Page 24 of Unlocked

“I’m here, sweet girl,” I say, reaching for Shelby. She shrinks away from my touch. I grit my teeth, knowing she isn’t pulling away from me, but from the pain she’s expecting. “Baby, it’s me, Bo.” She flinches when I touch her. “Shelby!” She opens her one eye to peer up at me. Recognition lights in her eyes.

“B-Bo?” she stutters before a sob escapes her. “You came for me?”

“Yes, my sweet girl. I’m came for you,” I murmur, pulling her to my chest, as best as I can with her tied to the pillar. Her body shakes as she cries. I pull my knife from the sheath on my belt, cutting the ropes they’ve used to tie her. Once she’s free, I drop on my ass so I can pull her onto my lap, cradling her to me. My eyes are burning, and I blink several times to clear them. I must have gotten some sand in them. I take several ragged, deep breaths, swallowing hard to knock down the lump in my throat. I run my hand down her back and freeze as my hand rubs over hard lumps. Fuck! There is a bomb on her. I’d been so focused on getting to her, comforting her, I’d forgotten that little detail.

A radio on Jones, crackles. “Jones are you in place?” A heavily accented voice asks. Taking Shelby with me, I scoot myself backward toward where I’d left Jones laying.

“Yeah, we’re ready.” I reply when I have the radio in hand, holding it out from me, hoping the man on the other end doesn’t realize it not Jones’s voice.

“Jones?” The voice asks. Shelby shakes even more as she hears the voice.

“Yes, sir?” I snap, keeping my words short to disguise my voice.

“Everything is secure?” The man asks again.

“Affirmative,” I answer. Jones begins to stir. I kick him hard, just because I can. He groans rolling his head in my direction. His eyes widen as he takes me in. “That’s right, motherfucker,” I growl at him. “I’m your worst fucking nightmare.” He looks like he might be sick, but I don’t have time to worry about him.

“I have secured Shelby,” I announce over the comm, knowing I am going to need some assistance. “Jones and his accomplices are incapacitated. Shelby is strapped with a device. I need Dalton over here to disarm it.” Shelby cries harder in my arms, her body trembling almost violently. Shit! I’ve scared her even more. “You are going to be okay, my sweet girl. Shhh, now. Don’tcry. I’m here, and I won’t let anything happen to you.” I lift Shelby’s oversized shirt to inspect the device as I wait for Dalton to confirm he is on his way.

“The men were t-talking about s-setting it off after they are at a s-safe distance,” Shelby stutters to inform me. Her voice surprisingly strong even though she’s still trembling on my lap. I’m relieved she is at long last responding a little more normally.

“No can do, brother,” Dalton replies, disappointment and anger coursing through me. “Enos and I are headed to free Marley. The men who took her under the boardwalk have all just left, but I haven’t seen any sign of Kristen. I can’t allow Enos to go in there alone. Is there a timer on it anywhere?”

“No, no timer,” I answer, looking over the device one more time to make sure. “I think it’s remote detonated, according to what Shelby overheard the men saying. The men who have Marley have been trying to contact Jones. I’ve pretended to be him, but I’m certain they are suspicious and are likely heading this way to check on him, or they are leaving to set off the devices.” The thought that they might end our lives before Dalton has the opportunity to disarm it hits me like a mac truck. This could be my last moments on this earth. My last moments with Shelby.

“Sweet girl?” I lift her chin so her one eye is looking at me. “No matter what happens, I’m with you. Understand?” Shelby’s eye blinks as she studies my face.

“Bo, you should go,” Shelby whispers, her voice catching. “They are planning to kill me. You need to leave before they set this off.”

“Sweet girl, I’m not leaving you.” I cup her battered face in my hands. “You’re mine, and I’ll gladly head to hell if it’s my time. There’s no way I’m leaving here without you. Whether we walk away or go to meet our maker, it’s you and me, sweet girl.” Shelby cries silently as I stare into her eye, hoping she cansee just how serious I am. I came to realize these last few days Shelby is it for me. I don’t want a life without her. I already know how empty it would be. Even worse than before, since I’ve had a glimpse of what it might be like to be with her every day. I’ve missed waking up next to her these last few days. The feel of her snuggled against me helped me relax and sleep better than I have since before I entered the Navy, all those years ago.

