"We have bigger issues than your never ending gut brother. Is it me or does shit seem to be steamrolling around here? If I didn't know better I'd swear the shit was following us, but that can't be right because it started before we ever stepped foot here." Quinn was busy tinkering around with the monitors and shit, making sure our security was up and running as he made that statement. Davie finally found us, and the mood changed, it was hard sometimes to remember that he was just a kid, but now with the prospect of him being who he is, the rest of us by tacit design were shifting gears. Our thing was to protect him and his sister, even from the shit that they'd found themselves in the middle of. It was only natural that outside these four walls we've been going out of our way to keep shit light, especially for the women's sake, but we all knew we had a shit storm on our hands. Our hands being tied, wasn't helping matters. It's not like we could set u

"Vanessa, I need you on point, I have to make a run. No one in no one out." I didn't have time to explain things to her either but at least she had training, and she knew better after the last time than to let her sisters get her involved in shit. I heard my niece in the background babbling away before I hung up and for some reason that was able to give me a bit of that calm I'd been searching for. My guts were in knots and I still refused to think, to let my mind wander to what-ifs. I was worried on two fronts. If there was one thing I'd learned in my years as a SEAL it was to look at a situation from all angles before heading in. It could very well be a setup, something to lure me away, but I had to take the chance. It was a hard call, you never left your post for any reason, but this was Victoria Lynn, I had to go. I jumped in the Hummer, which was one of the safest vehicles on the compound. It was tricked out with every security measure known to man, and was our go

My hands went back to shaking as I worked on getting her loose from the chains now that she was no longer bound to the radiator. With every snip of the cutters into the thick iron chain links her body would twinge in some small way, letting me know that she felt it. I had to concentrate on what I was doing so that I didn't cause any more damage, bring her any more pain. The room started coming in to view then and I realized just how filthy the surroundings were, even more so than my little preview out in the hallway. That she'd been left here like this was a slap in the face. Whether he knew who she was or her connection to us, I didn't really care, this shit was personal. The question begged to be answered, if I had taken her up on the coy smiles and come hither looks, would she be in this hell right now? A resounding 'no' was my answer to myself. There's no way. If I had taken my head out of my ass sooner, she would be home right now safe and sound. U

"Baby can you hear me?" Her silence was beginning to scare the shit outta me. I've seen more than my share of traumatized people in my life, and I know that the next few hours can make a difference in the way she heals. It didn't matter what she'd been through no matter how horrible, I couldn't let her disappear in her head, couldn't let her escape there though it might seem like the best thing for her. I didn't want her blaming herself the way I did all these years, for something that was no fault of hers. Something a monster had brought about. Of all the things I would've shared with her, my legacy wasn't one of them. How fucked was it that we now had this in common? That for the rest of our lives these memories will be a part of her, just as I'd carried mine all these years? Right then and there I made a promise to myself, no matter what it takes, I'll get her through this. I was through running, I hope to fuck I wasn't too late. Fuck that no!

I caught up to them just before they entered the door. "Okay listen to me, she's in a really bad way, I need you to prepare yourselves, no don't cry Dani if you cry I won't let you in there and I need you in there." I willed her with my eyes on hers to suck it up. I saw the struggle the two of them had as they fought back emotions. I'd forgotten how close they all were, that even though I'd been shutting her out, she was already a part of our family in her own small way because she knew the girls. That too had changed in the twinkling of an eye. Now she had an even greater claim to us, to our home, she was mine. No longer just a friend, an outsider, but one of the fold. "We straight?" they both nodded and I studied them to make sure they weren't bullshitting me before opening the door and leading them inside. "Baby I'm back, I brought the girls to take care of you." Just as I expected, they didn't ask any questions when they saw the bruised and batter