Protected by a SEAL (Alpha SEALs, Book 6) (17 page)

And after that, he’d let her know in no
uncertain terms that she was his.

Ella watched in disbelief as Brent stormed
out of her apartment, uneasiness churning through her. What the
hell had just happened? She didn’t even know what he was doing here
in Florida, but somehow, inexplicably, she felt relief. She’d been
certain Brianna was joking when she’d said Brent was on his
way.

Brent.

Seriously?

She was still pissed as hell at him, but to
let someone else take control of the situation felt like a
tremendous weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. Things had
already escalated out of control. Her heart raced every time she
got a damn text message, certain it was Frank harassing her more.
She’d been jumpy every time someone brushed against her at work
last night after what had happened. And if Brent would help her
deal with her asshole of a manager so she could move on with her
life, then she’d take it. She wasn’t above accepting his help with
that.

But…Jesus.

When he’d gotten all growly, declaring that
he protected what was
his
? She’d just about turned into one
of those women who threw themselves at a man. Because something
about the possessiveness in his deep voice had been sexy as hell.
But he was the one who’d freaking shot her down the other night.
Left her half naked on the sofa, tossing a blanket over her as if
he didn’t even want to look at her anymore.

And it was embarrassing as hell.

A loud knock sounded on her door, and she
sighed, wondering what Brent wanted. He’d been gone, what, twenty
seconds? Had he even brought anything inside to accidentally
forget? She crossed her small apartment and opened the door,
gasping in surprise as two menacing-looking men crowded the
doorway. Her eyes widened at the tall, bald man with tattoos
running up and down his thick arms. He leered at her, his green
eyes roaming up and down her body, and she unwittingly took a step
back. The shorter man chuckled and she tried to look away from the
long, angry scar across his face, like someone had slashed him with
a knife.

She tried to slam the door shut, but they
were too strong, and she screamed as they pushed their way inside
and the shorter one grabbed her. He easily hefted her off the
ground, pinning her arms to her sides and laughing as she kicked
and struggled. “Frank gave you to us for the night,” he hissed.
“There’s no sense in fighting because you’re not getting away. And
we’re gonna have some fun with you.”

“She might make it worth all the trouble
that asshole has caused us,” Baldy sneered. “That bitch is even
hotter than Frank said. I could bang her all night.”

“No!” Ella shouted as a large hand covered
her mouth.

Scarface carried her across the small studio
toward her bed. She desperately fought him, twisting in his grasp
as his arms tightened, his sweaty body holding her close.

“Hurry up!” the bald one shouted. “I want to
go a couple of rounds with her, too.”

“Wait your fucking turn.”

He cursed as his phone rang loudly, and she
bit down on his hand. Hard. He shoved her onto the bed, pulling a
gun from his waistband as she scampered away. “Not a fucking
sound,” he said, aiming it at her.

Tears streaked down Ella’s cheeks, and she
shook as she scooted back across her bed, putting as much distance
between them as possible. With the gun trained on her, she didn’t
dare try to escape. There was no way she could make it to the door
anyway with the huge, hulking man on the other side of the room.
Which one of them would be worse to deal with? Maybe she could
convince them to leave. Act like she had money in the bank or
something that she could give them. Maybe Brent would come
back.

Please come back.

Had they passed him in the parking lot? Just
missed each other by mere seconds? Why wasn’t he here to help
her?

She trembled as fresh sobs erupted.

Scarface barked orders into the phone, and
the bald man paced back and forth, looking like a bull getting
ready to charge. Finally, he bit out a curse and stalked toward
her, his hand going to the zipper on his pants.

“No!” she shouted.

“Change of plans,” Scarface snapped as he
disconnected the call, waving the gun closer to her. “Our lookout
just saw her boyfriend in the parking lot. Get up!”

Shaking, Ella didn’t move a muscle.

“Get off the fucking bed before I drag you
out of here here myself!”

Tears running down her cheeks, she inched to
the foot of the bed. She’d never feel safe in her apartment again.
Never. When they got out to the parking lot, she’d scream and put
up a fight so the neighbors would hear. But she wasn’t leaving with
them. They’d have to kill her right there before she agreed to
go.

