Blood Vows (The Arsenal Book 3)

by Cara Carnes

  “Suppose so,” TJ said. His gaze swept back to the group. “Which of them knows knives?”

  “Well, I’m thinking most of them. They’re all real good with guns, but I can hold my own with them.” Kamren wrapped her arm around TJ and pointed. “That’s Jud. He’s the one who gave me this knife.”

  “I got a knife. I been finding food for me and DJ since the mean men went away. Lilly told me how. Lilly keeps us safe and fed.”

  “Is Lilly here with you too?” Kamren looked back at the woods and somehow pushing back the urge to race into the thick overgrowth and snatch DJ up. “You think DJ wants to come out and meet us?”

  “Was he the something important you were looking for?”

  Kamren smiled. “He is. And you are too. We just didn’t know until just now.”

  “Lilly said a policeman would take us somewhere with a good family. Lots of food. We’d be safe from the bad men.” He looked at Dallas. “You make bad men go away?”

  “We do.”

  “You from where he’s at?” TJ asked her.

  “Yeah, pretty near.”

  “And you hunt there? Get food?” The boy rocked back on his bare feet.

  “Yeah. There’re rules, but you can hunt for food.” She lowered her voice. She’d been the scared, determined big sibling before. “Dallas and his family don’t do things like you and me. Adults provide the food and keep people safe.”

  “What’s an adult?”

  “Old people,” Kamren said with a grin.

  “So, like you?”

  “Yeah,” she said as the women on the com laughed again.

  “I can help. We don’t eat much,” he said.

  “You and DJ eating a lot would help me and my brothers out. Our mom loves to cook; she always makes too much food,” Dallas said.

  “Suppose we could help with that,” TJ offered.

  Dallas smiled. “Oh yeah? Well, that sounds like a pretty good deal. How about I take you and your brother away from here. We can work the details out later.” He held his hand out. “In my family our word is our bond. When we say we’ll do something, we do it. We shake on it, and it’s a vow we always honor it, no matter what.”

  “You’ll keep us safe from the bad men?”

  “Yeah, I will. We all will.” Determination and confidence. Dallas exuded both qualities in his stance and his voice.

  “And we’ll help eat your mom’s cooking. She any good?” TJ asked.

  “Yeah, she’s the best around.”

  “Then it’s a deal.” TJ put his hand against Dallas’s.

  “It’s a deal.”

  TJ smiled, turned, and motioned. The brush moved. Breath swooshed from her lungs as a mini-Dallas entered the clearing. His hair was matted and filthy, but the distinctive Mason-dark. His bright blue eyes swept the area, then latched onto TJ. He rushed forward in a fast sweep of unsteady limbs.

  Kamren reached out and kept him from falling when he got close. “Hi, I’m Kamren.”

  DJ looked around, his gaze riveted to the large group of people. She noted the tension in his little body and unshouldered the pack. “You know, I have something for you. For you both, actually. My friend over there has one of them.”

  She hoped to hell someone with a pack took the hint. “When we set out to come find you, I wanted to have something to give to you. My dad taught me never to show up without something, a gift.”

  Jesse had found what she’d tucked away in each team’s pack. She pulled hers out and held it out to DJ as Jesse approached TJ with the other small teddy bear. The boys stared at the bears, then slowly reaching out to touch them.

  “I’ll save mine for Lilly. It’ll make her laugh,” TJ said. “She killed a bear with a knife like yours. It hurt her real bad though.”

  “Find out where she is,” Vi ordered. “He’s worried. Ask about the key again.”

  “TJ, honey, we can help Lilly, okay? Why do you need a key?”

  “The bad men kept her in the hole. I can’t get her out.” The boy’s eyes watered. “We tried and tried, but I can’t find the key to the things around her neck and her feet and arms. I give her food and water, and she tells me how to catch stuff and how to fix it. But I need a key.”

  The boy’s voice rose. Nolan approached and knelt. “We’ll get the key. Show us where she is.”

  TJ looked at the two men, then reached out and touched their dog tags. “You fighters, too?”

