BROKEN COURAGE (Broken Redemption Book 3)

Chapter 27

Lucas

There are moments in life that force us to reconsider everything we thought we knew about ourselves. The little intricacies that make us who we are, all the lies and excuses we make to justify our actions. The unhealthy behaviors we bury under pretense so we don't have to face the truth of who we are. This right now is such a moment. As I listen to the sounds coming through my phone, everything I thought I knew about myself, everything I convinced myself to be true, is pulverized in an instant.

The first thing that registers in my brain is the sound of Alyssa's high-pitched scream. A shriek so loud and infused with such deep terror it pierces straight through to my soul, tearing it out and shattering me into a million unrecognizable pieces. As a Navy SEAL, I'm intimately acquainted with fear. I've bathed in it. I've soaked within its dark depths until every fiber of my being was painted with its blood. I've lived it, breathed it, and learned to exist within its shadows, but not even during my time in captivity have I felt so debilitated by it.

"Embree, talk to me. What's happening?" In a state of panic, I pull to a stop, my thoughts spiraling as I wait with bated breath for an answer. My lungs scream with exertion, but this time it's not from the fatigue of my run; it's from the innate fear crushing my chest.

What if I never get the chance to set things right?

Fuck!

I should have said yes.

Without question, without a second thought.

When she asked me to choose them, I should have screamed my yes from every rooftop, every mountaintop, every surface of this world so that God, fate, and the fucking universe all heard and understood that as long as I live and breathe, I'd never, ever give them up.

I should have said yes.

To her.

To them.

To the helpless miracle growing within her.

As I listen to the sounds of chaos literally upending my world and entire reason for existing, I realize too late that I cannot live another day without them.

"Lucas!"

Embree's scream comes out of nowhere but is muffled just as quickly as it came. A strangled cry escapes from my lips as my mind races to figure out what's happening. Desperate to hold on to them, I will myself to take it all in, to listen closely for any clue, anything that could help identify where they are or if they're being taken. Even as my gut screams they're in danger, a part of me refuses to believe what I'm hearing.

Please let this be a dream.

A cruel joke.

Her way of avenging the horrible way I've treated them since the night I left. But when Mallory's screams break through the chaos, I feel like I've died a thousand deaths. Her heartbreaking cries are gutting, rendering me unable to breathe.

As much as I wish it weren't so, it's clear.

The worst plausible scenario is upon us.

Riddled with anguish, my legs succumb to the tremble flowing through me. Falling to my knees, I grip the phone against my ear. Closing my eyes, I take in every sound, committing it to memory as I tap into what's left of the warrior in me. Willing the Operator back to life, I clear my mind, locking down the emotions to gain the mental clarity to focus on what needs to be done.

As Nero's whines cut through the haze, I rise to my feet, following behind him as he takes off ahead of me like he knows where we're headed. Because he does. Those girls are as much a part of him as they are a part of me, and there's no way in hell we'll allow anything to happen to them.