Authors: Cait Jarrod
White-hot
terror blanketed Charlene’s skin, intensifying the pain behind her eyes and
leaving her strangely detached from her body.
Monk
stiffened and his hands fisted. “Who didn’t make it? The agents?”
The
withering expression washing over Lavender’s face gave Charlene an inkling of
hope that Larry was okay. “The Scorpions. No one is alive.”
Charlene
heaved a sigh of relief and heard Celine’s exhale. She had to be as worried as
Charlene. If Larry was here that meant he brought backup. Steve could have been
in danger, too.
“What!”
Monk’s eyebrows narrowed. His voice sounded as if he swallowed a wad of paper.
He tugged off his cap and ran a hand over his face. “You’re mistaken. My
brother is the best fighter in the gang.”
Lavender
nodded, tears leaking down her face. “I know.”
Rage
boiled over Monk’s expression; his face turned beet red and his nostrils
flared. “That fucker!” He stormed over to the fence, gripped the top row of
barbed wire, and stared out into the dense woods.
After
a few minutes, he faced them. “Roach, go to the bunker and bring Mathews to
me.” The emotion that had overwhelmed Monk’s features disappeared. He was
composed, yet his eyes held a toughness that told Charlene he flipped a switch
from a mild mannered Impaler to a callous criminal,
a Black Scorpion
.
Lavender’s
intake of breath confirmed her hunch and sent goose bumps over Charlene’s skin.
“Get
them out of here,” Lavender whispered over her shoulder to Albert.
Monk’s
hard eyes landed on Lavender then on Albert shooing Charlene and Celine to the
four-wheeler. “Stop!”
The
three of them didn’t move. Albert’s body stiffened as if he was more a squeamish
teenager than a gang member.
Monk
walked over to Charlene, leaned in until his nose was a mere fraction from
hers. “Mrs. Gibson?” He arched a brow.
Charlene
shook her head so fast she thought it’d go into convulsions. “No, I’m not.”
He
narrowed an eye on Celine. “You?”
She
pressed her lips together and shook her head.
He
studied them for a long moment, looking between Celine and Charlene, before his
chin jutted outward. “Get them out of here.”
****
Quigley
and Jackson made quick work of removing Jake’s shirt and undid the Velcro on
his vest.
A
hole lodged into the right-hand side of Jake’s shirt, stopping in his bulletproof
vest.
“Damn,
you all keep manhandling me, I’m gonna wonder about ya,” Jake said, his voice
weak.
Releasing
a sigh of relief, Larry ran a hand down his face. No matter how many times he
was faced with this scenario, each one cut him to the quick. “Hey, buddy.”
“Hey,
back.” Jake rose to a sitting position. “Damn, that stung.”
“You
guys got to stop with this shit!” Quigley said, stepping aside and puffing out
air.
Larry
took in the fit, stealthy soldier. Quigley’s hands rested on his hips and he
stared at the sky. Something bad must have gone down for him to be this shaken
up.
“Package
found. At your one o’clock,” Paul said in their ears, “near an old abandoned
shed. No access by air. Guns alive.”
A
deluge of adrenaline slug through Larry’s system and he shot across the field
over bumpy terrain into the woods. Darkness invaded, and the branches blocked
the last remaining light. He lowered his night goggles and perused the expanse.
The
rusty trailer and goats were set off to the right. The goats kicked up their
hooves and butted each other with their horns.
“They’re
active for this time of day,” Jackson said, catching up to him when Larry
slowed. “They high?”
“Looks
it. They’ve been known to nibble on plants in the past.” Larry hopped over a
dip in the terrain and advancing toward a field bordered with trees. He had two
choices: either to stay undercover amongst the trees and take twice as long to
reach Charlene and Celine, or sprint across the field and get to them before
trouble worsened.
“Found
their crop,” Paul said into their earpiece. “Going in.”
“Wait
for backup.” Jake’s voice was much stronger and he panted.
