Desire Protected Read Online Free Page B

the magazine revealed the
gun had several bullets remaining. He prayed it would be
enough.

Chapter Four
     
    The blueprints of the building he
studied today showed a large open room at the end of the hall. He
stopped at the entrance and stared at a bank of lockers. Most of
the room was blocked from his view. He inched inside and peeked
around the last locker. A man sat at a table looking at a magazine.
The fire door at the back of the room opened and a second man
entered.
    “ You remembered to tie her
to the rope this time, right?” said the man at the
table.
    “ Fuck you.” The second man
took a seat next to him. “You need to train Bev on how to use a gun
again. She didn’t even close the slide when she took it from
you.”
    “ She must have figured it
out. The gun went off while you were outside.”
    “ And you haven’t checked
on her?” The second man swatted the magazine from his
hand.
    “ Hey, with any luck,
she’ll shoot herself and then we can take over the slave business.”
They both laughed.
    “ True.” Their high five
was the last straw.
    Ethan stepped into the room with the
gun trained on both men. “There’s a problem with your little
plan.”
    “ Hold up, man.” The first
guy held up his hands. “You want a cut. We can share, right
Frank?”
    “ Fuck that.” Frank
charged.
    Ethan fired the gun once, hitting the
man in the chest. When he kept coming, he fired two more shots.
Finally, the man fell. He walked closer to the first
man.
    “ Come on. I’ll make you a
deal.”
    Ethan didn’t respond. With the gun
positioned on the man’s forehead, he fired. After confirming the
men were dead, he ran to the fire door. It opened to the parking
lot behind the building. He spotted an unmarked moving
truck.
    Using the butt of the gun, he broke
the lock and raised the rear door. A half dozen sweet faces
squinted at him, including his Nadia.
    “ Thank heavens, I found
you.” He climbed into the truck.
    “ Ethan.” Tears streamed
down her face.
    He flicked out his pocket
knife.
    “ No, free the others
first.” Her strength continued to amaze him. “I told them you would
come.”
    He caressed her face and kissed her
quickly. Then, he walked around each woman and cut through the
ropes binding them to a chain that ran the length of the van. He
assured each of them it was all over and more help was on the way.
Once they were all free and he had Nadia in his arms, he called
Clair. “It’s done, plus two.”
    “ Thank you, Ethan. We’re
pulling in now.”
    “ We’re in the back of the
building.”
    “ I see you.”
    He climbed out of the truck and helped
Nadia down.
    Several vehicles pulled into the
parking lot, including a couple of ambulances. A number of men
rushed past them and into the building. Clair got out and walked
toward them. “Thanks again, Ethan. I knew I could count on you.”
She tilted her head “Nadia?”
    “ I don’t think the two of
you have officially met.” Ethan pulled Nadia closer to his side.
“Nadia, this is Clair.”
    Clair held out her hand. “It’s nice to
meet you. You’ve caught yourself a real good one here. If I were
you, I wouldn’t let him go.”
    Nadia squeezed her hand. “I won’t ever
let him go.”
    “ There was gunfire.” Ethan
rubbed Nadia’s hip. “You’ll have to deal with the police because
we’re leaving.”
    “ Shit. Okay. We’ll come up
with something.” She waved to a man getting out of the car she’d
arrived in. “Your team has already taken care of the surveillance
cameras?”
    “ That’s correct.” Ethan
nodded.
    “ You saved a lot of lives
tonight.”
    He also ended three. Guilt was not a
part of his job though. It only appeared when he didn’t save a life
worth saving. His gaze turned to the truck. “You’ll let me know if
these women need anything.”
    “ I will.”
    ****
    They said nothing on the way back to
her place. She knew he was pissed and rightfully so. They had built
their relationship on a few