Page 62 of Marked

Oh, dear God.

Tears burned her eyes and her knees wobbled.

They’d been caught. It was the only reason there’d be guns firing before Cole had returned with Bella.

Bella could be shot. Dead. Injured.

Or Cole.

She gripped the side of the SUV for support. Lexi’s hand was on her back, gently rubbing. The reassuring words the woman was speaking didn’t penetrate the thick mist of terror sucking the air from her lungs and seeping into her tear ducts like mustard gas.

Lexi’s grip turned firm, and she wheeled Sophia to face her. “Hey! Get it together, okay? There’s four very capable men out there willing to risk their lives for your kid. Odds are Cole’s already on his way back. I’ll reach out to Nash, but I need you to stay strong.” Her voice rang with authority. Normally, Sophia would have bit back, but now she clung to the harsh tone as though it were a raft in a violent ocean.

“Okay,” she mouthed.

“Good.” Lexi went to the driver’s side door and pulled out her phone.

Sophia watched her tap the screen and press it to her ear. Lexi turned away, and silence filled the air.

Two more gunshots went off.

Sophia’s head swam. She couldn’t stand here another damn minute while her daughter was in a war zone. But charging toward the property could make things worse—the woods were so large she could run right past them if they weren’t on the same path.

Fisting her hand against her skull, she sucked in one deep breath after another. Her muscles vibrated. Every cell in her body told her she needed to run toward them. Her training backed up that demand. She couldn’t just wait around to see if anyone made it back alive.

Yanking her gun from her holster, she turned toward the path Cole and his brothers had embarked on forty minutes prior.

“Wait!” Rushed footsteps sounded behind her.

Sophia held her weapon pointed at the ground. “I have to go in. They could need help. Bella could—” Her voice broke, and a sob caught in her throat. She forced down the overwhelming wave of emotions threatening to drag her to her knees.

Lexi’s eyes shone with sympathy in the moonlight. She clamped her lips together and nodded. “I’d do the same... but I’m coming with you.”

“No.” Sophia’s voice took on a hard edge. “You’re pregnant. Stay here.” She dug into her pocket and pulled out her phone. “Gimme your number. That way you can call me if they return and I miss them somehow.”

Lexi rattled off her phone number and Sophia sent her a text with shaking fingers. The ding of Lexi’s phone assured her it’d gone through.

Turning, Sophia stomped through the woods. Insects buzzed around her head and smacked her face. She hiked up her shoulder and rubbed her jaw to ease the itching.

“Hold on.” Lexi jogged through the brush and passed her a flashlight. “It’s getting really dark. You’ll need this.”

Sophia accepted the flashlight and turned on the beam. “Thanks.” She’d use it only when she needed to.

The glow caught Lexi’s face. Her eyes were large, her cheeks pale. Worry creased the skin around her eyes. “Please be careful.”

Ring, ring

The shriek of Lexi’s cell phone made Sophia gasp. She leaped to her toes as Lexi fumbled the phone out of her jacket pocket.

“Who is it?” Sophia’s desperate whisper was barely audible.

Lexi swiped and pressed the phone to her ear. “Nash? What’s happening? We hear shots.”

Silence stretched. Sophia’s stomach pitched with nausea. She pressed her hand to her abdomen and hunched over.

Oh, God. Please let them be okay.

Please let my baby come home.

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