“He is going to grab on to my neck and ride on my back as I climb back up.”
“There is no bottom to that chute! What happens if you slip or, God forbid, fall?” Hysteria tripped through her words just as sure as Tiny Tim tiptoed through those damn tulips.
Ryan stood to his full height and rolled his shoulders. “I need you to settle down. You losing your shit right now will do nothing to help the situation. Keep away from the ledge until you can grab him and pull him onto the ground beside you. Understand?”
She nodded but stopped him as he turned. “Please, be careful.”
He nodded. “He'll be okay.”
“I need you back up here, too. Be careful. Please.”
Ryan heard her, but his mind was focused on the work that needed to occur. He stepped over the branch before he dropped down the chute. The bite of the rope against his thighs was sharp and intense. He slowly lowered himself down. “Bethanie, hold that flare over the opening.” A flicker of orange-hued light filtered down the chute.
“Hey there, Bud.” The kid was filthy. His coat was ripped to shreds, and he had blood frozen on the front of his jeans.
“I'm sorry, Ryan.”
“Yeah, no worries, kiddo.” He toed the ledge and winced when the portion he pushed on crumbled under his foot. “We need to get out of here so we can go take care of Dog.”
“He was protecting me.”
“That's because you’re his human.” Ryan stepped in between Ethan's leg and the ledge. It held, thank God. He loosened the rope and did a one-legged squat. “This is what we're going to do. You're going to climb onto my back. Piggyback, right?”
“Yeah?” Ethan gave him the same look his mother had given him just a moment before.
“I'm going to climb back up the rope with you on my back. When you get up to the top, your mom is going to pull you out and onto the ground. Don't try to stand up, just slide on your belly and get away from the ledge, okay?”
“You can do that?”
“You know I can.” Ryan winked at the boy. “Now stand up, but press against the wall when you do, okay?”
Ethan pushed his back against the wall and stood up.
“Now, your right arm over this shoulder.” He helped the boy bring his arm across his shoulder and held it in the middle of his chest. “Give me your other arm.” Ethan let him position his arms. “Okay, buddy, this is going to suck, but I need to take off your gloves. I'll put them in my pocket, okay?”
“Why?”
“Because your gloves are made of nylon and they are slippery. You need to be able to hold on tight, and no matter what, you cannot let go.” Ryan unwound the rope from his leg that was anchored on the ledge and wrapped the other leg so he could toe it and push himself up. He stuffed Ryan's gloves into his pocket.
“Are you ready?”
“I think so.”
“What did I say about that?”
“If you think you can't, you probably can’t. If you think you can, try harder, and do that shit like a boss.”
“There you go. Now, are you ready?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Okay, hold on with your arms and then wrap your legs around me. Lock your ankles together and do not let go. Yeah?”
“Yes, sir.”
He waited for Ethan to wrap around him and half pulled, half lifted to a standing position. “You good?” He glanced up. That six-foot climb to the top looked like six miles. He needed to get up, quickly, so the kid's grip didn't slip.
“Do that shit like a boss,” Ethan whispered in his ear.
“That's right.” He took his gloves off and shoved them into his other pocket. Drawing a deep breath, he reached up and pulled.
Hand-over-hand, straining and hurting, five fucking inches at a time, he pulled his weight and the hundred pounds on his back up the braided rope. His toe slipped, and he hung for a moment. He jiggled his toe, desperate to find the nylon. He felt it slap his calf and worked the rope to gain a hold again.
“You're almost here. I see you.” Bethanie's voice was close, but fuck him if it didn't seem like a year had elapsed since he first looked down this damn hell hole.
He felt Ethan move. “Hold still. Don't move.” He hissed through gritted teeth. The skin on his hands had shredded, and blood was making the rope slippery. He toed up and moved his arm again. A fucking inchworm process, but he could feel the wind now. They were close. So damn close.
He felt the moment Bethanie grabbed Ethan. The rope slammed into the wall, and his hands slipped as soon as the weight pulled from his back. He dropped three feet before he was able to stop the slide.
