by Selina Woods
“Deductive reasoning,” Tony explained. “But we won’t bore you with the details.”
“Is it still locked?” I asked, dropping to my knees to examine it.
“Yeah,” Albert replied, disgusted. “It needs some type of weird key.”
“I believe I know where the key is,” I said, standing.
“Yeah?” Tony asked, eager. “Where?”
I left the bedroom and fetched the gun I had been carrying, then returned with it. Their eyes wide, Tony and Albert scrambled out of the way as I took careful aim and fired the gun at the safe. The bullet smashed the locking mechanism, the explosion blasting through the penthouse, certain to bring guards running.
I watched the wide-eyed boys with amusement. “I found the key.”
Kneeling again, I opened the safe and gazed down at the stacks and stacks of cash that filled the thing. Tony and Albert stared, awed, over my shoulder as Kiana burst into the room.
“What’s going on?” she half screamed, clad in only a shirt. “Who got shot?”
“Logan shot the safe,” Tony said, then laughed. “It was so cool.”
“Logan,” she shrieked. “You don’t just go shooting guns indoors.”
I eyed her in confusion. “Why not?”
Tony and Albert laughed themselves into fits while Kiana scowled. I took several banded stacks from it, then closed the safe again. Putting the carpet back over it to hide it again, I tore several big bills from the stack and gave them to the boys.
“Paid in full.”
They gazed, astounded at the cash. “All this? For us?” Albert asked.
“You earned it. I suppose the guards are on their way up?”
Of course, the sound of the gunshot had reverberated its way down, and within moments, my guards rushed up the stairwell and arrived by elevator. Ramsey led them and entered the penthouse with a rifle in his hand.
“What happened?” he demanded, glancing around and obviously confused by the quiet and calm.
“I, er, it was an accident,” I said, sheepish. “I was cleaning the gun, and it went off. Sorry.”
Ramsey glowered as though he wished he could rip me a new one while the ready guards relaxed their stances. With grins, they acknowledged that accidents happen and returned down the stairs and the elevator. Ramsey stayed behind, waiting until they had gone, then said, “Your copies are almost ready. When are we headed out?”
“We?” I asked. “I thought you’d stay here.”
Cradling his rifle in his arms, he grinned. “I think I’d like to tag along. I’m a fair shot, and if you need help with the maps, I’m there to explain.”
“Then I won’t argue,” I replied. “As I suspect Kiana will also insist—”
“Damn straight, I’m insisting on coming.”
“Then will you ask the guards to keep an eye on Tony and Albert?” I asked. “Make sure they’re fed and watered.”
“We don’t need a babysitter, Logan,” Tony snapped.
“When there are almost five hundred killers out there looking to slaughter us all,” I replied calmly, staring him in the eye, “I will have you looked after.”
He cut his eyes away. “That’s different.”
“Yeah,” Ramsey replied with a laugh. “I have a guy in mind who can check on them, make sure they have what they need.”
“Great. I’m gonna finish dressing.” I eyed Kiana in her state of near nudity. “I think someone else should, too.”
Blushing, Kiana dashed for the bedroom and slammed the door closed. Under Ramsey’s amused grin, I sauntered to the bedroom and went in to dress. Her cheeks still an adorable shade of pink, Kiana pulled on her jeans and a tank top that flattered her slim figure. After tying her sneakers, she watched me with a strange expression on her face.
“Logan,” she said slowly. “What happens if neither of us returns?”
I knew immediately what she meant. “Maybe you should stay here.”
“I can’t,” she cried. “I have to be with you. But my brothers—”
Striding toward her, I took her by the shoulders. “Kiana, those boys are your priority. Not me.”
“You don’t understand,” she insisted. “I have to know that you’re alive. And safe.”
“Then I reckon I’ll just make damn sure you live to get back to them. Come on.”
Leaving the bedroom, I put my gun in the waistband of my jeans and grabbed an extra magazine from the drawer. Kiana hugged her brothers, warning them to behave themselves. “Jeez,” Tony complained, pulling away, “you act like you’re not coming back.”