“Bo,” Shelby sobs. “Why would you say that? You can’t be willing to die with me.”

“You are my sweet girl, Shelby,” I say what I’ve come to accept, what I fought against. “I am willing to die with you, for you. I hope you will let me prove to you that you are meant to be mine once we are out of this situation. I’m so fucking sorry about the night you were taken. I never wanted to upset you. I was selfish thinking about what I wanted and not about how you might be feeling about everything. I will do better in the future to put your needs above my own. I promise.” More tears spill down my sweet girl’s face. I wish she would say something, anything to let me know what she’s thinking and feeling. I’ve never cared about a woman’s feelings before. It’s new and different, but with her, it isn’t unwelcomed.

“Bo,” Shelby cries, grasping my shirt as if to ground her. I hold her to me pressing a kiss to her temple. “I…I d-don’t w-want you to d-die,” she sobs. I hold her closer wishing I could assure her that won’t happen, but I don’t know that for certain, and I won’t lie to her. I rock her side to side as we wait for help to come to take this fucking bomb off her.

“Bo, you have incoming,” Kelvin calls over the comm. I shift sideways so I can see more of space around us. “Matthew, Jason, and I have your six. Just keep Shelby out of the way.”

“Understood,” I reply. “Shelby, sweet girl, we need to move.” She lifts her head off my chest to glance up at me. Fear in her eyes. “We aren’t going far, just over here where we canhide behind that big rock.” Her eye looks in the direction I’m pointing. Her face winces as her movement causes her pain. I ease her off my lap long enough for me to get to my feet. Then I scoop her up to carry her behind the rock. We’ve barely gotten into position when I see movement coming from the direction of the stairs. “Stay here, sweet girl. I’ll be right back,” I assure her as I place her on the sand. She clings to me. Her fingers digging into my biceps.

“Wh-where are you going?” she asks fearfully, then suddenly releases me and turns her head away. “Go!” she urges, pushing against me. “Just go!”

“Sweet girl!” I gently turn her face to me. “There are more of those men coming this way. I’m going to help my co-workers take them out, and then I’ll be right back. I promise, sweet girl. Please stay right here where you will be safe.” I swear she snorts as if she has any chance at safety at the moment. I kiss her forehead before peering over the rock to see where the targets are located. A lone man ducks under the boardwalk, scanning the area. His widened eyes land on Jones where I left him lying. He scans the area again. I duck behind the rock so he doesn’t see me. When I check back, the man is hurrying toward Jones prone form. He drops to his knees next to Jones. I circle around the rock, coming up behind him, taking him out with a well-placed blow, just as I did the first two. A grunt behind me has me spinning to see Kelvin, Matthew, and Jason taking down two more men. The men are secured in a matter of seconds. Kelvin heads over to me.

“You got more zip ties?” I ask as I pull the last one out of my pocket. He nods and helps me secure the man I’d taken down. As soon as I’m certain they are secured, I round the rock to find Shelby sitting right where I left her. She is staring at the sand, unmoving.

“I’m back, sweet girl,” I say, approaching her. I don’t want to frighten her again. She still doesn’t move. “Shelby?” I kneel in front of her. She lifts her head, then, surprise on her face.

“Bo?” I reach for her, pulling her back into my lap. “I thought I’d been daydreaming again.”

“I’m here, sweet girl,” I murmur, pulling her close. She collapses into me and heaves deep breaths. Kelvin comes to kneel beside us.

“How is she?” He nods his head toward Shelby. I shake my head, because I really don’t know how badly she’s hurt or how much of a blow her mental health has taken. He nods, turning his head to speak into comms.

“The captors have been secured. Asset 2 is in custody, fair condition. Awaiting extraction details,” Kelvin relates so much more coolly than I’d ever be able to communicate right now. I focus on my sweet girl, keeping her calm until Dalton can arrive. Sirens begin to wail as our team begins their plan of evacuating the area.

A couple of police officers arrive with Det. Atwood. They are standing around discussing how they will transport the men to the station. I wish they’d just leave. The more people standing around, the more anxious Shelby becomes. “Bo, you need to get all these people away from here,” she insists after looking up to see Matthew and Jason standing next to the two uniformed officers. “Please!”

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