9. Chapter 7

I"m going insane with worry for Amber. I should have never let her go back to her apartment alone. I don"t know what I was thinking. The reports from the PI I had following Bradley kept telling me that the guy was bad news, but my head has been in the clouds with wanting Amber. She"s my everything, but I should have protected her. I certainly have all the resources to make that happen.

I dropped the ball and will pay for it dearly. Bradley is now violent, and he"s got Amber hidden somewhere we can"t pinpoint. We have his property under surveillance and other places he has been known to frequent. But he"s not in any of those places. We"re now looking into associates or love interests whose premises he might be using to hold Amber hostage.

It"s already been twelve hours, and pacing back and forth in my hotel suite isn"t helping at all. My phone rings, and I see it"s one of the hackers I employ.

"What have you got for me, Zane?"

"I think I know where this jerk has your lady, boss."

"Do you have an address?" I nearly jump through the phone.

"Yeah, I"m sending you the coordinates. But you need to call the police."

"Don"t tell me how to do my job, Zane."

"Right. It"s just I think he"s holding another lady too. It"s the last girlfriend he had, and I think he"s been siphoning money from her little by little. At least that"s what the accounts say."

"Yeah, well, we know he"s a dirtbag. This just confirms it. I gotta go. Thanks, Zane."

I send a quick text to my contact at the police and include the location Zane sent me. It is an hour away, and I need to leave now. Thankfully, I brought my gun from Las Vegas. I don"t know if this guy is armed, but he"s certainly dangerous. I get in my car and load the address into the GPS system.

Sam, my contact at the police station, sends me a message telling me he"s on his way with backup. I just hope I can get there first because I want to get my hands on Bradley. He hurt Amber, and I can"t forgive that. The hour drive is nerve-wracking, and when I get close, I park somewhere my car can"t be seen.

Getting close to the house is relatively easy, but it"s still daylight. There"s no obvious movement inside the windows, but Bradley"s car is parked in the driveway. My gut tells me to go in before Bradley hurts Amber again, but it would be dangerous for me to go in without backup. The front door suddenly opens, and a woman comes out with a garbage bag. The garbage bin is close to where I"m hiding, and I decide to approach her.

She comes closer and opens the bin, throwing the garbage bag inside. When she closes the lid, I show myself to her with my index finger against my mouth so she knows to keep quiet. She looks back at the house but doesn"t move a muscle.

"Is Bradley inside the house?" I ask quietly.

She nods and looks back again.

"Does he have a hostage with him?"

She nods again.

"Do you think you could distract him while I get inside the house?"

She shakes her head, a terrified look on her face. "He"ll hurt me," she whispers. "I can"t help you." Then, she rushes back inside the house.

The woman is in bad shape, and if she"s been under Bradley"s thumb for any length of time, she"s right to be scared. He"s volatile right now. I guess I"m waiting for backup after all.

I don"t have to wait long. About fifteen minutes later, Sam, my police contact, comes in with his guys and surrounds the place. They call out to Bradley, but he doesn"t respond.

Sam gives me a bulletproof vest and lets me know the team is going in. He knows me well enough to know I will follow them to get to Amber. Nothing could keep me from her. The police smash the door open and rush inside the house. But my gut tells me I should go to the back of the building.

A couple of cops see where I"m going and follow me, and we find Bradley getting into a car with the woman in it. I don"t know what overtakes me, but I practically rip him from that car and start punching him. Sam has already given me clearance with the cops, so they give me about a minute before they pull me off him. They cuff him and read him his rights. Meanwhile, the woman cowers in the car.

I go to that side of the car and open the door.

"It"s okay now. You"re safe," I tell her.

"What if they let him go?"

"We"ve got him on more than kidnapping charges. But your testimony might be needed. Do you think you could do that?"

"I…I don"t know."

I hear the sound of an ambulance and look to see the paramedics approaching.

"The paramedics will check you out. Stay here."

My phone rings, and I answer it. It"s Sam.