“You will come back, Kiana?” Albert asked, then glanced at me. “Logan, you’ll be back, right?”
“Sure, kid,” I replied easily. “We both will.”
“Promise?”
I didn’t hesitate. “Promise.”
Kiana, Ramsey, and I headed to the elevator, and as we waited for the doors to slide open, Kiana and I both glanced back to see Tony and Albert standing silent, watching us. As though they knew I’d just made a promise I couldn’t keep.
Ramsey drove us through the late afternoon to the ramshackle yet big garage a few blocks over from the burnt shell that once had been mine and Derek’s thriving business. My throat closed as we passed it, but I willed my emotions down, to the back of my mind, out of the way. He parked the sedan a block away, and we walked back so as to not mark our presence there to the enforcers.
“We were beginning to worry, youngster,” Redley commented, opening the door to let us in. “As soon as the sun sets, we’ll have traffic.”
Caesar, Gray, Miles, and two other lions introduced to us as Billy and Sam hadn’t been idle as they waited for us. They had removed the crates from the truck and had systematized the rifles, handguns, and stacks of ammunition.
“This is Ramsey,” I said. “We owe him for organizing this shindig. He created maps that will show where the enforcers should be tomorrow.”
Ramsey opened the thick carton of maps and handed them out. “We know they still may want to kill Logan for interfering with their greed. That same greed, we hope, will keep them shaking down the citizens.”
Caesar studied his copy. “This is excellent work. We know we can’t expect to catch them all in our net, but if we can get enough, the others may go into hiding.”
“Or band together in one last attempt to kill me,” I replied. “Without me, they may think this entire war will fall apart.”
“We can’t let it,” Ramsey stated firmly. “We’ve come too far. You have to stay alive, Logan.”
“I’ll do my best,” I told him dryly. “But I am as expendable as the rest. So if I’m killed, I designate you, Ramsey, to carry on the fight.”
“Nuh-uh.” He shook his head. “Not me. One of these guys should.” He gestured toward Caesar and Gray.
“For reasons I’m not able to tell you,” I said slowly, “they can’t. It has to be you. You know this town and you know those assholes out there.”
Snorting bitterly, he glowered. “You better just stay alive, Logan. You get yourself killed, and I’ll hike my leg and piss on your corpse.”
“You do that. Now, is there anything we might be missing? A hole in our plans? We need to find them before the enemy does.”
Waiting for dark to arrive, we discussed everything that could possibly go wrong. “The difficult part is,” Caesar commented, “we can’t get them all in one fell swoop. The survivors can cause a great deal of damage.”
“Except that now the civilians they prey on now will fight back,” Redley answered. “They will be expecting the same cowed response and might just be taken by surprise when their victims become the hunters.”
“Let’s hope so,” I said, seeing full darkness arrive.
In twos and threes, shifters quietly arrived to receive guns and ammo, and if they had their own shops, they were instructed to wait in hiding until the enforcers came to collect. Then take the enforcers by surprise and kill. Ramsey marked a map with their sh
ops’ locations, and as the evening passed midnight, his marker filled his copy with red circles.
Those civilians without a direct link to a store were given a map, a handgun, and instructed to take down any thug within a six-block radius. “If a shopkeeper in your area needs help,” I told them, “then assist. You’re given handguns because you can keep them hidden. And don’t forget, they’ll kill you first if they can.”
Jordan, the tiger shifter, and two of his companions from the execution of the four enforcers also arrived. He shook my hand with a grin. “So now we come to it, Logan. It’s the real deal.”
“It is,” I replied, smacking his shoulder. “By tomorrow night, it’ll be over. You just make sure you stay alive.”
“You, too, bro.”
He and his friends were given handguns and their locations to protect, and then they slipped back out into the night. Ramsey spread the marked map out for us to look at together. His finger pointed. “We now have most of the city covered,” he said. “But here is an area that isn’t so far. As it’s your own neighborhood, Logan, maybe you want to cover it.”
“Damn straight, I will,” I said with a tight smile. “I owe those assholes a life.”
