“James.”
He heard his name from her lips.
None of the other women had spoken while they’d been standing. James didn’t wait for Lucas to respond. He charged out of the room with Lucas not far behind him. There was no plan other than getting her. As he moved around the room he saw Josiah, Hubert, and Sean crash through the building. Chaos erupted at the sight of the local police and the Feds.
James didn’t stand around waiting.
He saw Prudence being pulled along. Daren held her in his arms.
Lucas tackled the other man as James tried to grab Prudence.
Daren shot Lucas in the leg and took off before he got the chance. James watched him go with the woman he loved. She wasn’t getting away from him again.
He saw where Daren went and then charged in that direction leaving Lucas alone to deal with the shit about to erupt.
James ran down the basement. He heard the other men following him, but he wasn’t prepared to wait for the love of his life. Daren had f**ked him over, and he no longer felt like taking chances with a man who willingly played his woman like bait. This was going to end now.
“You’ve got no weapon, James. How do you intend to take her from me?” Daren asked. The sound echoed off the walls. The basement was a mess filled with old furnishing and dust.
It was like stepping back in time to a horror movie.
He moved around a corner and saw Daren with a gun pointed at Prudence’s head.
“James?” she asked. The shock on her face undid him. He’d fight with every part of his being to get her back.
“I’m here, baby. I’m right here.” She sobbed with each word he spoke. Seeing her so broken shattered his heart.
“You couldn’t let her go?” Daren said, tugging her close to him.
“You gave me a month and then were going to sell her after only two weeks.”
“She pissed off the boss. He wanted you guys to be taught a lesson.”
“We had nothing to do with this shit, and from what I hear I won’t have anything to do with it again. They’ve got you and Henry.”
Daren cocked the gun and pressed it against her head more firmly. “Well, that has certainly screwed my plans up. I’m not going to jail.”
“You don’t have a f**king choice. Give my woman to me,” James said.
His gaze never once wavered from the gun pointed at her head.
“I can kill her, James. Could you live with that? Being this close to saving her only for her to die while you watch.” Daren licked her check.
The finger on the trigger tightened.
“No,” James said, shouting the word. The word echoed around the room as did a single gun-shot.
Prudence collapsed on the ground. She sobbed, and then Daren fell back. James saw a single bullet hole through Daren’s head. Looking behind him James saw Lucas resting against the wall.
“I can’t have Henry, but that bastard was going to die.”
James ran toward Prudence. She’d fainted on the floor. He picked her up in his arms. Where Daren had licked her cheek, he’d removed a layer of makeup. The bruises appeared beneath the fake layer. He held her in his arms crying.
He’d thought he was going to watch her die. Relief swept through him.
Chapter Eleven
James ignored the warnings from Josiah and Hubert. Prudence was in his arms.
“You could have f**ked up this entire mission. Both of you could. We gave you our word,” Josiah said.
“And your word meant shit. James agreed to help with the guarantee that Prudence would be saved. You were prepared to sacrifice her,” Lucas said.
He moved Prudence near to the ambulance. Most, if not all, of the girls had been saved. The raid the two agents handled had saved plenty of women, and they’d arrested Henry along with some of his associates. James didn’t care for all the other details. He’d never wanted to be part of their investigation or way of life. The only person he wanted was Prudence.
Lucas was being tended to by a girl named Melanie. From what they’d figured out, Melanie, also known as Cindy, had helped Prudence while she’d been locked away. He thanked the woman for making her life easier rather than harder.
Lifting Prudence onto the bed inside the ambulance James let her go to sit down. She reached for his hand. He grasped hers tightly.
“Please, don’t go. Don’t leave me,” she said. Tears filled her eyes, breaking his soul.
“I’m not going anywhere. I’m with you every step of the way.” He kissed her knuckles and then nodded at the driver. He’d done nothing wrong in coming for his woman. The fact he’d saved her was a miracle in itself. There were so many tales of women and girls being lost along the way. He couldn’t imagine living without knowing she was safe. If he’d not found her tonight, James would have used every cent and resource at his disposal to hunt her down. The drive to the hospital was short. He kept his gaze on her at all times, not wishing her out of his sight.
“She’s doing well,” the paramedic said.
When they made it inside the hospital, James left her to fill in some hospital forms. They were foreigners, and he promised to refund them any money needed. While they performed checks on her James reluctantly waited outside in the reception area.
“How are you doing?” Sean asked, joining him.
“They let you go?” James moved over to allow Sean to sit next to him.
The last few hours had been hazy.
“They had no choice. I’m not their f**king prisoner. I came here to settle an old debt. I’ll never be free of the guilt, but I’ve made sure Lucas doesn’t do anything stupid. The Feds are around keeping an eye on all the girls. Some of them were drugged pretty bad and are needing more attention,” Sean said.
“Where’s Lucas?”
“Getting his leg stitched up. The bullet ripped through, and the docs are making sure it didn’t go through any major arteries.”
James stayed silent for several minutes. The only sound he heard in the hospital was the rushing of nurses and the occasional machine beeping.
“I can’t believe I got her back.”
“You’re lucky to have some good friends.”
“What debt were you talking about?” James asked, remembering what Lucas said earlier in the day.
Sean let out a sigh. “I’m the one responsible for Isabella disappearing. She came to my room one night, naked, and let’s just say it didn’t end well. I was a bastard to her, and she ran. By the time morning came, she was gone.”