Neal’s whole body jerked and shook. He grabbed his rifle and pointed it at Lyra.
* * *
Dare rounded the vehicle. Rage filled him and he didn’t have to stop to think. One shot in the center of his forehead and Barker was gone.
“Mom.” Lyra yelled, and started to run to her mother, but Dare held her back with one arm.
“Get down.” he ordered, his voice coming out harsh with his command. “Stay behind the wheel of that Hummer. Mark is still around.”
Lyra hesitated as she gave another look at her mother, who lay on her side, looking at Lyra. “Listen to him,” her mother got out in a croak.
Lyra nodded, then obeyed and sat with her back against the vehicle’s giant wheel. Dare’s keen gaze had taken in her appearance the moment he spotted her with Barker. Her face was bloodied and bruised, and blood dried in a thin line across her throat.
If it weren’t for another man with a gun out to kill them, Dare would have taken even greater satisfaction at finally ridding the world of Neal Barker.
Instead Dare kept low, both hands on his Glock. Nick was in the room now, and Dare motioned with his head in the direction Mark had crawled, then pointed at the opposite end of the Hummer for his partner to take that angle.
Dare slowly peeked around the Hummer. No sign of Mark, but a blood smear marred the dirt floor. The man was injured from the stake. An injured man was even more deadly.
Freeman peered around the tunnel, searching the room with his gun. “Secured, Lancaster?” Freeman asked.
“One man. Armed,” Dare said. “On the other side of the second Hummer.”
“Let’s give him some company,” Harrison said, and Dare looked over his shoulder just in time to see the man punch a button on the wall. A large garage door rose with loud creaks and groans, a door wide and big enough for both vehicles to drive out.
Freeman, Harrison, and Nick all took places around the Hummers and aimed their assault rifles toward the opening.
“Yo.” Dare jerked his head toward Manning’s voice but didn’t see him in the darkness. “We’ve taken down every fucker up here. Gotta get on out of this place. Cops are close.”
Screams of distant sirens met Dare’s ears. “One more asshole to get rid of,” he said, and moved around the Hummer, only to see Nick at the opposite end.
They made it to the second vehicle and, as one, swung around only to face each other again. No Mark. Only a bloody stake on the floor.
Dare quickly took in the smeared footprints, the spots of blood, and the fact that the door of the Hummer was slightly ajar. He jerked his thumb toward the door and Nick gave a sharp nod.
The engine roared to life.
“Shit.” Dare barely rolled out of the way before the vehicle backed up the ramp—then Mark sped forward and rammed the Hummer into the other one, where Lyra was hiding.
Lyra cried out.
Dare saw red.
He fired off a round at the driver’s side of the Hummer but only made pockmarks in the bulletproof glass. His men were doing a job on the vehicle, too, but the bullets couldn’t pass through the metal or the glass.
This time the Hummer roared up the ramp.
“Clear.” Manning shouted.
Dare and the other men dropped to the ground. A thump-pop sound.
An explosion beneath the Hummer.
The vehicle raised up from its hind end. Flipped onto its back. Skidded into the garage and rammed the other Hummer.
Manning, Lloyd, and Freeman guarded the entrance to the garage as flames roared on the Hummer’s underside.
Nick and Harrison aimed their guns at the driver’s side door of the vehicle as the door popped open and Mark tumbled out. He was weaponless, and blood smeared his forehead.
“To your feet,” Nick shouted. As much as they all probably wanted to, they couldn’t shoot an unarmed man.
Dare went to Lyra, grabbed her hand, and drew her to her feet.
“I knew the bitch would ruin everything.” Mark had his hands behind his head and leaned a bit to spit blood even as he glared at Lyra. “Should have killed her when I had the chance. Neal was too fucking obsessed with her and the fucking Prophecy.”
“Tie up the bastard,” Dare said, and he knew murder was in his expression. “Leave him in the tunnel for law enforcement to put him behind bars.” He glanced at the still-burning Hummer. “We’ve got to get the hell out of here.”
