Jarod's Heart (King Brothers Stories #2) (29 page)

They were on the outskirts of Las Vegas now, and Jarod had lost all of his patience before Jason had even talked to James.

Snapping at his brother, he demanded, “Where’s my family, Jason?” Jarod didn’t care anymore. He just wanted his girls back.

“The GPS in Jessica’s sneaker is blinking happily at the address I’ve got right here,” he held up his palm as proof. “But Jarod, Dane’s sources say it’s at the same location as one of your department’s county vehicles.”

Jarod saw red. “Brad’s?”

“Yes.”

“If he’s hurt them, I will kill that son of a bitch.”

“You won’t get near him. The feds are already there. Here’s where we need to meet up with Dad and Dane.”

“How are they there already?”

Jason shook his head and chuckled. “Plane, you idiot.”

“We could’ve flown? Are you serious?” Josh was completely put out.

Jarod said nothing. His county had been under federal investigation for years, and no one from the government had contacted him. He wondered who the undercover agent or agents were. He’d like to give them a piece of his mind.

Once inside the city limits, Jason put the address in the Raptor’s GPS mapping system. Josh seemed more relaxed in the back seat now that they knew help was already there. They would be late to the party, so to speak. But if the plane had gotten there so early, why hadn’t they apprehended Brad already? What were they waiting for?

Jarod was about to find out.

LAUREN SAT ON
the dirty floor and watched Brad through new eyes. He wasn’t the handsome and charming deputy that Jarod had relied on. No, he was something altogether different, and Lauren was having trouble coming to grips with that. Her natural defense had always been a smart mouth and feigned confidence. She couldn’t use either of those now to get out of this mess, especially not with Jessica to protect.

Brad had just insisted that they should get started but had given no further direction. She badly wanted to tell him to get on with it, but she wouldn’t risk Jessica being hurt if she spoke without his permission.

Scumbag.

So she glared with all her might…which was nothing, in the grand scheme of things. But it made her feel better to let him see her wrath. Because as soon as she had the opportunity, she was going to kill that bastard.

Or die trying.

Jessica clung to her with her head hidden away from Brad against Lauren’s shoulder. It was difficult with her hands still bound behind her, but Lauren managed to give Brad the evil eye while quietly rocking her little girl back and forth.

He finally grinned. “All that anger is turning me on, Mrs. King. Hmm, that name really doesn’t fit you. I prefer your old name, Lauren Lockwood. That’s a porn star’s name if I ever heard one.”

He was baiting her and she knew it. She took a deep breath and schooled her features. Reacting to him wouldn’t be smart, and since his comment didn’t require an answer, she held her tongue.

Assessing them as they sat on the floor, he said, “Where did they hide my money, Jessica?”

Jessica stiffened her hold on Lauren. She slowly turned around to look at Brad.

“I dunno,” she whispered, shaking her head back and forth in denial.

Brad seemed to be considering things. He squinted at them for a minute before he looked around the filthy house. Lauren couldn’t believe this was where Jessica had come from.

Finally, Brad perked up and asked, “Where did the police find you hiding when Miranda died?”

Jessica’s eyes opened wide and her lip quivered, but she shook her head again.

Lauren didn’t see the backhand coming before it collided with the side of her head, the pain momentarily leaving her blinded. Again.

Jessica screamed.

“Quiet down.” Brad’s voice was deathly calm, but there was no mercy in his eyes. “You want me to kill this mommy, too?”

Lauren’s eyes flared. Had he just admitted to killing Miranda? If so, then Lauren knew they’d both be dead as soon as he found what he was looking for.

“Not this mommy! Don’t hurt my Lorn mommy!”

“THEN TELL ME WHERE YOU WERE HIDING!”

Brad balled his fingers into a fist and cocked his elbow back, ready to strike. Lauren braced herself for the punch that would knock her out completely.

“It’s a secret!” Jessica yelled, tears streaming down her baby bird face. “Mommy made me promise.” She was crying in earnest now.

Brad dropped his fist and talked to Jessica like she was his new best friend.

“You made a promise to your dead mommy? Well, I understand promises. But it doesn’t count anymore because she’s dead, Jessica. You can tell me where you hid and show me what else is hidden there.” His voice became a hard edge when he talked about his money.

Jessica looked at Lauren. She gave her an encouraging smile, and whispered, “It’s okay, sweet pea. Show him what he wants to know.” Lauren swallowed as the big fat tears fell down Jessica’s face.

Anger swept over her, and before she could stop herself, she said, “Don’t worry, Jessica. Daddy will be here soon.” She looked Brad in the eye and saw his fear momentarily before his cruelty took over again.

“Yeah, Jessica. You can leave when
daddy
gets here,” he sneered.

Jessica was unsteady, but when Brad grabbed her behind the neck, she picked up her feet and started into the other room.

Lauren began to fight the bindings in earnest now. No way was she going to let that monster be alone with her little girl.

Feeling wetness around her hands, she knew that she was bleeding as the tape ripped from her skin. She slid one hand free and nearly screamed as pain shot through her shoulders. Her arms had been bound for hours, and she didn’t know if they would be of any use for a while.

