Never Alone

Chapter 30

According to the app on his phone, he was still a mile away from where Annie's tracker came to rest. A sense of urgency lit a fire in his gut and he mashed down on the gas pedal.

Please, God, don't let anything happen to her.

The blipping red dot led him to an abandoned slaughterhouse on the outskirts of Chicago. Only three cars littered the driveway, and Trevor grabbed for his gun as he leaped out of his pickup. MeowMeow better be in there to back me up.

Silently as possible, he slid the heavy, metal garage door up just enough to crawl underneath. It took a minute for his eyes to adjust to the murky darkness. As he glanced around the wide, high-ceiled room, he noticed large, wooden crates littering the concrete floor. At the far end of the room, maybe a hundred feet away, a faint sliver of light beckoned him. Weaving his way through the maze of crates, he kept his gun at the ready.

What are they doing to her?

His mind wandered through a graveyard of worst-case scenarios as he neared the haunting light. Pushing all those thoughts aside, he focused on finding her, getting her to a safe place, and marrying her before she could change her mind.

A scream pierced the silence and sent his heart rate through the roof.

Annie.

He followed the sounds of a struggle to a hallway. Metal doors lined each side, and he held his gun at the ready position as he strained to hear which room the cries came from.

***

As the man pushed her to the floor and tore her shirt, Annie pounded her fists against his chest. "Get off of me!"

A hand clamped over her mouth and his hot breath landed in her face. "Hush. It'll be over soon." His wicked smile turned her stomach.

While he straddled her, she thought of Trevor. I wouldn't be good enough for him even if he were alive. I'll be dirty. Her eyes burned. She thought of the time he started loving her. When she kicked Derrick Lafler in the crotch.

Her eyes darted to the man's position on top of her, and her lips curved into a smile. She brought her knee up hard and his face contorted in pain as he rolled off of her and fell to the floor moaning.

She stood, and the door flew open. Trevor!

Forgetting her shirt hung in ribbons from her shoulders, she ran to him and threw her arms around his neck. "You're alive!" She kissed his neck and breathed in his masculine scent.

When she pulled back, he looked down at her with eyes full of fury and love. She covered herself with her arms, suddenly embarrassed to have him so close in her nearly naked state.

"Did he hurt you?" Trevor shrugged out of his jacket and held it up for her.

She slipped her arms into the sleeves. "Not before I hurt him." Annie turned to face him wrapping the jacket tightly around her.

"What did you do to him?" Trevor stuffed a sock into the man's mouth then tied him up.

"I remembered when you told me that you loved me when I kicked Derrick in his special spot." She knelt beside him and brushed the bloody spot on his shirt. "You're hurt."

"I'm just glad I got to you in time." He rested a hand on her neck and pulled her into a passionate kiss. She parted her lips and welcomed the man she'd given up as dead. Wrapping her arms around him, she pulled him closer and he winced.

She pulled back. "I'm sorry ... I hurt you." Fresh blood stained his shirt.

"It's a good hurt." He looked at her with eyes full of longing. "It means you're still here with me."

"Hate to break up this little love fest." A harsh voice snagged her attention. Her stomach dropped to the floor as a man pointed a gun at her grinning.