Storm Surge (Delta Stevens Crime Logs Book 6)

by Alex Westmore

  Connie was another story.

  It was Connie who would never fully recover from Delta’s death. Connie would carry her grief like a ball and chain until it drove her crazy. Delta acknowledged this now because, if the roles were reversed, she’d be lost without Connie Rivera. Without Connie, Delta was a body without a spirit.

  It was fitting that Delta’s final coherent thoughts were of Megan and Connie. After all, she knew what was coming. She’d interviewed half a dozen gang-rape victims during her tenure on the force. She knew what was in store: the pain, the drifting in and out of reality, and the loss of consciousness. They would strip her clothes and try to strip her dignity from her, but Delta would not let them have the latter. They could hurt her physically, crush, bruise, penetrate, and cut her body, but they would never reach her spirit. Of that she was certain.

  Delta looked up at the two men, unsure about how many seconds or minutes had elapsed.

  “If you won’t take them off, we’ll be happy to cut them off.” Hector grinned at his cohort as he pulled a ten-inch Bowie knife from a sheath strapped to his thigh.

  Looking at the knife, Delta made her choice.

  When Hector stepped toward her, she lunged for the knife at the same time her left fist shot out like lightning toward his Adam’s apple. Feeling it crunch beneath her fist, Delta tried to grab the knife’s handle but felt a huge fist smash against her wrist. As Hector bent down, choking, his amigo rammed Delta, face first, to the floor, pinning her arms beneath her. All his weight crushed down on her, forcing the breath from her.

  “I like it rough, puta.”

  Squeezing her eyes shut, Delta struggled, but his full weight was too heavy, and she couldn’t move.

  “God…damn…it,” she gasped, feeling his thick fingers tear at her shirt. The buttons pulled hard before popping off.

  “I’m gonna hurt you,” he growled, ripping her shirt further. “You’re gonna bleed.”

  Unable to breathe, Delta willed herself to pass out. She did not want to feel what was happening to her. She could not bear the experience. Inhaling the dust from the filthy tile floor, Delta wondered if she could bang her head hard enough against it to knock herself out. The floor, while grimy and gross, was better than the stained mattress.

  Closing her eyes and focusing on not breathing, Delta felt the soldier’s weight as he rubbed his crotch on her backside. It was beginning, and she couldn’t stop it or save herself.

  Suddenly, there was a loud thump right next to her face. Opening her eyes, Delta was shocked to see Hector lying next to her, eyes closed, unconscious, blood gushing out of the side of his exposed head. As she squirmed to get out from under the other soldier, she realized that he, too, had stopped his bumping and grinding and was merely dead weight.

  “Lying down on the job, gorgeous? Looks like I got here in the proverbial nick of time. Mama always said I had great timing.”

  Struggling out from under the soldier’s weight, Delta looked up at the open closet door and went slack-jawed when she saw Taylor crouched in the top of the closet below the small crawl space.

  “You?” Delta shook her head, as if to clear her vision. Had they knocked her out and she was dreaming this? “How—”

  “Explanations will have to wait, love. We’re sorta on a deadline. Pardon the pun.” Taylor reached a hand down from the top of the closet where she was perched. One hand extended toward Delta, the other held a gun with a silencer.

  Delta glanced down at the two men, each bleeding from a bullet hole through the head. “But—”

  Taylor shook her head. “Later, sweets, climb up.”

  Needing no further prompting, Delta took Taylor’s hand and climbed into the top of the small closet. Taylor closed the closet door behind them before they moved along the tight passageway. Delta could hear talking or music or something farther down, but Taylor stopped and pointed to an opening in the ceiling. Looking up, Delta grinned. It was the opening for a swamp cooler that was not there. Swamp coolers were the main form of cooling in many mobile homes and trailers, but Taylor had somehow managed to get to the top of the trailer and slipped into the cooling unit.

