Page 43 of Desperate Temptations

“I had no idea. My heart belonged to Drew. I never saw another man, and I was never attracted to anyone else.”

Aubrey shrugged.

“It doesn’t matter now. All that matters is Gary owes Martinez a lot of money. This is the only way to repay the debt he owes him. He said he’d give me enough money to get Gary and me out of town so we could start over. Take another left up here.”

“What went wrong? What has happened that was bad enough for this?” Jessa wanted to keep her talking as long as she could, hoping something would sink into this crazy woman’s head.

“I’d had enough of sitting back and letting things happen. I wanted to be proactive and help my husband. I wanted to show him I’m here for him and I’d do anything to help him.”

“Have you ever thought he might be angry that you gave me to Martinez, if he cared about me as much as you say he did?”

“Shut the fuck up,” Aubrey shrieked. “Just fucking drive.”

Chapter Forty

Leona watched as the two women walked away, and knew something was terribly wrong. Jessa had looked petrified by Aubrey, a woman she’d known for years. She’d never seen Jessa with that look of terror on her face, not even when Mr. Owens had shown up that first time and scared the hell out of everybody.

Leona called security, but Jessa and Aubrey were already gone before they could reach the door. She picked up her phone to call Mr. Owens. If anyone could figure out what was going on, she hoped he could.

****

Cain slammed the phone down and snatched his coat off the back of his chair as he dialed Quinton’s number.

“Quinton, Aubrey took Jessa from the office. Leona said Jessa looked terrified. The guards got the color and type of car, and most of the license plate. But I’m going to follow a tracker I put in her purse. Thankfully, Leona said Jessa had it with her. Hopefully, she’ll be able to keep it with her so I can find her quickly. I’ll send the information your way when I get it.”

“Be careful, man, I’m sending you as many men as we can.”

Cain ran out of his office, pulling up the tracking program on his phone. He let out a breath when he saw it moving steadily across town. Good, she still had her purse. He just needed to get to her as quickly as possible.

They were all going to die today, he swore. Everyone who touched his woman would die.

He made up time, speeding through the streets, driving around the vehicles that got in his way. He followed the blinking light. It didn’t take long before he realized that he knew where they were going. He took a sharp right. He’d be able to get there at the same time they would or shortly after. He sent the information to Quinton and then concentrated on his driving.

Less than five minutes later, he pulled up about a block away. He looked at his phone to make sure he was in the right place and decided she was where he thought they were going. He opened the door to the back seat of his truck, taking out all the firepower he had, putting it into the duffle he had. He could fight a small army with what he carried.

He ran quietly around the side of the building, crouching as he ran under windows. He came to a small side door that he picked within seconds. He cracked it open, making sure no one was standing right inside.

He knew from previously visiting this rundown warehouse that this door made noise while opening. He took care to go slow, lessening the sound. His eyes never rested, constantly moving around and behind him. When he had an opening big enough to slip through, he did, cringing at the slight squeak. He paused, listening for the sound of footsteps or movement. He continued, closing it quietly behind him.

Cain could hear men’s voices coming from the large room at the front. He started to worry when he didn’t hear Jessa.

He started up the stairs when a tingle ran down his neck. He twirled, stepping back into an old office or storage room. Seconds later, a man with an automatic gun walked by, just missing him. He quietly walked up behind him, dispatching him with a quick twist to the man’s neck. He dragged him into the office, grabbed his bag, and started up the stairs, careful to avoid the broken ones.

Cain got to the glass-enclosed hallway that overlooked the main room below. He raised his head just enough to look over the ledge. His heart stopped when he saw Aubrey holding onto Jessa’s arm, facing Martinez. He couldn’t hear the words, but the raised voices told him the situation was going south quickly. He just about lost it when Martinez drew a gun, calmly putting a bullet through Aubrey’s forehead.

He saw Aubrey falling, unbalancing Jessa, who fell on top of her, screaming. Cain had his gun set up and pointing directly between Martinez’s eyes when the man grabbed Jessa by the arm, yanking her up, pulling her tightly against him, and preventing him from getting a round off with her blocking his shot.

Cain’s jaw clenched with rage and then disbelief when she pushed at him, antagonizing a brutal man who had just killed a woman in front of her eyes. Goddammit, she was going over his knee. What the hell did she think she was doing? What the hell was she yelling at Martinez?

Cain moved farther down the row of windows, closer to the group of people, until he found one with a larger hole in it. He almost had a heart attack when he heard what she was yelling. From his position, Cain could see the anger crossing her face. She continued to struggle against Martinez, and amazingly, he seemed amused by it.

Cain was ready to take him out when he had the chance, hoping his backup wasn’t far away.

Chapter Forty-One

“Who the hell do you think you are? God?” Jessa screamed and tried kicking at him, but he dodged her, and it seemed to amuse him. “You shot her like she didn’t matter.”

Jessa tried swinging her purse at him. Martinez caught hold of both her arms, bringing her flush against him, and he lowered his mouth only to jerk back when she bit him.

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