“Then maybe you should get over there,” he went on. “Hide early. Redley and I will continue here.”
“Now hold on,” Redley protested, hefting a rifle. “I ain’t sitting this out. I’m gonna skin me an enforcer or three.”
Ramsey sighed and glanced at the small number of guns that remained. “I reckon there aren’t too many folks coming now. I suggest we load the rest of these into the cars and head for our hiding places.”
Ramsey and Caesar brought the cars around and we quickly filled the trunks with the remaining weapons and ammunition. Kiana took a pistol that fit her hand neatly and stuck it into her waistband. Ramsey, Caesar, and Gray accepted rifles and placed extra magazines in their pockets.
Without headlights, we drove to my neighborhood and parked along the street among the old and rusted remnants of the wars. Getting out into the quiet night, I glanced around for any potential trouble from the night hunters or the enforcers. All remained silent and still, as though the entire city held its breath.
Perhaps it did.
Separating, we slipped into the darkness and found hiding places on both sides of the street for several blocks in both directions. Kiana and I hid within the burnt-out remains of a truck not far from the skeletal remains of the L and D Market. By lying flat on the floorboards, we could watch the sidewalk through the busted remains of the door. Unless one turned his head and looked directly into it, we’d remain hidden.
I made certain we could get out of it easily and silently, then relaxed to wait for the rest of the night to pass. “Here we are all cozy together,” I murmured, kissing Kiana lightly, “and I can’t jump your bones.”
Her teeth gleamed in a grin. “Horny bastard.”
“You know it.”
I knew better than to think of Derek but did it anyway. “I think we should take Suzanne and her babies with us to Denver,” I said. “I want to look after her.”
“That doesn’t surprise me at all.”
“I can’t imagine,” I began and almost choked, “what she’s going through. Without him.”
From the corner of my eye, I saw Kiana turn her head to look at me fully. “If she’s going through anything close to what you are, I feel badly for her.”
I dared not say anything more, for I knew I’d lose what precious control I had over my emotions. I felt glad that she didn’t take my hand or speak again, for then I would lose it. I’ll get this shit out of me by killing the assholes who killed him.
The hours passed slowly, the sky outside the old truck gradually lightening from black to gray. A few birds chirped in greeting to the new dawn, and a few shopkeepers walked by our hiding spot on their way to open their businesses. I glanced sidelong at Kiana, observing her quick nod in readiness. The enforcers would no doubt arrive within an hour or so to begin shaking down the locals.
Foot and vehicle traffic picked up, my gut tensing in preparation for the fight to come. Cars pulled up to the curb nearby with the screech of tires; doors slammed shut, and shrieks of panic, terror, erupted from the people on the street. I glanced sharply at Kiana, seeing her eyes wide with horror.
I charged from hiding, my gun ready, amid the stampede of folks fleeing the area, running from the circle of cars in the middle of the street. I had expected a few enforcers prepared to shake down the businesses, not more than a dozen of them with glass bottles in their hands, rags stuffed into the necks.
“Oh, shit,” I muttered in fear and dismay. “They’re gonna light up the entire block.”
The enforcers scattered, pulling lighters from pockets, setting the rags aflame. The few closest to me recognized me instantly, and their brief expressions of surprise changed to sneering hate. “You should have paid attention to your lesson, Logan,” he growled, lighting his rag. “Now these folks will pay the price.”
I gave him no chance to throw it. Lifting my gun, I shot him dead center. He stared at me, shock widening his eyes even as blood bloomed on his chest, the bottle falling from his slack fingers. The glass shattered on the pavement, flames scorching up and out. He was instantly consumed by them and gave a brief cry of agony before he collapsed into a burning heap.
Gunfire exploded beside me as Kiana fired at another who trotted toward us, his bottle aflame. Her shots missed him, and he threw it, smoke from the rag trailing across the air. I shoved her hard, pushing her down behind the wreck we had hidden in, my body on top of hers.
