Chapter 55 Colten
FIFTY-FIVE
COLTEN
“Everyone has their assignments?” I ask the group of men spread in front of me, a mixture of De Luca and Sinclair soldiers ready to go into a situation we have very little information on.
The warehouse he’s holding Lexi in is a new build, new enough that the city hasn’t filed the digital versions of the plans yet.
Or they’ve been deleted.
I wouldn’t rule out either option.
If there’s anything this guy has proven, it’s that he has been one step ahead of us the whole time.
Everyone nods, and Cruz steps up beside me. He, like everyone else, is dressed in black cargo pants and a black Henley, with a bulletproof vest completing the outfit.
We’re going in to save Lexi, not to lose our own lives.
“You’re better at this than you think you are,” he says.
“Fuck off,” I snap. “I’m looking forward to going back to just being the tech guy and your sidekick.”
“You like being Robin?” He smirks.
I glare at him with an unamused frown. “Like you could ever pull off Batman’s suit.”
His mouth drops open like he’s going to argue his case, but I step away, moving into position.
We have the warehouse surrounded, but from the plans I pulled of neighboring warehouses built at the same time, there’s a chance there’s an underground exit, and as much as I wanted to be prepared going into this, I didn’t have the time to waste looking for more confirmation of that.
Nico and two of his men are by the main door, a flash grenade and a smoke bomb in hand.
The last thing I want to risk is Lexi being hurt, but hurt is better than dead or disappearing forever, and that’s a peace I’ve had to make with myself.
Once I have her back, she’ll never hurt again. I’ll make sure of it.
“In position.” A series of voices comes over the radio wedged into my ear, and when the final one confirms, I give the order.
Nico cracks the door open ever so slightly, and we collectively hold our breaths.
It’s a new building, the door shouldn’t creak, but that doesn’t mean it won’t. Hell, it could be rigged for all we know, but after a handful of seconds pass and nothing happens, he pulls it open just enough for one of his guys to throw the grenade and smoke bomb inside before shutting it softly.
Seconds tick by slowly, each one dragging on for what feels like an eternity, but eventually the bang comes.
Cruz and I follow a team of our men through the single door, our goggles in place so we can see through the smoke.
“There are four people,” someone tells us over the radio.
“Don’t shoot anyone until we have Lexi,” I order.
I won’t risk her being shot. I’m willing to sacrifice a lot, but not that kind of pain for my girl.
“Copy.”
Cruz splits from me, moving around the edge of the warehouse while I surge forward, searching through the smoke until I spot her.
She’s crouched on the ground, her arms wrapped around her head to protect herself.
She knew exactly what to do.
Without hesitation, I move toward her, ignoring everything else in the room.
At least until I’m face-to-face with my own gun.
A woman stands over Lexi, her eyes set even as tears roll down her cheeks.
At first, I think maybe she’s one of my girl’s captors, but then I take in the bruises across her cheek, her dirty clothes and bare feet, and realize that Lexi isn’t the only one that was held against her will.
“It’s okay,” I say carefully. “I’m Lexi’s boyfriend. Colten.”
God, I hope she mentioned me, otherwise, this might end with me being the one getting shot.
Someone steps up beside me, and the barrel moves to them, allowing me to drop to the ground and pull Lexi into my lap.
For a moment, I don’t care about the chaos erupting around us or running the mission I’m overseeing. All I care about is the woman in my arms.
“I’ve got you, Wildcat.”
“Colt?” Her voice trembles, and I press my eyes closed at the sound of the fear.
“Yeah, baby. I’ve got you. You’re safe. I’ll never let anyone hurt you again,” I promise.
“I’m mad at you.”
“Okay.”
“You hacked the algorithm. You matched us.”
“I did.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because you loved the idea of a perfect match, Wildcat. You’re a romantic at heart,” I tell her, breathing out a sigh. “And because I was scared you’d try to leave.”
She peeks up at me, her eyes watering from the smoke, but that doesn’t stop her. My brave girl.
