Page 63 of Between Regrets and Promises (Between Us Trilogy #2)

“Yes, and we can’t waste any more time. Dalton probably has no idea the mistake he made, and we need to take advantage now,” Liam instructs, grabbing another gun from his duffle bag.

He tries to hand it to me, but I refuse it before he tucks it into the back of his pants, and we walk out of the back door. Now, he’s double loaded.

I crack my knuckles, ready to beat in Dalton’s face until he’s unrecognizable.

I’m coming, Sophie. I’m on my way, baby. Just hold on a little longer.

“We need to go through the back in case he’s watching the front of the house. Mason, keep messaging him so he’s occupied,” Liam tells us as we follow him. He leads us across our neighbors’ backyards until we’re six houses down. We come around the side of a house, and then Liam crosses the street.

“Shit,” he whispers under his breath. “The fences.”

“Let’s go to the next block and cut through the yard that’s connected to Kilan’s backyard. We’ll need a solid plan, though.” I’m worried as hell that this is all going to backfire, and I know they can hear it in my voice by the expressions on their faces.

I pull out my phone and text Dalton with hopes to do nothing more than amuse and distract him.

He seems to eat up the fact that I’m worried as fuck about Sophie.

Having power over me and being able to control the situation is something his brother loved to do, too.

It’s what ultimately resulted in his death, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Dalton ends up the same way.

Mason

You don’t have to do this. Let her go and take me instead. I’m the one you have the real problem with anyway. She didn’t do anything.

Dalton

That’s where you’re wrong. Now which should I cut off first? Her fingers or toes?

Mason

If you let her go, you get me. Isn’t that what you wanted all along anyway? Or better yet, we can forget that any of this happened and all walk away.

Dalton

Too late. I’m having way too much fun with her…and you.

Mason

You’re gonna end up like your brother if you don’t give her back…in one fucking piece.

Dalton

None of this would’ve happened if you weren’t a killer.

I want to argue with him. I want to tell him it wasn’t my fucking gun. I wasn’t the one looking for a fight by pulling the trigger, but he wouldn’t believe me anyway. He wants nothing but to seek his revenge, and he went after the only person who means anything to me—Sophie.

He sends another text that has me seeing red.

Dalton

Just remember, her blood will be on YOUR hands. You’ll never find her, not on time at least.

We jog down the street and find Dalton’s car parked on the next block.

“Fuck,” I murmur. “What’s the plan?”

Liam responds by taking his gun from the back of his waistband, and without warning, he pulls the trigger and shoots out two of the tires, and that’s when I realize he has a silencer on the end. My eyes widen in shock. Liam doesn’t play.

“You can’t be too fucking careful.” He smirks. “Now, he’s really not going anywhere.”

We rush toward the house where Dalton has Sophie, and I’m relieved to see there isn’t a fence although I’d scale it in a heartbeat if I had to. As we stand in the shadows of the tall bushes, I notice all the curtains are drawn, but it’s more than obvious the lights are on inside.

“You’re sure she’s in there?” Hunter asks, keeping his voice low.

“There’s no doubt about it. Never seen a dick like that in my life,” Liam replies.

“So what’re we doing? We can’t just rush inside. He could kill her as soon as he hears us,” I say.

As if he heard me, Dalton sends a picture of all the weapons he has. Knives of all different sizes are on the countertop along with a gun, duct tape, and rope.

Fucking hell. He’s worse than Weston.

Dalton

Maybe I’ll alternate fingers and toes until they’re all gone. But I’m wondering how she should die. Should I let her bleed out…slow and painful?

Oh wait, I know. Gunshot. The same way you killed my brother. But it’s sure been fun using all my little toys on her. Should I send you a video?

The next incoming text is a picture of a gag in Sophie’s mouth with tears running down her cheeks.

“Oh my God,” I hiss quietly.

A rush of second-guessing soars through me, wondering if we’re going about this all wrong and should call for help and let SWAT take his ass out instead, but then I hear an ear-piercing scream come from inside.

“Goddammit. We should call the police for backup.” I’m jumpy and unsure. I can’t believe this is happening right now.

“Keep it together, Holt. We’re doing this. No backing down now,” Liam tells me, then jerks his head as if he needs confirmation I’m good to go.

I take several deep breaths before nodding in return. Whatever happens, I’ll know we did what we had to in order to get her out safely.

“By the photo, it looks like they’re in the kitchen, so I think if we go in through the side door in the garage, he won’t notice.

Kilan mentioned that the door doesn’t lock, and not too long ago, the garage door was stuck open, so asked me to watch the place,” Liam explains.

“He was supposed to get someone out here to fix it but apparently didn’t. ”

I glare. “That’s exactly how that bastard got in.”

As if he already figured it out, he frowns. “I know. I think that’s where we should enter, though,” Liam suggests, and I agree.

“We have the element of surprise on our side, so when we barge in, you two need to take him down right away. I’ll grab Sophie and get her the fuck out of there,” I tell Liam and Hunter.

Hunter speaks up. “If Liam goes in first with his gun, I can go in behind and throw something across the room to distract him. Then you come in after and grab her.” We nod in agreement.

There are three of us and only one of him.

He might be armed, but Liam is just as dangerous with his weapon.

