Page 50 of Lacey's Fight

After tidying up the room, he dropped down onto the couch, bouncing his leg as though he was a nervous kid waiting to see the principal rather than a twenty-seven-year-old Navy SEAL who was used to putting himself in dangerous situations.

Minutes ticked by.

One after another.

With each passing second the feeling in his gut grew.

Something was wrong. Don’t ask him how he knew he just did. Felt it somehow. Being a SEAL often meant trusting his gut, and right now, he had no choice but to. Getting a message to Prey that something had gone wrong wouldn’t be easy, and even if he could, they might decide to stick with the plan. If they did that it was almost twenty-four hours before help came.

For now, it was just him and Lacey.

Unable to hang around any longer, Ben jumped to his feet and quickly shoved on a pair of sneakers before heading out into the hall. He’d search this place from top to bottom if that was what it took, but he was going to find Lacey.

Nothing was happening to her on his watch.

Losing another woman he cared about would be the straw that broke the camel’s back. No ifs, ands, or buts, it was as simple as that.

Starting outside he combed the grounds, desperate for a glimpse of her, a sign that she was nearby, that she was okay.

He needed her to be okay.

Lacey, where are you?

As though his silent question thrown out into the universe was answered, he saw something glint in the moonlight.

There was no sign of anybody nearby as he jogged over and bent down beside it. Before he even picked it up, Ben knew what it was.

The simple silver chain had four heart charms on it. One was made of ivory, one was pearl, one was opal, and the other was white filigree that looked like lace.

Lacey’s.

The bracelet belonged to her. He’d seen it on her wrist when they met up on the plane to fly to England, and she’d had it on ever since. The only time he’d seen her take it off was when she took a shower. Opals didn’t do well in water so he presumed she took it off to keep it safe.

No way would she leave it lying in the dirt on the grounds of the estate.

Something had happened to her.

A horrible thought crept into his mind. The Master was here. Had the man seen her and decided that rather than turning her in he could take her himself?

If the girls hadn’t been rescued by Prey, then he doubted The Master would ever have let them go. In his mind they were his possessions, or perhaps his creations, he wouldn’t appreciate having them stolen from him. As far as Ben was aware nobody knew the reason the man had taken them and trained them so vigorously but there must have been one.

Scooping up the bracelet, he ran full speed inside, heading straight for Amelia Kutcher’s room. He needed answers, and the only one who could get them for him was the woman in charge. Her men wouldn’t tell him anything or show him any of the security footage without their boss’ permission.

Two guards were standing outside Amelia’s bedroom, and both straightened as he careened down the hall.

It took him less than thirty seconds to knock them both unconscious and leave their bodies lying in a heap.

Apparently, Amelia was a heavy sleeper because she hadn’t stirred. Stalking across the room, he wrapped a hand around the woman’s neck and hauled her out of the bed. Startled blue eyes snapped open, and fear filled them when she saw him standing there, anger pouring off him in giant waves.

“Where the hell is my wife?” he roared. Just a couple of days ago the idea of having a wife, even a pretend one, was too much for him to cope with, now the sound of the word in conjunction with Lacey didn’t bother him in the least.

Amelia’s hands had lifted to claw at his, and he realized he was cutting off her air supply and preventing her from answering.

Loosening his grip just enough that she could talk, Amelia dragged in a couple of breaths before her gaze darted to the door behind him.

“Don’t count on help coming,” he sneered.

Those fearful eyes turned back to him. “Don’t know what you mean,” she wheezed.

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