Page 37 of Four Times Saved

"Go, go!" I heard someone in the forest say. Footsteps hurried up ahead of me and I could tell they were coming toward me. But behind me, my kidnapper's footsteps were closer.

I was crying and panting.

My adrenaline was running low since I hadn't eaten much in hours.

Another bullet burst into the leaves next to my feet.

Then I heard a hiss, a fuck, and his departing feet.

I didn't stop running until I met up with my rescuers, and dove straight into their arms.

"It's okay, miss." Big arms that reminded me of my men, wrapped around my trembling body and increased my longing for them. "You're safe."

Someone needed to give my head and heart the message, because they were still running.

Chapter 20

Ethan

Oh, fuck. My whole body crashed at the sight of Lily's frightened face on the screen.

"Yes, yes! Thank you. Thank you!" Ryan fell to his knees, sobbing. "She's safe. She's safe!" He rushed out the door to find Eric, and maybe Matt. I didn't know. Who cared?

Nothing and no one else mattered at this moment as I called up my pilot and told them to arrange the private jet. It was a bit of a hassle, but I wasn't waiting on no damn flight to get me to Lily. When the pilot agreed to make the trip, I was able to breathe again. A little better, at least. I wouldn't be able to catch a full breath until she was in my arms.

The pilot needed an hour and I kept checking the time to see only a few minutes had passed.

Eric and Ryan came in, bawling their eyes out. It wasn't until I caught them walking over to me that my own emotions ran slam into me. Wiping his face, Eric pulled out his phone and called his contact.

"Any chance we can get to speak to Lily?" he asked and my heart ballooned. I was like a puppy waiting for a treat, eyes wide, metaphorical tail wagging.

Eric put the phone on speaker.

"Just a moment," his contact said.

Our eyes moved back and forth between the TV and Eric's phone.

"I'm just glad to be alive. I can't wait to be home with..." We watched as Lily was approached and pulled aside.

Matt burst open the door and we spun around. He looked at us, studying our tear-filled faces and dropped the shopping bags at the door.

"What's going on?" He stared like a deer in headlights.

"Hello...?" Her broken voice echoed over the speaker into the room and it was the most beautiful sound in the world.

"Lily?!" Matt yelled and rushed forward.

On the TV, we watched Lily fall to the ground. Over the speaker, we heard her cry, and that was the most heartbreaking sound in the world. I needed to wrap my arms around her, tell her she'd never be scared again.

"I've already arranged for my private jet to take us to you," I choked. My heart collapsed.

"Really?" Eric looked at me, his brows in his hairline. I nodded and he smiled through the redness and agony ripping his face apart.

"Lily..." Ryan managed, her name heavy in his throat. That was all he had to say and it encapsulated all the love, all the gratitude, the longing and the desperation we all held deep within us.

"See you soon," Eric breathed.

As much as we'd like to keep her on the phone for the whole hour and on our way to get her, the military contact came back to retrieve his phone and pulled her away from the news interview. We spent the remainder of the nerve-wracking hour cleaning up this mess of an Airbnb, putting the food Matt brought into the oven to keep warm, running her a bath, and putting her new clothes in the washing machine and dryer, before getting ready and heading out as soon as I got the confirmation from the pilot.

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