Caught in the Dark

by Ann Jensen

  What was this idiot thinking? Even if he managed to knock out the guard, there were plenty more in the house who wouldn’t let him sneak up on them. A third strike either killed the guard or finally knocked him out. Rick reached down, pulling the gun from the holster at the man’s side. He shot her a smug look and ran out of the room before she even really registered what he had done.

  Gunfire echoed into the room. Cami dove to the floor, not wanting to risk getting hit by a stray bullet. The men she’d seen were carrying 9mm or 45ACP weapons, both of which could penetrate through at least five interior walls if they didn’t hit a stud. She crawled into a corner, placing the multiple layers of oak wood between her and the location she assumed the firing was coming from. With the density of forty-five pounds per cubic foot, it should increase her ability to survive a stray bullet by significantly slowing its velocity.

  A tub to hide in would be better, but that would require her to travel across the hall where she would risk being in the open line of fire. On the floor in front of her, the man Rick had hit still lay unconscious. His leg was only six feet from her with a small gun in his ankle holster. It looked to be a Glock 43. The boxy subcompact frame was easily recognizable. Should she grab it? Moving out of her corner increased the chances of getting shot, but having a weapon she could hide might exponentially increase her chances of survival later.

  She crawled as fast as she could and grabbed the weapon and shoved it into her waistband. Cami scrambled back and pulled her shirt down to cover her hidden weapon. The mercenary on the floor moved slightly. She made herself small, trying to avoid his notice, and prayed he hadn’t felt her stealing his gun. His groans grew louder. She realized that meant the shooting was probably over. She reached a tentative hand up and pulled her laptop onto her knees. The comforting brown square was still solid at the bottom of the screen.

  It was like a virtual hug, but she wished Tek was there to give her a real one. How did she come to depend on him so quickly as a source of safety when things went crazy? Before, all she had were numbers and statistics, but they were a cold comfort. Knowing he was out there watching her gave her the strength to focus back on the room. She loved him, and that emotion would get her through anything.

  She was tempted to tell him she loved him now, but a small voice in the back of her head stopped her. The first time she said I love you shouldn’t be over video while being held hostage.

  Chapter 33

  Of the seven deadly sins, today I’m choosing Wrath.

  Tek clutched his phone so hard it was a surprise it didn’t shatter. It was almost three in the morning and he knew that all around the secluded farmhouse his Brothers were getting into position. The road leading up to the house where Cami was being held was well guarded. Several mercenaries were doing sweeps of the surrounding grounds. The plan was in place and although he had tried to run in when the shooting started, Sharp had tackled him and held him in place.

  Rushing in when there were over twenty of the South African mercenaries guarding the place would only lead to placing his woman in greater danger. He stared down at his phone where the live video feed was playing. Watching her beautiful face as she rocked with the laptop in her arms was a kind of torture. The plan was solid. Once all his Brothers were in place, they would take out the sentries then close on the building. Tek and Smoke, their demolitions expert, would breach the window of the room she was in and extract her while the rest of the Brothers eliminated the threat inside the house.

  Everything had been going smoothly. Then the idiot Rick decided to make his suicidal move. Tek ground his teeth as the view on the feed jostled and gave glimpses of her being pulled to her feet by a large guard. The computer was then placed on the desk. Tek could see a clear view of the room. He watched two men pull a third to his feet and drag him from the room.

  “We need to go in soon,” Tek growled under his breath.

  Sharp gave his arm a squeeze. “I know this is hell, Brother, but we need to see what they are going to do.”

  “And while we sit out here with our thumbs up our asses, she could try something stupid like Rick and end up dead.”

  “Your woman is smarter than that.” Sharp shook his head. “Fuck, she’s smarter than you with this bullshit plan of yours.”

  “I don’t want to hear it.” And he didn’t. The plan called for Sharp to take Cami safely back to the compound. The part Sharp and all his Brothers objected to was Tek planned to never see her again.

