Edge of Brotherhood (Love on the Edge Book 6)

by Molly E. Lee

  I ground my teeth together the closer she drew to me.

  She scanned the area behind me. “Now, you didn’t find me all on your own did you?” She eyed the GoPro above my head. “Still hoping to get a show out of this, are you?”

  I shook my head. “Old habits.”

  A manic laugh broke her lips apart. “Oh that’s priceless, Easton. Here I thought you were most concerned about getting your wife back and you’re making sure to fill your film quota.” She tsked. “No one can say you aren’t a good multitasker.” She crossed her arms over her chest, once again eyeing the space behind me. “Where is the wonder team?”

  I slit my eyes at her, wondering how long she’d watched us before she’d taken Rain. We weren’t here that long. How had we not noticed her? The excavation site wasn’t exactly easy to miss other people at. Hell, it hadn’t been seen by humans in hundreds of years . . . but somehow we’d all remained oblivious to her watching us? Enough to learn about how unique our team was? Something didn’t add up.

  “I came alone. This wasn’t their fight.”

  She turned around, glancing at Frank, one of her go-to goons, who stood on the second floor of the boat, close to the machine that controlled the hook that held up Rain’s cage. The other two men I didn’t recognize, and they stood on the bottom floor of the boat looking like pissed-off bouncers. “You never were a team player,” she said, returning focus to me. “I was shocked that you wanted to work with such a crew. I never work alone, as you can see.” She smirked.

  “You never work.”

  “Ouch. Don’t be hateful, Easton.” Her eyes trailed once again to the cloth in my hand. “Is that my proof?”

  “Get Rain down.”

  She sucked her teeth. “Show me and I will.”

  I took two steps backward, drawing the item behind my back. “Let. Her. Down.”

  “You aren’t in a position to make threats. I hold all the cards here, Easton. Don’t be stupid. Give me the proof and I’ll let her go.” Her tone shifted as if she were trying to force the notion in my brain, force me to realize she was telling the truth. She’d always been a manipulative bitch, but something was off. Something in my gut was even more unsettled than it had been moments ago, if that was possible. Maybe it was because her gaze kept flashing to the camera on my head, her eyes brightening before returning back to me, almost as if she was . . . posing?

  What in the absolute fuck?

  Time was running out. I didn’t have a second to waste piecing together that puzzle. I dropped my head, as if in defeat, and pulled the item back around in front of me. Just as I hoped, all eyes were on me, even Frank’s, though he was more focused on Corrine for what I assumed was a signal.

  Greedy, greedy. She stopped looking at me and focused on my hands as I unwrapped the cloth. Agonizingly slowly, from the strained look on her face. Once she caught a glimpse of the tiny gold bar I held, no bigger than a credit card but thicker, and with a stamp that proved all my instincts were correct, her eyes widened to the size of saucers. They darted from the gold, to me, and back again. “Oh my God, Easton.”

  Now.

  The timer on my watch vibrated against my wrist, and I rewrapped the gold in the cloth. After locking eyes with Dash, who stood behind Frank with a rifle to his head, I smirked.

  “You want proof?” I wadded up the cloth with the gold tucked inside and launched it into the middle of the river. “Go fucking get it.”

  She whirled around. “Drop her!” she screamed, the rage making her voice shriller than normal. She waved to Frank, but he was frozen with the tip of Dash’s gun to his head. Connell and Wade successfully subdued the two goons on the ground level of the boat, securing their hands to the railing with rope, and relieved them of the pistols they wore on their hips. Thank God Wade had scouted a secluded path that secured their entry to the boat without being seen. Now we were in control.

  Corrine started to run, but I snatched a fistful of her hair and yanked her back to me. “Don’t even think about it,” I hissed, keeping a firm hold on her as she continued trying to break free. I eyed Dash, nodding to him, and he said something to Frank. The fucking guy didn’t move. “Tell your man to let her out, or Dash will shoot him.”

  “Not a chance. He’s too clean to kill!” Corrine said it loud enough for Frank to hear. In a blink, Frank elbowed Dash in the gut and spun around, knocking the rifle out of his hand. He flipped a switch on the machine, and Rain’s cage plummeted toward the river.

