Page 16
Lori sat on the hard floor, shivering despite the warm, muggy air in the darkened room.
She had no idea how long it’d been since Avery had been taken.
It seemed like days, but, in reality, it’d probably been only an hour or two.
In addition to her throbbing shoulder, Lori’s throat and right hand were killing her.
After the door had slammed shut, and she’d found herself alone, she’d pounded on the steel and shouted at her captors.
She’d demanded to be let go, begged for Avery to not be harmed, cursed the bastards who’d elicited the shrieks of pain from the older woman from somewhere in the building, and then prayed Avery was still alive after all had gone silent.
Lori had only stopped yelling and beating on the door when it’d swung open and the tall, bald man pointed a gun at her chest. His short sentence had contained venom, glossed with the absolute truth. “Shut up or die.”
She’d complied, partly from fear, partly from the wise advice her father had given her often while she’d been growing up.
“If you’re ever taken hostage, stay calm and bide your time until you can gain the advantage to escape.
Look around you; find a way to alert someone.
If you’re in the trunk of a vehicle, feel around for the release or kick out the brake light cover and wave your hand out the hole.
Find a weapon; anything can be one if you think about it.
If you have to, disable or kill the bastard.
Do it, then run. Don’t look back. Don’t worry about any consequences.
Then call me and let me know where the body is so I can bury it. ”
Lori had always thought that last line was just her father joking, but now she wasn’t so sure.
She knew who he was in the military—Bradley “Tank” Barton was Delta.
That meant something to anyone who’d ever heard of the elite team of soldiers.
Deltas would do whatever it took to complete their mission.
They were the Army’s badass, black-ops team.
The take-no-prisoners men who’d give their lives to save a teammate or an innocent.
And now, as an adult, she had no doubt her father knew where some skeletons were buried, probably far more than anyone would ever know.
Daddy and Cam, please find us. I love you both so much. Please give me a chance to tell you that in person.
A faint click had her picking up her head as light filled the room again.
She blinked several times until she could focus on the Asian man who’d furtively entered.
Her eyes narrowed when he held up a finger to his mouth in the universal gesture of “stay quiet.” He motioned for her to stand and walk toward him.
His face was filled with kindness, sympathy, and worry—definitely not what she’d seen on the other men’s faces earlier.
Lori struggled to her feet and warily closed the distance between them, keeping her left arm against her chest to ease the pain in her shoulder.
She was just about to ask him who he was, hoping he was here to rescue her and Avery, but he disappeared back out into the hallway.
The door opened a little wider, and she realized the man hadn’t been alone.
Lori’s eyes went wide as her heart pounded in her chest. Relief coursed through her, and she couldn’t help the word that escaped her louder than she’d meant it to be. “Cameron!”
Her lover and a third man, whom she didn’t recognize, had stepped inside the doorway.
Unlike the first man, these two were dressed from neck to toe in black with dark camo paint covering their faces, but it wasn’t enough to prevent her from knowing instantly who Cam was.
The large, black pistol in his hand was probably not the only weapon he had on him—not if her father had anything to do with the rescue, which she was sure he did.
The second camouflaged man held an assault rifle and kept his attention on the door and hallway, while Cameron eyed her up and down, as if trying to convince himself she was really there and okay.
He whispered, just loud enough for her to hear, “Sh, baby. Be very quiet. Are you hurt? Can you run? If not, I’ll carry you. ”
Stepping into his side, she hugged him tightly with her good arm, feeling safe for the first time in hours. She lowered her voice. “I’m banged up, but I can run. But we have to save Avery. I don’t know what they’ve been doing to her, but it isn’t good. She was screaming—”
“Don’t worry. Your dad and the others will save her. Right now, you’re my only concern—we’re gonna get you out of here. This is Kell; if he or I tell you to do something, you do it without hesitation. Got it?”
He didn’t have to tell her twice. “Yeah. Got it.”
Lifting her head, she met his gaze, and the emotion she saw in his eyes rocked her soul. He stepped back toward the door and held out his hand for her to take. “I love you, baby. No matter what happens, know that that’s a fact. Now, hold onto my belt and don’t let go unless I tell you to.”
She did as she was told, then whispered, “I love you too, Cam. I always will, and that’s a fact.”
Kell spoke for the first time. “If you’re all done with the declarations of endless love, can we get the hell out of here before the shit hits the fan?”