Defensive Instructor - Debra Parmley

  Whether he’d come to abduct her or kill her, she didn't know, but she hoped the men stopped him and no one got hurt.

  Barrett, Swede, and Gunny automatically reached for their weapons and came out of the rooms they’d been in.

  “Everyone stay in your rooms!” Gunny shouted to the women.

  “And stay away from the windows!” Barrett shouted.

  The men hurried toward the front of the building, which had been breached.

  Hank had dropped to one knee, and was hiding most of himself behind a doorjamb, while he continued shooting at the man with the shotgun and the man crouched down at the door.

  One of his shots must’ve hit something because the man with the shotgun suddenly disappeared, and the man who’d bent down, doubled over and then went down, before being pulled out of the front doorframe.

  At that moment, Barrett, Swede and Gunny made their tactical way into the room behind Hank. Barrett watched the front door while Gunny and Swede looked to Hank.

  “You hit?” Swede asked.

  “No,” Hank said, “I hit one of them.”

  “How many?” Barrett asked.

  “I saw two,” Hank said.

  Hank said, “I’ll get the women into the kitchen.” He rose, pushing past the other three so he could start herding everyone into the kitchen as calmly as possible. He reloaded his gun as he moved down the hallway toward the back of the building where the women’s rooms were.

  From the back of the building he went door to door, getting each woman out. “Stay behind me,” he said, before going to the next door, and the women came out and followed behind. There were only four more doors to go. As he reached the door on his left, the door opened and Cecelia came out.

  “What’s happening?” she asked, reaching for his forearm, her hand closing around it.

  He put his other hand on hers to reassure her, knowing she was blind and couldn’t see his expression. “I’m taking you to a safer room.”

  From his peripheral vision he saw a man throw a lit flare toward the building and then a second.

  Damn. Another man. Arsonist.

  He pulled Cecelia back out of the doorway and back into the hall, keeping the other women behind him. “Put your hand on my back,” he told her. He felt her move behind him and place her hand on his back. Hopefully that would reassure her and keep her out of the line of any fire.

  “What’s happening?” Leah asked, as she looked out from the door across the hall, not staying in her room, concern for the women across her face.

  “We’ve got a couple fire bugs,” he said. He didn’t mention the live shooters.

  The women gasped.

  “It’s all right. Don’t panic. Everyone stay close.” He peered around the doorframe but didn’t see anyone. “Swede,” he spoke into his mouthpiece.

  No answer.

  “Gunny,” he spoke again.

  Nothing.

  “Barrett.”

  Damn. Equipment failure.

  It happened. It couldn’t slow them down.

  “Get everyone to the kitchen and get down on the floor,” he said to Leah.

  Leah stood counting heads. “Two more,” she said and point to the last two doors. “Tamara and Chyna.” She knocked on one door and he knocked on another.

  “Follow Leah,” he told the short brown haired woman who answered the door.

  Chyna opened her door.

  “Come with me,” Leah said to her. Over her shoulder, to him, she said, “That’s everyone.”

  “Go to the kitchen and stay down on the floor, behind the island, away from the window.”

  Leah, who’d been sure she’d heard gunshots and this was more than fire, raised an eyebrow but nodded at him. Cecelia had a look of fear on her face and was standing still, listening.

  It had to be even more frightening for a woman who couldn’t see to know there was fire in the building. And if she’d heard what she thought were shots too…

  China’s eyes were wide and her face was white. She hadn’t spoken a word and must’ve been terrified. Her ex had tried to burn her house down. Leah remembered now.

  “It’s going to be okay,” she reassured the group as she reached for Cecelia’s hand. “Take my hand. This is the safest place for us. We have to stay quiet and calm. Hank will let us know when we can come out.”

  He nodded at her and then headed toward the front of the building toward the men.

  Barrett looked at him in surprise.

  “There’s fire on the left flank of the building,” Hank said. “Saw one man toss a couple of flares.”

  “Damn,” Barrett said. “And the women?”

  “How bad?” Swede asked.

  “All ten safe in the kitchen. No visible flames inside or smoke yet.”

  Then the fire alarm went off.

  “They’ll be scared,” Barrett said. “Might panic and run.”

  “Leah’s with them,” Hank frowned and thought briefly then nodded to Swede. “Go.”

  Swede headed back to the women to make sure they stayed put and he’d check on the extend of the fire inside, now that the alarm had gone off.

  Barrett fought the urge to go to Chyna.

  Focus on the mission. She’ll be fine. She won’t be if you don’t focus. So focus. First time he’d had to fight such a strong urge to go the other direction of the place he was supposed to be. First time he’d had a woman he cared for anywhere near a mission. Now he understood why men said this could mess with your head. There was no room for that. You had to stay clear, calm, controlled. He got it back and refocused. Who’d set that fire, where were they and how many were there?

  Flames spread up the wall, into the eaves and then onto the roof, flames and smoke then rising into the sky.

  Buck, asleep in his apartment over the stables, heard the fire alarm go off and leapt out of bed to go look out the window toward the main house. Seeing smoke rising from the rooftop, he threw on his jeans, grabbed a shirt and jammed his feet into his boots. He took off for the house at a run.