  Her stuttered scream tore through my heart as I saw her hit the water. Wade and Connell bolted up the stairs, and I clocked Corrine with my elbow. She hit the ground, knocked out cold as I leaped over her. I’d never hit a woman in my life, but I couldn’t spare an ounce of guilt as I raced toward the river, knowing the love of my life was trapped in a metal cage, drowning.

  I dove into the water, not thinking about the caiman that populated it and God knew what else. I had to get to her. I’d break the lock with my fucking hands.

  Pushing through the water, I held as much air in my lungs as possible until I reached her. She frantically tugged at the bars as if she could somehow shimmy them lose. I wrapped my fingers around the steel, pulling myself toward her until my face was between the bars. She stilled, her blue eyes wide and panicked. I yanked her to me, forcing my lips on hers, and blew all the air I had into her lungs.

  My heart thudded rapidly, a loud dom dom dom bashing the insides of my skull with all the air I’d freely given up. Fire burst in my lungs as I struggled to give her every last wisp I possessed. Holding up a finger, I signaled to her that I’d be right back. Just as I reached upward to propel myself to the surface for another breath enough for both of us, the cage jolted.

  Then it rose. I hung on with a fierce grip as it broke the surface of the water, both Rain and I gobbling up deep breaths as the sweet humid air filled our lungs.

  Dash had his hands on the machine, flipping the switch back, the crank pulling the cage upward. My knuckles were white against the bars as I maneuvered around to plant my feet on the boat.

  “Easton.” Rain sighed when the chain stopped her assent.

  Wade dug his knee into Frank’s spine, and Connell pinned his arms behind his back. Dash was holding his jaw, blood spouting from his mouth like he’d been hit with the butt of a gun.

  “Keys,” I growled at Frank.

  “Left pocket.” He groaned when Wade twisted his knee harder into his back as he grabbed the keys and tossed them at me.

  I flew to Rain, my fingers shaking as I undid the lock on the bars and flung the door open. She leaped into my arms, and I held her to my chest so hard I was sure she’d melt into me and we’d become one. Pushing her wet hair back from her face, I tenderly stroked the purple around her eye before slanting my mouth over hers. Tears streamed down her cheeks, making her kiss taste like salt and hope all rolled into one. I stroked her mouth, speaking all the fears and worries and doubts I had without saying a fucking word.

  I broke free, my brain overriding my bliss. Darting my eyes toward the bank, I breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of Corrine still unconscious on the ground. “Connell?” I eyed him and he didn’t need me to say another word before he nodded.

  “On it,” he said, leaving Wade to secure Frank. He rushed down the stairs, and I didn’t take my eyes off him until he’d tied up a limp Corrine next to her other two goons.

  Turning back to what mattered, I cupped Rain’s face in my hand as I hefted her feet off the ground, cradling her against me. “Are you with me?” I asked.

  She laid her head against my chest and nodded. “Yeah, Compass. I’m with you.” She gave me a weak smack against my arm. “You shouldn’t have dived in the water like that. You could’ve been eaten by caiman or anacondas or—”

  I cut her off with another kiss. “You’re my heart, Rain. I can’t live without you.” I shook my head, shrugging as if that explained every action I’d taken since she’d been abducted.

  Rain hugged cl
oser to me as I walked us down to the bank. I eyed Corrine, who was now stirring, a thin line of blood trickling from her nose. I couldn’t muster a shred of guilt. I’d had to give my wife breath to keep her alive. Because of Corrine. The woman was lucky I hadn’t strangled her to death.

  Setting Rain on her feet, I handed her off to Dash, who wrapped an arm around her as I stepped toward where Connell had secured Corrine, Wade tying up Frank next to her. I knelt before her, catching her eyes as they fluttered open. She instantly jerked against the rope that held her to the boat’s railing.

  “You’re lucky,” I said, my tone lethal. I motioned over my shoulder. “Rain’s alive.” I clenched my hands into fists. “If she wasn’t, you’d be dead.”

