Page 66 of Their Stolen Obsession

Jesus. My eyes were playing tricks on me. I thought something blocked the glimmer of the moon from the window.

Wait.

There was darkness again. There wasn’t any mistaking what I saw because I rubbed the palms of my hands over my eyelids, and the light was gone. Something, no,someone,moved along with the moonlight outside.

I heard a whisper, extremely faint.

Suddenly, a loud boom came. A ringing pierced through my head, and I covered my ears. When I tried to open my eyes, they stung, and I squeezedthem shut, forcing them open until smoke burned my pupils. Heat blazed against my flesh and had singed the tiny hairs on my body. Confused as fuck, I rolled away, my adrenaline pumping, and my backside hit a wall.

Slowly, the loud, sharp sound faded, replaced by gunfire all around me. My blurry fucking vision came back to clarity, and I noticed that my cell wall had crumbled. Holy shit! An explosion blew a goddamn hole into the side of my cell!

The prison was under attack.

It was chaos outside, and I hurried to the bars. I gripped the metal, pushed against them with clenched teeth, and the strength of a man desperate for freedom. The broken prison gave way, and I shoved to get out of it. Headlamps shone from everywhere, bullets hit bodies, and I heard someone shout to get down.

I hit the dirt.

Another explosion from somewhere close by shook the earth, and there was a smoky haze. My teeth were gritty with dirt, and I coughed, struggling to breathe. I couldn’t open my eyes until the dusty haze settled, and there was a silence I hadn’t heard in a long time. There was utter peace.

Until I heard my name, and I peered up to see a man staring down at me. I uncovered my head andrecognized the scabbed hand that reached down to me. It was Zane.

I took Zane’s hand. “How the fuck did you get out?”

“Same as you, soldier,” Zane answered with a slight nod of his head. “A goddamn hole blown right through the side of my prison away from home.”

“I’ll be damned.” I blew out a low whistle and inspected the damage. “We’re some lucky sons of bitches.”

“When you damn ladies are done chatting…” Saint added with his forearms hanging out of his cell. “Mind helping me out?”

“Sure. We’ll find the fucking key in the rubble, and you’ll be on your way.” I held my arms up. “Have you seen this place?”

“No, I’m blind…” Saint rolled his eyes. “Of course I saw everything, but who the fuck rescued us?”

“Me,” a husky voice answered, and he patted Zane on the shoulder. “I’ve been searching all over for this guy.”

Zane repeated the gesture. “Right back at ya, brother.”

“Hold the fuck up…” I held up my hands. “This guy is your brother?”

“Yep,” Zane answered with a pop of theP. “This is my little brother Zeno.”

Zeno was a soldier too, about an inch taller than me, and his black hair fell into his hazelnut-colored eyes from under the steel helmet. He held his weapon over his shoulder, and his eyes were like daggers as he surveyed the damage he had helped create. A fucking balls-to-the-walls rescue mission made for Adler.

“So, you came to rescue your brother and stumbled on us, too?” I asked.

“A pure fucking coincidence.” Zeno chewed on gum.

I whistled.

“Holy shit,” Saint whispered in disbelief.

I couldn’t fucking believe the luck. The rescue was for Zane, and if no one had showed up, we’d be screwed. Six feet under in less than a week, judging by the pain I was in, which I had forgotten about with the adrenaline rush.

The throbbing aches wreaked havoc on me, and I stumbled on my feet. Dizziness robbed my vision as everything grew blurry, and I fell to my knees. I struggled to speak, and I hated appearing goddamn weak, but my body was done. My struggle for survival ended.

“Medic! I need medical care over here!” Zeno exclaimed.

I wasn’t sure if I was dying or in shock, and my mind fought to hold on. I struggled to form a thought,to find a memory to hold on to. Everything went blank as people surrounded me, and I faded off into a dark place. A never-ending doom I’d awake from with a loud bang.