"Can we look inside?" Finch asked.
"I... I don't have a key."
"That's ok. I can take care of it." Finch pulled out a pocket knife. Pulling a small wire out of the side, he tackled the lock with it and one of the smaller blades.
"I don't think you should do that," Rain looked around frantically.
"No problem. Already done." He pulled the lock open and replaced the knife in his pocket. Looking up at Railroad, he grinned. "Maybe not as fast as Toad, but I can hang with him in a pinch."
Sliding the hasp back, Railroad pulled open the door and turned on his tiny flashlight. Hurrying inside, he swore softly. Finch followed behind and looked around.
The room was empty.
"What are you doing down there? It's not safe." A man stuck his head in the doors beside Rain. "The cellar hasn't been checked for safety hazards."
"I told them that, Cliff." Rain braced her hands on her hips and glared into the cellar.
"Looks like you have some broken jars and old wooden crates." Railroad called up. "The shelves look a little wobbly too. Yeah, I'd be careful letting anyone in here. Come on, Finch, let's get out of here before someone gets hurt."
"Yeah, okay," Finch mumbled as he followed his friend out again. He felt that adrenaline flowing through his veins ease. He had been sure his girls would be there.
Once they were out of the cellar, Cliff closed the doors and replaced the lock. Together, they escorted Finch and Railroad back to the main house where Mother stood on the front porch. Clasping her hands together in front of her, she gave them a tight smile. Surrounding her, several other people stood quietly watching.
"Did you find what you were looking for?"
"Unfortunately, no. However, we are grateful for your indulgence in letting us look around." Railroad gave her a slight nod. "It was very informative."
Picking up where he left off, Finch added, "We appreciate your hospitality, but we need to get back to Texas. Thank you, again."
Her shoulders seem to relax a bit, but she smiled warmly. "You're welcome. The Mother Gaia's blessings on you and your search for our Family. May you find them safe." Motioning to Rain, the woman held out her hands. Each one contained Finch and Railroads electronics from the reliquary.
Turning away, the two men walked through the small crowd of people until they were back at the car. One woman who looked to be about Breeze's age reached out and touched his hand. "The Mother Gaia's blessings on you," she whispered then turned away. Once they were in the car and headed down the driveway, Finch opened his hand and looked at the small scrap of paper the woman had pressed into his fist. It contained two words.
They're here.
Chapter 18
Breeze awakened to someone roughly shaking her shoulder. This time, Coal's glaring face filled her vision. "Get up," he hissed, then hurried them out of the cellar and into the woods at the back of the house. "You idiots," he snarled at Flint and Blaze, once they were safely a ways from the house. "Do you honestly think they won't check the damned cellar? Morons. Keep them quiet."
He led them down a path to one of the rear pastures surrounded by an old split rail fence. In the back, a small shelter leaned heavily on one side, threatening to give in to gravity and collapse from its own weight. Quickly, Coal shoved her and Lolly into the shelter, motioning toward an old blanket spread on the floor. "Get some sleep," he ordered, then joined Flint and Blaze at the entrance of the dilapidated building. Thankfully, Lolly hadn't awoken during their trek. Dropping to the blanket, Breeze curled up against Lolly.
"What are we going to do?" Blaze whispered. "What did Mother say?"
"She told the Family not to mention Breeze or Gaia nor answer any questions." Coal growled in the darkness. "Blaze, go keep watch."
As the younger man walked to a nearby stump and sat down, Flint turned to Coal. "And Breeze?" Flint's whisper barely made it to Breeze's ears.
"They stay here for now. I've got too many plans to start over, but if things keep going downhill, I'm going to have to, anyway."
Breeze didn't like the sound of that. Squeezing her eyes shut, she drew Lolly closer and tried to calm her racing heart. They were going to have to get away from here, and soon.
But how?
