Page 73 of Rescuing Josiah
“Josiah, Desiree was shot. I thought she was dead, but now she’s gone.”
Chapter
Twenty
May 18th
1:42 A.M.
At Chelsea’s words, he and Rocco’s SEAL team sprang into action.
Josiah closed the last of the distance between himself and Chelsea, Gumby and Phantom moved in closer to Maple, and Rocco moved around them to block one side of the maze, while Ace moved back a little further down the way they’d come to block the other.
“Are you sure?” he asked Chelsea.
“That Desiree was shot? Absolutely. Don’t be mad, but I saw Bridget alone out here and I had to come to her, she’s just a little girl. I was going to take her somewhere to hide, but then Desiree came. She was armed. I was talking her down as best I could to buy time. When she lowered the weapon, I told Bridget to run, and I was going to tackle her.”
“You were going to do what?” he demanded, his voice low and dangerous as a new bout of fear flooded his system.
One of her slim hands stroked his arm. “It’s okay, Josiah. A shot went out, and for one second I thought I was hit, but it was Maple shooting Desiree. I saw her go down. Maple did too. Ask her. I thought Desiree was dead. If I’d realized she wasn't, I would have told you immediately.”
“I believe you, Chels,” he assured her. He was still furious she’d put herself in danger to go after Desiree Tilly’s daughter, knowing the woman would also be looking for the child, but in the end, he could hardly ask Chelsea to stop being who she was.
She was a strong woman who knew what she wanted, who cared for others, who looked for good in everyone around her. It was those exact qualities that made him fall in love with her, so he really couldn’t be angry at her for just doing what Chelsea did.
The problem was, a dangerous woman was still out there.
As long as Desiree Tilly was free, this would never really be over.
“We need to lock down this place, we can't let her escape,” he said to Rocco, who nodded his agreement.
“Let’s get Chelsea and Maple back to the house, then we can search for Desiree,” Gumby said.
“And Bridget. She’s out here, too,” Chelsea reminded them all. “Josiah, she’s scared. Not just of what's happening, the shooting, and everything. Desiree told her you guys are bad men. I tried to convince her it wasn't true, but she won't just be scared of you guys, she’s scared of her mom, too. She heard Desiree ranting at me, I don’t know who she’s going to trust right now.”
Actually, they all knew one person the little girl would trust.
Chelsea.
But he couldn’t allow her to remain out there after she’d almost been shot by two different women in the space of thirty minutes. Chelsea couldn’t die. Damn, even the thought of her hurt had him breaking out into a cold sweat.
“I’ll tell her I'm your husband,” he said to Chelsea before she could offer to help search for the missing child and the girl’s deranged mother.
For a second, he was sure she was going to argue, but then she nodded. “That should work.
“Gumby and I will get Chelsea and Maple to the house,” Phantom said, and Josiah had to force himself not to argue.
As badly as he didn't want to leave Chelsea’s side, he had the best chance of gaining the little girl’s trust when they found her.
“Wait.” He grabbed Chelsea when she went to brush past him. This might just be the hardest thing he’d ever have to do in his life, but he wasn't going to allow his girl to walk out there without the best protection he could give her.
“What?” Chelsea asked.
Shoving his weapon into her hands, he grabbed the hem of his T-shirt and yanked it up and over his head. When he reached for the straps of his Kevlar vest, she gasped, her hands darting out to cover his, trying to stop him.
“You don’t have to do that,” she whispered, understanding better than anyone here what this would cost him.
The thing was, though, he did have to do this.
