I made sure to lock up the house but took the spare key with me just in case Zac did indeed get a visitor, and then opened the door for Willow. I started the car and hooked my car up to the Bluetooth, opening the tracker app and noticing the new signal. Tapping it, I selected it to follow, and we got on the road. According to the App, the phone was currently in Tennessee, traveling between Chattanooga and Nashville. That was good news, because if I headed straight north out of Montgomery on Interstate 65, it would take us right to Nashville. We might not get there before them, but we would be hot on their heels. I sent a quick text to Joe, requesting a cleanup here at the house so there would be nothing incriminating either of the girls, and then we got going.

And as long as they were travelling, Lexie should hopefully be safe. Unless they changed their operating procedures, they wouldn't do anything until they got to whatever sick brothel they were running. That wasn't something I was going to let happen if I could help it.

"I'm going to grab us food before we get on the highway. This is going to be a long drive, so I hope you travel well," I told Willow, who was looking anxiously at the little dot on my phone.

"If it helps us get Lexie, I'll wear a fucking diaper!" she said quickly. "Just drive fast!"

I went through a McDonalds drive through, hating myself for the choice but it was fast, and I could allow myself to regret it after we had Lexie back. While in the drive through, I sent a text to Joe with Zac's address as well as a belated one for Usatov's knowing he'd make sure nothing incriminating was found. I wasn't worried too much about Usatov, but I didn't need Willow implicated in anything that happened with Zac. We got a bunch of cheeseburgers, fries and drinks, then hit the bathroom and got right onto the highway. I even got the remaining blood off my fingers! Once we started driving, I put a little flashing red siren that I was only supposed to use in emergencies on the dashboard and had the car up to 115 mph whenever the road was clear.

"She's going to be okay, right?" Willow asked while nervously munching a fry.

"Damn right she is. We'll get her back." I refused to believe anything else. We'd all suffered when Lessa died, and I couldn't let it happen to Lexie too. I had been a little selfish, taking all my anger out on the people that had a hand in her death, but I never took the time to make sure that Lexie and Willow were okay. They had been a big part of our life, and they and her mom were hurting more than anyone. I should have kept in touch, especially after they knew I was alive again, but I was afraid to risk them. Unfortunately, now I was stuck trying to fix things again. At least this time I had a head start.

Since Lessa and I had been dating so long, Willow and Lexie had been a constant presence in my life. Yes, they were 6 years younger, but they were both great women, and we had always tried to set a good example for them. Like Lessa, they'd both wanted to be nurses, but they took it a step further by moving to Atlanta and they both got jobs in the same hospital that she'd been at when she was abducted. I guess it was them feeling like they had to carry on in her memory, and I was proud of them. Lexie worked in the delivery rooms bringing life into the world, while Willow worked in the ER trying to save them. They were great people. I probably should have spent more time with them, but I guess I lost a lot of my humanity over the last few years, and I didn't think that I could bear to have their goodness in my life. They were light, beautiful, good. I had become stained with my hatred. Vengeance had fueled me, and I'd killed so, so many people. I became evil. I stopped caring.

"She needs to be okay. I need her to be! I can't be without her!" she sobbed, leaning her head against the car window, and snapping me out of my thoughts.

"You won't have to. We'll get her back, and then I'll get you somewhere safe." I reached over, taking her hand in mine, hoping to console her a little. It felt odd to be having a conversation with someone that didn't involve interrogation or torture, and it took some getting used to.

"No, not this time!" She said firmly as she turned to look at me. "You wouldn't let us help you last time, and you've been a virtual ghost to us. I know what you're going got do once we find Lexie, and I can already tell you that she's going to tell you the same thing. We're helping. Don't argue, just accept it."

I just shrugged. It was pointless to argue now, since she was probably right about Lexie demanding the same thing, and I didn't see any need to have the same argument twice. "How about we get Lexie back, and then we'll discuss it."

She snickered at my obvious discomfort. "You really think you're going to win that. That's funny. Lexie isn't going to let you get away with that, and neither am I. Besides, we have a lot to discuss with you, so that will be just one of the topics to go over."

"What else is there?" Okay, now I was nervous. Yeah, I fucked up by not talking to them enough, but who would want me coming over with bloodstains all the time?

