Free Around: Wrapped Around You by Evelyn Adams Page B

fuck up was going to cost Eric. Because he’d pay it. She knew he would and she’d die anyway but not before she’d ruined him.
    “Julie? He will pay won’t he? You guys are together, right?”
    Caleb peered into her face, and it took her a moment to focus on him and another moment before she was struck by something else.
    “How did you know how much they are demanding? I didn’t even know that.”
    “I overheard them talking,” he said, but he wouldn’t meet her eyes.
    It was the exact same way he’d acted as when they were kids, and he was lying about something. The hairs on the back of her neck raised.
    “What’s really going on here, Caleb?”
     
    ~~~~~
     
    Eric watched the abandoned warehouse come into view and tightened the straps on his Kevlar vest. Jackson insisted on the vest when Eric said he’d be coming along on the raid to get Julie. He wasn’t going to do anything to get in Jackson or his men’s way, but he also wasn’t about to wait for one minute longer than he had to to find Julie and hold her again.
    Figuring out that Jackson’s men had been trailing the empty money case in the back of a pickup instead of the car carrying Julie had been a blow. But it hadn’t taken long for them to catch a break. Footage from a news helicopter that had been in the air when Julie was taken caught a match for the floral van. Jackson had been able to trace the registration through a dummy company to the real estate holdings company on the warehouse deed.
    It had been surprisingly easy to track things from there, and even Jackson had to admit that the kidnapping seemed more like a crime of opportunity than a well-planned operation. Eric knew Julie wasn’t involved, but having the security head come around loosened something in his chest. They still didn’t know much about Caleb’s part in it or about the men who’d taken him, but all of that could wait. Eric couldn’t think about anything beyond getting Julie back in his arms.
    “We’re moving in,” said Jackson through the radio on the dash. “Wait for my all clear, Mr. Auxtres.”
    Long minutes passed with no contact, and Eric fought with every ounce of his control to keep from racing from the car and storming into the building to get her. Only the knowledge that his presence would make the team’s job more difficult and put Julie at risk kept him in the car.
    More time passed, endless minutes with no word from inside the building. He had his hand on the car door ready to abandon his resolve when the radio sprang to life.
    “Clear,” said Jackson. “I have her. Third floor. ”
    Eric didn’t wait to hear what else the security head had to stay. He was already out of the car, moving through the building, desperate to get to Julie. Not willing to wait for the ancient elevator, he bolted up two flights of stairs and through the door to the third floor hallway. He heard the voices – Jackson’s and one he recognized as Caleb’s – and then her heard Julie’s soft and shaking, and he lost he mind.
    He had no idea how he got from the doorway to inside the room. He didn’t stop to think or reason or even breathe. Not until he had Julie in his arms, crushing her against his chest. She let out a sob. He tried to lean back enough to look at her, but she wouldn’t let go of him, pressing her face against the black nylon of his vest.
    “Are you okay, cher?” he asked, his voice rough. “Did they hurt you?”
    He felt her shake her head, and something in chest relaxed a fraction. He wouldn’t be okay until he got her home and made sure she was really okay. Bending, he slid an arm behind her knees and scooped her up.
    “Take care of the rest,” he said over her head to Jackson. “I’m taking her home.”
    He saw Caleb open his mouth to speak but Eric ignored him, walking out the door with Julie in his arms. Out in the hallway, one of the security team saw him coming and punched the button for the ancient elevator.
    “Do you need medical