Charming Colton Read online

  I glance at Durban. “Which one is he?”

  “Oh. There’s a better picture over here. Close up.” Durban snags it from another shelf and holds it out, his finger pointing to the guy on the left.

  My blood runs cold as I yank the picture out of his hand. “Fuck,” I shout.

  “What?”

  I jerk my gaze toward him as I pull my phone from my pocket. I can no longer see Durban though. I drop the picture and take off running as fast as I can back through the larger room and up the stairs.

  As I run, I call Eve, but it goes straight to voicemail. I’m sure her phone is off. I call my boss next.

  He’s already speaking when he answers. “Heard you couldn’t resist and headed to the crime scene,” he jokes. “Oh hey, we got an ID on your stalker too. Bates Roberts. Heard of him?” All this rushes out of my captain before I have a chance to interrupt.

  I’m at my car now, hands shaking as I enter. I put the phone on speaker and slide it into the holder as I start the engine and peel away from the curb.

  “Marshall?”

  “Those fuckers are in cahoots.”

  “Who?”

  “Russo. Bates. And the fucking guy I’ve been keeping an eye on all this time. Owen Karplus.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Frat brothers. Saw a picture of them in Russo’s office.”

  “Fuck. I just sent a team to pick up Bates at his home, but I didn’t make the connection to Karplus. Sending someone now.”

  I hear muffled voices while he shouts out orders to several people. When he comes back, he asks, “Where’s Evelyn?”

  I’m on the highway now. “Fucking seminar I told you about.”

  “Shit. That’s right. I pulled my guy from that.”

  “I’m on my way there now.” Though I can’t seem to get there fast enough. The car in front of me is going too slow. I speed around it.

  “Son of a bitch,” my boss mutters. He shouts more instructions at whoever’s nearby, then he’s back again. “Got two guys on their way to the hotel now.”

  I tap the damn steering wheel nervously as I exit the highway and come to a stoplight. Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. If anything happens to her…

  “Marshall, you still there?”

  “I’m pulling up to the hotel now. I’ll get back to you.” I end the call as I squeal into a parking spot and barely take the time to turn off the engine before running full speed toward the hotel. I don’t give a single fuck that I look ridiculous. I keep jogging until I reach the entrance to the large conference room where Eve should be.

  I open the door and slip inside, begging God to let her be here. Innocently listening to the presentation. Not on a plane to the Middle East.

  I scan the room, but I can’t find her. My heart rate increases with each passing second. My gaze lands on her boss at the same time he spots me. He holds up a finger and quietly eases past everyone in his aisle, heading toward me.

  I step back into the corridor as he reaches me. “Where’s Eve?” I ask.

  “She took a call and then left the room. Said she’d be right back.”

  “When was that?”

  “Maybe ten minutes ago.”

  “Fuck,” I mutter.

  “I thought it was over. I thought you caught the guy?” He’s rubbing his forehead. “What’s going on?”

  I’m already jogging away from her boss. “I’ll explain later. Gotta find her. Parking garage?”

  He points to the left. “You think she’s in trouble?”

  I think she’s as good as dead if I don’t find her.

  I run toward the parking garage, praying that’s where Owen or Bates would have taken her. I suspect Owen is the one who has her now. She would leave her seminar for him if he asked her. She knows him. She trusts him.

  The moment I burst through the door leading to the parking garage, I hear shouting. I rush in that direction. I can’t see anything yet. It’s around the corner, but the words I hear make my blood boil.

  “Let her go. You’re cornered. There’s no way out of this.”

  Who the hell is talking? I run harder, gun drawn now.

  “He’s right, Bates. Let her go. It’s over. If you hurt her, you’re only going to make things harder on yourself.” I know that voice. It’s Owen’s.

  I come to the corner, knowing exactly where the voices are coming from now. I don’t want anyone to see me yet, so I glance around the edge of the wall to survey the situation.

  “Fuck you, you pussy. And fuck you for not sticking with the plan. Are you the one who called the cops on Tony? I bet you were. Tony never should have brought you in on the deal.”