“You’re an idiot,” she reprimands. “Don’t you get it?
I love you. I’ve loved you my whole damn life.
I loved you when I was in my awkward teen years and was just your best friend’s sister.
I loved you when I traveled across the country for school, just to put some distance between us, and I’ve loved you every single day since. ”
I didn’t think words could sound so beautiful, but Lexi proves me wrong. Because hearing the ones I’ve longed for my whole life for the first time from her lips is like every dream I never allowed myself to have coming true.
“I love you so fucking much, Wildcat.” I hold her tight, ignoring the shouts and the very tense exchange happening above us.
The girl’s hands tremble ever so slightly, but Nico doesn’t flinch, holding her gaze as if being shot by her wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.
“Laken.” Lexi reaches out and touches her calf softly, not wanting to startle the woman with a gun.
She hesitates for long seconds, holding Nico’s gaze before finally looking down at us.
“It’s okay. Nico won’t hurt you.”
The gun remains raised for a handful of seconds before she finally lowers it, and all the fight leaves her body.
I try to move to catch her when her knees give out and a violent sob tears from her chest, but Nico beats me to it, and I turn my attention back to Lexi.
“Laken Lancaster?” I ask quietly.
She nods. “She’s been with them for about a month.” Her eyes scan the clearing smoke, searching through each face until a deep frown tugs her brows down.
“What’s wrong?”
“They’re not here.”
“Who?”
“Grant and Jay.”
I stare at her for long seconds before repeating the same question again. “Who?”
She sighs, trying to get to her feet, but I hold her tight against me. “We need to go! We need to find them before they hurt anyone else!”
Cruz chooses this moment to appear, scanning over Lexi for injuries the same way I have over and over since I found her. “Sis, I know you wanted me home from my honeymoon, but getting yourself kidnapped is a bit dramatic.”
Lexi glares at her brother. “I was excited for Riley to come home, not you, asshole.”
He chuckles, ruffling her hair. “Good to know this ordeal hasn’t affected your sass.”
She smirks. “It’s going to take a little more than this for me to stop arguing with you every chance I get.”
“Good to know.”
It takes over an hour to clear the warehouse, making sure every crate is checked and every document in the offices is read, but Lexi’s captors are in the wind, and that thought fills me with more anxiety than I can ever remember having.
Lexi and Laken cling to one another in the back seat of my SUV, and although I hate that either of them had to go through this, it’s nice that they’re not alone, that they have someone that understands to lean on.
I’ve tried calling Chris Lancaster, Laken’s father, several times, but he’s yet to return my call, something she wasn’t surprised by when I checked in on them a few minutes ago.
Nico hovers around the SUV, his eyes darting around for any threat that could come to them.
I tried telling him that the car may as well be a tank and you’d need a military-grade rocket launcher to get the door open, but that clearly hasn’t eased his worries.
I’ve seen men fall hard and fast for a woman, Cruz being a prime example, and that’s exactly what’s happening here.
“You ready to head home?” Cruz asks.
“We should take the girls to a doctor, just to get checked over.”
“Let’s do it at your apartment, where Lexi will feel more comfortable and that cat of yours can make sure her human is safe.”
Riley messaged a little while ago to tell us Pancake has been waiting at the elevator, letting out sad meows, ever since we left.
Like I said, cats are wildly in tune with their humans.
I nod. “Can you call the doctor?”
“You got it. Head off now. I’ll wind up here and meet you there in a little while.”
“Thanks, man.”
I don’t bother waiting for a response before striding toward the SUV.
Nico watches every step I take, his body tightening the closer I get.
“Get in,” I say, rounding the car rather than waiting for him to argue with me.
By the time I’m settled behind the wheel, Nico’s in the passenger seat, checking in on the girls. He turns back to me. “Where are we going?”
“My place. A doctor is going to meet us there.”
He looks like he might argue, but I take off toward my apartment building before he gets a chance.
Once I have Lexi back where I can ensure her safety, I might finally be able to breathe again.