Page 43 of Watch Over Me

When the confirmation flashed on his screen, his hands trembled.

He did it. The bedroom was now cut off from the outside world and so was the front door. Eddie couldn't get out, but neither could Lavon and the pushy guy, both trapped in the bedroom.

And nobody would be able to come in from the outside without Eddie disengaging the security measures.

Now, it was time to call in that cavalry he needed.

Either the police or the company that provided the security system could be on their way, but Eddie wasn't going to bet on that. If the place was staged, like he assumed, the system could be partially disabled.

Besides, there were people out there he trusted to get him out, no matter what.

With his hands still trembling, he called the company's emergency line.

Any second now, the men in the other room would realize something was wrong.

"This is Jasmine, how can I help you?"

He sagged in his seat as the relief hit him, but he had to get it together. He wasn't safe yet.

"This is Eddie Bailey, needing immediate assistance," he said, lowering his voice. "I've been taken to an unknown location, but I've managed to initiate a lockdown protocol in here and I'm temporarily safe. I think," he added, then quickly ran through the situation. "My tracker was destroyed, but I'm about to connect with our internal system, so you should be able to pinpoint my location."

"I got you," Jasmine said a few tense seconds later. "I'll notify the police, but our guys are coming, too. Can you stay on the line with me?"

Eddie took a deep breath. "I think so."

"That's good."

Then, there was another voice on the call—one Eddie hadhoped to hear from the very start.

"We're coming," James said, his voice tense but steady. "We're coming for you, Eddie. Hang tight."

Eddie nodded, even though nobody could see him.

He had done his part. Now, all he had to do was wait.

James was on the way.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Sitting around and waiting was up there amongst the hardest parts of James's job, but sitting around and waiting when it was Eddie's safety on the line was infinitely worse. He'd left the comm center earlier to gear up, to be ready to leave the building at a moment's notice, but he was back now, and they still didn't have enough to track Eddie past the warehouse he'd been taken to first. Jeremy and Martinez had gone to check it out anyway, but they hadn't found anyone there.

Ryan stayed by his side and tried to engage him in a conversation a couple of times, but James ignored anything that wasn't the big screen above Jasmine's head, waiting for it to show the answer they needed.

Then, right as he was approaching the absolute end of his tether, a new signal pinged and a blue dot flashed on the screen.

Jasmine halted her fingers above the keyboard. "This is Jasmine, how can I help you?"

James held his breath until—

"This is Eddie Bailey, needing immediate assistance."

James gripped the arms of his seat, swallowing hard as he listened to Eddie's quick report.

He was fine. He was alive.

And he managed to pretty much save himself, the only thing he needed now was their assistance to finish the job.

That, James knew how to do.

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