“Bitch.” Mark shouted as Nick searched him and tossed out a knife he found in the man’s boot, beneath his jeans.
Freeman slung a rope to Nick and he made short work of tying the man up, hands and ankles, and dragging him into the tunnel.
“Fucking bitch.” Mark screamed. “You killed him. You ruined everything.”
Dare’s thoughts of murder were interrupted when Freeman said, “We found a serious shitload of drugs and military weapons. These guys are going down.”
Lyra had run to the woman lying on the floor on the other side of the Hummer. She rolled her mother so that she could cradle Sara in her lap. Sara took shallow breaths. Blood soaked her robe at her shoulder and chest. Her head tilted back, her eyes closed.
Only her low moan told Dare she was still alive. Lyra turned to him as she held her mother. Tears flooded Lyra’s battered features. “Help me. Please.”
Dare holstered his Glock and hurried to Lyra and her mother, confident that Nick and the other men would watch his back in case anyone else came at them.
Dare bent to check Sara’s wound, hoping it wasn’t fatal. When he pushed aside the opening of her robe the tightness in his gut eased. It looked like a clean shot through her upper arm. Just as Dare was about to pull out his dagger to cut strips of cloth from the woman’s robe to bind the wound, Nick handed him a bundle.
“Figured Barker would be good for something,” Nick said.
Dare grabbed the cloths and folded one into a thick pad to press against the wound, then quickly bound it.
Siren screams were louder now. The cavalry had arrived. They had to get the hell out of there.
Lyra found herself being drawn out of the garage by Dare and into the pouring rain with four men—six including Dare and Nick. Nick carried her mother. Lyra ran behind Dare, who’d released her hand so that he could keep his grip on his gun.
It was so dark that she almost didn’t see him.
Jason.
She came to a complete stop and screamed. He lunged for her. He grabbed her neck and squeezed hard as he took her to the ground.
A strangled sound came from her throat.
“Bitch,” Jason shouted, his eyes wild. “You killed my father.”
Jason was jerked away. His hands slipped from her neck.
Dare slammed his fist into Jason’s face. He flew back and landed on his ass, but he quickly scrambled to his feet.
Jason whipped out a knife as he charged toward Lyra again. A shot echoed through the night and he crumpled onto the ground.
Lyra’s gaze was hazy from the rain, but she saw one of the men still had his gun aimed at Jason’s body—a hole was in the center of Jason’s forehead. Lyra turned her face away. The sick feeling in her stomach multiplied.
The sound of sirens screamed in Lyra’s head. Dare reached for her hand. He helped her to her feet, then swept her into his arms, startling her into letting out a small cry.
All six men tore through the forest. Dare seemed to carry her effortlessly as they ran, as Nick did with Sara. The sirens screamed and lights flashed through the forest. Of course, the men wouldn’t want anyone to know they had anything to do with the attack on the compound, so they ran like hell. Lyra noticed they all had goggles that they pulled over their eyes as they ran, no doubt for night vision, so that they didn’t run into anything.
It seemed like they ran forever, but before she knew it, they were at two large black vehicles. One was a Hummer like the two in the garage. The other she thought was a Range Rover. They piled into the vehicles. Lyra found herself on Dare’s
lap in the backseat of the Hummer while Nick cradled Sara next to her. One of the men Lyra didn’t know still had on a pair of those strange-looking goggles.
Dare and Nick had ripped their goggles off their heads and tossed them in the back. The dark-haired man started the vehicle and tore out of the hideaway—with the lights off. Another man she didn’t know was in the passenger seat.
Dare held her midsection tighter, obviously trying to keep her from falling off his lap. Lyra grasped the back of the passenger seat as the vehicle jolted them while they traveled down a rough dirt road.
Once they neared the paved highway, the man driving the Hummer pulled off the side of the road and into a thick grove of trees. She looked over her shoulder and saw the Rover pull up behind them. Lights of countless law enforcement vehicles and fire engines going to the commune flashed through the rainy night.
