“I’m sorry, Maddy. It’s my fault.”
Her gaze was fierce as it snapped to his. “No. You’re not taking that on, Colt. You wouldn’t let Angie take the blame for you getting shot. Wouldn’t let me take it either. So hell no, you do not take the blame for this one.”
She’d shocked him into silence. “I should have protected her,” he finally managed. “It’s my job.”
She squeezed his arms. Shook him. “Listen to me, you stupid, adorable man. You did protect her. You got her out of danger in the first place. You took care of her when she was sick. And you’ll continue to take care of her. I know you will. You just have to find her—which you will. It’s what you guys do.”
His head was reeling. He almost laughed, but he couldn’t. “Is this why you wanted to see me? A pep talk?”
She looked militant. “I knew you’d be up there blaming yourself. I knew you’d take on the weight of the world if nobody stopped you—and none of them will because you all do it. Every single one of you thinks this world can’t turn without you spinning it.”
“You’re insane, Maddy. In a good way, but still insane. And don’t tell Jace, but I think I love you for it.”
She grinned. There was pain in it, but it was still a grin. “I won’t tell. But do you love Angie? That’s what I really want to know.”
He hesitated. “I haven’t said those words to her yet.”
Maddy squeezed his arms and stepped back. Her smile was watery. “But you want to.” She swiped a tear that spilled down her cheek. “I’m so glad, Colt. You’re perfect for each other. I knew how you felt when I saw you looking at her yesterday.”
He didn’t argue with her. “And how was that?”
“When the electricians turned off the power, you had a moment where you were ready to throw yourself in front of her to protect her from harm. Then you remembered it was just the contractors and not an attack.”
“Electricians,” he said stupidly. The work on the addition. The man who’d peered into the living room while they sat and talked. Holy shit. Steve Gorky owned a construction company. Could it be as simple as that? “Maddy, where did you find those guys?”
She blinked up at him. “Johnson Electric? The general contractor recommended them when their usual guy couldn’t come this week. Why?”
He kissed her on the forehead. “Tell you later.”
Then he turned and ran for the fifth floor. It took precious minutes to get through the security checks, but then he was inside and racing down the hall.
“Jace,” he called as he skidded into the war room. “The electricians working on your place. One of them saw Angie and me at your house yesterday.”
None of them moved as they stared at him. Processed what he was saying. Someone had targeted a transformer, not a single house. For that kind of work, they’d needed to know what they were doing or they’d get barbecued trying. Whoever did it used an electrician. Or was an electrician.
“Gorky Construction,” Dax said, looking up from the computer. “Johnson Electric does a lot of work for them. They have the contract to wire all their new construction.”
“Fucking hell,” Jace said. “They’ve been inside my house. Wiring my damned bedroom. Is every contractor around here connected to Gorky?”
“Find their office,” Ian ordered. “Who owns the place? Where does he live? We’re going to go and wake his ass up.”
Finally. Now Colt felt like they might be getting somewhere. He’d been telling himself if all someone wanted was to kill Angie, they’d have already done it. There was no need to abduct her first. Which meant they wanted something else.
But what?
“Got it,” Dax said. “Twenty minutes from here.”
“Let’s roll,” Ian said. “Dax, stay here and keep us informed.”
“You got it, boss.”
The rest of them rushed to the armory and grabbed their assault gear. Then they piled into a black SUV with blackout windows and generic tags. Moments later, they were rocketing down the highway toward Harvey Johnson’s suburban home. He might not be the one who’d orchestrated the attack, but Colt didn’t much care right now.
Johnson was connected to Gorky. And Johnson was about to find out what a cattle prod to the nuts felt like.
Chapter Twenty
Angie thought she recognized the voices. There were three men who’d spoken thus far. She couldn’t see them because they’d hooded her but the voices were familiar. Two of them she’d heard in Colt’s house. But the other? She didn’t know, though she’d heard him somewhere.
When they’d entered the room a few moments ago, one of them flipped a breaker just outside—she’d heard it flip—and the lights sprang to life. Though she’d wanted to look at everything, it’d hurt too much and she’d kept her eyes slitted until they could adjust.
In that brief time, she’d tried to see her surroundings. All she’d had was an impression of space and emptiness. There were some wooden crates in the center of the room, not far from the mattress, but she’d been too blind to make out any markings.
One of the men had put a hood over her head before she could see anything else. There was a small bit of light coming through the fabric so it wasn’t nearly as dark as it had been with no lights. But she still couldn’t make out shapes.
“Who did you give the spreadsheet to?”
The voice was to her left. It was the one she thought she’d heard before but not at Colt’s house. Angie swallowed. “Spreadsheet?”
She didn’t see the blow coming. Her head snapped to the side as someone slapped her hard on the right cheek. Pain blossomed in her jaw. Tears sprang to her eyes. Somehow, she didn’t make any sound. She sucked in oxygen, trying not to cry.
Inside, the hood was stuffy with heat and the moisture from her breath. She needed to calm down or it would only get
