Chapter 13

Chapter

Thirteen

April 18 th

2:14 P.M.

Don't come down, wisp.

Please don't come down .

Even as Axe sent the silent prayer into the universe, he knew it was already a lost cause.

Of course, his girl was going to come down.

There was no way on Earth Beth was going to stay hiding in a tree while Tomas Butcher and his men killed her friends. Tomas wouldn't even have to get to the part of his threat about torturing Axe before Beth would be shimmying down that tree.

Damn his wife and her big heart.

How had life not taught her that people were rotten, evil, undeserving of her love?

It didn't matter that his team weren't any of those things, he didn't want her putting her life in danger. Not that he wanted any of his friends to die, he loved these men like brothers, but they had all signed up for this life, knowing what they were doing, what they were risking. Beth was a completely innocent victim and didn't deserve any of what had happened to her.

Lined up on their knees with their hands behind their head, weapons pointed at them, they were about ten yards away from the tree he knew Beth was in. They had managed to take out about a dozen men before they were outnumbered, but Tomas still had about two dozen with him.

From the number of guards and the fact that Tomas himself, Baranov's right-hand man, were all there it was obvious that the facility Beth had been held at was still operational. So why hadn't they managed to locate it? And why hadn't Baranov made a move before now? He had to know where Bravo Team's compound was, and he clearly had the manpower to run a successful raid. So why hadn't he?

What vital piece of the puzzle were they missing?

A mere ten seconds after being given an ultimatum, Beth's terrified voice called out. "Don't shoot anyone. I'm coming, but it's going to take me longer than a minute to climb down from this tree."

Victory bloomed on Tomas' face as he immediately pinpointed the tree Beth's voice had come from and stalked over to it, four of his men following behind him. "You try anything stupid, and I'll kill one of them," Tomas warned.

"What stupid thing am I going to try?" Beth huffed. It was clear she was afraid from her tone, but there was strength there, too. She was a survivor, and she had learned at a young age how to not let her fear control her.

Hold onto that strength for me, wisp.

I promise you it's not over.

We'll get you home.

We all have too much to live for to let it end like this.

Part of him wished they'd given Beth a gun so she could take down some of these monsters, but the more sensible part knew she couldn't take them all out, and in the resulting shootout, she would more than likely wind up getting shot.

Before her feet even touched the ground, Tomas gestured to a couple of his men who reached up and grabbed her roughly. A growl rumbled through Axe's chest without him even realizing it at the sight of the men manhandling his wife.

As soon as he figured out a plan to get them all out of this alive, he was going to take great pleasure in killing those men slowly and painfully.

Beth was dragged over to where the rest of them were standing, and Axe could feel the anger raging from the rest of his team. They all loved Beth, and seeing anyone hurt her was unacceptable.

"You should have left it alone," Tomas said as he stood in front of them. Something in his voice hinted there was more going on here than they were all aware of, and Axe believed it.

There were too many questions without answers, too many things that didn't make sense, and there was something they were missing, and he wanted to know what it was. The lives of his wife, his team, and his teams' families were all in danger so long as Baranov was out there.

It was time to end this.

"We're all going to walk together down to the building I'm guessing you were out here to find. Since you've gotten closer than you should have, we'll have to transport you to another facility," Tomas said, although it seemed he was speaking more to himself than to them. "Since I suspect threatening your own safety isn't as likely to garner the cooperation I want, I'll just remind you that if you try anything, our sweet Beth here will be the one to suffer."

To highlight his point, he tangled his fingers in Beth's hair and yanked hard enough to make her wince, although she clamped her lips together and didn't utter a sound.

Men moved behind him and the others, grabbing their hands and yanking them down, tying their wrists together. Then he was hauled to his feet and nudged with the barrel of a weapon.

For the next twenty minutes or so they were marched through the woods. Tomas was up the front, his hand still in Beth's hair, dragging her along with him, moving faster than her much shorter legs could move.

As he watched, his anger burned brighter. Tomas was a dead man. He was hurting Beth just to make a point, to remind them all that he was the one with the power. Only Axe didn't believe that. For now, yes, Tomas had the numbers advantage, but that was it. The ropes around his wrists had been tied tight enough, but he could get out of them in minutes at the most, which meant these men weren't as trained as he and his team.

All they needed was for some of the men to leave and then they could make their move.

It took Axe a moment to realize what he was seeing when they were all stopped. They were in a small clearing, but there didn't appear to be anything there other than a few vans parked near the end of what was barely a road, more a vague track through the trees. Over by one end of the clearing was what looked like a rock formation, but as Axe looked closer, he realized it was actually disguising a door.

No wonder when they had run searches of the area, sending out drones and analyzing satellite images, they hadn't been able to find the location of where Beth had been kept. They hadn't been looking for an underground facility, one that was likely purpose-built to be undetectable.

