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“What do you mean you’re at the other warehouse?” Terri bellowed, not far from where we were.
Alden pointed in that direction. Our steps slowed, matching in pattern as we made our way to where we could still hear my godfather screaming obscenities. We moved around the stacks of boxes, and the closer we got to where the offices should be located, the light improved enough for me to remove my goggles.
We turned the first corner, and I opened the door with Alden paying close attention to what was happening behind us. My heart pounded at what I’d find inside. The light was on, but inside the tiny space was a small break room with a two-seater table and chairs.
I shook my head.
Alden moved a few feet ahead. The following office door was ajar, and the lights were on. He pushed the door open with one hand, catching it before it hit the wall. “Empty office,” he whispered.
Then it had to be the last one. Terri’s voice grew louder, and his footsteps drew closer. The corridor we were in only had a few more feet before it stopped and you had to go left or right.
My breathing slowed as I pulled the gun out from the holster and trained it on the hallway in front of us. It was just a matter of time before the bastard showed himself.
I saw his foot first—the brown loafers he’d worn for years—a strange observation to fixate on as the world quieted around me. Then, the rest of his body came around the corner. One arm gestured wildly as he yelled into the phone.
He didn’t see me right away.
“Hello, Terri,” I drawled. “You have something of mine.”
“Jareth?” His dumbfounded expression would have been comical if Hazel’s life wasn’t on the line. Internally, I applauded Hazel when I noticed the lines of scratches cutting across his face.
“Where is she?” I was only asking once.
“Did you bring what I asked?”
“If I have to ask again, you’ll lose your right kneecap first.”
“I have men surrounding this building and placed strategically throughout. You won’t get away with it.” The maniacal laugh he gave had me questioning his sanity. He sounded so confident for a man who was blatantly lying to us.
“I wouldn’t be too sure about that,” Alden grinned, his gun pointed at Terri too.
Terri’s jaw tightened, and his eye twitched. “You’re the reason my men aren’t here!”
“Bingo.”
A strangled growl left Terri’s mouth. “Give me what I want first.” He was so sure that I’d comply. “And I’ll let Hazel go.”
“How do I even know you have her?” He did. I just didn’t know if she was still alive.
In the silence, a muffled scream interrupted us.
Hazel.
Terri smirked and hurried back in the direction he came before I could stop him.
I raced after him.
In seconds, I was around the corner just as he entered the doorway directly in front of us. It banged shut, but not before I saw her. Her tear-streaked face stared helplessly back at me. And a fucking bruise colored her cheek in an ugly purple and blue pattern.
He would die.
Rage filled my veins like molten lava bubbling at the surface of a volcano, ready to erupt.
Terri’s death would be slow and painful. I’d make sure of it.
I entered the room, my gun cocked, ready to fire on the fucking asshole
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Jareth,” Terri tsked, holding a knife at Hazel’s throat.
