Page 54 of Loving Lex

I digested that as we descended further into darkness and realized why Maverick hadn’t detected any other heat signatures. This basement was carved neatly into the rock wall of the canyon itself, providing the perfect cover.

We finally came to a thick steel door and Nicki stopped. “Through there. I don’t have the key. I’m not allowed down here alone.”

There was a giant lock that appeared impossible to get through, but Lucky stepped forward and I’d swear he looked almost giddy. He slid off his pack and pulled out some fancy ass explosives supplied by Gideon Kane.

“How much room is on the other side of this door?” he asked.

“There’s maybe eight feet or so of hallway before it opens up,” she said.

He nodded. “Better step back with them, ma’am,” he said as he lined the door and lock. He joined us a minute later with a shit-eating grin. “Fire in the hole, boys and girls.”

The explosion rocked the small hallway, sending dust and debris flying through the air as the door was blown off its hinges.

“Stay here, stay low,” I instructed Nicki as we wasted no time rushing forward into the room, weapons raised.

Jarod and Lucky moved right, JD and I moved left.

The dust settled quickly, giving us a clear view of the dirty, crowded room. Filthy mattresses were lined up along both walls, women curled into fetal positions on most of them, or sitting up, either frozen in terror or staring at us with blank, glazed-over eyes that had seen too much. Felt too much. And the smell. God, the stench. Body odor and urine and vomit.

I coughed and held back my gag reflex, my eyes scanning each mattress for her face.

“Shay!” I called out.

Nobody moved.

Then my eyes zeroed back in on the one empty bed. Where the hell was she?

From across the room, Lucky waved to get my attention, signaling to an upturned mattress, flipped up on its end in the far corner. The only viable hiding spot in the entire room. The only one left in the whole house since we’d cleared the place. I did the math again. That left one tango with a weapon... and my Shay. My heart began to pound so hard I felt it in my throat and temples.

I took a steadying breath and nodded once as Lucky inched toward the mattress, his rifle raised. JD and Jarod also took aim.

All of them fully aware that if someone had Shay behind there, it was my shot.

My. Fucking. Shot.

Lucky took hold of the top of the mattress, and I took hold of my heart rate. I steadied my finger on the trigger, attempting to prepare myself for anything. It was now or never.

Breathe in.

Out.

The mattress fell almost as if in slow motion.

And there she was, her big green eyes staring back at me, full of tears, his giant hand clamped over her mouth as he held her in front of him like a human shield, pistol to her temple.

“Viktor, you son of a bitch!” Nicki screeched from behind us. “Let her go!”

His beady eyes slid her way momentarily.

It was all the window I needed. I didn’t allow myself to overthink it as I squeezed the trigger. His head snapped back as blood sprayed across the wall behind him.

It took a moment for his body to go limp, his arm falling from around her.

It took another moment for her to realize what had happened, her eyes going even wider. She stumbled forward a few steps, collapsing to the ground as she tried to run toward me. “Lex!”

I dropped my rifle and rushed forward, collecting her into my arms, wiping the hair from her face. “I’ve got you, I’ve got you,” I swore.

She was trembling in my hold as she clung to me. “You came... Oh, my God.”

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