“Ryan!” Bethanie reached down. “Let me help you.”
He shook his head. He just needed a minute. “Is Ethan safe?”
“He's fine. I need you out of that damn hole.”
“You shouldn't cuss.” He chuckled and glanced up again. Fuck, hadn't he just done this?
“I'll cuss if I damn well want to. Now get your ass up here.”
“Mom said a bad word.” Ethan's head popped over the edge. “Why are you still down there?”
“I'm trying, dude,” Ryan chuckled.
“What do you say about that?” Ethan asked, mimicking Ryan perfectly.
“If you think you can't, you probably can’t. If you think you can, try harder and do that shit like a motherfucking boss.”
“How come you get to say motherfucking, and I don't?”
Ryan chuckled and reached up. He pulled and toed, pulled and toed, pulled and toed until he felt two sets of hands trying to drag him out of the hole, which if he was honest, was more a hindrance than a help, but he made it to the lip and elbowed up to solid ground. He low crawled until he could feel dirt under his feet and flopped over onto his back.
“Son of a bitch.” His hands were going to be permanently cupped. He extended his fingers and winced. Yeah, the rope burns hurt like a bitch.
“Yeah.” Bethanie flopped beside him, and Ethan fell on the other side.
“Mom?”
“Yeah, Bud?”
“Can we go see if Dog is okay now?”
“Absolutely.”
Ryan waited for one of them to get up, but neither moved. They had to be as emotionally and physically wasted as he was. He stared at the sky and watched the white flakes fall for a long minute before he groaned and pulled them both into him. His arms screamed in protest. “Come on. Dog needs us.”
They all staggered up. “Bethanie, check his leg?”
She dropped and pushed Ethan’s jeans up. “Nasty scrape and a couple deep gashes, but the bleeding has stopped.”
Ryan nodded and grabbed his rifle. “Okay, then let's go home.”
Chapter 23
Ryan headed up the ramp to his office. He'd spent the last thirty minutes stitching up Dog. The morphine still had him doped enough that he didn't fight when Ryan patched him up. The good news was it didn't look like the knife had hit any major arteries or veins. Yeah, there was a fuckton of blood, but that was probably because Dog was moving so much. Ryan sewed him up and gave him a little more morphine to try to keep him still. Of course, he had to carry the animal up to Ethan's room, because the boy was not going to leave his dog.
Bethanie was in there with them now. His bet was they'd all be asleep before the lights on the motion detectors timed out. Muscle memory pushed his hand toward the eighth shelf, seventh book from the left. He tapped the spine of the book and closed his eyes. He knew what he needed to do. He had no choice. Instead of pulling the book forward to unlock the shelf from its position, Ryan spun and shut the office door.
He pulled up his alarm system and checked everything, twice. While he was looking at the status of his alarms, he hit the new button beside the satellite antenna switch. Ethan asked why they couldn't defrost the antenna like a car defrosts the windshield. Brilliant fucking idea. Ryan had let the boy help him install a small heating device. He glanced at the clock and hoped the device had enough time to melt off the s
now that had fallen tonight before he reached over and flipped the switch to lift and unfolded his satellite antenna. He picked up the handheld phone and waited for the light on the satellite to turn green.
He threw the encryption key and waited for a steady dial tone. The numbers were pressed with a sense of deja vu that he'd rather not recall. He'd wanted out. He’d wanted a chance at a family, but the bastards had come to his mountain and tried to hurt those he loved. Game fucking on. Lycos blinked. Those he loved. He glanced down at the vein of mica in the desk and ran his finger along it. His family. His. His to protect. His to care for. His to love.
“Operator Two Seven Four.”
“Sunset clearance, third operative.”
“Third operative? We show you as archived.”
Lycos blinked rapidly at the comment. So, maybe the operator wasn't an AI program. “Circumstances dictated my retrieval. Send me to Bengal. Now.”
