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The drive into the city goes by in a blur, a million thoughts running through my mind all at once. So many different scenarios, and none of them I want to think about. All I know is that I need Grace to be safe. If they hurt her…
After Xander ends the call, he turns to me. “She’ll be fine. We’ll get there in less than a minute. Don’t think about anything else besides getting her out of there in one piece. Everything else will be dealt with later.”
I nod, my throat too tight to even push out one word. With squealing tires, we pull up to the back entrance of the hotel moments later. Damon cuts the engine and we all get out of the car. Three more SUVs are already parked here, men ready to go.
“We got more men inside, looking for her as we speak. They think she is in a room on floor six,” Xander explains, as we all march through the door. “Angelini didn’t check in under his name so we don’t know what rooms he’s renting.”
We make it through a hallway, past some storage that leads us to a staff elevator. Xander punches in a code and the doors slide open. I step in and push the six on the panel. The rest of the guys get in and the door closes behind us.
When they reopen at the sixth floor, I take a deep breath, and a calmness washes over me. A feeling that I know well, it’s the calmness I get right before a job, when I know I need all my senses in perfect sync. With my body and mind working together like a well-oiled machine, I tighten the grip on my gun.
Not knowing where they are, we have no choice but to kick in every single door on this floor. We position ourselves at the first door, ready to burst through, when a muffled scream meets my ears.
My head snaps up to the direction the sound is coming from. The others must have heard it too, because we are all looking at the third door on the right. I move before anyone else does. Running toward the door, I kick it open as I go.
The wood cracks under my foot like it’s nothing, and I push through into the room. It only takes me a split second to take in the scene in front of me, but I already know that it will forever haunt me.
Grace is sprawled out on the bed; her hands and feet are tied together and her mouth is taped shut. Her shirt is ripped, exposing her breasts, and her pajama pants are halfway pulled down, leaving her in her panties. There is blood on her swollen cheek where someone clearly hit her in the face.
There is a man, who I’m assuming is Angelini, hovering over her. A man who is about to die. I cross the room with superhuman speed, watching the guy reach for his gun, but he doesn’t get a chance to raise it, because I’m already on him.
He drops his gun as I drag him away from Grace. Slamming him against the wall, my hands wrap around his throat, ready to squeeze the life out of him. I watch as his eyes go wide, ready to pop out of his eye sockets, his face turns bright red, and I smile at his feeble attempts to push me away.
“Luke!” Xander’s voice only barely breaks through the wall of fury clouding my mind. “Luke, stop! We’ll take care of him. You need to get Grace out of here.”
Hearing her name is like a bucket of ice water being poured over my head.
Grace. My Grace needs me.
I release the piece of shit and spin around, my feral eyes glancing around the room.
Grace is still on the bed, someone put a blanket over her, and Damon is peeling the tape off her mouth. She’s crying uncontrollably, her whole body shaking with each sob. I can’t stop myself from rushing to her side, feeling the need to have my hands on her, to run my fingers over her body, to inspect every inch of flesh to make certain she’s okay.
“Take her out, Hero will come with you, we’ll clean this up,” Damon tells me, looking around us. Only then do I become aware of more of Angelini’s guys in the room. One is on the floor face down; another is held at gunpoint by one of Xander’s guys. Shit, I was too out of it to even notice the other two guys.
I slide my arms under Grace—blanket and all—lifting her into my arms. She immediately turns her head, burying her face into my chest. I walk out of the room with Hero on my heels. The sudden need to get her out of here is overwhelming.
