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“Okay,” she whispers. “Did it look like we went toward the house or away?”
I shrug, not one hundred percent certain. “Best I could tell, it wasn’t scenery I know. So, I’d guess away.”
Her teeth rake over her lip while she mulls that over. “Gage and Ty would be about thirty minutes behind based on where we were then. Plus, they’ll need to strategize. We’ve got at least an hour.” Her voice rises a bit, nearly to a conversational volume. “Tell me everything about you and Liam. We haven’t had proper girl talk because everything has been … well, you know.”
This is by far the most bizarre setting for this gossip session, but it serves as a decent distraction. We’ve discussed bits and pieces here and there, but haven’t really dug into all the details because of the guys, the baby, Natasha, and work—always something.
Filtering out anything relating to KORT or The Order due to listening ears, I fill her in about it all. Our kiss at the stables, him threatening Dustin Barclay, and our first earth-shattering night together. Even the restaurant finger-fucking, the absurd steamy spa sex when Liam claimed me like a warrior’s prize, and the call Liam heard between Wells and my father when he said he didn’t approve. I conclude with how my family is still distant and disappointed, like I’ve personally sent all their dreams up in flames.
“That’s all, so Liam.” Her fingers crawl up to her throat as her blue eyes scan me intently. “He’s in love with you.”
“I’m not sure he is,” I contend. “He’s definitely infatuated and sweet—in his own way. He says all that possessive, domineering stuff, calls me his, claims he’ll never let me go, but I don’t know if he’s really thinking forever or that he’s in love.”
Love would mean more than never letting go—at least to me. Marriage. Maybe kids. Dreams and family and a future. Does he want all that? He’s never struck me as the settling-down type. It’s probably too soon to make those plans, but for me, this decision changes everything.
“What if I give everything up with my family and he …” I can’t even finish that sentence. The thought is too grueling.
I didn’t think I’d get to fall in love, which was upsetting enough. But despite that old saying, losing it would be so much worse. I didn’t realize what I was missing before. And not only that, I would have no one. Nothing will ever be the same with my parents after this. Even my relationship with Ivy would be strained because I could never survive seeing Liam with someone else. And I’ve come to love the other guys. They feel like home. I don’t like the amount of power this relationship has over me. Him leaving me would be a final breaking point. Like he pledged—the goodbye I can’t bear.
“Before I answer that question,” she says, “answer one for me. Do you love him?”
A puffed breath falls from my lungs. I wish this were all simpler. I wish we weren’t discussing this to pass the time while being held captive. “I’ve never been in love before, which you know, but I … I think so.”
She reaches for my hand, squeezing it in that comforting way of hers. “You need to know because he’s already chosen you. Him wanting you forever isn’t something you need to worry about. And if …” Her eyes are so soft, swirling with what looks to be more of a plea. “That’s so incredibly big for him. I know you’re risking a lot with your family, but it’s worth it. He’ll make it worth it, Lettie—a life of shooting stars. But neither of you will get through—”
Whatever she was about to say is cut off by a boisterous conversation between the guards outside the door.
“What’s all this about? No one even knows who the fuck these bitches are or what Silas even wants with them.”
The gruff voice of Beef Jerky bellows, echoing off the warehouse walls, “I know.”
“Cough it up then, motherfucker.”
Beef Jerky chuckles. “Let’s just say that sweet-ass brunette is sitting on something worth millions. And it ain’t her pussy. Fuck, man, wielded the right way, maybe billions.”
What the hell do they think I have?
LIAM
“We’re twenty minutes out. We’ll meet you at the given coordinates,” Ty informs before clicking off the call.
Ivy’s dot finally stopped, so we have a firm location. We always have go bags in the car, although Gage and Ty will bring a slew of other weaponry needed.
Wells and I arrived about ten minutes ago. We parked a mile away. And suited up in our gear and vests, we trekked through the surrounding woods to get eyes on the warehouse the girls are being held in.
We were pleased to have one of our thermal imaging cameras and monitors with us, so we could get an exact count of what we’re up against. Unfortunately, even the loading doors are too thick for infrared scanning. We’ll cut the electricity through the power company before we head in with our night-vision goggles, which will have to do. They likely aren’t expecting us. We’d prefer to enter with a firm twenty on the girls, but that’s not what we’re looking at.
Several minutes pass by as we watch from our perch, shrouded in the evergreen trees, when a loading-bay door opens, granting us a straight-through scope of the east side of the building. Sometimes, things go our way.
The Skulls are notorious arms dealers. And, right now, they’re loading a truck with crates that are most likely illegal weapons.
I aim the infrared scanner, noting the only bodies showing up are beyond the boxes. “This whole side is covered with crates. Looks like twenty-one—no, twenty-two men.”
“Confirmed,” Wells says, studying the monitor with me. “They’re all moving freely.”
That little detail is important because that free movement among their precious exports means we aren’t scanning Ivy or Celeste. We have easy shots on fifteen men, but patience is key here. Hasty action could mean we lose the girls, so we’ll wait until we have control of all possible variables.
I creep around him with the thermal imaging camera. “Let me get a better angle and see if I can read the interior while they’re loading,”
