Page 64 of Marked

She yawned and dropped her cheek back to his chest. “I want to go to sleep.”

“Shut your eyes. I bet we’ll be there before you wake up.”

A little sigh came next.

“Nash and Dallas want to stay behind until we reach the vehicles, so they can move quicker,” Dare informed him.

“As long as they wait until Sophia and Bella are out of harm’s way, that’s fine with me.”

Dare relayed the message.

“Hey,” Cole said, nodding toward his brother. “Can you tell Nash to give Lexi an update? Let Sophia know we’ve got Bella and we’re almost there.”

“Yup, good call.” Dare rambled off what Cole had said.

Cole ducked and dodged branches, being careful to ensure that none of them hit the girl. Which meant he had to take a few to the face, since one arm still clung to Bella. Dare held the flashlight low to the ground, illuminating their way. Bella’s body hung limply in Cole’s hold, her soft, steady breath assuring him she’d fallen asleep.

Poor kid must be exhausted. She probably hadn’t slept—or eaten—at all since she’d been taken.

Anger vibrated his nerve endings, numbing the sizzling in his side. He stomped over a fallen log with new determination.

He needed to get back to the farm and make sure no one there survived.

***

Another shrill sound from Lexi’s phone made Sophia pull away. A hiccup lodged in her throat.

She’d lost it.

Officially lost her mind.

She should be storming the property and tearing apart the floorboards looking for Bella.

Instead, she was a shriveling mess, clinging to Lexi for dear life.

Lexi pulled out her phone from her jacket pocket. Her dark hair hung like a curtain around her face, but the light from the screen illuminated her features, which were pinched with dread.

“This is Nash again. Hang on.” She cleared her throat and brought the phone to her ear. “Yeah?”

Sophia circled her hand around the base of her throat. The thin skin covering her artery pulsed with the pressure rushing through her veins. An icy cold blanket of terror slid over her skin.

If this was the call she feared... the warning that Bella hadn’t made it... she’d die here. There was no way she could leave these woods alive without her daughter.

Sophia’s head spun in a vortex of numbing fear and hope. She couldn’t give up. Couldn’t let go of the fact that this wasn’t over yet. Of the hope that God wouldn’t take her daughter away. She had to cling to that sentiment like a lifeline, otherwise she’d be of no use to anyone, let alone Bella.

Her mind drifted to Cole. To the confident and scary assassin who had somehow become her ally.

Bella would be terrified of him.

New angst stiffened her muscles. She should have insisted on going in and getting Bella herself. He was a stranger. And one Bella would surely—

“He has her?” Lexi’s voice filled with elation, and she seized Sophia’s shoulder. “Oh my god. He has Bella. Cole and Dare are almost here. She’s okay, Sophia!”

Relief poured into her chest as though a dam had been lifted. Happiness and gratitude from deep within her soul flooded her system. A trembling moan erupted from her lips.

Sophia pressed her fingertips to the corners of her eyes. A laugh wrapped in a throaty cry tore from her chest. Her legs wobbled and she sank to the earth, sobs of relief shaking her body. Lexi continued speaking to Nash, but the words didn’t penetrate the bubble of joy around Sophia.

They were close.

---