  What he wanted to do was bust in there, drag her out, and claim her before all of his Brothers. She would bring endless variety to his life with her quick mind and body made for every one of his fantasies. Unfortunately, he couldn’t have what he wanted. Jojo had been right. She would be safer if he left her alone. She wouldn’t be completely free until they found the person behind hiring the mercenaries. Cutting ties now was the only choice, or he risked not being able to later.

  “Yeah, well it’s a dick move not giving her a choice, but if that is the way you want to play it I got your back.”

  Tek gave a tight nod. That was part of what it meant to be Brothers. You didn’t have to agree with each other to back each other up.

  Usually it was Tek’s job to monitor communication and coordinate the teams through everyone’s earpieces, but tonight there was no way he wasn’t going to be in on the takedown. Instead, Dragon had his back and took over for him.

  “I’ve got chatter on their comms.” Dragon’s voice came across the earpiece. “These assholes have three wounded, two shot and the third with head trauma. Picked up chatter from their coms, they are going to transport the wounded to another site for treatment.”

  “We go as soon as the vehicle is off site.” Hawk’s gruff tone was unmistakable.

  It took almost fifteen minutes before a car pulled away from the house with five men in it. They were down to fifteen mercenaries. With almost double that number in Brothers, Tek felt his confidence grow. He had to believe they would get her out of this unharmed. Things had moved so fast between them it was hard to believe it was less than a week ago he had seen her dancing on stage in the little girl outfit.

  The sound of Sharp’s sniper rifle was his signal to move. He took out two roaming guards. Tek’s team of five sprinted across the overgrown lawn towards the house. Deep used Det cord to surround the window but paused and gestured to the inside. Rooster, another member of his team, covered one side while he took position on the other.

  Tek leaned over so he could get a look in the window. Cami sat with her back to the window, but she wasn’t alone. A guard now stood in the doorway, standing watch over his woman.

  “Fuck,” Tek keyed his microphone. “Hostile in the room with the target.”

  “Roger that,” Hawk replied. “Front will breach first. Five count and proceed with plan.”

  Tek didn’t like the risk they were taking. These were trained men who wouldn’t lose focus because of a few flash bang grenades, but there was no going back. Explosions rocked the front side of the house, followed by gunfire. Tek shielded his eyes as the wall next to him exploded inward in a shower of glass.

  Tek entered the house through the newly created hole. He swept the room with his gun, trying to make sense of the scene in front of him. Cami stood pointing a gun in trembling hands at Tek and his Brothers. A man was bleeding on the floor, reaching for a weapon. Tek fired his gun, taking out the man before he could discharge it.

  One of the mercenaries rushed in through the door, but his team ended the threat with several shots.

  Tek almost didn’t get his rifle out of the way before Cami barreled into his midsection, wrapping her arms around him. Her gun banged into his kidney, but he didn’t care. For a moment he let himself enjoy the warmth of her body.

  She could be his if he was selfish, but he had to let her go for her own good.

  “I knew you would come. Even when I wasn’t sure if it would be in time, I k-knew it. I wanted to tell you I loved you in case somethi
ng happened, but thought that wouldn’t be right over the video feed. I wasn’t sure if it would be you watching or one of your Brothers and that would be too awkward to explain, so I waited. And here you are.” She looked up at him with her expressive teal eyes filled with an emotion he didn’t deserve. His heart winced. When she would finally learn the truth, when someone explained to her this whole mess was his fault, then she would understand why they couldn’t be together. “I love you, Tek.”

  He shook his head, his throat tight with emotion. He had to let her go. “You deserve a better life.”

  Tek pulled away from Cami and pushed her a little too roughly towards Sharp. She stumbled, but he couldn’t let her see it bothered him. He nodded to his Brother who laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. Another round of gunfire sounded from somewhere deeper in the house.

  “Get her out of here.” The words were dragged out from between his clenched teeth. The hurt in her eyes was almost too much to deal with. He turned and intended to clear the house with Smoke and Rooster.

  “Joseph. Where the fuck are you going?” Cami’s angry voice cut through the noise.

