“Yeah, I might like throwing stars.”

  We both had to get across the property. I didn’t like us being in the open. There were a few barrels here and there, but they didn’t provide enough cover.

  The whole time, my heart was thumping wildly. All I kept thinking was Dear God, please just let me get her to the tree line. And if we were spotted after that, she had a chance. If we were seen, or God forbid had to fight, it was going to be a bloodbath. And it would be all my fault.

  As the wind whipped around us and the drizzle started, I just gritted my teeth and tried to focus on all the important things like the look on Bridge’s face when Darcy woke up safe in her bed tomorrow.

  And that was what kept me going. Not the fear clawing at me or my gut telling me I’d done this wrong. I’d failed. I couldn’t listen to that, not now. Darcy needed me. And that was all that mattered.

  When we reached the tree line, I permitted us a second to rest. Because God knew we needed it. The two of us huffed and puffed, and I lifted my chin toward the road. “There we go. We’re going to stay low. Luckily we’ve got shoes on. It’d be a nightmare barefoot, yeah? We’re just going to stay off the road in case whoever hired them realizes we’re gone and comes looking. We’re going to make it very, very difficult to find us, okay?”

  She nodded with a sob. “Without you, I’d be dead.”

  “Don’t go getting all sentimental on me.”

  As we hiked, I heard thrashing in the woods to our left. How? There was no way they knew we were gone. Not now. There wasn’t an alarm or anything.

  More thrashing.

  I turned to Darcy. “Run. Do not stop. Get on the main road if you have to, but sprint as fast as you can. If a car’s chasing, you get back in the woods, yeah? But keep going. Run.”

  And then I shoved her away from me as I turned to fight. Armed with nothing but my wits and the Swiss Army knife. Oh bloody fantastic. Darcy got five steps away before she stopped and screamed. Fuck.

  I ran for her, but a hand locked around my wrist. I didn’t even have to think about it. I swung my left hand toward me, rotated it, and grabbed my attacker’s hand with my right. Then I dropped my body weight down, and he winced and yelled. Then I delivered a knee, catching him in the head, and he fell backward, yelling, “Motherfucker.”

  The voice was familiar, but I didn’t know why. I just sprinted toward Darcy. With a primal roar, I landed on the one who had his arm around her.

  They must have traced us to the woods. Fuck. I tried the headlock thing again, but the guy had too tight a hold on Darcy. It was hard to get a grip.

  Then he… chuckled?

  I got an arm around him, but he quickly released her and then slipped my hold, dropping me on my back. And when he reached for me, I noted he had a mask on.

  Fuck. We were so fucked.

  He leaned over me. I brought my knee to my chest, putting my foot out so it was flat and got him straight in the sternum. He stumbled back. “Fuck, Baby Tobes.”

  I hesitated but pushed to my feet and ran for Darcy. She was rolling onto her side. “Ow.”

  “Darcy? Are you okay? Run.”

  We started running again. On the road, an SUV stopped, and someone was shouting when the doors opened. A woman stepped out with her hands up, wild curls flying in the wind.

  “Liv?”

  “Yeah. Emma? Darcy?”

  I turned. “Oh God. I think I just killed the guys.“

  Liv sucked in a breath then. “What?”

  “Well, they just jumped out and attacked. One of them called me Baby Tobes." Nyla chuckled. “That would be East.”

  I glanced around. “Where’s Bridge?”

  Nyla and Liv shared glances. “At the warehouse looking for you.”

  “I have my tracker on. He knows I’m not there.”

  I knew what he was going to do. My eyes went wide. “We have to go. We have to stop him.”

  “Wait, you want to stop him from killing the bad guys?”

  “We don’t kill people. Besides, Darcy needs her brother. Let’s go.”

  Drew and East came out of the woods. East rubbed at his sternum, and Drew was cradling his wrist. “I think you broke my wrist.”

  “Sorry, I didn’t know it was you. You could’ve identified yourself.”

  “Jesus. You’re like a honey badger.”

