Turbulent Intrigue (Billionaire Aviators 4)

The doctor numbed him and removed the bullets as Ace tried to remain conscious enough to get the entire story out to his brothers. They listened, and the medical staff became much more subdued, realizing he’d been telling the truth the entire time.

“She’s got a tracking device on her,” Ace said. “We have to trace it now before they figure it out.”

“The bullets are out,” the doctor said. “No internal organs were hit.”

“I told you that,” Ace snapped as the nurse took over for the doctor and began sewing up his wounds.

“You most likely do have a concussion, though, and will need to stay overnight,” he said, glaring down at Ace.

“That’s not going to happen,” Ace told the man with just as strong a look.

“You aren’t going to be able to do your job when you can’t even walk straight,” the doctor informed him.

“You don’t know me,” Ace assured the man.

“I know plenty of hotshots like you,” the doctor grumbled before he turned toward Cooper, whom he seemed to deem the most responsible of the siblings. “He needs to take medication, and if he leaves, it’s against medical advice.”

“We have a couple of nurses at home. We’ll keep an eye on him,” Cooper promised, speaking far more rationally. The doctor sighed but nodded and told his staff to release Ace from his restraints.

When the straps were undone, he sat up too quickly and became ill, his head instantly spinning. The nurse looked at him with an I-told-you-so expression that irritated Ace all the more.

“Maybe you should let us and Bill handle this,” Maverick said, obviously worried.

“Would you sit here if Lindsey was taken?” Ace fired back.

Maverick just shook his head. He didn’t try to argue any further. He reached into his pocket and pulled up the app that would track Dakota, praying it was still active. It was the longest couple of minutes of his life while he tried to focus on it as it searched for her.

When the device stopped searching, it showed her in a steady location. They must have her wherever they planned on staying for the night. It was either that or else . . . No, he refused to even think about the fact that she might be gone from his life. They wouldn’t kill her. She was too valuable to them alive. They had nothing to bargain with if she were dead.

“Let’s go,” he told his brothers as he slowly got to his feet. He could barely walk. It wasn’t good.

“How in the hell are you going to save her like this?” Mav demanded.

Ace stood between his brothers as he left the ER department, waving off any effort at assisting him. “I’ll have you with me,” he assured them.

“Of course, we’re more than willing to be there with you, but you have to call in help, Ace. For her safety, you have to let go of your pride,” Cooper told him.

They reached Cooper’s vehicle, and it took maximum effort for Ace to even slide into the back seat. He ignored the accusing look his brother sent him that told him he was a fool.

Without another word, he lifted his phone and dialed Bill, who picked up on the second ring.

“They got her, Bill,” he said.

“Do you know where?” he asked.

“I have a location. I need men we can trust beyond a shadow of a doubt,” Ace demanded.

“I know just who to send,” Bill assured him.

“I won’t hesitate to kill them if they try to betray us,” Ace warned.

“I have my inner circle, Ace. No one else even knows about this,” Bill told him.

Ace knew he could trust Bill, but that didn’t make any of this easier. He wanted to be the one to save Dakota, because he couldn’t trust anyone else to take her life as seriously as he did. But he knew he was too weak to ensure her safety. He’d be putting her at more risk by not accepting help.

He gave the address to Bill and agreed to a meeting place a block away. It was a full-on stealth mission. Before Ace hung up the phone, Bill had produced a map of the abandoned home on the outskirts of the city. The thugs probably figured they wouldn’t be found in the location. Also, so far, they either hadn’t found Dakota’s tracking device or they had and this was a trap.

Ace didn’t care. He would be going in for her, no matter what.