Page 107 of Protected

“Just shut up. Sit in that chair and don’t fucking move.”

Darci sat where he was pointing but kept talking.

“I don’t understand this, Kaden. If you’re going to kill me anyway, you might as well answer my questions.”

“Fine, you want to know how you ruined my life? After you and your little campus cop boyfriend filed a complaint against me, I got kicked off the softball team.”

Is he seriously murdering women because he got kicked off a team? What the fuck?

“Then,” he continued, “the university quietly convinced my family that the school wasn’t right for me, so my parents refused to pay for anymore tuition. Uncle Sean pulled some strings to get me transferred to a different school across the country.”

“That doesn’t sound like a ruined life.”

“Well, no, but some stupid cunt at the new school heard about your little story and made up one of her own. I guess politics are more important than family, because they cut me off and refused to help me. I got away from her lies too, but I had to make my own way. My parents gave me some money and basically told me they wanted nothing else to do with me. It was almost impossible to find work, even now, I can barely get a temp agency to hire me.”

“Sounds like you deserved it. I didn’t make anything up and you know it, Kaden. You raped me.”

“Just shut up. You’re a whore and you know it. You tempt men with your kinky role play fantasies and then when they give you what you want you cry rape. Lying, fucking, whore.” He missed the last words and Darci cringed.

He set down the backpack he had taken out of the truck. “I’ve been carrying this around with me for a few weeks now. I was beginning to think I would never get an opportunity to use it with all that security following you. Luckily my girl hates you as much as I do and was able to help me out.”

Fear bubbled in Darci’s stomach as he spoke. “Use what? Who’s your girl?” she whispered.

He pulled items out of the bag. Rope, a set of small knives, maybe scalpels. She couldn’t watch anymore, so she closed her eyes and tried to fight back the tears. She was going to die.

• • •

It felt like forever before Michael got a phone call, and Bradley was going crazy.

He packed his office up, turned in his keys, and waited. Finally, a call came in.

All he could hear was Michael’s side of the conversation.

“Jesus man. We’ve been worried sick. Where the fuck are you? Darci’s still missing but we know who has her.” It must be Peter. Bradley mouthed to Michael for him to put it on speaker.

“Some bitch came running up to my car screaming that she had lost her kid, so I jumped out to help her look. When we got behind a building, she busted me over the head. I woke up in the hospital. I’m pretty sure it was Theresa. Whatever the fuck her name is. I feel like an ass for not recognizing her. Find our girl damn it. I’ll be there as soon as the damn nurse comes back with discharge papers.”

Michael ended the call, and the two men left the Hart building to head back to Michael’s place to wait for news. It came a half hour later.

“His truck has been spotted at a cabin. It’s secluded but we’re sending a team in. Peter showed up as he was explaining that it was going to take a little while to assemble the time.

“We could beat them there and rescue her ourselves. I can call Gage and he can help. How hard can it be to take down one guy?”

At first, Michael was against it, but Peter pointed out that Bradley had done multiple rescue operations in the military and all of them were well equipped to take this on.

“I’m not leaving her to be tortured or killed by that prick because we’re waiting for the police,” Bradley snapped.

They piled into Peter’s SUV and raced to the location. When they got close to the cabin, they came across a tactical team setting up out of sight of the property. Michael pulled over, ordered Bradley and Peter to stay in the vehicle and hopped out to talk to the man in charge of the scene.

Bradley rolled the window down to listen.

“We sent one man in to scout the perimeter, detective. Your man is definitely in there with a woman matching your friend’s description. We’ll have to be careful going in. The plan right now is to surround the place with a few snipers before making contact to negotiate but there may not be time for that. He’s got her strapped to a chair in the main room and it looks like he’s planning harm for sure.”

“Fuck that,” Peter said. “We just need to burst in on him and scare the hell out of him.”

Michael seemed to be on the same wavelength because he said, “Is there no way to just burst in and surprise him? He’s not a fan of confrontation and as long as we wait until he’s out of arms reach of Darci we could take him down.”

“It’s an option we’re considering. I’m waiting until my men are in place to make the call.”

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