Page 125 of No Regrets

“I have pulled everyone I can in on this. They’re digging into Saleem’s life right now. His financials, his business. We’re tracking every camera. Mira's collated a list of properties that he owns through the property management company. FBI and local PD are checking them out. We will find them. You guys need to be focused and ready.”

Ryan cursed and walked outside. Bracing himself against the hood of his Mustang, he tried to get his head straight. This was his brother and sister. His family. Hearing someone approach, he looked up to see Sam, just as a black Corvette and a blue F150 pickup screeched into the parking lot.

“Good. They're here,” Sam said as Liam, Dylan, Ethan and Lucas from Nyx walked towards them.

“Sam filled us in,” Liam said. “We’re here to help.”

Ryan nodded.

Sam said, “Boys, Raven’s inside. Give us a minute. Liam, stay.”

“So where are we at?” Liam asked.

“Dex can handle this, but with Kelly, he’ll be going out of his fucking mind. She’s not strong enough for this yet. It's too soon after her captivity. Fuck, Saleem could be hand delivering her back to Lazir.” Ryan pushed off his car, pacing in frustration.

Sam said, “You and I both know Dex will do whatever it takes to protect Kelly. He’ll work the problem, like he always does. It’s our job to work it from this end. We find them, and we go and do what we do best and get them out of there.”

Ryan stopped and turned, facing them. “Then let’s get working.”

Sam hesitated and Ryan saw the look that passed between him and Liam.

“No fucking way. Raven isn’t standing down on this. He’s our team leader.” Ryan shot a glance at Liam. “No offense, it's nothing personal.”

“None taken,” Liam assured him.

“Calm down, Ryan. Liam’s here and can help. Four extra bodies could be useful.”

“Ryan, whatever you need us to do, just say it,” Liam agreed.

“However...” Sam folded his arms across his chest. “If you lose your shit, or I think you’re not handling it. I will instruct Liam to take over and you will stand down. Understood?”

“Understood.”

“Then let’s go find this fucker.”

KELLY OPENED HER EYES slowly. Her head felt like she had been hit by a baseball bat. Looking up, she cried out. The sound of her cry muffled against the duct tape across her mouth. Dex was sitting opposite her. The right side of his face was bleeding from a cut above his eye. The skin was turning purple where he must have been hit more than once. She tried to speak, but it was no use, the duct tape was too tight.

Oh God, the truck, being hit, the vans. It was all coming back. Swallowing hard, she tried to fight down the bubbling wave of panic. Her hands were tied. She’d been captured. No! This wasn’t happening. Not again. Dex’s eyes were on her, deadly and calm. He was in op mode, ready to take on the world to get them out of here.

“Ahh, you’re awake, Lieutenant Kimber. So nice of you to join us.”

Kelly tore her eyes away from Dex and met the gaze of Amir Saleem, a smug smile on his face.

“It’s so nice to finally meet you. Imagine my surprise when I found out the woman in Commander Dawson’s life is none other than the woman that escaped my good friend Reyes Lazir.”

At the mention of his name, her stomach twisted. Focusing back on Dex, she tried to breathe, needing to calm the panic continuing to rise. His eyes held her gaze. As focused as he was, she saw the love there, felt the silent strength of it. She wasn’t alone. He was right there.

“Such a small world, isn’t it?” Saleem continued. “Your boyfriend and I were just getting acquainted.”

Even though it was pointless, Kelly struggled against the ropes binding her wrists. Dex shook his head ever so slightly, a warning for her to stop.

“I would stop moving if I were you. You have a little something under your chair attached to motion sensors. If you move too much the bomb will detonate and we wouldn’t want that happening too early.” Saleem smiled.

The pure malevolence in his tone sent terror through her veins. A bomb? She was sitting on a frigging bomb? Nausea rose in her throat. Flashbacks of her captivity came rushing back. The images were vivid, crowding her thoughts. The cattle prod, the beatings, the knives, the... She couldn’t do this. What if Lazir was on his way? What if Saleem planned to take her back to Daram?

“Now that you’re awake, the fun can really begin.” He reached down and pressed something on the front of her chair that she couldn’t see. When she glanced toward Dex, the look on his face told her it wasn’t good.

“Tick tock, tick tock. Commander Dawson. We have ninety minutes left together before she goes boom. But if you cooperate and I get what I want, maybe I’ll consider letting her go and just kill you.”

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