Page 44 of Trusting Laurence
“On it, boss man.”
“Preston, sorry bud. Change of destination. This one takes priority.”
“Do what you’ve got to do. I can always make a plan from there.”
The entire ride to Tahlia’s house, Larry prayed. It had been a long time since he had, but he was hoping it wouldn’t be held against him. He didn’t know what he would do if anything happened to Tahlia. Especially since he’d promised to keep her safe. They’d finally found each other again; he just had to believe they would get to her in time.
“Sir, apparently a high-powered attorney arrived at the office, pitched a fit, and Hector was released. Mary-Beth’s going to check who processed him. Seems the mole tunnel goes a lot deeper than we suspected.”
“Yeah, so it would seem,” was all Larry took the time to say as he sped toward the scene.
When they pulled up outside the house, he noticed the door standing wide open. As soon as he’d parked the car, he ran for it. Dashing through the open door, he found one of his agents on guard at the foot of the stairs.
“Report,” Larry barked at the man.
“Mr. Keon, sir. We followed the three men into the house after I spoke to you. When we arrived at Ms. O’Connor’s suite, they were attempting to coerce her into leaving with them.”
“And then?”
“Hector started screaming about being a dead man, and one of the unsubs pulled a weapon. We drew our own and told the unsub to stand down. He declined with some choice words and discharged a shot. My partner returned fire.”
Larry could feel the acid build in his stomach.Please, god, let Tahlia be okay. “Yeah?”
“Hector pulled his own weapon, but before we could either disarm him or fire a shot, he shot himself, so we have a body count of two, sir.”
“And the other two – the second unsub and Ms. O’Connor?”
“The second unsub managed to get away. Ms. O’Connor is upstairs. She’s somewhat shaken after suffering a flesh wound. It seems one of the bullets discharged ricocheted, grazing Ms. O’Connor.”
“I expect a full report on my desk before end of shift today.”
“Yes, sir.”
Larry took the stairs two at a time. He couldn’t get to Tahlia quick enough. Everything else could wait, but he needed to see for himself that she was fine. As he cleared the doorway, he saw the evidence of the standoff that had gone down. The room was in chaos, furniture overturned, pictures knocked off the wall, bodies on the floor.
His eyes tracked the room as he searched for Tahlia. They came to rest on her sitting on a chair in the tiny kitchen. Someone had obviously thought to put her there with her back to the room. He hastened to where she sat.
She startled as he came around her into sight. His heart clenched at the ashen color of her skin and the glaze of shock in her eyes. This woman had been through so much in her life, he wondered when she was going to catch a break.
As her dull eyes locked on his, she surged to her feet and threw herself into his arms.
“Laurence, oh god.” Her arms locked around him, and she buried her face in his neck.
He felt the hot spill of tears against his skin as he held her shaking frame tight, thanking every deity he could think of that she was safe. He closed his eyes against the uncomfortable mix of rage and fear that bubbled like acid in his stomach. If he could get his hands on the people responsible for this mess, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to control himself.
He heard movement behind him. Swinging his head around, he saw Finn and Preston in the doorway. “Finn, find out if they’ve called for paramedics. If not, someone get on it.”
“Yes, sir. Right away.”
“I’m sorry, Laurence. I promised I’d be careful. I thought it was one of your agents come to fetch me. That’s what he said,” he heard Tahlia whisper.
He put his lips to her ear, intending his words for her only. “It’s okay, baby. I’m sorry this happened to you. I’m just so grateful you’re safe.”
Finn moved into his line of sight. “They’re on their way, sir. I’m going to check on the old lady and see if I can get a statement. Need anything before I go downstairs?”
“No, we’re all good here. Stay sharp. We don’t know where the second unsub disappeared to.”
Finn nodded and left the room. Preston moved over to where the agent stood, speaking quietly to him. Larry couldn’t hear what the men were talking about. Figuring things were in hand between Preston and Finn, he decided to focus his attention on Tahlia. He could feel how she still trembled against him.
