Page 8 of No Regrets

“Oh, it’s not like that. We’ve known each other since we were babies. He lives just down the street. We’re practically brother and sister.”

“Good to know.”

Dex nudged him. “Don’t even think about it. I’m a very over-protective brother.”

Kelly rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t want to get between a budding bromance.”

“We’re going to grab a burger want to come?” Dex offered.

“Love to. Give me a minute to grab a sweater.” Kelly headed inside but overheard Dex’s next words.

“Off limits. Got it?”

“Loud and clear.”

Kelly's eyes fluttered open as the dream faded, and she realized she was smiling. If not for Dex, she and Ryan might have got together. It was weird to think that. Now Ryan was a brother to her and Dex... Her smile faded, silent tears streaming down her face. Dex was everything. She couldn’t believe she would never see either of them again.

The familiar, haunting sound grew louder. Footsteps followed by the door opening. Was she not dumped here just a few minutes ago?

They hauled her up and dragged her to another room. Instead of tying her to a chair, they dropped her onto a filthy mattress, yanked her hands above her head, and tied them to a rail. Lazir watched, an evil smile on his face.

“Are you ready to give me the names?”

Kelly closed her eyes, fighting her rising nausea. Chills spread across her skin, and she shook uncontrollably at the sound of his zipper lowering. Strong hands grabbed her ankles, forced her legs open, and held them down. There was no escape. This was happening. She turned her face away, unable to stop the tears. Squeezing her eyes shut she prayed for death to come quickly. Any wishes and hopes to be rescued were forgotten. After this she no longer wanted to live.

“CHARLIE, WE GOOD TO go?” Dex asked, walking up the ramp of the C130.

“Yes, we’re all set. Sorry for the delay, guys.”

The team strapped themselves in. They’d been ordered to board the plane bound for home. For now, they were following orders and getting on the plane.

As the ramp closed, Dex said, “Guys, we’re running out of time. Tell me you have something.” The plane’s engines roared.

“Satellite should be online any minute,” Donnie said. “As soon as we level off, we can take a look.”

“Tyler?” Dex turned his attention to him.

“If needed, we have a helo out. Don’t ask me how. The dude owed me a favor.”

“Nice favor to have on standby,” Ryan said.

“Mackie, what about the video? Any word on locking down a location.”

“Not yet.”

“There has to be something on that video that can identify where they are,” Dex said to no one in particular.

“As soon as we can, we’ll get back online. We have weapons, jump packs, and plenty of ammo should we decide to take a little detour,” Ryan added.

Twenty minutes later, the plane leveled off. The boys were out of their seats and back on their laptops. Dex remained seated, hunched forward, head in his hands. They were meant to go home. His orders were to go home. But he couldn’t do it. How could he go home knowing his girl was being held, tortured, possibly worse?

Whatever team was going in, there was no doubt they could handle the mission. Black ops, DEVGRU. Whichever team, they were highly trained, highly skilled tier-one operators. But that didn’t mean they wouldn’t fail. It happened. What if it went wrong? If Kelly died? He would never forgive himself if he hadn’t done everything possible to save the woman he loved.

“Hey, boss, we got something.”

That got his attention. Dex was out of his seat and at Mackie’s side in a second.

“It seems they’ve narrowed down the location to this area.” Mackie laid out a map and circled a mountainous area. “Something to do with the style of building seen in the video. Type of brick. Fuck if I know, but NSA are confident this is the area.”