by Susan Stoker
“Not sure. The stairway is blocked, but it looks like this room took the brunt of the damage.”
Ghost turned to look at the stairs. “Fuck. Jonathan?”
“That’s my assumption,” Chase agreed.
“Fuck,” Ghost repeated.
“My guess is that he’s trying to force us out of the house. Cutting us off from the women was just a bonus. He’s not going to try to face us one-on-one. He’s perfectly happy working from a distance and doing a snatch-and-grab.”
“Ghost?” Rayne’s muffled voice came from above the blocked stairway.
“Yeah, baby, I’m here,” Ghost replied in a loud voice.
“Are you okay?”
“How are you? And the others?”
Chase noted that he didn’t tell Rayne about Fletch.
“We’re good. We can’t get in Annie’s room, but Sadie somehow wiggled in there through a hole the size of a dime. I smell smoke… Is there a fire in there?”
Chase turned to look and saw that indeed there was a fire. He’d been so intent on Fletch that he hadn’t even noticed. He coughed.
“Yeah, but we’re good. We’re gettin’ out now.”
“Ghost?” Rayne asked. “Where’s Fletch?”
“He’s here,” Ghost told her. Then added, “He’s hurt, Rayne, but he’s gonna be fine. Me and Chase have him. Hear me? He’s good. You guys just need to get outside. But stay together. Under no circumstances should you split up.”
“We can’t get to Annie! Sadie said she’s going to take her out the window in her room.”
Chase swore under his breath. He and Ghost looked down at Fletch. They were both needed to get him out of the house. Ghost couldn’t take his hands off the wound, and he couldn’t carry him and keep pressure on his side at the same time.
Ghost obviously came to the same conclusion because he told Rayne, “Get out of the house. Find Sadie and stick with her. This wasn’t an accident. You hear me?”
“Oh God. Yeah, Ghost, I hear you.”
Both he and Ghost heard Rayne calling out to Emily as she backed away from the blocked entryway. “Come on, Em. We need to get out of here. Sadie’s waiting for us. I’m sure Annie’s fine. She’s probably excited about all this, not scared. Come on.” Her voice shook, but she was doing what Ghost had asked.
Chase met Ghost’s eyes. They both coughed as the room continued to fill with smoke. The flames were higher now. They didn’t have a choice; they couldn’t stay here, no matter how dangerous it could be to move Fletch. They were damned if they did and damned if they didn’t. But the fire would kill them all if they didn’t get out of the house.
“I’ll go recon a way out,” Chase told Ghost.
He nodded.
Chase rose on wobbly legs and put a hand on his side as he stood up. It hurt like a motherfucker. He looked down at his hand and saw it was smeared with blood. It wasn’t as bad as Fletch’s wound, but he’d obviously been hit by flying debris.
The easiest way out would be through the hole in the wall that had been created when the rocket entered the house, but the fire was blocking that exit. He didn’t want to use the front door, as they would be sitting ducks by walking into the yard from such an exposed exit. That left the back door that led to the backyard and porch area.
Chase peered through the curtain and tried to assess the danger. He couldn’t see much, as it was still dark, but there didn’t seem to be anything blocking the door and preventing their exit. They could get Fletch out and into the tall grass surrounding the backyard. Then he could go and find Sadie and the others.
He made his way back to Fletch and Ghost, coughing the whole time. The smoke was getting thick, and soon Chase knew they wouldn’t be able to see anything. He gestured toward the back door and Ghost nodded. Chase grabbed hold of Fletch’s arm on the side that wasn’t injured and raised his eyebrows at Ghost, asking if he was ready.
When Ghost nodded, Chase used all his strength to pull Fletch across the floor by his arm. Ghost stayed right by their side, on his knees, keeping pressure on Fletch’s wound as they made their way toward the exit.
The amount of effort it took to drag the unconscious man was enormous, and Chase felt blood dripping from his side. But he wasn’t going to give up. Fletch had allowed him to stay at his house, and now it had been destroyed by the very person they’d been trying to stay hidden from.
