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Nerves shooting into overdrive, Charlie said, “Drop dead.”
No matter what she told him, he was going to kill her anyway.
“Bad choice.” Seth punched her in the stomach.
Pain tore through her abdomen, stealing her breath, blurring her vision as she dropped to her knees. He snatched her by her hair and yanked her back up to her feet.
“I never did care for a woman with too much fire in her blood. Let’s try again. Every time you refuse to tell me what I need to know, we’ll strip an item of clothing from you. Maybe that will persuade you to talk.”
DREADBURNEDINBrian’s gut as they sped down Highway 230 in his truck. What he wouldn’t have given to be behind the wheel of Charlie’s Hellcat instead of his vehicle. The clock ticking in his head rapped louder and louder, a bad feeling swelling in his gut.
“We’ll reach her in time,” Kent said from the passenger seat as though reading his mind.
They had better. For Seth’s sake.
Brian believed in the law and justice. But if Seth killed Charlie, there was no power on earth that would stop Brian from getting vengeance.
He had been drawn to Charlie since he’d first seen her. Had a feeling about her. Once she had opened her mouth and snapped at him with that icy indifference, he was hooked. He hadn’t been able to get her out of his head. The woman was a warrior, with steel running in her veins. But when she let her guard down, showed him how big and warm and vulnerable her heart was, he’d known...she was the one for him.
Now that she finally trusted him, finally accepted the love he had to give, he couldn’t lose her. They’d barely been given a chance.
Kent had done good getting to USD within minutes of receiving Brian’s text about what was happening. He looked at the smartwatch app that they’d pulled up on one of the phones. “We’re only ten miles away,” Kent said.
Brian didn’t need the app to navigate, but they were monitoring it anyway just in case Seth moved her.
Flooring the accelerator, Brian tightened his grip on the steering wheel, his knuckles whitening. He flicked a glance in the rearview mirror. Not sure what he was expecting to see. He’d reached out to DCI Powell, who’d assured him that reinforcements would be en route to assist.
Seth Olsen wasn’t operating alone. They had no idea who was with him, or how many, but it could’ve been half the badges in the LPD. Brian wasn’t sure how far the corruption had spread. Whether it had tainted the sheriff’s department. There had already been a scandal involving the previous sheriff. Brian was only willing to trust the DCI’s office, but he and Kent hadn’t waited for backup. There wasn’t a second to spare.
“Look on the bright side. If he’d wanted to simply kill her, he could’ve done that at USD. Staged it like a robbery gone wrong. That would’ve been the cleanest way to eliminate her.” Kent was continuing the pep talk he’d started after they’d raced out of the USD parking lot. “It’s a good thing that he dragged her out here. Shows he’s desperate. And desperation can drive a person to do dumb things. Like bringing her to his brother’s ranch.”
“Plenty of reasons for him to bring her out here,” Brian said. “Interrogate her. Torture her. Dispose of evidence. Get rid of a body.” Cold sweat slid down his spine.
“Hey, doesn’t his brother have a pig farm on that ranch? I read that’s how the Mob used to get rid of people in Sicily.”
Brian shot him a glare. “Yeah, yeah, he does.”
The car fell silent as Kent checked the app again.
Hoping that Seth wanted information out of her, Brian pressed harder on the gas pedal, driving faster than ever before in his life. The speedometer had reached triple digits. He swerved around a sedan that was going the speed limit. At least traffic was light. One more thing, besides Orson’s assistance, that was working in their favor.
“I emailed the Internal Affairs point of contact Charlie’s pictures, along with the locations of the houses and businesses owned by the offshore LLC,” Kent said.
It had been time that he had shared everything he’d learned with his partner.
Those pictures were the product of Charlie’s snooping. Even though it had been dangerous, and he’d warned her against it, she hadn’t backed down.
But that was her. Headstrong to a fault. All fire and ice. And he loved her for it.
“Good.” No matter what happened tonight, the truth would come out. Every dirty cop involved was going to be exposed. “I made sure DCI Powell also got the information, too.” Although he probably already had his own surveillance photos.
If not for Charlie and Haley, Seth and his crew might have gotten away with their crimes. Everything from prostitution and drugs to murder.
It sickened him that there were so many dirty cops on the force. As well as shamed him for not being more open to the idea when Charlie had suggested it. He never should’ve dismissed her suspicion as paranoia.
Rage replaced his gut-wrenching fear. He funneled his white-hot anger into driving.
“Any idea who the one guy in the picture is that we didn’t recognize?” Kent asked.
