No Safe Place

by Christine Kersey

  She’d killed him. He was dead. Shockwaves crashed over her. She’d taken a life.

  But she’d saved Dylan’s. A sigh rattled from her chest.

  Another gunshot sounded. This one close by. A body crumpled not far from the ditch. Who’d shot him? Emily?

  Other Emperors could be out there, trying to escape the mayhem inside. Jessica turned her attention to her surroundings. Nothing moved.

  When it was silent for a dozen heartbeats, she whispered, “Is everyone all right?”

  “Yeah,” someone whispered back, but she couldn’t tell if it was Emily or Paisley. She could see that Dylan was okay.

  “I’m good,” another voice answered.

  Okay. All four of her group were safe and sound.

  Exhaling in relief, when she heard more gunshots coming from inside the warehouse, the brief calm she’d felt fled. Not knowing what was happening was the worst part.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Derrick

  They’d taken out every man in the main warehouse space. Time to climb those stairs and see what was behind door number one.

  With Jeff and Chris behind him, Derrick strode to the bottom of the stairs. He turned to them. “I’ll go up alone. Watch my six.”

  They nodded. They knew the drill.

  Derrick had taken three steps up when the door to the office swung open and Randy stepped onto the wide landing at the top of stairs. But he wasn’t alone. He had a teenaged girl in front of him like a shield and he was holding a gun to her head.

  Derrick pointed his gun at Randy’s head.

  “Ella!” Jack yelled as he sprinted across the floor of the warehouse and toward the stairs. When he reached the bottom, Jeff and Chris held him back. Good. He was too emotional and would only get in the way.

  Derrick stared at Randy. Jack’s appearance hadn’t shaken him at all. The gun was still pressed to Ella’s skull. Tears streamed down her face. Derrick had never met this girl, but he couldn’t help but make the comparison to Kayla and Brooke, girls he cared about. And he knew what it felt like to have Randy press a gun to his head. Ella had to be panic-stricken.

  “Let her go,” Derrick demanded, his voice calm yet commanding.

  Randy licked his lips then shook his head. “No. Drop your weapons and get off of the stairs. I’m getting out of here.”

  Not if Derrick had anything to do with it. “Your men are all dead. Time to give up.”

  Randy had to be nervous now that he didn’t have his thugs to do his dirty work for him. He glared at Derrick. “I’ll shoot her.”

  “No!” Jack screamed.

  Ignoring Jack and keeping his gun steady on Randy, Derrick shook his head. “No, you won’t. Because if you do, I’ll kill you.”

  Randy’s gaze bounced from place to place as if someone was going to appear and save him. “You’re going to kill me anyway.”

  That was true, but Derrick wasn’t going to admit it. “Let the girl go, Randy. Now.”

  He shook his head. “No. She’s my insurance policy.” His eyes narrowed. “Get out of the way. Now.” He pressed the gun harder into Ella’s head. She let out a terrified scream.

  “Get off the stairs, Derrick!” Jack yelled, “Or I’ll shoot you myself.”

  Derrick knew Jeff and Chris were disarming Jack the moment he spoke those words, so Derrick didn’t even acknowledge him. Instead, he kept his gaze steady on Randy. “If you let her go, I’ll let you go.” Bald-faced lie, but if it saved the girl, who cared? Randy didn’t deserve to live.

  Randy seemed to consider the offer, but he must have known Derrick was yanking his chain. “I don’t believe you.”

  Well, he wasn’t a complete idiot. Derrick shook his head. “No one else needs to die.” Except you.

  Randy tugged Ella’s back tighter against his chest and moved the gun to under her chin.

  Ella let out a petrified whimper.

  “Please, Randy,” Jack said, his voice nearly a sob. “I’ll do anything. Just let her go.”

  Randy’s eyes shifted to Jack, his expression changing back to the Randy Derrick had grown to hate. Jack’s weakness did something to Randy, made the evil in him blossom like a poisonous flower. It was clear on his face and in his dead eyes. “I think I’ll shoot her anyway,” Randy sneered at Jack, jamming the gun into Ella’s chin all the harder.

  “Daddy!” Ella sobbed.

  “NO!” Jack screamed.

  Time to put an end to this. “Knock it off, Randy. The moment you shoot her, I kill you.”