  Darcy was holding her side. “I think I fell onto something.”

  “Shit. Nyla, Amelia, first aid?”

  Amelia climbed into the back of the SUV. “On it. Bring her around. Tell Liv to drive easy so we can get to Bridge and Ben.”

  I turned back toward the warehouse and prayed we weren’t too late.

  Chapter Four

  Bridge

  Drew and East and the girls had taken the SUV. Ben and I had taken his car. On the best of days, he handled the car like it was the Monaco Grand Prix. But I was glad for our sake, because it was the kind of fast that I needed. As we raced toward the beacon, Ben slid me a glance. “Mate, we’ll get there in time.”

  All I could do was clench my teeth and nod. I hoped he was right. I prayed to Christ that Darcy and Emma were okay. I had to hope for the best. If Emma was with my sister, she could keep Darcy calm or at least keep her spirits lifted that somebody was coming for her.

  We stopped along an embankment with the warehouse just over the rise.

  “You sure you want to do this?”

  I looked at him as I finished strapping on my last magazine of ammo. “If it was Liv, would you ask that question?”

  His brow furrowed. “No. But I would count on you asking it.”

  I hesitated. Because East and I had asked him those kinds of questions when Liv had been taken. We’d been his center. And he was attempting to do the same thing for me. The problem was that I was too far gone.

  I gave him a brisk nod as we headed over the rise. We’d all slapped on tactical gear, and we probably looked like the same sons of bitches that had taken my girls. In the back part of the building, there were some pylons and scattered debris. Overturned barrels with too little cover.

  Still, Ben and I covered each other as we approached the building. I set ten-minute explosive charges along the way. Again, courtesy of Blake Security. Why a security team had explosives was beyond me, but sometimes the shit came in handy.

  “We have ten minutes to find them and get the fuck out.”

  And then I wanted to raze this place to the ground. In and out, no questions.

  He nodded. “You know, back when we were just lads and we had the option of SAS training and you jumped right on that, I thought you were insane. After all, what were we going to use that training for?”

  I smirked. “What indeed?”

  The way the Elite worked, we each got three specialties to train in. And there was always a member who was a specialist and high up in whatever organization you wanted to be a part of. We were everywhere. Like cockroaches. Like very wealthy, moneyed-gentry cockroaches. I thought SAS training would be cool. I didn’t realize it would be necessary.

  British special forces were no joke. And the four of us almost died. Well okay, if I was being honest, Drew almost died. Ben and East and I were fine. East had gotten specialized technical training which was why he was so lethal with the computer. He wasn’t bad in hand-to-hand either.

  I made quick work of one of the windows, using a glass cutter and opting to go with stealth as much as possible. We went quickly and efficiently, room to room. It was when we were in the far left corner that I found the body.

  He was warm and had a pulse. Who had done this?

  Ben lifted a brow. “Emma’s handiwork?”

  I shook my head. “I have no idea. It’s definitely not Darcy’s. I tried taking her to jujitsu, and she did not like it at all. I forced her to get her first belt, and then she quit. She doesn’t have the skill set for this.”

  Ben chuckled. “In that case, you know your wife is lethal. She still does all those self-defense classes, right?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. Not sure about since she got back, but she took them regularly before."

  “Well, good for her. It means they are likely free.”

  And just as he said that, East’s voice came clearly through our comms. “Come in. We have the sparrow and the specter. They are safe and sound. What is your location?”

  Ben choked a laugh. “The sparrow and the specter? Honestly, are you auditioning for a James Bond movie?”

  “What? I thought it was cool. Where are you?”

  “In the building. Charges are set. You sure they’re out?”

  Emma’s voice rang in my ear. “Bridge, we're fine.”

  My gut seized. “You’re okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m outside. At the tree line.”

  I nodded at Ben. “All right we’re on our way to you.”

  Now that I didn’t have to worry about my sister and my wife, we set the rest of the charges quickly. What I really wanted was to go back and put a bullet in the guy Emma had already taken care of, but that would be murder. And people frowned on things like murder.

