“Where to?” Ice asked.
“Montana.”
“Montana?” I asked incredulously. “Who the fuck in Montana needs our protection?”
He cleared his throat and pulled up a screen on the television, pointing to a small dot on the map. “This is approximately where you’re headed.”
“The middle of Bumfuck, Nowhere?” I asked.
“What town are we looking at?” Ice asked.
“It’s not a town. You’re looking at a survivalist camp of sorts.”
“What are they surviving?” Chris asked. “Humanity?”
Cap sighed and tossed out packets for all of us to look at. I leafed through mine as he remained quiet. There were only two pages to look through.
“I know it’s not much to go on,” Cap said after a minute.
“This is nothing to go on,” Derek clarified. “I’m not even sure what we’re looking at here.”
“Rebecca Woods has been missing from her home in Glasgow, Montana since she was seventeen. That was four years ago. Her family has been looking for her ever since. Her parents had no major leads, except for a man that had been hanging around the area and looked suspicious. Police tried sketching him, but no one could identify him. The father started his own search party with locals, and they’ve been expanding perimeter with every mile they clear.”
“That’s a long fucking time to be doing this all on their own. Why haven’t other towns joined in?” Hunter asked.
“Because Glasgow is a four and a half hour drive in any direction to any major city. They’ve questioned people in neighboring communities, but no one has seen the man or Rebecca.”
“So, we’re really talking in the middle of nowhere,” Ice clarified.
Cap nodded. “The father contacted several other security companies before reaching out to us. No one wanted to take this job.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because it doesn’t pay anything, dumbass,” Derek said, flipping me the bird.
“They’ve pretty much put their entire life savings into finding their daughter,” Cap continued. “They don’t have anything left to offer. However, they’ve done all the leg work for us. The father found this commune about two and a half hours from Glasgow. They live completely off the land and have no outside communication with anyone, which is why we can’t track them in any way. If they’re using technology, they’re masking it well. The father has been watching their movements for about a month now, and he sent me every move they make, their habits and patterns, and how they defend themselves. We don’t know anything about the other people staying there, other than they all seem to live in a patriarchal society.”
“Cap, do we know for sure that Rebecca’s there?” Jules asked.
He gave a firm nod and pointed to the screen. “This image was taken of Rebecca two weeks ago.”
The woman in the picture was rundown and didn’t appear happy at all. She was dirty and hauling some kind of basket around that had to be way too heavy for her small frame based on the way she was moving. I could see why he had taken the case. No one would want to leave their child in a place like that.
But no one else questioned rescuing this woman after seeing the picture. We all got to work and started strategizing, using maps and the pictures that the father had taken of the area to work up a plan of attack.
“Based on the father’s estimations, there are about a hundred and fifty people living there. About fifty are men and the rest are all women and children.” He hesitated a moment. “It doesn’t appear that the women want to be there, and the children are all young.”
“Fifty men,” Jules said curiously. “That’s a lot of women for that number of men.”
“We need to get them all out,” Chris said.
“That’s not a possibility. We don’t have the manpower right now. I was in contact with someone at the FBI, but they’re not in a position to intervene at this time. We’re talking about months and months of investigations and stakeouts just to put some kind of plan in place, and that’s if they’re even committing some kind of crime. If they can’t prove that, there’s nothing they can do. I talked to the father about that option, but he doesn’t want to wait. He wants us to get in and grab the girl.”
“What about OPS?” Hunter asked.
Cap shook his head. “They don’t have anyone to spare at the moment.”
“So, we’re on our own,” Derek muttered.
“You’re not going to have a lot of time to get in there. If they catch you scoping out the place, we have no idea what they’ll do. The father was surveilling alone for the month, which is probably the only reason he wasn’t caught.”
“What are we talking here? Hillbillies with guns?” Jules asked.
“I would say more along the lines of survivalists. Based on how they’ve armed the outside of the camp, they know how to defend themselves. However, we can still work this to our advantage. We get in and get the girl out, but place cameras around the camp wherever we can. If we can gather enough intel, we can help the FBI get what they need to get the other women and children get out.”
“One question,” I asked. “Who picks the jobs? Cuz, I could go back to guarding celebrities right about now.”
“Oh, come on,” Derek grinned. “It’s gonna be fun. Survivalists, barbed wire fencing, and cold weather…who could ask for a more exciting job than that?”
“Oh, is that what we’re in for now? Cuz, I thought the last two jobs were pretty eventful.”
“Nah,” Hunter blew me off. “That was a fucking cake walk. Now this…this is gonna be just like the good old days.”
“If you start singing Survivor, I’ll fucking shoot you,” Chris growled.
“Come on, guys!” Hunter jeered. “Don’t tell me that you haven’t been craving the action. It’s been way too fucking long.”
“I’m in,” Ice said without hesitation.
“You would be,” Chris grumbled. “I’m not sure you and Lindsey actually like each other.”
“Of course we do,” he said gruffly. “But that doesn’t mean I want to be around her all the time.”
“Sure, until you have a near-death experience,” Jules chuckled. “Then you’re all about the accidental fucking.”
