Surviving Today

by Mande Chambers

  “The two bird salute? Really? I thought were past that aspect of our relationship,” Jay Beres drawled, stopping in front of her, arms crossed over his chest.

  “Your first mistake was attempting independent thought.” She shrugged. “What can I say? I had the sudden urge to tell Firuz how I really feel about him.”

  “Think we could hurry this up guys? It’s hotter than the underside of Satan’s balls out here and this alley is about to be grand central station in twenty when the bar closes,” Logan Piperel interjected.

  “Did he just make a reference to Satan’s balls?” Brian Halia asked as he joined their little party.

  If she didn’t say something soon, this topic of conversation was going to go downhill faster than an out of control snowball. Another flash of lightening lit up the night air. The sky was going to open up soon and she really wanted that laser point off her chest, preferably with the rifle attached to it pointed somewhere else.

  “Now, now. Down boys. While I know all this talk of balls is getting you excited—you’re vibrating like an over excited poodle—and is right at the level your maturity peaked at, someone really needs to fight against the pull of the gutter long enough to tell me what I have to do to get that laser off my chest.”

  “Did she just compare us to a poodle? And speaking of—”

  Megan glared at Brian. “Finish that comment about my chest and not even having a rifle pointed me will save your ass. Now, seeing as I’m not fond of having the previously mentioned rifle pointed at said chest, and while his oddly accurate reference to Satan’s balls came out of left field, Piperel does have a point. It’s hotter than hell out here and witnesses aren’t exactly your thing.”

  “Someone has their panties in a twist,” Brian muttered under his breath.

  Logan looked at Jay. “Did she just agree with me?”

  Jay smiled. “Either hell just froze over or she’s drunker than we originally thought.”

  Brian rolled his eyes. “Since you’ve obviously stunned them even further into stupidity, if that’s even possible, it’s up to me to ask the next obvious question. Do you have any weapons on you, Yves?”

  Like Brian had any room to talk on that subject, but she chose to take the high road and not point that out. Instead she quirked an eyebrow. “Really? Did you seriously just ask me that question with a straight face? And, for the record, not that you actually care, it’s Nox now.”

  “Smartass. Fine. We’ll play it your way. What weapons are you carrying and where are they located?”

  “Switchblade in front right jeans pocket,” she ground out through gritted teeth. “I have a couple of throwing knives hidden in my left boot and in a sheath around my right wrist.” She kept her hands in the air.

  She was afraid her jaw was going to shatter from the tension of her clenching her teeth as Jay reached into her jeans pocket, pulling out the red handled knife. Tossing it at Logan—closed, much to her dismay—he squatted down, patting her left leg in search of the hidden weapons.

  Finding the sheath, he carefully pulled up her pants leg and removed the weapons. Standing up, he patted down the sleeve of her right arm, and reaching her wrist, removed the Velcro holder with the small throwing knives without touching her skin.

  He then took two very large steps back.

  A smile played with the corners of her mouth. “Why the hasty retreat, Beres?”

  He tossed her a pair of zip tie cuffs, ignoring the question. “Put those on, Yves.”

  “No comment? Come on, Beres. You’re making this way too easy. See, now you’re just leaving the answer up to my very creative imagination. You wouldn’t be afraid of little old me, now would you?” She lost her fight with hiding the smile as she slid her hands into the cuffs, pulling them tight with her teeth.

  “The devil has nothing on you,” Logan mumbled.

  Brian took ahold of her right arm as Jay took ahold of her left arm, looking like he was being forced to touch the dirtiest, nastiest trash on the planet.

  She kind of took offense to that look, though she completely understood it.

  “Amen,” Jay muttered as they guided her towards the waiting SUV at the opening of the alley. “The devil runs at the mention of your name.”

  Hey, now. While that was true, it was also totally uncalled for.

  She really didn’t want to hurt them.

  Well, not much anyway.

  She was playing nice. The least they could do was return the favor.