  Except you don’t.

  I believed that sometimes the ends justified the means. But whatever.

  When we were done, we went back the way that we’d come in. Silent and deadly.

  On our way to the tree line, gunshots blasted behind us. Ben and I both dropped, rolled, and found sparse shelter behind a couple of barrels. East and Nyla wasted no time providing us cover.

  Ben was closer. He had a better shot at making it, so I added additional cover fire.

  When he reached the trees, he shouted to me. “Mate, what are you doing?”

  I scowled as the shooter walked through the clearing, aiming for my friends, my wife, my sister.

  With a roar, I closed the distance between us, sprinting, hitting him from the side.

  “What the fuck—“

  He tried to leverage elbows on me, but I got off two quick jabs to his kidney and then fought for control of the gun. He tried to wrestle it from me. He was heavier, but I was faster. As he reared his head back, presumably to bring it down to my head, I head-butted him in the chin, sending him backward. And then I was on him. All the rage and worry from the last couple of days released. Then there was another crack of gun fire, a curse, and then someone went down.

  I didn’t care though. All I could think of was the terror and fear I’d felt for my sister when psychopaths went and took her from school. The hopelessness that my wife felt when she left the safety of my arms to go and offer herself so Darcy wouldn’t be scared, and I couldn’t stop hitting him.

  Even as his attempted returns were sluggish, I didn’t stop. With gritted teeth, I kept my position over him, knees clamping on his sides, delivering elbows and hammer strikes. Finally he stopped moving, but I still didn’t stop. Behind me, I could hear someone shouting my name. “Bridge. Bridge, stop it.”

  The voice started to trill its way into my consciousness, and I frowned. When I noticed his dropped gun, I reached for it and shoved it in his mouth. “You took my sister. You took my wife. I’m supposed to leave you alive so we can get answers, but I’m not going to do that.”

  I released the safety, gun aimed, but before I could pull the trigger, Emma was right behind me. “Bridge. Don’t.”

  I could feel her breath, her heat. “Do, you think he would’ve left you alive? Do you know what they would have done to you and Darcy?”

  Her hands on my shoulder were soft, tentative. “I know. But it’s not worth it. There’s a cost, Bridge. It’s over. We’re safe. I got Darcy out. Don’t do this.”

  I turned back to my quarry. His eyes were rolled into the back of his head. He was down, defeated. I knew Drew and East would take him somewhere very special where we could ask him several questions. But I didn’t want answers. I wanted him, this piece of filth, wiped from the face of the Earth. My finger twitched over the trigger.

  Emma’s voice was cool, and even, and soothing behind me. “I’m okay, Bridge. So is Darcy. I got her out. You and me, remember? We’re a team. Don’t do this.”

  This cooling sense of calm forced the fire of vengeance to recede like a deluge of water. All I could see was terror on the cunt’s face, and I relished it. That’s when bile began to rise in my throat. What was I doing? I was ruthless, but I was not this person. I was not my father. I wasn’t.

  I tossed the gun aside, and I could almost feel the relief oozing from Emma. I pushed to my feet and turned and grabbed hold of her, squeezing her, and dropping my face into her neck, and inhaling. “I’m sorry I didn’t save you.”

  Her chuckle was soft. “That’s okay. I saved myself. Come on. Darcy’s over here.”

  And just like that, Emma saved not only my sister but me as well.

  Chapter Five

  Bridge

  Two hours after we'd gotten Darcy and Emma back, I sat on the floor in Ben’s house right outside Darcy’s room, refusing to budge.

  That’s how Mum found me as I was aiming to get comfortable leaning against my sister’s door.

  “You don’t have to do that, you know. She’s safe here.”

  I didn’t even look up, just muttered, “Safety is relative.”

  “Love, I think Emma needs you.”

  I shook my head. “I can’t talk to Emma right now. Darcy’s the one who needs me. Emma's tough.”

  She pursed her lips “Are you going to do that thing where you punish her for scaring you?”

  I frowned, opening one eyelid to scowl at her. “I don’t do a thing.”

