“We can’t find Cal,” he interrupts. A cold chill goes down my spine.

“Okay,” I draw out, not wanting to jump to conclusions, but already getting a really bad feeling from this.

“We had Tyler on him, but Cal made him.”

“How the fuck did Tyler blow his cover?” I shout.

“That’s not important. Right before that, Tyler heard him on the phone asking if they found her.”

No.

He couldn’t have found us. I made sure we were careful.

I put the keys in the ignition and get it started as fast as possible while a deep dread settles in the pit of my stomach. Throwing the car into drive, I don’t even look around before I peel away and drive to the motel as fast as I can without getting myself killed. “You need to send backup right now. Fuck, how could I be so stupid?” I mutter the last part to myself, but he hears it.

“We don’t know if he’s found her or not, so try to stay calm.”

“Stay calm? How the fuck am I supposed to do that when my whole fucking life is in that room and Cal could be on his way to take it? Would you be calm, sir?” A million thoughts run through my mind, none of them good.

He’s going to kill her.

I won’t be able to save her.

I’m going to be too late.

“I get it, Matthews. I’ve already sent my team, but they’re about an hour out. I’ll call the local precinct and have them send a few squad cars just in case.”

“Alright. I’ll call you in a bit.” I hang up the phone and toss it into the seat next to me.

I’m driving like a maniac, but I don’t give a shit. I honk at slower moving vehicles and speed around them when I can. I replay my earlier thoughts over and over in my mind until my stomach is twisted into knots and bile rises up the back of my throat.

What would he do to her? What if she’s—“Fuck!” My hands slam against the steering wheel. Nothing—I mean nothing—will be able to stop me from seeking revenge on everyone involved. I will hunt them down to the darkest, deepest places on Earth and make them fucking pay.

My car comes to a screeching stop and I don’t even bother shutting the damn thing off. Reaching into my back pocket as I sprint toward the room, I pull out the key card. Once I get the door open, time stands still. I’m frozen. This is my worst nightmare. There’s nothing I can do to stop it and I’m scared shitless. My heart ceases to beat and my lungs stop taking in air.

Oh, God.

I might be too late.

MY WORST FEAR is standing in front of me, threatening to take away the one thing I’ve ever loved.

“I’m so glad you’re here to see this,” Cal says to me. He looks completely disheveled with his wrinkled clothes and hair in utter disarray. It’s very unlike him, but it’s the gun resting at his side in his hand that catches my attention. I move quickly to draw my weapon from my waistband but Cal raises his pistol and points it at Elizabeth, causing me to stop and put my hands out in front of me.

“Don’t even think about it, Matthews.” His voice is so level, so void of the anger that is clear in his eyes that it’s eerie. He’s going to snap, and that scares me to death.

I turn my attention to Elizabeth and want nothing more than to go to her and wrap my arms around her. She’s visibly trembling with wide eyes filled with fear. She looks back and forth between Cal and me until she finally settles on me and our eyes lock. In that brief moment our bond, our connection is there reassuring each other. I don’t know what’s about to happen, but I’ll die before I let him take her.

I break eye contact and look around. There it is. The glock. It’s on the nightstand behind Elizabeth. I look at her again. She knows it’s there too. I need to distract Cal so she can get to it. She swallows hard and turns her head back toward Cal.

“What do you want, Senator?”

With his gun still drawn, he says, “I’m taking my wife home.”

“Why? So you can smack her around some more?” This gets his attention and he finally turns to look at me. From the corner of my eye, I see Elizabeth move the tiniest bit backward, careful not to make any noise or fast movements.

“It’s none of your fucking business what I do with her!” He yells, jabbing the gun in my direction with each word. His calm demeanor is completely gone now. “She’s my property and I’ll do whatever the hell I want.”

“Shit, you’re looking a little edgy, Cal,” I antagonize.

“Shut your damn mouth,” he seethes. “You think she’s yours? That you can take her away from me? I think it’s time to show you that she’s mine.” He’s losing it. His exterior is cracking and a sick feeling hits me hard.

He turns back toward Elizabeth. “Get on your knees,” he demands. With her mouth slightly parted, she shakes her head as her arms cross over her body. “I said get on your fucking knees, whore!” he shouts.

I move forward but he points the gun at Elizabeth. Without looking at me, he says, “You come one more step closer, and I’ll blow her fucking brains out.”

I stop.

I’m torn.

I don’t know what to do.

His free hand goes to his belt buckle and starts to undo it. Oh, hell no. This is not happening. Elizabeth lets out a whimper, but with the gun still aimed at her, I’m afraid to do anything.

“You’re going to suck my dick and show him who you belong to. Then I’m going to fuck you hard enough that you’ll never forget. If you make one sound or refuse, I’ll kill him. Understand?” She doesn’t respond. She’s frozen, staring at him in horror. In one swift move, he grabs her by her hair and throws her on the bed, falling on top of her and pinning her down.

I don’t fucking think so.

Without another thought, a violent growl erupts from my chest as I run over and tackle him. The impact pushes him off of her. I rear back and land a punch to his jaw. Before I can hit him again, he bucks his hips, throwing me off of him and onto the floor. He gets to his knees and starts to crawl to Elizabeth, but I quickly get up and grab him by the back of his shirt and pull him toward me as hard as I can.

We both crash to the floor, him landing on top and knocking the wind out of me. He rolls over faster than I’m expecting, straddling me. My head snaps to the side when he punches me in the face. “You’re done, asshole,” he spits at me.

I vaguely hear Elizabeth shouting, telling him to stop. She comes into my vision and tries to pull Cal off of me. He yanks his arm back, hitting her in the face and knocking her back.

Fuck that.

In one movement, my legs come up and hook around his body, pulling him off of me. I take advantage of his surprise and pounce on top of him. Grabbing him by his hair, I slam his head against the floor. Again and again. In a blur, his arm comes around and swings at my face, cold cocking me with the pistol in his hand. The force knocks me to the side. My forehead touches the ground as I brace myself with my hands, attempting to push myself back up.

Get up.

Save Elizabeth.

I repeat this in my mind, willing my body to listen, but the pain is excruciating and I’m completely disoriented. Rolling over on my back, I see Cal standing over me. I can’t hear what he’s saying over the ringing in my ears. A sadistic grin spreads across his face as he points the gun down at me.

This is it.

I won’t be able to keep her safe.

Just like last time, Elizabeth’s face is the only thing I see as I stare down at the end of the pistol.

Two loud bangs pierce through the fog in my head, causing me to jump. I brace myself for the all too familiar feeling of flesh being torn open by bullets, but it never comes. Looking up at Cal, his eyes are wide and mouth is slightly open. The gun falls from his hand right as he collapses to the ground. I roll over just before he crushes me with his weight.