Page 57 of Delicious Prey

“Anything new?” Vadim asks, rushing into the room and looking at the monitor in front of me.

“No. They haven’t disabled her phone.”

“Fuck,” he mutters. “It’s going to be a trap.”

“I know.”

“I’m guessing you’re still going?”

“I am.”

He sighs and nods his head. “Okay, let’s see where they stop so I can figure out the best place to set up with my rifle to give you some backup.”

We wait in silence, each second feeling like a lifetime, and when I feel a soft nudge at my ankle, I look down and see Peanut looking up at me. I scoop him up without even thinking about it, petting him while he licks my hand. I don’t know if I’m comforting him or he’s comforting me. It feels like a mix, and I’ll gladly take it because I’m very much at the end of my rope. I know what these men are capable of. I’ve seen what they do to women, and the thought of one of them putting their hands on my sweet girl makes me want to kill all of them as slowly and painfully as possible.

As soon as the dot stops, we both lean forward. I quickly pull up the address on another screen and zoom in. It’s a warehouse right in the center of Enzo’s territory.

“Fuck,” Vadim mutters again.

“Yeah, fuck,” I say, because this just turned into an even bigger nightmare. His men are going to be all over the place. No way in hell we’ll be able to even sneak up on the building. No wonder they didn’t care if the phone was still on. Only an absolute lunatic would venture that far into the Faretti family’s domain. Lucky for me I’m more than a little unhinged after having my girl stolen. They’re going to regret touching her. Every last one of them.

I give Peanut another pet before setting him down. “Come on,” I tell Vadim. “We need more weapons.”

“Fuck yeah we do.”

He follows me into the garage where I unlock the door that leads to the small armory I’ve kept well stocked over the years. Vadim gives a low whistle. I’ve never let him in here before.

“Holy shit,” he sighs, running his hands over the guns lining one of the walls.

“Take whatever you need and hurry up. I don’t want her with them any longer than she has to be. I swear to god if they fucking touch her,” I say, and then stop because I can’t put words to the horror film running through my mind.

“They won’t. They just took her to get to you.” Vadim fills a duffle bag with guns and bullets, and I know he’s just telling me what I need to hear, but I force myself to believe it because the alternative will leave me in a rage that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to come out of.

Once we have enough weapons to defend a small country, we toss them into my car. I give a sharp whistle and wait for the four large dogs to come running over. It doesn’t take long. Opening the back door, I wait for them to get in. They barely fit, but they’ll manage for the short drive we have.

“You’re bringing the dogs?” Vadim asks, getting into the passenger side with his favorite rifle in hand.

“I am.” I look back at my boys, already envisioning the bloody muzzles they’re going to have when all is said and done. “You ready to kill some fuckers?” I ask them. They understand the Russian perfectly, and I’m not at all surprised when they each give a soft whine of excitement and Boris starts to drool.

“God, I’m so happy they see me as a friend,” Vadim says. When I race down the driveway, he adds, “For fuck’s sake, don’t get pulled over. No way in hell would we be able to explain this.”

I force myself to not drive too fast, but I don’t take it slow either. I need to get to her. I can’t stop thinking about how scared she must be. When we cross into Faretti’s side of the city, I slow down even more, and as soon as we hit the side streets, I cut my lights. Two streets from the warehouse, I stop the car so Vadim and the dogs can get out. On the drive here, he’d been studying the map, finding the best place to hide himself.

“Try not to get your ass killed,” he says before taking the earpiece I hand him and shutting the door.

I nod and tell the dogs, “Stay low, kill any threats.”

I’ve never known exactly what they can understand, but I swear they get the gist of just about everything I say. They can read my body language and tone, both of those mixed with the Russian commands I’ve trained them with means they’ve never let me down. I’ll be devastated if any of them get hurt, but I can’t do this without them.

As soon as they’re all gone, I start driving to the warehouse, bracing myself for whatever I might find. There are three cars parked out front, and the lights inside the building are on. They’re making no attempt to hide, which just backs up what I already knew. They left a trail because they wanted me to find her. Before I get out of the car, I slip a switchblade into my boot so it rests snuggly against my ankle. I’m loaded with weapons because I know they’re going to search me. My hope is that they’ll miss one, because one is all I’ll need.

“I’m going in,” I mutter, giving Vadim a heads-up.

I’m in position. I’ve got a clear view through one of the windows. Brace yourself, man. You are not going to like what you find.

“Are they hurting her?” My jaw aches from how hard I’m gritting my teeth, but I need to know. I need to prepare myself for what I’m going to find because I can’t let anything show on my face. Enzo can’t know how much this is killing me. It’ll only make things worse for Lydia.

They’re not actively touching her, he says, and I can tell he’s choosing his words very carefully.

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