Saving Ren (Barretti Security Series, Book 3) by Sloane Kennedy Read Free Book Online Page B

back on last night after he’d woken up. “Did that too…never would’ve guessed I’d need to teach myself how to sleep without shoes on.”
    “You served?” Ren asked.
    Jagger nodded. “173 rd Airborne Brigade,” he said.
    “Paratrooper?” Ren asked in surprise.
    “Yeah. Always dreamed of flying fighter jets but that wasn’t in the cards so jumping out of a plane seemed like the next best thing,” Jagger responded. Something flickered in Jagger’s eyes but it disappeared just as quickly.
    “What time is it?” Ren asked as his stomach rolled with hunger. It had been a while since he actually felt hungry and the sensation was foreign. His system had gotten so used to surviving on so little that the prospect of food actually nauseated him even as his body yearned for it.
    “Just after nine.”
    A glance at the single small window in the room told Ren it was morning instead of evening so that meant he’d actually slept through the night. He couldn’t even recall the last time that had happened. “Where’s my gun?” he asked as the familiar tingle began to make his skin itch. He didn’t wait for Jagger to answer as he went to the nightstand and began rifling through it.
    “It’s not there,” Jagger said from behind him.
    “Where is it? I need it,” Ren said quickly as he hurried to the dresser.
    “It’s gone. You’re safe now – you don’t need it.” The pity in Jagger’s voice grated on his nerves.
    “What do you mean it’s gone?” Ren snapped as he whirled on Jagger. But Jagger didn’t answer him and Ren tore out of the room and rushed to the kitchen and began searching all the drawers and cabinets.
    “Ren, I swear to you, you’re safe.”
    “Don’t you get it? I’ll never be safe!” Ren shouted. “They said they’d come after me! They’re going to find me…my brothers!”
    “It was part of the act, Ren. They were trying to get in your head.”
    Ren shook his head. Believing that was too big of a risk. “I want my fucking gun!” he yelled. But Jagger just looked at him sadly.
    “Fuck!” Ren screamed and he yanked the drawer he was in the process of opening off its rollers and threw it to the floor. He scanned the contents before doing the same to the next drawer. His breath was coming in heavy pants as he kneeled down and searched through the mess.
    “The knives are gone too,” Jagger said softly.
    Ren rose and viciously kicked at the debris. He had been searching for a knife. Even the dullest butcher knife could still be deadly if wielded correctly and he would have been able to take at least two or three guys out before they got their hands on him again. He pushed past Jagger and headed for the front door.
    “Your car’s been disabled.”
    What the fuck? Ren froze in the process of reaching for the doorknob. “No,” he heard himself whisper. Denial went through him at the realization that if what Jagger said was true, he was stuck here with no way out…no way to defend himself. He hurried out the door and rushed to his car. The GTO was exactly where he’d left it. He had no idea where the keys were but he could hotwire it if worse came to worse. He lifted the hood of the car and felt the panic rush through him as he searched the engine he’d painstakingly restored himself. Sure enough, the ignition and fuel pump fuses were both missing. He desperately looked around and his eyes lit up at the sight of the car sitting behind his.
    “It’s disabled too and Declan took the fuses with him,” Jagger said from somewhere behind him.
    At that point Ren lost it and he flew at the other man. But as before, Jagger anticipated his moves and quickly overpowered him.
    “If you’ve got enough energy to keep taking swings at me, you’ve got enough energy to take a little walk. You can see for yourself that it’s just us out here,” Jagger said.
    Strong fingers closed around his arm and started dragging him towards the woods that surrounded the cabin.
     
    ***
    Jagger felt