Ruthless Bastard (Dangerous Love 3)

She jerked at the nearness of the frigid low voice. She kept her head down as roughed-up boots with dirty jeans came into view.

Her attacker responded from his spot on the couch in the sitting area of the garage. “She came up on us at the bar. Wasn’t sure what the boss wanted to do with her. Figure it best to bring her back here.”

“Wrong,” the guy snapped. “You should have left her to burn in the bar. Why the fuck would you bring her here?”

“We didn’t have time to think it through,” her attacker growled. “We acted and grabbed her. There are security cameras there. Killing her was too risky.”

There was a long pause. Then, “The boss isn’t gonna like this.”

The men around Kinsley shifted on their feet.

Kinsley’s hand went straight to her belly. She knew she had to run, get away. Because, suddenly, it wasn’t if she was going to die, but when. A cold sweat washed over her, fear pumping her heart until her head swam.

Rhett…

Her hand pressed tighter against her belly…Oh, little one…

Her family, her friends, her life, it was all flashing through her mind. She wasn’t ready to say goodbye. Nowhere near ready.

A pair of shoes clicked against the cement floor. Each click deepened her breath a little bit more. Until the man stopped in front of her. The power emanating off him had her lifting her head even though she told herself that she shouldn’t look. Her eyes met the dark stormy depths of his, and she knew there was no getting out of there. The coldness there, the lack of humanity, made her shiver.

Tears welled up in her eyes before she forced herself to blink them away, not wanting to show weakness. Never. Not in front of this killer.

The man finally looked at her attacker with his gun aimed at her. “Do you realize who this is?”

Her captor shifted nervously on his feet. “We had no choice but to bring her.”

“You most definitely did have a choice,” he countered. “You should have put a bullet through her head and left her there.”

Kinsley froze at the sheer callousness that dripped from his voice. She’d never really believed in evil people. She’d always thought that people just made bad choices. But here, with these men, who knew she was pregnant and yet were still speaking about killing her like she was some spider on the wall, she believed evil was very real and present in this room.

She stared into his cold, dark eyes that made her want to flee. Everything about him from his worn black leather vest with the WILD DOGS logo on it, to the way his thin lips dipped down, screamed of danger. “Please don’t do this. I’m pregnant.” That had to make someone stop.

The man didn’t even flinch. Nothing showed on his face, except pure boredom.

Two men strode up and stopped behind him, assault rifles in their hands. They were like soldiers ready to go to war, but this wasn’t war, she wanted to scream at them.

She’d never wanted any part of this. She wanted to go home to Rhett and her family and friends. To her life. A life that was not perfect and was full of flaws, but it was most certainly hers. She wanted more time…

The leader eventually broke the heavy silence. “Bringing her here was fucking stupid.” He shoved his hand into his pocket. “Did you not think about how they will move the earth to find her?”

They meaning Rhett, Boone, and her father. And they would. They would stop at nothing. But she knew there was more at stake here than just her own life and the life of her child’s. Rhett would never forgive himself. He’d never recover. So many lives ruined, all because of the greed of these scumbags.

“They’ve got the security cameras,” the guy on her right said. “We couldn’t kill her there.”

“Again, you could have, and you should have.” The leader turned around and Kinsley heard a telling click. “I’m growing very tired of fixing your sloppy mistakes.” He turned around and fired two shots, killing both her attacker and the guy on her other side.

Kinsley threw her hands over her ears, the bang near deafening, as she stared into her attacker’s dead eyes while blood poured out of his wound. The click of a gun being cocked again lifted her eyes. She scrambled back, the wall stopping her from getting anywhere. “No,” she barely managed. “No. Please.” She’d nearly had it all. Everything she ever wanted. Love, happiness, family, it’d all been right there, ready for her to grab it.

No, it couldn’t end this way. She wanted the husband, the family home filled with memories, the big dinners celebrating people and achievements. She wanted to grow old with someone. There was so much more she wanted to do.

And yet…and yet…the man squared his shoulders and took aim. Kinsley shut her eyes, holding on to her belly. I love you.

Chapter 18

Rhett sat next to Boone in the van, with Asher on the other side, wearing full tactical gear. They’d joined the Whitby Falls SWAT team after getting a location from King. This was their fight, and luckily the Whitby Falls chief understood that and allowed them to assist. Rhett had to give it to the Whitby Falls PD—they got their SWAT team assembled and in the van in thirty minutes. But those thirty minutes had felt like hours, and every minute was more daunting than the last. He needed Kinsley safe in his arms, nothing but that. And while the address that King gave Rhett could still have been fictitious, Rhett oddly believed him. The last thing King needed was word that he’d taken out a biker gang to clear away the competition. King appeared to want money, not a war, and Rhett hoped his instincts to push King had set them on the right path.

“We’re going to get her back.”