Page 51 of Loving Lex

I shook my head.

My dad.

“I don’t have a father anymore,” I said, my voice barely a whisper. “He’s dead.”

To me, anyway.

He was dead to me.

All I had in the world now was myself, my strength, and one man that I loved more than anything. One person that I prayed could feel my heart calling to him.

This girl next to me was right about one thing. Nicki might be trying to be humane, sparing us from the drug-induced delirium, but this might be a life better endured in a nearly unconscious state.

I had to believe that once Lex figured out what was going on, that he’d move heaven and earth to get to me. Ihadto believe this. Because if I didn’t hold on to that tiny shred of hope in this filth-ridden hellhole, I would lose my fucking mind.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Lex

Istared downat the nondescript house through the night vision binoculars that Kane had supplied, ignoring the sharp stab of rocks beneath my belly and arms. Lucky was eerily silent beside me, his eyes also trained on the scene below our rocky ledge, about fifty yards behind the hideaway we’d pinpointed, thanks to his team and Kane’s intel.

The crescent moon hung high above us, thankfully not too bright, even though about a million stars lit the velvety black sky. The night was quiet. Too quiet. Nothing to help cover us. Only the slight breeze and an occasional bird call filled the air way out here. No traffic noises. No constant chatter. No nothing. Just the sounds of nature and my own breathing and restless heartbeat.

Until Maverick’s staticky voice broke through over the comms in our ears. “Everyone in place? I’ve got eyes in the sky.” As he spoke, there was the slight whir of the drone he was remotely manning overhead as it flew over us, toward the house.

We gave the affirmative that we were in position while I kept my eyes on the drone as it made a pass over the grounds. Lucky’s team leader, Tito, had called in a favor to a friend at Nellis AFB for that fancy thing, giving Maverick not only eyes on us, but the ability to see heat signatures inside. I didn’t ask for details, they didn’t provide them, and I really didn’t give a shit.

“I’m counting eight warm bodies,” he said. “Seven appear armed.”

I frowned and dropped the binoculars, glancing toward Lucky. That made no sense. We knew from the photo there were at least ten women inside. They wouldn’t have guns. Were we too late? Had the women already been moved? Disappointment warred with rage deep in my chest, but Lucky waved me down with a firm but small hand gesture.

“We have movement,” he whispered. “It’s showtime.”

He was right.

It was time to get my head out of my ass and into the fucking game. Even if they had moved Shay to another location, we had come with a plan, and we would see it through and gather whatever intel we could. We’d find her. I refused to consider any other option.

As headlights came into view on the long, dusty road leading to the house, we began our slow descent down the ledge. Sliding down, careful not to be too loud, we stopped and ducked behind shrubbery when needed to be sure we hadn’t been heard.

Just as we inched our way onto the grounds, the oncoming vehicle approached the gate, its engine roaring as it gunned ferociously.

My heart began to pound with anticipation of the upcoming fight; my veins flooded with adrenaline. I took a deep breath. Another. Pulled Shay’s face into focus.

Jarod’s voice crackled over my headpiece just as the armored Humvee shot forward and slammed through the gate like it was made of butter, ripping it down.

Lucky and I used the noise as cover and bolted across the yard until we reached the house. In my peripheral vision, I spotted a dark figure all in black dart by, then it was gone. Fucking JD was like a ninja, moving out of the side brush to back up Jarod.

“Four tangos with assault rifles, out front,” Maverick alerted us.

The rapid staccato of gunfire exchange met my ears.

Lucky ignored it, pulling out some tools from his pack and picking the back door lock like a goddamn expert criminal. We’d agreed to keep the noise to a minimum since we had no idea what we were walking into, though I knew he wanted to blow some shit up really fucking badly.

He got the door open just as the gunfire was quieting down out front, and we slipped inside.

A kitchen.

Dark, except for a lone, murky light shining above a stove.

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