The bottle exploded on the sidewalk where we had been standing, flames licking at the rusted hulk, heat blistering my back and ass. Cussing, I yanked Kiana up, and we both dashed around the far side of the old vehicle, better protected from the wash of fire. “That was close,” I muttered. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” she answered, her gun up and ready, searching for another target. “I’m a lousy shot.”
“You’ll get plenty of practice.”
The enforcers lobbed their flaming bottles into structures, setting them ablaze and pulling their guns from pockets and waistbands. Smoke filled the street, half hiding the enemy from us. A few blocks away, Caesar broke from cover and shot two thugs at close range, even as Redley, his rifle socked into his shoulder, raked the area with gunfire.
More enforcers fell while others bolted for hiding spots from which they fired back. I heard more gunshots from the other direction, a choked-off scream, and hoped it was an enemy and not Gray or Ramsey that had been hit. “Come on.”
With Kiana at my back, I charged into the thick smoke, breathing shallowly, and shot a goon before he shot me. The fog changed from gray to a reddish-orange from the burning buildings, and then we broke from the cloud into clear, breathable air. Coughing, my eyes burning, I saw Kiana’s eyes streaming tears from the smoke.
“They’re running,” Kiana exclaimed, pointing to the surviving enforcers bolting for their vehicles, shooting indiscriminately to cover their retreat.
I aimed and shot at one, missed, even as he made it to his car and jumped inside. The engine revved, and tires squealed as he charged his sedan straight at us. I stood in the middle of the street, firing through the windshield at the driver. The glass shattered, and he slumped over the wheel. Out of control, the car slewed sideways, jumped the curb, and slammed nose-first into a burning shop.
“Get back,” I yelled at Kiana, expecting the vehicle’s fuel tank to ignite and explode.
We ran for cover behind an empty car, its engine idling, just as the wreck in the building detonated with a coughing roar. Pieces of metal and glass shot in all directions, peppering the sedan we hid behind. Kiana looked dazed, her black hair flung wildly over her face and shoulders as she slowly stood up.
She swiped it from her vision, staring at the torched car and the flaming building. “I think they’re all go—”
I heard her grunt
at the same time a gun barked from behind us. I spun and fired three times in quick succession. I shot the enforcer in the face, blood and bone bursting in all directions. He fell backward to the pavement, twitching violently before finally expiring.
Kiana slid to the ground.
Chapter Fifteen
Panic leaped down my throat. “Kiana?”
Her face rapidly drained of blood as her eyelids flickered, her eyes rolling crazily. “Lo—Logan.”
Kneeling, I lifted her and discovered her back wet and warm. Horrified, I took my hand away, seeing it covered in slick red. “No, no, oh, shit. Kiana!”
You have to stop the bleeding.
I half turned her across my lap and pressed the heel of my hand against the wound in her shoulder. “You’re gonna be all right, baby,” I told her, trying not to gasp. “Hang in there.”
“I—love you.”
“I know, I love you, too, now quit talking.”
Gazing around, I saw little save smoke and fire, and hoped she and I weren’t the only survivors. “Help,” I yelled. “Caesar! Gray!”
Over the steady roar of the burning structures, I heard a voice call back. “Logan?”
“Over here. Kiana’s been shot.”
I half expected more gunfire to erupt, but did not hear any. Within moments, Ramsey crouched at my side, his fingers on Kiana’s neck. “Her pulse is strong,” he said. “Keep your hand there. We have to get her to a healer.”
“Robert,” I told him. “We don’t have time to find another.”
“Right.”
Gray, Caesar, and Redley arrived to circle us, their rifles ready to shoot any threat. “How bad?” Gray asked.
“Her shoulder,” I answered. “She’s bleeding bad.”
“We have to get her to the penthouse,” Ramsey told them. “Help him get her into the car.”
Awkwardly, as I had to keep my hand pressed to her wound, Caesar and I lifted Kiana. She cried out in pain, the sound stabbing me in the heart, but we set her gently on the rear seat. We lay her across my lap, her face resting on my knee with her legs on Caesar. Ramsey got in behind the wheel as Gray and Ramsey peered in through the window.