Seize Fire (Book #3) GirlXGirl

Nineteen

If we were wrong about this, I would never forgive myself.

The headlights of the Hyundai cut through the dark and allowed an image to surface. Memories of that infamous night replayed in my head as I took a moment to realize this was it.

As we stared at the warehouse, I silently prayed this was where we were supposed to be. If it wasn't, we would surely run out of time before we could find Anna. Sunrise was in a few hours, and if she wasn't here...

I took a deep breath and looked at Melissa.

"Are you ready?" I asked.

She stared through the windshield. "We should call someone."

"Like?"

"I don't know... Derik, Willi, my dad..."

It would take them at least an hour to get here, which wouldn't disrupt any plans Paige had. But a lot could happen in an hour.

"I'm calling Derik," Melissa claimed.

"Alright," I said as I exited the car.

The lights from the car showed me a path as I made my way through the forest. A vague familiarity touched my brain as I recalled the assault rifle I had carried down this exact route. How, with our team, we had captured my father and Dave Stanley in one of the biggest drug busts. How it had all started here, in this old, abandoned warehouse.

And hopefully, by sunrise, it would all be over.

I heard footsteps approaching my side as Melissa fell in next to me. We had parked in seclusion, in case Paige was here and watching us. At least she would believe I was alone. At least we had the upper hand.

When we made it to the back entrance, the door was locked. We decided to check the fire escape as well, which was also locked.

"She wants you to go in through the front," Melissa said.

"What about you?" I wondered.

She flashed her lock picks. "I'll manage."

We gave each other a smile, but this seemed to be where we would part.

"I'll go in through here and scope out my area from the bottom. She won't have a clue, okay?" Her hands grabbed my face. "We're gonna get Anna out of here."

Standing here, outside the warehouse where the nightmare called my life had started, made me realize it might be time for it to finally end. And I had a bad feeling this could very well be the last time I would get to embrace the brunette standing in front of me.

I pulled her into me. My lips sealed off hers as I closed my eyes and enjoyed the moment. I could feel the soft skin of her face under my palms as they traveled over her jaw and neck. For some reason, her bottom lip was trembling, but I assumed it was from the cold. She couldn't possibly know that I believed this could be our last kiss, could she?

When we pulled apart, I couldn't see if she had tears in her eyes, but I had some in mine. If not for Melissa, a lot of my life would've been normal. But now that we were here, past all the lies and betrayal, I realized it was because of her I had survived a lot afterwards.

"I love you," I whispered.

She smiled. "I love you too, Alexa."

Then I backed away from her and turned towards the front entrance of the warehouse. The pain in my heart was great, but I had to keep my head straight. One task at a time. Find Anna. That was task one. Everything else that happened after would be dealt with as it came.