by Bianca James
With a groan, the girl started to stir. Waking up to find herself surrounded by three large, muscular, stone faced mountain men. They’d changed into dark combat fatigues and skin tight black T-shirts while she slept and as a group they looked like villains out of a James Bond movie.
“Did…did you save me?” she quivered looking at all three at once, unsure who to address. Ordinarily, she would have been scared to death by the three big units who towered over her, but after her near death experience with the gigantic monster, even a bunch of 007 villains were a warm and welcome sight.
The trio looked at each other, unsure how to respond. Jack took the lead.
“Who are you and what were you doing up there?”
By this time, Erin had started to regain some of her composure and her unique brand of sass.
“What business is it of yours? What are you…a cop or something?”
“Jack Raven,” he offered by way of explanation. “Sheriff Jack Raven, to be even clearer about my credentials. So I’ll ask one more time—who are you and what were you doing up there spying on us?”
Erin looked more closely at the three hardened men, and then her eyes, which by now had become more accustomed to the dimly lit bunker, began to take in her surroundings. The guns, the equipment, cases of ammunition, the grenades. And was that a rocket launcher over in the corner?
And then she saw the limp, lifeless monster mask on the shelf.
With a blinding thunderbolt of realization, everything snapped into focus. These were the same guys she’d been spying on. She hadn’t been rescued at all. Far from it. These were the very cartel mobsters she’d been trying to gather evidence against and write an exclusive, once in a lifetime story about. But that was the thing about once in a lifetime opportunities. You actually had to live to enjoy them. And the cartel didn’t take prisoners. She knew exactly how this was going to end for her.
Chapter 8
“I t’s a trap. We know it and they know it.” Spider pleaded his case but the harsh planes on Jarrad’s face suggested he wasn’t listening.
“They want us getting emotional, you especially. That’s how they gain the advantage. Nothing’s going to happen to Elle before we make our move, so let’s keep a cool head and figure this thing out,” he continued, regardless.
“He’s right,” Jack agreed. “I was never the most strategic guy in my unit, but even I can see that we need a better plan. Hell, we need a plan full stop. We only get one chance to do this right and right now, we don’t even know where they’re holding her.”
Tension between the men hung heavy in the air. Spider sensed the need to show some leadership to keep them working as a team.
“You two keep taking the gear topside. I’ll see what Nancy Drew here has to say for herself.” He pointed to the wide eyed and terrified girl, bound and gagged in the corner.
Jack made his way to a couple of impossibly large boxes of ammunition and heaved them effortlessly onto his broad shoulders, carrying them up the stairs to the helipad. Reluctantly, Jarrad moped along in his wake with a monstrous .50 caliber Barrett sniper rifle on his shoulder and a handful of tactical assault vests in his other hand.
Spider squatted down next to the girl and hushed his fingers against his lips then used them to remove her gag.
“We’re not going to hurt you. But you do need to answer some questions.”
“Sure thing. You can always trust a cartel gunman not to lie, right?” Erin snarled. If she was going down for the count, she wouldn’t be going quietly, that was for sure.
She must have seen the look of confusion cross Spider’s face. She fell silent.
But only for a second.
“My editor knows where I am and by now, he’s probably called it in to the FBI because I didn’t report in, as we’d agreed.” Even trussed up like a turkey her body language screamed defiance and laced with a hint of insolence.
Spider looked at the small collection of personal items taken from her. Keys, night vision goggles, water bottle. No phone. No radio.
“And just how were you supposed to check in with your editor? Smoke signal? Carrier pigeon”
Clearly angry with herself for spinning such a tissue thin lie and being caught out so easily, she glared at him with a ferocious spark in her eyes.
Curiosity got the better of him and he looked carefully into her eyes for the first time. They were frosty blue and perfectly matched her blonde hair. Despite the fact that her hair was matted and dirty with leaves and other bits of refuse from the forest floor, she still caused Spider’s breath to catch in his throat. She was striking. Very angry. Highly volatile. Quite stunning. She was perfect.
Breaking from her piercing stare, he allowed his eyes to wander over her reclining form. She had an hourglass figure and full, pert breasts, but she wasn’t too top heavy, as some tended to be. No, she was absolutely perfect. Every delicious inch of her and her.
“Pervert much?” she spat at him heatedly.
For the first time Spider noticed a slight lilt in her voice. Beneath the surface was a hint of a drawl that she worked hard to mask. She seemed successful, too, except when she was angry. He tried to place where she was from, but couldn’t.
“Sorry,” Spider apologized. “You’re beautiful. I hadn’t really noticed before.”
“I’m sure you hadn’t. Like naming a farm animal. Harder to kill if you get too emotionally involved with it. So what happens now? Quick, clean bullet in the head? Or something more dramatic to send a message?”
“Kill?” His brow lined with confusion. “We’re not killing anyone. Well…we are…but not you. Hell no! We’re going after the Cartel and we’re ending this bullshit once and for all.”
The look of confusion on Erin’s face mirrored his own.
“But aren’t you the cartel?” She cast an accusing stare to her captor.