  Pushing herself through the opening, Delta turned and easily jerked the lighter woman up on the roof with her. From this position, lying on their stomachs, Delta could see where all the guards were, the size of the camp, and the opening of the caverns. What she didn’t see was how Taylor had managed to get to the trailer unnoticed.

  Taylor? Delta blinked. That meant Connie and Megan weren’t far behind.

  “Up,” Taylor whispered, reaching above her and grabbing a rope. In the darkness of the jungle, one would have to be standing next to the rope to know it was there. Taking the rope, Delta realized it was knotted every two feet or so, and all she needed to do was pull her weary body dozens of feet in the air to the branch it was hanging from, and she’d be free.

  Delta climbed, pulling herself up, hand over hand, thankful to feel the burn in her arms and nowhere else. Her shoulder ached as she struggled up the rope, but the adrenaline surge made up for the slight pain. She climbed forever until she came to a large branch. Her entire body was sweat-drenched, and her arms and legs were rubbery, but she was alive! As she straddled the branch, she peered through the dark, wondering what was keeping Taylor.

  Taylor.

  The international jewel thief who had plagued Delta’s beat. Was it only a few weeks ago? Taylor, the irresistibly charming criminal who had left Delta’s house after delivering both a present and a kiss. Taylor, the woman who had gotten in and out of several well-guarded national museums, archives, and residences as easily as walking in her own front door? Delta grinned. This had to be Connie’s doing. Somehow, some way, Connie had tracked Taylor down and convinced her to help get Delta out.

  Feeling the rope move, Delta squinted through the darkness and saw Taylor barreling up after her. When she hoisted herself over the branch, Taylor leaned into Delta and whispered, “Follow me, love.”

  Delta did, although keeping up with Taylor in the trees was much like trying to keep up with an Indy 500 pace car on a ten-speed bicycle. It was no wonder Taylor had been able to leap from one rooftop to the next when Delta was chasing her. She was either insane or fearless. Delta bet on the latter.

  After spending some time navigating through the trees, Taylor began her descent, for which Delta was grateful. She had never imagined a human could move through trees like a monkey, but Taylor appeared to be as comfortable off the ground as Delta was on it. More than once, Delta almost lost her footing, barely managing to hang on, until Taylor could help her get back on track. When it appeared Taylor was working her way down, Delta let out a sigh of relief. She doubted she would have been able to climb with as much ease if it had been daytime, since she would have seen just how far up they were.

  Once on the ground, Delta turned to Taylor, who smiled brightly. Standing in a rare patch of moonlight, she looked beautiful. “Miss me, gorgeous?” Taking Delta’s face in her hands and wrapping her arms tightly around Delta’s neck, Taylor kissed her passionately. It was a kiss Delta returned with gusto. Whether it was because of the near-death experience, Delta did not know, nor did she care. She had been saved from a fate worse than torture, and she was grateful.

  When Taylor finally pulled away, she breathed warmly into Delta’s mouth. “Well, that was a close one, wasn’t it?” Taylor said, her hands lingering on Delta’s face.

  Delta wasn’t sure if she was talking about the incident in the trailer, her near-falls from the tree, or the kiss. “How in the hell did—”

  “Shh.” Taylor put her fingertips to Delta’s mouth. “Very shortly, General Zahn is going to know that you escaped and that you had help in doing so. We gotta dash. Connie’s orders.”

  Delta nodded and waited for Taylor to move. When she didn’t, Delta asked quietly, “What’s the matter?”

  Taylor pulled Delta to her one more time and kissed her hard. “I sure missed you. For a minute there, I
thought I’d lost you for good.”

  Delta gently pushed Taylor away from the kiss and grinned. “You and me both, Taylor.” Looking down into Taylor’s face, Delta slowly shook her head. “I just can’t believe it’s you.”

  Taylor kissed the back of Delta’s hand and urged her to follow. “Believe it.”

  Carducci adjusted the sight and returned his eye to the scope. “I can’t fucking believe it.”

  “What? What’s happening?” Megan took the night goggles and peered through them. She couldn’t see anything except the top of the trailer. “What? I don’t see them.”