"Put them in a van and take them to facility three," Tomas ordered his men. "I'll be there later tonight, and we'll decide what to do with them."

Perfect.

There was no way more than a handful of men could accompany them in a van. That was all the edge his team would need. Now they knew about this place, as soon as they were free, they would bring down the entire might of Prey on Baranov and Butcher. Then finally … finally … this whole nightmare would be over.

All seven of them were shoved inside the back of a van, and two well-armed guards climbed in with them.

Amateurs.

If Butcher thought two guards were enough to keep six highly trained, highly honed killing machines under control then he was an idiot.

As soon as the van doors were closed, he exchanged glances with his team. Since they had been together for so many years, they didn't need to communicate with words. All it took was a look to know they were all on the same page. There were no seats in there, and nothing to hold onto. The two guards were standing by the door, so Axe nudged Beth into the back corner and braced their bodies as the van started driving.

"You okay, wisp?" he whispered, his lips on her ear so he could speak without being overheard.

Beth gave a jerky nod and leaned her body closer to his.

"Hold on just a bit longer for me," he urged, knowing Beth could do it. "Need you to untie my hands." Although he could do it himself, it would be less obtrusive to have Beth do it, and they hadn't bothered to tie her up. Stupid of them, they must have forgotten already that she had killed to survive the last time they kidnapped her.

Angling his body so they wouldn't be seen, he threw a glare at the guards, hoping they would think he was just angry that they had put their hands on his wife. Beth's nimble fingers worked quickly, and moments later he was free.

As soon as he was, Axel moved carefully, bringing his arms around in front of him and working on untying Trick. The dim light meant it wouldn't be easy for the guards to see what they were doing, and it didn't look like they were paying much attention anyway. They thought they had the upper hand and that everything was going to go smoothly.

They didn't know that now three of their seven prisoners were free, and in a moment all seven of them would be.

Then they'd be making their move.

April 18 th

3:22 P.M.

The anticipation was killing her.

Beth didn't know exactly what Axel and the guys had planned, but she knew it was something. Because she didn't speak their private silent code, she had no idea what the exchanged looks meant, but she knew these men well enough to know that they were going to make a move as soon as they believed the time was right.

It wasn't that she didn't trust them because she absolutely did, it was just the waiting was keeping her on edge, and she was already completely strung out.

Hearing someone threaten to kill her friends, to torture her husband … there were no words to describe that.

All she wanted to do was simultaneously grab Axel and hold on to him, never letting him go, and get away as far and as fast as she could from all six of these men because they were in danger now because of her.

Because they loved her.

As wonderful as it was to have people who loved her, it was weird, too. Growing up, her parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and siblings hadn't cared about her at all, but there had been a couple of other girl cousins who had been treated the same way she had. Beth had tried her best to shield them in whatever way she could, and she knew that fear and trauma had bonded them together.

But it wasn't real love.

Not like this.

Not like what Axel had showered upon her from the moment he saved her life.

Not like what these men had shown her over the last six years.

They had taught her what love was, they had made her feel special like she belonged. They hadn't done it because they had to, they'd just done it because they wanted to, because they chose to.

Because they loved her.

And in return, she loved them with everything she had to give.

Only right now, her love was hurting them not helping them, and she hated it.

If it wasn't for the fact that Axel suddenly shoved her backward, pressing her body between his and the side of the van, she wouldn't have even known it was coming.

One moment, the men were standing in the back of the van, their arms behind their backs even though she knew they had all untied one another and no one's wrists were currently bound with rope, the next, they were moving so fast they were nothing more than a blur.

They pounced with every ounce of their skill and training on display .

They disarmed both guards before the men even knew what was happening. They snapped the neck of one of the guards, letting his body drop onto the floor, the other was yanked up against Trick's chest, his arm across the man's throat.

Whoa .

Beth had never seen them in action like that before.

When they'd rescued her, Axel had protected her from most of the violence, and by the time they found her, they'd killed almost all the men who had been at the house. Tank and Rock might have trained her in shooting and self-defense, and she had seen them run training drills plenty of times before.

But this was different.

This was real .

Their lives were truly on the line, and they were prepared to do whatever it took to keep themselves alive.

"Tell your pals in the front there to pull over," Trick ordered.

Instead of answering, the man attempted to fight his way out of Trick's hold.

From the way the man's eyes suddenly bulged and he clawed at Trick's arm, Beth could guess that her friend was currently cutting off his air supply.

"I've got a ring sitting in the drawer of my nightstand, you think I'm going to let you kill me before I get a chance to ask my girl to marry me?" Trick snarled in a voice so cold, deadly, and ruthless that Beth shuddered.