He vowed right then and there to make sure the man was compensated every penny it would take to rebuild his house. The FBI would most certainly pitch in, if not outright pay for everything. They were desperately trying to find Jonathan, almost as desperate as Chase had been. The stashed weapons in the secret tunnel at the school had made finding Jonathan a priority…and it looked like they’d had a reason to be worried. He obviously hadn’t left all of the weapons behind when he’d disappeared. Chase would pull whatever strings it took to get compensation for Fletch.
They reached the back door and Chase checked it one more time. He didn’t see anything. He pulled open the door and listened. All he could hear was the crackling of the flames. He nodded at Ghost once more and they worked together to get Fletch outside and across the yard. Pulling the man through the grass was a lot tougher than across the wood floors in his home, but Chase dug deep and managed.
He pulled his friend into the tall grass and panted when they finally stopped. “Someone had to have heard the explosion and called the cops by now. I’ll go and get the women and bring them back here,” Chase told Ghost.
Just then, a huge explosion sounded from the front of the house.
Both men’s heads swung around, even though they couldn’t see anything from behind the house.
Ghost’s gaze went to something beyond Chase, and he exclaimed, “What the fuck?”
Chase turned in time to see a small shape running away from the house and into the woods as if the hounds of hell were at her heels. She was limping as she ran, but Annie definitely had a destination in mind.
“Dammit,” Chase said, wanting to yell out to the little girl, but not willing to risk giving away their position. Fletch was still vulnerable, and Ghost couldn’t exactly fight someone off…not with him literally holding Fletch’s life in the palms of his hands. Their hands were tied, and Chase was the only one who could freely move at the moment.
“Go,” Ghost ordered. “Fuck, go!”
Chase didn’t stick around to debate the issue. Bent over in a crouch to stay low, he took off for the side of the house. He almost ran right into Rayne and Emily. He grabbed Rayne by the shoulders to keep himself from falling over. “Ghost and Fletch are out back in the tall grass. Go.”
“But you’re bleeding!” Rayne said with wide eyes. “Bro, you need to come with us.” She tugged at his sleeve, not letting go, and looking up at him with such concern and fright, he wanted to scoop her up and tell her that everything was fine. But he didn’t have time.
“Annie? Is she with them?” Emily asked urgently.
“No, but she’s fine. I saw her myself. She’s headed for the neighbor’s house. Go. Please.”
Without a word, Emily took off running across the yard in the direction Chase said he’d seen her go.
Chase stared at his sister. Her eyes were wide and she had dirt smeared across her forehead. “Go, sis. I got this.”
She took a deep breath, then nodded. “Okay, but if you die, I’ll never forgive you.” And with that, she turned and fled across the yard toward where he’d left Ghost and Fletch.
Chase wanted to smile at his sister’s words but couldn’t. His side hurt like a bitch, he was starting to feel dizzy from blood loss, and the woman he loved was in danger. He knew it as easily as he knew his own name.
He peeked around the corner of the house—and was on the move before his brain told his feet to move.
Sadie was kneeling next to a car up against the garage. It was lying upside down and the back end had flames coming from it. She was tugging at someone’s arm, trying to pull them out of the
wreckage.
But that wasn’t what had him running after her as fast as he could go. It was the man walking up behind her. Jonathan.
Chase had known all along Jonathan had been behind whatever had hit the house, but seeing him there, walking toward the woman he loved as if he didn’t have a care in the world, flipped a switch inside Chase. After hearing what the man had already done to Sadie, there was no way he was going to let him get his hands on her again. No fucking way.
When he got close enough, Chase could hear Sadie saying, “Uncle Sean, are you all right?” as she tugged on his arm, trying to pull him free of the wreckage. He was conscious, and the swear words coming from his mouth would’ve impressed Chase if he wasn’t focused on Jonathan.
“Sadie, look out!” Sean said, but it was too late.
Jonathan walked up behind her and easily pulled her away from the car and her uncle.
Without thinking, Chase didn’t even slow down. No one had seen him yet, and he used that to his advantage. He plowed right into Jonathan’s side.
All three of them went flying, and Chase did his best to keep from falling on top of Sadie.
