Chapter Eleven
When they pulled up in front of the salon, Bryce and Reece jumped out. In the distance, Bryce could hear the sirens of the police and knew they would be there soon, but he wouldn’t be satisfied until he saw Tanya’s face.
He swallowed, wondering if he should try calling her again before deciding against it. If the criminals were still inside, her ringing phone would lead them right to her.
He didn’t give a shit though if they knew she had someone there to rescue her.
"Tanya!" Bryce called out.
Bryce and Reece raced through the front door. Glass littered the floor around them, and the door hung on one hinge. A light in the back room was on.
He cautiously made his way to the back, gun drawn. If those sons of bitches hurt one hair on her head, he’d mow them down without an ounce of regret. Another quick glance only reinforced his anger.
Bryce and Reece each took a side on the door, but Bryce was the first to push through the door, making sure to keep his gun at the ready. The office had been ransacked just like the rest of the place. Nothing lay where it should. Paper and office supplies were scattered everywhere. There also was no sign of Tanya.
His heart hammered in his chest. Maybe they had gotten to her. Maybe they had taken her somewhere. He’d hunt them down if need be. The assholes couldn’t hide from him.
Reece frowned and looked over at Bryce.
“Where is she?” Reece said.
Bryce heard movement in the back area. He pointed his gun towards the door.
A sigh of relief escaped him when Tanya stepped through the doorway. He holstered his gun.
Her body slightly slumped over, and she shook as she walked. Bryce stepped, and she wrapped her arms around his body.
“You came,” Tanya whispered.
Reece moved away from the doorway of the back office to look at the front door. Bryce watched as red and blue lights reflected on the walls of the salon. The shrill sirens were just outside the building now.
"I'm going to go out and deal with the police," Reece said.
Bryce nodded as Tanya shivered in his arms. He wrapped his other arm around her and held her close to his body, rubbing her back in a comforting way.
She was so small like this. The tough woman who could deal with just about anything wasn’t as hard as she pretended to be.
"What happened?" Bryce asked softly. His heart still thumped, though the important thing now was that she wasn’t hurt.
Tanya leaned back to look at him. The makeup on her eyes had run, creating dark circles on her soft face.
"I could hear them," she said. "They tore up the place and then decided not to mess with the chemicals. If they had taken one more step in…" She sucked in a breath. “I was so scared.” Her tears returned, and she started shaking.
Bryce pulled her crying face back to his chest and kissed the top of her head. "You're safe," he said. “I got you. You’re safe.”
They stayed like this for several moments as Tanya’s crying subsided, and her body stopped shaking.
Once again, Bryce pulled back to stare down at her.
"You need to go outside and talk to the officers, but as soon as you're done, I'll take you home."
Tanya nodded but continued to lean against him as the two walked outside.
The police had already started to inspect the buildings around them. Reece spoke with one officer near the car, likely to give all of their information.
"Wait here a second," Bryce said to Tanya as she stood next to her brother.
Bryce raced over to his car and pulled out a jacket from the back. It would be huge on her, but it would help cut the chill of the night. After the night she had, the least he could do was offer her the small comforts.
"Wear this," he said, and placed the jacket around her shoulders.
A young officer walked over to them and jotted down their names before asking to speak to Tanya. Bryce nodded when she looked towards him.
“I’ll be right here watching you,” he said softly.
He watched as the officer walked Tanya over to his cruiser and let her sit in the passenger seat as they talked. Every once in a while, she would look over at him.
Reece stood next to him after making the rounds.
"They hit five stores," he said quietly. "It wasn't even like they were looking for anything. They just smashed up the places and left. What a fucking waste.”
Bryce grunted. This was just vandalism for the sake of vandalism, which only pissed him off more since it had obviously terrorized Tanya for nothing. That they had put her in such danger for kicks. Hell, this sort of shit put the whole town in danger.
"I heard one of the cops saying they thought it was those bikers that moved in," Reece said.
Bryce clenched his fists in anger. Blitz was up to no good putting an order like this out. It seemed like he just enjoyed the thrill of it. Either that or he didn’t have the ability or will to control his men. No matter how it was spun, it didn’t look good for the people in the area.
“Those sons of bitches,” Bryce said.
“If they’re this bad already, imagine what’s going to happen with more guns,” Reece said. “This is going to get bad.”
Bryce nodded once. Blitz armed to the teeth and arming other thugs to the teeth was all he could think about now. These last few days he’d managed to put the whole thing out of his head and not think about Dalton.
He’d been able to focus on some corporate espionage instead of this shit. And then it all came crashing back down on him. Hell, it’d hurt someone he cared about.
Through the crowd, Bryce spotted Dalton talking to several officers. He glanced over to Tanya and the young officer. He could see from their body language the two were nearly done.
"Take her home," Reece said. "I'll deal with this mess and get someone to come pick me up."
Bryce glanced over to his friend. “You’re her brother,” he said. “You should be the one—”
Reece shook his head. “I’m not the one she wants, man, and we both know it. Just stop being a pussy about it already.”
They stared at one another for a moment before Bryce nodded. “You’re okay with this?”
“Just be good to her,” Reece said. He waved and walked away.
Bryce watched his friend as he made his way back into the shop, slightly stunned. That was about as close to the okay as he was going to get, and he still wasn’t quite sure what to do with that. He’d spent days trying to avoid thinking about her after all.
The officer and Tanya stood. They started to make their way back to him.
Bryce shook his head.
No. Now wasn’t the time to think about a relationship. She needed him, and he’d be there for her. Anything after that, they’d just have to talk about. Everything that had happened tonight didn’t change the truth of what he’d told her before.
When Tanya was back at his side, Bryce leaned down to her ear.
“I’ll take you home but in just a second.”
Tanya nodded and leaned against him once again.
Carefully he led her past Dalton before heading back to the car. "I'm in," he said quietly to the other man.
Dalton nodded at him just before he turned back to the car.
Tanya was quiet as Bryce opened the passenger side door and slid inside. He climbed in on the other side.
Bryce pulled out slowly from the row of police cars now lining the block and watched as the lights disappeared in the rearview mirror.
He didn’t feel all that relieved. The true fight was still to come.