“Think the cops will see us?” Lyra whispered.
“We’re hidden well enough, and the vehicles should blend with the night,” Dare said.
“What about Mom?” Lyra trembled as she looked at her mother, who was still lying in Nick’s arms.
“No blood spotting the pad.” Nick glanced at Lyra. “When I wrapped it, the wound looked clean. I think she’ll be all right till we get to the cabin.”
When the flood of lights waned on the road and concentrated on the compound, the driver of the Hummer pulled out and continued to drive off-road with his lights off and the goggles on.
What was going to happen to all The People? Would those who weren’t guilty of any crimes be treated as the innocents they were?
When they reached an isolated cabin deep in the woods. Dare and Nick carried Lyra and her mother inside and took them to a room. Vaguely Lyra wondered whose cabin it was.
When they were in the bedroom, one of the big men brought in a first-aid kit. Nick settled Sara on one side of a large bed and started tending to her wound right away.
“She’ll be all right,” Nick said as he glanced up. “Clean shot, bullet went straight through the fleshy part of her arm.”
Relief flooded Lyra.
Then she started shaking. Her skin turned to ice, and her head spun. She felt all the blood drain from her face.
Dare scooped Lyra into his arms. “She’s going into shock.”
He took her to the other side of the bed and immediately wrapped her in blankets. Her whole body went numb.
This time when blackness closed in on her she didn’t fight it.
25
Red, orange, and blue flames illuminated Neal’s features and were reflected in his eyes. His expression was crazed, insane. He stalked her, a dagger raised high. His mouth twisted in an evil smile.
Red horns sprouted from his head, and his tail whipped around and lashed Lyra’s face. Pain ripped through her and she stumbled back.
Neal raised the weapon higher. It turned into a pitchfork with three daggers for tines. He raised the pitchfork—
He exploded.
Flesh and blood splattered the room.
He was gone.
Gone.
Neal was forever gone.
She stood in the corner, shaking as blood drenched her robe.
Arms wrapped around her from behind.
A warm embrace that she melted into as she slipped into a safe and loving sleep.
* * *
Lyra slowly opened her eyes. Her eyelids felt heavy and she blinked a few times.
Slivers of light peeked through blinds on a window. Her face burned, her throat burned, and her head and body ached. Her mind tried to sort out the dream from reality. This time instead of ending in terror, it had ended with her feeling that she was finally safe. Finally.
And the arms around her had made her feel secure and loved.
Memories were at the tip of her consciousness, but she couldn’t quite grasp them. Her sleep-fuddled mind tried to puzzle them out. Slowly the memories came into focus.
Neal. Being kidnapped. Being beaten. Hurting Neal with the stake. Neal being shot. Then all of them escaping.
The heavy arm draped over her waist and firm body pressed against her back made her feel very alive.
Dare. She allowed herself to relax into the embrace. The feeling of being safe and loved filled her with a power that made all of her pains not matter.
Shock jolted her out of her dreamlike state. She sat up and pushed Dare’s arm off. Fear rushed through her.
“Mom.” she said in a rusty croak.
“Shhh.” Dare sat up beside her and wrapped one of his arms around her shoulders as she jerked her head up to look at him. He gave her a hint of a smile. “She’ll be all right. She’s in another bedroom.”
Lyra sagged against Dare. He brought them both back to lie on the bed, and he turned her so that she was snuggled against him, one of his arms wrapped around her as she pressed her cheek against his chest. Her face stung from the contact, but she didn’t care. She was in his arms again. And her mother was going to be all right.
Lyra gradually became aware of her surroundings. They were in a strange room. “Where are we?”
Dare pressed his lips to her temple that wasn’t bruised. “My ranch.”
“Where’s Mom?” she asked.
“In one of the spare bedrooms.” He pressed another kiss to her skin. “Resting.”
Lyra breathed a deep sigh of relief until her thoughts returned to the nightmare at Neal’s compound. “What about all of The People?”
