Final Vow (17 page)

“Hey
, Ahmed,” Paige called to him after the kick for the extra point was good, “have you heard from Bridget? She and Annie are in the cruiser, and I’ve been texting Annie, but she hasn’t gotten back to me.”

Ahmed pulled out his phone and shook his head. “No. I am sure they are just talking. Besides
, I think they could hear you screaming to know we scored.”

“Ha
ha. Look who found his sense of humor,” Paige started teasing before she got distracted. “What on earth is Edna doing up there?”

Ahmed turned to look at the little old lady in her orthopedic shoes standing on the bleacher
s and peering over the side of the stadium. Soon he saw the Rose sisters similarly stand and look over the railing and scream something to whoever was below. Ah, they were talking to Annie and Bridget. But then they turned all as one and started hurrying down the stairs, yelling at the people on both sides of the aisle.

“I told you I should have brought my gun
,” Edna hollered as they hurried down the metal steps. Miss Violet was trailing behind as she opened her humongous purse and pulled out a wooden spoon.

“What’s going on?” Paige called as people from the top of the bleachers all started to leap from their seats and hurry after the
women.

“Two huge men are fighting our girls
. If I had my gun . . .” Edna shook her head angrily.

“Bridget?” Ahmed asked.

“Is kicking her guy’s ass,” Miss Lily called out.

Ahmed didn’t wait to hear if Miss Lily had anything else to say as he bolted f
rom the bench. Sergei was here.

“Will
,” Kenna shouted as she picked up Sienna. Her husband turned around and saw the mass exodus of the stadium and hurried over. “Annie and Bridget are being attacked.” Will’s eyes rounded and he hurried over to Cade and started pointing to the parking lot.

Ahmed and Cade met in
the crowded entrance to the stadium. He knew the panicked look on Cade’s face matched his own.

“Move
,” Cade shouted as Ahmed elbowed through the throng of people hurrying to the parking lot. Finally free of the narrow entranceway, the path cleared as people moved to form a semicircle in the parking lot. Cade and Ahmed pushed their way through and finally saw what everyone was looking at.

“I almost feel sorry for them,” Cade said with a grin.

Ahmed nodded his head in agreement. The two huge men were getting their asses kicked by Bridget and Annie. “This is the first time I’ve ever felt useless, but I'm also very proud.” Ahmed grinned. The townspeople gasped and cringed when Bridget was grabbed around the throat. Ahmed made himself wait. He knew Bridget wouldn’t appreciate it if he rushed in to save her. After saying it for weeks, he had to acknowledge that she could protect herself.

“Did you see that?” Ahmed smiled as Bridget broke the hold and hit the man in the nose. “I taught her that
.”

“Yeah. That was good. Did you see the way my Annie took out that guy’s knee? Now he’s really struggling
just to stand,” Cade said proudly.

Bridget hooked her leg and
, with a quick jerk, the man fell to the ground.

“Great sweep, my dear
,” Ahmed shouted through his cupped hands. Ahmed saw Henry turn and look at him like he had two heads.

“Y’all have a strange relationship,
” then he looked back as Bridget landed a solid punch to the kidney, “but it’s kinda hot. Now, if they were fighting in mud . . .”

Ahmed leaned away as Neely Grace’s hand arched up and smacked
Henry in the head. Annie grabbed her man by the hair and slammed his face into her knee. The man’s eyes glazed over and then rolled into the back of his head as he fell to the ground. Bridget blocked a punch with one hand as the other grabbed his arm and propelled him forward into the concrete wall of the field house. The man stumbled back and crashed to the ground—out cold.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Bridget laced her fingers and stretched them out. She had to admit it felt pretty good to
take her frustrations out on the hire-a-thug. Cole and Ahmed had moved in and detained the two slightly dazed men. Annie grinned and high-fived the Rose sisters while giving Edna a sympathetic pat on the back.

“Damn, that was fun
.” Annie chuckled as she leaned against the side of the cruiser next to Bridget and watched the men being handcuffed.

Bridget felt her shoulders start to shake. “You’re going t
o get me into even more
t-r-o-u-b-l-e
.”

“What do you
mean, more?” Ahmed asked as he ambled over toward them with his hands in the pockets of his black wool coat.

Bridget gulped and looked with wide eyes at her best friend who had developed a sudden interest in her fingernails.
“Umm,” Bridget had been caught off guard. She was just joking with Annie and now Ahmed was giving her
the look
that had men spilling their guts in seconds. “Nothing,” she said with a shrug.

“You'
re a horrible liar. Don’t get me wrong; you’re the sexiest liar I’ve ever seen, but a liar nonetheless.” Ahmed leaned closer and whispered, “I wonder if your pants will go up in flames. I’d have to get you out of them to save you.”

Bridget gulped again as she suddenly felt fire.
She noticed Annie staring at them open-mouthed and wide-eyed as she started to fan herself. Ignoring her best friend, Bridget looked up into Ahmed’s eyes that had changed in a split second from interrogator to bedroom.

“I might know why these guys were here,” Bridget stammered.

