Henry takes a breath before continuing. “With it being dark and all, I’m afraid my headlights would give us all away by coming up the driveway. Best bet is to drop you all off somewhere along the main road and make the trek through the woods.”
“That’s fine. Jaxon and Kayden can head toward the house from the west, and James and I will take the east,” Emilia says.
“That sounds like a plan,” I say with a sigh, searching through my duffel bag. “I have my sniper rifle in here, I can probably make my way around the house and get situated onthat cliff. If I can’t get a clear shot, at least I can radio with their positions and then we can make our move.”
I pull out headsets for each of us so we can be in constant communication. I hand Emilia my bulletproof vest, but she shakes her head.
“I don’t need that,” she says with a roll of her eyes. “You wear it.”
“I’m not wearing the vest when the rest of you have nothing. Had I known you all were coming I would have brought enough for us all, but I didn’t, so here we are. Wear the damn thing.”
“How about Jaxon wears it, then? We can’t leave Melody as a single mother, now can we?” Emilia smirks.
“Wait, what?” I ask, my gaze swinging between Emilia and Jaxon.
“Oops, did you not tell him yet?” she asks with fake innocence.
“What the fuck, Jax? Your wife is fucking pregnant and you decide to go with us and risk your fucking neck?” I seethe. “What the hell were you thinking?”
There’s no way in hell I’m leaving my sister-in-law to raise my niece or nephew alone. Had I known any of this, I would have kicked him off the jet to begin with. Fucking bastard.
“You were there for me when I needed your help finding and saving Melody. It’s the least I can do,” he says as he turns to look out the window.
“I didn’t have a pregnant wife waiting for me at home, you ass,” I spit out at him, my anger spilling over until I’m shaking.
“It’s not like there’s any going back now, Kayden. Suck it up,” he replies, yanking the vest from my grip and thrusting it in Emilia’s face. “Put it on, Em. Otherwise Kayden isn’t going to shut up.”
Emilia takes the vest with a roll of her eyes, but hands it to James. “You have a history of being shot, my love. Best that you wear it, and don’t argue with me.”
I clench and unclench my fists repeatedly, willing my mind to focus back on the task at hand.
Two minutes later, Henry pulls over alongside the road. “Alright, this is where I leave you. I’ll wait here for you guys to get back.”
“Negative. I need you back at the airport. Two of my men should be landing soon. I need you to pick them up and drop them off here, too.”
“You got it,” he replies, putting the SUV back into drive.
We file out of the vehicle and I sling my duffel bag over my shoulder. Everyone has numerous knives, handguns, and ammunition to reload several times. Emilia is the only one other than me with a rifle. I only had one extra and I know she’s a good shot. I split up the first aid kit between myself and Emilia in case any of us need it, but hopefully not.
“Let’s move out.”
Lucky for us, the full moon is bright in the sky, so we at least have a little light shining through the trees so we aren’t completely in the dark.
Twenty-Six
Dani
As the door breaks down, I cry out for Kayden but I know it’s useless. He’ll never get to me in time. I turn, dropping the phone as I make a mad dash for the backdoor. I don’t even make it halfway across the living room before a hand grabs my arm in a punishing grip and yanks me backwards. I land on my side, a jarring pain shooting up my arm at the impact, making my fingers tingle painfully.
In my haste to get away, I don’t see the kick coming. The breath is knocked from my lungs as the kick lands on my ribs, and I brace myself against the hardwood floor, trying desperately to breathe in any air, but the pain is excruciating. Moments pass—moments that feel like forever—before I can finally take a deep breath again, just as a hand grips the hair at my scalp and yanks my head up.
“Let me go!” I scream, kicking my legs out as my hands reach up to scratch at their arm. The grip in my hair suddenly disappears, and I just barely catch myself before my head slams into the floor. I look over with sick satisfaction as I see the blood running down his arm. I slowly stand to my feet, faking an air of confidence despite the shaking of my legs.
“The fucking bitch scratched me!” the man yells, looking over at the man that rang the doorbell. This must be Andrei. He’s tall with black hair that’s graying on the sides, and cold, soulless blue eyes. If I had to guess, he’s probably in his fifties. He’s dressed in a charcoal-grey suit that’s perfectly tailored to his frame. In all honesty, he looks exactly like I’d picture a Russian crime lord to be. He looks over at me—devouring me—with an air of possessiveness that makes my skin crawl. I shrink back as his gaze roves over my body, a wave of nausea hitting me thinking about his intentions.
“Yes, well… she is a feisty one, I’ll give her that,” he says with a smirk as he leans against the kitchen counter. “I will so love breaking her.”
He rubs his chin as he continues to eye-fuck me, before turning to the man that kicked me. “Marco, tie thesukaup and let’s get out of here. Her first lesson is going to be how to take a proper cock in her whore mouth.”
