He raises his arm, and I take the chance to kick him in the gut. The windshield up front suddenly explodes, and I watch as Henry falls back. He writhes for a second then pulling himself into a crawling position, he struggles to the rear of the van, and away from me.
My mind races to catch up with what’s happening, leaving me feeling drained and dizzy.
My breaths continue to race over my dry lips as an intense distraught feeling swamps me.Chapter 33JulianMy heart is beating out of my chest as I stalk closer to the rear of the van while Hayden moves to the front. I hear glass shatter and realize Max must’ve taken a shot. Yanking the door open, I zero in on Little, where he’s crawling toward me.
Scanning over him, and seeing that he’s unarmed, I reach inside and grabbing hold of his collar, I drag him out of the van. He stumbles, and before he can regain his balance, I shove him down to the ground.
“Don’t fucking move,” I shout as I keep the gun trained on him. I dare a glance inside the van and check for Jamie. “Are you okay, Jamie?” I call out, turning my gaze back to Little.
“Yes.”
Hayden comes up behind Little and keeping his gun pointed at the scum, he checks inside the van as well, then he looks at me.
My hand begins to shake from all the strain it’s taking to not just shoot the bastard as rage burns inside of me.
The only way to stop this monster is by killing him.
Hayden first signals to Max, who took up a position five hundred yards away to come down, then looks at me. “I’ll uncuff Jamie.”
Climbing in the back of the van, Hayden pulls the door shut behind him, and I appreciate that Jamie won’t see this. She’s been traumatized enough by this fucker.
“You can’t kill me,” Little says smugly as he keeps a hand over the flesh wound Max gave him in his arm while he rises to his feet.
He terrorized the woman I love.
He strangled her.
The thoughts make my finger tighten on the trigger.
He makes eye contact with me for a fraction of a second, and the smile drops from his face.
“Go to hell, Little,” I murmur as I pull the trigger.
His body slumps backward, and blood trickles down his face. Pointing the gun at his chest, I pull the trigger twice to ensure he’s dead.
Max reaches me, and I immediately hand the gun to him. I stare at the body of the man who made Jamie’s life a living hell before I open the door. My eyes land on Jamie, where she’s cowering against Hayden.
“Is it done?” Hayden asks.
“Yeah, all clear,” Max calls over my shoulder.
Jamie moves forward, and I reach for her, wrapping my arms around her as I pull her out of the vehicle and turning her away from the body.
I move us around the side of the van before I sink to the ground, cradling her against me.
The relief of holding her and knowing the nightmare is finally over is so overwhelming it pushes emotion up my throat. I begin to check her for any injuries, and ask, “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
“I’m okay,” she whispers, her grip on me as tight as she can manage.
Her body shivers violently, and it makes me hold her tighter.
“Oh, God. I’m so glad you’re okay,” I whisper as my own emotions come crashing down around me.
Jamie lifts a hand to cover her mouth and then lurching away from me, she bends forward, and her body begins to jerk. I quickly gather her hair in one hand then use my other to rub her back as she heaves.
“Let’s get rid of the body,” I hear Hayden say under his breath. “You’re out of practice. How could you only clip his arm?”
“I didn’t aim to kill,” Max grumbles. “Grab the head.”
Jamie sits back on the ground, her face pale, which has me saying, “Just a couple of minutes, and we’ll get you out of here.”
She nods, then lifts her eyes to mine. “He was so normal,” she whispers, still caught in a bubble of trauma.
“Did he do anything to you?” I ask to make sure she’s not hurt.
Jamie shakes her head and looking bewildered, she says, “We mostly talked.”
Hayden and Max come back, and while they’re wiping the van clean of all evidence, I pick up Jamie and carry her back to where the SUV is parked.
Only Hayden climbs in the car, and says, “I’m taking you back to the hotel while Max takes care of the evidence. Make sure Preston doesn’t talk.”
“He won’t,” I assure him.
“It’s over?” Jamie whispers. She lifts her eyes to me, searching my face for the answer.
“It’s over.” I press a kiss to her forehead, holding her close to my chest.