“Be careful, okay? Lennon will murder us if we get hurt,” Hunter adds.

Liam smirks. “We’ll let you handle her since you’re good at it.”

“Shut the hell up,” Hunter snaps.

“Alright, so you two go in first, and I’ll focus on getting Sophie,” I confirm.

We cross the yard toward the garage and keep to the side of the house.

I can hear Sophie’s cries from inside, and I’m tempted to say fuck it all and rush in there by myself, but I know how life-threatening this whole plan is.

One wrong move could mean it ends badly for us.

Liam slips inside the garage, and Hunter and I follow him. He grabs the doorknob and looks at me.

“You love her.”

There’s not a doubtful bone in my body when I answer. “Yeah, I do.”

He grins. “Then all you need to worry about is getting her out of here. Let Hunter and me handle him. Got it?”

I swallow and nod. Liam holds his gun out in front of him after giving his backup one to Hunter, then they both enter. My adrenaline spikes as realization hits—this is about to end, and I’ll get my sweet Sophie back.

Once inside the entry, I can hear Dalton’s laughter as he threatens to kill her and then kill me. No fucking way in hell is that happening.

Liam quietly walks down the hall that leads to the kitchen and living room with Hunter behind him. I trust them both with my life, but right now, I’m anxious as fuck that something is going to go horribly wrong.

As we walk farther into the house, I make sure to stay behind them, and the discussion in the kitchen becomes louder.

“I’ll do anything you want if you leave everyone alone,” Sophie pleads, which means he took the gag out of her mouth. Thank God. Though it was probably because he gets off on hearing her beg.

He releases a rumbling laugh. “You’ll do anything I want anyway.”

I clench my jaw and try to calm the rage that soars through me.

My heart pounds hard in my chest as I prepare for the most important mission of my life.

I suck in deep breaths, trying to remain calm and assess the situation as Liam and Hunter cut through the dining room.

Standing in the hallway, I keep my back against the wall and peek around the corner into the kitchen and see the police scanner on the counter as he points a knife directly in her face.

“Your pleas are boring me,” Dalton tells her, unamused, dropping the knife and picking up a gun. “About as much as your boyfriend does.”

“Shut up,” she spits back but winces as if speaking hurts.

He points it at Sophie, giving her an eerie grin. “Just once click. That’s all it would take to end you right now. Isn’t this fun?”

He twirls it around his finger before placing it against Sophie’s head.

My body stiffens, and I nearly lose my strength as I wait for Hunter to make a fucking move.

Seeing a gun pointed at her makes me want to wrap my hands around Dalton’s throat until he takes his last fucking breath.

I almost can’t take it anymore, and my hands ball into fists, trying to keep from making any noise.

“Please,” she whispers, defeated. “ Please , Dalton.”

Before he can respond, the dildo sculpture crashes to the floor, shattering into a million pieces. Dalton turns on his heels and points the gun toward the dining room. He shouts, demanding to know who’s there.

Seconds later, a round exits the silencer, then blood splatters on Sophie’s face and body. She wails as she struggles against the chair. Liam shot Dalton in the shoulder, purposely not killing him. He stumbles back, drops the gun, and the metal crashes against the tile floor.

I don’t wait another second to be wasted before I rush into the kitchen and slam my body into Dalton.

We both fall to the ground, and I kick the gun out of his reach.

Liam comes and stands over Dalton, keeping the weapon pointed at his head, but the sick fuck isn’t scared or threatened.

In fact, he must have a fucking death wish.

Dalton struggles against me, and when I push myself off him, Liam shoots again, putting a bullet in his thigh as Hunter struggles to hold him down.

“I’m gonna fucking kill you. I’m gonna fucking kill you all,” Dalton warns, wailing from the pain.

“Shut the fuck up,” Liam spits, kneeling and leaning closer to him.

“I should put a bullet between your eyes right now.” He taps the barrel of his pistol to his forehead.

“But I like seeing you suffer the way you made her. So I might not call an ambulance for a while…let you bleed out a little… just for fun, ” he mocks the way he taunted Sophie.

Seeing that Liam and Hunter have it under control, I run over to Sophie and cup her beaten and swollen face in my hands.

“I’ve got you, baby. It’s gonna be okay,” I tell her, trying to soothe both of us.

She’s crying hysterically, pulling against the duct tape that asshole wrapped around her wrists and ankles.

“I’m so fucking sorry.” It kills me to see her like this.

My Sophie looks so damn broken. “I’m getting you out, baby,” I say, grabbing a knife from the counter and cutting her free from the chair.

I do an assessment and see the dried blood on her arm from the earlier cut.

That asshole’s blood spewed on her face and hair, making both of us wince.

I wrap one arm around her back and one under her legs, lifting her out of the chair.

“Get her out of here,” Liam shouts when Dalton tries to pull himself up. He’s clearly not going down without a fight. Fucking moron.

“Hunter, do me a favor and deck him in the face for me before you call 911,” I say, walking with Sophie in my arms when he pulls out his cell. I’d do it myself but getting her out of here is more important.

“Not a fucking problem.” He grins, sliding his phone back into his pocket.

Then I hug Sophie to my chest and walk us the fuck out of there.