Secret Obsession (romantic suspense) (Red Stone Security Series Book 12) (18 page)

Ford needed to take complete control of the situation, disable the threat. Everything else around him funneled out as that thought took over. He wasn’t even sure if Raegan had been hit by that bullet and he couldn’t risk looking out the door, couldn’t take his focus off this man.

Fear and rage surged through him that she might have been injured, or worse. He slammed his elbow across the guy’s face, breaking more bones.

The man cried out in pain, blood gushing out his nose as he punched at Ford’s middle. Either he had training or he was just jacked up on adrenaline—or drugs—to keep fighting with broken bones.

His fist landed against Ford’s ribcage, once, twice—
Slam
! Ford landed another face shot. When the guy’s head thumped back against the floor again, his entire body went limp.

Not taking a chance that the guy wasn’t out, Ford rolled him onto his stomach and yanked his wrists together behind his back. At a shuffling sound, he went to reach for his weapon but stilled when he saw Montez coming in through the front of the truck, his expression fierce and a weapon in his hand. He briefly wondered if Montez had a concealed permit, then dismissed the thought. He didn’t give a shit right now.

“Raegan?” Ford rasped out.

“Okay,” Montez answered.

Relief nearly overwhelmed him, but he shoved it back down. “I need something to secure him,” he said as Montez moved into action, rummaging around the small kitchen.

Spicy scents teased the air as he suddenly realized the sirens were growing even louder in the distance. “Anyone get shot?”

“No.” Montez hurried over with a type of bungee cord. “I saw what was happening as I came out of the café across the street. Ivan must have seen it from inside the shop.”

Ford nodded, securing the man’s wrists as Montez continued to talk.

“Ivan had to carry Raegan across the street. She didn’t want to leave you. But she’s fine, man. Completely unharmed. Someone saved us the trouble of calling the cops too. They should be here soon.”

If those sirens were any indication, Ford guessed fewer than sixty seconds. “Got something for his feet?” he asked as the man started to groan softly. Ford kept his knee firmly against the asshole’s back. He resisted the urge to hurt the guy more as the words the man had thrown at Raegan replayed in his mind. ‘I know what you want and I’m going to give it to you.’ He could just imagine what the fucker had planned for her. A shudder racked him, but he tightened his control.

Seconds later Montez was back with white zip ties. “We use these at my place for chill bags.”

Ford just grunted, grabbed a handful of the ties. He secured the man’s feet, then his hands again for good measure, making sure they were double-tied. Heart racing, he looked up at Montez. “Will you—”

“Go. I got this.”

Ford was glad he didn’t have to waste time with words, that Montez understood he needed to see for himself that Raegan was unharmed.

He jumped down from the food truck, immediately saw a giant hole in the back of a silver car. Bullet hole.

The relief that surged through him was almost too much when he saw Raegan on the other side of the street behind the glass doors of the bridal shop. Her eyes were wide as she stared at him, one hand pressed to the glass. Ivan was next to her, his hand on her shoulder. More people lined the windows, staring out in horror, but he only had eyes for her.

After looking for oncoming vehicles, he raced across the street, his heart thundering in his chest. He just needed to hold her. He’d made it halfway across when she shoved Ivan’s hand off and pushed the door open.

As he reached the sidewalk edge she threw herself at him, a sob escaping. “Ford! I thought…” Her words were garbled as she buried her face in his neck.

He was unable to say anything as he held her tight. Probably too tight, but she didn’t complain. “You need to wait inside,” he finally managed to rasp out, still holding onto her. The subtle vanilla scent of her shampoo wrapped around him, grounded him. She was okay, he repeated to himself. She was unharmed and in his arms. She wasn’t going anywhere.

And the threat to her was down. That was what was important. Ford was going to find out everything there was to know about that bastard and make sure he never got the chance to hurt anyone again.

She shook her head against his neck. “Not leaving you.”

At the sound of the sirens screaming down the street he turned, saw a line of police cars coming. But he still didn’t let her go.

They’d face this together. The way he intended to face everything life had to throw at them from now on.

Chapter 17

Raegan was exhausted, but at least she wasn’t still shaking out of control. She’d thought she’d never feel normal again. Still didn’t. Not really.

Everything about earlier today was too surreal. The way Ford had taken on that guy with a gun like a real-life superhero, the way he’d just tackled him.

It was…God, she didn’t even know. The only thing she did know was that she’d never get that image out of her head as long as she lived. She’d been terrified for him. Then Ivan had appeared out of nowhere and carried her away like a linebacker. He’d moved with such precision and speed, clearly just as trained as Ford.

Ford squeezed her hand and she realized she’d zoned out. “What?”

“Detective Duarte asked if there was anything else you wanted to add,” he murmured.

They were sitting in the detective’s office in front of his desk. “No, I’m just glad this is all over. I can’t believe he cloned my phone. It’s so…” There were too many words.
Invasive, horrifying
… She shuddered. “Are you sure he won’t be getting out?”

The detective gave her a sharp, satisfied grin. “Yes. And I don’t get to say that nearly as often as I’d like, but he won’t even be eligible for bail. Not after what we’ve found at his house.”

She shuddered again, was so grateful for the Miami PD—and Ford. Once Teo King had been arrested, they’d searched his house and discovered an insulated, padded room with a bed and hundreds of pictures of her covering all the walls. Not only that, but boxes of pictures of her by herself and with friends, taken over the last couple months. Right about the time he’d started delivering to Red Stone Security.

But that wasn’t the reason he’d be going away. The police had discovered a body buried in his backyard, and considering the social security checks coming in for his mother—who hadn’t been seen by any neighbors in months—they were pretty sure it was her. No doubt it was a murder, not with the bullet holes in her skull. Something Raegan didn’t want to think about.

“Can I go home, then?”

