No longer the dutiful boyfriend who felt the need to make a good impression on the people whom he thought would one day be his in-laws, he felt no such responsibility. He also had nothing to lose.
“I’ll talk to Chasin, he can run interference. Kennedy’s level-headed and she can help.”
“I think Kennedy’s not so level-headed when it comes to my mother,” Charleigh whispered.
That meant Zoe Axelson was behaving badly. Holden gritted his teeth in an effort not to say something that would make the situation worse. Once his jaw started to ache, he unclenched and said, “You do not take on their bullshit, Leigh-Leigh. Use Chasin as a buffer—you know he’ll do anything you ask. Right now, all you need to do is relax so you can recover. I’ll bring Faith to you as soon as I can. But fair warning, when I get there I will not stand for anyone—and that includes your mother—bossing you around and making things worse. I get I’m not her favorite person, but for now, all of that shit will be set aside for Faith.”
“Please, just bring her home.”
“I will, Leigh-Leigh, that’s a promise.”
He heard her suck in a breath and a fresh sob tore through her.
“I’m so scared.”
“Know you are, honey. But you’re surrounded by good, strong people. Use them. Let them keep you solid until I get there.”
“Okay, Holden.”
“Gonna let you go so I can get on the road.” There was a long pause, and as much as Holden didn’t want to rush her, he needed to talk to Jameson and Rhode and make a plan. “Leigh-Leigh?”
“Be safe, Holden. I’ll be waiting.”
His eyelids drifted closed and his heart burned. But before he could respond to her plea, Charleigh was gone.
God, how many times had she whispered those exact words to him before he’d left on an exercise?
Too many to count. But it never got old. It meant she cared, she loved him, and wanted her man to come home to her. And every time he did, she was always waiting.
12
Holden’s hands shook with pent-up aggression.
“Almost,” Jameson muttered from his seat behind the wheel.
They were parked behind the Glen Hotel on the western side of Charlottesville. After a two-and-a-half-hour drive, almost wasn’t good enough. Faith had been away from Charleigh for going on ten hours.
Holden was fresh out of patience, and each minute he had to sit in the car and wait for Nixon’s call felt like he was enduring the worst torture. Faith was so close, yet they couldn’t rush the building. They planned on grabbing the girl without disrupting the hotel guests nor did they want to put Faith in anymore danger than she already was.
Jonny had made some calls to the Albemarle County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff herself would be meeting them with three deputies to haul Beatrice, Patricia, and Chad in. That was not Holden’s first choice. He wanted to beat the ever-loving fuck out of Chad. He wouldn’t have laid a hand on the women but he would’ve happily landed a verbal smackdown before Rhode called the police to turn them over.
“The sheriff is on her way,” Jameson unnecessarily reminded him. “They’re going in soft. If Faith’s awake, they don’t want to scare her. Rhode and I will cover the back, the deputies will cover the front. You’re going in with Sheriff Knox. Faith’s coming home with us. Just stay calm.”
Holden wanted to remind Jameson he had not been calm when Kennedy had been kidnapped. But that would’ve been an asshole thing to do, so instead, he nodded and stared straight ahead.
A black SUV pulled into the parking lot and Jameson’s phone pinged with a text.
“They’re here. It’s go-time.”
Before Holden could move, Jameson grabbed his bicep. “I mean it, keep your shit. Faith’s gonna be scared, so she needs you calm and collected.”
Unsure if he’d be able to remain calm, Holden turned to look at Jameson.
“Maybe you should be the one to go in.”
“No. It needs to be you.”
Arguing meant wasting time. Time that Faith didn’t have.
Jameson’s phone dinged again and his face went hard. “Chad’s on the move. McKenna’s still monitoring the cameras. Go. We gotta get into position.”
Holden jumped out of the truck and headed toward the sheriff. Jameson went the opposite direction.
“Holden Stanford,” Sheriff Knox greeted.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“We’ve been briefed,” she continued. “I’ve been told you have a permit to carry but I’m going to ask you to keep your weapon holstered and let me take the lead.”
Nothing about the rescue was going as he wanted. Keeping his weapon holstered meant he was vulnerable, Faith would be unprotected, and he’d have to trust someone he didn’t know. His mind rebelled at the thought, but he still found himself agreeing. He’d do anything that would get him in that hotel room and to Faith faster.
“Ma’am, I will keep my weapon holstered with the caveat that if I feel my life, your life, or Faith’s life is in danger, it comes out.”
“That’ll do,” she sighed. “I have more units on standby. As these things go, I felt a show of presence would endanger the child and other guests.”
“I understand. But you should know, Chad Bullock has left the room.”
The woman’s face went tight and she quickly called in the update to her deputies.
“Let’s head up.”
The walk into the hotel was silent and he was happy for the reprieve. Jameson was right, he needed to find it in himself to remain calm for Faith’s sake. She didn’t need to witness him going gonzo on Beatrice and Patricia. No, Faith needed him steady, in control. He needed to be her safe place until he could get her back to her mother.
The manager met the sheriff in the lobby. They exchanged a few hushed words while Holden scanned the area. No Chad. Where did that fucker go? Finally, the manager handed