  Logan signaled for the fourth man in this circus, Kelly Firuz, to wrap it up on the roof and join the rest of them at the car. Megan stumbled along behind them in an attempt to keep up with their wider gaits—she may talk a big game, but she was only five foot two on a good day.

  When they got to the waiting black SUV, Logan opened the back door as Brian let go. Jay unceremoniously pushed her into the coolness of the backseat.

  She landed hard on the seat, knocking her elbow against the window. Swearing creatively, she resituated herself as Jay snapped the seat belt into place.

  “That was a very colorful and unique use of that word,” an amused voice said from beside her.

  Megan groaned as she kept her eyes locked on the seat in front of her. “Of course you’d be here. My night from hell is officially complete.”

  “You know, you’re not the only one in cuffs here, Nox.”

  “It figures you’d be the only one to get the last name right,” she grumbled, turning to look at her seatmate. One look at Corbin Evans zip tied to the handle above the door like a dog made her feel much better about her night. Apparently, his night was going about as well.

  “How’d they manage to get you in cuffs without any bloodshed?” he asked.

  “Surprised me in the alley,” she replied. He raised an eyebrow. “They had Firuz on the adjacent rooftop with a rifle pointed at me.”

  “Yeah, that would do it.”

  “So, how did you end up tied to the ‘oh, shit’ handle?”

  “Long story.”

  She looked out the window as the car started moving, watching the buildings speed by. “We’ve got time.”

  CHAPTER 14

  “Sorry about this, Nox, but it’s got to be done.”

  Megan nodded as the black hood was pulled over her head. She didn’t struggle against the sudden darkness, she embraced it instead. Strangely enough, there was a comfortable solitude in it. For once, it was nice not to know what was coming. While she had an idea, things could go multiple ways, so there was no point in worrying until the time came.

  She also knew he wasn’t apologizing about having to place the hood over her head. He was apologizing for something more personal. Something that was a hell of a lot more dangerous. What he was apologizing for was going to take more than just time away from her.

  It was playing Russian roulette with her life.

  Megan felt him push her hair off her neck. She winced slightly, thankfully behind the safety of darkness, at the pinch of the needle sliding into her neck.

  Let the games begin.

  The world behind the bag faded to a more permanent state of blackness…

  August 1999

  Undisclosed location

  Oh, this wasn’t going to end well.

  Lise Yves froze in the middle of the passageway. Eyeing the three semiautomatic weapons pointed at her, she groaned, raising her hands up in surrender.

  Some days really sucked more than others.

  “Well, well, well. Look what we have here.” A man stepped out from behind the three teenage boys pointing their guns at her chest, a smile nearly splitting his face in half.

  “Yep. You caught me, Trevain. Fair and square. Whatever am I going to do?”

  Davis Trevain cocked his head to the side, studying her. “Do I detect a bit of sarcasm behind those words, Yves?”

  “No, you detected a lot of sarcasm behind those words.” She looked at her best friend’s father with a look of disappointment on her face. “That cuts
me deep, Davis. Really. You should know me better than that. Your daughter and I have been friends since birth.”

  “I’m missing something here, aren’t I?” Davis scratched the top of his head, his eyes suddenly making agitated rounds around the passageway.

  “Not at all.”

  “You know, Annelise Megan, sarcasm really isn’t a becoming trait on a teenager from the adult perspective.”

  Okay, that was a valid point. There was a problem with that point, though. She really didn’t care what he thought. She never had and never would.

  Lise sighed, growing bored of the confrontation already. “Yes, well, we both know I’m not your average teenage girl. So, since I’m the exception to most rules, why don’t we move on to the next topic of conversation?”

  “You’re stalling for time, aren’t you?”

  Wow. It took the man long enough. For a self-proclaimed genius, he sure was slow on the uptake. Then again, she’d been outsmarting the adults around her for years.

  She blinked at him a few times, saying nothing.

