Never Ever (Never His Duet Book 2) Page 14

  “Not for Carter.” He’d been an arrogant bastard.

  “True.” Aiden sighed. “There’s some money in here too, but not much.”

  “What are we going to do with all this? Do you think we can find Nina? What if there are other girls too? There have to be. I mean, it’s a trafficking ring. They wouldn’t have just one woman.”

  “I don’t know. We can anonymously send all this to the cops and let them chase down those bastards.”

  “No!” I said it more harshly than I’d intended, and Aiden’s eyes met mine. “We can’t trust the cops will handle it. What if this Markus guy has someone there who will make all the proof disappear? Or he’ll tip him off that they’re coming. Or the women will be forced to lie, and he’ll never be charged with anything.

  “Hell, what if they arrest them instead of the bad guy because they aren’t here legally? No. We need to find him. This should be enough info to finally locate him, right? If you think it’ll make you look bad to break a trafficking ring, then you can say you were just looking for your property. Since Carter’s dead, Nina should go to you, following their stupid logic, right?”

  Aiden placed his hand on my shoulder, rubbing gently. “Hey, it’s okay. We’ll go find Nina, okay? I don’t care what those bastards think.”

  “Yeah.” I bobbed my head, holding back tears.

  “Sir!” Roy came running to the vault.

  “What?” Aiden asked.

  “Someone’s coming. They’re about ten miles away. We don’t know yet if they’re coming here or passing through.”

  “Okay. Grab everything in here and carry it to the cars. We’re getting out of here. Hurry!” Aiden said, and everyone rushed to obey.

  I held onto the papers he’d given me, and we headed for the door. “Do you think it’s the Ritos? Did they figure out where we were going or did they notice Five’s missing?”

  “Not sure, but if they’re avoiding using phones and only meet at a predetermined time in a predetermined place, they probably noticed something happened to Five. Or they realized it as soon as you left the club. But maybe they weren’t sure. Maybe he was supposed to observe you and risk alerting them only if there was a chance for them to get you.”

  “Right.”

  “Whoever it is, we’re not going to engage them here. It would be too risky. We don’t know this area at all.”

  As we strode to our car, the only thing that I could think about was saving Nina.

  Chapter 32

  “I’M SORRY, BUT I’M not changing my mind on this one,” Aiden said, giving me a hard look. “Stay in the car and don’t come out. My men and I will take care of this, okay? You have to trust me.”

  I nodded. “Okay, fine. I’ll stay in the car.”

  With all the files that Carter had left in that vault, it hadn’t been hard for Aiden’s men to find out where Markus was holding Nina and maybe some other girls too. And no matter how anxious I was for us to find her, I had to sit this one out.

  Maybe my shooting skills were better now, but Aiden was right. His men had been trained for gunfights, and we didn’t exactly know what we were getting ourselves into, so Aiden couldn’t afford to get distracted because of me. But at least he’d let me come with him all the way here so I could find out first-hand what happened.

  “If something goes wrong or someone comes your way, just get the hell out of here. Don’t worry about me or anyone else. We’ll find our way out. The neighbors might call the cops, so look out for them too. And don’t let anyone see your face.”

  “All right.”

  Aiden was about to pull over, and my stomach twisted as I looked through the window. Markus’ one-story house was right there, behind a white picket fence. It didn’t even look like it belonged to a criminal. It was just sitting there, peaceful and in darkness.

  What if we were in the wrong place?

  But I didn’t think we were.

  Aiden quickly grabbed his gun, his eyes briefly meeting mine before he rushed out of the car. As he and his men stormed the house, I moved over to the driver’s seat. When I placed my hands on the steering wheel, the first shots rang out.

  This had to be one of the most terrifying moments in my life, because I was so close and yet I had no idea what was going on. The lights came on in the house, but I was too far away to see anything except shadows moving around.

  What if something happened to Aiden? What was I going to do then? I had no idea if I’d be able to just sit here and wait.