  A big grin spread over Connie’s face as she looked through the second pair of goggles. “Damn if Taylor didn’t get her.”

  Megan couldn’t see Delta or Taylor or anything. “I don’t see them.”

  “That’s because they shimmied up that rope faster than lickety split,” Carducci replied, training his eye back on the night scope attached to his rifle.

  Sighing loudly, Connie struggled to maintain her calm. Delta was alive. Alive and free, and it was now up to this little group to keep it that way.

  It was odd. Connie had never, ever doubted that Delta was alive. That connection, that sixth or seventh sense of knowing another being so well, was like knowing yourself.

  “They’re in the trees,” Connie whispered to Megan, who appeared like a granite statue staring into the night. “Goddamn, but that woman is good.”

  “Delta?” Megan asked.

  Connie shook her head. “Taylor. No wonder she’s never been caught.”

  Megan continued to peer through the goggles, but she had no idea what direction they’d headed. “And you’re sure you saw both of them come out of there?”

  Carducci and Connie both nodded.

  The revelation seemed to enter Megan’s awareness in slow motion. “Then she’s really alive?”

  Connie grinned. “Alive enough to climb up a rope three stories high. Did you ever doubt it?”

  Megan shook her head. “We’re not out of here yet. Tony, can you see Josh and Sal?”

  Carducci swung his goggles over to the other side of the camp and nodded. “Yep. They’re getting into position as we speak.”

  Josh and Sal maneuvered into position. They had been chosen to get as close as they could to the caverns, since Josh’s Vietnam experience and Sal’s size made them the most obvious candidates. Josh had served hard time in Vietnam and killed his hare, and Sal had slit a man’s throat once, keeping Delta alive. They could do what the job required.

  The pair stalked closer to the camp. So far, no warning signals had gone off, so the guard – or guards – inside the trailer were either dead or oblivious to the fact that Delta had escaped. Either way, there would be some serious commotion once Delta was discovered missing, and this place would explode.

  Creeping as close to the camp as they could get, Josh stopped and knelt on the ground.

  “What?” Sal whispered.

  “Here. I can see most of the camp from here.”

  Sal looked back at Josh, his face covered with the camouflage paint he always carried with him. Always. He was the consummate soldier, and Sal had seen him come to life ever since they’d arrived in Costa Rica. She had often wondered if he missed war or missed being with his buddies, most of whom had left body parts in Vietnam. Seeing him so alive, so full of energy made her wonder if Josh shouldn’t still be in the military. After all, tonight, they were the ones who would do most of the killing.

  Their job was to pick off as many men as they could once the alarm sounded. Confusion, Connie had explained, and the element of surprise, were on their side. At night, from out of nowhere, the soldiers would become human targets, not knowing who was shooting at them, how many were shooting at them, or where the shooters were. In the excitement, Delta, Taylor and Megan were going to slip into the caverns and rescue Megan’s friend.

  At least, that was the theory.

  The practice was another story. Josh and Sal didn’t know how many men there were. No one had any idea if they really were any people in the caverns, nor did they know what shape they were in. If Taylor did her job well, the general would have no reinforcements and would have to fight the small attacking army in the dark. It was a great plan.

  In theory.

  Casting her eyes over the camp, Sal sighed. She wondered if her dad would be proud of her humping through the jungle to rescue good friends, as he once had. Was he smiling now? She’d dreamed of him during surgery to remove the bullet one of the Colombians had planted in her upper leg, dreamed that he smiled at her before fading like a fog passing through. It had been so long since she’d seen him, he seemed to be fading from her memory, and he only came to her now in her dreams.

  But here, here in the jungle, her memory of him was alive and well. She could see the strength of his strong jaw, the fierceness of his eyes, the tautness of his body. She could understand now why he went back after his friends in Nam. Because how good would the quality of your life be if you left your friends to die? What kind of person could turn their back on a friend in need? Her father hadn’t, and neither would she. When his body was shipped back to the States for the funeral, Josh had taken care of all the arrangements, including a headstone that read, “An honorable death is far greater than a dishonorable life.”