  “You’re the distraction, not the threat. Of course. I should have known that the second you were so obviously caught.”

  Once again, she said nothing. He had said it, not her. She really didn’t feel the need to confirm or deny it.

  “Rivers, check her for weapons and bring her to the holding area,” Davis barked out. He placed a hand on another one of the child guard’s shoulder as Rivers slowly made his way towards her, his weapon still trained on her. “I’m going to go see what the rest of her team is up to. Steward, if she gives you any trouble at all, kill her.”

  Well, then.

  That was a little harsh. She wasn’t even armed. And it was three on one. How much damage did the man really think she could do?

  She didn’t know whether to be offended or take it as a compliment.

  She was truly stumped on that one.

  “Rivers, I really recommend you take me at my word that I don’t have any weapons on me. It wouldn’t be wise for you to touch me.”

  Josh Rivers smiled at her, letting go of his weapon and letting it swing behind his back on its strap. “No need to be shy, Yves. Nothing I haven’t seen or touched before.”

  She didn’t doubt that for a minute. She had witnessed her gender’s reactions to him. It was embarrassing.

  He was cute. There was no denying that. She just knew him well enough to… Yeah, nope. That was all she was willing to say on that topic.

  “Josh, I’m warning you…”

  “Face the wall, Lise. You know what position to assume.”

  Ugh. Now so wasn’t the time for that to sound dirty. Sometimes having a mind that lived in the gutter really was annoying.

  She turned to face the nearest wall. With a barely contained groan, she placed her hands, palms down, on the cool concrete. She spread her legs shoulder length apart, making sure the toes of her boots touched the base of the wall.

  “There. I have officially assumed the position.”

  “The position looks good on you,” he said as he patted up one arm and down the other. “I could definitely have some fun with this position.”

  “You wouldn’t know what to do with me.”

  Lise lightly banged her forehead against the wall. That had not just come out of her mouth. She really needed to develop a brain-to-mouth filter. It would help keep her out of trouble.

  Maybe.

  He patted down her sides. “Is that a challenge, Yves?”

  No. No, it wasn’t.

  Comments from the peanut gallery in…

  “I’d definitely watch that,” Tyler Steward piped up from behind them. “I bet she could teach you a few new tricks.”

  “I bet she could teach us all some new moves,”

  Freddy Vega added. “With her feistiness, she’s got to be a mind blowing piece of ass.”

  And there it was.

  That was what happened when she spoke before she had time to think about what was coming out of her mouth. Especially when she responded to a sexual innuendo made by a sex crazed sixteen-year-old, in front of his friends, when she was at an apparent disadvantage.

  She really would never learn.

  She couldn’t even be mad. Josh had opened the door and, like the idiot she was, she walked right through it.

  “Dude! Watch it! There is a lady present,” Josh pointed out as he patted her waist and made his way down one leg.

  “A lady? Where? All I see is Yves,” Freddy said.

  “Ha-ha. Hardy har har,” she muttered under her breath. These guys were comedic geniuses. On a completely different note, they needed new material.

  “And, while she’s not hard on the eyes, she thinks too much like us to be considered a lady,” Tyler added.

  She should take offense to that, but she couldn’t. It was the truth.

  Josh patted up her other leg, ending up back at her waist. He placed both hands on her hips, pressing into her as he leaned forward.

  Um…well…

  Damn. She had nothing. She hadn’t seen that move coming.

  He leaned in closer, his breath on her ear. Yeah, he really needed to take a step or two back so she could regain her ability to think clearly. He wasn’t playing fair and he knew it.

  “You ready?” he whispered into her ear, his hands moving northward.

  Oh, she was ready all right.

  Just not in the way he meant.

  Her breath hitched. Freaking hormones. They really needed to go away. They screwed everything up. It never failed.

  She felt her body relax. “What do you have in mind?” she whispered back, her voice cracking.