  You promised Aiden you would.

  It wouldn’t help anyone if you go rushing in there when no one expects you and you get shot.

  I took a deep breath that did nothing to calm my nerves. Seconds trickled by and they seemed like eternity.

  Come on, Aiden, just come out already and tell me everything’s okay.

  Bring Nina alive with you.

  But what if she was like Ella, the first woman Carter had kidnapped? A shell of herself? What if Aiden decided to end her life to spare her the suffering and didn’t tell me about it? He could claim she was already dead when he got to her.

  I mumbled a curse.

  Why was I being so silly? Aiden wasn’t going to do something like that.

  Not now.

  What if he killed Ella for no reason? What if he gave up on her too soon?

  There was no point in thinking about that because I hadn’t even known her. I had to trust Aiden’s judgment. He wasn’t some monster who’d kill an innocent woman just because he could.

  Seriously, what was wrong with me for even thinking about something like that?

  I glanced back at the house and froze. A shadow ran from one bush to another.

  No, wait, there were two of them.

  My hand went for my gun. They clearly weren’t any of Aiden’s men because there was no reason for them to hide like that or to try to get away from the house. The shots were still being fired inside.

  What the hell?

  What was I going to do? If I got out of the car, I might get myself killed. There were two of them and only one of me. Ducking down a little so they wouldn’t immediately see me, I held my breath.

  The shadows turned into people as one of them stepped onto the pavement. A gasp escaped my lips.

  A man was trying to drag a woman with him, and she was resisting. He pulled her arm, but she remained on the sidewalk.

  Nina? Was that her?

  It was too dark to see, but the woman clearly didn’t want to go anywhere with the man. Was that Markus? I couldn’t tell, but I knew I had to do something. None of Aiden’s men were coming out, and Markus was about to get away.

  I couldn’t let that happen.

  Gripping the steering wheel, I brought the engine to life and stepped hard on the gas pedal. The car lurched forward and the guy turned toward me just as I switched on the lights.

  He lifted his hand to shield his eyes, firing a bullet in my direction. It hit the car, but I didn’t stop or slow down.

  When his body collided with the car, there was a terrible thud, and bile rose at the back of my throat as I hit the brakes. My heart was hammering so loudly in my chest that I thought it was going to jump out.

  HE RUSHED OUTSIDE. The screech of tires on the pavement made him immediately think of Veronica, and he couldn’t stay in the house any longer. His men could handle the last of the traffickers, and he had to make sure Veronica was okay.

  He should’ve never let her come here, or he should’ve left one of his men with her, but they were already low in numbers because they had to get here without drawing too much attention.

  The scene in front of him almost made him pause. A woman was standing on the sidewalk and crying as she rubbed her arms. Veronica’s car was in the middle of the street, and a body lay not too far away from it.

  Had she run someone over?

  Who was the woman?

  He didn’t have time to think it through. He just raced toward the car.

  Veronica got out, and
the tension seeped out of his shoulders when he saw she was unharmed.

  “Markus! It’s him!” she yelled as she pointed at the body, which stirred.

  Aiden pointed a gun at him and fired.

  The man’s body went still again.

  But Veronica broke into a run. “No, wait! Nina! We’re here to help!”

  He finally recognized the woman from the photo and she was running down the street, trying to get away from them. The wail of the police sirens could already be heard in the distance, which meant they didn’t have much time left.

  He rushed after Veronica and the woman just as Veronica caught up with her.

  “Please! Stop!” Veronica said, and then Nina must have tripped because she fell down.

  “Please don’t hurt me,” Nina cried.

  “Hey, it’s okay. You’re going to be fine. Come with us.” Veronica placed her arm around Nina’s shoulders and helped her up.

  Nina’s eyes widened when Aiden approached, so he holstered his gun and gave her some space.

  “We need to get to the car. Now!” Veronica said.