  It would be so simple to ignore her and walk away, but they had made promises he wasn’t willing to break. Hundreds of different responses came to mind, but there were hidden lies in each one of them. What he settled on was the simplest thing he could come up with.

  “I’m going to do what is best for you. I’m going to protect you.” He didn’t look back, but he could almost feel her gaze.

  “Why does that sound like a lie?”

  “It’s the only truth I have, Angela. Goodbye.” Tek walked forward out of the room, ignoring Cami’s shrieks as Sharp dragged her out of the house. He felt like an asshole and was glad when an enemy rounded the corner, and he was able to shoot him.

  Unfortunately, there were no more men to kill. The echoes of ‘Clear’ filled his earpiece. He met up with Hawk and the rest of his Brothers in the living room of the old farmhouse. From the look of things there were no survivors, and his Brothers hadn’t taken any casualties.

  Hawk looked around the room, his gaze catching Tek’s for a moment. “Gather up any electronics or personal items you find. Line up the bodies for Clean and his crew.”

  He received shoulder bumps from most of his Brothers and Tek tried to back down the anger that was starting to boil in his gut. She was safe. He was doing the right thing. The words tasted like hollow ashes against his tongue.

  “Package safe and contained,” Dragon’s voice came across the coms like a final bell tolling the end of action.

  Tek clenched his fists and slung his AR to his back. He would need to go away for a while. Make peace with his decision. But he couldn’t do that till he finished the mess with his company and made sure everyone hunting Cami was dead.

  Chapter 34

  Life sucks, get a helmet – Denis Leary

  Throwing any object that came to hand at anyone who entered the house might have been childish, but it helped vent the rage boiling deep inside Cami. Cutting up the sheets that still held the scent of their passion was arguably cathartic. Barely eating or sleeping between stints of computer hacking and crying was probably not healthy. However, the look of horror on Decaf’s face as she built up a bonfire in the backyard with the contents of Tek’s closet brought her the first sense of amusement in days. The fact she was feeding the fire with his clothes and expensive Scotch had the poor man frozen, as if he was unsure if he should stop her or stand by like the rest of her watch dogs had.

  She sat in the bright autumn afternoon alternatively sipping the fiery liquid and feeding his clothing to the fire. Tired. She was so tired. Not physically, but emotionally spent. Cami wasn’t sure how many days had passed since the coward had ditched her, but it was time for her to get out of here. Everything reminded her of Tek, and since he was obviously not going to give her the respect of a conversation, it was time to remove herself from the unhealthy environment.

  “Is it safe to approach, or are you still doing your impression of a major league pitcher?” Jojo’s voice wasn’t exactly welcome, but it was time to stop pushing everyone away.

  Cami turned and saw Jojo wasn’t alone. Pixie, Val, Tari, Cheryl, and several women she didn’t recognize were walking around from the front of the house. All the women except Jojo wore the achingly familiar cuts of the Dark Sons’ Old Ladies. Great, it must be an intervention. She wondered if they were here to kick her out.

  “I’m done throwing things. I am at the burning his shit s-stage of grief. Grab a shirt and join me.”

  “Lord, child. You are a right mess.” Val snatched a shirt and tossed it on the fire with a chuckle.

  Every one of the women grabbed something and tossed it on the fire before pulling up chairs to join her around the fire. Their actions were comforting, even though they may not know exactly why she was doing it but because of the sisterhood, they would join her in her insanity. Jojo and Val set their chairs next to hers and the other women spread out around the warmth of the fire. Even though it was early afternoon, none of them seemed to think the idea of a bonfire was odd and most broke out beers and assorted drinks from coolers they had with them.

  Conversations started and the quiet murmurs eased the last anger holding her strong facade in place. The warmth of her tears and the blurry sight of the fire were like a dam breaking and she sobbed for the loss of what should have been her happily ever after. Why did losing a relationship that had only lasted a week hurt her so badly?