  Fire could spread quickly out here and the local volunteer firemen would still have to make it out here.

  As he ran he heard a gunshot and a bullet flew past him. He dropped to the ground and crawled behind the water trough.

  Who was setting fires? In the middle of August wasn’t any call for a fire of any kind. And who fired at me?

  He looked around, waiting. No more shots were fired. Stealthily he made his way back to the stables and got his favorite 30 caliber hunting rifle with the scope, checked it and made sure it was fully loaded. Sticking extra ammo into his pocket he headed back to the water trough.

  Looking over the water trough, he saw the fire hadn’t spread rapidly.

  Now to deal with the shooter. Where was he?

  Putting the rifle to his shoulder, so he could look through the scope, he searched the area.

  Micah had been watching the front door but saw no movement. Then he saw someone off to his left running toward the house. He let go of Trey’s wound, raised his gun and took a shot. Missed or hit whoever it was. He wasn’t sure. The movement stopped.

  He waited but no one was moving and no one was coming through that door, either, so he turned back to his brother. Micah glanced from his brother to the house and back again.

  Trey was fading fast. Too much blood was everywhere and his face was pale as a ghost as his lifeblood slipped away. The cloth meant to stop the bleeding was saturated and useless and Micah didn’t know what to do.

  “Ain’t gonna make it,” Trey’s voice came faint. He looked more than half gone already and sounded it too.

  Micah got all choked up in his throat and could hardly get the words out, so he forced them. “You hang on dammit. We ain’t gonna lose you.”

  But it was too late. Blood came up out of Trey’s mouth with one last cough and then he was gone.

  “No!” Micah shouted into the trees, gathering his brother into his arms. “No!” Then the anger rose up in him a
nd he laid his brother down, closed his staring eyes and looked down at him one last time before stepping away.

  The anger that rose deep from within his gut took over and he took a step toward the house, bringing his gun up with him. “You killed my brother,” he screamed. “You’re going to pay!” He began running toward the house, firing.

  Chapter 10

  Buck, keeping the anger-crazed man within his sights, took a calm aim and fired.

  The man, hit, dropped to the ground.

  Buck waited to see if there were others and chambered another round.

  Hank, Swede, Gunny and Barrett rushed out the front door, using their tactical moves, while knowing two of the unfriendlies were down, but not knowing where any others might be. They took up tactical positions on the front porch.

  “It’s me, Buck!” he called out, letting them know who was behind that gun and where his position was. “Two bad guys down. Front of the house and the trees. Anybody inside hurt?”

  “All safe!” Hank shouted back.

  “Roofs on fire,” Buck shouted back. “Get them out!”

  “Not yet,” Barrett shouted to him.

  “Stay put!” Hank yelled.

  “Roger,” Buck said.

  Hank directed the men using hand signals. They had to do something about the men on the side of the house and finish this so they could get the women out and put out that fire. This had gone beyond what it should have.

  If the company had let him set up security cameras, one at the guard gate and the rest at the main house, none of this would’ve happened. Now he had to deal with the result of their bad decision. Their argument that the compound was too far out in the middle of nowhere to need security hadn’t held water then and now he and his men were smack dab in the middle of that proof having to fix a problem that could’ve been prevented. It was up to them to fix this.

  Setting up their tactical positions, they moved without speaking. All four experienced warriors went into battle mode, communicating using hand signals, using an almost sixth sensory perception working together as a unit.

  Finn fired his gun wildly, and charged, heated up by the fire he’d started and feeling as if he were invincible.

  Gunny fired a double tap, the first one a kill shot, the second, habit. Finn dropped to the ground, dead.

  Al, the calmest of the four Taylor cousins, had stayed behind Finn, using him as cover though Finn was unaware. He’d gotten off a few close shots, but the moment Finn dropped, Al fired off a shot at one of the men.

  Barrett, who’d been aiming for Al, saw his chance and fired the moment Finn dropped and Al fired directly at him. He moved, but the bullet hit his outer upper arm. “Damn,” he hissed, pulling back against the building as the others were firing.

  Hank followed Barrett’s shot with another shot. Both shots hit the man, knocking him back onto the ground. “Where you hit?” he called to Barrett.

  “Upper arm,” Barrett said. He’d put his arm over it and Hank could see blood between his fingers.

  Neither man moved on the ground.

  Hank nodded at Swede and Gunny who moved forward, guns ready; to make sure the men were dead.

  Barrett, leaning against the building, had slid down and was sitting on the floor of the porch.

  Hank turned back to Barrett, and crouched down, checking his wound, ripping the cloth away to see better. “Almost a through and through,” he said. “You’re lucky though. It grazed you hard.” Using his medic kit he covered the wound and stopped the bleeding, then glanced back at his men.

  “Got to get the women out and stop that fire,” Barrett said, as if he wasn’t sitting there with a wound to tend to.

  Gunny gave a thumbs up to Hank, and then Hank made a circle with his finger. His men would check the perimeter next.

  “You let me worry about that,” Hank said.

  Barrett nodded and remained quiet, when all he wanted to do was go back in and get them out. The minute Hank was done patching him; he’d do just that.