  Corrine’s bottom lip trembled, but her eyes flashed with hate. “You’ll regret this, Easton Wells!” She shouted the line, looking straight at the GoPro still situated on my head. I’d completely forgotten about it when I dove into the river, and guess I should be thankful of Connell’s skills because I’d purchased the series capable of underwater filming. Not that I’d ever want to watch this footage, but the rest—everything we’d captured before that—would serve as solid evidence against Corrine so I could put her away for good this time.

  “You will regret the day you crossed me,” she said and I couldn’t help but feel like it was the most forced line in history.

  “You sound like you’re reciting a bad script,” Wade snapped from behind me and I nodded.

  “I regret ever meeting you, Corrine. Know that. And know this . . .” I shifted closer to her. “I will make sure you’re never free again. Count on that,” I said before standing and turning my back on her for good.

  “SAME RULES,” EASTON said. “Don’t touch anything.”

  “Dude, do you know where he’s taking us?” Wade whisper-hissed at my back.

  I shook my head, glancing at him over my shoulder. The air was even more stifling inside the lost city, if that was possible, and the only light was offered by the flashlights in our hands. I knew the GoPro was picking up Wade’s face in perfect night-vision definition, but I had to squint to see him, unless I wanted to shine a light directly at him. That would earn me a punch to the gut, so I kept my beam of light trained on the floor before me.

  “But he took you here before we set off after Rain.” He said it as if that made me an expert on all things Easton related.

  I stopped and turned to face him. “We were in here an hour, and he forced me to wait back there.” I pointed down the corridor that broke off from the much more open main area. “He didn’t bring me this far.”

  Wade cocked an eyebrow at Connell, who was taking labored breaths behind him. The climb to enter the lost city had been no easy feat—especially not after the long trek back to camp after finally, thankfully, getting Rain back—but the effort didn’t merit the intensity in which he was gulping down air.

  “Bro,” Wade said, smacking Connell’s shoulder. “How is it you can breathe fine with your face covered, weighted down with gear and nothing but gallons of ocean around you, but put you in a stone hallway and you’re freaking?”

  “Fuck. You.” Each word from Connell’s mouth was spaced apart by another deep breath and his eyes darted over our stone enclosure like it would collapse on him at any minute.

  “Are you coming?” Easton called when he’d realized the three of us were lagging behind.

  “Yeah.” We groaned in unison, picking up the pace.

  The studio had sent a chopper and crew from Cusco to the location of Corrine’s boat, and taken her and her men into custody. I didn’t know what type of authority they’d hired, but I took Easton’s relief after receiving the call as enough to relax myself. We’d spent last night doing nothing but eating and drinking after we’d returned to camp, celebrating the news of Corrine’s imprisonment, as well as Rain’s return.

  Rain needed the replenishment more than anyone—Corrine hadn’t given her a drop of water since she’d abducted her—and we all gave her more than our fair share of rations. Easton hadn’t left her side since and was always connected to her by either hand or the brushing of his shoulder against hers. The man had more than a good reason to be glued to her, and after a few satellite calls to the studio, we were expected back at the Cusco airport by nightfall. Despite her protests, we’d all agreed we needed—her especially—a break from the jungle and would return after a good holiday. Easton had insisted we join him in taking one last peek around the lost city before we took off for the chopper, though.

  Surrounded by so much stone and knowing it was ancient and the people who constructed such a masterpiece were long turned to dust, I could see how Connell was having a hard time breathing. The pressure pushed at my chest as well, tightening it as if the walls themselves were growing narrower, though I knew they weren’t. How Easton did this kind of work on a constant basis, even in smaller and deeper confinements, I had no idea.

  Luckily, I was able to push the instinct to turn around and run for fresh air out of my mind. There were plenty of distractions as we followed Easton’s calculated steps left and right, along hallways that seemed to grow longer each time we turned down one. Carvings on the walls, some boasting the vibrant paint choices of the artist who’d created them, told stories from the past I didn’t know if I’d ever be able to decipher. Even if I spent a year with Easton, interpreting an ancient culture and what they left behind on this earth seemed something a handful of people could do. People who were born to do it, or born with the portion of their brains that allowed them to transport themselves back in time. Though I couldn’t understand it, I could appreciate its beauty and marvel that a Midwest storm chaser such as myself was privy to such an experience.