  “Oh, honey,” Jojo crooned, pulling Cami into her lap. “It’s okay, you’re safe. The men will find the people after you and then we can go back to a normal life.”

  Cami’s body jerked in surprise. “That’s not why I’m crying.”

  Jojo scowled at her. “Don’t tell me those tears are for that snake of a man who got you into this mess.”

  “Jojo.” Val turned her friend’s name into a warning.

  Cami pulled herself up to a standing position and crossed her arms. “I was in this p-position because a Russian h-hacking group offered two hundred and fifty thousand to kidnap me, not because of Tek.”

  “But they wouldn’t have even had your name if it wasn’t for him,” Jojo huffed.

  She loved her friend with everything in her heart, but it was time to give her a strong reality check. “Jojo since the government f-figured out who I was, almost ten y-years ago, not a single year has passed where some idiot didn’t put a p-price on kidnapping me. Usually, I catch it before anyone comes after me, but things m-moved too fast this time. There have been six k-kidnapping attempts on me, four of them successful. Because of that, I have a kidnap and ransom insurance policy backed by a vicious mercenary group in Israel who are paid very well to make sure I come out of any situation alive using any method they choose. That is, if the US government doesn’t r-rescue me first for fear of the secrets I’ll leak. I’ve n-never let fear stop me from living my l-life.”

  Jojo looked like she had been slapped. All the women had gone quiet, their mouths open in shock.

  “But you were so scared in the parking lot after the attempted attack,” Jojo protested.

  “It’s not like t-that is something you get u-used to. Doesn’t mean I let it ruin m-my life.”

  Val lifted an eyebrow. “So, it’s not Tek that put you in danger?”

  “No.” Cami rolled her eyes, frustrated people thought because she wasn’t physically intimidating, she was helpless. “In fact, as of this morning, I’ve t-taken care of all the parties involved. The Russians got the addresses of the R3publix hackers, and Mr. Ivan Ivankova, which by the way was n-not his real name, r-received a file with information of his that will be r-released to all of his enemies should I ever go missing for more than ten days. He a-assures me he has no interest in bothering me again.”

  Val chuckled and clapped her hands. Pixie and Tari seemed stunned and could only shake their heads. Cami grabbed the bottle of fifty-year-old scotch off the ground and took a swal
low. She grabbed the remaining clothing from the ground and tossed them into the dancing flames.

  “Why didn’t you tell someone you had the whole thing under control?” Pixie scowled at the burning clothes.

  Cami snorted. “Like they have shared any information with m-me? I’m just a h-helpless woman who has to be p-protected.” The last words stuck in her throat as the memory of Tek saying them echoed in her mind.

  The pregnant woman smiled, rubbing her belly. “Oh, how well we all know that song.”

  Laughter filled the backyard as all the women joined in with frustrated agreement. Jojo stood and pulled her into a hug.

  “I think maybe my man bits might have led me astray. I’m sorry.”

  Cami rested her head on Jojo’s shoulder and returned the hug. “What do you mean?”

  Her friend stepped back and took a deep breath. “I was trying to protect you, I swear, but I may have convinced your man that if he loved you, he should let you go because you deserve a safe, normal life.”

  The grimace on the drag queen’s face might have been cute if her words hadn’t rekindled Cami’s anger.

  “I should be burning your Louboutin shoes along with his clothes.”

  Jojo gasped with such horror she choked.

  Tari rubbed her hands together, a mischievous light in her dark eyes. “It seems what we have here, ladies, is a case of Alpha male martyrdom syndrome.”

  Cheryl cackled and put the back of her hand to her forehead in a dramatic gesture. “I, the alpha male, must save you, poor female, from the harshness of life by sacrificing my own happiness.”

  Pixie giggled, copying the pose. “No matter how much my manly rod wants to pound you into orgasmic bliss, I shall endure the dreaded blue balls because I know better than even your doctor.”

  Val joined the merriment. “Although your body can squeeze something the size of a watermelon out of a hole the size of a lemon, you are a frail being who should be treated like glass.”