Chapter 29
“Think about what you’re doing here,” Tanner said. “That’s a log cabin, my friend, and after what Reese said at Caden and Hallie’s wedding -”
“Reese could be inside right now,” Garrett snapped, already halfway out of Luke’s truck. “Do you seriously expect me to stay out here when there’s a monster in there threatening to do who knows what to the woman I love?” Garrett couldn’t even believe they were having this conversation. Of course, Tanner and Luke had insisted on coming with him as soon as he’d gotten the call from Reese’s phone. Martin had also followed close behind with the firemen on his squad, and there was an ambulance standing by just in case. But there was no way Garrett was going to sit on the sidelines now that he was here. “I’m going in,” he said. “Cover me.”
A hand landed on his shoulder and Garrett turned to glare at Tanner. “We need a better plan,” Tanner said. “You can’t just go in guns blazing. We have no idea who else is inside, or if Reese is even in there. This could be a trap. Think about it, please.”
Luke had parked about five hundred feet downhill from the log cabin behind a copse of trees. It gave Garrett a good view of the structure that oddly enough looked completely abandoned. That should’ve raised his red flags, but he was too focused on just getting to Reese. The plan they’d come up with on the way here wasn’t perfect, but it would have to do. “Look, Russell saidto come alone, so that’s what I’m going to do. He doesn’t know you’re here with me or that we called for backup that should be arriving any minute. Hopefully that gives me just enough time to get Reese to safety before all hell breaks loose.”
“I get that, and normally, I’d be cheering you on,” Luke said, coming around to Garrett’s side. “But think about what Reese said. You die in a log cabin that’s going to explode. How do you know that monster didn’t rig the place?”
Garrett drew in a breath. He didn’t know. But if that place was set to blow, then he needed to make sure Reese wasn’t in there before it did. “What would you do?” He asked Luke. “If it was Orly in there, what would you do?”
Luke kicked at the dirt at their feet, his jaw tight. “Dammit, I’d already be half way up the hill.”
Garrett gave him a quick nod of respect. “Cover me. And no matter what happens, stick to the plan. You get Reese out first. No matter what.”
Luke and Tanner gave him a silent nod. They didn’t like the plan, but Garrett didn’t care. She came first, and she always would.
He trudged up the hill, making sure to stay as low to the ground as possible. He had a gut feeling things might not end well for him, but he wasn’t about to make himself an easy target. A gunshot rang out in the air and he dropped to his belly.
“I know you’re here, Garrett, so let’s not play games. Get over here and kiss your girlfriend goodbye.”
Garrett recognized Russell’s voice from the phone call earlier. He stood to his full height then, expecting to see Russell standing outside the cabin, but instead it was Reese. She was banged up and gagged, sporting a cut on her forehead and a black eye. What the hell had he done to her? “Reese,” he called out, hoping she heard him. He was still at least a hundred feet away. “Reese, I’m coming. It’s going to be okay.”
She started shaking her head violently, and a large hand grabbed her hair at the back of her head. She struggled against it, but couldn’t break free, emitting a sorrowful grunting sound. “Reese, listen to me. Don’t fight him. It’s going to be okay. I’m going to get you out of here. I swear.”
Her gaze met his and he saw the pleading in her eyes. She didn’t want him to come any closer. But what choice did he have? She was being held by a crazed murderer with a badge. The only advantage Garrett had was that he hadn’t come alone. He had no idea where Tanner and Luke were right now, but he hoped they would follow the plan.
The sheen of a black gun peered through the doorway. Russell was holding it right next to her face. “Put that down!” Garrett ordered, his hand already on his weapon.
“You first,” Russell ordered. “If I don’t see your weapon flying through the air away from you, I’ll shoot her right now and make you watch.”
Garrett didn’t hesitate. He removed his gun from his holster and threw it across the field, making sure it went high enough for Russell to see it.
“Good. Now move. I don’t have all day. Get in here.”
Garrett picked up his pace, keeping an eye on Reese until she was yanked back and the door was pushed closed. “No!” He screamed and broke out into a dead run. Moving as fast as he could, he didn’t even care that Russell could put a bullet in his head the second he rammed through that door.
Garrett approached the small cabin at full speed, his only priority was getting to Reese. Not seeing anything out of the ordinary, he took the three steps up to the door in one large leap and didn’t bother stopping as he shouldered open the door, ready to take on anyone who dared to lay a finger on his woman. “Russell!”
To his surprise, the place was empty. He heard a muffled sound from a back room and then -
***
Reese fought Russell with every fiber of her being. Uncaring of her screaming muscles or the way her body felt like it had been in a wreck - because it had been - she would fight to save Garrett with every breath she had left in her.
But Russell was bigger and stronger. He maneuvered her like a rag doll, hardly even breaking a sweat when he lifted her up and tossed her out of a back window from a room that had an old bed with no comforter on it. She landed on a small patch of dirt and quickly started to get to her feet. Her hands were still bound behind her, and he’d replaced the gag over her mouth, but Russell hadn’t restrained her legs. If she could get away from him long enough to run around to the front of the cabin, she could stop Garrett from going in and -
A large hand grabbed her by the back of the neck. She grunted and tried to wriggle out of Russell’s hold, but he just dragged her forward. One step, two, and then the whole world seemed to turn upside down.
A flash of light so bright that it blinded her made her lose her footing, or maybe it was the sheer force of the blast at her back that had her airborne. When she hit the ground, her right hip and shoulder slammed into a hard, grassy area. Breathless from the impact and the intense sudden pain in her side, she lay still for a long moment. The whole cabin was engulfed in flames, the log walls a perfect flammable source. In a few minutes, there would be nothing left of it except charcoal and ash. “Garrett!” She screamed into her gag, her heart breaking into a million pieces.
Thick black smoke rose up to the clear blue sky as large hands wrapped around her, picking her up from behind. Shekicked hard, kneeing Russell in the shins, and she swore she’d gotten him in the groin, but he only held her tighter. Sirens sounded in the distance, as he dragged her to a waiting vehicle. “Get in or I’ll put a bullet in your brain,” Russell ordered, shoving her toward a blue SUV she hadn’t seen before. Was this his getaway plan? To force her inside and just drive off with her?
“Now.” He shoved the gun to the side of her neck hard, but she barely felt it. Everything inside her had gone numb. Garrett was gone. Good and kind and sweet Garrett, who’d turned off his power for her, who’d taken her to a lantern festival, and searched all night in the dark woods until he found her. The man she loved and wanted to spend the rest of her life with was dead. What difference did it make what Russell did to her now?
With one last look at the blazing cabin, Reese climbed into the driver’s side and scooted across the bench seat to the passenger side. She immediately noticed the lock and handle were broken off. Russell had planned for everything.