Equity (Balance Sheet #3) Read Online Free

With the threat against her, I wanted to be able to get her out without being easily tracked. I didn’t think I could be stuck in the security company’s truck the way I was currently feeling.
    Matt opted to ride with the team in case he could help further. He’d glanced between us when he announced his decision. It was like he wanted to create an intervention between us. I had nothing against Turner. Rationally, I knew he hadn’t known about Bailey and me. And I couldn’t blame him for wanting her.
    “Do you think she’s in there?” Turner asked after clearing his throat.
    I shifted in my seat to look at him while he stared ahead. “A part of me hopes not. The things the bastard could do to her in a hotel room…” I trailed off not wanting to think about it.
    “Motel, you mean.”
    I waved off his correction and got out of the car. It was a stupid comment. But he was as scared shitless as I was at what could be happening to her.
    I reconnoitered at the back of the truck, sure Turner would follow. When I heard the car door close, I lifted up my key fob and hit the lock button. The area we were in held several boarded up one-story buildings, a liquor store closed for the night and this ramshackle motel. I could afford another car if mine got stolen, but I didn’t have the time to bother with those details.
    We entered the back of the truck with people continuing to work at computer stations. Matt was huddled with my top security guy around a girl with head phones on. She gave a thumbs up and then James, my team lead, looked up. “We have confirmation. She’s in there.”
    I wasn’t sure whether to be happy or sad considering the look on the woman’s face as she continued to listen in to whatever was going on in there.
    “Time to move,” James said.
    Turner shifted around and asked, “How can they hear what’s going on inside there?”
    Once we stepped outside, I pointed to what looked like a satellite dish on the roof of the truck. “Top-of-the-line equipment,” I said by way of explanation.
    Then I took off across the street, not bothering to wait for anyone to follow. When I got closer to the lone car in the lot, I heard screams. Not sure of my next move, I looked back to see five guys flagging me down. That’s when I heard her pleas. I couldn’t wait for whatever plan they had. I followed the noise to a door marked eight.
    With proper positioning and force of will, my well-placed kick at the sweet spot of the door made the wood around the lock splinter. It wasn’t my first time kicking a door down to get at someone I cared about inside. I ignored the memory that wanted to swallow me.
    Directly in front of me was a guy not wearing a shirt who held a camera positioned towards the bed. In my periphery, Bailey appeared tied down. My concern for her speared my rage at that man who dared to steal something more precious than money from me.
    I couldn’t see the man’s face for the fetish-type mask that covered it. What I did see was red. And through that haze in my vision, I could tell the man was stunned by his posture. He stood there as I made my quick approach to him.
    He still hadn’t moved by the time I grabbed the back of his neck and made him eat that camera. Maybe I was moving faster than the slow motion of the events in my vision suggested. I heard teeth breaking as I tried to shove the video device down his throat. I let go of his neck and let his head clatter to the ground. I turned to go help Bailey, which probably should have been my first move. The team, however, had made it through in those few precious seconds. Matt had the other person flat on their stomach, hands bound in zip ties in between the bed and the wall leading to what I assumed was the bathroom.
    One of my team slowly walked over to me towards the guy on the ground. He met my eye, probably nervous I would take my fury out on him if he took over to secure the prisoner. I got up and looked away. Another team member was cutting