THE STRAGGLERS PROTECT

by Misha Anderson

I hear Igor’s voice from behind the woman.

  “Dear, how long, how was your stay in Portland? Did you think I was’t going to come back?”

  I’m trembling with fear and cold, but my hate is stronger, I yell at the bastard and he smiles cynically, damned!

  “It’s not enough for you to have involved me in that damned robbery and now what else do you want? What do you want from me, you hid the diamonds yourself, why did you kidnapped me then, you only had to get the diamonds, you miserable man?”

  “Your memory must be better than mine, after all, that night, Maverick and I drank too much of that cheep vodka, you’ll certainly remember something that can’t and help me find the diamonds he hid, I want my share and that traitor’s diamonds.”

  “But I don’t know where you hid the damned diamonds, Igor, for the love of God, let me go, I’m, I’m...”

  The woman by Igor’s side approached me and punched me on the chin, complaining with Igor:

  “I’m your woman, Igor, are you going to have pity of this whore? She’s what? Sick? That’s what you intended to say, you cow? You think you’ll soften me with these lies? Igor, make this bitch talk, otherwise I’ll make sure to bleed her like a pig.”

  “Don’t challenge me, I say how and when to kill someone, do you understand me? The fact that I fuck you once in a while doesn’t give you the right to take advantage of luck, I can make you feel so much pain that you would beg for death. And you, Samantha, get ready, because we are going for a ride, for now your house is being watched, but in a few days we’ll make sure to get you in there and get me the diamonds, who knows, if you do the job right, I can even kill you faster, without making you suffer? If you try to escape, I’ll go after that imbecil sheriff of yours, do you understand, dear bride?”

  I recoiled to the corner of the room, Igor left me alone and his accomplice came back a few minutes later with a plate of soup and a mug of water, before she gave me the plate she spit on it, giving me the plate with an ironically devilish look.

  “Enjoy it, my dear.”

  She turned on her heels and left the room, leaving the soup plate on my hands and the tears that ran down my face without me being able to control them.

  I’ll be able to escape, I need to keep myself alive, for myself, for Adam and for our baby that’s growing inside me everyday. I drink the water slowly to try to fool the hunger and I lay down on the hard mattress praying for Adam to find me.

  CHAPTER 22

  ADAM VAUGH

  We were out two nights in a row, I look through the car window and is cloudy, a storm is coming. Afternoon falls, soon it will be almost three days that Samantha was kidnapped and we don’t have get a clue.

  I called my brothers and set up with Hunter and Kayden at our meeting point, we got in a diner near the road that goes to Mount Hood Meadows, one of the main ski resorts in the state of Oregon. I ordered three double coffees and Hunter and Kayden ordered a large rare porterhouse steak portion. Our wolves are on the surface, I can almost feel the pleasure of a deadly hunt, of feeling in my throat my prey getting destroyed in my mouth.

  We were making an effort to control the beasts that live inside us, but because of the stress we were under, I don’t know for how long I can stop my wolf from taking control.

  We ate the porterhouse steak voraciously, with our hands and the waitress looks at us a little scared. Hunter smiles with the corner of his mouth and we all look at the door. Connor enters limping and says a quick hello to all of us, he also orders a large rare porterhouse steak portion, while he gives us the last information he has got.

  “I hu... hurt my... myself going af... after a lead, but it was fa... fake. The feds said that no... nobody went throu... through the bor... borders, the... these sons of bit... bitches are s... still in Port... Portland, we are go... going to find them, or we ar... are not called Vaughs.”

  The diner door opens again and two fellows sit on the counter. Kayden takes a deep breath in and his eyes get clearer suddenly, none of us says a word. He looks at the counter and signals us to be quiet.

  Kay gets up and sits beside the two fellows, he bumps on the tall black guy on the right and breaths in deeply, apologizing. The guys gets annoyed and asks sarcastically:

  “Why are you smelling me, man, are you a queer, fuck?”

  Kay smiles and says he’s sorry again, answering:

  “No, man, I’m sorry, I thought you were wearing the same perfume of a friend of mine, but I’m sorry, excuse me.”