They landed in the dirt with loud thumps and Chase’s vision went dark briefly when he landed right on his injured side. His hesitation when they fell was enough for Jonathan to get the upper hand.
He rolled and straddled Chase. Both hands went to Chase’s throat and he squeezed.
“She’s mine,” Jonathan hissed. “You can’t have her!”
Chase tried to gasp for air, but he couldn’t get any. The hands around his throat were too tight. He bucked under the other man, but nothing he did made any difference. His side no longer hurt, in fact he didn’t feel much of anything. The need for oxygen overrode everything but the sight of the woman he loved more than life itself.
He saw her struggle to stand behind Jonathan.
Refusing to look into the blue eyes filled with hate above him, he kept his eyes on Sadie. She looked like a Valkyrie. Her red hair swirled around her head as if it had a mind of its own. Her hazel eyes sparked with determination. He lost sight of her for a moment, but as soon as he began to panic, she reappeared.
Chase watched with huge eyes as she lifted something above her head.
She brought it down swiftly on Jonathan’s back and he immediately let go of Chase’s throat.
Chase rolled to the side, away from the man who was trying to kill him, and told his limbs to move. To do something to protect Sadie…
But he didn’t need to worry. Sean Taggart rose from the wrecked car next to his niece. He took what Chase could now see was a tire iron from Sadie, and as Jonathan started to stand, Sean swung the iron rod like a baseball bat.
Jonathan’s head literally exploded from the impact.
No one said a word for long seconds. Then Sadie cried, “Chase!”
Chase’s head thunked back onto the ground and he stared up at the clear night sky, trying to catch his breath. For some reason, he couldn’t. Even though Jonathan no longer had hold of his throat, he couldn’t get air into his lungs.
Sadie’s face appeared above his, her red hair brushing against his cheek. “Chase?”
“I love you,” Chase gasped. It was the only thing he could think to say. He hadn’t told her earlier, but at that moment, lying on the ground, he knew.
“Oh my God, Chase!” Sadie repeated. Her hand came to rest on his cheek, and Chase tried to smile at her. He loved her touch. His eyes closed.
“No, Chase! Don’t close your eyes!” Sadie said desperately.
He opened his eyes and looked up into the panicked ones of the woman he loved. “Say it back,” he demanded.
She shook her head. “No. Not now. When you’re better. You have to hang on if you want to hear me say it.”
Chase’s brows furrowed. He needed to hear the words from her mouth. He knew he was dying. He couldn’t breathe and something was seriously wrong with his side. He hadn’t gotten a good look at it, but it was bad. He knew. “Please,” he begged, breathlessly.
Tears coursed down Sadie’s face, but she stubbornly shook her head. “No. You fight to stay with me and I’ll say the words every day for the rest of our lives!”
Chase heard a commotion off to his side but didn’t take his eyes off of Sadie’s. Everything was fading away, but still he couldn’t tear his gaze from hers. Her eyes looked even more beautiful highlighted by her tears. “Jonathan won’t hurt you again.”
“I know, you saved me,” Sadie said.
She moved from his side to the top of his head, and he arched his neck to keep his eyes on hers. He vaguely heard people talking above him but didn’t understand what they were saying. Someone was pulling at his shirt, but again, all his focus was on Sadie.
“I love you,” he repeated in a croak. “I’d do anything to keep you safe.”
“Then fight for me,” was her response. “Don’t give up!”
Chase opened his mouth to answer, but the darkness creeping in from the sides of his eyes was too much to fight. The last thing he remembered as the blackness overcame him was the sound of sirens in the distance.
He relaxed. The cavalry was coming. Sadie would finally be safe.
* * * *
Later—he had no idea how much time had passed—Chase’s eyes opened into slits. Everything hurt, he couldn’t move, and he was confused as hell. But the second his eyes opened, Sadie’s face came into view.
“Chase?”
He opened his lips but nothing came out. They were too dry and he didn’t have an ounce of spit in his mouth.
“I love you.”
Sadie’s words settled into his soul.
