Chapter 6

Dust and wood splinters settled in the air.

Brennan stood in the ruined doorway. His eyes locked onto Rudy, who was kneeling over Hazel's limp body.

The murderous rage radiating from Brennan was a physical weight in the room.

Rudy scrambled backward like a crab, his face pale with terror. "Who the hell are you?!" he stammered, holding his bleeding thumb.

Brennan didn't speak. He crossed the room in two massive strides.

He grabbed Rudy by the collar of his shirt and hauled the three-hundred-pound man off the floor with one hand, as easily as lifting a ragdoll.

Brennan pulled his right arm back and drove his fist directly into the center of Rudy's face.

The sickening crunch of bone shattering echoed off the walls.

Rudy let out a gargled scream. Blood exploded from his ruined nose. Brennan opened his hand in disgust, letting the heavy man drop to the floor like a sack of wet cement.

Brennan turned his back on the groaning man and dropped to one knee beside Hazel.

When he saw the red, swollen handprint on her cheek and the blood at the corner of her mouth, the air around him turned to absolute zero.

Hazel was shivering violently. The drugs clouded her eyes. She shrank away from him, her hands weakly trying to push him away. "Don't touch me," she whimpered.

The sound felt like a knife twisting in Brennan's chest.

He leaned in close, keeping his hands visible. "It's me. It's Brennan," he said, his voice dropping to a low, rough whisper.

At the sound of his name, the frantic tension in Hazel's shoulders broke. Her heavy eyelids fluttered open, and she focused on his sharp jawline.

Brennan stripped off his suit jacket. It was still warm from his body heat. He wrapped it tightly around Hazel's shivering frame, covering her completely.

He slid one arm under her knees and the other behind her back, lifting her effortlessly against his chest.

As he walked toward the door, he paused.

He brought the heel of his leather dress shoe down hard on Rudy's twitching hand.

Rudy shrieked again, curling into a fetal position.

Brennan carried Hazel down the grand staircase.

In the foyer, Mildred, Benton, and Cody were forced onto the sofas, surrounded by Brennan's heavily armed security team.

Mildred saw Hazel in Brennan's arms. She tried to stand up, her face a mask of fake outrage. "You are kidnapping my daughter! I am calling the police!"

Brennan stopped on the bottom step. He looked down at the old woman.

"I am her husband," Brennan stated. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a terrifying, absolute authority. "I am taking my wife home."

Mildred's jaw dropped. Cody's eyes bulged. The realization that the "poor IT boy" was the monster standing before them hit them like a physical blow.

Benton opened his mouth to argue. Brennan didn't even look at him; he just gave a microscopic nod. A guard kicked Benton hard in the back of the knee, sending him crashing back onto the cushions.

Brennan locked eyes with Mildred.

"If the drugs in her system cause any permanent damage," Brennan said, his voice deadly quiet, "I will erase the Cook family from the face of the earth."

The raw, unfiltered death threat drained the last drop of blood from Mildred's face. She slumped back, trembling uncontrollably.

Brennan walked out the front doors.

His assistant had the back door of the Maybach open. Brennan carefully placed Hazel onto the soft leather seat, then slid in beside her.

"Nearest private hospital. Now," Brennan barked at the driver.

The Maybach tore down the driveway, leaving the ruined gates behind.

Inside the car, Brennan pressed a button. The thick, soundproof privacy partition rolled up, sealing the back seat off completely.

The drugs in Hazel's system flared up again. Her body temperature spiked. She felt like she was burning from the inside out.

She twisted on the leather seat, instinctively seeking the only source of cold in the car-Brennan.

She curled into his side, pressing her flushed face against his crisp, cool dress shirt. Her hot breath bled through the fabric, searing his skin.

Her soft lips accidentally brushed against the hard line of his jaw.

A violent jolt of electricity shot straight to Brennan's groin. Every muscle in his body locked down tight.

He gritted his teeth, a muscle ticking wildly in his cheek. He grabbed her shoulders, his large hands holding her firmly in place to stop her from moving.

"Dammit," he cursed under his breath.

A fine layer of sweat broke out on his forehead. The physical restraint it took not to pull her closer was agonizing. He held her tight, staring out the dark window, his heart hammering a rhythm he hadn't felt in years.