  Kay slaps the guy on the back and stretches out his hand, the guy shakes his hand back and then ignores him. Kay slowly came back to our table and said in a low and calm tone:

  “Don’t make a scene, Adam, but those two guys are smelling of Samantha.”

  I bite my mouth to keep my lips from trembling and I ask him in no more than a whisper:

  “Are you sure, Kay?”

  “Her scent is everywhere around those two, in their hands and their shirts, she certainly tried to hurt them with her nails. As soon as they get out, we have to follow them, are you ready?”

  Hunter and Connor agree and after a few minutes the two fellows leave the diner. We hurriedly throw the money for our bill on the table and we went after them, reaching them at the diner back parking lot. Hunter immobilized the strongest one in an armlock and I stopped the other one pointing my pistol to his head, saying:

  “You are going to take me to your boss right now, if you try something funny, I’ll blow your brains out, did you understand?”

  The guy raised his arms and Connor draws his gun while Kayden and me cuffed them both. I searched their pockets for the car keys and found it with the dark-haired hispanic guy, I pushed him inside the car and Hunter took the other one to my truck, starting the car right after me.

  “Where he is with the girl? Say where the girl is?”

  The guy spit on my face, cussing me in Spanish:

  “Hijo de puta, voy a comer el culo niña, me puede matar, maricón.”* (Son of a bitch, I’m going to fuck your girl in the asshole, you can kill me, you queer.)

  Even though my Spanish is a bit rusty, I answered him in his own idiom, surprising him:

  “Dime dónde Samantha es, o rasgar la garganta tan lentamente que va a rogar a morir.”* (Tell me where Samantha is, or I’ll tear your throat so slowly that you’ll beg to die.)

  I’m totally out of myself, I barely recognize me, I look to the parking lot around me, desperately with the possibility of getting out of my skin in day light, but the thing is that I’m about to collapse, my claws are elongating suddenly and I tighten my grip on that miserable man’s neck, slowly around his flesh till the bleeds.

  He chokes on my grip and I finally wake up from my animal like trance, thinking, if I kill him now I’ll never know where Samantha is.

  The guy looks at me in panic and cries copiously, speaking in no more than a whisper:

  “Es una besta, besta”* (You are a beast, a beast.)

  “That’s right, I’m an animal with no remorse in tearing your whole flesh, so, don’t toy with me, take me to where Igor is now!”

  In the end he recoils on the back seat and tells me the way to Samantha’s captivity. I call Kayden so he can follow me and he lets the rest of the group know. We go on a convoy of four cars, the road is full of potholes and on the background Mount Hood in even closer. We stop at a deserted area, with thick woods around some isolates cabins that seems to be for hunters. The guy shows me the cabin which Igor is with Samantha, I get off the car holding him by the arm and signal him to be not make a noise.

  I go to Hunt, who’s keeping Igor’s other crony immobilized in the car.

  Kayden, Connor, Lopez and Taylor come near us. We draw our weapons and Taylor signals us to surround the cabin through the back.

  One of Igor’s men opens the cabin door and is surprised to see we get closer, he draws his gun and shoots first.

  I protect myself behind the truck and shoot with Hunter and Connor, the guy hides be
hind a column on the porch and as he tries to get back home, I’m able to shoot him twice on the back.

  Two thugs attack Kayden and Lopez, a violent exchange of fire starts, I take advantage of the opportunity of the front door being unguarded and invade the cabin.

  I’m facing a brunette woman, small and thin, dressed all in black, she comes towards me and she surprises me by tripping me down. My gun falls by the door and I get my balance back, I get up and punch her on the right flank.

  The woman is the devil fighting, lethal in her attack, we exchange a series of hellish punches and the sound of pounded flesh makes the wolf inside me come to the surface.

  I hit a kick on her, right under the ribs and my claws sink on her let shoulder, tearing her flesh. She falls bleeding on the floor, moaning in pain. I get up quickly and follow through the badly lit hall, quickening my steps as I hear distant sounds of a physical fight and horror screams from Samantha.

