had made some calls to the Albemarle County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff herself would be meeting them with three deputies to haul Beatrice, Patricia, and Chad in. That was not Holden’s first choice. He wanted to beat the ever-loving fuck out of Chad. He wouldn’t have laid a hand on the women but he would’ve happily landed a verbal smackdown before Rhode called the police to turn them over.
“The sheriff is on her way,” Jameson unnecessarily reminded him. “They’re going in soft. If Faith’s awake, they don’t want to scare her. Rhode and I will cover the back, the deputies will cover the front. You’re going in with Sheriff Knox. Faith’s coming home with us. Just stay calm.”
Holden wanted to remind Jameson he had not been calm when Kennedy had been kidnapped. But that would’ve been an asshole thing to do, so instead, he nodded and stared straight ahead.
A black SUV pulled into the parking lot and Jameson’s phone pinged with a text.
“They’re here. It’s go-time.”
Before Holden could move, Jameson grabbed his bicep. “I mean it, keep your shit. Faith’s gonna be scared, so she needs you calm and collected.”
Unsure if he’d be able to remain calm, Holden turned to look at Jameson.
“Maybe you should be the one to go in.”
“No. It needs to be you.”
Arguing meant wasting time. Time that Faith didn’t have.
Jameson’s phone dinged again and his face went hard. “Chad’s on the move. McKenna’s still monitoring the cameras. Go. We gotta get into position.”
Holden jumped out of the truck and headed toward the sheriff. Jameson went the opposite direction.
“Holden Stanford,” Sheriff Knox greeted.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“We’ve been briefed,” she continued. “I’ve been told you have a permit to carry but I’m going to ask you to keep your weapon holstered and let me take the lead.”
Nothing about the rescue was going as he wanted. Keeping his weapon holstered meant he was vulnerable, Faith would be unprotected, and he’d have to trust someone he didn’t know. His mind rebelled at the thought, but he still found himself agreeing. He’d do anything that would get him in that hotel room and to Faith faster.
“Ma’am, I will keep my weapon holstered with the caveat that if I feel my life, your life, or Faith’s life is in danger, it comes out.”
“That’ll do,” she sighed. “I have more units on standby. As these things go, I felt a show of presence would endanger the child and other guests.”
“I understand. But you should know, Chad Bullock has left the room.”
The woman’s face went tight and she quickly called in the update to her deputies.
“Let’s head up.”
The walk into the hotel was silent and he was happy for the reprieve. Jameson was right, he needed to find it in himself to remain calm for Faith’s sake. She didn’t need to witness him going gonzo on Beatrice and Patricia. No, Faith needed him steady, in control. He needed to be her safe place until he could get her back to her mother.
The manager met the sheriff in the lobby. They exchanged a few hushed words while Holden scanned the area. No Chad. Where did that fucker go? Finally, the manager handed Sheriff Knox a keycard and the man went back behind the desk. Holden followed behind the sheriff and waited for the elevator. Once they were inside, Sheriff Knox quickly gave Holden a rundown.
“The rooms beside the Towlers have been vacated. Mr. Null called them and upgraded the guests to suites. The rooms across from them are vacant. That doesn’t mean this is a free-for-all, but the rooms are empty.”
Holden bit back his smartass retort, remembering his only objective was rescuing Faith.
“I’ll knock and you stand out of sight. If they don’t answer, the front desk will call and explain there’s a problem with their room and they need to be moved. I don’t want to enter blind. But I will if it comes to that.”
Again, the night was not going how Holden wanted. It would’ve been so much easier to just kick in the door, knock some heads—well, knock one head, zip tie two bitches up—and take Faith. But to end this once and for all, Charleigh needed the Towlers arrested.
“Understood,” Holden acknowledged.
“Mr. Stanford, I’ll get your daughter back.”
Every cell in Holden’s body froze. His daughter? What the hell had Jonny told the sheriff? Old wounds threatened to take him to a place he couldn’t go. If he needed to pretend to be Faith’s dad to get her safely home, he’d do it. The pain