Page 50 of Edge of Desperation

Except my dad… And Jaxson.

I quickly explain how Jaxon and Carver made me a practice doll with light-up pressure points.

Her eyes sparkle with recognition. “Like3 Ninjas?”

“See, you get it.” I wave my hand toward Ted Jr. “Lykos needs something to practice on, but Ted is made out of sheets, and I knew he’d tear it to shreds. So, I went online and found this six-foot grappling dummy for martial artists.”

“Still doesn’t explain why you need it if Lykos is already trained to attack.”

“Look closely around his waist area.”

Willow’s eyes dart to Ted Jr.’s middle. “Holy shit!” she shrieks. “What the hell happened to his crotch?”

I grin. “That’s what I’m teaching Lykos… To rip the balls off someone.”

She stares at me for a long moment before a smile spreads across her face. “Diabolical! I love it.”

Knock. Knock.

“Just a minute, I’m getting dressed,” I call. I stuff Ted Jr. in the closet and haphazardly throw on some clean clothes.

I pull open the door to find Vera on the other side.

“Ladies,” she greets, peering inside. “Aurora, your father and I have a dinner tonight in Norfolk. Would you and Willow like to accompany us?”

I resist the urge to roll my eyes. “No thanks, Vera. We’re going to have a relaxing night here. We have a date with old movies and take-out food.”

Willow waves from my bed. “Hi, Vera.”

“Hello, sweetie,” she says. “It’s good to see you. Well, I’ll leave you girls to your fun. We’ll see you later.”

“Bye,” we both say.

The rest of the night, Willow and I catch up while we give each other pedicures and manicures. We stuff our faces with junk and binge watch our favorite nineties movies.

This is exactly what I needed.

CHAPTER 17

JAXSON

3 MONTHS LATER…

“This guy is a slippery fucker.”Benson’s voice booms through the phone’s speaker.

The general and I share a look before staring at the map sprawled across his desk. Red dots pinpoint every location where we’ve rescued victims from the Krukov family. All of the countries are close to Russia, but the intel we receive has never indicated that the family is actually there.

“How many people have you recovered now?” General Parks asks.

“Only sixteen, Sir.” Benson sounds tired. “Krukov is either getting smarter, or somehow, he knows we’re coming.”

I lean forward on the desk. “What do you mean?”

“We got a lead about a shipment coming through Lithuania. As Jaxson is aware, they will leave the package for twenty-four hours so as not to draw suspicion. They bring them in by either boat or plane.” He sighs. “This particular one was coming in by boat. We were in place around twelve-thirty, and when we converged, the cargo was empty.”

General Parks leans back in his chair. “Maybe the intel was wrong,” he says hopefully.

“I wish it was, Sir.” Benson pauses. “There was vomit and feces all over the container.”

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