  When I exit through the back door, I find Taylor hurt on the stairs hit by a shot on the arm and Lopez runs to the road, shooting at Igor’s car that’s getting away in high speed. Lopez tells me to get his truck that’s parked nearer and I nod.

  “Go after him, Vaugh, I’ll call for back up.”

  I get in the truck and go after Igor, the son of a bitch has my woman, defenseless, frail, the thought of Igor hurting her, taking her from me, makes me desperate.

  It’s a bendy road and there’s a good amount of ice on the asphalt making it even more dangerous. I step down and I’m almost at 80 miles per hour, the back window from Igor’s car shatters and he shoots towards my car making me ziguezague on the road.

  A train track cuts the road ahead and I’m able to hit his back tires with two shots. Igor’s pick up truck stops because of a train going by that exact moment, everything is too fast, the passenger door opens and Samantha runs out on the road hiding behind a tree.

  Igor jumps out of his pick up and run towards me, shooting at my car like a madman, I get out my truck and feel the impact of a bullet hitting me, I drag myself to the back of the car trying to protect myself.

  I aim at Igor and knock him down with one shot, even though he’s down he shoots two more shots and hits me in the torso and under my ribs.

  I fall down on my knees and the stinging pain that burns me from inside isn’t bigger from the pain I see in Samantha’s eyes.

  She runs to me and kneels in front of me, supporting me in my fall. Her hands run through my abdomen and my chest and her fingers are stain from the red blood, she caress my face. The roar from her cry hurts me even more and my girl’s lips and body are trembling, yelling at me, trying to keep me awake:

  “Damy, don’t do this with me, please, don’t leave me alone, you can’t die, I can’t raise our child alone, it’s no fair. Give me your hand, see, feel our baby growing here, inside me.”

  Sam holds my hand and place it over her belly, I look at her an try to smile. I hear her from a distance, her screams ar far away and I feel cold and sleepy.

  Before I close my eyes, I hear Sam begging:

  “Open your eyes to me, Damy, you promised me you would protect me, look at you little bunny, don’t leave me alone, my love.”

  My eyes close and darkness takes over.

  SAMANTHA THOMPSON

  A car stops near the two of us and I see Hunter, Kayden and Connor jump out of the car. Hunter gets near and Connor crouches down, he puts his ear on Adam’s chest and listens.

  “He’s s... still bre... breathing.”

  Hunter carries Adam and Kayden opens the truck so they can accommodate him on the back carefully.

  I ask for help to climb on the back of the truck and I place Adam’s head on my lap. Connor takes off his shirt and tears it apart, guiding me and Hunt on how to act on our way to the hospital.

  “Pre... press the che... chest wound and y... you Hunt, ke... keep the ab... abdomen one press... pressed too.”

  Lopez an Taylor stopped in a car just beside ours asking for Igor, I pointed at the road showing where he fell down shot.

  Kay stepped down and on our way Adam’s breathing becomes fainter. When we finally get to Portland’s Central Hospital, Adam is attended by a medical team and taken to the operation room.

  The hours goes by and my angst increases, my raggedy dress only makes me feel even colder.

  Hunter, Kayden and Connor were altering between sitting down and standing up, they were restless. Kay came back now with a double coffee and a muffin and even though I’m anesthetized with pain, my stomach’s growls in hunger.

  I’m starving, I’ve been eating hard molded bread for three days. After I had the coffee and ate the muffin, a strong nausea took over me and I threw up before I was able to get up to go to the restroom.

  Hunt held me by the shoulders, supporting me and I clean my mouth with my hand, thinking how I would have a miserable life if I lost Adam.

  I stutter in a low voice and Kayden hugs me:

  “I told him I was pregnant, he smiled, Kay, he smiled at me and then he was out. I don’t want to believe I’ll be alone with my baby, with our baby, that’s not fair. We were happy, I won’t know how to live without Damy, Kayden.”

  Hunter and Connor look at me surprised and Connor asks:

  “Is it tr... true, Sam, are y... you pre.. pregnant?”

  I nod and Hunter hugs me tighter, consoling me:

  “He’s a strong man, Samantha, we have faith, Adam will get out of this.”