  “She did something amazing for you, Bridge. If I were you, I’d have her flat on her back and my face planted between her thighs, and I wouldn't come up for air. But that’s just your dear old mum.”

  I gagged as I threw up a little in my mouth. “Mum, ugh, do you have to do that?”

  She smiled. "Am I wrong?"

  “I failed today. I failed Darcy, and I failed Emma. And fucking Darcy, I took a vow to protect her, and I couldn’t even do that against a maniac.”

  She sighed and then eased herself down next to me.

  “Mum, your back.”

  “Hush up. I know what I’m doing. You recognize I’m a chef and I’m on my feet hours on end, right? I can sit on the floor for a moment with my son who needs a cuddle. Besides, it’s not like it's been blown out in a minute. I'd need to have a man for that.”

  “I don’t need a cuddle, Mum.“ Then I processed what she'd added. "For the love of all that is holy, please don't tell me about your sex life."

  With a chuckle, she wrapped her arms around me and pulled me in despite me being twice her size. I felt like I was eleven again and sad because my father didn’t love me. She'd pulled me in then, too, and told me she loved me enough for the both of them.

  “I don't know what I would have done if I’d lost Darcy. I didn’t know where she was, and Emma just ran headlong into danger. Like Emma always does.”

  My mother chuckled. “Yes, well, that wife of yours certainly is a firecracker. Keeps you on your toes. I like it.”

  I shook my head. “I’m sitting here because I know what to do with my feelings for Darcy. She’s my sister. More like my daughter, really. I know what to do with those emotions. They’re easy to compartmentalize. I would’ve been devastated if I’d lost her.” I rapidly blinked away the tears as I raised my brows, trying to force my eyes to dry out. “But… if I had lost Emma, that would have eviscerated me. I wouldn’t survive. I wouldn’t be functional. I would cease to exist. She is everything I have ever wanted, and the idea of her not being here breaks me. My Emma feelings aren’t so neat and tidy, so I’m sitting here with the feelings I do know how to process. The feelings I do know how to deal with. I understand these feelings, and I can make them make sense. I can’t make sense of my feelings about Emma. So until I can figure out what to say or how to communicate how I felt when she was gone, I’m going to sit right here.”

  She nodded and smoothed her hand over my hair. “Oh, my dear sweet boy. You can start by telling her what you just told me.”

  “I feel like I’ve lost years off my life every time Emma runs into danger or acts in some way I don’t expect. It’s frustrating and debilitating, because where would I be if things turned out differently? If I had lost her, where would I go and how could I function?”

  “You would function because you have family and people who love you. But you also have to deal with the fact that Emma is Emma. She will always be like this. Jump first and think about how to land on the way down.”

  I chuckled. “Yeah, that absolutely sounds like her.”

  “She did a brave thing.”

  As if I didn't know that. “I know she did. And I don’t even have the words to thank her. How do you tear out your soul and give it to somebody who already owns it? I don’t know. I love her so fucking much.”

  She forced me to look up with her hands on my cheeks then wiped away my tears. Fuckers had spilled without me even noticing. How did that happen?

  “Tell her what you just told me. And honestly, son, you probably don’t have to tell her. I’m sure the moment she found herself in that warehouse, she kept thinking, ‘What in the world have I done?’ Doesn’t that sound like just the Emma question to ask?”

  I laughed through my horrified tears.

  "You would perhaps not love her quite the same if she was anybody different.”

  I shook my head. “I just would’ve liked those extra years of my life, you know?”

  She shrugged. “Eh, you overreacted.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Hardy har.”

  “I’ll be here all day, love. Why don’t you let me sit outside my daughter’s room, terrified, and you go find your wife and take my directions, would you?”

  I gagged a little again as I pushed to my feet. “Mum, please, I cannot take bedroom advice from you.”

  “Well, in that case, you two kids get up to what kids get up to. Don’t tell me. I really don’t want to know. But like I said, I personally would’ve had that woman on her back so fast her head would’ve spun.”