Page 69 of Her Delta Force Protector

“I should have never gone in that warehouse.”

“Not gonna argue with that, but you can’t undo it. That still doesn’t make any of this your fault. Don’t take responsibility for the evil these men are up to. What you need to remember is that you did a good thing getting Lisa away before she got hurt or worse. A lot of people would have ignored their misgivings in a situation like that simply because they didn’t want to get involved. Because of you, these men aren’t going to hurt anyone else. We’re going to make sure of it.”

“Damn straight.” She raised her fist, and he bumped his against it. “Thanks, I guess I needed to hear that. I made a mistake going in the warehouse, but I did get Lisa away from them, and that’s what counts.”

“Damn straight,” he said, giving her words back to her. “Wanna make out?” She laughed, which was his intention.

She straddled him and smiled. “Give me those sugar lips.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Every time she gave him one of those special smiles meant only for him another layer of ice surrounding his heart melted. Being with her felt like stepping out of a cold winter day and into the sunshine of summer. And now he was a poet. He internally chuckled at his absurd thoughts.

They were just a guy and a girl enjoying each other’s company while they could. He put his hands on her hips and gave himself over to the feel of her tongue dueling with his. Just when she slid her hands under his sweatshirt, his phone chimed. He wanted to ignore it, to see how far she would go, here in the middle of the lake in view of anyone passing by, but it could be one of the guys.

She lifted her head and gave him a rueful smile. “Guess you better get that.”

“Yeah.” He pulled his phone out to see Viper’s name on the screen. “Talk to me.”

“You need to come in. Nick’s got news.”

Chapter Thirty-Six

Theo glared at his cousin. “What the hell’s wrong with you? We know where she is now. We can proceed with the plan.”

“Why did she turn her computer on after days of keeping it off?”

“Don’t know. Don’t care. You better not get squirrely on me now, Rex. She’s the only thing standing in the way of our putting some big bucks in our bank accounts. Pull that location up on Google Maps.”

He and Rex lived in the house Rex had inherited after his mother died. It was a three/two ranch in a middle-class neighborhood. Theo hated it. He was meant for better things. A penthouse overlooking the ocean in South Beach Miami, beautiful women sharing his bed, and his nights spent at the hottest nightclubs as a VIP...that was the life he deserved. Then he could thumb his nose at the old man, a father who’d said from the time his son could understand words that he’d never amount to anything. Didn’t matter that Harold Watson was dead—thank you, Jesus—Theo knew the old man was watching from hell, just waiting to gloat that his son had turned out to be the loser he’d expected.

When Theo had it all—everything the old man had wanted for himself but had been too stupid to figure out how to get, the man who couldn’t even make a success at petty crimes—Theo was going to go to the bastard’s gravesite and spit on the ground.Showed you, fucker, he was going to say.

“Gotcha,” he said as he studied the satellite view of a small cabin on a lake. The surrounding woods would make it easy to sneak up to the place.

No one walked away from him, a lesson Lisa needed to learn. Yes, he’d had a lapse in judgment when he’d tried to kill Jansen, had let his anger take over. But he was back in control and things would go the way he wanted them to. He needed to wrap this situation up because his vacation time was nearing an end. One more year as a detective dealing with shit that was below him and then he’d have the life he deserved.

He called Stockton. “We got her location,” he said when Stockton answered. “You line up some muscle?”

“I’ve got five. Two of my bouncers, both meaner than a rabid dog, and three more from the Road Killers motorcycle club. Boys you don’t want on your bad side.”

“Great. Set it up to leave tomorrow after lunch. It’s about a three-hour drive, so we’ll get there and in place before it gets dark. When their lights go out and they think they’re safe for the night, we strike.”

“We all leaving together? That don’t sound like a good idea.”

That don’t sound like?Did this man even go to school? Theo tried not to feel superior to the people he came in contact with, but it was damn hard sometimes. “Of course not. Your people will get there first. I’ll text you the location. Tell them to set up in the woods. You, me, and Rex will arrive an hour after them. I’m not expecting trouble from one man and a woman but tell your men to come well-armed and to answer their damn phones if we have to call.”

After tomorrow night, this problem would be gone. He’d know where Lisa was, he could get back to putting big money in his bank account, and this time next year, he’d be living in a South Beach penthouse, surrounded by beautiful women.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Nick’s intel was good. They now knew who and how many to expect. Based on the conversation between Watson and Rawls, they knew the men thought it was just him and Harper at the cabin. That was also good. These dirtbags weren’t going to know what hit them.

Kade faced Harper and slid his hand behind her neck. “Everyone’s in place except you. You ready to climb a tree?”

Tristan had called thirty minutes ago to tell them that three bikers wearing the colors of the Road Killers Motorcycle Club were riding through town. A black SUV had been following them, the occupants two beefy men. That had to be the two bouncers. They would reach the area in about twenty minutes. The assumption was that they’d park where they could stash the bikes and car and then come in on foot, thinking they could hide until the bosses arrived. Fools.

“Did I ever tell you how much I love climbing trees?” Harper said.

“I think you failed to mention that.” She was nervous but trying to pretend she wasn’t. “There’s still time to take the boat to the other side of the lake.” He wished she would more than he’d ever wished for anything. That thought caused his heart to skip a beat, then two.

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