Page 113 of Rex

“No worries, darling. No one is,” Axel assures.

Pigeon’s phone rings, and we wait with bated breath for Pigeon to answer. When he does, he comes to our table and puts it on speakerphone.

“We’re narrowed down to one block, but the drones haven’t found the SUV,” Gunner explains. “Reno is about ten minutes out, so we’re just waiting at this point. Did you find anything else, Pigeon?”

“I have, but I haven’t figured out how to use the information yet. If the dogs don’t find Rex, send Horse and Reeves back to the clubhouse. Maybe they’ll figure it out faster than I have,” Pigeon answers with no small amount of disgust at himself in his voice.

“Stay steady, Pigeon. You’ve done amazing so far,” Gunner says in a sincere voice. “Fuck, half the time, I can’t remember how to open my email. In fact, a shitload of adult males are standing around watching two kids operate drones because they’re smarter than us.”

They disconnect, and Pigeon returns to his table while Axel and I go back to work. The hardest part is waiting to hear something, and that seems to have become my whole life in the last few days.

“I hope Loki and Cain get a chance to use their skills,” Axel says. “They deserve a treat every once in a while, too.”

I agree with that statement wholeheartedly.

Chapter 20

Rex

I come awake with a jerk, and it shoots pain through every part of me. I don’t even bother to think about which injury hurts the most anymore. They all hurt. To make things even more miserable, I’m hot. Unbearably so, and I know what that means. I have an infection, and I’m guessing it’s the bullet that caused one. Gunshot wounds are notorious for getting infected. If I’m not found or I don’t escape soon, things are going to go downhill and fast.

“Nice of you to join us again,” Gary taunts from the other side of the table. “You missed out on a lot of the fun.”

“Damn. I hate it when that happens,” I reply, but my voice is scratchy and dry.

“Need water?” Dave asks.

“Yeah,” I say, and am not surprised when it gets thrown on me.

I don’t mind since it was cool, and I’m sure I’m running a fever, but swallowing some would have been nice too.

“Nice touch, Davie,” I mutter.

“Boss doesn’t like that we’ve busted you up a little, but as long as your fingers work, she won’t say much,” Gary explains before planting his foot in the middle of my chest and kicking me and the chair over backward.

I land with a crash but did manage to keep my head from bouncing off the cement again. The movement of the chair beingset back upright nearly causes me to blackout again, but my mind holds on. I’m not sure that’s a blessing, though, when I take a blow to my left temple that leaves me reeling. My head falls forward, and I no longer have the strength to raise it up again.

“Who’s here?” Gary suddenly asks.

“No one should be coming by unless it’s Savi,” Dave responds before they walk toward the stairs.

“Oh, it’s just you two. Heard footsteps and wondered if the boss was here,” Gary states.

The words no more than leave his mouth, and I see a flash of something near one of the windows. I concentrate on focusing my eyes enough to see what it is, but it moves out of view.

My four captors continue chatting with Carrot Top and Eddie at the top of the stairs and Gary standing a few up from the bottom. Dave is still standing on the basement floor. When I see movement near the window again, I focus as much as I can, and then the air leaves my lungs when I recognize Loki’s face peering into the window.

“Loki!” I shout as loud as I can.

“What the fuck’s wrong with you? Quit your fucking shouting, asshole,” Dave hollers while pointing a finger at me.

The loud crash of a door being kicked in is a beautiful sound to my battered soul. But the best sound of all time is the one the dogs make when they attack. Dave starts to bolt away from the staircase, reaching for his gun, but he’s not fast enough. Caintackles Gary on the stairs, and their momentum knocks Dave down with them.

Cain doesn’t take a second to think about his attack plan. He just grabs Gary by the throat, and Gary’s screams stop instantly. Dave is on his back, trying to scramble backward and pull his gun at the same time. Cain lets go of Gary and pounces like a cat on top of Dave. When his large, powerful jaws clamp over Dave’s face, he half lifts Dave’s body from the floor and then shakes him hard. Dave’s screams of agony are music to my ears.

Suddenly, Carrot Top is flying down the stairs. Literally, he’s not running down them, he’s sailing through the air and lands in a heap of busted bones at the bottom. Loki’s halfway down the stairs when he leaps and lands on Carrot Top.

“Kick his ass, Loki! Get him, Cain!” I order.

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