Page 104 of Trap ’N’ Trace

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Dayne dropped the credit card he’d used to open the locked door and yanked his Glock from the holster. Kat’s scream echoed inside, and his heart nearly stopped beating.

He turned the knob, ramming his shoulder against the thick metal door. It wouldn’t open. He re-holstered, using all his weight on the door. Finally, it creaked open and crashed inward against the concrete wall.

Mauser snarled, releasing Kat then lunging at Dayne. Remy leaped, latching onto Mauser’s forearm. The knife fell to the floor.

Dayne rammed his fist into the guy’s face. Bones cracked—Mauser’s.

The man went down and when he tried to rise, Dayne pummeled his face again and again, holding him up by the shirt so he couldn’t fall back to the floor.

“Dayne! Dayne!”

He jerked his head to the sound of Kat’s voice. Was she hurt? Still gripping Mauser’s bloody shirt, he searched her face and body for injuries, seeing none. Then he looked at Mauser, whose bloody, mashed-in face was nearly unrecognizable. He released the guy’s shirt. The back of Mauser’s head hit the floor with a solid whack.

Outside, footsteps pounded. Uniformed police, guns drawn, crowded into the bunker.

“FBI.” Dayne adjusted his position to reveal the badge on his belt so the responding officers wouldn’t mistakenly think he was the perp and unload their guns on him.

“You good here?” one of the cops asked, warily eying Mauser’s bloody, still form.

“Yeah,” he answered. “We’re good.” All things considered. His hands shook, his body still so amped up on pure rage he could barely think straight.

Another cop called on the radio for an ambulance while others began securing the scene.

Kat crawled to the other side of the room and gathered Angus in her arms. At first, the pup didn’t move. Remy padded to Kat and nudged Angus with her snout, licking the puppy’s face.

“Please wake up, Angus. Wake up!” Tears streamed down her face.

She’s alive.

Dayne took his first easy breath in hours, although it was an unsteady one, to be sure. He wanted to haul her into his arms but stopped himself. Touching her again would be too painful and would only rekindle something that needed to burn out.

You gotta let her go, man.

The puppy’s head moved, and he began wriggling in Kat’s arms. Her laugh came out on a sob. That’s when he noticed it. The trickle of blood oozing slowly from a cut on her neck. That motherfucker hurt her.

He clamped his jaw. It was all he could do not to prop Mauser up and beat the shit out of him all over again.

Kneeling, he touched his fingers to Kat’s neck to inspect the wound. Touching her again warred with his resolve, but he had to stay strong. For both of them. With no small effort, he forced his emotions back into that deep, dark hole he’d stashed them in. “Are you alright?” He knew he wasn’t because he was choking on his own heart.

When she lifted her head, he feasted on her beautiful eyes. “I’m fine. Thanks to you.”

He cleared his throat then tugged a packet of tissues from his thigh pocket, gently pressing one of them against her neck. Luckily, the cut wasn’t as deep as he’d initially worried it was. “Hold this here and keep a light pressure on it.”

When she did, their fingers brushed and the instinct—no, need—to hold her, kiss her, and tell her he’d never leave her again became unbearable.

“Sir?” Two EMTs crowded in. “Can you give us some room to work? We need to check her out.” Without waiting, one of them knelt and began inspecting Kat’s wound, effectively pushing him away.

They were right. Her medical condition trumped his need to stick close. Still…

“Dayne!” Paulson rushed into the bunker, his eyes bugging as he looked at Mauser. “Holy shit. Guess I missed all the action. How ’bout filling me in? My chief wants an update.”

With a hand that still shook, Dayne touched Kat’s cheek. “You’re safe now.”

She looked up at him, her eyes brimming with gratitude and the same sadness eating him alive.

“Make sure she’s okay,” he said to one of the cops then stood and pointed to Mauser. “I don’t care how bloody he is. Cuff him.” He waited until Mauser was securely restrained with handcuffs.