Mother, how Breeze despised Coal. As soon as she had awoken this morning, he was glaring at her as if everything that was happening was somehow her fault. It wasn't, of course. She hadn't asked to be "rescued" from the hotel. However, he wasted no time telling her until the Outsiders left, she was to remain perfectly quiet and to keep Lolly silent as well. That made her furious, and she asked him how she was supposed to make a baby quiet. He hissed at her if she didn't do it, he would.
That scared her because she knew he would.
By the time the sun was overhead, the heat of the day in the little shed had made her tunic stick to her skin and her spirits wilt. Breeze spent most of the morning whispering stories to Lolly and playing quiet little games to keep the child still. However, the muggy still air had sapped Lolly's energy, and she lay on the pallet on the floor, sleeping the rest of the innocent.
"I'm going to go check on things," Coal muttered. "Keep an eye on them until I get back."
Flint nodded, then leaned back against the doorway of the hut, his eyes flickering over the trees nearby.
Breeze picked up the crock of water, noticing it was getting low and took a few sips. She needed to make sure Lolly had something to drink when she awoke, and there was no telling how long they would be kept here. As soon as she finished, she quietly crawled over to the doorway. "I need to go to the bathroom," she whispered.
Flint looked around then with a hesitant nod, waved to her. "Just around the back," he muttered then turned his attention back to the woods. A few yards away at the breach of the fence, Blaze sat on a stump and gazed out toward the house on the other side of the trees.
Breeze slipped out the door and around the back of the shack. Coal always insisted on accompanying her when she went, but the other two were content to let her take care of her business alone. It wasn't like she could run away. She'd never leave Lolly, and they knew it. As long as she was in the hut, everything was fine for them.
Finding a spot on the other side of one of the smaller buildings, she quickly did her business then stood. She hated this. Before her time in the city, she thought nothing of taking care of her bodily functions wherever she could. Now she felt spoiled and didn't want to do this any longer.
As she started walking back to the shed, she felt the hairs on the back of her head stand up. She was about to turn around when a hand slammed over her mouth, and an arm went around her waist. Terror filled her as she began to kick and struggle.
"Shhh. It's me, Finch." The caress of his words slid over her ear, and she immediately sagged in his arms. Slowly, he pulled his hand away and turned her around.
Never had anyone looked as good as he did at that moment. Throwing her arms around his neck, she squeezed him tightly and fought back the tears that threatened to fall. His fingers were gentle as they slid through her hair, and his lips pressed against her brow felt wonderful.
"Thank God, I found you," he breathed into her ear. "Are you and Lolly okay?"
She nodded slowly. "We're fine."
"I'm going to get you both out of here. Go, stay with her and keep her safe. I'm going to get Railroad, and we'll come for you."
She nodded then sniffled softly.
"Aww, honey, don't cry," he whispered then gave her a tentative smile. "I swear to you; we're going to get you out of here. Be my strong girl and keep yourself and Lolly safe for me, okay?"
She nodded again then hugged him tightly. "Good girl. Now, I've seen three men. Is that all that's watching you?"
When she agreed, he sighed. "Okay, I need to go." Her arms tightened around him, and she shook her head. Finch tenderly stroked her cheek and whispered. "The sooner I go, the sooner I can get back."
Hesitantly, she pulled her arms away and took a step
back. She didn't want to let him go, but she knew she had to. "I'm okay," she whispered then dried her eyes.
"Breeze!" the growled hiss could only come from Coal. He was back. She whirled around then looked back over her shoulder. Finch was gone. Maybe she had dreamed the whole thing? Lifting her tunic, she inhaled the faint scent. After several nights of smelling that delicious scent, she knew it by heart. Finch had been there, and he was coming back for them.
Taking a deep breath, she walked around the wall and back to where Coal stood tapping his foot and glaring at her. "What took you so long?"
"I had to go," she murmured. "Sometimes it's more than just a second."
The frown on his face deepened. "Are you being smart with me?"
She shook her head. "Just stating the fact."
Chapter 19
Something was wrong.
