Savior Complex

SAVIOR COMPLEX WILD HEART RANCH BOOK 3 KELLY FOX CONTENTS Also by Kelly Fox Before We Begin 1. Levy 2. Javier 3. Levy 4. Javier 5. Levy 6. Javier 7. Levy 8. Javier 9. Levy 10. Javier 11. Levy 12. Javier 13. Levy 14. Javier 15. Levy 16. Javier 17. Levy 18. Javier 19. Levy 20. Javier 21. Levy 22. Javier 23. Levy 24. Javier 25. Levy 26. Javier Epilogue Acknowledgments About the Author Also by Kelly Fox Copyright @ 2023 Kelly Fox Cover Design: cateashwooddesigns.com Cover Photograph: wanderbookclub.com Developmental Edit by: Charity VanHuss, [email protected] Edited by: Abbie Nicole, [email protected] Proofed by: Lori Parks, [email protected] ALL RIGHTS RESERVED This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. This is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or business establishments, events or locales is coincidental. The Licensed Art material is being used for illustrative purposes only. ALSO BY KELLY FOX SERIES Wrecked Guardians Rebel Sky Ranch Mobsters+Billionaires Wild Heart Ranch Orpheum Avenue STAND-ALONE NOVELLAS Summer Makeover Bee Cave Magic Texas Detour Roots and Sky Liar’s Gambit FREEBIES https://www.authorkellyfox.com/freebies BEFORE WE BEGIN Savior Complex is all about unraveling a big lie, plus the smaller lies we tell ourselves about our self-worth. It’s also about the people who light our way to the truth. This one’s for the wild hearts who don’t need time to tell them what their minds and hearts already know. Content note: Traumas related to kidnapping and child trafficking are named but not described in detail on the page. Trauma-related behaviors, however, are explored. These include avoidance, memory loss, and trauma-dumping. There are also descriptions of a fatal crash and subsequent flashbacks, including fainting at the sight of blood. 1 LEVY Nacho yanks open the van door before jumping into the driver’s seat. “This is a clusterfuck of epic proportions,” he says in Spanish. He’s right. We’re parked in front of a restaurant that minutes before, had been full of diners enjoying their food. Unfortunately, we had pretty convincing evidence that the people working in the back weren’t there of their own free will. A bullet whizzes over the top of the van, and I hesitate with my response, unsure if I’ve got the conjugations and tenses right in my head. “Bram is going to kill Charlie for putting us in the middle of this.” My brother Bram and I are therapists at Wild Heart Ranch’s Equine Therapy Center, which is owned by Charlie Wills. Charlie’s side hustles include high-end bounties and rescuing survivors of human trafficking. We offered to be on hand for non-violent operations to support the people who need it. Turns out, this op wasn’t as non-violent as Charlie had hoped. Nacho sends me a thumbs-up as another bullet zips by. “Excellent conjugation!” “Would you two focus?” Bram asks, sliding open the side door of the panel van. He hurries into the back as another pop of gunfire goes off, taking out the driver side mirror as he noisily slams the door shut. “You were saying, brother?” I ask in English. “We can hear your Spanish lessons over the comms. At least mute yourself.” Gesturing to the mother and teenage son huddling in the rear corner of the van, he adds, “They don’t need to hear what you’re talking about.” Nacho looks in the rearview mirror, narrowing his eyes at Bram. They’ve been together for a while, and he’s good for my brother. Especially when he puts him in his place, which is about to happen in three, two, one… “I’m speaking in Spanish for two reasons. One, your brother asked me to speak in Spanish to him on this mission to test out whether or not he’s integrated Spanish comfortably enough to use it under duress. Charlie approved it.” Speaking of the devil, Charlie runs in front of the van, knife in hand. An enormous mountain of a man comes from the side and takes his legs out from under him. The man goes to pull his weapon, then keels over, revealing Erik with a smoking gun. Looking through the windshield, he sends us an apologetic shrug before helping Charlie up and running off. “And?” Bram asks, deeply put out. “And what?” Nacho asks, flinching as a bullet skims the roof on his side. “Fuck. Levy, Ignacio, get in the back,” Bram grumbles, pulling Nacho back through the two captain’s chairs before he can protest. A bullet glances off of the windshield, and the mother screams while I decide my brother might have a point. I reach into the back and grab Erik’s empty rifle case, standing it up and shoving it between the two front seats. “Levy! You’re supposed to stay on this side of the case!” Bram shouts as I drop into the driver’s seat and start the van. “Fuck, who let Levy drive?” Nacho asks in Spanish, cracking himself up as I peel out of the now-abandoned parking lot. I misjudge the exit and end up going over the sidewalk, landing in the road with a thunk and a pair of whining axles. “Sorry, guys!” “Say it in Spanish!” “¡Lo siento, muchachos!” “¡Excellente!” A bullet pings off the back bumper, and I scrape the side of a parked car as I find the main thoroughfare. Bram pulls away the rifle case and leans between the two front seats, staring at the side of my head. “Do you even know where you’re going?” Charlie’s calm voice filters over the comms as gunfire continues to go off in the background. “Drive to the end of the block and turn right, then keep going until you hit the highway.” Rat-tat-tat-umph. “Go south and head home. We’re a few minutes behind you.” “Ten-four, good buddy,” I crack as I roll through the stop sign and hang a