  Randy’s eyes shifted to Derrick, the evil confidence he’d displayed mere seconds before beginning to slip. “I’ll do it.”

  Derrick sighted in on Randy’s head. “So will I.” Derrick considered shooting Randy, but the risk of hitting Ella was too great. He wasn’t prepared to sacrifice the girl just to get to Randy. He would get his chance to kill the weasel. He just had to be patient.

  As he stared at Randy and Ella, Derrick thought he saw movement in the darkened window behind them. Was someone else in there? That would complicate things. But if it was one of Randy’s men, why hadn’t the man already opened fire?

  Movement again. This time from behind Randy.

  It was a kid. A teenaged boy. Was that Ella’s brother—Mark?

  Not allowing his eyes to stray to Mark—he didn’t want to give away his presence—Derrick used his peripheral vision to track Mark’s movements. But when he saw Mark lift a large object over his head, ready to bring it down on Randy, Derrick braced himself for the aftermath.

  Crash!

  Randy was completely taken by surprise as the object—looked like a lamp—hit him over the head. The gun flew from his hand, falling to the warehouse floor below, and as he jerked under the force, he shoved Ella, who tumbled forward. Derrick dashed up the stairs, catching Ella before she fell any farther, dropping his gun in the process.

  Jeff and Chris must have released Jack, because moments later he was there, wrapping Ella in his arms. Mark raced down the stairs to reunite with his father.

  Not about to rest, not with Randy still breathing, Derrick took the remaining stairs two at a time, reaching the landing just as Randy began to sit up. The easy thing would have been to shoot him, but Derrick’s gun was nowhere to be seen. Just as well. His fists were itching to connect with Randy’s face.

  Randy lifted his gaze to Derrick, the deadness in his eyes back in full force now that Derrick wasn’t pointing a gun at him. Randy shook his head like he was shaking off a bit of dizziness, then he leapt to his feet.

  A steely smile curved Derrick’s lips as his hands curled into fists.

  A menacing grin split Randy’s face as he jabbed a knife toward Derrick.

  Where had that come from? Nearly caught off guard, Derrick reacted on instinct, his left hand shooting out and pressing against Randy’s bicep, keeping Randy from ramming the knife at him. He slid his hand down Randy’s arm to his wrist, pushing Randy’s wrist back and trapping the knife against Randy’s thigh. Randy tried to free his hand, but Derrick held it tight, then he jammed his other forearm against Randy’s throat and shoved him backwards until Randy’s back hit the wall. While pressing his forearm into Randy’s throat, Derrick squeezed Randy’s wrist until the knife fell from his hand. Derrick kicked it. The knife clattered to the warehouse floor below.

  Now that the knife was no longer a factor, Derrick released Randy’s wrist, curling his own hand into a fist before slamming it into Randy’s right kidney. A muffled grunt escaped Randy’s lips, but just barely because Derrick’s forearm was cutting off his oxygen. That’s when Randy began to fight back, both fists swinging wildly. One punch connected with Derrick’s temple, surprising him and loosening his forearm against Randy’s throat. Randy managed to shove Derrick back a few steps, then he drove forward, obviously ready to barrel into Derrick. Reading Randy’s body language, Derrick stepped aside, then swept a leg behind one of Randy’s ankles. Randy crashed to the floor, landing on his back. Before he had a chance to
recover, Derrick was on him, a knee in his chest.

  Randy struggled to get up but couldn’t under Derrick’s weight. As Derrick stared into Randy’s furious eyes, he thought about all that Randy had done—taking vital supplies that didn’t belong to him, stealing Jack’s kids and doing who knew what with them, allowing his men to shoot Matt and then saying he hoped Matt would die, and then playing Russian Roulette on Derrick, the thrill of murder blazing in his eyes the entire time. Rage, hot and black, flooded Derrick. Randy was an evil, despicable lowlife who was a stain on society. A cancer that needed to be eliminated before he could hurt anyone else. And Derrick was the one who was going to make that happen.

  Derrick grabbed his knife from the sheath at his back. Gripping the handle with one hand, he pressed the tip of the blade to the V at Randy’s throat. Then, using his other hand, he slammed his palm against the handle, thrusting the blade deep into Randy’s throat.