“Uh-huh,” Ahmed murmured as he ran his hand down her ribcage and cupped her hip.

“Oh gosh, I can’t take it
,” Annie cried as she fanned herself harder. “Sergei called her the other week.”

“Seriously? Way to hold out there
, Annie?” Bridget said with an eye roll.

“Sorry, Bridge
t, but he’s so freaking hot. I thought if I let him continue you’d be nothing but a puddle of goo stuck against my cruiser.”

Cade cleared his throat and cocked his head at his wife.
“I think on that note, I’ll get back to the game. Dear, we need to make a pit stop at the showers to cool down and jog your memory.”

“Isn’t there a football game he should be coaching?”
Bridget asked.

“
Will took over coaching,” Ahmed said calmly. “Now, what about Sergei calling you?”

Bridget wasn’t fooled by Ahmed’s calm
“oh, I’m just curious” voice. She looked around to see if she could divert his attention; however, it seemed like the whole town was silently leaning toward them to hear the conversation. “So, what’s going to happen to the mercenaries over there?”

Ahmed leaned in closer and traced his finger slowly along her jawline to her chin and gently raised her face to his. “What is this about Sergei calling you?”

“It was no big deal. I mean, it wasn’t like it was the first time he . . .” Bridget slammed her mouth shut, but it was too late. Ahmed’s eyes flashed with anger and then narrowed before he stepped back and placed his hands on his hips.

“Not the first time he’s contacted you
,” Ahmed roared. Everyone took an instinctual step backward except Bridget.

Cole step
ped next to Ahmed to learn what Sergei had said, but Bridget just ignored him. She placed her hands on her hips and glared right back at Ahmed. “You would have known he stopped me in New York if you had just worked with me instead of thinking you are such a badass that you don’t need help. But,
nooooo
. You take off in the middle of the night for Rome.”

“And you couldn’t have possibly found any
time between then and now to tell me Sergei talked to you—in person?” Ahmed narrowed his eyes and Father James crossed himself. “What did he want?”

“Oh
, nothing important. You know, ‘I’ll kill you; I’ll kill Ahmed. Make him watch . . . blah, blah, blah,’” Bridget said mockingly.

Cole patted Ahmed on the back. “You’re on your own for this one,” he said before taking a giant step away
.

“He threatened you? What did you do?”
Ahmed continued to yell. The large, round eyes of the townspeople showed their shock. They didn’t even know Ahmed could raise his voice.

“Which time? In New York
, I bet him twenty that he’d be the one dead and then I asked him to pick up Marko’s poop right before I sent Marko to attack him.”

Miss Lily sno
rted and Edna laughed out loud.

“And when he called you?” Ahmed asked quietly. The crowd went silent and they all leaned forward again.

“Um, let’s see. I was very nice. I asked him how hell was and suggested he try yoga to improve his disposition. Then I asked if he didn’t get enough hugs as a child as he continued his 'I’ll torture you while Ahmed watches talk.'” Bridget paused and then remembered the last bit. “Then I told him I’d save him a cupcake.”

“You’ve been taunting one of the world’s most wanted mercenaries and terrorists?” Ahmed’s voice was so quiet she almost didn’t hear him, but she saw the look he was giving her and felt a shiver go down her spine. The
crowd gasped and collectively took a large step away from them again.

Bridget narrowed her eyes. He may scare everyone else, but
she’d seen him naked and knew he loved her. This Mr. Tough Guy routine wasn’t going to work on her. “I got twenty on Bridget not giving in,” she heard Miss Daisy whisper.

“Twenty that she’
ll start crying,” Henry added.

“Twenty Ahmed will start crying,” Neely Grace added with a smile and a wink to Br
idget.

Ahmed stood ramrod straight and continued to glare while he ignored the betting going on around them. “What was his reaction?”

“I think it’s pretty obvious what his reaction was,” Bridget gestured to the two handcuffed goons. “But, I did leave him speechless a couple times. I don’t think he’s used to being talked to like that. It really bothered him that I didn’t seem to be afraid of him.”

“You should be afraid of him
,” Ahmed bellowed again. Bridget just shrugged her shoulders and watched as emotion filled his eyes. “Dammit, stop talking to him!” He grabbed her upper arms and dragged her against him. His head lowered and his lips crushed hers. His tongue invaded her mouth as he consumed her.

Bridget felt her head swim as he pulled away from her. The world was blurry and she wasn’t quite sure her legs would hold her. “Don’t think this means you wo
n,” she sputtered breathlessly.

“Well, I didn’t see that one coming. No one won the bet
. Keep your money,” Miss Daisy called out as she put away her little notebook. The men turned to leave, but most of the women stood where they were and sighed. “Come on, come on, we’ve got a game to cheer for.”

The Rose sisters got everyone turned around and headed back into the stadium before Miss Daisy turned back and mouthed “Wow” to Bridget. Bridget started laughing and Ahmed turned
around to see what she was laughing at, but Miss Daisy was already herding people into the stadium again.

