“I’ll be fine.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. Just go so we can get this over with.”
I leaned forward and gently kissed her before replying, “I’ll see you soon.”
It nearly killed me to walk out of that room. I didn’t want to leave her there alone, but I knew it wouldn’t be for long. Once Menace and I made it outside, we messaged Viper and told him to call Officer Morgan, who was on standby. Then he and several officers he trusted would come rushing to the scene. Knowing it wouldn’t be long before they showed, Menace and I rushed back down the alley to join the others. When we jumped into the SUV, Viper got out, and the second I saw the expression on his face, I knew something was wrong—very wrong. “What is it?”
“Just got word from Widow. Mathews is on the move.”
“What the fuck?” I barked. “Where the hell is he going?”
“Not sure.” Viper remained cool, calm, and collected. “Looks like he might be headed this way.”
“You gotta be fucking kidding me!” I roared. “I knew this was a bad fucking idea. I said it from the very beginning, but no one would fucking listen. Damn it! We gotta get her the hell out of there!”
“Hold on, Shotgun. Take a damn breath and let’s think this through.”
“There’s no fucking time!”
“There’s time.” Remaining perfectly at ease, Viper replied, “Morgan is on his way. We just have to trust that he’ll get here before Mathews.”
“And if he doesn’t?”
“Then, we’ll figure it out.” He placed his hand on my shoulder as he looked me in the eye. “That’s what we do.”
“Nothing can happen to her, Prez. I couldn’t take it if anything did.”
“I’ll kill him before I let anything happen. You have my word on that.”
“Thanks, Prez. I appreciate that.” I looked back over at Mathews’ house. “But if he gets anywhere close to her, I’ll kill him myself.”
The words had barely left my mouth when Mathews’ unmarked car pulled into the driveway. As I stood there waiting for him to get out of the car, my heart started pounding in my chest so hard I thought it would break my fucking ribs. My entire body tensed as I thought about Remington down in that basement, helpless and so far out of reach, and it was all I could do to keep from charging over to him and killing him on the spot. With my jaw clenched tight, I watched as Mathews opened his car door and stepped outside. I felt my world start to crumble around me when he headed up the walkway to his front porch. I knew killing a cop would mean spending the rest of my days behind bars, but if it meant saving Remington’s life, I’d do it in a second.
As he started to unlock his front door, I reached into my holster, and just as I was about to pull out my piece, I heard the sirens. I wasn’t the only one who’d heard them. Mathews turned to watch as the cops surrounded his place, and if his dumbfounded expression was any indication, he had no idea they were coming for him. He charged towards them, demanding answers, but he got none. Instead, Mathews found himself cuffed and thrown in the back of a squad car. As much as I would’ve liked to have taken him to one of my rooms and spent hours showing him the kind of pain I could dish out, I got a small sense of satisfaction knowing what he had coming to him. Hell, he was one drop-of-the-soap away from being some dude’s fucking girlfriend.
Remington
I couldn’t believe it. My plan had genuinely worked, although I couldn’t deny my doubts were running wild after Noah and Menace had left me in that basement. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something would go terribly wrong, especially after seeing the state Thomas was in. I’d never seen a more dreadful sight. That poor man looked like he’d been put through a damn meat grinder, and that smell … My God, only a monster could’ve done such a thing to another human being, which made me wonder if I’d made a terrible mistake by coming here.
My level of doubt hit an all-time high when I heard a strange commotion upstairs. I instantly started to panic, thinking that Detective Mathews would find me in that room and finish the job he’d started several weeks ago. I wanted to run but knew there was nowhere for me to go. Besides, I couldn’t have left Thomas—not after Noah had promised we’d get him out of there.
As I sat there and listened to the footsteps overhead, my heart started to race to the point I thought it’d beat right out of my chest. The drugs Doc had given me hadn’t helped matters either. I felt weighed down as if a hundred-pound weight was anchored to me, but at the same time, aware of everything around me—especially the strange sounds that were getting closer and closer to the room. I held my breath as I clenched my fingers into a fist, my nails digging into both palms as I prayed it wasn’t Detective Mathews who had just stopped in front of my door.