“Law enforcement will sort things out,” he said. “Only those leading the cult will be arrested. It’ll take some time, but they’ll separate those who are innocent from those who belong in jail.” He lightly stroked her hair from her face, and she felt like he couldn’t get enough of touching her. “There was a lot of drugs and so many weapons that those responsible will be put away for a long time.”
“I don’t understand how they’ll do that—separate the innocent from those who deserve to be put away,” she said.
“They have their methods.” Dare offered her a smile. “Like I said, it’ll take time.”
Lyra was quiet for a moment. “I know some people were there against their will, but others truly believed in Neal and the Temple of Light. What do you think will happen to them?”
“Those who choose to leave the cult will hopefully be reacclimated to a normal life free of tyranny. The others…” Dare shook his head and sighed. “I guess we’ll have to see how they pick up the pieces. They might go to one of the satellite compounds and follow the leadership of Neal’s other commanders for all we know.”
She rubbed her face against his chest despite the ache in her cheek. “I feel so bad for all of them.” She hesitated. “Did—did anyone die? Other than Neal, Jason, and Adam?”
“Yes.” Dare paused, his look serious. “But as far as I know, no civilians were killed. Only injuries, none fatal.” Lyra didn’t know what to say as her gaze locked with his. People had died. Because of her?
Dare seemed to read her expression. “No, honey. You can’t take responsibility for anyone who died. They were men who knew what they were doing and who were most likely involved in weapons trading and running drugs. They might even have been involved in murder.”
Then it occurred to her she’d forgotten one other person. “Mrs. Yosko. How is she?”
Dare grinned this time and touched his finger to her nose. “She decided she wanted to go into the retirement center. She called it ‘the old farts’ home.’”
“That sounds like something she would say.” Lyra gave a soft laugh. “So she chose to go there? No one forced her?”
“She actually seemed pleased.” Dare ran his finger along her cheekbone. “Although Nick’s not so sure about it.”
Lyra cocked an eyebrow. “And why’s that?”
“Mrs. Y insisted that Nick keep Dixie.”
Lyra choked with laughter. “I can just imagine how that went over.”
Dare’s grin broadened. “Let’s just say that Mrs. Y won.”
Lyra sniggered again.
One more thought came to her mind, but this one made her chest so heavy she could barely breathe, and all laughter and happiness left her.
“It was Neal all this time.” A ball of pain expanded in her throat and her eyes burned. “He had my dad killed. It was all because of me. All because of me. It was my fault.”
Dare narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean, Neal had your father killed?”
She looked up at him through her watery gaze. “Neal set my dad up.” She hiccupped. “He had a sniper shoot Dad so that Neal could take me into the Temple of Light”
Dare brought her closer to him. “I’m sorry, honey.”
“So it’s my fault,” she whispered as she closed her eyes.
“Hey.” Dare grasped her chin and forced her to open her eyes and look up at him. “You can’t take the blame for any of this. Not one bit. I’m not going to let you. He was a crazy sonofabitch and absolutely none of this was any of your doing.”
Lyra wasn’t sure the heavy pain in her chest would ever go away.
Exhaustion finally overcame her as Dare held her close. Her body went limp, and she relaxed into a deep sleep.
* * *
Dare stood behind Lyra as she paused to look in the mirror in his bedroom. Every time she looked at her bruised features and the scab on her throat, she felt sick to her belly, yet relieved at the same time. Neal Barker would never hurt her or anyone else again.
She couldn’t feel sorry for him.
It had been six days since the “incident,” and the swelling on her face had gone down and her bruises were yellowing around the edges. But her heart and soul—those would take a lot of time to heal.
Her eyes met Dare’s in the mirror, and she saw that he still felt anger at what she’d gone through, but his features softened every time he looked at her.
She pulled away from him and started down the hallway to the room Mom was staying in. Lyra’s heart also ached for her mother. To have let everything go to Neal and be left with nothing.
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