“Yeah, there’s not going to be any more accidental fucking,” Ice said cooly. “From now on, there is only well thought out, completely planned fucking. There will be no more ice cubes running around.”
“Aside from last night,” Jules reminded him.
“Aside from that.”
“What happened last night?” I asked curiously.
“I was drunk,” he started.
I held up my hand. “Say no more.”
Ice ran a hand over the scruff of his jaw. “She’s gonna fucking kill me if I got her pregnant again.”
Chris slapped him on the back. “All the more reason to go face down some psychotic cult members.” Ice glared at him. “What? If she gets pregnant, I’m sure we’ll hear about it. We’ll just hand you over to them. Problem solved. It’d probably be less painful.”
Ice glared at Chris. “I think I’ll take my chances with Lindsey.”
“It’s your funeral,” Chris laughed. “I was just giving you options.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
Brooke
Rocco stayed home with me for a week before he had to go back to work. Apparently, after a bad job, the guys all took time off to recover. After that, he went back to work, but he was home every night. He said that he was just training and planning out future jobs. A few days, he had to work with Knight as he went through possible candidates for Sean, the detective in town. He was a friend of Reese’s, but also a friend of Sebastian’s. Rocco told me that Knight took potential candidates and helped to weed out the bad ones before he sent them on to Sean. Somehow, I thought that Knight’s idea of a bad candidate were much different than anyone else’s.
“What’s the problem?” Rocco asked whoever was on the phone with him. I w
as making breakfast and Rocco was putting on the last of his gear. I noticed his gear bag all loaded up by the door, which meant he had a job. I tried not to think too much about the fact that I would miss him a lot, or that he might be in danger while he was gone. Thinking like that wouldn’t be helpful.
“Really? Shit, that’s not good. I mean, that is good, but that sucks for her…No, man. I’ll figure it out…Alright, talk to you later.”
Rocco sighed and gripped his phone tighter in his hand for just a minute before turning to me.
“What’s wrong?”
“Cara’s been sick a lot lately.”
“Oh, is she okay? Did she go to the doctor?”
“Yeah, she’s gonna be fine. She’s pregnant again.”
“Oh,” I said, a little shocked. I wasn’t sure why I was shocked though. These guys seemed to like nothing more than knocking up their women.
“She’s on bed rest for the week. Apparently, this pregnancy isn’t going very well. So, I need to call some of the other ladies and see if one of them can watch Evie.”
He glanced at his watch and scrolled through his numbers, trying to find someone that could help out. I tried to think of who he would call, but the only women I could think of also ran a business, and while I knew they could make it work, that wasn’t really fair to them. I was just sitting here all alone. Why shouldn’t I help my boyfriend out?
I glanced at Evie in the high chair and took a deep breath. This was no big deal. I could do this. Maybe I could have him talk to Knight about taking down a few of the security measures so I didn’t electrocute myself again. I took a deep breath and took the plunge.
“I could do it.”
Rocco did a double take, his eyes trying to read mine to see if I was telling the truth. “Are you sure?”
“How hard can it be?” I asked with a chuckle.
He shot me a knowing look, but seemed to be wavering toward going with me.
“Seriously, I can do this. I know that I don’t have glowing recommendations, but I am just sitting around all day. Besides, Evie knows this place pretty well. All her stuff is here. Isn’t it better she stays where she knows?”
“She’d be fine with someone else,” he said hesitantly.
“I know, but…I can do this. I can help out. I mean, what’s one day?”
“Sweets, it’s not gonna be just today. I need someone that can watch her for at least a week. I have no idea how long this job is gonna be.”
“Oh…well, count me in,” I said with as much cheer as I could muster.
“Really?”
“Yeah, it’ll be fine. I mean, I’ve spent time with her this week and I’ve watched you with her. I know when she eats and when she takes her naps. I can so handle this.”
“But what about night time? I mean, there’s not really a break from her.”
I took a deep breath and nodded. “I know. I can handle this. I don’t want you to worry about this. Besides, I told you I would try. What better way for us to…bond and shit than spending time together?”
He smirked at me and pulled me tight against him. “I can’t believe you would do this.”
“Well, I am pretty awesome.”
“I know,” he said with a smirk. His lips crashed down on mine, giving me a very indecent kiss. I actually started to feel uncomfortable, seeing as how Evie was able to see us. I started pushing away, but he just held me tighter to him. “You are gonna get so many sexual favors for doing this,” he grumbled against my ear.
“That’s why I’m doing this. I’ll be making a list while you’re gone.”
He smiled at me, his eyes twinkling. “I love you, Sweets.”
I smiled big, trying not to let him see my panic. I didn’t know how to respond to that. I mean, I was pretty sure that I was falling for him. I felt the same things he was talking about. But saying ‘I love you’ was a big step, one that I wasn’t sure I was ready for. He must have seen my hesitation because he smacked me on the ass and walked over to Evie, picking her up and slobbering her with kisses.
“Daddy will be back soon. Be good for Brooke, okay?”
“Wuv you, Daddy!”
“I love you too, baby.”
