“Lucky,” Shade said, forced to do what he had never done before. “Brother, please. I can’t lose her. I’m not like you and the others. I can pretend I have emotions, but they’re not there for anyone. There’s nothing inside of me except shadows. Lily drives the shadows away. She feels everything. She can’t even stand to crush a fucking flower under her foot, and I don’t feel anything unless I’m with her. I can’t lose that. I waited so long for her. I’ve loved her for years; she’s only loved me for a few weeks.
“When I first saw her, all I could think about was fucking her. Then I saw her at the lake with Beth and I felt her fear, but I saw the look she gave to Beth. She loved and trusted her, knew that Beth wouldn’t let anything happen to her.” Shade swallowed hard, uncomfortable opening himself up to anyone, especially Lucky. “I wanted her to look at me that way, needed her to look at me that way. I wanted to give her a life away from the darkness I saw had touched her beautiful soul.”
Shade’s face twisted into a painful mask. “I’ve taken countless lives and never felt an ounce of emotion. That’s why they recruited me in the military. One psychologist even joked after my evaluation that I had been born without a soul, and it was true until that day at the lake. I fell in love with her that day. There is no other woman for me; there never will be. Lily is my gateway to Heaven. Without her, the only thing left for me is Hell.
“You used to believe in something more important than that badge you carry. I’m begging you to save me, brother, because as God is my witness, I will kill you if you don’t help me.”
“I wouldn’t do it for anyone else. Not my mother or any brother, not for a million fucking dollars, and especially not because of any fucking threat of yours. But I will for Lily.”
“Thank you.” Shade’s mind caught on something. “Wait a minute. You said you have the warrants? I think I know how we can get Lily back and serve those warrants at the same time. Call your boss.”
It took less than thirty minutes and several phone calls from both Lucky and Shade where they made promises which would have to be kept later when the government wanted their skills. However, neither man argued, agreeing to their terms.#p#分页标题#e#
“Lily is worth the price,” Lucky conceded then hung up the phone. “It’s all set. In thirty minutes, the warrants will be served.” He looked down at the phone. “We just sold our souls to get her back.”
Shade smiled grimly. “Then they got the short end of the stick. They’ll have to go to Hell to collect.”
Chapter 69
Shade stood outside Knox’s office, waiting for Lucky. They had found Lily, and she was safely inside with Beth. His hand still shook with the thought of being in the police car with Knox and Lucky when the call had come over that she had been found, and there was a shootout in progress. Knox had floored the pedal, flying toward the location.
When they had arrived, he had been forced to wait for the FBI to give the all-clear and then gone ballistic when the Porters, who had managed to beat all the law enforcement officers there, had asked for an ambulance.
The moment he had walked in and seen Lily safe would remain in his memory for the rest of his life. Afterward, they had brought her to the sheriff’s office for a statement. As soon as they were done, he could take her home. It was going to be a while before he was going to let her out of his sight again.
Unfortunately, Lily was about to find out that another person she trusted wasn’t what they seemed.
“Ready?” Knox asked as he approached.
“Where’s Lucky?”
“He’s finishing up a call. He’ll be right in,” Knox said, opening the door.
“How did the Porters find me?” Lily was asking.
“I have no idea,” Shade heard Beth answer.
“I can answer that question.” Knox took a seat behind his desk.
Lily waited expectantly. “Well?”
“We’re waiting on someone. We promised we would until he arrived.” Shade walked to stand beside her chair, taking her hand.
Razer came into the office then, shutting the door behind him.
“What’s wrong?” Shade could tell Lily had figured out the news they had wasn’t going to be good.
“Nothing. There’s just a few things Razer and I haven’t told you. It’s not because we didn’t want to; it was because we couldn’t,” Shade answered as Razer moved to stare down at his wife.
A knock sounded on the door.
“Come in,” Knox called out.