Fuck yeah, he remembered. He’d trained on the weapon religiously after escaping his captors. After tonight, he might simply carry one with him always. He flipped off the safety and forced his fucking legs to work.
Dane pointed to the hallway entrance to the conservatory. “I think they went out this way, Your Highness. The little fucker who threw the flash bangs hadn’t counted on me and Landon to hang around. He tried to send us on a wild goose chase, but I know a traitor when he shows his face. Cooper went to check out the kid’s story, but Landon and I stayed behind.”
Thank god Dane’s voice was loud. Tal was starting to get his presence of mind back. How did Khalil imagine he was going to get away with this? “Khalil has gone insane. Even if he had an escape path, someone would see him.”
Where would he take her? Would he ransom her? Try to trade her for Talib? It didn’t make sense.
“He’s not crazy. He’s got terminal cancer,” Dane shouted back at him. “I found out a couple of days ago, but honestly I didn’t want you to go soft on him. I’m also close to linking him to the radicals who took you and the slavers who grabbed Alea. It’s all there in the financials, but I need some reports. I wanted all my ducks in a row so you could give me the go ahead to take him out.” Dane’s brow furrowed in a look of consternation. “He’s only got six months to live. He’s not trying to take the throne anymore. He just wants to hurt you. He’s bitter. He hates you and the whole family.”
Fear gripped Tal’s stomach. Khalil really wanted to kill her. He wanted to make sure Tal suffered. He didn’t care about getting away. There would be no negotiations. There would only be pain for his concubine, his Piper. Pain and death.
“Sarge, I think I’ve got something for you.” Dane’s radio squawked, Landon’s voice coming over it as they made their way through the double doors. The two guards he’d placed there were both knocked out, bodies slumped to the floor. Water covered the marble. It looked like they had been drinking it when they fell. Tal hoped they weren’t dead.
“Go, Lan.”
“This little bastard, Hassem, says Khalil plans to rape and kill her on her husbands’ bed. It should have been Khalil’s, he claims. Then Khalil is going to kill himself. He’s leaving a note stating that the royal family pushed him to it. He’s trying to wreak all sorts of havoc.”
Even before Dane spoke, they both started to jog toward the stairs. “How reliable is this intel? We don’t have much time.”
They couldn’t afford to be led astray. Every moment they were delayed, Piper could be in unimaginable pain. The thought of her being hurt, raped, was almost too much for him to take.
“Well, Sarge, I have my pistol about halfway up his asshole, and I’ve threatened to pull the trigger. He seems real attached to his innards, if you know what I mean. I think I’ll just keep it here until we’re sure he’s not lying.”
Dane kept talking as he took the stairs two at a time. “Who’s watching the brat?”
Alea. Khalil had really sold Alea into slavery. Khalil hated them so much, and all because they had a little more than he did. Khalil had money and a good life, but something deep inside of him was twisted and broken. Dane’s face remained stony, but he’d flushed when he asked about Alea. The big guard really did care about her.
“Coop’s on her. She’s safe, Sarge. Coop will keep an eye on our girl and make sure she stays out of the line of fire. Even if she doesn’t want to be safe. Check back and let me know if I need to blow this guy’s ass away. Out.”
Tal decided to never cross Landon Nix. He looked back, wishing his brothers were with him. He’d lost them in the throng, but he had no doubt they would be searching for Piper. His brothers. He’d never really been alone, he realized, because his brothers were always there. Even in that pisshole of a warehouse he’d been held in, when all felt like it was lost, he’d heard his brothers whispering to him, telling him to survive.
He should never have doubted them. He could have told them everything, and they would have taken their share of his burdens because that was what family did. They shared the hurt and pain, dividing it and making it bearable. They shared the joy and love, multiplying it into something more.
His brothers. His almost wife. He wasn’t sure he could live without them. But if he saved her, he knew he would have to. Others would try. She would never be safe. Bile rose in his throat. What the hell could he do? Even if Khalil was dead, he would leave followers behind.
He pushed his panic down. Nothing mattered if she died. Nothing at all.