Page 66 of As Long As You Kiss Me

Chapter 16

“Sully?” Jackson called through the door.

He knocked again. She had to be here. Her car was still parked outside. It was too soon for her to have fallen asleep.

The door opened, and Sully opened it only a crack. That was odd. “Hi, Jackson.”

“I forgot my phone here.”

“Oh, right. I can get it for you.” She stiffened in a strange way, and a terrified look crossed her face.

“Is everything all right?” Jackson asked.

Help me,she mouthed. “Yeah, it’s fine. I’m just a little tired.”

Was she okay? Then realization tore through him. Mason was in there with her, and he had to have threatened her somehow. Fury built up inside. He was going to maim this guy. No one was allowed to hurt Sully.

“I’ll be right back with your phone. You stay here.” She widened her eyes like she was pleading with him to save her.

He couldn’t call 911 because his phone was trapped inside. Frustration tore through him. There was no way he was leaving to get someone else to call the police. He couldn’t leave her side.

But he did have his concealed gun on him. After seeing the horrors of war, he kept it on him whenever he could. He pulled it out of his hidden holster and tested the door. It was unlocked. He threw it open and burst into the room.

Mason stood behind Sully, and they were halfway across the room, headed toward his phone on the kitchen table where he’d left it.

“Drop the knife, you creep.” Jackson came into the room, kicking the door shut behind him.

“You’re not going to get away with this,” Sully said to Mason. “We have cameras everywhere.”

Mason laughed. “You think I wasn’t smart enough to disable them? Come on, Sully. You know I’m smarter than that.”

“I wouldn’t be laughing if I were you,” Jackson said. “It’s over.”

“You forget, I’m the one with the knife to Sully’s neck.”

“And I’m the one with a gun aimed at your head. You won’t get away with this.” He was a skilled marksman after his years of training. He stayed sharp with visits to the shooting range. “Drop the knife. Now,” he yelled. He didn’t want to shoot Mason, but he had every right to do so at this point. Hopefully, Mason wasn’t so far gone that he was willing to endanger his own life.

The knife clattered to the floor.

“Let go of Sully and step away from her.”

Mason did as he said.

Relief flooded Sully’s face, and she rushed toward him, out of his line of fire.

“Get in that kitchen chair.” He kept his gun pointed at Mason as the loser got in the chair.

“Sully, do you have anything to tie him up with?”

“I have the belt to my bathrobe.”

“That will work.”

She rushed off to her room. He stepped closer to the table, all the while keeping his aim, and grabbed his phone and dialed 911.

Sully came back with the sash, and he put the phone on speaker to talk to dispatch while he tied Mason’s hands behind the chair. It wasn’t the most durable thing to tie him up with, but it would work for now.

When he hung up, Sully said, “It’s too bad we don’t have that footage to use as proof.”

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