  Aiden stayed a little behind so he wouldn’t scare Nina away, and once she and Veronica were in the car, he got in the driver’s seat.

  “It’s going to be okay. He’s not going to hurt you. He’s not like those men. I promise,” Veronica said to Nina, who was still eyeing him suspiciously from the back seat.

  “What the hell happened in there?” Veronica turned toward him as he gunned the engine. His men were already in their cars too with the few women they’d found. “How did Markus almost get away?”

  “There were more of them inside. They were getting ready for some kind of a private party, so it wasn’t just him. And there were three more women. I didn’t realize Nina wasn’t with them.”

  “Are the women safe?” Her eyes were filled with worry.

  “Yeah.”

  Two of them had already been naked and tied up, but he didn’t see the point in giving her all the details. When he’d seen what was going on in there, he’d been so mad he’d almost used up all the bullets on the first one of those sickos that he’d spotted.

  The sole thought that Veronica could’ve ended up in that house like those women... He wanted to bring his brother back to life and shoot him again.

  “And their captors are dead?”

  He nodded.

  “Good.” Her face was grave.

  “Please let me go,” Nina’s voice was barely a whisper.

  “We’re going to find a safe place for you, okay?” Veronica said. “No one’s ever going to hurt you again.”

  Nina went quiet, and he realized that she didn’t believe a word Veronica had just said. But he was going to make things right. All the women they’d saved would be free. He’d make sure of it.

  Maybe he hadn’t been able to help Ella, but he could help them.

  Chapter 33

  “THANKS SO MUCH FOR doing this,” I said as I wound my arms around Aiden’s neck.

  We were finally home, and I was glad our little mission had been a success. Nina and the other women were in safe hands, and I hoped they’d find their happiness.

  “It was the right thing to do.” His lips found mine.

  “That’s why I love you.” I flashed him a smile, and a surprised look crossed his face. “What? Something wrong?”

  “No, nothing.” He gave me a small smile, and then I realized that I’d just kind of told him that I loved him. Had he ever heard those words from anyone before?

  I traced my hands up and down his chest. “Let’s get inside.” Warmth was already spreading through my body, but no matter how much I wanted to jump his bones, I didn’t want to do it in the hallway where someone could see us.

  Aiden pushed the door to our bedroom open as he kissed me, and we stumbled inside. But then his body stiffened, and when I looked at him to see what was wrong, he shoved me to the floor.

  My breath caught in my chest, and on my way down, I spotted a man standing in the corner of the room.

  We had an intruder.

  Someone had slipped past the guards and gotten inside.

  Oh shit!

  Aiden stepped forward, reaching for his gun, and I scrambled toward the bed, crouching behind it.

  “Hands up where I can see them!” the man yelled, just as Aiden pulled the gun out of the holster, but I knew he wasn’t going to be fast enough because the attacker was already aiming at him.

  But instead of trying to fire at the guy, Aiden stepped forward, dropping the gun to the carpet as he lifted his hands up, distracting the man with his movements.

  “What do you want?” Aiden asked as he kicked the gun toward me with the heel of his shoe, but it was still out of my reach.

  “Tell your pretty lady to get up and come over here,” he said.

  Wait, who was this guy? Was he one of the Ritos? Did they still think that they needed me to unlock the vault? But hadn’t they realized we’d already been there?

  Sure, we’d closed the vault and left before anyone arrived, and we weren’t even if sure if the cars Aiden’s men had detected had been coming to the house or not, but I’d figured they knew.

  “Veronica, stay where you are,” Aiden said, and I peeked around the corner of the bed, glad that the mattress was high enough to offer me enough protection, but what were we going to do now?

  The guy hadn’t seemed to notice the gun lying on the dark blue carpet, but I was too far away, and if I dove for it, he was going to see me.

  And Aiden... Aiden had no protection. He’d been wearing a bulletproof vest, but he’d taken it off before we got here.