Breeze paused the story she had been telling Lolly about a little princess who was rescued by her strong, brave father and watched as Ember and Coal talked in harsh whispers by the fence. The muscular woman was gesturing wildly, pointing back toward the house then toward the little shed where they were hidden. Coal shook his head then pointed toward the house again. Ember swept her hands out in a negating manner then pointed at the shed. More heated words followed between them then she threw her hands up in defeat and stalked back toward the house. Coal turned back toward the shed with a murderous glower on his face.
"Bees? What happens to the pincess?"
"Her daddy, the king, rescued her and they lived happily ever after."
Lolly's little lip pouted, but she didn't complain. Instead, she saw Coal stalking toward them and crawled into Breeze's lap. Curling her arms around the child, she waited to see what was going on.
"What did Ember want?"
Coal threw his fingers through his shoulder-length shaggy mane and growled at Blaze. "They're gone. Mother's worried they would bring back the cops, so we're bugging out again."
"Dammit," Blaze swore aloud. "If we wait much longer, we won't get the crops in."
"Crops?" Coal snarled. "Out of everything we've done lately, you're worried about crops?"
"Well, yeah. We need food. People have to eat."
"Idiot," Flint muttered. "Don't worry about it. You'll get three squares in jail if we don't get the hell out of here. The second we took that kid across the line, it became Federal. FBI doesn't play around."
Blaze frowned. "Federal? I don't know about this, Coal. I mean, I know she's our Gaia and will lead us one day, but maybe we should think this through?"
Coal snarled at him. "If I wanted your advice, I'd give it to you. It's my job to do the thinking and yours to do what you're told." He pinched the bridge of his nose as if he had a headache starting.
Breeze buried her face in Lolly's soft curls to keep them from seeing the smile on her face. The last thing they needed right now was to make Coal snap at them. She wasn't afraid of Blaze and only mildly concerned about Flint, but Coal scared her on a deep level.
"If they're gone, then we can go back to the house," Flint muttered. "If we are bugging out, we need to make sure the vehicles are ready to go. There's a ping in one of the vans that I need to take a look at."
"Not yet. We'll give them some time to be sure they're gone. I don't trust 'em as far as I could throw 'em."
Personally, Breeze agreed with Coal. She knew for a fact there was no way Finch was going to leave here without his daughter. He'd be back. She was as sure of that as she was sure that the sun rose in the sky.
Time passed slowly as they waited. Breeze kept Lolly entertained by drawing silly pictures in the dirt with a stick and then having her guess what they were. For a little while, Blaze watched them, then grew bored and walked over to talk to Flint. It was obvious that the easy banter of the younger man irritated Flint, but he let him prattle on. It seemed the longer they waited, the more relaxed everyone became, until finally, Coal grunted that he was going to check things out and to wait there.
Breeze continued her picture game with Lolly all afternoon until the sky began to darken with clouds again, hiding the setting sun behind them. She wanted to light one of the lanterns but was afraid of bringing down the wrath of the others. Instead, she pulled over the basket and found a couple of apples in the bottom. Handing one to Lolly, she bit into the other, hoping it would ease their hunger until they were fed dinner.
Suddenly, a grunt sounded from the direction of the fence breach. Breeze pulled the apple away from her lips and squinted into the gloom, trying to make out anything moving out there. As she watched, a shadow moved near the fence then disappeared once again. Wiping her eyes with the heel of her hand, she stared at the spot, trying to decide if her eyes were playing tricks on her. However, when Finch suddenly appeared around the corner of the shed, she forgot her apple and jumped to her feet.
"Daddy!" Lolly breathed out his name as if it were a dream come true. Finch smiled at his daughter, knelt and took her in his arms. "I knewed you would unlost us."
"You did, huh?" Finch asked, but his eyes were on Breeze.
She nodded. "I tolded Bees you would unlosted us, and you did."
"Finch," Breeze whispered. Taking two steps, she threw her arms around him tightly as she fought back the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks. "You came back for us."
"Of course I did," he muttered, sliding his fingers through her hair. "I'll always come for you."
