He had, of course. Thank God. But now Ro was the one in need of rescuing, and Brody was the one left behind to sit and wonder.
Was she okay? Was she hurt? What had that son of a bitch done to her? What’s he doing to her right this very second?
“Don’t do that.”
He blinked. “Do what?”
“You let yourself fall down the rabbit whole of what-ifs and who knows, you’re going to drive yourself batshit. Now I agree with Hansen, I think your ass needs to be in the hospital—”
“I’m not going to the fucking hospital.”
“—but I also know you’d skip out on us the first chance you got to try to go all Lone Ranger on our asses and find Ro yourself.” Christian gave him atell me I’m wronglook. “So how ’bout we skip a step, and you go get yourself cleaned up and changed. In the meantime, I’ll check in with Hansen, and then we can figure out our next step. Together.” He emphasized that word. “As a team.”
“I have to find her, Christian.” His words were barely audible. “Ihaveto.”
“We won’t stop until we do.”
A stretch of silence passed between the two friends as they shared a look that spoke volumes. Both men would do whatever it took to find the woman they cared about. A woman near and dear to Megan’s heart.
The woman who had no idea she owned his completely.
I’ll tell her, God. If you let her live, I swear to you, all that’s holy, I will make sure Ro knows how much she’s loved.
He’d tell her every day for the rest of his life if she’d let him. Something else he planned on sharing with the pale-skinned beauty.
Brody may have spent his entire adult life avoiding relationships and strings, but things were different now. Because of Ro, he found himself wanting more. With her, he wanted…
Everything.
And the only way he was going to get it was if he got off his ass, got himself cleaned up, and he and his team made a plan.
Filled with a renewed sense of faith and determination, Brody rose to his feet, walked himself upstairs, and he took the fastest shower known to man.
Once the soot and dirt and blood from a few scrapes he hadn’t realized were there was washed away, he got dressed and went back downstairs to join the others. After Hansen finished taking his statement and the place had cleared out minus the team, Brody popped a couple aspirin and got to work.
Pulling his security feed up on the big flatscreen mounted high on his living room wall, Brody and the others began watching it from the beginning. Only this time, when he assessed the recordings, Brody studied them with an operative’s eye.
He was still going through them, watching each angle over and over again in search of something—anything—that would lead them in some sort of direction, when a phone began to ring.
Knowing it wasn’t his, he continued with the task at hand.
“Dude, is that you?” Rocky looked over at Cade.
The youngest on the team shook his head. “Not mine. Brooks?”
They all turned to Jagger who was already shaking his head as well. “Nope. Got mine right here.” The Jack of all trades patted his back jeans’ pocket.
“Well, it’s not mine, and I know it’s not King’s,” Christian shared with the group. “So that leaves—”
“Don’t look at me.” Liam held up a palm.
Rocky sent them all an incredulous look. “I’m the one who asked Cade if it was his, remember?”
Several muttered agreements later, and the phone wasstillringing. Assuming either one of the paramedics had left it behind, or someone with the police, Brody and the others began following the sound.
It didn’t take long for someone to uncover the source.
“Uh…Brody?” Rocky hollered at him from just inside the kitchen. “You’re gonna want to come take a look at this.”