  Looking over at Josh, Sal grinned. She understood the demons he was exorcising from his past. Josh had failed to bring her dad home alive. It was a failure that haunted him nightly. Cold chills, hot sweats, thrashing about, and crying were all part of his nightly ritual. Maybe bringing Delta and Megan home would alleviate some of the looming guilt looming. Maybe, just maybe, Josh could even the universal score.

  As Sal pulled out one of the HKs, she leaned over and whispered, “How ya doin’?” In the light of the moon, she could see his teeth as he smiled at her and whispered, “Kick ass and take no prisoners.”

  Sal nodded. Megan had asked her some time ago why Josh chose to hang out with a bunch of women, most of whom were lesbians. Sal had told her that war had taught Josh that quality people come in every shape, color, gender, and size. These crazy women were his family now. He’d already killed once to save Delta from death, and for a soldier, that act bonded you for life. But it was more than just the killing; it was the camaraderie, the loyalty, the love and devotion that drew him to them.

  Since Vietnam, Josh had longed for his buddies, his unit, his family, but they were all gone; killed either by the Cong or by a society that never accepted them when they returned from doing a job nobody wanted to do in the first place. And when he’d found a genius, a prostitute, a shrink, and a rebel cop, he’d found the family he was looking for.

  And Josh wasn’t about to let any of them go.

  “Ready, Salamander?” Josh whispered, raising the cannon he called a rifle.

  Smiling with admiration, Sal nodded. “And take no prisoners.”

  No longer a prisoner of Zahn’s, no longer facing an ordeal that would surely have been the worst experiences of her life, Delta felt her strength returning. She was grateful to Taylor, who had somehow managed to join Connie and Megan in the jungle. She could hardly wait to hear that story. She could hardly wait to see Connie and Megan.

  Delta could have sworn Taylor was leading her in circles. It felt as if they had initially traveled away from the camp but were now heading back.

  “This is the wrong way,” Delta whispered, pulling Taylor to a halt.

  Taylor stood close to Delta. “Connie’s plan, sweets. Pretty soon, old General Zahn will know you’re gone. When he does, all hell will break loose.”

  “My point exactly. Shouldn’t we be getting out of here?”

  Taylor lightly ran her finger across Delta’s jaw line before gently caressing Delta’s puffy cheek. “Lover, we’re going back and getting the people you came for.”

  “Tonight? Now?”

  Taylor nodded. “Shh. Look. If we give them a chance to regroup, they’ll kill everyone first bef
ore coming after us. We can’t afford to fight them in the daylight. At least, that’s what that big hulking Josh-guy says. This way, they’ll never know what hit them. We’re ready, don’t worry.”

  Delta shook her head. It was one thing to look up from a near rape to find Taylor grinning down at her, but it was quite another to hear her sound like Connie.

  “Who’s we? Taylor, please slow down a minute and tell me what’s going on. I need the whole.

  Taylor flicked her hand in the general direction of the group. “Connie and Megan knew you were still alive, so they rounded up everyone they could to come get you out of here.”

  Delta nodded and waited for the rest. “She received my message then.”

  Taylor nodded. “Loud and clear. But by then, your resourceful buddy found me. How, I haven’t a clue. But she did, and I guess she figured there was only one person who can get in and out of just about anywhere undetected. So, here I am.”

  Delta couldn’t help but grin. “You’re incredible. Thank you. How’s Megan?”

  Taylor grinned. “Pretty gutsy, that woman. As much as I’d like to say I hate her, I must admit, she’s a good one.”

  Delta sighed. “Yes, she is. But then, so are you.”

  “I think she’s hanging in there, Delta. She’ll be awfully glad to have you back.” Taylor took Delta’s hand and started moving east. “The rest will have to wait. We gotta move fast. Any second, those men are going to find two dead soldiers and no prisoner. Connie thinks that’s the perfect time to strike.”