  Come on, Veronica, think. There has to be something you can do.

  “If you really care about her, tell her to come out now. Or you don’t have to. I can just get you out of my way and grab her myself.”

  My heart leapt into my throat. He was going to pull the trigger, wasn’t he? He was going to kill Aiden.

  No, no, no!

  “If you’re going to kill me, then at least tell me who the fuck you are,” Aiden said, and I knew that he was stalling and trying to find a way to defeat the guy. But there wasn’t anything within his reach that he could use as a weapon.

  No, I had to do something. I had to get to that gun.

  “I’m the one and only Snake,” the guy proudly said.

  “Are you the Ritos’ boss?”

  “Enough talking!” Snake snapped.

  “Okay, okay! I’m coming out. Just don’t shoot Aiden, okay?” I yelled.

  “Veronica, don’t,” Aiden said.

  “Sure, come out, come out, little girl, and nothing bad will happen. I promise.” He was lying through his teeth, and I braced myself because what I was about to do was going to be very, very risky.

  I was sure that Snake would pull the trigger as soon as I got up, because then he’d be sure that I didn’t have a weapon, and he’d want to get Aiden out of the way. Hell, he probably had an escape plan ready, so that was why he didn’t want to shoot Aiden too early, before he was sure he could get me out of the house without a lot of fuss.

  The guards would surely hear the shot and come running. The door had been left slightly ajar, and I wondered where the hell everyone was. Someone was already supposed to be here.

  However, the men Aiden trusted the most had come with him to save Nina, so they couldn’t have kept an eye on the house too, and now it was probably taking them some time to get to their positions and figure out there was an intruder.

  “I’m getting up. Don’t shoot. Please!” I slowly lifted myself up, but not all the way. It was just enough so that I could go around the bed quickly.

  I lunged forward, grabbing the gun.

  Snake hadn’t expected it, because his aim wavered between Aiden and me for a moment, and his distraction was exactly what I needed.

  I raised the gun, pulled the trigger, and jumped in front of Aiden. The sound was so loud that I thought the whole room echoed with it.

>   Snake was falling down, but something was wrong.

  Something was very, very wrong.

  Someone shouted, and then I was tumbling down too.

  Pain ripped through me like fire, devouring everything else, and I gasped out.

  Aiden was at my side, his eyes frantic. My hand moved toward the center of the agonizing pain, and I touched something sticky.

  Blood. There was blood on my fingers.

  I’d been shot.

  Snake had fired at the same time that I had, and the bullet had hit me.

  Oh shit.

  “Veronica, no!” Aiden’s voice suddenly seemed so distant, and I was so, so tired. Maybe it was time for me to go to sleep.

  Chapter 34

  HE BLINKED, WISHING the scene in front of him would change, but he knew that it wouldn’t. Veronica was lying in his arms, blood pooling on her shirt. The rage he’d felt at the moment Snake had fired had dissipated as soon as Veronica had fallen, and now, his insides were exploding with emotions he couldn’t even identify as they all blended together.

  All he wanted was to make it all okay.

  She shouldn’t have done this. It hadn’t been his plan.

  But how could she have known what he’d wanted to do? All he’d needed was a little bit more time to rush Snake, and Veronica should’ve stayed behind the bed until then.

  If Snake had shot at him instead, it would’ve been enough for Veronica to grab that gun and fire before Snake could do anything.

  It should’ve been him.

  He would’ve gladly given his life for her.

  It shouldn’t have happened this way, but he didn’t have a time machine to go back and change things. He should’ve let the guards sweep the house first, since many had been out, and those who’d stay behind weren’t up to the task to watch over such a big house.

  Someone yelled, snapping him out of his frenzied thoughts. He was already going for the gun that Veronica had dropped and was ready to shoot anyone who came.

  But a familiar face appeared in the doorway, shock flickering over her features.

  Jo swore as she ran inside, the guards right behind her.