“The
man is on the move,” Jackson chuckled. “Glad you’re amongst the living.”
“Thanks.”
Gun fire blasted over Jake’s words.
“Fuck!”
Jake yelled. “He didn’t wait.”
No
need for Jake to say who
he
was. The
shots came from the direction Paul landed the helicopter.
Sirens
sounded in the distance.
“Locals
are here,” Jackson said and went for the tree line.
“This
way,” Larry said and proceeded. At the top, he and Jackson dropped to the
ground.
A
stream divided them and what looked like a makeshift camp. To the left, there
was an old two story building. The bottom floor opened on one side. Off to the
right, a bonfire and a strange looking contraption behind it.
“Damn.
That’s a crop.” Paul whistled in the earpiece.
“Another
perky voice,” Quigley said. “Take any hits?”
“That’s
a negative,” Paul said. “Rendezvous at the shed. Coming in on foot.”
“Roger
that,” Larry said, focusing back on the camp. A burly man with a gun crossed
between his arms walked in front of the structure and paused. Larry’s heartbeat
thundered in his throat. “The girls are in that structure.”
The
sound of a motor approaching had them pressing their bodies to the ground. Out
of a gap in the woods, a four-wheeler advanced toward the camp. Two riders, one
unknown gang member and Smith, his hands tied behind his back.
Larry
lowered the googles. Through them he could see the scowl on Monk’s face. “This
isn’t looking good for Smith.”
“Nope.”
Jackson pulled out a laser listening device and aimed it toward the camp. “You
guys will hear everything they say.”
“Damn,
you have some toys.” Jake dropped to the field beside them.
“He’s
my hero,” Quigley said, peering through night goggles.
The
four-wheeler stopped near the fire. Smith and the Impaler stepped off.
“That’s
Ellis Goldberg, A.K.A. Roach. Done time for small stuff, nothing major,” Larry
informed.
Jackson
did something to the listening device. “Listen.”
“You
dumb fuck!”
With
the listening device, Monk yelling sounded like it was right beside them.
And
through the night vision googles, his body language said
pissed
. “You led the agents here.”
Roach
moved backwards toward the fire.
“I
didn’t lead them here,” Smith’s voice rose. “You captured one of their women.”
“Aw,
fuck!” Larry mumbled on a growl. The asswipe just put Charlene’s life in more
danger.
Monk
spit on the ground next to Smith’s boots. “You killed my brother.”
Smith’s
eyes widened. Nervousness flowed off him in waves. “What? No, man!”
“Incoming,”
Quigley said.
Larry
ignored the twitching in his eye. “What’s the count?”
“A
scared tweet, two guard, two Scorpions, one purple-headed person, two sitting
near the fire,” Jackson said, “Monk, and a partridge in a pear tree.”
“For
those who can’t count, that’s nine,” Quigley said.
“Can
anyone get a visual inside that structure?” Jake asked.
“Two
men inside,” Paul said, “watching the packages.”
“Your
location?” Bewilderment laced Jake’s voice.
“In
the trees. The vines aren’t covering the top. I have clear shots,” Paul
whispered.
“You
think he can take them both before they fire?” Quigley asked.
“Yeah,
I do,” Larry said. “Let’s roll. On three. One…”
“You
thought you could make a deal with the Black Scorpions to take over my
operation,” Monk fumed. “Instead, you set a trap and get my blood killed.”
“No,
no, that’s not what I did,” Smith went from nervous to withering. “I just
wanted my wife back.”
“Two…”
Larry said, his adrenaline kicking in full gear, making it unbearable to wait.
Monk
scuffed. “I want my brother back. He’s paid the ultimate price for your
actions. Now, your dear wife will pay for what you have done.”
Larry’s
heart clenched. The pain seeped through every inch of his body. He bolted
upright, raced through the tall grass toward the camp.
“Damn
it!” Jake shouted in his ear.