“Standby.”
Ryan dropped his head into his hand and winced. He pulled away and looked at the tender flesh of his palms. The rage he held barely contained boiled closer to the surface. Ethan could have died. Those bastards could have killed him, or he could have missed that ledge and fallen... He squeezed his eyes shut and channeled his venom. He reached for the pouch where he'd dropped Midwest’s keys and cell phone.
“Status?” Bengal's demand cracked like a whip across the connection.
“Secure Hotel.”
“I pass you Pole.”
“Glitter. They found us.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
Lycos leaned forward and detailed the events since he'd arrived at the mountain. Fuck, was it only four hours ago?
“So, the threat is neutralized? I'll send a team to clean up the debris.”
“I'll clean up my own mess, and the threat isn't neutralized. There are nine other teams circling this area.”
“We'll remove you.”
“No fucking way.”
“They'll find you.”
“Not if I find them first.”
“Nine teams? You said there were three men on the team that showed today?”
“Yes.”
“So, your plan is to hunt down and kill over twenty men, by yourself, on United States soil, and you think we're going to be okay with that?”
Ryan leaned back in his chair and stared at the cell phone in front of him. “I have a way to do it. If I don't go after them, they will continue to hunt us, and Bethanie and Ethan will never be safe. I'm going to send their handlers a message. One that will get, and hold, their attention.”
“I'll need to get authorization and man... I'm not sure they're going to give it.”
“I'm not asking for permission. I'm informing you of my decision.”
“How long do I have to work this?”
“I'm calling in my markers. When protection for Bethanie and Ethan gets here, I'm gone.”
“Fuck me, Lycos, you're putting my nuts in a vice here.”
“No, I'm really not. You can walk away from this. I'm archived, right?”
“Technically. I see where you're going with this, but I don't like it. It leaves you out there without assets or help.”
“I'm never without assets, besides we all know accidents happen. Even on US soil.”
“We can't protect you if the local LEOs nab your ass.”
Lycos laughed. “Local law enforcement? As if, man. As if.”
“I'm still sending this up the chain.”
“Do it. Your woman told me Ethan was family. Remind them of that when you brief them.”
“I won't have to, man. Off the books, do you need anything from me?”
“Keep our side away from here. If they are in the way, they'll wake up dead.”
“Roger, I copy all. Take care of yourself, my friend, and this is from me, not the company. You do whatever it fucking takes.”
Lycos sneered as Bengal's evil growl reached him. “As long as it takes. As long as it fucking takes.”
He disconnected the call and dialed a phone number he’d memorized long ago. He waited for the voice message to drop, and when the beep sounded, he simply stated. “I'm calling in all my markers. Mountain safe house. Yesterday.”
Lycos cracked open the back of Midwest’s cell phone. He examined the inner components carefully before he powered it up. He needed to manipulate the lock screen to open it, which took less than four minutes. As soon as he had access, he disabled the carrier's signal and set the phone on the counter.
Once the phone was opened, he accessed the last numbers called. A smile spread across his face. Gotcha motherfuckers.
He spun in his chair, moved his bookshelf out of the way, and entered his vault, although it took two attempts to get the scanner to read his swollen hand. He headed to the back and opened his faraday case where he extracted a thin laptop computer. He grabbed several cords and brought the machine back to his desk. He hooked the laptop to his satellite feed, plugged it in, and then hooked the phone into the computer. He bypassed the startup screen and opened the program he wanted from the c: prompt. The screen flickered and went dark. Lycos watched as his program manipulated the global navigation satellite system and built a 3D model of the mountain. His system used predictive calculations to fill in the blanks that regular satellite systems couldn't.
His fingers flew over the keys, and the system pinged the telephone numbers of Midwest’s recent calls. He watched as his target locations populated. None were moving, which made sense as it was currently blizzarding outside and almost midnight. He waited for the program to finish populating the numbers before he unhooked the cell phone and scanned the text messages and emails that were downloaded on the device.