“You hear me, Chase? I love you. You kept your end of the bargain. Your heart stopped twice in surgery, but you didn’t give up. I love you. I think I have since the second I crashed into you at Bexar.”
Chase stared up into the hazel eyes he loved more than anything on this earth. He opened his mouth once more, to try to tell Sadie that she was his reason for living. That he’d fight the devil himself if it meant he got to come back to her, but before he could do more than croak, her lips were on his.
It was a short kiss. Dry. Merely a touch of her lips to his. But it was the best kiss he’d had in his life.
She pulled back and rested her palm on his chest. “Sleep, Chase. I’ll be here when you wake up. I love you.”
His eyelids shut, and with her words echoing in his brain, he did as she ordered and slept.
Epilogue
Chase leaned heavily against the wall and simply watched Sadie. She was in his kitchen putting dishes away. She’d taken over as if she’d always lived there. She’d been a godsend, not only helping to take care of him after he’d gotten out of the hospital, but taking care of the everyday things that he couldn’t because of his injury.
He’d missed everything that happened after he’d passed out on the ground outside Fletch’s house.
The cops, firefighters, and EMTs had shown up en masse. They’d put the fire out fairly quickly, and surprisingly, the house wasn’t a complete loss. It would take a lot of work to make it livable again, but much of it could be salvaged.
Annie and Emily had run almost a mile to the neighbor’s house, Annie carrying her Army man the entire way, then insisted the neighbors bring them right back after they’d called for help.
Fletch had gone through surgery and was currently recovering, just as Chase was. Fletch’s liver had been nicked by the piece of wood and if it hadn’t been for Ghost’s constant pressure, he would’ve died out there in the grass.
Sean Taggart had suffered a pretty good gash on his head from hitting the steering wheel, but considering his old car didn’t have airbags, he was in remarkably good shape. The Scout was sturdy as hell and the frame had held up remarkably well under the circumstances. Unfortunately, although the car had held together well enough to save Sean’s life, the classic vehicle was toast.
Ian was supposed to arrive with Sean, but had g
otten held up because he was wrapped up in a situation with one of the bodyguards from McKay-Taggart. That had actually turned out to be a good thing because the passenger side of Sean’s Scout had taken the brunt of the damage from the RPG.
Jonathan was most definitely dead. The Feds weren’t happy, as they had wanted to interrogate him, but Sean hadn’t hesitated to do what he’d needed to do to make sure his niece was safe from any future threat.
The fact that Jonathan had done what he had wasn’t exactly a surprise, but everyone was still wondering why. Chase thought he understood, after talking with Sadie, but it wasn’t his story to tell.
Jonathan had taken a few rocket-propelled grenades with him the last time he’d escaped from Bexar. He’d shot one into Fletch’s house, then a second just moments later, while Chase and the other men were passed out, which was the hit that separated them from the women. He’d used a third on Sean’s car—and no one had any doubt the man would’ve used the fourth RPG the cops had found hidden in the trees near Fletch’s house, if he’d had to.
Of course, the government was now trying to figure out where Jonathan’s father, Jeremiah Jones, had gotten the weapons in the first place. No one wanted that kind of firepower on the streets.
As for Sadie… She hadn’t left his side since he’d almost died on the operating table.
Chase had been hit by a nail. It was a freak accident. The metal missile had embedded itself inside his body and he hadn’t even known it. The doctors had said it wouldn’t have been so bad, but with the effort he’d put into moving Fletch, then tackling Jonathan, it had moved inside his abdomen, tearing into his large intestine, kidney, and bladder in the process. He’d almost died of both internal bleeding and from the toxins in his body contaminating itself.
Rayne had been by his side almost as much as Sadie, and he’d finally had to kick her out of his room. When she refused to leave, he’d sicced Ghost on her. He loved that his sister was concerned about him, but he was going to be fine.
Sean Taggart had hung around for a week and had been joined by his wife, Grace. They’d wanted to make sure their niece was all right after everything that had happened. Chase actually owed both of them a huge debt of gratitude. Sean had helped Sadie rent the large apartment near the Army post—and move all of his belongings out of his old apartment and into the new one before he was discharged from the hospital.