Page 132 of No Fear

“Fuck. Where the hell are Nyx?” She recognized Ryan’s voice. “OK, everyone. I need you all to gather round and listen carefully,” He was whispering.

Donnie helped her stand, and they moved to join the rest of the group. The door was closed. She could hear movement outside.

“We are here to get you home. Things might get a little messy. Do as we say, when we say it, and we will get you home safely. My teammate Tyler is a medic, and he is going to check you all over. Let him know if you are hurt or need help. When it’s time to move, we will need to move quickly. I apologize now for some of the things you might see, but our mission is to get you home, and that is what we intend to do.”

Charlie glanced around at the rest of the hostages, finding tentative hope. Then she took in the men. There were five of them. One was missing. Dex. She turned to ask Donnie where he was when another loud groan reached them.

“Oh my God. That’s Dex, isn’t it?” she whispered.

“Yeah. They took him to question him. Don’t worry, he can handle it.”

Charlie didn’t say anything. He was trying to reassure her but the tension on the rest of the team’s faces told her they were all concerned for their team leader.

***

THIS WAS SO NOT THE fucking plan. Donnie listened to the beating his team leader was getting. Reborn had way more soldiers than they’d anticipated. They had expected twenty, maybe thirty armed soldiers, but there were easily double that. Raven had busted out of their zip ties the moment the door to their makeshift prison had closed and they’d all had razor blades tucked in their waistbands. But as skilled as they were, they were severely outnumbered, and now they had fourteen hostages to protect.

Nyx would have tracked them here and would have seen the same thing. Liam would be in contact with the Farm and regrouping. Hopefully finding more fucking boots to put on the ground. But that would take time. Dex may not have that time. Raven may not have that time. There was nothing they could do but wait and be ready for when Nyx made their move.

“Donnie?”

Charlie’s voice was soft.

“Yeah?”

“How did they capture you?”

He smoothed the hair off her face. “They didn’t. We made a deal. Our team for the hostages. They reneged on the deal.”

“Oh my God. So, they’re going to kill us all!”

“No, babe. We anticipated this. The rest of our team are here. We just have to be patient a little bit longer.”

Her face was dirty, her hair damp from the heat. Her clothes were disheveled, but she was still the most beautiful woman in the world. Seeing her, even in this dim light, in this dirty prison was the best thing he’d seen in weeks. She was alive and he had every intention of making sure she stayed that way.

“I’m really glad you’re here.” Her voice was shaky. “I know we have a lot to talk about but—”

“Sshh. Not now. We can talk when we get home. I meant what I said. I’m not letting you walk away from me. We are going to work this out.” No fucking way he would let her out of his life again. If he had to quit the team and follow her around the world, he would. Whatever it took. Ignoring the rest of his team, the hostages, he cupped her face and kissed her. Her soft lips beneath his lit him up like a fucking Christmas tree. Jesus. Reluctantly, he pulled back.

“I’m scared, Donnie. What’s going to happen?”

“I know you’re scared. I know you don't trust me, but I swear we are getting you out of here safely.”

She nodded. “I know you will. I feel safe with you. I still can’t believe you came for us, and you can see.”

“I’ll always come for you. Plus, I couldn’t wait another minute to actually see the sexiest woman I know.” He studied her face, still taking in the fact he could see her. It had him a little choked up. The sound of engines turned him away.

“Baby,” he urged. “Remember what Ryan said. Follow instructions.”

“What? Are you leaving me?” The panic in her voice tore at him.

“I don’t want to, Charlie, but I have a job to do. Get you and all the other hostages to safety. You will be OK, I promise.”

“Please, don’t leave me.” His heart shredded at the plea in her voice.

“Charlie, I’m not leaving you. I promise I’ll see you real soon. But that’s my team leader in trouble, and I need to go get him. You understand that, right?” Of course, he wanted to go with her. Make sure she got out of here and on a plane in one piece. But the plan was Nyx would be taking charge of the hostages while Raven took care of Reborn. He had to follow his orders.

“Donnie, it’s time,” Ryan said as the roar of engines grew closer.