Larry
ignored his friend, but knew the men would have his back.
A
barrage of activity happened at once.
Two
shots discharged. “Go…go…go,” Paul commanded in the earpiece.
Monk
pressed his gun against Smith’s head and pulled the trigger. Smith’s lifeless
body collapsed to the ground.
Larry
felt Charlene and Henry’s loss like a serrated knife to his gut and tore after
Monk heading toward the vine structure.
Screams
sounded.
Larry
lifted his gun, aimed at Monk’s head, and…
Monk
crumpled to the ground.
“You’re
welcome,” Quigley said in the earpiece.
Larry
groaned. He appreciated Quigley acting fast, but he wanted to take the guy out
for threatening Charlene.
Chaos
broke loose. The men sitting around the fire scrambled for their guns.
Jake
and Larry made quick work to incapacitate the remaining men, and Larry targeted
the guard heading inside the structure. The burly man slumped. The other guard ducked
behind the structure out of sight.
A
gun discharged.
Dread
plummeted like a lead balloon into the pit of his stomach. The gun’s report
came from inside the vines where Charlene and Celine were held.
“Scorpions!”
Jake hopped onto an ATV.
“Your
woman’s a good shot,” Paul said into the earpiece and dropped from a tree limb
onto the four-wheeler beside his brother and drove off after him
The
ball of fear taking up residence in his stomach broke apart. Still, he needed
eyes on her. He slipped to the entrance, peeked inside, and froze.
With
her back pressed against Charlene’s, Celine cradled the barrel of AK-15 in her
lap and scowled at the purple-haired woman.
Charlene
looked over her shoulder and Celine’s, glaring at the woman. She clutched the
grip of the gun, her finger resting on the trigger. “Untie us, Lavender!”
Wide-eyed,
Lavender shook her head and dropped her gaze to the dirt. “I’m sorry, girls.
This was never in the plan,” she sobbed. “Monk was decent. He didn’t want the
life his brother had.”
Quigley
pushed past Larry, standing at the entrance. “Let’s go. Tell your story in
court.” He grabbed Lavender by the nape of the neck and they disappeared.
Charlene
met Larry’s gaze and her eyes softened.
Excitement
that she was alright did a number on him, almost taking him to his knees.
“You’re okay,” he said more to himself than asking a question, giving his worst
fears a voice.
She
smiled and gave a single nod.
Hair
mussed, dirt covered her face, and yet, she was so unbelievably gorgeous he
ached.
****
Emotions
rushed up Charlene’s raw throat and stung the backs of her eyes. The last hours
had been treacherous, scary, and sent her heart into rapid palpitations more
than once. Seeing Larry, looking so gorgeously handsome, so lovable, her
heart’s wild beat returned. He was alive!
“Is
it over?” Charlene asked, gazing into his eyes too afraid to blink for fear
he’d vanished.
The
affection and relief in his honey-colored eyes warmed her insides and clenched
her heart. She choked on a sob.
“Yes,
babe.” His voice was strained. He slid the AK-15 out of Celine’s and Charlene’s
grasp, handed it to someone dressed like Larry that she didn’t recognize.
The
ties binding her hands and Celine’s broke apart easily with one swipe of
Larry’s knife. He helped Charlene to her feet and engulfed her in a bear hug.
She wrapped her arms around him, pressed her cheek against his chest, and
listened to his heartbeat. For a long moment, she stayed that way, savoring the
deliciousness of him. She rubbed her eyes and forehead against him, feeling his
heartbeat and warmth, and closed her eyes. She never wanted to leave this
position.
A
moan leaked from him. He squeezed her closer to his body, his body vibrated.
“I’ve never been so scared,” he said, his voice raspy. His mouth caught hers in
a kiss so demanding and hot, her heart flipped.
“You
gals are fighters!” Jackson’s deep voice resounded, splitting Charlene and
Larry apart.
Celine
buried her face into Jackson’s chest, tears streaming down her face.