  A look of stunned disbelief widened Randy’s eyes, and then, after a brief moment, he stopped moving.

  He was dead.

  It wasn’t triumph that settled over Derrick, but rather a grim satisfaction that the head of the snake had been cut off. The Emperors were no more.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Derrick

  Suddenly exhausted, Derrick stood over Randy and stared at him. So weak, so useless. Randy had had an army behind him. He could have made a difference. Instead, he’d chosen to terrorize and steal.

  “Good riddance,” Derrick muttered.

  A commotion sounded inside the office as two women stumbled out, their eyes wide.

  “Who… who are you?” one of them asked Derrick.

  Derrick wasn’t surprised to discover women stashed in the office along with Ella and Mark. Smiling gently, he said, “We’re here to free you.”

  The woman who had asked burst into tears. The other looked like she was in shock.

  He looked toward the office. “Are there any more people in there?”

  The woman shook her head. “It was just us and the two kids.”

  Glad no one else had been terrorized, Derrick nodded before helping them down the stairs where Jeff, Chris, and Frank waited. Jack was huddled with his children while Scott and Charlie stood nearby.

  “Can you take us home?” one of the women asked.

  “I’ll make sure you get home safely,” Scott said, stepping forward.

  Charlie nodded. “I will too.”

  Derrick scooped up his fallen weapon, then saw that the gun Randy had dropped was the Glock 21 Randy had stolen from him. Smiling, Derrick holstered it.

  “Can I talk to you a minute?” Jack asked him.

  Derrick turned and faced him. He wouldn’t hold Jack’s threats against him. He could only imagine what the man had been through. Still, he wouldn’t necessarily trust him either.

  “I, uh, I want you to know that I’m grateful for what you did.” His eyes went to Frank, Jeff, and Chris, then back to Derrick. “All of you, helping me get my kids back.”

  Derrick nodded. “Sorry about the loss of your man.”

  Jack’s jaw tightened. “Ben was a good man.” He glanced toward Randy’s body. “Ben’s sacrifice wasn’t for nothing.”

  “No. It wasn’t.”

  “If your group needs anything, well, you know where we are.”

  Nodding, Derrick said, “Appreciate that.”

  “Hey,” Jeff said, “Look at this.”

  Derrick turned to see what Jeff was talking about and saw Jeff’s flashlight beam sweeping over the warehouse shelves near them. Cases of canned goods were stacked high, along with boxes of crackers and pasta and other supplies.

  “Guess this is where they put the food they took from all of those houses,” Chris said.

  A smile slowly curved Derrick’s lips. It would go a long way to helping their group survive. Then he remembered Jack and his group. He swiveled to face him. “What do you say we divide this up?”

  Happiness lit Jack’s face. “That’s a great idea.”

  Derrick looked at the women they’d rescued. “We’ll make sure you get some too.”

  They smiled. “Thank you.”

  Derrick turned to Jack. “We can divide the weapons too.”

  Jack nodded. “Sounds good to me.”

  “Before we load up,” Chris said, “let’s see if we can find where Randy kept all of those RV keys.” He grinned. “Unless you want to pry open the trailer doors.”

  Smiling, Derrick said, “No. Keys would be nice.”

  With Chris leading the way, Derrick went up the stairs, past Randy’s body, and into the office. It didn’t take long to find a box filled with keys.

  “This must be it,” Chris said with a smirk.

  “Nice.”

  Digging through the box, Chris shook his head. “We’ll have to take all of ‘em and figure out the right ones later.”

  That gave Derrick an idea, but first they needed to get Jessica, Emily, Dylan, and Paisley. They hadn’t had any contact with them. Derrick hoped they’d made it through the battle unscathed. With Chris, Jeff, and Frank by his side, Derrick walked out of the warehouse and into the night. As the four of them got closer to the ditch, Derrick saw a body sprawled out. Alarmed that gunfire had been exchanged, he was surprised when his thoughts first went to Paisley.

  “Jeff!” Emily shouted as she vaulted out of the ditch and raced into Jeff’s arms.

  Moments later the other three climbed out of the ditch and hurried toward them. To Derrick’s great relief, they looked unharmed. “Everyone okay?” he asked, his eyes going to Paisley.

  “We’re fine,” Jessica said, drawing Derrick’s attention to her.

