The door flies open, and Vlad jumps forward. Lily stands in the doorway and my heart sinks. Her eyes are red, tears running down her face and blood covering her knuckles.
“You motherfucker,” she hisses, shoving Caleb hard in the chest.
He stumbles backward, holding his hands up as if dealing with a caged animal. “Lily, you had to know.”
“No. You’re wrong,” she snarls. “He saved me. He wouldn’t do that to me.”
Her whole body shakes like it did when I first met her. Her face etched in pain and devastation mixed with malice almost equal to the other night. Dresden slowly moves behind her, his eyes wary.
“Lily, calm down,” he says with a softness that is very un-Dresden.
Lily, ignores him, her eyes falling on Sammi. She stomps to her, stopping nose to nose, causing Sammi to visibly shrink.
“I don’t give a fuck how you do it. Find Jax. I want a location and I want it within the next 72 hours.”
Sammi nods without saying a word. As Lily takes a step back, Sammi turns and jogs to the tech office, Caleb hot on her heels. I take a step toward Lily as she rounds to face me. Her eyes meet mine, her chest heaving with each breath.
“Baby?”
I hardly have time to catch her as she crumples, soul-shattering sobs tearing from her throat. We sink to the floor and I gather her into my arms, cradling her head to my chest. She grips my shirt in her hands as if her life depends on it. Every fiber of my being wants to take away her pain. If anyone in life deserves a break, it’s her.
“I got you, baby. I got you.”
Dresden sinks to the floor next to us and gently rubs her back. She’s never cried like this. Her tears and sobs don’t stop. Even after ten minutes, they haven’t lessened. Sorina kneels next to me, followed by Shannon. Both of them rest their hands on Lily. She shakes so hard it’s difficult to keep her on my lap. Whatever is in that file has shattered my beautiful, loving girlfriend, and part of me breaks with her.
Deep down my hatred for Jax rages. The burn of it threatening to consume me. He may have taken Lily from the Taurus, but what he did to her after that was no better. I’ve never been an overly violent person, but God help me, if I ever see Jax again, I’ll make sure he pays for every second, every moment of her life he stole.
My arms tighten around her as she pushes her face into my chest and screams. Tears well up in my eyes at the heart-wrenching pain in that sound. Shannon leans forward and snuggles herself against Lily’s back, while Sorina leans down to hug her mother’s legs. Dresden keeps his hand on her back, and Lily just keeps screaming.
“Let it out, baby,” I whisper kissing the top of her head. “Just let go.”
This is the best thing for her. A woman, who in all her life has never felt or experienced love, in her time of need, is surrounded by it. Even if it kills me, I’m going to make damn sure she never feels unloved, unwanted, or uncherished again in her life.
23
~Lily~
Sammi’s spent the last week trying to find Jax, and I’ve spent it trying to calm down. The lockdown is lifted because everyone will lose their mind if they’re confined inside any longer, plus, nothing else has happened . . . and I refuse to discuss what’s in the file. I want to hear the truth from Jax’s mouth. No one else’s. Sitting behind my desk, which now has pieces missing from the edges after I overturned the damn thing, the fax machine beeps.
I sigh, standing to grab the paper. Only one person would be sending me a fax. The thought of a mission right now is not a welcome one. Scanning the details, my heart stops.
Target goes by the name Naja . . . No . . .
Everyone but Sammi and I are outside, trying to enjoy the sunshine. Sorina and Shannon have spent the last week filling our ears with baby talk. She’s two and a half months and her excitement for this baby builds every day. Dresden grows more anxious each day and as I ru
sh to Sammi’s office, what I need to do for this mission becomes clear.
She’s deep in thought, her eyebrows pulled together as her eyes scan the three monitors in front of her. Part of me still wants to beat the shit out of her for lying to me, but the other half of me understands. Sorina isn’t my daughter biologically, but there’s no doubt in my mind, I’d do anything to keep her safe. The thought of what Sammi’s dealing with kills me. Something else I need to fix and soon.
“Sammi,” I say, shutting and locking the door behind me.
Her head snaps up and her eyes widen. “Hi, Lily. I’m still working on finding him. He’s like a damn ghost though.”
“I know. This isn’t about Jax.”
“Oh,” she says pushing her chair away from the desk. “What’s it about then?”
Taking a deep breath, I sink into the chair next to her desk, willing myself to stay calm. “Do you remember when I left to get Shannon? I made you promise not to tell anyone my plans?”