He kissed me one more time before throwing his bag over his shoulder and heading out the door. I turned to Evie and tried to be excited. This was going to be a long week, but I was determined to get through it.
✯✯✯✯✯
My arm burned and I slipped from the bed, staring at the offending pad on the wall. I was terrified to touch it, but I knew that I had to do it. Pressing the numbers into the pin pad, I heard the click of the lock and opened the door. This time, I didn’t see the lasers going around the room, but that didn’t mean that I was safe. Evie was already standing in her crib, her arms raised up for me to grab her.
“Bwooke!” she yelled.
I smiled hesitantly and placed one toe on the carpet. When I didn’t feel anything, I slowly moved my foot further into the room.
“Bwooke! Bwooke!”
“Just hold on, baby girl. I don’t want to get electrocuted.”
“Up, Bwooke!”
Taking a deep breath, I took another step forward and cringed when phantom shocks rippled through me.
“Bwooke!” Evie was getting really worked up now, practically in tears that I wasn’t rushing forward to get her. But I had to be smart. I couldn’t just rush across the room. If something happened to me, who would take care of Evie?
“Just walk like you normally would,” Knight’s growl drifted through the room.
“What?”
“I turned off the shocks and the lasers. Just walk across the fucking floor.”
“Language!” I admonished.
“Would you just go get the poor kid before she starts screaming?” Knight growled.
“You know, you’re a real pain in the ass. If you had just told me in the first place that you had turned it off, I wouldn’t be so worried about walking across the floor.”
“Bwooke!”
I ran the rest of the way, each step thinking I would be killed. I snatched Evie up, but she wiggled out of my arms and ran out of the room. I turned and grabbed the diapers and wipes, but Ruby was standing in front of me, her little red light circling fast.
“Stand down,” I said firmly.
“For Christ’s sake, she’s just checking your profile. Just fucking walk.”
I flipped my middle finger in the air, just to piss Knight off. I felt a slight shock to the bottom of my foot and jumped, letting out a small squeal.
“You asshole!”
“Just go get your girl. She’s about to topple the TV.”
I ran out of the room, and sure enough, Evie was pulling at the TV. I caught it just as she was tipping it forward, and shoved it further back so she couldn’t pull at it.
“No, Evie. We don’t pull on the TV.”
She gave me an innocent look that let me know she was trying to get out of trouble.
“Alright, let’s change your diaper.”
I sat down on the ground and pulled her toward me, setting the diaper and wipes up right beside me. I had seen Rocco do this a time or two. It didn’t look that hard. I pulled up Evie’s nightgown and took a deep breath.
“Okay, Evie. Brookie’s gonna change your diaper and then we’ll have some breakfast, okay?”
Her face turned hard and serious right before a terrible smell filled the room. Then she started laughing.
“Good God! How can one little girl makes such a terrible smell?”
She laughed some more, her little legs kicking in the air. I grabbed at her ankles like I had seen Rocco do and slipped the clean diaper under her butt before I took off the old one. Setting her back flat on the ground, I undid the velcro and slowly lowered the front of the diaper.
“Ew!” I screamed, shoving the diaper back up over her. “That is so disgusting!”
“Just do it,” Knight growled.
“Why are you here?”
/> “Because you don’t know what the fuck you’re doing.”
“I’ve seen Rocco do this. It’s just changing a diaper. How hard can it be?”
I heard an evil chuckle fill the room and tried not to think too much about it. I took another deep breath and lowered the front of the diaper, pulling at the wipes with my right hand. They were jammed at the opening and I couldn’t pull them out, so I released her ankles and quickly fixed the box, but in that time, Evie rolled over and leapt to her feet.
“Wait!” I shouted, but she was already taking off down the hall.
“Yes, how hard can it be?” Knight asked sarcastically.
“Shut up,” I shouted as I took off after Evie.
She laughed and turned to look at me, her little butt rubbing up against the wall. Poo smeared across the wall and then on the floor when she tripped and fell over. I reached for her arm, but she quickly wiggled away from me.
“You’re gonna have to wrap your body around her if you’re gonna stop her.”
“I’m not getting shit all over me,” I snapped.
“Fine, it’s just more for you to clean up later,” Knight said in a bored voice.
I ran after Evie, thinking I had her when she got to the end of the hallway, but she just waited and then slipped between my legs, rubbing her poo across my legs.
“Eww!” I cried out again, feeling the poo rubbing against my skin. Why hadn’t I put on pajama pants this morning?
I chased after her again, and made a final leap, stretching my arms out to snatch onto her. I got her around the tummy and together we fell to the ground. My face landed right against her butt, smothering my chin in poo.
“Hold it right there,” Knight said. I looked up in confusion and then heard Knight’s chuckle. “That’s one for the scrapbooks.”
I glared off, sure that no matter where I looked he would see me. Then the TV turned on and I saw a picture of me holding on to Evie around the waist with her shit smeared on my face. Huffing, I got up and pulled a giggling Evie with me, taking her straight to the bathroom for a shower. Slamming the door, I decided that I might as well take a shower too. There was no way I could just wipe the poo off me at this point.
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