Page 74 of The Billionaire's Angel

“He said if I'm not there in an hour, he'll kill her,” I said. “Are your guys going to get herout?”

“Uncertain at this point,” he said, his tone businesslike as if he weren't discussing the life and possible death of a woman he'd known since birth. “We’re going to get eyes on her and assess the situation. I'm headed in your direction. Gage and Aiden will meet me there. The address isn't far. We have time for a gameplan.”

All I could say was, “Hurry.”

I paced the front hall, the minutes after Cooper's call stretching, distorting, until every heartbeat felt an hour long. The clock was ticking. Anthony had Amelia. He hadn’t mentioned Mrs.W.

I didn't know where he’d grabbed Amelia. From the car? From the doctor's office? Had he hurt Mrs. W? I didn't know. I didn't know anything. I was walking in circles in the front hall of the house, alone, and I didn't knowanything.

Anthony hadAmelia.

Just the thought of it had nausea rolling in my stomach. Amelia. She was my job, my patient, but in the last six months, she’d been more a mother to me than anyone since my own had died when I was a teenager. I wouldn't let Anthony hurt her. I could live with a lot of things, but notthat.

The front door finally opened, and Cooper strode in, his eyes scanning the room. “Aiden and Gage aren't here yet,” he said, stating the obvious. “They should be right behindme.”

“He wants to trade me for her,” I said. “We can't let him hurther.”

Cooper gave a brusque nod. “I heard the call. We'll have a report from my team in the next five minutes. The address he gave wasn'tfar.”

“You have a plan?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest and huggingmyself.

“I have a few options in mind,” he said. I’d only met Cooper once before, and I'd thought he was all business then, but I saw now I'd been wrong. Cooper was a cipher, his face betraying nothing. If he was worried about Amelia, it didn’t show. When I looked at him, all I saw wasfocus.

The door swung open again, and Aiden entered, followed by Gage. I was momentarily struck dumb at the sight of Gage in a suit. I hadn't quite gotten used to it yet. He was handsome enough in a T-shirt and cargo pants. In a custom-tailored grey suit and starched white shirt, he made my heart skip abeat.

For the shortest second, I forgot my fear and almost smiled. Then he was at my side, pulling me close and dropping his head to mine. “We'll get her back, I swear,Sophie.”

Cooper's phone rang, and he answered it with a quick, “Report.” He stood in the middle of the carpet in the front hall, motionless, his entire being concentrated on the words pouring into his ear. I heard him say, “Anything you can do to improve the line of sight?” Then, a minute later, “Okay. Okay. No, not yet. We don't want to spook him while we still have time. Hold yourposition.”

Cooper hung up the phone and slid it into his pocket. “He's got her in a building that used to be a garage, out by the airport. There are empty lots on either side, wide open in three directions. The two front windows are papered over, no visibility. He's got cameras on the outside, so we can't get close enough for a good view through the uncovered windows on the sides, but one of my guys was able to get to a small window in the back without being seen. He verified that Amelia is tied up and gagged butuninjured.”

“Did he get eyes on Armstrong?” Gage asked. Cooper shook hishead.

“Briefly. Armstrong’s smart. We can't get a line of sight on him. A few quick glimpses. Enough to see that he's armed, but not long enough to get our own shot. We can't take him out unless he moves. With those cameras live, our options arelimited.”

“What about your guy at the back?” Gageasked.

“The windows are too small for entry, and anything we could introduce that might disable Armstrong would endangerAmelia.”

“Then what do we do?” I asked. He'd said he had options in mind. I wanted to know what theywere.

Cooper studied me for a long moment, then turned his dark gaze to Aiden and Gage. I got the feeling he was weighing their mood before hespoke.

“I have an idea that might solve all of our problems,” he said, slowly. “But I don't think you're going to likeit.”

Gage went still. Aiden narrowed his eyes on Cooper and said, “What isit?”

“We put a vest on Sophie, wire her, and send her in. She draws Armstrong into position, and we shoothim.”

Gage exploded. “No fucking way. Are you fucking insane? We're not sending Sophie in there. No fucking way, Cooper. Think of somethingelse.”

Aiden jumped in with his own protest. “Unacceptable, Cooper. We can't put Sophie atrisk.”

“He has Amelia,” I said. “He'll kill her. He's not bluffing. Anthony doesn't bluff. He told me he'd slit her throat and he meant it. We’re running out oftime.”

“Sophie, no,” Gagesaid.

I stepped back, pulling myself from his arms and looked him in the eye. “I can do this,Gage.”