Page 48

Then Dougherty turned and looked right where they were hiding. “Come out, come out. I know you’re back there.”

“Shit,” Scott swore. “Now what?”

Summer clutched the box cutter tighter. “Find a weapon.”

He shook his head. “That pissy-ass blade is no match against all those guns.”

Okay, maybe he had a point, but she refused to give up. “Suit yourself,” she snapped. Neither of them had ever been caught in such a dire, life or death situation, but Summer wasn’t going down without a fight. Or at all, if she could help it. Because she had someone to live for now.

And she knew without a doubt, Lex would want her to fight.

Knowing she couldn’t hide there forever, she retracted the blade and slid the weapon into her pocket.

Corey parked the SUV behind the scrapyard, and the men paired off.

“Stay in touch,” Brand said.

“I’ve got eyes on multiple entrances and exits. I’ll keep you posted,” Wes promised. He’d remain with the SUV, using his laptop to be their eyes and ears.

“Let’s go.” Lex nodded to his friends, his brothers in arms. Time to save the woman he loved.

Determination flowed through him as they split off. Brandon and Chaz went left, Corey and Jayson went right, and Lex and Xander went straight up, scaling the rear fence.

Xander tossed a jacket over the barbed wire lining the top, and they carefully climbed over. Before dropping down, Lex looked over the enormous maze ahead and hoped to God going in through the back was the right decision. Because at that moment, doubts flooded him, and he was tempted to race through the front door, guns blazing.

But, no, the last thing he wanted was for Summer to get caught in the crossfire. It made more sense to approach with stealth and surprise rather than blow in half-cocked and half-assed. Although, if he were being honest, the Motley Crew was the biggest bunch of motherfucking pantsers he’d ever associated with, and they always got shit done.

He hoped with every beat of his heart that this time would be no different.

Dropping to the ground, Lex landed beside Xander and looked out over the incredible maze of junk.

“I feel like I’m in a video game,” Xander murmured as they crept forward, wary and all senses on alert.

“Never took you for a gamer, Hawke.” Lex kept his weapon steady, pointing straight ahead of him.

“I always liked Doom. I’d slay those demons all day long.”

“I used to play Air Combat.”

They grew quiet, maneuvering through the endless twists and turns, prepared for a tango to come careening around the corner. Lex broke out in a sweat, surveying the obstacles and piles from the ground level. Damn, there was a lot of shit strewn everywhere, and it created an eerie spatial distortion. They had to be careful around every turn, because they couldn’t be too quick to shoot with their teammates winding through the mass of scrap metal, too.

“This is like Nightmare on Elm Street 3. Did you see that one?” Lex stepped over a truck’s discarded bumper.

“Oh, yeahhh. The one where they fought Freddy in the junkyard.”

“And buried his bones,” Lex added. Just like he planned on burying anyone who dared to harm Summer.

They came to a juncture where the path split. Pausing, they looked both ways. The towering junk piled so high, they couldn’t see the back of the garage. “Which way?” Xander asked.

“Let’s check in.” Lex hit his comms which gave an ominous crackle before connecting with the others. “Hawke and I are at a split. Where are you guys?”

Brand’s voice came through first, but not clear. All Lex caught was “fucking maze.” Squinting, he tried to make out what he was saying. “What the fuck.” Lex tapped his earpiece, looking at Xander. “Did you get that?”

Xander shook his head then looked up at the thick, soaring walls of piled up metal and junk. “I think all this shit is causing interference.”

Then Wes broke in, but he sounded a million miles away and kept dropping out. He’d definitely said something about electromagnetic fields, though.

A buzzing began in Lex’s ear and he swore, plucking the earpiece out. “Goddammit, you’re right. The radio waves must be bouncing off the dense metal piles, acting as shields.”