acrid smell of gunpowder still thick in the air, he radioed for a trauma unit, his voice urgent as he described the situation at the warehouse.
Heart pounding, Stella and I scrambled to Wade, and I knelt, taking his hand in mine; the damp concrete was cool against my knees, biting through my jeans.
“Fuck!” He groaned, a low, pained sound escaping his lips.
“Shh, it’s okay. We’ve got paramedics on the way. Don’t move,” I scolded, my voice sharp, as his labored breathing filled the air and his limbs shook with his failed attempt to sit up.
“Max…” he gritted out, his voice tight with pain.
