I turned away and shielded my head. Shadow barked. Cindy screamed.
Wood splintered, the door flew open, and a gust of cold air and ash rushed into the room. Shadow ran toward the open doorway with her ears lowered and fangs visible. I glanced at the entrance and spotted the barrel of a gun breaching the room, then a black- gloved hand.
I shoved the man’s arms toward the door. He squeezed the trigger, firing a single round that punched the TV on top of the dresser against the wall.
Shadow lunged at the masked man. I released his arms and got out of the way. She latched onto his forearm, sinking her fangs into him. The German shepherd thrashed her head from side to side while tugging on his limb.
The gunman’s heater fell from his hand to the floor. His mask muffled the screams of agony. He wrenched his arm, trying to free it from the canine’s maw.
I placed a round in the side of his skull. Brain and bone splattered the door, hitting like wet cement. His legs gave and his body fell to the floor.
Anna fired one more round before the shotgun clicked empty. “I’m out.” She tossed the shotgun, pulled the pistol from her waistband, and continued firing.
Shadow chewed on the man’s arm a minute more before letting go.
I peered around the corner with the Smith and Wesson up and at the ready. A swarm of incoming rounds hammered the outside wall near my head. I ducked, leaned away, and took a deep breath.
Cindy sat hunched near the bed. She looked at me with wide, fear-stricken eyes and trembling lips.
I waited for the gunfire to ebb, then took another look. A man materialized from the other side of the wall. He grabbed my gun and shoved it down. My finger pulled the trigger. A single round fired, punching the walkway near the parking lot.
The gunman ripped the piece from my hand, then punched me in the face. My head snapped back. I stumbled about, reeling from the blow.
My sore knee buckled, sending me to the floor. Shadow barked and growled, snapping at the armed man from the foot of the corpse near the door. He grabbed the rifle that hung from his shoulder and brought it to bear at the canine.
I slammed my foot into his knee, knocking him off balance. He squeezed the trigger.
Fire flashed from the muzzle.
The rounds punched the door and wall near Shadow’s head and back. She lowered to the ground, looking up at him with glistening fangs. Shadow stepped over the dead man’s legs and attacked, grabbing the off-balance gunman’s hand.
The gunfire from behind me ebbed, giving way to shouting and hard pants. Anna grunted, then popped off another round before her heater clicked empty.
Shadow thrashed her head, pulling at the gunman’s hand. He punched and kicked at her large, muscular body, trying to get the German shepherd off him.
“Go to hell,” Anna shouted.
I sat up and got to my feet. I grabbed the dead man’s piece from the floor, then trained it at the gunman Shadow had pinned to the walkway.
A single shot fired from the back of the room. Cindy yelled. The bedlam ceased. Anna snarled, sounding more animal than human.
I peered over my shoulder, keeping the piece trained at the threat Shadow chewed on.
“That’s enough,” Stocky said, loud and stern. He had Anna wrapped up in his arm with his piece pressed to the side of her skull. “Drop it or I’ll paint this room with your friend’s brains.”
Anna thrashed a moment longer before stopping. Her teeth gnashed in anger as she stared at me. Blood ran from her temple and down the side of her face.
Cindy stood from the corner of the bed and raised her hands in the air. More of Stocky’s men funneled inside the room behind him and took positions near Cindy, then closed in on me.
I lowered the pistol, then tossed it to the floor.
Shadow released the man’s arm, then turned and faced the armed men standing inside the motel room. She bared her fangs and hunched toward the ground next to the man she’d just mauled.
“Will someone take care of her,” Stocky said to the men standing before me. “Perhaps we can tame her once more. We’ll take her back to the boss and see what he wants to do with her. Doesn’t seem like she’s too keen on us anymore since she ran away, but it’s his call.”
“Don’t you hurt that dog, or I’ll make sure you die a slow, painful death,” Anna said, threatening any and all who stood near her.
