“How honorable of you. You sell me and save her. Thank you for that.” I turn my body toward Blake and shift to the edge of the couch before standing up. “I’m going upstairs, baby.”
He nods and pulls me forward, pressing his lips against mine. For a split second, I put my hand on the side of his face and forget there is anyone else in the room. My anger is bubbling in my chest and I need to get away from these women before I lose my temper. That won’t be good for anyone, especially them.
“I tried to find you as soon as I left him,” Delia all but shouts across the room. “I kept looking. For 10 years, I looked. Even though you’d have been an adult by then and everyone I went to for help told me that you probably weren’t even alive, I kept looking.”
My eyes burn with tears, and I just want her to shut up. I stop with my hand on the railing and turn my head just enough that my voice carries over my shoulder. “Jax rescued me when I was 17. You would’ve been too late. You’re too late now.”
“Lily, please.”
I shake my head and walk up the stairs, unable to stop the tears from falling down my face.
Christ . . . I’m sick of being so damn emotional all the time.
33
~Blake~
Wearing a bulletproof vest is a new experience. Jax took Lily to an abandoned warehouse last night, and we arrived about ten minutes ago. Sammi wasn’t clear on how many people are inside, but none of that matters. He’s had Lily for almost 24 hours, and I want my fiancée back. The element of surprise is on our side. Jax doesn’t know we’re here, and Lily has no idea we’re coming for her.
Dresden, Vlad, and Caleb are on one side of the door, Sammi, Hyde and I are on the other. Without making a sound, Dresden slides his rifle around to rest on his back, the strap straining across his own vest. He picks the lock on the outer door, opens it and steps back, swinging his gun back into his hands. We file in, alternating, and move through the darkened hallway.
It smells like rust, mold, and stale air. A few minutes into the hallway, a blood-curdling scream echoes down the corridor and my blood runs cold. We move faster as more screams reach our ears. There’s silence every few seconds, and my heart is beating hard enough to power three bodies.
After what seems like an eternity, we come to a wall of grime-covered windows that give a broken view of a circular room. Crouching down, we all peep in to figure out what we’re up against.
My jaw clenches as I take in Lily, hanging by her wrists from a hook. There’s a black blindfold over her eyes and she’s wearing panties and a ripped tank top. She’s covered in fresh and dried blood and more bruises than she had last time.
“Motherfucker,” I say in a hiss, moving toward the doorway. Jax can do a lot of damage in a very short amount of time.
“Mason,” Dresden snaps as he grabs the front of my vest and pulls me down toward him. A zapping sound makes us all freeze, followed by more of Lily’s screams. Tears pool in my eyes and rage burns in my chest. Dresden signals for everyone to come close. “Jax is closest to Lily. Take out the five guards first. Interpol wants Jax arrested if possible.”
“Bullshit,” Vlad growls.
Dresden winks at him, which makes Vlad smile. Those two can be really scary sometimes.
Rhett moves around all of us to the front of the line. He’s the one team member I don’t know well enough but wish I did. “On my lead,” he says turning toward the door and taking the safety off his rifle.
I count in my head and as soon as I hit three, Rhett stands and runs into the room, all of us following suit. He shoots two of the guards before anyone else can get a shot off. Sammi takes out a third with a bullet to the head, and Vlad takes out the last two with chest shots.
“Jax. Don’t move or we will shoot,” Dresden bellows as we form a semicircle on the outside of the room, all guns trained on him.
He has some kind of metal tongs with a sponge attached to them. At the other end are wi
res that lead back to a box sitting on a makeshift stand. Dear god . . . he’s electrocuting my fiancée.
“You fucking piece—”
“Ah, ah, ah, Mr. Mason. Any nasty words from you and I might just have to press this to her temple. Electrical current this big would certainly fry a few brains cells.”
“Bl . . . Bla . . .” Lily whimpers, blood dripping from her mouth.
Dresden takes a step forward while staring through the scope of his rifle. “Jax, last warning. Drop the device and step away from Lily, hands in the air.”
“How about you put that down and fight like a real man,” I say, lowering my gun to the floor next to my feet before pulling at the Velcro holding my vest on.
Jax tilts his head to the side, the tongs lowering as well. “You want to fight, Mason? You sure that’s wise?”
“Are you?”