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November 17th
10:23 P.M.
The unmistakable sounds of someone falling sent a wave of panic through him.
Lila.
Out here alone, possibly injured, running for her life, Surf was so proud of her for finding a way to save herself, but now he needed her safe and in his arms.
When he and his team had stormed the property, he had just expected to find her there, maybe locked up, restrained, hopefully still alive and in one piece. Instead, when they’d made it through the men guarding the outside of the property and into the house it had been empty.
Completely empty.
No signs of life at all. No Lila, no Zara Duffy, no Ross Duffy.
There had been blood though.
In a small study off to one side of the house, there had been a small amount of blood. Surf had been terrified it was Lila’s blood, and even though it wasn’t anywhere near enough to suggest that anyone had sustained life-threatening, or even serious, injuries, not knowing who it belonged to and fearing that it was Lila’s a million scenarios had played out in his head.
None of them good.
An exterior door had been open, and he’d hoped it was because Lila had found a way to save herself and escape.
When no one had shot at him, and he’d made it through a walled garden and out into the forest there were clear signs that someone had fled this way on foot.
Leaving his team to search for Zara and Ross Duffy, he’d followed the trail out into the forest, praying every step of the way that he was tracking Lila. His girl was a fast runner, and she’d cleared a lot of distance. They had to be several miles at least from the mansion. Fear and adrenalin were powerful motivators that could carry her a long way, but not that would keep her going indefinitely.
He had caught a glimpse of her up ahead, but when he yelled her name, he must have scared her, and she’d fallen.
It took more seconds than he liked to get to the spot where he’d seen her, and when he did his stomach dropped.
Surf was standing at the top of a fifteen-foot almost sheer drop. Rocks and trees covered the ground, meaning it wasn’t a smooth drop, there were too many obstacles she could have hit to believe she had made it to the bottom unscathed.
Below him, he could make out her form.
Her unmoving form.
“Lila?”
There was no answer, and his fear ratcheted up several notches. They were out here alone, several miles from the house and his team, Zara and Ross were unaccounted for. There was no way the couple wasn’t protected by a team of well-trained men, and Lila was hurt.
“I found her,” he said into his comms, already beginning to make his way down to Lila.
“And?” Bear asked.
“Unconscious, she fell. I’m not going to be able to get her back up.” He’d need a c-collar and a litter to get her back up to where she’d fallen from so they could backtrack to the house. Surf was sure there was another, likely longer, path back but Lila was hurt, and he wanted her safe, warm, and receiving medical treatment sooner rather than later.
“Understood, we’ll—”
Bear’s words were cut off as an explosion ripped through his comms.
Things just got a whole lot worse.
Kristoff Mikhailov had had a thing for explosions, they should have assumed that Dark Beauty—Zara Duffy—would as well.
Torn between getting to Lila and going back to check on his team, Surf knew it wasn’t really any choice. His team was all highly trained. He had to believe that they had anticipated the explosion and got out of the house as soon as it was cleared until it could be swept for explosives. Lila had no training and she was unconscious. She’d been kidnapped and likely hurt. There was no way he could leave her out here alone and go back to his team.
As he climbed the last few feet down to where Lila lay, he tried contacting each of his teammates, but all he got was emptiness. Whether they had been caught up in the blast, were injured, killed, or had escaped unharmed, the explosion had obviously messed with their comms rendering them useless.