Stocky tightened his hold around her throat. “You’ll be doing nothing of the sort. You’re lucky we don’t put a bullet in your skull right now, but the boss will want to meet you two. Besides, you might come in handy.”
The men closed in on me. I kept my hand pointed at the ceiling. They approached with pistols and rifles trained at my chest and forehead. They grabbed my bicep, flung me around, then shoved me face first against the wall. The muzzle from one of the rifles pressed against the side of my head.
I stared at the mural of blood and bone that clung to the red door of the motel room. Thick lines of the chunky fluid flowed down the wood grain toward the floor.
Shadow continued barking and growling from the walkway, but I couldn’t see the canine anymore. The German shepherd yelped a second later, then ceased any further barking.
“No,” Anna screamed.
The teeth of the plastic zip ties binding my hands behind my back cut into my flesh. I jerked my arms, trying to get free. It made it worse.
“How did you find us?” I asked, face smooshed against the wall.
They yanked me from the wall, then turned me around. Two men flanked me, standing a scant inch away with weapons trained at my head.
“We’ve got eyes and ears all over this town,” Stocky answered, moving across the room with Anna fixed in his clutches. “Cell phones aren’t working too great at the moment because of all of the ash, but two-way radios seem to be functioning better.”
Cindy trembled and kept her head pointed at the floor. Her arms squeezed her chest as subtle whimpers of fright escaped her mouth.
“What are you planning to do with us?” I asked, squinting at Stocky.
He released Anna, then shoved her at one of his men. “Watch her. If she moves or tries anything, put a bullet in her leg or something.”
Anna jerked her arms away from the man, but then stood still before the armed goon.
Stocky glanced at the corpse on the ground next to the door, then to me. He shook his head, then stepped in front of me. “Well, you are in the unique position of having been the last person near my mark before he died. So, we’re going to take all three of you back and see what he told you.”
I looked down on the shorter brawny brute. “What if he didn’t have a chance to tell me anything before he died? After all, it was your men who snuffed him. I doubt your boss would be happy about that.”
Stocky nodded. “True, but my gut tells me he told you something, and I plan on learning what that is. I have ways of making people talk. Even the most strong-willed bend and break.”
I glanced to Anna, then Cindy. Both had armed men flanking them on either side.
Cindy stared at me, then opened her mouth.
I shook my head.
“Load them up in the vehicles now,” Stocky said while looking at me with a smug smile.
His goons dragged Cindy and Anna out of the motel.
Cindy whimpered and fought back the tears that dripped from her eyes.
Anna jerked her arms away from the larger men shoving her toward the door. “Get your damn hands off me.” She gave me a quick look before passing through the doorway.
The two men flanking me grabbed my arms, then wrenched me toward the door. Anna continued to run her mouth and pull away from the armed men as they tried to load her into one of the SUVs.
One of the henchmen struck her in the back of the buttstock of his rifle. Her body went limp in the other’s arms, head dangling forward.
“Hey,” I said, my voice tainted with anger.
“We’ll talk soon,” Stocky said from behind me. He hit me in the back of th
e head with the base of his gun.
The world spun. My legs went limp. Before I knew it, I blacked out.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
SCARFACE
The foot soldier leaned against the shelves. He glanced up at me, eyes narrowed and lips pursed. A line of blood ran from the open wound on his temple and down the side of his face. His mask lay on the floor at his side, giving me a better look at his angry expression.
“You have no idea how deep in shit you are,” he said, through trembling lips. He tugged his arms, then clenched his jaw, trying to free them from the bungee cord I’d pulled from the shelves and restrained his wrists with.
I bent down in front of him and placed the rifle across my thighs. Blood seeped from the hole in his shoulder, turning the ballistic vest a crimson color.
“To be honest, I think you’re the one that’s in deep shit right now seeing that you’re tied up with a hole in your shoulder, pal,” I replied. “Since I don’t have time for twenty questions, you’re going to take me to my friend, or I can promise you that the pain you’re feeling right now will pale in comparison to what I will do to you.”