  Blake will love this.

  Thinking about her both heated my blood and put a deeper ache in my chest than I knew possible. I wanted her here so badly, and I had needed her more than anything after Rain had been taken. Guilt pelted my gut like bullets from a close-range gun. Easton had apologized for blaming me, and Rain had gone on to say there would’ve been nothing I could’ve done, that I would’ve been taken, too, but I still felt responsible. Like a bad movie, the moment replayed in my head on a loop as we’d searched for her, and every time I’d made a different choice. One where I followed her, stopped her, or at least been close enough to change the outcome. The relief at getting her back was so much it hurt, and I could’ve used Blake’s soothing touch as I’d agonized over the ordeal.

  Even after what had happened, I was determined to return with the crew and finish what we started. And this time, with studio backing, I would bring Blake. I imagined Connell thought the same about Sadie. Of course, Easton needed the proof, and I was hoping that the bar he’d tossed in the river yesterday wasn’t his only lead.

  “Dude,” Wade whispered, and I turned to look at him. “Check this out.” He broke from the line to cross to the other side of the corridor. The wall was decorated with more carvings of what Easton had said was the people’s Sun God. This carving had colored stones adorning some of the zigzag areas, but the dust covered them so much I couldn’t tell if they were simple stones or precious jewels.

  “Wade,” I said, a warning in my tone. “Easton said don’t touch—”

  The sound of grinding rock cut me off. One second Wade stood there reaching for a stone, and the next he jerked downward like the floor beneath him had disappeared. Connell moved faster than a blink, hooking his arm around Wade’s chest and yanking his ass back. I hurried over where Connell had dragged Wade, my eyes wide as I watched a thin slab of stone tumble down into a dark pit.

  Easton crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at Wade.

  Wade elbowed Connell in the side. “Dude, Easton said don’t touch anything. Damn.” Wade rolled his eyes, chuckling nervously as he jabbed his thumb at Connell. “This guy never listens.”

  Connell grunted.

  I laughed, and Easton managed to smirk. He spared a glance at the small hole where Wade had stood
not one minute ago. “False pits are the oldest form of theft deterrents in the book. Simple and effective.” He motioned ahead of him. “Now, if you all are done playing around?”

  We each nodded like scolded school children and followed him, Connell and Wade having a steady back and forth elbowing match as we went.

  After we had reached what had to be the dead center of the building, Easton came to a halt and spun on his heels, his boots making a scraping sound against the dusty rock beneath him. He looked at Rain, and just as it had every time his eyes had met hers since we got her back, he crumbled without moving—like he wanted to cry out in relief and happiness at the same time. The mixture of emotions was exhausting to watch, but we all understood.

  “I had intended to just bring Rain here,” he said, sighing. “The day she was taken, I found this room . . . or keep. I wanted to share it with her first because, well, she’s my world.” He shrugged like he didn’t care if we’d give him shit or not. We wouldn’t dare, now. Not with everything so fresh. “But what you three did for me . . . for her, is something I won’t ever forget. This wasn’t your fight. Wasn’t your girl. Wasn’t your problem. Not one of you hesitated to put yourselves at risk. Growing up, Rain was the only family I ever had, and I always wondered what it was like to have a bigger family, one of my own . . . wondered what it was like to have brothers.” He sucked in a deep breath and pressed his lips into a hard line.

  A sharp pinch twisted the back of my throat and I swallowed hard. Asshole was about to make me tear up.

  “Now I know.” He forced the words out in a huff and Rain swiped at the unashamed tears rolling down her face. Lucky she could cry without catching shit. Easton cleared his throat and puffed out his chest a bit. “So, uh, yeah. That’s why I wanted you all here today. To see this before we leave. To know that it’s worth it and to know what we’re coming back to.”

  Emotional speech forgotten, my heartrate jacked as he turned around and motioned us through a large archway and into a chamber. I fist bumped him as I walked past, unable to put words to match what he’d said, but hoped the gesture was enough to show him my agreement on our newly formed family.