Page 8 of Rex
If only I’d discovered the truth about them not being as dead as they wanted people to believe before now. Things would be so fucking different. I’d have already handled them both and alltheir hired help. It would have been a walk in the fucking park, especially if they’re all as inept as the two who are currently tied up at my feet. I can’t change anything about the past though, even if I fucking wish I could. Dre would never have been taken if I’d have discovered the truth sooner. Shaking off those thoughts, I focus on what I need to do. These two might already be taken care of, but Beau and Annmarie are still somewhere loose in this house.
Silently I continue clearing the house, ensuring I haven’t overlooked something or someone, heading in the direction of where I know the entrance to the basement will be located. I might not have a clue where Beau and Annmarie are right now, but I’m almost one hundred percent positive that if Dre is really here like I believe him to be, then he’s going to be in the basement. Where else would they hold him? It’s the only real suitable area here where Beau and Annmarie can keep him without worrying about him escaping.
As soon as I reach the door leading to the basement, I open it gently and quietly descend the stairs that lead to where I want to be. Where I need to be. As soon as I reach the bottom, I know trusting my gut feeling was the right call.
The unmistakable sound of an argument reaches my ears. I take a moment to focus on what’s being said inside. The words being exchanged could contain vital information that could make all the difference when I enter that space. As I listen, I realize this situation is even more important and critical than I could have ever imagined when I started this journey to find Dre and bring him home. It’s not just Dre in need of rescuing; from what I can gather from what’s being said, there’s an innocent baby involved in this mess too. The argument that’s currently taking place between father and son is because Dre is trying to protect the child from whatever Beau has planned. Just knowing that gives me an insight into the type of person Dre King is, andhonestly I’m sort of looking forward to meeting the man even more now. There are not many people who would do what he is if they were in his shoes. I wish there were more stand-up people like him in the world, but unfortunately, from my experience, the world is plagued with more people like Beau than Dre.
From everything I know about Beau, he isn’t going to take Dre’s act of defiance well; this is going to get physical and messy in the blink of an eye. I need to make my move. Fast. I’ve seen situations like this before; men like Beau don’t like when they’re stood up too. When their orders are defied. They don’t like when people mess with their plans, and they’d sooner get physical and beat someone into submission than change their plans. To them violence is always the answer. I don’t want anything nefarious to happen to Dre, especially not now that I’m this close to rescuing him from the hell he’s been subject to all this time.
Carefully, I push the door open, hoping that Beau is too occupied with Dre to notice my arrival. My wish is granted when I get the door open just enough to slip my large frame through, and my entrance goes totally unnoticed. I quickly catalog the space around me, making sure there isn’t another threat in this space that I don’t know about. Time might be of the essence right now, but I know I need to take these few moments to check out my surroundings. It wouldn’t do Dre any good if I disabled the threat Beau poses only to have another unknown factor in the room make a move when my attention is somewhere else.
Seeing no other threats to Dre and the unknown baby’s safety, I blow out a small silent breath of relief. This is going to be easy as fuck to deal with. I have the training and skills to deal with a motherfucker like Beau. I also have the element of surprise on my side. Beau King has no idea of the danger that’s creeping up on him. My relief is short-lived when I catch sight of Beau’s meaty fist flying towards Dre’s face. Fuck. I knew I needed to move fast, but fucking hell, there was zero warning inhis body language or movements that Beau was about to attack his son.
Rage fills me in a way I’ve never felt before as I watch him hit his son full force without a second thought. Don’t get me wrong, seeing things like this always pisses me off and sets off my protective instincts, but with Dre it feels like so much more. I want to tear Beau King apart limb by limb as slowly and painfully as possible for daring to lay a hand on the man in front of me.
I may hate the sight of Beau hitting Dre, but one good thing comes from it. The attack causes Dre’s head to spin in my direction, allowing him to catch sight of me for the first time. As soon as his eyes lock onto me, I act. My steps are full of determination and simmering rage as I stride towards Beau. I don’t bother to come up with some elaborate plan, not now that I’ve seen him physically attack Dre. All I want. All I need to do is get him as far away from Dre as possible as quickly as I can. I know it’s only a matter of moments before he attacks again. He’s not going to be satisfied with only one hit. I refuse to let that happen on my watch. Keeping Dre safe and from further harm is all that matters to me now.
Beau’s focus is still lasered in on his son; he has no fucking idea of the danger that’s heading towards him. He never sees me coming. He never senses anything. Not before it’s too late for him. His first inclination that something is amiss is when my arm wraps around his neck and I use my hold on him to pull him away from Dre. My eyes stay locked onto Dre as I move further away, tightening my hold on Beau as I go. I have zero intentions of letting go of him until he’s unconscious at my feet and no longer a threat. I don’t care how long it takes or how much he struggles against me and tries to claw at my arms. My hold is unbreakable. Protecting Dre is all that matters.