“Go to hell.” He glanced over to Jake and Abby who stood behind me, then back to me. “You and your friend have messed with the wrong people. More men will show up soon if we don’t report in. I can promise you that none of you will be safe.”
“Wrong answer.” I grabbed his injured shoulder. The tip of my thumb probed the wound, then slipped inside.
He wailed, head shifting from side to side. His legs kicked, and his body slammed against the rack behind him.
I removed my thumb from the wet hole, then wiped the blood from the end on his pants. “Where’s your ride at? Tell me now or I’m going to start carving chunks of your skin off.”
His lids clamped shut, and his jaw clenched. He panted hard.
I squeezed harder on his shoulder, touching around the tender and torn flesh.
“All right,” he said, yelling at me. “It’s outside and down the street.”
“Keys. Where are they?” I asked, keeping my thumb close to the wound.
He dipped his chin, then nodded at his right pant pocket. “They’re in there.”
I removed the rifle from my legs, then handed it back to Jake. “Here. Hold this, will ya?”
Jake took the rifle, then stepped away.
I checked the foot soldiers’ pocket, and fished the keys out of his pants. His face contorted in pain. He continued to breathe heavily.
“Looks like you get to live a bit longer.” I stood, then turned toward Jake and Abby. They huddled close to one another. Jake shouldered the rifle with the barrel trained at the gunman. He glanced at me, then back to the injured man. “You’ll probably want to move on after this. More of his buddies could arrive or some other lowlifes for that matter.”
“Yeah. We’ll figure it out,” Jake replied, adjusting the buttstock against his shoulder. “Are you really going to go after them?”
“I can’t leave my partner behind. That’s not the way we operate.” I looked to Abby who stayed behind her father.
The gunman moaned.
I turned toward him, bent over, then grabbed his vest. “Come on. Get up.”
Jake and Abby took another step back. He kept the rifle trained at the foot soldier.
I pulled the foot soldier away from the shelves. He grimaced. I helped him to his feet. His legs wobbled. I grabbed his arm, then turned around. I retrieved the pistol from the floor and stowed it in the waistband of my trousers.
“You want your rifle back?” Jake asked, lowering the weapon. “Sounds like you might need it.”
I shook my head. “You keep it. I’ll be good with what I have.”
Jake extended his hand toward me. “Good luck to you.”
I glanced at his hand, then back up to him. “Same to both of you.” We shook hands. I looked to Abby. “Thank you for the gum and for helping me earlier.”
She nodded. “You’re welcome.”
Jake looked at her surprised. He gave her a side hug, then kissed her forehead.
I bowed, then walked away, heading for the entrance of the store with the gunman at my side. Glass crunched under our feet as we passed through the busted door. I skimmed over the street and the few cars that lined the sidewalk.
“Where’s your ride?” I asked in a raised voice.
He nodded down the walkway toward the intersection at the far end of the road. “The red Trailblazer.”
“Come on.” I escorted him down the sidewalk, placing his body between mine and the street.
I scanned for any cars or figures moving within the falling ash, but spotted none. The remaining stores we passed sat dark and void of any activity. Security gates blocked the entrance to some of the stores while others had their doors busted open. I peered inside each as we walked past, searching for any shadowy figures lurking in the murk.
We stepped off the sidewalk and onto the street, skirting around the back end of the Trailblazer and heading for the driver’s side of the SUV. I tugged on his arm, then shoved him against the side of the vehicle. I peeked through the black-tinted window, scanning over what looked to be a blanket and other random junk on the seat.
“All right. Here’s what we’re going to do.” I pulled the dagger out, then jerked him around, giving me access to the zip ties.
“Ah, shit man,” he said, wincing.
I grabbed his forearm and pulled up a bit. “You’re going to get in the driver’s seat and head back to wherever it is that they took my partner. If you think of, hint at, or try to warn anyone, I can promise you that death will be the least of your worries. I’ll make you suffer more than you ever thought possible. You understand me?”