Searching for something to use as a weapon, she rummaged through the filthy kitchen until she found a paring knife. It was small, but it was better than nothing. It could possibly give her time to get away from the maniac.

She wrapped her fingers around the sticky handle to make sure they still worked. Her grip was loose. She shook out her arms, wincing at the pain, and tried again. The more she worked her hands, the stronger her grip became.

She’d been slowly making progress down the dim hallway as she mastered her grip on the handle of the tiny knife.

Some heroine I am.

Shoving her insecurities back, she listened for voices. She heard Brad’s harsh demands and Jessica’s whimpers before something ground against the floor in one of the bedrooms.

She peeked in one of the doorways in the middle of the hallway and spied Brad dragging a large wooden box out of the closet.

“This is where you hid?” He pointed at the box with disbelief in his voice. Lifting the lid, he said angrily, “There’s nothing in here but dirty blankets and this old bear.”

Jessica stood there with wide eyes. “That’s my secret house,” she whispered. “Teddy lives there.”

He threw the bear at her, hitting her in the face. It knocked her down, but Jessica scrambled to pick up the bear and hugged it to her with all her might. “There there, Teddy,” she cried into the bear’s ear.

Lauren had had enough. Before Brad could do anything else to hurt Jessica, Lauren let out a roar, surprising him. When he whipped around, he reached behind his back for something, but she shoved the dirty knife into his right shoulder with all of her might. She didn’t stop to see whether she’d killed him or not. She used her momentum to scoop up Jessica, and she ran out of the room and down the hallway as fast as her weakened legs could take them.

“YOU BITCH!” he screamed, but she’d already made it through the front room. She was out of the front door before she heard his heavy footsteps running down the short hallway behind her. She jumped off the front porch and heard a gunshot come from the house at the same time that a tree branch snagged her arm. The pain was like a hot poker stabbing through the meat of her bicep, but she didn’t falter.

Before she cleared the yard, there were flashing lights and men with assault weapons surrounding the property.

Two things happened at once: She dropped to the ground as a tactical team pointed their guns at the house and yelled into a bullhorn, “PUT DOWN YOUR WEAPON.” And, from behind her, she heard Brad yell, “You’re dead, Mrs. King!”

Both parties opened fire as she and Jessica huddled on the ground, Lauren’s body covering her little girl’s. What seemed like hours were only seconds before strong hands were lifting her from the ground and male voices were asking, “Are you hurt, Mrs. King?”

She looked at the man in black tactical gear and said, “I’m fine, we’re fine. Where’s my husband?”

Not waiting for an answer, she tried to get away from the stranger to look for Jarod.

“Ma’am, you’re bleeding. Let’s get you looked at,” he said as he lifted her arm and escorted her to an ambulance.

“What? No, I’m fine. I just need my husband.” She jerked her arm away from the man, nearly dropping her daughter. She would never let her go again. She didn’t want these strangers touching her or Jessica. She just wanted to find Jarod. He would take them home.

Where the hell was he?

Starting to feel a bit dizzy, she had to fight to keep her hold on Jessica, but she needn’t have worried—her little girl was wrapped around her like a spider monkey, the teddy bear sandwiched between them. People were talking to her, but she tried to fight them and get away. She didn’t want these strangers; she wanted Jarod.

She thought she heard someone call her name, but she spun around and couldn’t find any familiar faces. They were leading her back to the ambulance when she heard it again.

“Let me through, that’s my wife!”

She turned a full circle and there, quickly striding toward her, was the man she’d loved all her life but who did not love her in return. That was okay, though, because he was here to take her home.

“Jarod, there you are,” she said quietly, right before the lights went out.

JAROD BROKE OUT
in a sprint when Lauren’s legs buckled beneath her. The men surrounding her didn’t allow her head to hit the ground, but he didn’t want them touching her.

She was
his
.

One of the S.W.A.T. men had caught Jessica before she had fallen and set her safely on the ground. When she spied Jarod, her little feet ran straight into his arms.

“Daddy!”

Jarod had longed to hear her call him that but wished it were under different circumstances. “I’m here, Darlin’. Daddy’s here,” he cooed as he followed the stretcher that carried his wounded wife to the ambulance. Her face was bruised and there was blood all over her. Jessica was covered in blood, too. “Are you hurt, Jessica? Is this blood yours?”

He began to examine her when he noticed the teddy bear. It was a cheap stuffed bear, much like a carnival prize. It looked clean and new except for his wife’s blood in the blue fur.

“Where’d you get this, Darlin’?”

“It’s Teddy. He couldn’t come with me before, but now I got ’im and I’m keepin’ ’im safe from now on,” she informed him.

He kissed her forehead and hugged her tightly as he approached the ambulance. “What’s wrong with my wife?”

“She’s suffered some head trauma and she has a gunshot wound to the upper arm. We’re taking her to UMC Trauma Center, sir,” said the EMT who was currently setting up an I.V. bag.