A Billionaire's Redemption - By Cindy Dees Page 0,93

his head, pressing against it as if he had a headache. Gabe used his distraction to move a step to his right. He had to get Ward to shift position.

Ward cried like he was in pain, and Gabe slid another foot to his right. “Stop that, dammit!” Ward shouted. He turned a bit to his left to train his gun on Gabe. There. The shot was clear. Why wasn’t McGrath taking it, dammit?

Ward devolved into incoherent shouting that sounded like a combination of random words and animalistic sounds. Holy crap, the guy was completely unhinged!

Where was McGrath? Had something happened to him? Did Ward have an accomplice? Panic shot through Gabe. Were he and Willa on their own with this madman?

As the seconds ticked past, and Ward’s tirade wound down without a shot coming from McGrath, sick realization came over Gabe. He had no backup. Willa’s life depended entirely on him. And he was too far away to jump Ward, and armed only with his wits.

“Tell you what, Jimmy. If you’ll cut Willa loose, I’ll let you tie me up and do whatever you want to me.” His gaze strayed involuntarily to the array of knives, pliers, jumper cables and other implements of torture laid out on the floor behind Willa.

“How about I keep her tied up, tie you up, too, and torture you both? It’ll be so romantic. You can see each other suffer in the name of love.” He used his free hand to rub his crotch.

Gabe was sickened by the depravity that had taken over James Ward.

“Go over there. Get that chair. Set it down in front of the bitch princess. Oh, yes. This is going to be fun.” When Gabe didn’t move immediately, the pistol swung back toward Willa, this time pointed at the top of her left thigh.

Reluctantly, Gabe did as he was told and fetched the chair. It was old and made of solid wood. Heavy. Wouldn’t make for a bad weapon if he could get within range to swing it at Ward. But with that gun pointed at Willa, that wasn’t a possibility. As he approached within a dozen feet of Willa and James, Ward slid back behind her, using her as a shield.

Gabe was shocked when Willa’s right eye cracked open slowly. She looked up at him, and then she winked at him! She was awake? Exultation shot through him at just knowing she was conscious and with him. He saw her feet shift slightly within her bonds, both tennis shoes planted firmly on the floor.

“That’s close enough,” Ward warned. “Put the chair down. Hands behind your back—”

Willa and her chair flew backward without warning, slamming into Ward. The guy staggered backward and Gabe lunged forward. The pistol came up and he threw the chair up in front of himself. A gunshot exploded and the chair was all but torn out of his hands as a bullet slammed into it.

Gabe used the momentum to throw the chair at Ward, following it with his body as he laid a flying tackle on the madman. The pistol slammed incredibly painfully into his shoulder as he grappled with Ward. Gabe got an elbow between them and threw it with all his strength into the guy’s face. Elbow bone connected with nose bone with a crunching noise.

Something large rolled toward them. Willa, still tied to the broken remains of the chair. No! She had to get away!

Ward was unbelievably strong, and Gabe hung on to the guy’s gun-carrying wrist with all his strength. But inch by inch, the muzzle of the weapon was being forced down toward him. Another few inches and Ward would be able to blow his face off.

“Get up, Willa! Run!” Gabe shouted.

But she rolled again, carrying her even closer to him and Ward. One of her feet came free of the tangle of wood and rope, and kicked out. Ward swore viciously. She must have connected with some part of him. Another kick and the gun wavered, moving away from Gabe’s face.

Up close, Ward’s eyes were one of the scariest things Gabe had ever seen. No sign of a human being remained within them. He grunted as he grappled with the monster, “Get out of here, Willa! Go, dammit! Save yourself!”

Several more kicks in rapid succession were her only answer. Her attack distracted Ward enough that Gabe was able to get the upper hand on the gun wrist again and force it back up over Ward’s head, blessedly pointing well away from