Page 90 of The Forbidden Bodyguard

I know it doesn’t matter if vows are spoken. They can be annulled, sure. But I want those words to be said to me. Not some monster.

He’s fucking abducted her.

If they’re not married already, they soon will be. There’s nothing you can do.

The fuck there is! I’m a Navy fucking SEAL, trained and deadly, and I’m going to get my girl.

I know Stella didn’t go voluntarily, despite agreeing to help her father. She wanted every single last minute of her freedom.

Do I know her?

I know she’s scared and trying to save her father. He doesn’t deserve her, and neither does her mother, assuming she knows about this. How could she not?

I’m going to make sure Victor spends the rest of his life in prison.

What sort of man sells his daughter to pay his debt? A sick, weak asshole, that’s who.

I might not be the man Stella wants at the end of this, but at least I’m going to give her the freedom to choose. A freedom that is her God-given birthright.

My heart belongs to her and always will, even if she tells me to take a hike. First, we get her out of there.

We’re parked a few yards down the road, waiting for Ryder and the team to arrive. Josh has been pacing outside the vehicle on the phone to Detective Waters, keeping him informed of the situation.

“You doing okay up there?” Grayson asks, and I hear the metal of his gun as he shifts in the backseat.

“Yeah.” I rub the top of my head and let out a sigh. “Great first day for you, huh?”

“Not complaining. I’m not really a desk guy. Hate sitting around.”

I let out a small laugh. “Yeah, I get it. I thought this gig was going to bore me to hell. So far it hasn’t.”

I thank him for stopping me from doing anything stupid earlier. He seems like a good guy. I’m pleased to have him on the team for operations like this.

Mostly, I thought I wouldn’t rub shoulders with the other guys and girls. But here we are, armed and on a stake-out.

“They’ve got a heavy security presence.” Grayson leans between the seats, staring at the same gates of the Marino Estate.

Stella is inside.

Alone.

“I guess I would, too, if I’d kidnapped an innocent woman and was a criminal.”

“Yeah, a good investment, I guess.” Grayson snorts. “Too bad for them, it won’t stop us.”

“Nope.” My heart rate is high as every unimaginable thing Stella might be experiencing runs like a movie in my mind.

Men like him treat women as if they’re a toy. Disposable. There to serve him. We already know he’s involved with human trafficking, so for all I know, he might plan to sell Stella on.

Fuck.

We need to get inside now. These things happen quickly. Human stock is never held in one place for long.

Josh climbs back into the vehicle. “Detective Waters is on board and getting a warrant to search Marino’s property.”

My head snaps around. “How?”

“I was recording the conversation we had at Voss’s.”