by K. J. Dahlen
Georgia felt stunned. She hadn’t realized what he meant and that made her a little concerned but not overly much. She’d seen him around Jarrett and liked what she saw. She’d just never met him before today.
“Sleep, at least for a little while,” Caine whispered in her ear. “We’re going to need everything you’ve got to get us into position to take the town back later tonight.”
Georgia closed her eyes and snuggled into his embrace. Breathing in deeply, she inhaled his scent and smiled. Even sweaty, he smelled good, almost like the woods and totally male. She couldn’t explain it any better than that.
Caine held her close until she fell asleep.
Caine felt her breathing change as sleep took her. Carefully, he released her and grabbed his clothes. He needed to know what the plan was. He needed to know what role she would play in the rescue of the town. He wouldn’t put her in any more danger. Even though they’d only just met, he wanted to keep her safe.
A few hours later, they had everything planned. They had found seven canoes and with four men per canoe, it would be enough. One of the women of the Sons of Satan had borrowed Georgia some clothes and she was dressed and ready to go. She was wearing dark jeans and a black long sleeve t shirt.
“What about weapons?” Gage asked. “Won’t guns be too noisy for a surprise attack?”
Georgia nodded. “It would be better with crossbows. We can strike quickly then hide in the shadows.” She looked around. “How many of you know how to use them?”
Hawk shrugged.” Most of us have been trained in the military and we know how to use those. We in fact, have some here in the compound.”
“I don’t like the idea of hiding.” Mountain looked unhappy. “It reeks of being a coward.”
Georgia grinned. “It isn’t being a coward. It’s strategy. You hit them where and when they least expect it, then you hit them again and again. All the great generals have done it. With the number of men going with us, we can whittle their numbers down quickly and quietly.”
“I like the way she thinks.” Gage grinned. He gave her a thumbs up.
Hawk slapped a city map of Jarrett down on the table. “Where do you want us to go?” he looked at Georgia.
Georgia studied the map again. She’d marked the area where she had tree stands earlier. She’d also showed them where the old dock was located. Now, she showed them where the Reapers were likely to be holed up. “Okay, this is the Ghost bar.” She pointed to the corner building. “It’s owned by Emma and Gordie Marshak.”
Calico and Reaper nodded. “That’s family to us.”
Georgia nodded. “Jason told me the bar was still open and that the Reapers were there getting drunk. He couldn’t see inside but he did say Emma was still there. She brought out a bag of garbage. She seemed okay at the time. He couldn’t tell if Gordie was still around though. He also said the bar and the diner were the only businesses in town that were open.” She looked around then added, “It seems the Reapers are just taking what they want, looting everything they can get. Jason said they collected all the guns in town and from my shop and have them stockpiled at the bar. They even robbed the bank of all its cash too.”
“Damn,” Reaper swore. “If Mom is still out there, Dad must be spitting nails if he isn’t there with her.”
“If he is inside the bar with her, will he start trouble?” Stone wanted to know.
Calico nodded. “If he’s there, he’s watching and waiting for the right time to make his move. He may be older but he ain’t dead yet. He’s as tough as a bull. He’s ex-military and dragged us all over with him. When he retired early he bought the bar, but that’s been about thirty years now. I don’t think he’ll start anything but once we get there? That’s a whole other story.”
“Fuck, he could rip this operation wide open without knowing it.” Hawk growled.
“Me and Reaper will cover the bar,” Calico stated. “That way, we’ll know what the old man is up to and try to stop him from going off the deep end.”
“Lyle might have men on the roof of the school, keeping watch,” Georgia warned them. Then she shrugged. “Of course, he might not think he has to anymore and if that’s the case, he’s dumber than I thought.”
“Is there a way we can get to the school and cover that possibility?” Caine asked. “Big Mike and Lonnie can take anyone out that’s waiting up there and give us cover, once they get in place.”
Georgia nodded and studied the map again. “Since we don’t know where they are placed, our best bet would be to cross over here at the park. The tree line extends along the woods into the park and along the bridge.” She showed them the path of the woods on the city map. The bridge she was talking about was built as a safety measure by the town to give the young mothers a route to the park without having to cross a busy intersection in the town. It also worked as a landmark for the kids to hang around in the early evening. “Once you get under the bridge, you can use the shadows to get behind the school. There’s a ladder on the east corner that goes all the way to the roof. It was put there for a fire escape. Nobody has ever had to use it, so I don’t know if it’s safe to climb up or not.”
The two men nodded and studied their path to the school.
Georgia glanced over at Hawk. “Are we going to have something we can use for communication between us?”
Hawk nodded. “Yeah, we found some walkie -talkies in the storage room. We’ll be able to chat as long as we don’t get caught. A couple of the other guys will come along with us and try to get a cell tower rigged up.”
“As soon as we get there, I’ll try and make contact with Jason,” Georgia told them. “We can update then and go from there.”
“We’ll all be on foot until we can get their bikes,” Hawk reminded them. “They’ll have guns while we have nothing more than bows and arrows, so be careful.”
“I have weapons on hand once we get inside the town,” Georgia told them. “They’re in my shop.”
“I thought they raided that?” Mountain asked.
