They seem to want us alive, at least for now. Or they don’t want to make too much noise here.
“Everyone take a seat,” Jack says as he motions toward the living room.
I glance at Eli and try to read his expression just as he steps toward the sofa. His face was all shadows anyway. Now what? I follow, wondering if he’s figured out something I haven’t. One of us could distract them while the other dove for a gun. It’s risky, but what else can we do? Go along with this?
“MOVE!” Jack swings his gun like he’s going to hit me but only threatens. I take a step over to sit down next to Eli. Nick and Sage sit down, watching Jack—I can’t tell if they have any kind of plan either.
Jack’s face is blank, his dark brown eyes taking us each in carefully. He meets my gaze and his nose wrinkles. I half expect him to spit on me but he seems satisfied with giving me a death glare.
We’re waiting on something…but what? Then someone else enters the room. One of the men crack the curtains to let in light.
Shit.
Roberto Maldonado stares me down, his hands clasped behind his back. His eyes are brown and cool—nothing to give away the smoldering hatred and anger inside.
“Megan.” His voice is so raspy it sounds like a whisper. “Is that the name I should use? Or Rosemary? Or Tina?”
He knows about the name Rosemary, confirming that Harris gave him information on us. Roberto steps closer to me and I notice his hair is grayer, his skin more drawn so the grooves are even deeper.
“Well?” He suddenly smiles and holds his palms out to include the entire group. “No begging for your friends here?”
Eli rises but Carlos knocks on him on the head.
“Roberto, this is between me and you—”
“NO!” He bellows at me, his onion breath on my face. “Don’t tell me they weren’t involved. You were all involved. No one lies to me. No one deceives me and lives in my house, and…” He’s too angry for words, and he’s had a long time to stew on it. I try to look at Eli but meet a gun instead.
“I took care of your boss,” Maldonado says, a hint of glee in his voice.
He killed Harris?
“Now it’s your turn. Time to pay the price for what you did to me. We’re all going to have a little fun together.”
I wouldn’t have expected Harris to come to our aid, but now I know there is no chance of help out there. Maldonado walks up to stand in front of me again. I look up, searching for anything I can say to get my friends out of this… It was me, not them. But there’s no arguing with the hatred in his eyes.
Maldonado opens his mouth but his face suddenly contorts in pain and he starts to bend over.
Late, my mind registers a shot.
I’m stunned, along with everyone else in the room. Maldonado stumbles, clutching his gut before falling forward. Eli and I have to throw ourselves to either end of the sofa.
Yelling and gunfire break out. I flipped over the sofa. Eli is already there, moving my way like he had planned to yank me back if I didn’t move. The sofa won’t stop bullets so we’re hugging the floor.
There’s a clatter just before a handgun skitters out from under the sofa. I grab for it and squeeze one off at Jack, shooting over the sofa.
Contact, but he shoots too, his bullet buzzing over my head as he flies backward into the wall. His gun hand bounces, knocking his gun free.
“Nick!”
Nick grabs it off the floor starts picking them off, and the bangs ring like ricocheting marbles. I roll over to get a visual on Eli.
Carlos has him from behind. Eli knocks him in the face with a backwards elbow, then twists around to finish him. I turn to help Sage—she’s on her back on the table, a massive man choking her, so I shoot him in the head. Another shot rings out after mine, and a body slams into the floor.
Stillness follows. I do a body count, making sure we’ve got them all before even breathing.
“Clear,” Nick says, bent over with his fingers against a throat.
Dust specs float in the beam of sunshine slicing across the room. There’s blood splattered on the walls, us, and the bodies on the floor.
Nick slumps against a wall. Sage is kneeling by TJ. Eli is feeling his jaw, feeling it for damage. I can’t feel anything yet—I could be wounded and not know it. My body is buzzing with adrenaline.
“How’s TJ?” Nick asks. Sage looks up and nods at me just as I hear TJ moan.
Eli stumbles as he comes to me.
“Hopefully Maldonado was telling the truth and Harris is dead,” Sage says, rubbing her side. “Let’s move just in case. We can’t be too careful.”
TJ stops by the lantern lying sideways on the floor, then grabs a lighter from the fireplace. Eli’s right behind him, dousing kerosene everywhere.
We burst out the door and run to the van as the house goes up in flames behind us. There’s several other empty vehicles around the house. Sage helps Nick get in—he looks wounded but I don’t see any large spots of blood from this angle. He’s bent over though. TJ looks dazed so Eli jumps in the driver’s seat.
Once I’m in the van, I try to assess if I’m hit but it’s no use. I just hope I’d feel the pain if I were.
While backing up, Eli knocks into several of the vehicles. We’re rolling down the street when I see Nick’s pinched face over’s Sage’s back. I try to get closer but Sage is all over him.
“How bad is it?” she asks, straightening. His front is blood soaked.
“Not bad.” He gives a small shake of his head like it’s a scratch as she peels his bloody shirt back. She sucks her breath in, making a snake-like sound.
“Not planning to die, not that bad,” Nick says with his typical lopsided smile, his gaze on Sage.
