Page 94 of While He Breathes

I’ve always considered myself a patient man, but I’m feeling the exact opposite right now.

Lucas isn’t here, which adds a layer of difficulty to the plan.

We were hoping that he would come out with Ember, and we’d be able to get her back at the same time we kill that motherfucker, but no such luck.

My phone buzzes across the dash, and I quickly answer Max’s call.

“What have you got?”

“The other girl, I think she might be Elsie Davies. She worked at the club for a very short time before going missing. Like, wiped off the face of the earth, missing.”

“Her family reported it?”

“No, that’s the suspicious part. Lucas was the one who reported it to the police.”

I drop my head back against the headrest and press my eyes closed. “Fuck.”

“Yeah. She has a little sister who went into foster care when she disappeared because she was the kid’s only family.He preyed on someone that no one would look for, that people would think the worst of.”

I force a calming breath into my lungs. “The sister, is she okay in foster care?” I don’t want to ask the question, but I need to know how much additional time to add to Lucas’s torture for this new set of sins.

“She’s okay. She’s seven, and she was placed with a reputable family that has never been accused of anything untoward.”

“Well, that’s something, at least.”

“We’ll get her out as well.”

“I know,” I reply. “I just didn’t think he could stoop any lower.”

“I don’t know. Six feet under seems low enough for him.”

I chuckle, but I’ve never felt more tightly wound than I do right now. “Any word from Darius?”

“He has eyes on the girls. Ember gave the other girl something when Cain went to get her water. He thinks it might have been a weapon of some kind, but she was very careful not to show it when she handed it over. They’ve just been taken back into the rooms, and Cain has gone with them.”

I press my eyes closed, forcing back the need to rush in and save my girl. We need to see the plan through the way we set it, otherwise we could get one or both of them hurt. “What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking I’m fucking glad I’m not there. I’ve never killed a man, but I’m happy to start with Cain.”

“He’d be a good place to start, for sure.”

“But I think our girl is smart. She knows we’re here for her, and she’s going to do whatever it takes to come back to us.”

“She thinks I’m dead,” I point out.

“And she knows you’d want her to fight like hell. She won’t let you down.”

I choke back the onslaught of emotion that tries to crawl up my throat. “We’re bringing her home.”

“I know.”

CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX

EMBER

“Ineed you both to change into these gowns.” The doctor gestures toward the flimsy paper folded on the exam table. “I’ll give you a minute.”

I watch as he steps out of the room, expecting Cain to go with him, but he remains by the door, his eyes locked on us.