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“Us too.” Quin took another step into the darkness.
“Low lights are on at the far side. Lights on in a room up on the catwalk.” I could see the office Cal had mentioned on the far side of the warehouse. The light was muted like it was trying to push through grimy windows, and none of it made it down to the floor.
“We’ll find Felix. You head upstairs.” I needed to get my hands on my mate as soon as possible.
“Roger.” Jack’s response was quick and efficient.
The industrial detritus provided good cover as Quin and I moved toward the dim light at the other end of the building. As we got closer, I saw a hunched shape in a chair, and Quin had to squeeze my bicep to keep me from running to my mate.
“Let’s let Cal and Jack find out what we’re up against before we go charging in there,” he whispered.
I nodded. My soul ached to go to Felix. He needed me. I’d already left him alone when he needed me once. I wouldn’t—couldn’t—do it again. This close, his physical pain was clear through our bond, and the intensity amped up my rage and my worry.
“We’ve got three men upstairs.”
Seeing my mate unmoving across the room, made red ring my vision and blood pound in my ears, and I almost missed what Cal had said over the comms.
“Take them out.” Quin spoke the words, a detached chill in his tone, before I could rein in my anger enough to process what my brother had said.
“Our pleasure.” Jack’s Aussie accent cut through the haze of my emotions.
The squeak of the metal door swinging open echoed through the empty factory, and I took that as our cue to move.
I raced across the room and crouched in front of Felix, my voice shaking as I reached out a hand to gently touch his shoulder. “Hey, Lucky. You doing okay?” I tried to keep my tone light, but my heart was breaking.
Felix barely lifted his head. “Nero?”
The sound of fists hitting flesh echoed around the room like someone had switched on a PA system, and I looked for the source of the sound, watching as Cal picked up one of the men who’d taken my mate and shoved him against the glass. My brother’s fist connected with the man’s stomach, his answering groan of pain reverberating through the empty warehouse. Cal caught me watching and gave me a thumbs-up, and I turned back to Felix. “It’s me, baby. We’re going to get you out of here.”
“Okay.”
My mate’s face was swollen on one side, his eye completely shut. There was a cut on his lip that looked fresh, and he was holding his body like he hurt everywhere, but he was still the most beautiful person I’d ever seen. Every tiny movement he made sent pain arcing through our bond, and my breath caught in my chest.
If Cal didn’t kill the bastards that had done this before I got to them, I’d choke the life from their bodies with my bare hands. Nobody touched what was mine—nobody hurt what was mine—and got to live to tell the tale.
“Let’s focus on getting Felix out of here. Then, if Cal and Jack haven’t finished them off, we’ll help.”
I nodded and slipped a knife from my pocket, using it to slice through Felix’s bonds. His wrists were raw and red, and I gently brought his hands in front of him and massaged his palms. He made no move to stand.
“Can I carry you, Lucky?”
Felix nodded almost imperceptibly, and as carefully as I could, I scooped him into my arms, picking him up in a bridal carry and holding him to my chest.
He was hurt, but he was alive.
He was alive, and he was mine.
“I’ve got you, Felix, and I’m never going to let you go.”
“We have Felix,” Quin told the others through the comms.
“Get him out of here.” Cal’s response came quickly, and we heard it through both the PA and the comms. “Jack and I are almost done. We’re just having a little fun.”
“Don’t take too long. Felix is pretty badly hurt. He needs a doctor ASAP.” Quin glanced at the office on the catwalk.
“Aye, aye, captain.”
A silenced gunshot punctuated his statement, followed by the sound of the door opening and someone running down the metal stairs.