  “There never was a deal, Bates. I was drunk that night. I told you I didn’t want anything to do with your little scheme the next morning. I can’t believe you went through with this. It’s over. Fucking let her go, Bates.”

  I have about two hundred questions, but I’ll have to ask them later from whoever is left standing when this is over.

  I squat down so they can’t see me and inch between two cars. A man I’ve never seen has his gun trained on Bates. He’s dressed in casual street clothes, but he’s confident and seasoned. He knows what the fuck he’s doing. And since he seems to be on my side, I’ll figure that out later.

  Owen has no weapon. He’s holding his hands up in supplication.

  Bates has Eve plastered to his chest, his arm around her neck. He’s waving a gun erratically as he backs up, dragging Eve with him.

  Her eyes are bugged out with fear. She’s gripping Bates’s forearm, probably because he’s cutting off her air supply. She’s tripping over her heels.

  I don’t have a clear shot of anything yet, nor would I risk shooting at Bates with him moving around so much. I just hope her other guardian angel has the same sense.

  Bates keeps backing up. Where the fuck is he going? When he grabs the handle of the SUV next to him, I realize it’s his vehicle. Shit. He yanks the door open. Not a chance in hell I’m going to let him take Eve out of this garage, so I aim at the rear tire closest to me and shoot.

  The sound of the gunshot ricochets all over the garage, forcing everyone to turn in my direction. I’ve ducked back out of sight though.

  “Fuck,” Bates shouts. “Who the fuck is shooting? Show your damn face, asshole, or she takes a bullet to the head right now.”

  I rise from my squatted position, gun raised, aimed at Bates. “Let her go, Bates. Owen is right. If you hurt her, you’ll be in a hell of a lot more trouble.”

  “You,” he yells. “Her fucking bodyguard. Left her alone this morning, didn’t you?” He laughs sardonically. “She’s coming with me, so back the fuck off right now. All of you. It’s your only option. If you fuck with me, she dies.”

  I inch forward, keeping my gun on Bates’s head. If that fucker would just stand still.

  “You can’t get out of this,” the mystery man declares. He’s a big guy. Over six feet. Dark hair cut military short. Civilian clothes.

  “Psst.”

  I glance behind me to find Davis in the spot I just vacated. His piece is in his hand too. He makes hand motions to indicate he’s going around to the other side.

  I nod. How the hell did Davis know to come here? I told him the threat was over last night. Another glance at the mystery man makes me suspect he’s with Davis.

  Owen tries to reason with Bates again. “Dude, Tony is in jail. Whatever you two were planning for today is off. Give it up. You don’t want to hurt her.”

  Bates chuckles sardonically. “Have you tapped her, Owen? I know that cop has, but what about you? Or were you too damn polite to fuck her sexy body when you had a chance?”

  I stiffen. This asshole is on my last nerve.

  Suddenly, Owen plows forward, rushing headlong toward Bates.

  Luckily, I’m at a different angle, so the moment Bates turns his gun from Eve to Owen, I take my shot. I’m not quite fast enough. Bates also releases a round. I see Owen go down a split second be
fore Bates.

  Eve screams as she backs away from the body at her feet.

  I run toward her, noticing Davis coming from the opposite direction.

  I can hear Owen moaning on the ground, but I only care about Eve.

  When I reach her, she throws herself into my arms, and I flatten her face against my chest so she doesn’t have to see the thick blood running out of Bates’s head. I practically carry her around the end of the car to block her view.

  “Is he dead? Did you check? Are you sure?” she’s shouting and fighting against my hold.

  As soon as it’s safe to loosen my grip, I lean her back, meet her wild gaze, and cup her face. “He’s dead, baby.”

  “But are you sure?”

  I shot the fucker in the center of the forehead. I don’t miss. “Yes, Eve.”

  Davis reaches us. The other guy hurries over to Owen. When I glance over my shoulder, I see Owen is standing now. He’s holding his arm. Doesn’t look life-threatening.

