Red Noon by Capri Montgomery Read Free Book Online Page A

like an hour, every hour like a lifetime. But he stopped, tossed the belt on the floor, promised her he would be back and stomped up the stairs yet again.
    She cried hard. She cried in desperation, in fear, in pain. But more than that, she cried alone. There would be nobody to save her because nobody knew where she was.
    “God will never give you more than what you can bear,” her mother, a highly Christian woman, had always told her. Well her mother was wrong. God had given her more than what she could bear. She couldn’t bear this and God had left her here to bear it alone. Why wouldn’t he just take her? Why wouldn’t he end it for her, end her pain, her suffering, her life? She couldn’t bear this. She couldn’t bear it.
     
    Takahiro and his men were suited up strong guard with their fire retardant balaclava to shield their identities, solid black military armor system for ground troops helmet made for tactical police applications, their ballistic SWAT labeled vests with the rigid plate inserts. When he told the men to suit up he wasn’t speaking lightly. It was like going into a blind war not knowing exactly how many weapons these guys had. He knew for sure one had a Sig Sauer P220 Combat Pistol, but he thought he caught a glimpse of another gun, maybe a Glock, in the waistband of his pants as he bent over to scoop her up and toss her into the big guy’s arms. They were going in heavily armed and blind which could be good or bad, but in this case he trusted his team to act with clarity and precision and not some knee jerk reaction. They were all extensively trained and only one of them qualified as new to the team and she had been there for a solid year now so he trusted them. He trusted they could go in hot and bring the hostage out alive—if she were still alive that is.
    He watched as Sky Riverton and Grant Solaria put their weight into the Battering Ram and took out the door. Entry was swift enough to get four of his team members clearing one side of the one story house while he and the others hit the kitchen fast enough to see the big beast reaching for something like he was going to attack and then run. Of course with their orders he didn’t even have to tell his guys to take a shot because they all opened fire. Bloody hell as Ethan Cohen would always say. They were in a war. Oh well. One down and one left to go, but his priority was the hostage.
    “Clear!” He heard Jag yell from the other side of the house. That was good to know since newbie Jacinta Gibbs was with the other men. She wasn’t so new that she didn’t know what she was doing but he still preferred not to have her on his heals just yet. It was good to know no gunfire was needed on the other side.
    With the other side clear and their one man down the basement was the last hit. He signaled to his men as he twisted the knob, opened the door and took the stairs. There really wasn’t a need in being quiet because if the other guy was down there he would have heard the first door going in, or even the bullets that killed his partner in crime, but he followed procedure to ensure the safety of his team and the hostage.
    The lights were still on which made assessing the smaller room easier. Steal, concrete, and outer wall installation to muffle the sound greeted his eyes and the woman in question, the one they were all looking for was chained and bloody.
    “Damn,” he growled as he eased toward her. Her head came up and he could see the fear in her eyes turn to recognition, and then to relief. Tears flooded out of those pearls of gray as he got closer to her. He checked out the rope and noticed the blood from her wrists. “Steal wire,” he said to Satoshi before he pulled a knife out of his utility belt and cut the bindings. She nearly dropped to her knees without the bindings holding her up. He swiftly anchored his weapon on safety and lifted her into his arms. Her face nestled into his neck. Her worn body curled into his chest. This had