Page 32 of Property of Indiana

“They’re here,” I announce.

“You feel it too?” Icer asks, his eyes taking in two doors. “Hear that?”

“Yeah, I do,” I say, smiling. “They’re separated but on this floor.”

“Thank fuck for that,” Rip adds, and for a few short seconds, I forgot he was with us. During this mission, we are his problem kids so it’s not surprising that he decided to tag along with us instead of leading the charge to take out the pussies left behind.

“Indiana!” Zoey hollers.

“Daddy! Uncle Icer!” My little girl cries, breaking my damn heart. The fact that this is the first time she’s called me ‘daddy’ nearly has me stumbling, but I want to keep my man card intact since I’m in this hallway with my brother's standing witness so I ignore the deep feeling that conjured up in my chest. Later, when there are no witnesses, I’ll probably shed a tear or two.

“Move away from the door, Elodie,” Icer instructs. “I’ll get you out, okay?”

I want to rush to release Zoey from her prison, but since I’ve heard her voice I know she’s alright, for now, and kids always come first. It’s something she and I vowed one night as we sat on the back porch, stargazing. The stars are big and bright in our neck of the woods and it’s a good way to let the day slip away. Especially when it’s done with my arms wrapped around my woman and her head nuzzled on my chest.

“I’m at the back wall, Uncle Icer,” Elodie yells. Less than two seconds later, the door to the room she’s in is in smithereens and I watch as the scariest man I know turns into mush as Elodie rushes through the room and jumps into his splayed arms.

“I got you, princess,” he says, looking closely at her. “Did anyone hurt you?” he queries.

“The bad man was going to whip me, Uncle Icer,” Elodie whispers. “And he said some really mean things. But then he left.”

Icer’s demeanor has steadily changed, although it’s highly likely that only Rip and I are aware because Elodie keeps talking, basically signing the death warrant of whoever was stupid enough to fuck with her head and threaten bodily harm. “What did he look like, princess?” Icer asks.

“He wasn’t as tall as you or Daddy, he was skinny and had no guns, and his hair was long,” she replies.

I chuckle because the guns she’s referring to are muscles, and Icer has made it a game to ‘show her his guns’, so we both understand what she’s saying. “How long, Elodie?” I ask.

“To here,” she says, touching her shoulder. “It was greasy too,” she whispers. “He was stinky and I didn’t like him at all.”

Confident now that Elodie is in good hands with Icer, I move to the door that’s hiding my woman, then kick it in after warning her about what I was fixing to do. A whirling, sobbing woman rushes into my arms, clinging to me like a spider monkey.

“I’ve got you, babe, I’ve got you,” I murmur over and over while she cries in my arms.

“I need my Elodie,” she sobs.

“Mama!” Elodie shrieks.

Zoey breaks free and rushes to Icer, practically snatching Elodie from his grasp. She runs her hands all over Elodie multiple times as tears continue to flow down her cheeks. “Are you okay?” she finally asks. “I… I saw you in the room. There was a special mirror that let me see you and hear you, El. You were so, so brave, sweetie.”

“Mama, I knew he wouldn’t hurt me. Pepaw said so.”

Chills roll through me because I remember Zoey’s grandparents from the one time they came to town and Zoe introduced me to them. Good, solid, Christian people. Nothing like Zoey’s parents whatsoever. I knew they passed away, so Elodie saying something like that is a bit… disconcerting, to say the least. Still,she’s just a child, so maybe, to keep from being frightened, she imagined that Zoey’s grandfather was there.

“He did, did he?” Zoey questions. “Well, he was always our biggest protector, so if you talked to him and he told you that, he was obviously right.”

“Yes, because Daddy and Uncle Icer showed up a few minutes later,” Elodie replies.

CHAPTER

EIGHTEEN

ZOEY

Indiana swiftly liftsme in his arms and carts me away. Looking over his shoulder, I see my daughter in Icer’s hold. He’s carrying her like she’s a precious commodity and I send him a grateful smile.

He nods his head and continues scanning the building as we continue through until we reach the loading docks.

“Any of these the men you two saw?” Indiana asks me. Reluctantly, I lift my head from his shoulder and scan the men who are bound and on their knees.

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