The sharp edge of the dagger sliced through the red-stained zip ties. His arms moved forward. He favored his injured shoulder and remained silent.
I grabbed his forearm, bent it back toward me, then lifted up. He wailed in agony, cupping the bullet hole in his shoulder. “Do you understand me?”
“Yes, all right. Damn.”
I released his forearm, then stepped around to the driver’s side door. I jerked it open. “Go straight there. No funny business. I’m going to be in the back seat, listening and watching.”
I shoved him forward, then pointed to the steering wheel. He hit the top of the SUV’s frame with his forehead, then climbed into the driver’s seat.
“Do you think this is actually going to work?” he asked, peering over his wounded shoulder at me.
“You better hope it does, or it’s your ass on the line.” I opened the back door, shoved the junk on the seat to the far side, then climbed into the Blazer. “Here.”
I handed him the keys from over his shoulder. He took them, then slammed his door closed. I shut mine and settled into the middle of the seat.
He stared at me through the rearview mirror, then looked away. The engine grumbled to life. He pumped the gas, then shifted into drive.
We pulled away from the curb and drove through the intersection. I removed the pistol from the waistband of my trousers and pressed it to the back of his seat.
“How far is it?” I asked, retrieving the wadded up brown blanket from the floor behind the passenger side seat.
He drove down the street, looking to the rearview mirror every so often. “Not too far. Just outside of town. Shouldn’t take too long to get there.”
“How many more men should I be expecting?” I watched his hand reposition on the steering wheel, grabbing it at the top.
He shifted his weight in the seat. “Hard to say. Depends on who’s there and who’s out and about.”
“Ball park it for me.”
“Ten or so. Could be more. Could be less. Like I said, I’m not sure.”
“All packing similar rifles and body armor?”
He nodded, then cut around the curb onto the adjacent street. “For the most part, yes.”
He could’ve been feeding me false intel. I’d take
what he said with a grain of salt and make sure to keep my head up and on a swivel.
I scanned the junk in the back of the SUV. In the darkness, I couldn’t quite make out what all he had back there, but I didn’t want to turn the overhead light on. “So, who exactly are you people? Mercs? Ex-military?”
“Mostly ex-military,” he answered, without expanding any further.
I nodded. “I figured as much from the way everyone moved and handled the rifles. What’s up with the town and patrols? Keeping America safe or something like that?”
“Just doing our–part. Lots of crazy people out there.” He glanced to me again through the mirror.
“Yeah. That’s what it looks like you’re doing out there. Protecting and serving. More like terrorizing, but I’m not one to judge. See, there are dangerous people out here for sure. You and your little club of merry men stumbled upon two such individuals. Bad move on your part. If you would’ve just left well enough alone, then none of this would be happening.”
He glanced over his shoulder, then looked me up and down. “Not an easy thing to let slide when someone kills your brother and fellow soldiers. After all, you two killed three more of us out there on the highway.”
“Who was the brother?” I asked, curious.
“Frank.”
I nodded. “Well, Frank, Jim, and whoever the hell the other guy was with them trying to salvage the wreckage of my bosses’ plane and snuff me and my partner got what they deserved. And now, the rest of you are just as deep in shit as they were.”
The foot soldier held his tongue. We left Elko and drove along the long, desolate stretch of highway for a bit before turning off onto a dirt road. In the distance, a number of structures formed through the ash.
The wipers batted the ash away from the windshield. The Blazer rolled over the uneven terrain, driving through the deep ruts.
A chain link fence ran the length of the perimeter, encompassing the three buildings I could see. Lights loomed from the structures, indicating that they had some sort of power.
The gate ahead had an armed sentry standing guard next to the entrance. He walked along the outside perimeter with his rifle shouldered, then turned our way.
Brink of Extinction | Book 2 | Stay Alive Page 18