The moment Dre breaks eye contact with me, I feel like I’ve lost something important. I have no idea what the hell is going on or why I’m feeling this way, but I know that now isn’t the moment to be trying to figure out what the hell this connection is I feel. My priority after Beau is unconscious needs to be finding out what Dre knows about everything that’s been going on here over the past year. That doesn’t even take into account the information I need from him about the tiny baby he’s just picked up and is currently soothing.
This certainly isn’t going to be the quick and easy rescue I hoped it would be. There’s much more going on here than I realized. It’s going to take time to gain all the answers I need. Whether they come from Dre willingly telling me what he knows or Beau and Annmarie being convinced to tell me by whatever means necessary. I will get all the facts and end whatever operation Beau and Annmarie have been running. I have no issues fucking up whatever criminal enterprise they’ve built and destroying all the criminals connected to them in the process. This is what I’m good at after all; I’ve spent most of my life dealing with shit like this.
The moment I feel Beau become a dead weight in my grip, I let Dre know, and he turns to face me. His words, though, shock me to my core. I never expected him to tell me he’d be more than okay if I’d have just killed his father. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that whatever Dre has experienced and learned in his time here has made him feel this way.
“Thank you for the save.” He says genuinely.
“You’re more than welcome, Dre. I just wish I’d have arrived a little sooner; then he’d never have had the chance to touch you.” I reply, voice laced with regret.
“You arrived just when I needed you most. I’ll be forever grateful for that, so don’t be feeling bad. It seems I’m at a disadvantage, though. You know who I am, but I haven’t got aclue who you are, why you’re here, or where you came from. I have to admit I’m more than a little curious.”
“I’m Rex Knightlye.” I say as I approach him, stretching my hand out for him to shake. With practiced and skilled movements, he shifts the baby into a one-armed hold and reaches out to shake my hand. The moment our skin touches, I feel like I’ve been shocked. Awareness on a whole new level travels through my body. From the wide-eyed look on his face, I’m not the only one experiencing it either. Neither of us brings attention to what we’re feeling, though. Which I’m more than a little thankful for. I need some answers from him first and foremost. That’s without even taking into account the role I played in what happened with Wreck. I can’t imagine Dre will want anything to do with me once he learns about my role in that entire shitshow. Not that I’d ever blame him for that. Wreck is his brother; I’m just some random guy who happened to find the facts on what really happened to him and came to his rescue.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Rex. I don’t suppose you mind telling me how you happened to be here just at the right moment?”
“Luck and determination mostly. From the moment you went missing, your brother searched high and low for you. He followed every lead he could find but kept coming up empty. Some shit went down recently, and I owed him. Anyway, he knew I had resources he could only ever dream of, so he asked me to see if I could find you. After a lot of research and surveillance, I finally caught sight of that piece of shit on the floor and knew this must be where they were holding you. So here I am.”
“I feel like there’s so much more to that story, but I’ll let it go for now. You can fill me in on everything after we’ve dealt with the plans that have been set in motion. We don’t have a lot of time, and though I’ve only just met you, I just know you’re morethan capable of dealing with what’s heading our way. I can just feel it.”
The confidence he has in me is staggering, to say the least. I don’t know what the hell to make of Dre King, but I’ll admit, if only to myself, it’s a heady feeling knowing he already has some level of trust and confidence in me. I’m going to hate losing this when he finds out what happened with Wreck and the role I played. Trust me to feel an instant connection and be attracted to a man I can never have. Just my luck.
“I promise to fill you in on everything later. Why don’t you tell me what I need to know about whatever you were just alluding to, and then we can get the hell out of this basement? I’m sure you’ve had enough of being trapped down here to last you a lifetime.”
“I’m not going to argue with you there. If I never step foot in another basement after this, it’ll be too fucking soon. But enough about that. We’ve got bigger issues. We have to figure out a plan to deal with the buyer who will be arriving for this little darling in my arms.”
“Did you just say buyer?” I ask, feeling my anger start to rise. If there’s one thing that really pisses me off, it’s human trafficking. Especially when the person being trafficked is a child.
“Yeah, unfortunately. These assholes took great pleasure in letting me know what was planned for this little one. I couldn’t just stand by and let it happen, though. That’s what I was arguing with Beau about when you came in. He was trying to take her from my care so she could be cleaned up and prepared for the asshole they sold her to.”
“Come with me. Let’s get upstairs. I need to let the others know what’s going on and make plans for how to end the threat this fucking buyer poses. Whoever they are, they’re in for a fucking shock of a lifetime when they arrive here.”
“I knew you’d be the man for the job. I could tell the moment I saw you. Come on, let’s get the shit hashed out. Maybe you could get some answers from Beau and Annmarie as to where this little darling came from while you’re at it.”
Chapter Ten
Dre
Rex Knightlye. The name definitely fits the man to a tee. I can’t help but be intrigued about what he meant about a situation that involved Wreck. I’ve missed over a year of my brother’s life being stuck in this fucking place, and I know Wreck doesn’t exactly live a life that is considered on the up and up. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a good fucking person and would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it, but he also has no issues with breaking the law if he needs to. Especially when injustice is involved. I can’t help but wonder what went down that led to this gorgeous, deadly mountain of a man owing my brother. Hmmm… so many questions.