"We"ve got her, Jason. She"s downstairs in the basement."

"I"ll be right there!"

I rush inside and down the basement stairs in less than a minute, and I see Sam cutting the restraints that were holding Amber. Anger floods through me at what that bastard put her through. I run to where she"s sitting, now massaging her wrists. I kneel before her, my heart beating faster than I ever thought possible.

"I"m sorry, Pixie. I should have been there with you at the apartment. Will you forgive me?"

"God, Jason. It"s not your fault. Will you hold me?"

"The paramedics need to check on you first. They"re checking the other woman right now."

I want to hold her, but I"m afraid to. I don"t want to hurt her. And right now, I"m trying to keep inside all the feelings that are overflowing. This is not the right time for a lover"s confession.

"Who is she?" Amber asks.

"She"s his girlfriend. Though I think she wouldn"t call him her boyfriend now. He"s been stealing from her."

Amber shakes her head, her eyes moist with tears. "Get me out of here, Jason. The paramedics can take care of me outside of this awful place."

"You"re right."

I help her up, only to have her sway on her feet.

"My legs don"t seem to work. I"ve been tied to that chair for too damn long."

"Here, let me."

I scoop her up in my arms and take her outside of this hellhole. I carry her to the ambulance and transfer her into the care of the paramedics.

"Don"t leave me." She pleads when I step back to let the paramedics do their job.

"I"ll be right here, Pixie."

The whole time the paramedics are tending her, she keeps her eyes on me as if I"d disappear if she took her eyes off me. I know I can"t begin to understand the horror she"s been through, and I"m eager to take her with me to my suite and have her safe in my arms. The medics say she doesn"t need to go to the hospital, which she seems to be glad of, but that bastard punched her. Maybe she has a concussion, so I speak up.

"He punched her. She could have a concussion."

"She didn"t pass out after the punch, and our exams checked out. But if you want to be on the safe side, she can go to the hospital. Do you want us to take her?"

"Jason, no. I want to go with you. I"ll follow any instructions they have in case of a concussion."

I nod, and the paramedics tell us what to look for. Once they are done, I help her down from the ambulance. She"s steady on her feet now, making me feel better. We walk together to my car, and every once in a while, she trembles like aftershocks from her body. The drive back to the city is long and quiet, and I can"t help but wonder if she"s keeping it all in.

The valet service at the hotel takes the car, and we go up to my suite. As soon as I close the door behind us, Amber jumps into my arms and starts crying. I walk her over to the sofa, and we sit together, holding one another.

"Shhh, Pixie. You"re safe now."

"That man, I don"t know who he was. How could Bradley have become that? How could he so easily hurt me like that?"

"You might never be able to understand how he became what he is now."

"I"m so glad you found me." She sobs slightly.

"Took me too long. We could have avoided that punch."

I lift her face to see her eye and the bruise around it. "I can call room service and ask for an ice pack."

"No, let"s go to bed," she says. "I just want to be in your arms tonight."

Before bed, I get her into the shower with me so we can wash away the dirt and grime from her body. She asked me to burn her clothes, but I don"t know if the police need them as evidence. When we get out of the shower, I dry her with a towel and wrap her in a bathrobe. She"s stopped trembling and doesn"t look as shell-shocked as she did before.

"Make love to me, Jason."

"I don"t know… I don"t want to hurt you."

"Please."

I take her into my arms and kiss her. Our lovemaking is slow and careful, and the look on her face when she finally explodes in my arms is unforgettable. Afterwards, we hold each other close and I can no longer hold back my feelings.

"Amber. I don"t know what I would have done if I lost you. You"ve become the most important person in my life. I was so scared." I tell her.

"Being held like that against my will made me feel very powerless. I don"t want to experience that ever again."

"You won"t. Not if I can help it. Amber…"

She shakes her head. "You don"t have to say it."

"I do. I love you, Amber."

"I love you too, Jason. Now, make me forget again, please."