She shrugged. “They never got close to where my REAL guns are.”
Mountain snickered. “Yeah, I figured. We might need them before this is over.” Georgia shrugged.
“Jason told me earlier that Lyle was going house to house gathering weapons and looting everyone. If he’s gotten to my shop, he’s taken most of my inventory. Too bad most of the weapons in my shop don’t shoot but he won’t know that until he tries to use them. I have some in storage but I don’t know if what I’ve got will be enough for everyone.”
“Would he have found your storage stash?” Stone asked. “I feel naked with nothing more than a bow.”
Georgia grinned. “Nobody knows where I store my guns. Lyle will never be smart enough to find them.”
“Okay,” Mountain nodded. “I need two men to take out the guards at the roads coming into town and going out of town.”
“What about the guys watching the docks?” Georgia reminded them.
“If they think the town is secure, will those guys still be watching?” Gage asked.
“We can’t afford to take that chance,” Mountain stated. “About the time we assume something without knowing, that’s when we lose whatever upper hand we have.”
“The docks are pretty much open,” Georgia explained. “The best bet would be to swim under water and surprise them.”
Stone ran his fingers through his hair. “That could be dangerous for the guy swimming in. He wouldn’t know what’s waiting for him until he comes up out of the water.”
“What about a diversion?” Caine asked. “If we created a small diversion, it would call their attention away from the water allowing whoever was coming in to surprise them.”
“That could work.” Mountain nodded. He looked over at his brothers. “Chance and Bowie are good swimmers.” He grinned. “Besides, anybody seeing those two popping out of the river will be scared shitless.”
“Ha-ha big brother,” Chance grumbled.
&nbs
p; “Your size alone, not to mention the white hair will be enough to get the element of surprise we need,” Georgia agreed.
Bowie walked over to the table where Hawk had laid out all the crossbows. He grinned as he picked one out. “Not to mention having this along too.” He stood there holding the weapon. “I think we’ll put the fear of God into these boys.”
“You can’t come out of the water screaming and yelling,” Mountain reminded them. “Just come up shooting. We don’t want to set off the alarm.”
Bowie frowned at his brother. “Don’t ruin all the fun.”
Mountain shook his head. “This won’t be fun. We’ll be fighting for our lives tonight as well as the lives of everyone who lives in Jarrett. Don’t forget, they’ll have guns to our crossbows. The odds are not in our favor.”
“But we have the element of surprise on our side,” Georgia interjected.
Mountain shook his head. “We can’t count on that for too long. Anything could and will probably happen out there, so we have to be ready for anything. As dumb as we all think Lyle is, he might just be smarter than we realize.”
“No that won’t be his end game,” Georgia said sadly. “What will keep Lyle coming against all other odds will be his desire to end my life. The rage inside him won’t be satisfied until he sees me laying on the ground in front of him broken and bloody like his brother was.”
“That won’t happen.” Caine seethed as he wrapped his arms around her. “He won’t even get close to you. He’ll have to go through me first.”
Georgia laid her head against his chest.
“And me,” Mountain vowed.
Several others claimed the same vow.
Hawk glanced at the clock on the wall and saw the time. “We need to get ready. The canoes will be waiting for us five miles outside of town. We still have to paddle up river and get close enough once we get there.”
“Hang on a minute,” Georgia called out. When everyone turned to look at her she asked, “Won’t Lyle realize the temporary tower is there? Won’t that bring back cell reception?”
Mountain shook his head. “The power the tower will bring isn’t strong enough to bring back cell reception but it will be enough to allow us to communicate with each other by radio. The tower we’ll put up won’t reach them.”
Georgia nodded. “Okay, just checking. Didn’t want to tip off Lyle and his moron squad.”
“If you don’t know the answers, ask the question.” Mountain shrugged. “There is no dumb questions, only dumb people.”
Mountains brothers chuckled.
Everyone went over to the table and grabbed a crossbow and a quiver of bolts. Then as a group, they all went outside to their bikes. One of Hawks men followed with a truck and some equipment for a temporary cell tower. The sun was getting low in the sky as they started out. Forty minutes later, they pulled off the road and parked beside a trailer filled with canoes.
The driver got out and began unloading his equipment. The men worked quietly without saying a word. When all seven canoes were in the water loaded with passengers and equipment they would need to take back the town and take out the Grim Reapers.
Georgia, Caine, Gage and Mountain led the way in the first canoe. Georgia was the only one that knew where they were going.
Thirty minutes later, just like they’d timed it, they were pulling over beside an old abandoned dock. Early evening twilight was settling in and they could all see the shape of the dock. It wouldn’t hold any weight but they could tie up the boats. Wading out of the water into the woods, twenty five armed and dangerous men and one lone woman sneaked into the east woods of town.
Chapter Eight
Georgia led the way after they tied up their boats. Going through these woods after dark wasn’t something these men were happy to do but they followed her without making a sound.
The revving of cycle engines echoed in the distance along with the sound of men laughing and shouting. The Reapers were celebrating their easy victory.
