Page 30 of Island Guardian (Brookwell Island #7)
Chapter Twenty
Trina came around slowly. It felt as if her mouth had been stuffed with cotton. When she tried to move, she discovered she’d been jammed into a small space. Zip ties pinched her wrists and ankles. One of her shoes was missing.
Mechanical smells of oil, grease, and gas clouded the air. Though she breathed carefully, she choked and coughed.
She heard footsteps approaching right before a light came on somewhere above and behind her.
“Luca.” She practically spat his name.
“You’re awake, my darling. I was starting to worry.” He crouched on the other side of a cargo net. “We’ll be leaving shortly.” He looked around her. “It could get bumpy back here, but no worries, my darling. Once we’re in the air, we can have a civilized conversation.”
“Where is Rhett?” Luca’s smile made her sick. “Where is my husband?”
He lunged at her, but couldn’t strike her through the cargo net. “You’ll never say those words about anyone but me again. Your first husband has died in a tragic accident.”
She started to swear, to curse, heedless of the tears streaming down her face. She called up every foul-mouthed insult she could manage in a tantrum of epic proportions.
Luca simply backed away and turned out the light.
As her tears ebbed, a cold fury took over. As soon as she had the chance, she would tear Luca apart and find her way back to Rhett.
He wasn’t dead. Couldn’t be.
Because she loved him and she was sure that life wouldn’t be so cruel as to never allow her to tell him.
Rhett couldn’t fault the team’s expertise as Travis laid out the plan. With five of them, they could cover both paths out of the hangar. Jenna had already spoken with the charter service and while the pilots continued working through the pre-flight checklist, the plane wasn’t going anywhere.
They had confirmation that Gallo was inside, but so far, no one had spotted Trina.
Luca could have her on board, or hidden in the rental car.
Thanks to Jenna’s intel and with the cooperation of the charter service, Logan had managed to get the uniform necessary to pose as part of the maintenance team.
“He’s going in,” Travis said through the radio. “Everyone sit tight.”
Rhett struggled with the direction, but Knox kept a heavy hand on his shoulder. They were sitting in a golf cart, watching from another hangar managed by the charter company.
“Let him work,” Knox murmured.
“She’s in there.”
“We need more intel. We don’t know if Gallo has weapons or?— ”
Rhett wanted to shrug off his friend’s attempt to help. “He has Trina.”
“Take a breath,” Knox said. “Watch him work.”
Rhett tried, but he felt too far away, had too many what-ifs racing through his head. As Logan moved into the hangar, Gallo came around a corner, wheeling a suitcase. Rhett’s heart rate slowed. Everything playing out in front of him slowed.
“She’s in the plane,” he said, mostly to himself.
“We’ll know in a minute.”
But Rhett already knew. It was in the way Gallo glanced toward the charter, the way he kept himself between Logan and the steps. “I know now.”
He put the golf cart in motion and rolled closer to where Gallo was feeding Logan lies. Knox cussed him out, but he kept right on rolling until he was parked in front of the hangar. He walked toward the nearest trash can as if he was just doing his job.
Gallo’s arrogance showed itself. “No, no! You can’t leave that there!”
Rhett spun around and charged the bastard. Gallo hesitated, so certain he’d killed Rhett back on the beach. “No! You cannot be here!”
“Wrong again.” Rhett grabbed him by his shirt. “Where is she?”
Gallo struggled, breaking Rhett’s hold. He scrambled backward, only to run into Logan.
“Stand down,” Logan ordered. “Relax, man. We just have a few questions.”
Gallo held up his hands. “A misunderstanding.”
“You kidnapped my wife!” Rhett roared.
He threw a flurry of punches, light blows, just toying with the Italian. Gallo tried to counter, but Rhett had all the experience to back up his desperation.
Logan wisely stepped out of the fray .
“Where is she?”
“Who?”
The smirk was the last straw. Rhett rammed a fist into Gallo’s gut, doubling him over. He let him wheeze just long enough to stand up and then Rhett finally punched him square in the face, hearing the crunch of bone under his knuckles. Gallo dropped to the ground like a felled tree.
“Is he dead?” Knox asked.
“Alive,” Rhett shouted, leaping over the bastard and up the stairs into the plane. “Trina!”
“Here! In the back!”
He swore in relief at the sound of her voice, strong and furious.
She didn’t sound drugged or seriously injured as he’d feared.
He raced toward the sounds from the back of the plane, finding her bound, hand and foot behind the cargo net.
Another wave of fury swelled up and he nearly went back to punch the Italian bastard again.
“You’re alive!” she cried, trying to get closer to him. Tears rolled. “Thank God. I thought…”
“You saved me.” Bits and pieces were coming back. She’d been there, trying to rouse him. “I’m alive because of you.” He paused to kiss her and then went to work on the bindings.
“Where is he?” Her eyes were still full of fear—for both of them.
“Down and out. Knox and the others have him.” His breath backed up in his lungs. “I’ll kill him.” He repeated it over and over as struggled to release her. The bastard didn’t deserve to take another breath after stalking and terrorizing his wife.
“No.” Trina countered every threat. “I need you. You . Here with me.”
Finally, she was free. “Always. I’m here.” He stroked her wrists, gently restoring the blood flow and checking for injuries. “Did he hurt you?”
“Not really.”
He cupped her face, kissing away her tears. “You’ll never see him again.”
She shivered. “Get me out of here.”
He helped her to her feet, supporting her as they inched toward the front of the plane. He checked to make sure Gallo was gone and he could keep his word. Seeing the others had him boxed into a corner, hands cuffed with zip ties, Rhett brought her to the door.
“Here we go,” he said, guiding her down the stairs. He went out first, ready to catch her if she stumbled. “Take your time.”
Trina couldn’t keep her hands to herself, holding Rhett’s shoulder down the steps, gripping his arm as he led her into the hangar, and away from the others gathered near the wide opening. Everything felt too big, too uncertain. Except him. He was her rock.
She clung to him, her face buried in his shirt. “Don’t let go.”
“Not a chance.” He guided her toward a couch, and sitting down, he pulled her into his arms.
She was so grateful to be held close. His heart beat under her cheek, strong and steady. He didn’t move from her, didn’t nudge her aside, letting several other men deal with Luca. She recognized Knox and Travis, but not the other two. No doubt, they were also with the Guardian Agency.
“I’m glad you have good friends.”
“The best.” His breath shuddered in and out. “They picked up your trail right away.”
“Good.” She’d find a way to thank them later. “Part of the extra security you arranged?”
“You knew?”
She nodded, her cheek rubbing against his shirt. Gradually, the fear gripping her chest eased and the reality of their survival sank in. Sirens swirled around them and she couldn’t give it much of her attention. She was too busy breathing him in, loving him.
She’d been so scared and come far too close to losing him. Never again. Never. She had to be brave enough to tell him. Somehow it seemed harder than telling him about her past. “Rhett?”
His hand stroked up and down her spine, smoothing away the last of her fears. “Yes?”
“I want a marriage.” She eased back, just far enough to meet his gaze. “This marriage. I love you. Not for saving me. Well, yes for saving me, of course. But so much more.”
He kissed her softly. “I love you, too.” His gaze roamed over her face. “Every heartbeat is for you. It started on our wedding day,” he admitted. “You’re my heart, Trina. My life. No divorce for us. I want forever with you.”
“One condition.” She felt her smile wobble, but she persevered. She caught his face between her hands. “Never call me ‘my darling’.”
“That’s a promise I can keep.”