  While we wait the long surgery Adam went through, Lopez called Hunter and told him Igor was captured alive, the shot he took it wasn’t but a scratch. After being taken to the hospital, he was taken to the police station.

  A long time after that, doctor Bailey came to us at the reception and announced to us all:

  “We were able to stop the bleeding, but Adam’s situation is still very delicate, one of the bullets almost hit his heart and the other one got him in the intestines. He lost a lot of blood, the next few hours will be essential to see how Adam will recover.”

  Day light came and the boys insisted in taking me home, Lopez came to the hospital to know how Adam was and asked me to go to the police station the sooner the better. Igor is arrested and they need my statement to take him back to New York.

  According to Lopez, after he got some “caresses” from Cumming, Adam’s partner, Igor confessed everything about the robbery of the bank, exempting me of any guilty as his accomplish.

  “If one of you could get me some clean clothes, I’ll go to the station, but after the statement, I’ll be back here, I will only get out of this hospital with Adam.”

  “Samantha, you need to rest, that won’t be good for the baby.”

  I lowered my head looking at my bruised hands and set my eyes on Kayden .

  “I know Kay, but it will not be worth it to go back to the ranch, I won’t sleep while Adam is still here, I’ll be by his side, it doesn’t matter how many days it will take, I have faith that we’ll get out through those doors together.”

  SAMANTHA THOMPSON

  Connor brought me clean clothes and I went to the police station to give my statement, I was relief to know I won’t need to be face to face with Igor again. Lopez had an extensive dossier and insisted in sending to the FBI over fax Igor’s confession with my statement.

  Lopez and Taylor said good bye to me and Lopez said he was sorry for being so sharp on their investigations.

  “Samantha, we’re sorry if we were too hard on you, but honestly I could never have imagined you weren’t involved in this robbery. I really hope Adam gets better soon. We’ll take Igor back to New York this afternoon. That miserable man will never hurt anybody again, with the many crimes he did, when he gets to trial he will most certainly rot in jail.”

  I went back to the hospital and found Dr. Bailey talking to Kayden.

  “Adam has a high fever, it’s sign of an infection, his body is not reacting as it should to the drugs we are giving him.”

  Kayden asked
trying to be brave:

  “Is he in danger of...”

  The doctor nodded and when he saw me, he greeted me and left us alone.

  “Adam is not well, Kay, what happened after I left?”

  “Adam’s fever hasn’t broke yet and that’s worrying the doctors. He is very weak, Sam.”

  I throw myself on a chair and hide my face so the boys can’t see I’m afraid. Kay gets the phone and calls uncle Quinn, surprising us when he proposes:

  “Uncle Quinn, Adam is still very weak, the doctors are worried, his fever won’t break. I think that the men’s medicine has outsourced their resources, I thought about something, but I need to know if you can help us.”

  Kayden put some distance between us so he could talk to uncle Quinn and then he gathered us to explain his plan.

  “Hunt, I know you’re the alpha of our pack now, but I took the liberty of talking to uncle Quinn and ask for help. He is one of the oldest wolves from our people, he knows, like the back of his hand, the healing rites from the Cherokee. I thought he could perform the Eithinoha rite. If Adam’s state gets worse, we can bring him back to the hospital.”

  Connor raised his finger, giving his opinion:

  “I a... agree, he ca... can’t get a... any worse.”

  Hunter nodded and explained me Kayden’s idea.

  “Sam, what Kayden is proposing is for us to sign a release agreement taking the responsibility and take Adam out of here. Uncle Quinn is a fantastic healer, there’s a Cherokee ritual in which we offer our strength to Eithinoha, Mother Earth, and we ask her to restore the strength of one of our warriors. Adam is the alpha male from our pack, he always trusted our healing powers, I think we could try it, if we notice his health doesn’t improve, we can bring him back to the hospital.”

  It’s a risk, but can he get worse than he is? They have Native American blood, they are very connected to their customs, and I think, geez! It may as well work? Even though I’m scared, I agree with Kayden’s idea.