"You have to wait, there is no chance I'm talking to you about anything without Lexie." She sat quietly for a moment. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be difficult, especially when you've already done so much. You have no idea how much we wish we saw you more though. I know you need us too, even if you don't want to admit it."

I was afraid to respond to that. Was I lonely? Did I miss having people like Lexie and Willow in my life? I don't know. Well, no, I did know, I just never thought about it because then I'd have to look too much at the way I'd been living. So, I just remained quiet instead. Well, for a moment.

"She gave you the bracelet?"

"Yeah. She's a little crazy. I tried to give it back to her, but by then it was too late, Zac and those two guys were in and on us." Willow sniffled at the memory. "She's too damned stubborn."

"She loves you. She would always put you first."

"And I would have done the same."

"That is why we need to get you back together!"

Traffic was a little heavier going through Birmingham, Alabama, but we were making good time. Unfortunately, it was also getting late. The little dot was north of Nashville, maybe halfway to Louisville, and we were maybe three hours away from them. "Willow, do you think you can drive for a bit? We're catching up to them, but I want to get a little sleep before we do. Maybe an hour or two?"

"If we pull over for a bathroom break, then I should be good to go," she replied, sitting up straight. "I'm too nervous to sleep anyway."

I pulled over at the next exit, and we switched seats after using the restroom in a gas station. It wasn't long before we were back on the road again, hurtling towards Lexie.

One of the benefits of being in the military was that I get could sleep almost instantly. Even if it wasn't a deep sleep, I could get the rest my body and brain would need for a few hours of stress filled combat, or whatever would be awaiting us when we got to the little blinking dot on the app. But even though it made it easier to sleep, it didn't stop me from dreaming.

I was in the hospital again, holding Lessa's hand and watching the light in her eyes slowly fade away. But now there was a second bed, with Lexie in it, looking so similar to her older sister, and Willow holding her hand while crying. As I watched, the heart monitors on both of them flatlined at the same time, and I woke up gasping. Glancing at the clock on the car display, I realized I'd only been out for 30 minutes or so, and I rearranged myself in the seat, closing my eyes and hoping for some better rest.

"I'll be back in six months, and then I'm done," I promised the blonde that was snuggled up in my lap during my next dream. "I'll be all yours forever!"

"You're not reenlisting?" She looked at me, with a huge smile on her face.

"Nope. I already told them I was done. I want to be here when our baby is born and spoil you both rotten!" I was thrilled to have Lessa tell me she was pregnant, though it was very early yet, since I wanted to make a family with her so badly.

"I can't wait to have you home for good. I miss you so much, Jesse!" She buried her face in my hair and nuzzled me. "And I love the long hair!"

I'd always kept my hair short, a byproduct of thinking I was a boy for a lot of my childhood. Even when it was discovered I was intersex, I kept my hair shorter. But there aren't many hair stylists in the desert, so it was usually easier to just let it grow. Now I loved my long hair, usually swept back into a ponytail, and evidently so did Lessa. "I should keep it long, huh?"

"Yes!" she ran her fingers through it, and lightly ran her nails on the back of my neck. "I love every part of you, and the hair really makes you look sexy. The things I could do to you!"

"If it doesn't hurt our little one, then maybe we should do that. It could be the last time until I'm home again!"

And it was. We made long, slow, and gentle love until we were too tired to continue. The next day I had to fly back, and I didn't see her again until she was almost dead.

"You should have been here," here voice said, over and over. "You should have protected us!" I knew that wasn't real. Even when she was dying, she only told me how proud she was of me, and never blamed me at all. I did enough of the self blaming for both of us.

I could only sit there and listen to her, crying to myself as she repeated her criticism over and over.

"Jesse! Wake up!" I was shaken awake by an arm on my shoulder, and I was up in a flash, looking around. We were parked at a convenience store, and Willow was looking at me with worry in her eyes. "Are you okay?"

I nodded slowly. "Yeah. All good. Just a bad dream."

"Lessa?"

"Always. But Lexie now too. We have to get her," I admitted. "I can't fail again."

"Well, you're in luck." She pointed at the phone display, and I noticed we were almost on top of the dot. The little display said it was just after midnight, so they were hopefully asleep. "It looks like they're stopped at the motel across the street."

I pressed my lips together in a grim smile. "Then let's go get Lexie back."