  He smiled against the curve of her neck. “Nice, Yves. You’ve almost got me convinced and I know better.”

  Convinced? Who? What? Where?

  Ohhh…yeah. Right. That.

  “Are you sure you’re ready?” she whispered.

  He nodded into her shoulder. “I’ll take Vega. Think you can handle Steward?”

  She snorted into the wall. “Please. With one hand tied behind my back.”

  “Make it look good,” he said softly into her ear.

  Josh backed up, grabbing Lise’s arm as he swung her around to face him. He backed her up against the wall, boxing her in by slapping his palms down on either side of her head.

  Uh, she missed something important somewhere.

  He bent down.

  She swallowed hard.

  “One for luck?” he asked.

  Huh? Wait. What?

  He didn’t wait for an answer. He captured her lips with his. Gently at first, keeping it completely G rated. That lasted thirty seconds, tops. He coaxed her mouth open, utilizing some tongue action.

  Holy crap.

  The boy might be a world class jackass, but he could really kiss. She shouldn’t be enjoying the kiss as much as she was.

  It was an act. That was all. It had to be.

  Yeah, and she was Queen Elizabeth.

  He broke this kiss off, both of them breathing hard. His face was flushed. She was pretty sure her face resembled a tomato.

  She blinked up at him. “What the crap was that?”

  He smiled down at her, his breathing slowly evening out. “Ouch, Yves. Noted. That is what they call a kiss…”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Really? Gee, why didn’t I know that? I meant, what was it for, Rivers?”

  “Show, but mostly because I wanted to.

  Oh, okay. That made sense. She could live with that.

  Now, there was only one thing left to do.

  She kept staring up into his chocolate brown eyes and slowly brought her knee up, catching him in the stomach. (To the eggheads behind them—yeah, the ones making with the catcalls—it looked like she had caught him in the balls.)

  Josh’s face turned even redder and he emitted a squeak as he double over, dropping to the ground.

  She stepped over him, crossing her arms over her chest as she glared at an oddly silent Freddy and
Tyler. “What? No comments from the peanut gallery anymore?”

  Freddy’s eyes widened as he kept his weapon trained on her. “That was a low blow, Lise. Even for you.”

  She shrugged, raising her hands in the air again. “Maybe next time he won’t succumb to peer pressure from a bunch of idiots.”

  Tyler walked slowly towards her, careful to keep away from the business end of his buddy’s weapon. “Is it really wise to insult the people with the weapons?”

  “If it’s you and Vega… Yeah, there’s really no harm in it.”

  Tyler reached her, his eyes narrowed. “You talk a big game for someone who got caught.”

  Okay, the time had come to end this little game. She had reached her stupidity limit for the night.

  “You know, Steward, if you’re going to point a gun at someone, you really should be prepared to use it. And pay attention to your surroundings,” she said, lowering her hands slowly.

  She grabbed the end of his weapon, pulling down on the barrel as she grabbed his wrist. She turned him around so his back now faced her, his gun pointed at Vega.

  She pulled the trigger. The paintball like bullets hit Vega in the chest before he knew what hit him.

  Vega cursed, hitting the ground, rolling around as he moaned in pain.

  She relieved Tyler of his weapon, tossing it down the opposite end of the hallway. She let go of him, taking a few steps back.

  She smiled innocently at him.

  He glared and threw a punch.

  Seriously? That wasn’t very nice of him.

  She ducked the punch, catching him in the stomach with her own fist. As he doubled over on a quick exhale of breath, she caught sight of Vega getting up behind him, gun in hand.

  With a quick wave of her hand, his gun went flying down the passageway, far from any of their reaches.

  Vega looked at her, his eyes narrowing. “Not cool, Yves.”

  She ducked Tyler’s round house kick, shooting Freddy an uninterested look. “And three armed to one unarmed is cool?”

  Tyler came at her again. She blocked his punch, sweeping his feet out from under him. He landed hard on his back, groaning up at the ceiling.