She wasn't stupid, and she wasn't new to danger, she knew the stakes here, knew one wrong move, one careless move, would get them all killed. But she'd never heard sweet, easy-going, lighthearted Trick speak in that tone before. He was always the goofy one, doing his magic tricks, breaking the tension, and keeping things light.

Not now.

Now he looked every bit the lethal warrior he was.

Axel's fingers found hers and squeezed reassuringly and she leaned into him, so very grateful for his presence even as she wished he were a million miles away from any danger .

"What's the code word?" Panther asked as he reached out and grabbed the radio from the living guard's belt.

Trick must have eased up a little on the pressure on the man's neck because his eyes no longer bulged, but his expression was sullen, and he didn't answer Panther's question.

"Don't have one, huh?" Panther mocked with what she would describe as a more menacing snarl than an actual smile. "Need help back here, pull over," he spoke in a low voice into the radio. With the way he'd spoken, it would be hard for the driver to identify whether it was actually one of his colleagues or a prisoner.

Looking at Axel, when her husband nodded his head, Trick snapped the guard's neck and let the body drop to the floor at his feet. With everyone free, both guards dead, and Tank and Rock now sporting the guards' weapons, Beth felt like maybe they would make it out of this alive.

At least they now stood a chance.

Obviously, believing it was one of his colleagues needing assistance, the driver pulled the vehicle over to the side of the road, and a moment later, they could all hear the thump as he got out and closed his door behind him.

"Cover your ears," Axel ordered, taking the hand he still held and lifting it to place it over her left ear.

Her other hand was shaking as she lifted it and covered her right ear. While this certainly wouldn't be the first death she witnessed, Beth knew she didn't want to see what was coming. So much death, so much darkness, so much pain, it seemed to coat her skin, sealing some of that darkness inside her.

She just wanted this to all be over. She wanted to live like a normal woman, not haunted by a past that wouldn't stay dead. Not constantly battling to keep her trauma contained so she could make the most of the second chance at life she had been handed.

All she wanted was to be free.

"Don't look, honey," Axel whispered, turning her so she was tucked against him, her face pressed into his chest.

Even though she was expecting it, the bang of the gun going off was much too loud in the contained space of the back of the van. Not that it seemed to faze anyone but herself.

As soon as the weapon went off, she assumed killing the driver and a passenger if there had been one, the guys began moving. Axel scooped her up, carrying her out of the van and into the afternoon sunshine.

The sun was too bright even against her closed lids, and Beth was suddenly so drained she barely had the energy to breathe, let alone anything else. Unable to lift her head from where it had lolled against Axel's shoulder when he picked her up, her hands still pressed to her ears even though there were no loud sounds to shield them from, she just hung limply in his grip.

It didn't seem to bother him, she could hear the buzz of his words through her hands on her ears, and he walked about with her as though she weighed nothing as she presumed, he and the guys came up with a plan.

She was so tired of plans.

Why couldn't her life just be simple for once?

Why did the very fact that she was here and alive mean so many people had to be in danger?

Her mind flashed with images of the guys on their knees with guns pointed at their heads. Tomas' voice echoed in her mind, telling her he would kill them one by one if she didn't surrender herself.

That he would torture her husband just to get to her.

Then she thought of the women behind at home. Women who hadn't hesitated to accept her and her place in the lives of the men they were falling in love with. Nobody had resented the guys constantly rushing off to search for clues as to what had happened to her.

They had just … loved her … because she was important to their men.

Because of her, they could have lost the men they loved.

It wouldn't have been anyone's fault but hers.

"Beth?" Axel called her name as he set her on her feet. Keeping one arm around her waist to keep her on her feet, his other hand circled first one wrist and then the other, tugging her hands away from her ears. "It's okay now, wisp."

Only it wasn't .

Not really.

"Open your eyes, Beth." Axel's large hands framed her face, and his thumbs brushed softly beneath her eyes.

When she complied and saw the love for her shining in Axel's warm brown eyes, she knew what she had to do. Tomas had made it clear that it was her he wanted, otherwise he wouldn't have threatened the others just to get her to show herself. The guys knew where the building she had been kept was, but surely Baranov was smart enough to already be clearing it out and wiping it free of any potential evidence against him.

So long as she was in the picture, the guys would keep putting themselves in danger, and she just couldn't stomach the thought of anything happening to them because of her.

"You doing okay, wisp?" Axel asked.

Managing a shaky nod, she grabbed his shoulders and pulled him down so she could kiss him. "I'm okay," she whispered against his lips.

"That's my girl. Always so brave."

Brave enough to do what had to be done she hoped.

"Why don't you sit down and rest for a bit? You'll be back home soon."

Nodding because she no longer trusted herself to talk, she kissed Axel back when he dropped a quick kiss to her lips before going off to join his team who were standing by the van. Then with a last look at her husband and the men she considered her big brothers, Beth turned and ran off into the trees, praying that her distance was enough to keep her family safe and alive.