The Billionaire’s Valiant Rescue Read Online Free PDF Page B

sound I recognized as a door being kicked in.
    Oh, God. What was going on?
    Then the loudest bang assaulted my ears, followed by a crash and excited voices roaring through the small space on the other side of my bedroom door.
    Like I’d done the night before, I scrambled for the bed and disappeared underneath. Whoever was out there clearly didn’t have my or Jack’s well-being in mind.
    Trembling, I waited for my own door to be knocked down and whoever meant me harm to come barging in.
    The hollers and screams seemed to reach a fever pitch, and when I thought things couldn’t get any worse, a loud crack had me yelp out in fear. It had sounded like a gun shot going off!
    Shuffling feet and angry shouts followed the blast, and finally silence ensued.
    I waited breathlessly, and when a soft knock came, it was accompanied by the sweetest sound in the world. “Melanie? You can come out now. I drove them away. The police are on their way here now.”
    I rolled from under the bed and raced for the door, only to fling it open and myself into Jack’s arms.
    Sobbing against his chest, I didn’t dare ask what had happened until he finally released me, led me to a chair and told me to take a seat.
    Only now did I see the devastation the visitors had wrought: the front door was attached to the jamb by a single hinge, and the coat rack had been torn from the wall and lay crashed on the floor, knickknacks and clothes strewn all across the vestibule.
    Only now did I notice Jack was holding a gun. But what was more troubling was his face. A gash had appeared above his left eyebrow, and his cheekbone was bruised and bloodied. I gasped, and slung a hand to my chest.
    “Jack! Are you hurt?”
    He grinned. “I’m fine. You should see the other guy, though.”
    “What happened?”
    He scratched his scalp, then carried the gun to the living room and carefully placed it in a hidden drawer beneath the dining room table and closed it again. “I really can’t say. I think they were your mom and dad, but as we’ve already established they’re not really your mom and dad, it’s really a mystery who those people are.”
    “Linda Soakes?”
    “One and the same. And that goon who calls himself your father. I’m afraid I didn’t make a very good impression. I told them in so many words to buzz off, and I’m sorry to say it didn’t go over very well. The Soakes woman gave me a rather nasty kick to the shin, and when her husband saw it fit to use my face for batting practice, I decided enough was enough and brought out the heavy artillery.”
    “Good thing you had that gun.”
    “My dad always said it might come in handy one day and I’m glad to say the old man was right for a change. It seemed to give them pause, and when I trained the weapon on them instead of the ceiling, they decided to cut their visit short.”
    “How did they find me?”
    “After we didn’t return from radiology yesterday, I assume they did some asking around, found out where I lived and decided to pop up for a quiet chat. Since Mrs Soakes was dressed in a maid’s uniform and Mr Soakes in a bellboy’s, I figure they must have raided the staff dressing room before showing up here unannounced.”
    “Oh, Jack. You could have been killed.”
    He gingerly touched the gash over his eye and winced a little. “Well, I’d like to say I’m a hard man to kill, but since I’m not Steven Seagal I probably shouldn’t.”
    I can’t describe the feeling of extreme elation at seeing Jack safe and sound, and the courage it must have taken him to come to my defense, and the affection I’d already started feeling for this man easily quadrupled at that moment.
    I wanted nothing more than to go over to him and dress his wounds, but a deferential knock on what was left of the front door startled us both.
    Looking up, I saw it was Bill Rattner, directing puzzled glances at the devastation in both the room and on Jack’s face.
    “Jack. Ran into a cop again?”
    Jack’s