Regan jogged along beside him. “She’s in my bathroom. We’re giving Luke a bath.”
He made an about-turn. “You still have that rat?” Not only had Kincaid rescued his wife when she’d been kidnapped, but he’d also brought Luke back with him.
Regan giggled. “I keep telling you he’s a doggie. Why can’t you remember that?”
The girl was adorable and the very image of her mother except for her eyes, and those were straight from Evan Prescott, her daddy. “Mrs. Jankowski!” he called at the door to Regan’s room.
She peeked around the corner of the bathroom. “Goodness, what’s all the yelling about?”
“I need Dani’s overnight bag.”
“Oh my, is it time?” She hurried off, and a soaped-up Doberman took the opportunity to escape.
“Luke, come back,” Regan yelled, chasing after him.
“Here you go. You call me as soon as that baby comes,” Mrs. Jankowski said, handing Jake the tote.
“I will.” Jake grabbed it and ran down the stairs.
Dani and Kincaid were in the car, the engine running, when Jake reached them. He opened the back door and tossed the case in.
“Do me a favor, Jake, and call Maria. Let her know,” Dani said.
As it was Friday and she would be out of classes for the weekend, that meant she would come home. His mind needed to be on his new mission and not on Maria. He’d lock himself up with his team while she was in town and avoid her as much as possible. After he brought the kid back from Egypt, he’d decide whether he was prepared to risk it all for her.
CHAPTER TEN
I just realized I need to stop by my apartment and get a book I need for today,” Maria said after leaving the IHOP. One benefit about having breakfast with Jamie was he didn’t give the stink eye to her chocolate chip pancakes topped with syrup and whipped cream.
When they pulled into her parking slot, Maria’s stomach gave a sickening roll at the thought of going inside and seeing her destroyed apartment again. “I don’t want to go in there.”
“It’s that bad?” Jamie asked.
“He destroyed it. I need to get past these last few days of school before I deal with it.”
“Tell me where the book is, and I’ll get it for you.”
She handed him her keys. “On the kitchen table, there’re two of them. I’ll need both. And the notebook they’re sitting on.” Hopefully, they’d not been destroyed. She had been too upset to even notice if they were still there when she’d first discovered her apartment had been ransacked.
“Keep the doors locked. I’ll be right back.” At the front of the car, he stopped and scanned the area in a full circle before jogging up the sidewalk.
Maria slipped her phone out of her pocket, clicking it on. Nothing else from Jake. Fine, she needed to concentrate on her last few days of school anyway. Once she was done with her exams, she could go home and then . . . What? Wait for him to call? Call him? She was twenty-four years old and should know how the dating game worked, but she was pathetically clueless about such things.
The window crashed in on her, a rock landing on her lap and glass hitting her in the face. The startled scream died in her throat at the sight of Fortunada reaching in and grabbing the door handle. For a split second, she froze, unable to believe this was happening.
Then her brain kicked in and she scrambled over the console, intending to jump out the driver’s side door. Fortunada caught her by the foot, and for a few seconds a tug of war ensued as she desperately held on to the steering wheel. With the heel of her sandals, she kicked at the fingers digging into her ankle.
“Fucking bitch.”
He reached inside and stomach punched her so hard she reflexively clutched her waist and struggled to get air back into her lungs. Before she could catch her breath, he opened the door and dragged her out of the car. At the last moment, she grabbed her phone from where it had fallen on the floor and pushed it into her bra.
When she fell in a heap on the pavement, he dragged her up, almost pulling her arms out of their sockets. Oh, God. Where was Jamie? He’d come out any second, she just had to keep Fortunada from carrying her off first. Hoping Jamie or her neighbors would hear, she screamed and kept screaming. Unfortunately, the majority of the residents were college students and would’ve been on their way to class by then. No one would sleep in and skip final exams.
Fortunada fisted her hair around his hand and dragged her behind him toward the complex’s pool house. With the way he had hold of her, she was helpless to do anything but stumble along behind him. Was he so enraged he didn’t hear her yelling for help or did he just not care? The last thought frightened her the most.