  “Yeah,” Jesse said. “We all are.”

  “You’ll take her, too? Make her better?” DJ asked.

  “Yeah, we will,” Dallas said. Jesse and Nolan stepped back and stood behind their brother as he crouched in front of the two boys. Tears glinted in his blue eyes. “Hi, boys. I’m Dallas. I’m here to take you home.”

  “Like a dad?” TJ asked. “You aren’t my dad.”

  “I am now,” Dallas said.

  The boys vaulted forward and hugged him close.

  “Lilly said someone would take us to a good place. I won’t go without her,” TJ said. “We have a deal; it includes her.”

  “Deal. Take us to her,” Nolan said.

  The boys sprang toward the tree line. Kamren, Dallas, Jesse, and Nolan kept pace while Mary and Vi barked orders at the others. Kamren’s heart thudded wildly in her chest.

  They’d found Dallas’s son. He was okay.

  But questions remained. Who was Lilly?

  Dallas picked his son up and drew him against his side as TJ continued sprinting toward the destination. How much farther was it? How often had he made this trek? Darkness began sucking the daylight from the sky.

  “There’s a small cabin half a click west-northwest of your location.”

  “Copy.” Vi’s statement gave Dallas something to focus on aside from the fact two kids were running through the woods without shoes. He gripped his son tighter as he chased Kamren, who’d snagged TJ and was in an all-out sprint for the location. He wasn’t sure how much the kid was helping and how much she was figuring out for herself. Either way, he didn’t want those two arriving first. “Get her to slow down.”

  He caught up with her at the edge of a clearing near the target location. She’d set TJ down and was whispering for him to get down when Dallas arrived with DJ. The two boys crouched low to the ground and clung to one another as he and Kamren surveyed what lay before them. A drone whizzed by and headed around the side of the small, run-down structure. Another slipped into the open door.

  “You left the door open?” Kamren asked.

  TJ shook his head. “Mo and his goons must be back. Guess you didn’t fight them after all.”

  Fuck.

  Dallas slipped on his headgear and noted everyone else doing the same. He looked around and made a split-second decision as he caught Tanner’s attention. “Get the kids out of here.”

  The man looked over at Brace, who nodded. They snatched the kids and tore off back toward the small town. A drone followed. Thank fuck. The two men had handled their own in the wilderness, but he wasn’t sure either Tanner or Brace could fight. Until they figured out who was at the cabin, he didn’t want the kids anywhere near the area.

  Jud and Gage crouched beside a grouping of trees to his right, while Jesse and Addy were to the left. He didn’t see Marshall or Nolan, but they were likely with Fallon and circling around. The headgear flashed on and images assailed them as the drones provided visuals. Seven heavily armed targets, which wouldn’t be a problem if there weren’t more heat signatures arriving from the north.

  “Engaging second group,” Jud said as he separated from Gage and headed that direction.

  “I’ll cover his six,” Addy said as she broke off.

  “Fallon, we have a possible location for Lilly around the back. Marking the location on your display.”

  “Roger.”

  “Stay here,” Dallas ordered Kamren. Fuck, he should’ve had her go with Tanner and the kids. Then again, he doubted she would have.

  Though her eyes narrowed, she didn�
�t offer an argument. Thank fuck. He motioned to the rest of his team to move in as he edged forward. Angered shouts thundered within the clearing.

  “Gonna beat your butts ‘til you bleed. Get back here.” The massive brute slammed the door shut behind him as he stormed down the rickety entry to the cabin. Dallas sighted the fucker with his rifle. One shot and the takedown would commence, but death wasn’t in the mission protocol.

  They needed answers.

  Were there more of them? The Collective was much larger an operation than he’d initially realized. No matter how many they took down, more sprang up. It was like playing a twisted game of whack-a-mole without the mallet. No matter. He had fists, bullets, knives, and years of unspent rage.

  “Go,” he made the call as soon as everyone’s lights within the headgear turned green to show they were in position.