“Jesus Christ,” Baldy muttered. “I could’ve
fucked her once already.”

She stood up, shaking, and the guy pointing
the gun at her nodded. She looked at him in confusion, when a cloth
suddenly covered her face. It smelled sickeningly sweet, and she
reached up, trying to pull it away, before everything faded to
blackness.

***

Brent muttered an oath as he stormed across
the parking lot of Ella’s apartment building. As if he needed
another fucking problem. He shoved the keys to his rental car back
into the pocket of his cargo pants and jogged the last few steps to
the man lying bloodied on the ground, half hidden beneath a car. He
grabbed his cell phone, ready to dial 911, when he did a double
take.

Ella’s manager gazed bleary eyed at him from
the asphalt, a bruise forming around his eye, blood pooling beneath
his head, his arm twisted in a sickening fashion. “The fuck are you
doing here?” Brent demanded.

“I owed some guys money,” he said, wincing
in pain.

“And why are you at Ella’s apartment
complex?”

“They came looking for me at my house. That
bitch has caused me nothing but problems for the past month, so I
told them to take her for the night.”

Brent’s heart dropped as icy cold dread
snaked through him.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“I brought them over here. Told them where
Ella’s apartment was. Said they could have her as collateral for
the money I owe them. Have some fun with her tonight. They beat the
shit out of me anyway though,” he moaned, rolling to the side.

“They’re in there now?” Brent demanded, his
blood running cold. He didn’t wait for an answer, just turned and
sprinted back toward the stairwell, pulling his gun from his pants.
Ten more steps and he’d be back at the building, but would he be
too late? He flew up the stairs two at a time, cursing that he
hadn’t paid more attention to who else was out in the parking lot
as he’d been leaving. He raced down the breezeway he and Ella had
walked along moments before, and his heart stopped.

Ella’s front door was wide open.

“Ella!” he shouted.

A large delivery truck pulled into the
parking lot, and he grumbled. Now the fucking groceries arrive? He
should’ve told her not to open the goddamn door for anyone.

“Ella, where are you?” he repeated.

Rushing inside, his eyes swept around Ella’s
apartment. Not a thing out of place. No signs of a struggle. Her
laptop lay on the table where she’d left it before. Her purse was
hanging from one of the chairs. This wasn’t a robbery. They’d
simply taken her.

He recalled the men he’d seen earlier in the
evening—two huge, tatted up dudes in the back of the cocktail
lounge. Fucking hell. Brent and any of the men on his SEAL team
could take them, but Ella? She wouldn’t have a damn chance.

“Shit!” he shouted, punching the wall. The
drywall easily gave way, and he cursed as he pulled his fist back
out of the wall. He was out the front door and sprinting back down
the steps in seconds. Tearing across the parking lot like a man
crazed.

“Where is she?” he demanded, rage simmering
inside him as he loomed over Frank.

He moaned in pain, gingerly clutching at his
injured arm. “She’s gone.”

“What do you mean she’s fucking gone?” he
roared.

Frank looked defeated in that moment.
Resigned. As if he knew Brent wouldn’t do anything worse than the
pieces of shit who’d already beaten him up. “They took her. I owed
them money on a gambling debt, and they took Ella as a payment. You
just missed them,” he laughed.

Brent was on his knees in an instant, his
hand tightening around Frank’s throat. “You think this is a fucking
game? Some kind of a joke to me?”

Frank tried to spit at him, and Brent
tightened his grip, watching the man gasp for air. He had half a
mind to choke the life right out of him, but he didn’t know who
those men were. Where they lived. How to get Ella back. Maybe he
could pull footage from them earlier at the cocktail lounge. See if
there were security cameras here in the apartment complex. But the
man on the ground beneath him had answers.

Brent finally released his grip, watching
Frank’s eyes water as he coughed. “She’s caused me nothing but
trouble,” Frank wheezed, chest heaving.

“Tell me where they went.”

“Call an ambulance,” he pleaded.

“Not a fucking chance. Where. Is. She.”