The detective nodded. “Yes. For what it’s worth, you were lucky. This guy…he’s been flying under the radar but now that we know who he is, we’re going to rip his life apart, see if there have been more victims. Anything we can charge him with, we will. No matter what, he’s already going down for his crimes. And we’re taking another look at that club’s security feed from the night you were drugged.”

“Thank you. For everything.” She kept questioning herself, wondering if there had been signs. But the guy had never asked for her phone number, never shown any interest. Not that she’d been aware of. She hated that she was questioning herself, but was just glad this nightmare was over and everyone had come out unscathed. She tried to banish the image of Ford tackling that lunatic but it kept replaying in her mind.

As they stood, Ford looked at the detective. “Give us a few minutes before we head out?”

The detective nodded and quietly exited his own office.

Raegan guessed the reason he’d asked for privacy was because all her family and friends were waiting for them in the lobby of the PD. They hadn’t cared that it would take hours to make a statement and deal with answering a hundred questions. They’d all descended on the police department, and according to Lizzy, the only person she’d talked to as of yet, no one was leaving until they saw her.

“This is a stupid question, but how’re you feeling?” Ford asked, his big hands settled protectively on her hips.

She placed her hands on his chest, glad she had him to lean on. “Tired and hungry. And I’m pretty sure I should be asking you that question.”

He blinked as if she’d surprised him. “I’m okay.”

“I was so scared for you. You just…went at him like a battering ram. It all happened so fast.” Trembles racked her body and she hated that she seemed more affected than him and he was the one who’d taken on a guy with a gun. “How are you so okay about this?” Maybe he wasn’t. Maybe he was just putting on a good show.

“I hate that you had to witness that violence, that an asshole could have killed you, but that’s not the first time I’ve faced down a loaded weapon.”

Her fingers clutched his shirt. “That’s not making me feel any better.”

His smile was wry. “I just mean I’ve had training—the best in the world—and experience. First in the Corps, then with the PD. If you want to talk to someone about what happened, I know some people.”

She shrugged, not sure she needed or wanted to talk to anyone other than him. But she said, “Thanks. You ready to face my family?”

He let out a short laugh. “Yeah, but after they see you’re okay, we’re heading back to my place and not leaving for a couple days. I took off Monday already and I’ve told Porter you’re not coming in either.”

She blinked. “Seriously?”

He nodded. “Yep. Porter wants you to take off all of next week, but I figured you’d shoot him down pretty fast.”

“You really do know me,” she murmured. “Taking Monday off seems like a good plan though.” Definitely not something she’d say no to. Especially not since it would mean nonstop sex with Ford. At least if she had anything to say about it.

After brushing his lips over hers, he slung an arm around her shoulders. “Let’s get out of here.”

Leaning into him, she knew without a doubt that this was a man she could depend on for anything. When she’d thought she might lose him she’d realized that her feelings for him were way more than ‘like.’ “Ford, I’m falling for you. Pretty hard.” Saying the words was terrifying. She’d never been in love before and she was pretty sure she was fast on her way to being just that if she wasn’t already.

“I’m falling for you too. And I’m pretty sure I’m not letting you go.” His words were raspy and his voice steady.

Her heart flipped over in her chest. “I’m not letting you go either.”

* * *

“Thank you for waiting at the police station,” Ruby said as Montez pulled into her driveway.

He snorted. “Like I’d have left.” After making an official statement, he’d waited along with the whole crowd of people for Ford and Raegan to wrap everything up. It had been a madhouse down there. He hated crowds for the most part, but not staying hadn’t been an option. “That was some crazy shit,” he muttered, turning the ignition off.

“No kidding.” Ruby unstrapped her seatbelt, but didn’t make a move to get out. Instead she turned to him. “Will you stay the night? I don’t…want to be alone tonight.”

They’d been exclusive for a week, but hadn’t slept together. He wanted to, obviously, but he was going to do things right with Ruby. Because he was pretty sure she was the one for him. Had been sure for a long damn time. He just hadn’t wanted to admit it. He and Ruby had had the ‘safe sex’ talk a couple days ago. He knew she was on the pill and hadn’t been with anyone in over a year. And they’d both been tested since their last lovers.

But he’d noticed she hadn’t said anything about sex tonight, just asked him to stay. He wasn’t surprised she was shaken up. It didn’t matter that they read about or saw shootings on the news all the time. Being in close proximity to one—that her friend was involved in—was terrifying for anyone. He’d seen his share of combat but she certainly hadn’t, so if he could make her feel safe by staying, he would. “Of course.”

Her whole body relaxed at that, the relief rolling off her almost palpable.

“You hungry? I’ll whip us up something.”

She grinned as she opened her door. “Having a chef boyfriend definitely has some perks.”

“Only some?” He got out with her, shutting his door behind him. He liked the sound of the word boyfriend.

“You need your ego stroked?” she murmured, meeting him halfway around the vehicle.

He bit his tongue, grunted a non-response, even though he wanted to suggest she could stroke something else.
Dios
, even the thought of her hands on his cock had him getting hard. But that wasn’t what tonight was about. He knew she just didn’t want to be alone. Because if she wanted more, he knew Ruby would flat-out tell him. He adored that about her.

She gave him a cheeky grin as they reached her front door and he couldn’t believe how nervous he was. Which was stupid. He was a grown man, but since getting out of the Corps he hadn’t been with anyone since his bitch of an ex. He’d had a few offers, but…those had felt more like pity fucks. So his hand had done well enough.

“You mind if I change out of this? My feet are killing me.” She didn’t turn around as she disabled the alarm then reset it.

“No problem. I’ll see what you’ve got in your fridge.”

She laughed, giving him a brief kiss before heading to the stairs. “I’m embarrassed to say there’s not much. We might have to do takeout.”