  Ten minutes later, Dallas wished the take down hadn’t been so simple. He wanted to hurt the bastards who’d kept his kid rat holed away like a prisoner. But they’d taken the bastards by surprise, which made the entire mission go from green to done within ten minutes. By the time he had his two targets secured, the rest of the team had made their way to him with their bloodied and secured prisoners.

  He sneered down at the bastard who’d threatened to beat his son bloody. Sons. No way in hell Dallas would separate those two boys. He was a Mason. End of discussion.

  He pulled his KA-BAR and settled it against the man’s jugular. “Time for a game, boys. First one to talk lives. The rest?” He shrugged. “Suppose you know how this goes if you’ve been on Marla’s payroll long enough.”

  “Fuck you.”

  Dallas severed the man’s jugular then moved to the next asshole. “You really don’t want to piss me off. You know who I am and you know why I’m here.”

  “The crazy-ass bitch said you’d come after him, said we’d best make sure you never found him if we wanted to keep breathing. I guess she should’ve listened to her own advice,” the man said. “We don’t know where the fuck they went. They were here when we left. Swear to God they were. Gomer wanted ‘em dead, but we weren’t killing no kids.”

  “How many of you are there?”

  “Seven, but we called in another team. They were right behind us.”

  “‘Were’ being the operative word,” Jud said as he entered the clearing. “Second team is handled.”

  Addy ambled up behind him. Both raised their eyebrows at the dead man at Dallas’s feet.

  “He pissed me off,” Dallas commented. “Our man here was about to share everything he knows about the kids. Start with TJ. Who’s his dad?”

  “Fuck if I know. Bitch put us out here on babysitting detail. Then she brought the other bitch. At least then it got fun.”

  Lilly. Dallas silently cursed. He’d forgotten about the woman in his haste to get answers about the kids. “Fallon, status?”

  “In process.” He paused. “Fire in the hole.”

  A boom echoed through the clearing.

  “Fuck, need a medic. Hold on, Lilly. You’re safe.” The man’s voice softened over the com. “Addy, Kamren, I need one of you back here.”

  “On my way,” Addy said, her voice tight as she jogged toward his position.

  It took Addy less time than they’d expected to get Lilly out of the hole. The possibility of freedom had a way of stifling fear, Dallas supposed.

  His gaze swept the area and settled on Kamren. She offered a smile and motioned toward where Tanner and Brace had taken the kids. The tightness in his chest from the past several months eased. He’d found his son.

  “Come on. Let’s get my nephew home,” Jesse said.

  “Nephews,” Dallas corrected, making sure the com line was open so everyone heard the declaration and adopted it as their own. “TJ is as much a Mason as DJ. No exceptions.”

  “Damn straight,” Marshall said. “Make sure Mom knows.”

  “On it,” Cord replied. “Mary and Vi are on calls, cutting through the red tape to include TJ in the arrangements they’d made. It’s gonna be a bit tougher since there’s no biological link between you and him, but they can move mountains with a pebble. They’ll get your sons home where they belong.”

  Sons.

  “We need to find out who TJ’s father is. I don’t want a surprise showing up at The Arsenal.”

  “I’m on it, though a DNA swab will go a long way,” Zoey commented. “I’ve got scans from the drones, though. HERA’s running facial recognition. So far, nothing has popped.”

  “Likely won’t,” Kamren said. “He’s been out here, living wild.”

  Dallas put an arm around the woman and hugged her close. He suspected the kids out here, living the way they had, cut close to the vein for her in a lot of ways. Then again, she hadn’t been a prisoner of The Collective.

  Fuck. Lilly.

  He glanced back as Fallon and Jesse guided the woman around the corner of the house. She appeared to be about Kamren’s age, but the dirt, grime and injuries made it difficult to estimate. Her skin hung on her thin frame. Matted dark hair framed her hollowed face. Thick, bloody gouges in her throat and wrists drew his attention.

  “Fucking restraints were so tight Jesse had to rip skin to get them off,” Nolan commented as he arrived beside Dallas. “She didn’t even scream. Just stared up at him and Fallon like they were avenging angels.”

