Page 40 of Embracing Easy

Lexi always leaves a light on. She hates when it’s dark.

Knox and Sparrow dismount their bikes behind me, and without looking back, I already know their weapons are drawn as we approach my front door.

Retired or not, a soldier never loses that killer instinct drilled into him by Uncle Sam.

Reaching for the doorknob, I twist. The fucking door's unlocked. My trigger finger twitches.

“Trigg? Lexi?” I call out, pushing the door open with my boot as I flip the light switch on the wall.

Nothing.

“Neighbor’s lights are on, brother,” Sparrow says from behind me.

I lift my gun as the beam from Knox's flashlight cuts through the darkness, landing on a sight that turns my blood to ice. Trigg's sprawled on my living room floor, face-down and motionless.

“Clear the house,” I bark, but Sparrow's already dropping to his knee beside Trigg and checking for a pulse.

When he looks up at me and shakes his head, fear like I’ve never known consumes me.

“Lexi!” I move through the house, checking rooms, my voice growing more desperate with each empty space. “Lexi, baby, answer me!”

“Easy!” Knox's voice carries from the kitchen.

I find him standing near the island, his flashlight focused on the floor. Shards of broken glass glitter in the light, a puddle of liquid spreading across the tile. The sight hits me like a punch to the gut.

“He has her,” I croak, the words like ash in my mouth. “That piece of shit has my woman.” My heart beats like a kick drum in my chest. I was supposed to protect her. I did everything right, and he still got her.

Sparrow walks in, his phone pressed to his ear. “Club's on their way,” he says, his voice tight. “Dex is hacking into every camera in the neighborhood.”

I slam my fist into the wall, leaving a hole in the drywall. The pain barely registers. “He’s a fucking dead man! I swear to God, if he’s touched a hair on her head…”

“We'll find her,” Knox says, his hand landing heavy on my shoulder. “And when we do, that bastard's going to wish he never set foot in Miami.”

The next half hour is torture while we wait to hear from Dex. I pace the kitchen like a caged animal while Sparrow makes arrangements for Trigg’s body. When Viper, Wrath, and Legend walk in, the energy in the room shifts from tense to lethal.

“Jesus Christ,” Viper mutters, taking in the sight of Trigg’s body now covered by the quilt Lexi kept on the back of the couch. His eyes come to mine, and I can tell the loss of the prospect isn’t unfelt. “We'll get her back, brother.”

My phone vibrates in my pocket, and Dex's name lights up the screen. I answer before the first ring ends. “Talk to me.”

“Got the fucker on camera,” Dex says without preamble. “Black Cadillac heading east. Tracked it to the Budget Inn on Hillshire. Room 142.”

“Send me?—”

“Already sent the coordinates to your phone,” he cuts me off.

Relief floods my system, quickly replaced by cold determination to get my woman back safe and sound. “I owe you.” I end the call, looking at my brothers. “We got a location.”

“What's the play?” Legend asks, already checking his Glock.

“We go in quiet,” Viper says, but his eyes are on me. “This motherfucker has already proved he isn’t afraid to kill. Our only priority at this point is getting Easy’s woman back in one piece.”

I nod, even though every cell in my body is screaming for blood. “Room 142 at the Budget Inn. Dex confirmed they're there.”

“Then what the fuck are we waiting for?” Knox asks, already moving toward the door.

In less than ten minutes, we make it across town and pull into the gas station across from the Budget Inn. My brothers flank me as we survey the scene. “There’s a light on,” I motion to the thin, dingy curtains where we can see a single shadow moving around inside.

Viper squeezes my shoulder. “Remember, Lexi's safety comes first. Nothing else matters.”

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