Lycos powered down the phone and unhooked it from his system. He rolled his shoulders. He was beyond exhausted, and he needed to check on Bethanie and Ethan. He closed the laptop, putting it to sleep before he unplugged it from the satellite antenna and brought that down. Stifling a huge yawn, he flipped through the alarm system. It was quiet. For now.
He opened the door and froze in his tracks. Bethanie was asleep outside his office. She’d wrapped in a blanket and propped herself against the cave wall. He took two steps forward and squatted down. “Hey, you.”
She blinked and smiled up at him. “Hey.”
“How long have you been out here?”
“I dunno.” She yawned so hard her whole body shook. “I didn't want to interrupt. I could hear you talking to someone, but I couldn't hear what you were saying.”
Yeah, he knew that. Soundproofing was difficult in a stone cave, but he'd muted his office with every technique he could design. “I guess we need to talk.” He didn't want to have this conversation, but it was probably better they got it out of the way as soon as possible.
“Yeah.” She nodded and dropped her head back against the wall. He winced as she sucked air and reached up to rub the back of her head. “Damn, that hurt.”
He sat down in front of her and leaned back against the wall of his office. “Bet it did.”
“Why did you kill the men tonight?”
Ryan drew a breath and let it escape slowly. He extended his legs and crossed his feet before he spoke, “I killed them because if I did not, they would alert others to where we were. I had no option. In order to protect you and Ethan, and yes, myself, they needed to be eliminated.”
He watched as she examined her thumbnail. “Are we safe now?”
“No.”
Her eyes flew to him. “Why not?”
“Because there are still twenty to thirty men out there who are searching for you and Ethan.”
“What are we going to do? Do we need to leave?”
“That is exactly what you aren't going to do. I'm going after them.”
He watched emotions flit over her face. She frowned deeply and shook her head. “You can't go. What will happen to us?”
“An associate is coming to stay with you. Someone I trust implicitly.�
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She gathered the blanket and leaned forward, crawling across the hall. He lifted his arm, wincing as his muscles protested the movement. She leaned up against him. He dropped his arm and she settled, tucking along his side. He looked up at the ceiling and said a quick thank you. At least she wasn't terrified of him.
“Harvey killed someone, in front of me. I was holding Ethan. She wasn't much older than me. He told me he'd kill me and leave Ethan to starve to death if I didn't do exactly what he wanted.”
“Harvey was a monster.”
She nodded her head. “But you’re not.” Her voice was small and hesitant but firmed. “You, Ryan Wolf, are a protector.
“I’ve never lied to you. You know I've killed people while doing my job.” And earlier.
“For Guardian?”
“Yes.”
“The weapons in there, do you know how to use them all?”
He chuckled. “I do.”
“Will you teach me how to use them?”
He cocked his head so he could see her. “Why?”
She sat up and stared at him. “I'm so damn tired of being a victim. I'm tired of needing someone to take care of us. I can't live like this anymore. I need to be able to defend myself. I need to have that. I need to know…” she clenched her fist and held it against her heart, “...here, that if something ever happened to you, I'd be able to take care of Ethan and myself. Teach me how to use those weapons. Teach me how to not be afraid. Please.”
“I can do that. I'll show you both how to use a handgun tomorrow.” After he dropped Midwest’s body down the chute Ethan had fallen into. The other bodies were going into the ravine in their car. Damn shame the car was going to erupt in flames. Of course, that would be done on his way down the mountain, after he made sure Bethanie and Ethan were tucked in and had protection. Local law enforcement would investigate if the fire was called in. Of course, they wouldn't find a damn thing other than an unfortunate accident due to inclement weather and poor road conditions.
“Does it make me a horrible person that I'm not upset about you killing them? I mean, inside I really wish you didn't have to do it. It was our fault you were forced into that position, but I'm so relieved that you did and that they're gone and I–”
Lycos (Guardian Security Shadow World Book 3) Page 21