  “In a way they were,” Marshall muttered. “Not sure who she is, but we’ve gotta take responsibility for her.”

  “Talk to Tanner,” Kamren said. “The Arsenal’s secure, but not good for her. You’ve got over one hundred trained male operatives at your facility. That’s not a good location for anyone in her condition. You’ve got a psychologist. Ask her. Better yet, Tanner’s got several on his staff. See what they say before we haul her back and make it worse.”

  The protectiveness within her voice, the fierce determination made Dallas’s chest swell. “That’s the plan, sweetheart.”

  “Oh, okay then.”

  “Though, we hadn’t considered Tanner and his crew. You say they’re worth looking into to use beyond this one op, we’ll make that happen.”

  “They’re worth looking into,” she whispered as she looked up at him. “Until you know who she is, she’s safer out at their facility where she can have the privacy she needs to heal. They’ve got teams of doctors who specialize in PTSD, Dallas. She’s not their typical case, but their remote location will help her.”

  He didn’t point out they had a similar setup at The Arsenal, because what she’d said earlier was true. They had a lot of people at their compound. Most of them were men. Until they knew Lilly’s story, keeping her safe and isolated was the best option, which nixed any idea of taking her back with them.

  But she was still their responsibility to protect. Whoever she was, she’d been an enemy of The Collective, which made her a significant person of interest as far as Dallas was concerned. Specifically, she’d pissed off Marla. Why else would she have been dragged out into remote wilderness, secured like an animal and brutalized?

  “Even if they’re equipped to handle her treatment, they likely aren’t ready for security. Cord, notify my team they’re on standby. I’m staying up here to assist Tanner with security, but I want them here assisting,” Marshall said.

  Dallas wouldn’t have pegged Marshall’s team for the task, but he wasn’t going to argue. The sooner they got back to civilization, the quicker he’d get the kids settled.

  Home.

  20

  Dallas had never been so glad to see Resino or the lights of The Arsenal. Each breath he dragged in drew him farther and farther away from the past few days. The red tape associated with bringing DJ home was surprisingly light. Dallas was his biological father. End of discussion. TJ was a totally different mountain of red tape. Vi and Mary had called in what favors they could, but the fact no one knew anything about TJ made the FBI and every other alphabet agency was more than a little “concerned.”

  They’d
eventually navigated their way toward home and gotten out of Wyoming, only to come to a grinding halt in San Antonio. Two days of paperwork, meetings, court appearances and enough red tape to choke out humanity, Dallas had two exhausted boys officially within his custody.

  Maria Mendez, the boys’ CASA advocate, had been a godsend. She’d made both boys feel equally important, which was enough to declare her a saint in Dallas’s book. Little TJ was beyond lost. Terrified. Alone.

  No.

  He had Dallas and everyone at The Arsenal.

  The two boys had gone from having only each other and Lilly to a huge family on a sprawling compound.

  The FBI and several other government agencies demanded TJ be placed under their care. Fortunately Vi and Mary had secured legal counsel months ago and any attempts to take Tj were trumped by the overarching desire to keep the two children together.

  The entire process was different than customary routine because of security concerns surrounding The Collective and TJ’s unknown identity. Nothing about TJ was typical, which made how he was processed through the system entirely unique.

  “Those two boys were rescued from reprehensible conditions by a family of war heroes, men who not only fought and bled for your country but continue to do so in ways I will not pretend to understand. I have seen the work they are doing for our veterans, and the other work they do. I find the mere mention of removing TJ from their care offensive and severely damaging to his already delicate emotional health. He’s a child, your honor, not a threat to national security.” The attorney’s words as she’d stood before the judge still resonated with Dallas. He didn’t even know the woman’s name, but she’d defended his right to keep TJ.

  For now, the kids were home. They’d undergone batteries of tests to confirm (or in TJ’s case establish) identities. All data gathered was shared with Mary and Vi. Until HERA or the agencies had more information, Dallas was focused on what mattered—bringing normal to his sons. He looked over at TJ.