A lot of blood flows from the wound in his chest. I’m not so sure I believe him.
Chapter Forty
We wait. Eli and TJ take turns pacing while Sage and I sit together on a hard vinyl couch. I had expected screams to come from the other room when the backdoor doctor pulled the bullet out, but it’s quiet. I tell myself they put him under, but it makes me worry more anyway.
We’re all wet. We took showers here and slipped into old hospital scrubs. My hair drips on my shoulders but I’m too numb to shiver. It was a risk coming here. This is one of JP’s doctors and secret hospital. Even if Harris is dead, we were going to cut all ties.
But we had no choice in coming here, to tell the truth. Nick needed an ER and a doctor that could perform surgery.
Sage rises and walks a slow step at a time to the other door and slowly goes inside. I feel as if I should follow her but I have a hard time moving at all. Eli takes her place and wraps me up in his arms. I push my face into his chest and listen to his steady heartbeat.
“There’s no going back,” TJ says under his breath. “There’s no going back.”
“TJ.” Eli’s voice is heavy with emotion. “Sit down.”
Sage comes out, her arms wrapped around her middle. She looks stiff, her posture, her eyes. We’re all afraid to speak.
“He should pull through.”
My breath rushes out. Beside me, Eli deflates in relief and holds an open hand out to her. She collapses onto our couch with us. TJ kneels next to us, arms around us all. I rub her back, wondering how it feels to have Nick in there fighting for his life.
“We’re all going to be okay,” I say, looking into her blue, watery eyes. She tries for a smile, and for a second her charm and beauty sparkle again.
“But it’s just us. No more support from JP Industries.” TJ is scared.
“There’s others that Harris has betrayed,” I point out. “We might not be alone.”
“But we can’t trust them,” Eli says. He leans back and we all sit up. “It’s too risky, especially after this. What if he set up something similar with people within the organization or other wanted criminals?”
“So it is just us,” I say, sighing.
“Do we have
a plan?” TJ asks. He does not like to wing it, and I appreciate that. We do need a plan.
“We’ll do what we’ve always done,” I say, then watch the surprise on their faces. “We’ll do it on our own terms, picking our jobs, and doing what we’re comfortable with. But I say no more undercover Ops like Maldonado.”
Eli’s eyes practically glow as he watches me.
“Go it alone?” TJ asks, giving Sage a look.
I stand up. “We start from scratch. Like Eli said, it’s too dangerous to use anything linked to JP or any of our friends. Even that safe house wasn’t safe. We need to start at ground zero, but we’re in charge this time.”
“I’m in,” Eli says, turning to Sage and TJ.
“We’re family,” Sage says. “We have to stick together and take care of Nick.” Her voice quivers at first but grows stronger. “We know we can trust each other. We’ve been through hell and high water of all kinds and come through stronger. Why quit now?”
TJ grins.
We’re absorbing the moment when the door opens and the doc steps out. He motions into the room behind him, apparently indicating his work is done.
Nick is paler than usual but he cracks one eye at us. His mouth lifts the tiniest bit. Sage takes his face in her hands and kisses his cheeks.
“Rest now,” she whispers. “Don’t talk. Don’t worry about anything either. We’re going to all stick together. We’re still a team.”
***
“Well, you got your sunset,” Eli says as we gaze out at the fiery red ball dipping into the ocean. We’re settled on the sand with a blanket wrapped around the both of us. Eli’s warmth seeps into me, saving me from the biting wind. Even with this gorgeous view, it’s still winter.
It’s been a week. We laid low for a few days and then came to the coast, once Nick was able. He’s in the new camper, on bed rest. The wound had looked messy, but the bullet had miraculously missed his heart and lungs. Sage has hardly left his side.
TJ comes into view down by the water, walking back our way on the beach. We’re going to decide on our next move tonight. After all this cold weather, I’m dreaming about Costa Rica.
“And my family,” I add a long minute after Eli’s comment. I love how we can talk and follow the conversation when half of it is unspoken. I’m recovering that coherence with the rest of the group too. The horrible memories are still in my head, but I’m covering them with all the happy times I’ve shared with these people. In fact, I’m making new happy memories with them.
Under the blanket, Eli entwines his fingers with mine, then pulls our hands up so he can kiss the back of my hand. “Do you know how much I love you?”
Warmth tickles through me, like hot water in the shower flowing down my body.
“Enough to agree to my crazy plans, and go through all of that, and lie to me when I asked you to… Eli Hawthorn, I’m not so sure I’m good for you!”
“I’ll be the judge of that, Mrs. Hawthorn.” He turns my face and looks into my eyes for a minute before leaning over to kiss me. His lips feel full and warm on mine. He feels like home.
The End
Kristen Chaney
Pacific Northwest Author
Kristen Chaney has been writing since fourth grade, and loves creating different, unique stories with a twist. Her newest release is an erotic thriller called Covetous.
She enjoys adventures, traveling, camping, cycling, mountain biking, spending time with her family, and of course reading and writing.
https://www.writerkristenjames.com/
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