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“Don’t worry. We’ll have them in his office first thing in the morning. You have my word.” Gavin shook Colt’s hand and let the EMT depart.
“Abbey?” My heart nearly stopped when I heard Liam’s voice. I extracted myself from Blake’s arms in time to see Duke and Liam running toward me.
DUKE
We really thought we’d been one step ahead of Jeff, but the asshole played us. He checked into the hotel but never stayed. So, of course the credit card pinged on the BOLO we’d put out for him when we double checked the address. Using my badge, I had the room attendant let us in. The room looked like it was never even slept in.
My gut churned. I wanted to get back home to Abbey. Something wasn’t right. We needed to ensure Abbey was safe. There were too many miles between us and her for my liking.
As we neared the ranch, the other station cars sped by with their lights flashing. The blood in my veins froze. I turned my radio up to hear the chatter.
“Fire at King’s Ranch is under control. Only minor injuries reported,” the dispatcher relayed.
I looked at Liam. “Did she just say fire at King’s Ranch?”
“Yes, step on it.” Liam’s face showed the horror and fear I knew coursed through me.I slammed my foot on the accelerator and sped as fast as I could toward the ranch.
We turned into the entrance, the car bumping along the road. Once we were close enough, the smoke plume grew larger and larger. My heart pounded in my chest. What had happened? Where was the fire? Was Abbey okay?
We headed straight for the flashing lights of the fire trucks and ambulance. My heart nearly stopped when we could make out that it was our house that had been on fire.
I veered off the dirt road and into the grass near the barn. Quickly putting the car in park, I jumped out, seconds behind Liam as we sprinted to our house.
“Abbey,” I shouted. Searching the faces out front, I didn’t see her. I caught sight of Scott, who pointed toward the ambulance. No. Please no.If we lost her now, I’d never recover.
Turning, we headed toward the truck. Abbey was sitting on the edge of the bumper just inside the open doors. I let out a breath. She was safe, she was whole, she was alive.
“Abbey,” Liam shouted. Abbey turned in our direction. When she saw us, her face lit up before crumpling. Soot streaked across her face and her clothes. I needed to have her in my arms or I’d lose it. She threw off the blanket she was wrapped in and ran to us. When she reached Liam, she leaped into his arms, wrapping her legs around him. Their lips locked in a desperate kiss—one we all needed.
I stood back for a second and assessed her. Her wrist was wrapped, and she had a few other bandages, but she was safe.
I stepped up beside them, and Abbey broke the kiss, turning to me. The sight of her face had me pulling back. I could see the bruise forming on her cheekbone and the split lip. My blood boiled. Now I knew why Jeff didn’t meet us. I was going to kill him for laying a hand on our girl.
Liam set Abbey down, and we both ran our fingers over her body to make sure she was all right. Liam gingerly took her wrapped wrist and kissed her hand.
“I’m okay, guys. Now that you’re both here, everything is going to be okay.” I could see the uncertainty in her eyes though. I needed to know what happened. Was she afraid we couldn’t protect her?
The sound of a throat clearing broke the moment. We’d have to wait until we were alone to find out what she was thinking. We turned to see Colt, the local EMT, waiting to give us an update.
“Tell us she’s okay,” Liam begged.
“Minor smoke inhalation. She’s really lucky the guys got her out before anything serious happened. A few bruises, scrapes, and a couple of minor burns. She has a sprained wrist that should heal soon, but otherwise nothing major. She doesn’t need to go to the ER, but she needs to be monitored for shock and for smoke inhalation. Her lungs will be sore for the next few days,” Colt said. “Do not leave her alone. She needs to follow up with Doc in the morning. Gavin assured me that all the girls would report in.”
There was no way I was letting Abbey out of my sight. They’d have to pry me away from her. And we’d make sure she made it to that appointment.
The fire chief came over and gave us an update as well. The fire was out, but they weren’t able to save the house. Too much structural damage. I appreciated his sympathy, but it didn’t matter. The house could be rebuilt; Abbey was irreplaceable.
After the report from the fire crew and EMT, we still hadn’t heard anything about what had actually occurred. With Abbey safely tucked under my arm, I steered us toward the group of men nearby. Gavin, Ty, and Travis were giving their statements to the officers who responded to the call. They all looked like they’d just went through hell.
“What the fuck happened?” I asked the moment Gavin was able to break free and approach us.
“According to the girls, Jeff barged in on the baby shower and held Abbey hostage. Everyone ran to Ty’s place and told him Jeff was in the house.” I squeezed Abbey closer to my side as Gavin told the story. “Ty called the police, and Scott ran to round up anyone he could find. We surrounded the house just in time for Jeff to sneak out the back door. Travis and Kyle were the closest and tackled him to the ground. They got him tied up before he could get far.”
“Don’t worry. He’s already in the back of my patrol car, locked up tight,” Charlie, one of the other officers, said. I’d been so worried about Abbey I hadn’t even noticed they’d apprehended Jeff.
I tightened my grip on Abbey. It took everything in me to stop myself from yanking him from the car and beating the shit out of him, but Abbey clung to me, and she was my lifeline to remaining calm.I knew it wasn’t what she would want. Especially if it got me in trouble with the law. I could almost hear her voice in my head telling me it wasn’t worth it. Jeff wasn’t worth it.
“When we saw smoke from the guest bedroom window, we ran in to find Abbey,” Gavin continued. “She was locked in there, and I brought her outside while some of the other men worked on putting out the fire.”
