Page 58 of Alex

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Rain was beginningto fall as the morning moved into early afternoon. The clouds were heavy in the sky as Alex watched the drops hit the glass of the patio doors. They had planned all they could until the others from Fortis arrived, so he told everyone to get a few hours sleep. He wasn’t taking his own advice of course; he couldn’t rest knowing the woman he loved, the person who his entire world turned for, was in the clutches of a man known for death and the cruellest of torture.

He lifted the coffee to his lips and took a sip grimacing at the cold sludge before moving away from the window towards the kitchen. He passed the front door of the beautiful home and paused as he heard a vehicle pull up. Placing the mug down on a glass entrance table he took his gun from the waistband of his trousers and held it at his side as he approached the door and the window to the side.

Relief flooded him and for the first time since this began, he felt a little lighter. Lucy, Jace, Roz, and Kanan alighted from a seven-seater MPV, followed by Daniel from the front. The first four were couples, and both women were linked to Zenobi.

Roz was the leader of that fucking scary group of female assassins while Lucy had left Zenobi and now worked for Fortis with her brother Dane. The likeness between the siblings was unmistakable, as was the affection. Jace, Lucy’s fiancé, was ex-SAS and had worked with Dane which was how he and Lucy met. K and Roz had a much more complicated story, but he hadn’t heard the whole thing and wasn’t sure exactly what their history was. What wasn’t in any doubt was how much Kanan adored his abrasive wife.

He was the only man he knew brave enough to sleep next to the woman without fear of his balls being cut off. Dane and Daniel were best friends and both ex-SAS. Daniel had recently got engaged to Dane’s baby sister Megan, and they were expecting their first child together. He was also the team’s medic and Alex prayed to God he wouldn’t need him but knew that prayer was probably going to go unanswered.

Alex pulled open the door and smiled at the group who were walking towards him before stepping back inside to let them enter. He tucked his weapon away and held out a hand to Daniel. “Thanks for coming, Daniel.”

Daniel took his hand and shook it firmly. Daniel was tall, as were all the men in the Fortis group. At just shy of forty he was also in prime physical shape with the added benefit of experience on his side. With dark hair and brown eyes, he’d had his share of women but was now happily settled with the love of his life. They’d had a difficult time getting there but it was clear to see that his life was now pretty fucking perfect.

“Don’t mention it, anything we can do to help.” Daniel dumped his bag on the floor and looked around.

“Alex.” Lucy stepped forward and hugged him tight before pulling back and looking at him as she held his biceps so she could assess him.

“Thanks for coming, Luce.”

“We’ll get her back, Alex. Evelyn is strong and clever. She’ll keep herself as safe as can be until we get to her.”

“Thanks, Luce.” Alex turned then to shake Jace’s hand before saying hello to Kanan and Daniel.

Both men were quiet, but Daniel, the darker of the two was the thinker, the more level headed leader. Kanan was also ex-SIS and still had his ear to the ground. He felt Roz beside him and turned to the leader of Zenobi and the woman who had lied to Evelyn. Roz was tall, slender, toned, and stunning in a biker chick I-will-eat-your-heart-for-breakfast-if-you-fuck-with-me kind of way. Her almost black hair was short and shaved into her neck but longer on top. She had almond-shaped eyes and a tongue that could cut you as fast as the deadly knives she carried.

“Alex.”

“Roz.”

“I fucked up. I admit it, but I’ll fix it and anyone who tries to stop me will have their intestines dragged out through their teeth,” she vowed.

He could see the truth and the guilt in her face. It was as close as he would ever get to an apology, but he didn’t need one. He needed Evelyn back.

“Kitten.” Kanan slipped an arm around Roz’s belly and pulled her back to his chest as he bent his head to her neck. “Play nice.”

“I was fucking playing nice,” she hissed but with less heat.

Alex watched her face soften slightly as she listened to whatever Kanan was whispering into her neck.

“She’s just upset,” Kanan defended.

“Understood. Shall we get you settled and then I can bring you up to speed?”

“Sure.”

Alex could sense Daniel was watching him closely. He guessed Daniel was wondering how close to the edge he was. Alex sighed internally, not sure himself, and showed them into the now more crowded than ever office space.

“Show me where the kitchen is and I’ll grab some coffee for us all,” Lucy said. “Roz come help me.”

“Do I look like a fucking slave?” Roz raised a perfectly arched eyebrow.

“I would do anything for a caffeine hit.”

Roz spun and pinned Kanan with a look. “Anything? Even attend that fucking god-awful Easter play the girls are in at school with me?”

Alex tried not to laugh despite the situation.