Page 66 of Marked

No, he didn’t want Sophia and Bella to leave without him. But he sure as shit didn’t want to miss out on killing the men involved in abducting children.

“We’ll get them all,” Dare continued. “You know we will. What’s it matter who pulls the trigger?”

Cole seethed. “It matters because I need to let out some fucking aggression.”

Dare lifted a shoulder. “Do what you want. But I think it’s a dick move to abandon them now. I mean, Lionsgate knows Bella was found. Think that’s going to go over well? They’ve probably got dudes staked outside Sophia’s apartment as we speak. You’re forgetting how big the organization is.” Dare popped the cap off a water bottle he’d grabbed from the vehicle and sucked back the liquid.

Cole rubbed his hand over the top of his head and turned to glance at Sophia. She stood next to the vehicle rocking from side to side with Bella in her arms.

She blinked heavily as she spoke softly with Lexi, and her skin was pale. She looked ready to drop with exhaustion.

“Fine,” Cole growled.

“And get that cleaned up, will ya?” Dare pointed to Cole’s side.

He waved away his brother. No need to point out the minor injury in front of Sophia. She had enough to worry about.

He turned and walked up to the vehicle. Lexi advanced on him and threw her arms around his neck. “Good work. I knew you’d bring her home.”

Cole patted her back awkwardly. Leave it to Lexi to make shit weird. “Yeah, me too. You need a lift back?”

“No, I’m going to wait for Nash.”

Cole nodded and looked to Sophia. “Ready to go?”

“Are you coming?” she asked.

He swung his gaze toward the woods and bit back the words burning his tongue. “Yeah. I’ll take you home.”

She reached for the rear passenger door, but he grabbed the handle and yanked it open then held her elbow while she climbed inside with Bella in her arms. He settled himself in the driver’s seat, waved to Lexi and Dare, and drove through the bushes shrouding them from the road.

Cole grunted as the truck hit the pavement and jostled. The pain in his side had intensified since passing Bella off to her mom. His skin burned, the adrenaline withdrawal scorching his veins. He needed a drink. Or maybe coffee. Something to take the damn edge off.

Lack of adrenaline wasn’t even the problem.

The issue was that he’d let his moronic brother talk him out of staying behind to slaughter the motherfuckers who’d taken the kid.

Now he had unspent rage mixed with the need for vengeance, and the energy bottled inside him was ready to blow.

“Shhh.” Sophia’s soft whisper from the back seat made his pulse slow. The hush hadn’t been for his frazzled nerves but for a sleeping four-year-old. Nevertheless, the constant murmur reached him and coated his anger like a salve. Her gaze met his in the rearview mirror. “Were there any others?” she asked softly, her eyes dark with pain. As if she couldn’t handle the thought of another child not going home to their mother tonight.

“Not that I saw. But we’ll make sure to find them if there are. It’s a big property.”

She nodded and dipped her head to Bella’s hair.

The minutes drifted into an hour. Pretty soon they’d be in the city.

He glanced in the rearview mirror again. Sophia sat in the middle of the truck’s bench seat, Bella draped over her lap, her head resting on Sophia’s shoulder. The cardigan served as a blanket, and Bella snuggled Honey Funny close to her face.

This could have ended so damn badly.

But it hadn’t. He needed to remind himself that this child, unlike so many others, had been saved tonight. He only prayed she’d forget. At least Bella had a mom like Sophia, who would love her until she felt whole. Until she knew she was safe.

His own mother flashed in his mind’s eye. Bruised and battered, always angry at him for something. He shoved away the memories.

Were they safe? He’d told Sophia he’d take them back to her apartment, but fuck, Dare was right. That wasn’t a good idea. Bella’s room was still in shambles, and whoever the hell had gotten into the apartment once could do it again.

The skyline came into view, and the jarring wakefulness of Seattle made it that much clearer that these two couldn’t go home yet.

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