“Let me see if I’ve got this right. You, the big, shot city reporter have been sniffing around here because you think the cartel is setting up some kind of stronghold, away from the prying eyes of satellites and federal law enforcement?”
Before she could interject, Spider continued, “And you’ve been watching what we’ve been up to in the hope of exposing their secret plan, right?”
She nodded.
“That’s your big award winning, front page scoop?”
She nodded again. More confidently this time.
“Apart from the war games you guys have been playing, there’s been a lot of other suspicious behavior. Women who come here tend not to ever come back down off the mountain. I was determined to expose whatever was going on. It’s something big, that’s for sure,” she proposed. “This used to be a peaceful place, then all of a sudden you guys show up and things start blowing up and the shooting starts and women start disapearing,” she continued.
Spider slapped his thigh and roared with laughter. Disappearing.
Erin was about to ask what was so funny when she cut short by gunfire.
Chapter 9
Elle had learned a lot from Jarrad during their time together. A lot about mountain men and a lot about survival in the high mountain forests. She was a fast study, too.
But that didn’t mean she wasn’t scared. Especially when they shrouded her head in a black cloth sack. She’d seen enough movies to know that nothing good ever came from having a black sack pulled over your head.
She tried to stay calm for her sake and the sake of the new life that she nurtured within her. For Jarrad’s sake, too. Her heart ached at the thought of never seeing him again. Never having his large, protective arms wrapped around her as she slept. Her throat tightened at the thought of never kissing him again and tears welled in her eyes. No, that wasn’t going to happen. Jarrad would never let that happen and she would do everything in her power to help him. But what could she do?
Bait. That’s all she was to them, live bait. They’d only kept her alive to lure Jarrad and Spider into the trap, then they would all be eliminated in retr
ibution and to send a message to anyone else who might dare cross them. She didn’t speak Armenian, but she’d worked for the bank that laundered the cartel’s money for long enough to learn a thing or two about how these guys operated.
Maybe escaping their clutches and giving away millions of dollars of their illicit funds to charities wasn’t such a great idea. Now they simply wanted revenge and there would be no negotiating this time. They had nothing to bargain with. They’d given it all away.
Flexicuffed to the wooden chair, her options were severely limited. Feet securely tied together. Each wrist was bound to an arm of the old but sturdy chair. She wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Adding insult to injury, her wooden stockade had been carelessly repaired to hold its prisoner. Sharp nails protruded from the edge of one arm of the chair. It pricked and gouged Elle’s wrist each time she tried to wriggle some circulation into her hands.
That gave her an idea.
Chapter 10
The gunfire above wasn’t sporadic and reckless, more restrained and purposeful. That was a bad thing. Spider knew it meant they were dealing with trained professionals, skilled in the art of war, making each round of ammunition count.
“We have to get out of here. Now!” It wasn’t a request. Spider grabbed Erin’s arm and hurled her toward the back of the bunker.
Erin planted her feet firmly on the concrete floor, refusing to comply.
“I’m not going anywhere, especially with you, until I know what’s going on.”
Spider’s face hardened. His once cute dimples now looked out of place on this battle toughened warrior. The dim light of the bunker served only to add an element of ferocity to his expression.
“We’re not the bad guys here. The ones shooting at my friends up there,” he pointed to the ceiling, “they’re the bad guys and they’ll waste you in a heartbeat. We’re the ones they want, but they’ll take you out all the same. They don’t leave loose ends.”
Something in his tone compelled her to trust him. This time, when he tugged her arm for her to follow, she trailed in his wake, feet scrambling to keep up with the long legs of the former Marine pilot. She had no choice. The shooting from above was sounding more urgent and they both knew it would only be a matter of time before they were cornered and the underground haven became their underground tomb.
Stray rounds peppered the concrete floor at their heels chasing them toward the darkness of the farthest corner of the bunker. Erin briefly wondered how they had built such a place below the ground, but this was no time for idle speculation. Bullets tore into the walls either side of them hurling chunks of concrete in all directions as the shooters found their range and their eyes adapted to the lighting. Time had run out.
Shouldering her to one side, Spider knocked Erin toward a rack of Heckler & Koch MP7 machine pistols. Grabbing two of the weapons from the rack, Spider threw one to Erin on the fly as they made their way around the corner to a small hatch hidden behind an array of oil drums.
He only intended her to carry the piece as a backup for when he needed to swap it out for his own weapon when it was empty. Instead, she ejected the magazine, checked it was full, slammed it back home with the heel of her palm, flipped off the safety and fired a couple of short, accurate bursts at the nearby oil drums, spraying a fountain of oil over the floor they had just crossed.
Nice job. Spider spared a split second to appreciate the way she handled the gun like a pro and her cunning. Her stock just went up another 10 points. She’s better than perfect!
“Where’d you learn to handle a gun like that?” Spider couldn’t help himself. He had to find out, his curiosity demanded it.
“I’m from Texas.” Erin shrugged it off as if that explained everything.
