Rage whipped through him like a gale force wind. After a quick scan to make sure no one else was in the room, he hustled toward Brynn. She tensed and turned silent, apparently sensing she was no longer alone.
He tucked the gun in his waistband. “Brynn, sugar, it’s Reid. I’m here.”
A strangled cry escaped from her.
“I’m going to get you off this thing,” he said, reaching for the blindfold first, knowing that scared her as much as anything.
When he pulled the material from her, her bloodshot eyes were wide and swollen from crying. Unintelligible noises emanated from behind her gag, but he wanted to get her freed before anything else. He searched for the mechanism to turn the bondage wheel that the cross was attached to right-side up. “Shh, it’s okay, baby.”
He hoped Davis had taken off when he’d realized he’d been caught, but Reid knew he could still be in the house. They needed to get the hell out of here. Fast.
He found the device and cranked the wheel. The thing groaned and squeaked as he slowly spun Brynn right-side up. Damn, could the thing be any louder? Might as well have a bullhorn announcing his location. He threw a glance over his shoulder, verifying they were still alone.
Once he’d gotten her fully upright, he went to work on the straps securing her wrists. She shook her head frantically and tried to speak. He frowned. “Sugar, it’s all right. I’m going to get you out of here. Just try to breathe. I’ll get the gag off you in one sec.”
His big fingers fought with the intricate fastenings, and he cursed under his breath. He should’ve brought Jace in; he could’ve worked the equipment with his eyes closed. Finally, one of the straps came free. Brynn grabbed at her mouth, yanking the ball out of it, as he went to work on the next binding.
“Reid,” she whispered, her voice raw.
He kept his eyes focused on the task at hand. “What, baby?”
“Behind you.”
Reid whirled around, and Davis stepped off the bottom stair, a pistol trained on Reid’s chest. “Oh, look. Company. How lovely.”
Reid shifted to the side to stand between Brynn and Davis’s steady hand.
“Sorry, I’m late. I had to take care of your friend out there. Can’t have him interrupting the party,” Davis said, his tone sickeningly calm.
The words hit Reid like one of the bullets in Davis’s gun. Jace.
The councilman walked toward the two of them with deliberate steps and a satisfied smile. “Step away from my slave, Reid. I don’t plan on sharing her like you do.”
Reid’s teeth ground together, the urge to murder this man a living, breathing thing inside him. “I’m not going to let you touch her.”
He smirked. “Roslyn always worried this girl would be your downfall. After all the trouble she’s gone through to keep you two apart, she’ll be so disappointed to see she’s failed.”
Reid’s focus stuttered at the mention of his aunt’s name. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Davis gave a put-upon sigh. “Blackmail, dirty pictures, letting me have my fun with Brynn. I told her you were a lost cause, but she had these ridiculous notions that you could actually make something of yourself.”
Reid stared at gun. All the puzzle pieces were crashing through his brain like jagged pieces of shrapnel, ripping through the fabric of his reality, but he couldn’t lose sight of the situation at hand. He raised his eyes to meet Davis’s. “You’re a fucking lunatic.”
His voice turned colder. “I’m going to ask you one last time to step aside.”
“Go to hell.”
He shrugged and cocked the pistol. “Suit yourself. It’s not going to be much of a matchup. In man versus gun, gun usually wins.”
“Wait,” Brynn said, her hand touching the small of Reid’s back. “Listen to him, Reid. Let him have me.”
Reid’s back stiffened beneath her fingertips as she made the suggestion, but she prayed he would listen. Davis wouldn’t hesitate to kill him. She’d seen the crazy in the councilman’s eyes as he was tying her up. The man had no soul.
“I can’t,” Reid said, his voice strained. “Won’t.”
“You have to. Please, Reid. Listen to what he says and maybe he’ll let us go.”
“He’s not going to let us—”