Maybe he meant Lolly, but there was something in his voice that said Breeze also fell under his vow. Burying her nose into his shoulder, she inhaled the scent she had missed for so long. It felt good to be back in his arms again. So good and completely right.
"Time for reunions later," Railroad muttered as he dragged the still form of Blaze into the shed. He returned a minute later with Flint and dropped him beside his friend.
"Are they?" Breeze's voice warbled uncertainly as she wrapped her arms around her waist.
"Dead? Nah. Just knocked out. No match for a couple of trained SEALs." Finch moved Lolly around until she was on his hip. Taking Breeze's hand in his, he lifted his chin at Railroad. "We need to move out. Rail will take point."
Railroad looked at Lolly. "We're going to play a game of hide and seek, okay? We're going to go through the woods and hide. Can you be quiet?"
She laid her head on her father's shoulder as she nodded slowly. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she smiled shyly at Railroad. "We'll win 'cause me and Bees good hiders."
"I knew you were." He smiled gently.
She was as good as her word. Lolly hadn't said a word the entire trip back to where they had left the car almost a mile away hidden behind a thicket of bushes. To Breeze's credit, she kept a smile on her face and made the entire adventure seem like a game. It helped to keep her calm even as he could see Breeze's shoulders stiffen every time a twig snapped, or a bird sang out. By the time a shout went up from behind them, they were back to the car.
Quickly, they got into the vehicle and buckled in. There wasn't a child restraint seat for Lolly since the one he normally used was still in his parent's SUV back in Texas. However, that was the least of their worries at the moment. Right now, they needed to put as much distance as they could between them and the Family.
By the time they got to the main road, there were no signs of pursuit and Finch let out a held breath. Pulling out his cell he checked to see if he had service yet. There was only one bar, but maybe it would be enough. Flipping through until he found Bruiser's name, he punched the send key.
He felt Lolly's tiny hand reach up and grab his arm that was resting on the console between the seats. He smiled at her then gave her a wink. She smiled back and blinked both eyes at him.
"Where the hell have you been? Nobody has heard from either of you all day."
Finch chuckled. "Hey, Bruise. We're fine. We also have Lolly and Breeze with us."
The words coming through the speaker of the phone made Lolly giggle and slap her hands over her mouth. "Uh, little e
ars, Bruise."
"Damn, uh, I mean darn, sorry. Where are you? What happened?"
Finch filled their leader in on everything that had gone on since their conversation last night. The service cut out intermittently, but they were able to get the important parts out. "Would you call TJ and Cruz? Let them know what happened?"
"Yeah. You need to find the nearest cop and hunker down."
"Yep." Railroad added, "Not a car in sight but that doesn't mean anything. They could have people waiting in town. I'd feel better to have the team nearby."
"We're on the way to Odessa. Beth found a couple more places to check out. We're turning around now and heading back. Toad and Cowboy made it in and are at the hotel in San Antonio. You guys need to find a place to hole up and wait for the local LEOs to get there. We'll head your way as soon as we can."
Finch felt a little of the stress between his shoulder blades ease just a tiny bit. His team was coming in. He knew he and Railroad could handle just about anything by themselves but with the girls in their care as well, they couldn't afford to take chances. "I'd feel better with a little more space between us. How about we get to the other side of Shreveport before we stop? Maybe Marshall?"
"Better make it Shreveport, Finch. We don't want to step on toes. If we bypass the locals, they might get upset."
"There's that," Railroad agreed. "We're coming into some rain, Bruise. We'll let you know when we stop."
"See that you do."
They hung up and settled into the long ride. Glancing over his shoulder, he watched Breeze as she stared out the window, a frown on her face. One hand held Lolly's in a death grip as if she dared the world to take the child from her. He couldn't help but smile. Breeze loved Lolly almost as much as he did. The two of them had weathered a lot together, and he made a silent vow never to force them apart. They needed each other, and he needed them both.
The rain outside continued to pour. Lightning lit the black sky, illuminating the road. They approached the city of Shreveport. Finch relaxed a bit more with every mile they put behind them.
Justice for Breeze Page 14