Page 70 of Betraying Bexley

Chapter 12

The alarms blared through the base as Alé entered C&C. Asher barked out orders to everyone within shouting distance. On the screen, he could see Bex huddled in the elevator. Shit, he'd gone about this all wrong. He should have known she wouldn't be able to take the truth. Everyone had been right. Damn it. He could still feel her lithe body pressed to his. Hear her soft sighs and moans. Feeling her melt in his arms left him ten feet tall and invincible. It also made him careless and let his guard down.

“What the fuck happened?” Asher shouted over the alarms.

“I told her the truth,” he answered. “I tried to do it the easiest way possible.”

“Fucking her in the pool might not have loosened her up to the idea of her father being a murderous bastard.” Callahan’s fingers flew over the keyboard.

He understood, albeit too late. “I don’t regret it. I like her.”

“This is why I don’t have the patience to work with kids.” Noah huffed out a breath. “They have too many fucking impulses.”

Alé wouldn’t apologize to them. He liked Bex, had from the minute he spotted her in the gym. All he cared about at the moment was getting her back so he could show her everything and perhaps explain it better. He knew bringing up her father would be a touchy subject however, he hadn’t figured it would create such a strong response from her.Shit, who are you trying to kid? You knew exactly what would happen the minute you told her who her father was and why you were with her.

He cursed under his breath. “There! She’s going for the garage.”

“She can’t go anywhere,” Asher said. “We have time.”

They hurried to the elevator and waited as it climbed floor by floor. The squeal of tires greeted them as the door slid open. The back end of his Impala lurched to a stop and for a second, Alé held Bex’s gaze. Fuck. He’d left the keys in his car. “Shit.” He started for his car, but she threw it into drive and peeled out while climbing the ramp.

"Damn, kid. You are fucking stupid," Asher snarled, shaking his head. "Let's go."

Noah jumped into the closest SUV and started it while they all piled in then backed out to give chase. By the time they bounced onto the asphalt, all Alé could see was the taillights of his car as she slowed down to make the turn out of the airstrip. He waited for Asher to continue to berate him, but he stared out the windshield, his body tense. Anxious energy coursed through Alé’s veins. He thought about everything he said to Bex, confused, but not, by her reaction. AJ placed her hand on his forearm, grabbing his attention.

“Don’t.” She shook her head. “Nothing you question right now will change the fact Bex ran. We knew it might be a possibility and all of us let our guard down.”

"No. It's my fault. I wanted her to understand so badly, so we didn't have to continue to lie to her." He frowned.

“No matter what you would have done, she’d believe you lied to her,” Asher snapped. “She’s caged. Has been all her life. It’s all fight or flight for her.”

“I should’ve done this with all of you here.” Alé scrubbed his face. “I should have waited to explain when the whole team was together. Maybe she wouldn’t have left like she did.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t have fucked her so soon.” Noah glanced over his shoulder as he turned left out of the base.

“Did you think the same thing with Mateo?” Alé spat, then regretted it with a wince. “Low blow, I apologize.”

“You get one with me, kid. That’s the only one,” Noah snapped. “Put your fucking emotions away.”

“It won’t happen again.”

They sped up, taking the second corner on the county road. She couldn't have gotten far. She wasn't too much ahead of them, plus, she didn't drive. Sitting the way she had been in his car couldn't have been comfortable. As they came to the clearing, his stomach clenched, and his heart dropped. His Impala lay in a crumpled heap against the embankment. A single blacked-out vehicle lay in the middle of the road the front right destroyed at least two hundred feet from where his vehicle was laying.

“No.” Fuck. No. He grabbed his head. “Son of a bitch.” When Noah came to a stop, Alé jumped out, running for his car. He didn’t give a shit about his safety or those with him. He only cared about Bex. If something happened to her, he’d never forgive himself. He came to a halt on at the driver side of the car and wrenched open the door. The car was empty. “Fuck!”

“There were people here,” Noah said, pointing to the footprints in the soft dirt.

Alé walked away. He had to walk away. He began to pace the side of the road. There was no guessing who had her. It was as obvious as the nose on his face he'd been followed. He'd done his best to keep a lookout for any cars behind him, but he hadn't done a good enough job. He wondered how long Raul and his men had been waiting for Bex or both of them to come out of the base. What would have happened had he seen both of them? Would he have killed Alé and taken Bex?Shit.He scrubbed his head. He had to call the team, tell them what happened then listen to all of them ream his ass for being so fucking stupid.

Alé pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed Bronx. When she answered he started, “I’m going to need all of you at the base, now.”

“Well hello to you too.” Her cheery voice grated his nerves.

“Bronx! Did you hear me?”

“Alé what’s wrong?” Her tone changed. Concern and worry filled her voice.

“Bex has been taken. It’s all my fault.”

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