  The only sound in the dark of night now was the fire on the roof, which was lighting the night sky.

  The team of four had fired with a calm unemotional precision, unmatched by the two cousins who were fueled by rage, bravado, impatience and the mindset that they were good hunters who didn’t need to train much to be able to shoot well. Four against two odds hadn’t fazed their mindset, and they had no idea they were up against men with Special Forces skills honed in the military on the battlefield. The battle had been over quick. Now the team had to turn their attention to the fire.

  Swede and Gunny began the perimeter search as Hank surveyed the carnage. Four dead bad guys and now the fire on the roof to contend with.

  This was what happened when corporate types in another state had final decision on security and did everything by the bottom line and to save a buck. He’d been surprised at the last minute, just one week before the center opened, when the answer came back. They’d said no to the cameras. Changed their minds. Now that decision had come back and was biting them in the ass. Brotherhood Protectors would fix this problem. Maybe next time they’d listen and take his advice.

  He hoped the plan in place for putting out a fire was more solid. The building was almost entirely wood and even though treated, that wood would burn.

  The minute it went silent and then stayed that way, Buck moved from behind his cover and went around the other side of the building. He’d help them with that perimeter and then get onto that fire. There was no time to waste.

  As soon as he saw the men, he shouted, “All clear! We got to stop that fire! Get the women out!”

  Fire still burned in the building and across the roof. The bedrooms outer walls on the side where Finn had lit the building were burning higher at the roof as the big logs burned slower. Flames licked up into the air and across the roof on that back corner of the building. The fire would spread quickly across the roof if the wind picked up.

  Buck ran to get the hose. He attached the fire nozzle onto it and then turned the handle open wide to get the water running. He ran back to the house and directed the spray onto the fire. He hoped he could keep it from spreading further before the fire truck with the water tanks got there.

  Inside the building, the fire alarms were going and smoke was spreading from the back of the building toward the front.

  Barrett had gone back inside, the minute Hank had stepped away from him and had hurried the women out of the kitchen and into the great room.

  Hank, knowing what he was up to, had let him go. Barrett had the hots for that little blonde, though he wouldn’t admit it to anyone.

  Gunny had joined Barrett and they were herding the women out. He hollered at them as he waved an arm. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s go.”

  The women hurried after the men as they rushed toward the front doors. Chyna noticed something around Barrett’s right arm.

  Was he hurt?

  She couldn’t see. He was busy helping the women on the other side of her, though she’d felt his gaze on her the minute he appeared in view, as if he were looking for her. They were all hurrying out and she was confused about what was going on. She knew she’d heard gunshots. Lots of them. And men shouting. Now it was quiet and the building had smoke inside.

  There was a fire, but what about the gunshots? It had to be Finn. She felt him like a black shadow hovering. He’d been here and he was here now, though no one had mentioned him.

  Chyna ran onto the porch and down the porch steps. She looked about, frantic, fear still filing her, as she looked for trouble. As she looked for Finn.

  She’d been looking for him ever since she’d gone into the shelter months ago. Would she always be looking for him?

  “Its over,” Barrett said, as he came over to her.

  Over. The word didn’t quite register.

  “You’ve been shot.” Her concern now was for him. Someone had shot Barrett.

  “I’m okay,” he said. “It’s over,” he repeated. “
They’re gone. Dead.”

  He emphasized the last word, so she knew it was real, not her hearing things or wishing.

  Thank God. The threat was over. Finn and his cousins were dead and could never harm her again. Barrett, he’d been shot. He’d said he was okay, but there was blood and something wrapped around his arm with blood on it.

  Dizzy, Chyna wavered.

  Barrett pulled her close, with his good arm, saying, “Hey. I’ve got you. Don’t fall out on me now.”

  She leaned her head against his chest, hearing his heartbeat, strong and steady, like his strong arm around her.

  He’s alive. I’m alive.

  She closed her eyes, breathing in his scent, feeling safety and security close around her, filling her with warmth. She’d lived with fear for so long.

  “You’re safe now,” he said. “Finn can never harm you again, and neither will his family.”

  She shuddered at the name Finn, and then gave a long exhale as the stress and tension left her body. She felt lighter and exhausted. She wanted to stay here, next to him.

  Barrett looked down at her soft blonde hair and warmth filled his chest at the sight and feel of her. He’d hold her as long as she needed.

  To hell with the rules. This was what she needed right now. What he needed. Sometimes you had to break the rules to do what was best for you and for the person you cared for.

  Everyone would say it was too soon. That the circumstances pulling them together created feelings that wouldn’t be happening otherwise.

  But the fact was, he did care for her. Wanted, no, needed to keep her safe.

  There was nothing like a battle with life and death on the line to put your feelings for another person into perspective.

  Clarity always came to him after he’d been in battle. That life review pointed out exactly what was important.

  Leah could analyze it all she wanted. This was real. He cared for Chyna. If she cared for him that ought to be enough.

  She seemed to have calmed. Seemed to be enjoying the embrace, snuggling into it some. He grinned. She felt good next to him. Like she belonged there.