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“Now’s not the time, brother.” I lift my chin to Kase, directing him to get in place.
“I need you to tell me you’re in the right state of mind to be going in there.”
“Remind me to fire Stone.” I pace in front of the vehicle, staring up at the scattered clouds. “I’m in control. Can’t say I was an hour ago, but I am now.”
He sighs. “Don’t be mad at Stone. He’s worried about you and so am I. If you don’t report back in an hour, I’m sending in a unit. Starting now.” I’m not surprised to hear the beep of the timer in the background.
“I’ll get her, or I’ll die trying.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of. Stay safe, Max.”
We hang up, and I tug on Rex that it’s time. “We have an hour before the Feds come,” I say into the mic.
“There are three bodies. One is laying on the floor not moving, two are sitting across from each other.” Icy fear works its way up my extremities, slicing my heart. If they hurt Sydney, no one will leave there alive. Thankfully, they still have a heat stamp, so the person lying on the floor is still warm. And alive, for now. I blow out a ragged breath, calming my racing pulse. I point to Rex and he climbs the first floor rail outside the patio and continues to the second floor. As soon as he clears it, I follow. Pure adrenaline pushes me up.
We wait on both sides of the door for the all clear from Kase. Once given, Rex does as he promised and we’re in the apartment within a couple minutes. The dark stale apartment is empty, except a few things on top of the kitchen counter. I flash my light on them. Alongside the food is a tiny empty vial. I pick it up and smell it, but it’s odorless. There’s a drop of white milky substance at the bottom. A nauseated dread burns my throat, suspicion on the drug and the effects means whoever is on the floor, won’t be alive for much longer.
Kase updates us that the people are in the living room. I motion to Rex that we’re moving. Sure enough, there’s a four by four hole in the wall. Nothing should surprise me, but this does. We stand on each side and listen. The only voice I pick up is a woman’s, and it’s faint so she’s not in the bedroom. I hold up three fingers and count down.
Crawling through the space, I lead with my gun drawn. When a muffled scream comes from the other room, I don’t wait for Rex.
“You bitch! You’ll drink this if it’s the last thing I do!” the woman seethes.
Running into the room, I see the woman straddling Sydney, holding a cup of something over her face. Sydney’s struggles help me slip into the room undetected and I tackle the woman, slamming her to the ground.
We both scream as the liquid splashes on my arm and on her. Adrenaline masks the pain as I pin her down and handcuff her. Her piercing screams hurt my ears. When I turn her over, her face is bubbling from the burns. I jerk my head in Sydney’s direction, afraid the woman poured some acid on her. Rex is busy unknotting her gag.
“Max,” she immediately screams. As soon as Rex has her all untied, she shoots out of the chair and I hold up my hand to stop her. “Max, you got that stuff on your arm.”
“Cover your mouth and nose. Both of you get out,” I demand, pulling my shirt over my nose, not knowing the exact acid used. I do a quick scan of her body. Thank god she seems fine.
“Not without you,” Sydney argues.
“Woman,” I grate out. “Now is not the time to argue.” I motion for Rex to get them out. Sirens sound in the background. Sydney stares at me and Rex pulls her to the front door.
“I will throw you over my shoulder,” he bites out as she fights him. She turns her icy glare to Rex, looking him up and down. “You’re a tiny thing, don’t think I can’t.”
She huffs, but ends up running outside with him. Within a matter of minutes, men in hazmat suits storm the room. I brief them on what happened and one of them leads me to the kitchen. We have to step over Brett to get there. I don’t even know if he’s still breathing. I don’t care. It irritates the fuck out of me that we weren’t able to catch him sooner. The woman looks familiar, too. I search my memory for where I’ve seen her. I sigh when it clicks. The night Sydney passed out on stage, she sang before her.
A small patch of skin on my left arm is flaming red. I’m instructed to keep it under the faucet for a good ten minutes. Leaning over the sink, I’m able to take my first breath of relief.
She’s safe.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Sydney
“You’ve been quiet since we left the hotel,” Max says, twisting his body in his seat. I wince when I see the bandage on his arm. “Talk to me.”
My gaze meets concerned eyes. I suck in a deep breath and blow it out my mouth. Even though it’s been a week since everything happened, I’m tired of dealing with it. The media, the court dates, the phone calls about book deals or interviews. Everything. In a way, I wish Brett had died. That’s one less thing I’d have to worry about. Thankfully, he and Shanna are behind bars. Max’s fingers weave through mine. “I’m still trying to come down from everything that happened and you getting hurt. It’s been non-stop since you found me. Thank you for this.” I glance around the softly illuminated plane. I don’t know where we’re going. Getting away is all that matters.
“I told you a million times, I’m fine. My tats hurt more than this,” he says, lifting his arm. “And all you have to do is ask and I’ll take you anywhere.” A small smile curves my lips up as I lean over and place a gentle kiss on his cheek. The way he looks at me like I’m the only person who matters means more than he’ll ever know. His tough exterior is a stark contrast to the soft interior he shares with me. He brushes his hand through my hair, pulling me into his kiss to deepen it. “I wish there was a bedroom on this plane so I could hold you,” he says against my lips.
Me too.
“Why didn’t we take your plane?” Still a private jet, it’s larger than his and not as many bells and whistles.
“The guys took it back home. But where we’re going, my plane isn’t meant to fly that distance.”