Spider entered the cramped tunnel first and was poised to slam the door shut after Erin entered when a spray of bullets pinged off the steel frame of the door. Spinning on his heels, Spider threw himself behind Erin, placing himself between her and the smoking gun barrels behind them, effectively shielding her from the assault with his body while he wrapped his arms protectively around her shoulders.
More bullets sparked off the edges of the door and the door frame as the viscous oil slick caused the gunmen to lose traction, spoiling their aim. Finally, Spider managed to pull the door closed but not before a couple of rounds found their way through the narrow gap just before the heavy steel door clanged shut.
Spider turned to secure a heavy iron crossbar in place, effectively securing the door against the intruders. As soon as he let go of her, Erin felt a sense of longing, wanting his warm, secure touch to return. She couldn’t admit it to herself, but she was afraid. Or maybe she just enjoyed having the sturdy mountain man hold her so protectively.
This really isn’t the time for that kind nonsense, she warned herself silently.
It was pitch black and the air was dank and stale in the tiny stone walled vestibule. Spider flipped a switch and a small globe lit up, revealing they were at the bottom of a vertical shaft. A rope ladder led to a hatch some twenty feet above their heads.
Erin’s face must have shown her confusion at their predicament.
“Emergency exit in case there’s a fire in the bunker,” he answered her unasked question.
She nodded and smiled in appreciation of Spider’s safety protocols. Then her smile disappeared as fast as it came. Her eyes grew wide with concern.
Spider wanted her to smile again. She had the kind of smile he could wake up next to every morning for the rest of his life.
“What’s the matter?” He put his hand on her shoulder, unsure what he’d done to provoke such a reaction.
She shivered and writhed away from his touch.
His fingers trailed an ominous smear of blood across her top as she pulled away.
Spider looked at his hand to see a stream of blood dripping profusely from his fingertips.
Chapter 11
Suddenly they were breathing fresh air again as the hatch above them opened, revealing a clear sky sprinkled with twinkling stars. Fresh mountain air. The scent of pine trees. It was almost perfect. It might have been the perfect romantic tableau but for the intermittent sounds of gunfire and Spider’s hemorrhaging bullet wound.
“We need to get you to a hospital. You’ve been shot,” Erin added unnecessarily.
No shit? But Spider just grimaced as he hauled himself out onto the forest floor before reaching down to help Erin through the narrow opening.
She snatched her hand away from his grasp. “I’m fine. I’m not the one who’s been shot.” She didn’t need to be reminded of how good his touch felt.
“It’s nothing. Right now, we have to find shelter. It’s gonna get real cold and you’re not exactly dressed for sleeping under the stars.” He glanced at her perky nipples protruding through her blouse, highlighted by the glow of the moon.
Erin followed his gaze to her breasts and realized what he was looking at before shooting him a stern look. Typical guy. Shot. Bleeding to death and he can still check out the nearest set of titties.
Spider’s neck began to prickle as he flushed crimson. He hadn’t meant to stare. He hadn’t meant to get caught, either. Damn.
“There’s a rescue hut not far from here. If we can make it there, we can at least make it through the night.”
“What about the others?” Erin looked concerned.
“Jack and Jarrad? Don’t worry about them. They’ll be fine.”
She didn’t look convinced.
“They’ll look out for each other, don’t worry. Both of them have been in tighter spots than this and come out of it without a scratch. Let’s just concentrate on getting out of this mess ourselves.” He paused as he turned to make his way to the rescue hut. “Bet you wish you’d stayed away from here, now. Not much fun when the shooting starts, is it?”
“I can handle myself,” she asserted. She didn’t need a man to look after her or protect her. She’d always looked out for herself.
/> It is kind of nice having someone care about you, though and nobody’s ever taken a bullet for me before, either!
The rescue cabin wasn’t the Sound of Music style Alpine chalet that Erin was expecting. It was a more rudimentary, functional hand built shelter designed to save the lives of climbers and hikers who found themselves snowed in or caught out by a flash storm. But it would at least be warm. She hugged her shoulders against the bitter cold that had threatened to freeze her to the core. The temperature had dropped as sharply as Spider said it would. She just hadn’t realized that it was possible for the thermometer to plummet like that. That was a high mountain survival lesson she’d not forget in a hurry.
“First we need to get a fire started,” Spider suggested as he fumbled with the frozen door latch.
“No, we need a medical kit so we can clean your wound or you’re going to die from infection or shock before we can get you to a hospital,” she countered.
Finally, he shouldered the door open and they entered the dark cabin, grateful to be out of the cold wind that had started blowing not long after they escaped from the bunker. Erin rubbed her arms and huffed into her palms in a futile effort to shake off the bitter cold as she put her gun down next to the door, just in case they had uninvited guests.
After some scratching and cussing, Spider managed to strike a match which he used to light a large candle in the center of the small one room cabin before using it to light some kindling in a small cast iron wood stove.
Acrid, choking smoke roiled from the stove, enveloping Spider as he tried to fan the flames to keep them alight. He closed the stove door and with some tweaking of the air intake control, managed to keep the stove alight and the cabin smoke free. They might just survive the night after all.