“I think we need to discuss our relationship,” Ahmed said seriously. “You need to tell me when things like this happen.”

“Oh, and you’re going to tell me where you went the other night on your errand?” Bridget paused and let Ahmed digest that. “Yeah, I didn’t think so. When you accept that we make a better team than we do apart, then I’ll tell you everything. Now, you wanna have some fun?” Bridget shot him a grin and looked to the two handcuffed men.

“
Fine. Let’s go have a little chat with them and we’ll finish this talk later.”

“If you say so, honey.” Bridget smiled innocently at him before heading
toward the men being held by Cole, Miles, and Cy.

Ahmed reached down and hauled the first man up by his shirt.

“Agent Parker, you have a phone call,” Cy said in a tone Ahmed knew well. G
one was Mr. Hollywood and in his place stood one scary man. This was the man he met in New York City a couple years ago when he went with Kenna, Dani, and Paige to protect them during the corruption trial and again when Gemma had been taken.

“No, I don’t,” Cole glared back. Miles pulled out his phone and dialed. Cole’s phone rang and Cole shrugged at the men. “Guess I need to take this.” Cole ans
wered his phone and walked off.

“Locker room,” Miles said as he grabbed the other man from the ground. Without a word
, Bridget reached into the cruiser, pulled out a bag, and turned on her heel to lead them toward the locker room. Ahmed knew Cy and Miles didn’t want her there. It would be hard to do the things he imagined with a woman present. But, he was a little worried about asking her to leave. She was like Marshall’s dog, Bob. She had a look that could unnerve him.

“In here,” Bridget said coldly as she dragged two metal chairs into the tiled shower room. “Easier cleanup.”

Ahmed almost laughed at the way the men’s faces blanched and Miles and Cy shot a quick grin at each other before tying the first man to the chair.

“Take off their sho
es and socks,” Bridget ordered.

Cy and Miles immediately went to work removing their shoes and socks, never questioning her. Ahmed leaned back against the wall and watched. He didn’t know what she had planned, but the men looked so worried that
he decided to see what she had.

“You think you can get us to talk? Sergei will kill you for this
,” one of the men said with a cockiness that didn’t match the fear in his eyes.

“
Think
I can? No. I
know
I can. See, you came into my town and attacked me. You saw how well that went, right? And you think I can’t make you tell me everything you know. Well, that means you’re stupid and I’ll get the info twice as fast.” Bridget opened her bag and pulled out a large needle, a smaller needle, and a scalpel from the first-aid kit.

“You’re going to let a
woman tell you what to do? Do you have no balls?” the one guy managed in a heavy Russian accent.

Ahmed smiled and then laughed coldly along with Cy and Miles. They didn’t say a word, just laughed. The men shifted in the metal chairs and looked nervously to where Bridget had laid out her gun, knife
, and stun gun. He didn’t know what her plan was, but it definitely seemed as though she had one. He was just going to beat the information out of them.

“Gentlemen. Blindfold them.”

Ahmed looked around and saw the football team’s dirty laundry. He grabbed two sweaty shirts and tossed them to Cy. Cy made a face over the men’s heads and Ahmed realized Cy and Miles were completely amused by this scene.

The men gagged as Miles and Cy wrapped the shirts around their heads and then stepped back with an elegant bow for Bridget who sent them a dazzling smile. What on earth was she doing? Ahmed watched her grab the
small needle and the stun gun.

“
Speaking of balls . . .” She zapped the stun gun and the sound reverberated through the room and the men started to struggle. “I already know you were sent here to get me by Sergei. Where did you plan on taking me?”

“I’ll give you something to do with my balls,” one of the men grinned. Ahmed lunged, but Bridget’s hand shot out and stopped him. She quietly shoo
k her head and gave him a wink.

She zapped the stun gun against
the metal chair, giving him a slight jolt and then jabbed the needle into his toe. The man let out a bloodcurdling scream and a string of Russian curse words that had Cy smiling.

“To one of Sergei’s men. We were
to meet him in D.C. and then they were going to take over. That’s all we know,” the other man blurted out.

“Wimps,” Bridget mouthe
d to Ahmed and rolled her eyes.

“What about the bomb Sergei has? What is he using it for?”

“I don’t know,” the man answered as his friend was still cursing in Russian.

“I don’t believe you.”
Ahmed watched as she bent down and before the man knew what was happening, she inserted the small needle under his toenail.

“Tell me
,” she yelled over the man’s screams.

“He was hired to blow up something big. I don’t know what. I just know it’s a work for hire. A lot of men are being brought in for it.”

“Brought in where?”

“From all over. The U
.S. contractors met in D.C. yesterday and shipped out. There were similar meet-ups in Russia and Egypt. Sergei is keeping everything close to the vest on this. Only the commanders at those locations know the final destination.”

Bridget stood up and shrugged at the guys. Miles looked to Cy and they walked out of the room
together.

“They’re low
-level,” Cy said once they were out of earshot.

“I got the same impression. They don’t know anything of importance, but at least we got a little more out of them,” Miles said as he crosse
d his arms over his wide chest.