  Eve is sobbing. “I’m sorry. I never should have left the seminar. I didn’t think. I’m so sorry.” She’s apologizing to me?

  “Baby, it’s okay. I’ve got you. Take a deep breath for me.”

  She shakes her head, not getting enough oxygen.

  I hold her biceps and meet her gaze. “Deep breath,” I say with more demand in my voice. I don’t want to dominate her here in the parking lot, but I don’t want her to panic or hyperventilate either.

  She draws in a breath and lets it out slowly. “You came. How did you know?”

  I pull her against my chest and hug her tight again. I never want to let her go. I’m struggling to breathe myself. If anything had happened to her…

  She’s my life.

  I don’t know what the fuck I’m going to do about that, but I’m not leaving her ever.

  Sirens get louder and louder a few moments before several police cars pull into the parking garage.

  I see my boss first, and his brow is furrowed as he approaches me. I know he’s pissed. I’m not surprised. He’ll be mad at himself for not making the connection between Tony, Bates, and Owen. The self-recrimination isn’t warranted. No one would have expected him to see that picture, but he’ll be furious all the same.

  I keep Eve against me, so she can’t see what’s happening around us, but I face the garage more fully now, watching as two officers approach Owen.

  Davis turns toward us. “You okay, Eve?”

  She nods against me, not meeting his gaze.

  Davis waves the other man I don’t know over. “This is Spike, Brett Pauson. He works with me at Black Blade Protection.”

  Brett holds out a hand and I shake it while still gripping Eve with my other. “Wondered who you were.” I shift my attention to Davis. “How did you have a man here so fast?” I’d canceled with Davis last night.

  Davis shrugs. “Had a hunch. Didn’t like the feeling. So, I sent Brett anyway.”

  “Thank fuck.” I glance at the group now hovering around Owen. “I have about two hundred questions.”

  “You and me both.”

  “I can tell you what little I know,” Brett says. “I was in the back of the conference room when Eve looked at her phone, so I knew she’d either gotten a text or a call.”

  “It was a text,” she muttered against me.

  I rub her back. “What did it say?”

  She pulls back just enough to extract her phone from her pocket and hands it to me.

  My heart is overflowing over the ridiculous fact that both men in front of me are going to realize I know my woman’s passcode. There’s something intimate about that kind of thing.

  I open her phone and read the text. It’s from Owen.

  I need to talk to you. It’s urgent. Can you step out of your meeting for a moment?

  I tip her head back. “Then what happened?”

  “I glanced at the exits and saw Owen standing outside the room pacing, so I excused myself and headed that way.”

  “Unfortunately, it was on the opposite side of the room from where I was watching,” Brett adds.

  “What did Owen want?” I ask.

  “I have no idea. As soon as I stepped into the hall, that other guy grabbed me, covered my mouth, and manhandled me into the stairwell.”

  “Which guy? The one who was holding you hostage?” I need her to clarify.

  “Yes. And he seemed to know Owen.” She shivers and spins around, her gaze landing on the man we are all staring at.

  “Let me at least explain,” Owen says.

  One of the cops is crowding him, holding him by the arm—his good arm. Another cop is examining the wound.

  Owen looks in our direction. “Please. Eve. Let me explain.”

  The four of us walk over toward Owen. I can’t begin to imagine what he has to say, but we all want to hear it. My boss comes closer too. “Start talking,” I tell him, my voice filled with warning.

  Owen winces as the officer wraps gauze around his arm. “I guess you know about Tony,” he begins.

  I nod, not giving him more.

  Owen looks like he’s about to piss himself. He’s not the firm Dom and Daddy I met last Friday. He’s in a fuck-ton of trouble, so it’s not surprising.

  “I went to the same university as Bates and Tony. We were in the same fraternity. We hung out a lot back then. We’ve kept in touch over the years.”

  He glances at Bates and shudders. Good.

  “Go on,” my boss says.

  “The two of them came to my bar one night out of the blue.” He looks at Eve. “The night you were there.”

  Eve is white and looks like she might vomit.

