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CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Paxton

It takes us an hour to get everyone together and get to the motel. Harris was dumb enough to register the room under his real name. Salvatore used his clout to get the manager at the motel to give us the information we needed and to keep his mouth shut.

We’re all waiting across the street, coordinating what we’re going to do.

“The manager said that there’s a window in the bathroom. So besides the big window and the front door, there’s no other way for them to get out of the room.” Giacomo says to everyone.

“I still want a few of you near the back window in case one of them tries to get out that way.” Enea says.

“What are we doing with them when we get in there?” I ask.

“I called the sheriffs department and told them to meet us here in an hour. Gives us enough time to get in there and get Piper before they get here.” Salvatore says to everyone.

“We don’t know if they have any weapons. We do know that they have syringes with tranquilizers in them. But Georgíos said he didn’t know if either of them had a gun.” Celestino says.

“So we go in like they have guns. Always assume people who kidnap have weapons.” Francesco tells us.

“Okay, are we all ready? I want Celestino, Sebastiano and Eros at the back window. Paxton, Francesco, Apollo you’re here waiting?—”

“Wait. You can’t make me wait here.” I frown.

“You’re the very one that needs to wait here. Your emotions are higher than the rest of us. I can’t be worrying about keeping you safe. I need to make sure we get Piper out.”

I start to argue again, but I realize that Giacomo is right. I will just barge in there and fuck it all up. I finally nod.

“Please keep her safe.”

“We’re going to do our best. The rest of us are in the front door and watching that big front window. Let’s go”

I watch the rest of them cross the street. Even though I know Giacomo is right, it’s the hardest thing I’ve had to do. Waiting here and watching the others go in to save my Piper.

Piper

I’m still lying here ignoring Harris and Marc.

All of a sudden, there’s a huge noise and there’s a huge commotion.

The next thing I see is members of my new family taking down Marc and Harris.

I jump off the bed and run into the bathroom to hide.

As I’m cowering in the bathroom, I hear Harris yelling for me. I cover my ears.

I feel a hand on my arm and I start swinging at it.

“Piper, it’s Enea. You’re safe.”

I look up and see his face looking down on me.

“H-Harris. Is he gone?” I ask.

“He won’t be touching you again. Did he hurt you?”

I shake my head no.

“Where’s Paxton? Is Georgíos okay?” I ask as Enea helps me stand up.

“Paxton is outside waiting for you. Georgíos is back at the house, he wanted to be here. But we made him stay there to rest.”

“I’m so relieved that he’s okay. When they took me, Georgíos was on the ground. I felt for a pulse and he had one. He was starting to wake up and Harris injected him with something.”

“It was a tranquilizer. He’s okay. He’s pissed. But he’s okay.”

It’s a huge relief to know that Georgíos is okay. I follow Enea outside.

“You’re going to come back to me. You know we’re meant to be together.” Harris yells to me.

I stare at him.

“I’ll never be with you again. I told you before that cheating was the ultimate no. And you did it anyway.”

“It was a mistake. We can get past this.”

Holy fuck he’s as delusional as Marc is. I keep walking with Enea, he leads me across the street and into Paxton’s arms.

“Thank God you’re safe.” Paxton says as he holds me tight. “Did he hurt you?”

“No. He didn’t have time. You found me before they could even figure out where they were going to take me.”

“We have our family to thank for that. The way they all come together to get things done is amazing to watch. And that’s how we got to you so soon. And Georgíos was able to remember the car and license plate.”

My tears start to fall, the gravity of what could’ve happened is hitting me. If Georgíos hadn’t remembered what he did, my family would’ve had a harder time finding me. And then I wouldn’t be in Paxton’s arms right now.

We hear sirens and five sheriff and police cars are turning into the parking lot. We watch them take Harris and Marc into custody. We walk across the street to talk to them.

“Do you need an ambulance?” Officer Taylor asks.

“No, I’m okay.”

“Are you sure? It’s better if you get checked out, there’s going to be a court date. So having those record will help us put them away for a longer period.”

“We don’t need an ambulance, I’ll drive her to the hospital now.” Paxton says to Officer Taylor.

After I give my statement, we head to the hospital so I can get checked out. Paxton doesn’t leave my side though all of it. And at this point, I just want to go home and be in his arms.