Chapter 115
James
Mia’s frightened scream, “Let me go, Herbert! Let me go, you bastard!” echoed from the abandoned building across the parking section, loud and clear.
James came to a jerking halt the moment he heard her voice. He stood frozen in place as his stomach sank and his head spun in fear. Fuck!
He wasn’t the only one to come to a complete stop at Mia’s anguish. Matt and Scott did the same, while Andy looked so sick that Matt was worried and wondered whether it was a good idea for the boy to accompany them inside.
“That was Mia,” Andy said, his voice shaking. “It was Mia. She’s here!”
James nodded.
Without hesitation, they all raced toward the entrance of the building. Once they reached the double doors, James kicked them open. A second later, they found themselves inside the warehouse filled with an assortment of rubbish and junk. The men rushed around, searching, but there was no sight of a human anywhere.
“There’s another building out back,” Matt said, nodding his head in the direction of an exit.
James said, “Let’s go,” and the team rushed out.
A moment later, they were in the courtyard of the building. It was then they heard more screaming, both Mia’s and Herbert’s voices.
“Fuck!” James muttered under his breath as he raced toward the sound.
The others ran after him, and a moment later, James burst through the door of the main warehouse. Instantly, he saw Sophie in the middle of the place.
At the sound of the door crashing open, Sophie jumped and turned. When she saw it was James, she blinked in confusion, wondering why he was there. Of course, she was very certain the man would not come after Mia. After all, the girl was just one of his many toys that he could replace at any time once he lost interest.
When she noted Matt Caine, followed by Scott Maxwell and another young man who looked a lot like Mia behind James, her eyes widened.
Fuck! What the hell are they all doing here? she wondered in dread. Was her assumption wrong? Could they be here to save Mia Donovan? But that couldn’t possibly be.
She flicked her gaze back to James Maxwell, and when she noted the dark, murderous rage in his Prussian-blue eyes, it hit her and a sense of fear finally settled in her.
Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! James Maxwell looked ready to kill.
Fuck!
It was only then that Sophie Wilson realized what Mia had meant when she said James was going to kill her and Herbert, and she felt sick to her stomach.
For the longest time, she had thought that James Maxwell was simply another rich man, another billionaire with all the money and the toys and the luxury in the world, and that woman meant nothing to him. In his world, they could be easily bought, like cars and houses. After all, she had known that Mia Donovan was simply a contract to him after she had done some research and dug into her background. But…
But now she knew better. This was the other side of James Maxwell that she didn’t know about, even though she had worked for him, very close to him in fact, for several years.
And to think that she even wanted him as her man. When she didn’t even have a clue what this man was capable of. And now she instinctively knew he was capable of anything and everything without having to witness any of his ruthless actions with her own eyes.
This man heading toward her now, with that murderous expression in his eyes, would exact any revenge for himself or those he loved with a passion. And that scared her to death.
Her body was frozen in place as she uttered, “James? What? How? Why?”
James came to a stop inches from the woman, and with a cold, hard voice, he asked, “Where’s Mia?”
Sophie swallowed hard as her body shook in uncontrolled cowardice. With a shaky hand, she pointed toward the other door. “There…”
With eyes still dark and sharp, he said, “Cole will deal with you.” With that, he headed toward the door, Matt and Andy following after him.
Scott came toward Sophie. “So you’re the bitch who helped that sick bastard Herbert kidnap my future sister-in-law, eh?”
Sophie turned to him, her eyes wide and teary. “Future sister-in-law?”
Scott folded his arms across his massive chest as he chuckled. “Mm-hmm.” He moved his face toward her and whispered softly and seductively into her ear, “And you, sweetheart, will suffer the consequences.”
He was smiling, his eyes twinkling, as he moved back while he watched Sophie’s face turn pale with fright.
Then Cole and his partner came in, and the moment Sophie saw the two, she knew she was in deep shit.
“She’s yours, Cole,” Scott said. “James can’t be bothered getting his hands dirty with the likes of her.”
Cole, with menace in his eyes, nodded. “With pleasure.”
Scott was whistling merrily as he headed toward the door James, Matt, and Andy had rushed through. Behind him, Cole dragged the crying and begging Sophie away. Her fate was undoubtedly far worse than death itself, if death indeed didn’t come soon enough.
* * *
The screaming continued to echo throughout the warehouse as James, Matt, and Andy raced up the stairs, along the corridor, and through the rooms.
Once James burst through the last door, he had his emotions under control once again because he knew this was it. He knew what he was about to see would tear at his heart, stir his wrath, and if he couldn’t control himself, all hell would break loose. He’d likely kill Herbert on the spot, and fuck, he didn’t want to do that, especially not in front of Mia. It’d give her nightmares for days to come if she saw the murderous rage in his eyes.
Week or years even.
Fuck! Just going through the kidnapping was too much for her already; he knew that. And he didn’t want to torment her any more than she had already experienced.
The moment he stepped through that busted door into the small dark room, he saw Herbert over Mia, the fat man’s hand in the air, ready to beat her again. And the moment he saw Mia—his beloved woman sprawled on the concrete floor, naked, and her slender body covered in bruises, blood, and cuts—a cold, dark anger rose into his being.
James turned into a commanding, ruthless demon as he marched toward Herbert. In the flick of an eye, his strong hand gripped Herbert’s fat wrist, twisting it back with painful force. In another flick of an eye, he effortlessly hauled Herbert back and half shoved, half threw the man against the wall. His might was so strong and so forceful that Herbert was none the wiser as the man’s body crashed hard against the wall and fell to the floor.
Now that that piece of repulsive garbage was out of the way, James got down on his knees as his eyes never left Mia, who was staring at him in disbelief. He noted tears flowing down her cheeks as she started crying.
“Ja-James?” she whispered softly, her eyes searching him. “You’re…really…James? I’m… I’m not…imagining…?”
James took off his jacket and wrapped it around her naked body, then gently cupped her face as he nodded. “Yes, sweetheart.” He kissed her on the forehead as she sighed in relief and clung to him.
“Mia.” It was Andy’s voice. Her brother came around and kneeled on the concrete floor beside her.
Mia turned to him and said, “Andy. You came. All the way from Vegas.”
“Of course I came,” he said, his eyes on her face, noting the bruises. “What the hell did he do to you?” he asked, his voice still shaking.
Mia looked as though she didn’t know what to tell him. Andy, on the other hand, looked as though he was about to burst into a rage.
Matt noticed and came to pull Andy up as he said, “We need to get Mia out of here.”
Andy nodded, his eyes flicking to Herbert currently trying to get up from the floor. Suddenly, he marched toward the man.
“Oy! Andy!” Matt snapped.
Andy, however, wasn’t listening. He went to stand in front of Herbert and demanded, “What the fuck did you do to my sister?”