Georgia stopped abruptly and so did the men behind her. Cocking her head, she listened to the silence around her. Then she heard it again. The sound was so faint, none of the men seemed to hear it but they didn’t know these woods like she did. She knew every sound this forest made, good, bad or otherwise. And right now, there was someone else out there, watching and waiting. She could feel him. Turning her head carefully, she motioned for the men to fan out and be quiet about it.
Then she bent over, laying her crossbow on the ground at her feet and reached for the knife she had in her boot. Carefully, placing her feet in motion, she moved through the woods without making a sound.
Caine turned to Stone and the others but didn’t move.
Mountain shook his head and held up his hand to stay his men. He had to trust that Georgia knew what she was doing.
The next few minutes were painfully tension filled as nothing around them moved at all. Then out of nowhere, Georgia appeared. For a moment, her eyes were haunted and she made her way carefully over to Caine. Then she wrapped her arms around his waist and when his arms came around her shoulder, he just held her for a moment. No one said a word and with a ragged breath, she moved away from him. Slipping the knife back in her boot, she picked up the crossbow and looked over at Mountain nodding. They began making their way closer to the town.
They were still fifty feet from the edge of the trees when she stopped them again. She glanced over at Gage then looked up. High in the tree was the first of four tree stands she’d place over the years.
Gage nodded then scrambled up the tree. His toes and fingers found the proper holes to get him up and out of sight. When he reached his destination, he peeked over the side and gave them a thumbs up.
They moved out as a group and got to the next tree stand. One of Hawk’s men took this one.
Moving toward the river, she showed Chance and Bowie the best way to get to the dock area. Then she motioned for five minutes.
They nodded and slipped into the water without making a sound.
Georgia turned and went deeper into the trees. When she reached her favorite tree stand, she looked around the area. Something was off but she didn’t know what it was. She glanced upward and gasped. A pair of green eyes were staring back at her. Then she saw the face that went with the green eyes and brought her hand up to cover her stammering heart. She motioned for the man to come down and join them.
Mountain and Caine raised their crossbows when a figure started down the tree.
Georgia put her hand up to hold them at bay while Jason scrambled down the tree. A few minutes later, he stood in front of Georgia and grabbed her into a crushing hug.
Caine growled deep in his throat.
“Oh man, girl,” Jason whispered. “It is so good to see you in one piece.”
“It’s good to see you too,” she whispered back. “What does it look like out there?” she motioned toward the town.
“We’ve been watching and waiting for something to happen,” Jason explained. Suddenly, he frowned and stared at her. Then he grabbed her chin and turned her face to the moonlight. “What the fuck happened to you?” He glared at the men around her. Staring back at Georgia he asked, “Did they do this to you?”
Georgia reached up and laid her hands over top of his. “No they didn’t do this to me. Lyle did this when I refused to go with him.”
Jason’s lips tightened and he crushed her to him again. “I’m gonna kill that bastard,” he vowed softly.
Georgia rolled her eyes. “You’re gonna have to stand in line, that cocksucker is mine.”
“You said we?” Caine asked as he tried to get over the fact his girl was in another man’s arms.
Jason nodded. “Micah, Grady and Rio are in these woods watching too.” He finally released Georgia but wouldn’t let her go too far.
Georgia exhaled softly. “Good, we have a man in the fourth treehouse and two in the river. Are they still watching the dock area?”
Jason nodded. “The
y have two men down there but they’ve been drinking all afternoon. I’m not sure how much they’re watching.”
“It won’t matter.” Mountain growled softly. “My brothers will take care of them.”
“We need to distract the Reapers,” Georgia told her friend. “Right now, we have surprise on our side and we aim to keep it.”
“When do you need it?” Jason asked.
Georgia checked her watch. “In like a minute and a half his brothers are making their way to the dock via the river.”
Jason nodded. “Wait here. I’ll see what I can do.” Then he was gone, disappearing into the darkness. A moment later, they all heard water splashing and the sounds of grunting. Then they heard nothing.
Then they saw Chance, Bowie and Jason returning.
Chance grinned. “Docks are clear. Two Reapers down, twenty or so more to go.”
Georgia grimaced. “Make that three Reapers down, twenty or so more to go.” She turned away before anyone could ask what she meant and no one bothered her.
Jason came over to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. He didn’t have to say anything. He just held her for a moment. Then he turned her to face the crowd of men. He noted the look on Caine’s face and paused but didn’t say anything. Instead, he looked at Mountain. “They’re still riding through town making noise. They think everyone is inside the school and we haven’t let them know otherwise. Most of the group are at one of two places, The Ghost Bar or the diner.”
“What about Emma and Gordie?” Calico asked. “Are they okay?”
Jason nodded at him and Reaper then smiled. “You guys are Gordie’s boys, aren’t you?”
Calico nodded, glancing at Reaper then back to Jason. “Is he behaving?”
Jason’s grin left his lips. “Yeah, he’s behaving for now, but Lyle is pushing him hard. He’s madder than a hornet, he can’t find Georgia.” He glanced over at Georgia. “After he shot your dad, he screamed at his men to search every house until they found you. When his men came back emptyhanded I thought he was gonna lose whatever sanity he had left. He beat the hell out of two of his own men. The others have steered clear of him since then.”