“Don’t know,” Frank gasped as Brent’s hand
went to his throat again.

“Wrong answer,” he growled.

“The pawn shop. They work at the pawn shop
on 5
^th
. They take bets on the side.”

Brent rose, pulling his keys from his
pocket. “Wait!” Frank shouted as Brent jogged across the parking
lot. “Call 911!” Grumbling, Brent called for an ambulance as he
raced out of the lot. He barked out the address of Ella’s apartment
complex over the phone and then sped down the road, not giving two
fucks if he was breaking every law in the books.

Nothing could happen to Ella.

Nothing.

Because he’d never ever forgive himself.

Ella’s mind was foggy as she slowly began to
wake up. She struggled to open her heavy eyelids and was greeted
only by darkness. Her head pounded, and she tightly closed her eyes
again, trying to stop the pain. It did nothing to alleviate the
ache or confusion. The throbbing in her temples. She swallowed, her
dry mouth uncomfortable. It felt like it had been stuffed with
cotton for hours. She wracked her brain, trying to remember what
happened, but it was like she was trying to recapture the lost
details of a dream. It was just on the edge of her memory, right
there, but slipping away. Fading. Like sand slipping through an
hour glass. One more second and it would be gone forever.

And she was tired. So tired.

Had she spent the night somewhere? She’d
flown home from Virginia the other day, so she wasn’t still at
Kenley’s place. But she wasn’t in her apartment. She wasn’t in her
own bed.

She blinked, once again groggily looking
around the room, but there was nothing but infinite darkness. Was
it night or day?

Why couldn’t she remember anything?

Breathing deeply as she tried to fully
regain consciousness, awareness slowly trickled back. The rough
sheets on the bed chafed against her bare legs. She shifted
uneasily as beads of sweat clung to her forehead. Nausea roiled
through her at the stale cigarette scent in the air.

But where was she? How did she get here?

Fear washed over her as she realized she
didn’t even know how much time had passed since she’d last been at
her apartment. Was that only last night? Or had days gone by with
her not remembering? How could she not know what time it was? Or
where
she was? What had happened to her?

She’d been at her apartment waiting
for…Brent? Why had he been there anyway?

“The hell I can’t go in there!” a deep male
voice shouted from the hallway. The doorknob rattled, and she
realized she was locked in the room. Lying on a bed.

“You can’t fuck her when she’s
unconscious!”

“I’ll do whatever I goddamn want. That
bastard owes us, and I’m collecting on his debts.”

Were they talking about…her? Her chest
clenched in fear as she strained to hear the rest of the
conversation.

“I told you, you used too much of those
chemicals. I wanted you to temporarily knock her out, not put her
in a coma or something. She’s been out for two hours!”

“How the hell would I know?” a voice shouted
back.

Footsteps pounded away, getting quieter,
moving down the hall. Should she get up? Try to open the bedroom
door? She was just…so…tired. She was getting pulled under again by
the endless darkness. It was like waves were crashing over her,
tossing her around, confusing her. Sucking her back down. Lulling
her to sleep.

If she just closed her eyes….

Later. Everything would make sense
later.

***

“Fucking hell,” Brent spat out over the
phone. “I’m at the goddamn pawn shop, and those guys aren’t here.
The entire place is locked up. Not even a car in the lot. Put Blade
on the phone. Maybe he can hack into the store’s computers and pull
up some names. Addresses. Anything. I’m going to track those
motherfuckers down and find out where they took Ella.”

“Easy now,” Matthew drawled on the other end
of the phone. “We’ll find her. Blade’s on his way over to our place
right now.”

“Shit!” Brent cursed, pacing back and forth
in front of the steel gates covering the storefront. “We’re wasting
time. Too much time. I can’t believe I didn’t see them in the
goddamn parking lot!”

“There’s probably surveillance at the
apartment complex. Blade can hack into anything. We’ll pull that
up, run their plates, and you’ll be on your way to her in no time.
And Cobra,” he said, calling Brent by his nickname.

“What?” Brent snapped.

“Not a word of this to Brianna. Not until we
find Ella.”