  “Good.”

  “What happened in there?” Jessica asked. “We heard so many gunshots.”

  “Randy’s dead.”

  Jessica’s eyebrows shot up. “Really? You’re sure?”

  Chuckling softly, Derrick nodded. “I’m sure.”

  “What about the rest of them?” Dylan asked.

  Derrick turned to him. “All the Emperors who were here are dead.” He glanced at the nearby body. “Looks like you guys took out an Emperor too.”

  “My mom did it,” Dylan said with a proud smile.

  This raised Derrick’s eyebrows.

  Jessica bit her lip like she was worried she would be judged. “He was going to shoot Dylan.”

  Derrick thought about how many Emperors he’d killed that night. “No need for an explanation.”

  Jessica smiled softly, then nodded.

  Emily put an arm around Paisley. “Paisley shot one too.”

  This surprised Derrick even more, and when he looked at the petite woman he appraised her once again. “That right?”

  She met his gaze and lifted her chin. “Yeah. And I’d do it again.”

  Proud of her mental strength, Derrick had to tear his eyes away.

  “Did you find Jack’s kids?” Jessica asked, her voice showing deep concern.

  Glad he had good news, he nodded. “Yeah. They’re safe and sound.”

  She released a huge breath. “Oh, thank goodness.”

  He considered not telling them that Ben had been killed, but decided they deserved to know. “Jack lost one of his men. Ben.”

  “Oh no,” Jessica said.

  Ready to turn the conversation to something happy, Derrick gestured to the box Chris held. “Found the keys to the trailers.”

  Chris laughed. “At least we hope the keys we need are in here.”

  Smiling, Derrick added, “We also found a good stash of food. We’ll get our vehicles and load it up.” He turned to Jessica. “Before we head home, I want see if your truck’s here. If it is, we can surprise Matt.”

  Her eyebrows shot up. “That would be awesome.” Her lips curved in a hope-filled smile. “And maybe our fifth wheel’s here too.”

  Tilting his head, Derrick said, “Maybe.” He didn’t want to get her hopes up, but when he’d done his recon he’d seen an RV that l
ooked suspiciously like Matt and Jessica’s.

  Smiling broadly, Jessica asked, “What are we waiting for?”

  The group went into a slow jog. Derrick kept an eye out for any Emperors who might show up unexpectedly. Before long, they reached their vehicles, which they drove up to the warehouse. Once the food and other supplies were loaded, Derrick led the group to the area where he’d seen the RV.

  “That’s it!” Jessica said as a truck and RV came into view, her voice filled with excitement. “Matt will be so happy.”

  “Do you know how to hitch it?” Derrick had never hitched a fifth-wheel to a truck before and he didn’t want his first attempt to be in the middle of the night when the light was less than good.

  She grimaced. “Uh, no. I usually assist while Matt does the backing up.”

  “I can do it,” Frank said with a grin.

  A short time later the RV was hitched to Matt and Jessica’s truck.

  Jessica smiled at Derrick. “Looks like you can have the extra trailer now.”

  That hadn’t occurred to him, but he had to admit that it would be nice to have some space to himself. He was used to living alone, after all. Being around everyone 24/7 had been a challenge. “Nice.”

  Jeff was looking around and Derrick realized he was trying to find his truck and trailer, which Randy had taken the day they’d arrived.

  “Any luck?” he asked him.

  Jeff scowled. “Nope. The idiot probably wrecked it.”

  “Sorry, man.”

  Jeff just shook his head.

  As they drove back to the farm, Derrick relished the thrill of victory and tried not to worry about what other obstacles they would inevitably face.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Derrick

  Derrick had finally gotten a good night’s sleep. Knowing the Emperors were no more did that to him. It also didn’t hurt that he finally had his own space. Once they’d gotten back from their battle, they’d taken the time to find keys for all three trailers among the mass of keys in the box and now he was sitting on the couch in his new home. In a few minutes he was going to join everyone in surprising Matt with his truck and RV. It had been Jessica’s idea and everyone was looking forward to this bright spot. Matt had been awake when they’d gotten back—he’d told them there was no way he could sleep knowing Jessica and Dylan were out there. But he’d been in the bedroom and hadn’t seen them pull in with his truck and RV.