Those arms, whoever they belonged to, released him. Maybe at the raw agony in his voice that even he heard and barely recognized. He rushed forward, stumbling over his own feet as he reached the edge of the cliff. There, on the rocks, as the water sloshed up around the ice, he saw the body dressed in a black jacket and jeans, the dark hair. He couldn’t remember…was this what Kinsley was wearing?
A bitter east wind cut across the cliff, lifting the woman’s dark hair away from her face. Rhett’s world slowly turned on its axis. Everything he thought he knew altered as he realized he couldn’t survive without her. Kinsley had been there, every day for years, making him smile, laugh, showering him with her warm affection, pulling him back when he’d been so lost. Something deep inside him shifted as he dropped to his knees, pressing his hands into the cold hard ground. He knew Kinsley’s mouth. He knew her eyes. The lines of her jaw that he’d kissed. The curves of her body. He knew everything about her.
Boone suddenly dropped next to Rhett, and Rhett reached out, grabbing his shoulder. “It’s not her,” he barely managed. “It’s not her.”
“Jesus,” Boone wheezed, staring down at the deceased stranger. “Jesus, Lord. Thank you.” He planted his hands on the ground, bowed his head, and breathed deep.
“I planned to call you.”
Rhett glanced over his shoulder to find Detective Anderson behind them, his dark gray eyes weary. His black cap was pulled down low on his head, only the ends of his dark brown hair showing. “I only learned of Kinsley’s abduction on the drive over. I hadn’t had a chance to identify her.” He stepped closer to the edge. “A couple of guys told me that we’ve got the woman’s husband already in custody. He drove to the station right after and confessed to pushing her and she fell over the edge.”
Rhett turned back to the woman, staring at her. He could survive war, loneliness, and even a gunshot wound. But he couldn’t live without Kinsley and this new life she offered him. One that was hot at night and warm in the morning. A life of laughter and love.
Love.
Fuck, he loved Kinsley, madly, deeply. That’s why he’d spent years trying to protect her, because that’s what he did. He protected those he loved. And he wanted to protect her from the damage he could have caused her. But Rhett knew now that he’d changed, these past months more than ever. He’d touched her once, then everything changed.
This last push, though, that belonged to Kinsley. Her love di
d that. Every time she smiled at him, he saw that love. Every time those sweet eyes met his, he felt that love. She loved him wildly, and he’d never told her that he loved her back.
Why didn’t he tell her? Why did it take so long for him to realize it?
“I’m sorry about your sister,” Anderson said to Boone, offering him a hand. Boone took his hand and rose, looking slightly wobbly, as Anderson went on, “Whatever I can do to help in finding her, I’ll do.”
“Thank you.” Boone shoved his hands through his hair and glanced at Rhett. “We need to find her.”
Rhett rubbed his face, shedding the emotions dripping off him. He needed to think, to get a plan going. He couldn’t lose Kinsley and their baby. Helplessness trembled in his muscles. They had nothing. No one had spotted the van. There were no tips. No leads. Even Whitby Falls PD didn’t know much about this new biker gang. But Rhett knew that going the good way, the right way, sometimes didn’t work. “Go to Dalton,” Rhett said to Boone. “Shake him and get whatever else you can. He very well might know where they’ve taken her.”
Boone gave a firm nod, the horror beginning to fade from his eyes. “Yeah, all right.”
Rhett turned, and was immediately faced with the cop he’d taken down. He was still on his knees, wheezing. Asher stood next to him, offering a bottle of water. “It wasn’t personal,” Rhett said to the cop as he strode by. “You were in my way.”
“Remind me never to do that again,” the cop grumbled. Rhett offered his hand, and the guy took it, rising to his feet.
The cop patted Rhett’s shoulder. “I get it. We’re all good, West.”
Rhett nodded in acknowledgment before heading toward his truck. “Get Anderson to drive you back,” he called over his shoulder. When they’d arrived, he had left his door open and the truck running.
“What are you gonna do?” Boone called after him.
Rhett bellowed back, “Whatever I have to do to find her.” He hopped in his truck, the tires squealing as he sped off.
The engine roared beneath him, the adrenaline waking him up, making him feel alive. His mission in life was to protect. To hunt, if need be, and destroy threats, whatever the cost. As he turned down the first road on the right, his cell phone rang. “What?” he answered with the click of a button on his steering wheel.
Asher asked, “You’re not about to do something stupid, are you?”
“I am.” Rhett hung up and tossed his phone on the passenger seat, ignoring it when it rang again and again.
Kinsley was his. His to protect. His to love, as fiercely as she had loved him. The baby was theirs. He wanted those moments, with both of them. He’d been trained for exactly this mission. And ten minutes later, when he pulled his truck off to the side of the road, he felt primed and ready. He grabbed his gun, and took the safety off to confirm he had a full magazine clip. Then he got out, and every thought vanished from his mind. He met the tall stone fence, then raced toward it, climbing up the side and scaling over the top, landing hard on the other side. He breathed steadily, slowly, keeping his heart rate quiet and out of his head. He moved swiftly through the trees, spotting two security guards standing in the circular driveway. Rhett waited for them to turn away, then he sprinted toward the house. He hid behind a tree then slipped through the first door he found and was immediately greeted by a guard.
In an instant, he had the guy in his arms, squeezing his neck tight, while the guard pounded on Rhett’s arms and kicked out. When he finally fell unconscious, Rhett moved swiftly, remembering the layout.
It felt like a lifetime before he reached the door to the office. With silence around him, the guards unaware that one of theirs was knocked out cold, Rhett opened the door.
Joaquin King lifted his head, surprise filling his dark eyes.
Rhett raised his gun, aiming it at King’s head.