  “You were leaving as they came in, but they saw me hug you before you left and they started giving me trouble about you. They thought we were dating.”

  I narrow my gaze. He wishes.

  “Get to the point,” my boss says.

  Owen swallows. “The guys stayed late after I closed up and we got drunk. They kept asking me questions about Eve, even though I told them she wasn’t my girlfriend. Just a friend. As the night wore on, I mentioned that my bar is in the red and I thought I’d have to sell it soon.”

  “So, you decided you could make a buck by selling Eve?” Davis growls.

  Owen shakes his head. “No. It wasn’t like that. I had nothing to do with it. The two of them decided. They said she has the look buyers are looking for. I had hoped they were joking, but they wouldn’t let up. I called Tony the next morning to make sure he was kidding. He laughed at me, and I didn’t like the vibe. I wasn’t sure what to think, so I called the police.”

  My boss interjects. “You called in the tip.”

  Owen nods. “Yes. I didn’t know what else to do. I didn’t want to rat out my friends if they were kidding. Seemed ludicrous to think my friends were really in the business of human trafficking.”

  “Did you know Bates was following Eve?”

  He shakes his head. “No. I had no idea. But when I saw you with her last Friday, I knew you were not just some random guy who came into the club. I knew you were a cop.”

  I hate that he picked up on that, but I say nothing.

  “So, you called the second tip too?” my boss asks.

  “Yes. When I left the club that night, I saw Bates lurking around outside. It freaked me out.”

  “Why the hell didn’t you fucking tell the cops everything you knew at that point?” Davis asks.

  Owen runs his hand down his face. “I didn’t know what the fuck to do or what to think. I still couldn’t believe they were seriously going to fucking kidnap her or sell her.” His voice is raised. It should be.

  “Go on,” I grind out.

  The man is shaking. I’m not certain he hasn’t actually pissed himself by now. “I called Bates a few days later, but he blew me off. Said I was seeing things. Told me he hadn’t been at the club last Friday. I called Tony too, but all I got was his voicemail. He never returned my calls, and I began to assume he was the ringleader. I w
asn’t sure Bates even knew for sure what Tony had planned, but I couldn’t stand the stress. I haven’t been able to sleep or eat all week. I kept thinking I was surely out of my mind. There had to be an explanation. But I was scared for Eve too, so I called the cops again Friday morning and told them I thought Tony was planning to kidnap her.”

  There are moments of silence. Eve grips my shirt at my back so tight that I can feel her little fist at the small of my back. When I glance at her, I see flames. She’d like to throttle Owen. She’ll have to get in line.

  “How did you end up here today?” I ask.

  Owen starts fidgeting. “Bates called me earlier this morning. It went to voicemail. I didn’t get the message until a while later. He sounded like a crazed lunatic, telling me about Tony being arrested, blaming me for turning them in, rambling about how I was ruining his life. But what spurred me into action was his laughter. Like a crazed lunatic. Said he was going to show me. He didn’t need Tony. He could make the drop-off all by himself. He was done taking a cut from Tony. He would take over.”

  “Jesus,” I murmur. “How did you know where Eve was.”

  “Bates fucking told me. You can listen to the message. I swear. He was out of his mind or something. Told me he was here at the hotel and he was going to finish the job. As soon as I heard him, I drove here as fast as I could. I figured Eve wouldn’t have protection anymore since Tony had been arrested, so I wanted to warn her. I texted her to come out and talk to me.”

  Owen shifts his attention directly to Eve. “I swear I had no idea Bates would grab you the moment you stepped into the hallway. I had no idea he was behind me. I was trying to help. Eve, you have to believe me.”

  Eve stares at him.

  We all do. It’s a ludicrous story that we’re going to need to investigate and hear ten more times, but it’s also possible he’s telling the truth. We’ll see if it all checks out.

  My boss speaks next. He sets his hands on his hips and steps into the middle of the circle. He points at Owen. “I have two thousand more questions for you. You’ll be escorted to the hospital and then transferred to the station. Hope you finally got a good nights’ sleep last night because you’re going to have one hell of a long day.”