Page 135 of Luck of the Devil

Not like this?

I sucked in a shaky breath, fury and heartbreak churning in my gut.

What was I doing? This wasn’t how I dealt with criminals. I’d collected evidence and let a judge and jury decided. It wasn’t up to me to decide or dole out punishment.

Even though every part of me burned to do so.

Maybe I could turn the evidence over to Mason Deveraux. Following the evidence trail might keep him busy enough that he’d forget his vendetta against Malcolm. But James would never agree to it. And even if he did, she’d hire expensive attorneys and get away with everything she’d done.

“Harper.”

His voice was soft and low. Like he knew how hard it was to lower the gun.

Drawing a shaky breath, tears blurred my vision. I slowly let my arm drop. I needed to untie him and get him out of here.

Before I changed my mind about Nicole.

I dropped to my knees in front of him, letting my rifle clatter to the floor. Nicole was almost to the door, walking away like she’d just completed a shopping trip to the mall.

My eyes burned as I blinked and focused on the knot binding his right wrist. Every part of me wanted to go after her and wipe that smug expression off her face with the barrel of my gun.

But I didn’t.

Not yet.

“What the hell happened?” James asked.

I blinked, trying to ground myself. “You’ll need to be more specific.”

The knot was tight and not budging. I bent down and bit it, tugging it until it loosened just enough to wedge my finger underneath.

“In the woods,” he said. “We were running, and the next thing I knew, I was in the back of their car.” His eyes locked on mine, blazing. “I thought they’d killed you.”

“The car explosion worked a little too well,” I muttered. “You hit the ground and got knocked out cold.” I dug my nails in and finally yanked it loose. “I couldn’t wake you up, so I tried to draw them away.” My words turned bitter. “Obviously it didn’t work.”

“Why the fuck would you do that?” He tossed the rope onto the floor, then bent down to work on his leg while I tackled the knot on his left arm.

“Are you serious?” I shot another glance at the entrance, half-expecting Nicole or one of her henchmen to burst in and finish what they started. “It doesn’t matter. I botched it. They captured you anyway, and I left a hell of a mess behind.”

He looked up at me, brow raised, waiting for more.

“There’re more than a few dead bodies out there.” The reality of the carnage I’d left hit me center mass. “I don’t know how we’re supposed to explain that.”

His face softened. “Carter’ll take care of it.”

“How can he take care of that?” Panic crept in. “What if someone saw the fire? What if they called it in?”

He reached up, cupping my cheek with his freed hand. “Deep breath. I won’t let anything happen to you, okay?”

The tenderness in his voice broke something in me. A tear rolled down my cheek before I could stop it.

He brushed it with his thumb, still watching me. His pupils were slightly dilated, but he was more focused now than he’d been since the crash. “Do you believe me?”

I nodded. Maybe it was like believing in Santa or the Tooth Fairy, but in that moment, I knew he’d burn the world down to keep me safe.

Just like I’d done for him.

“Good,” he said, brushing his lips against my forehead. Then he pulled back. “Let’s finish untying the piss-poor binding job and get the hell out of here.”