Driven By Love (The Heirs 0f Orion Series Book 1)

by D. Anne Paris

  Chapter 27

  Dean split from Keith as he went to search the area for guards. He got close to the house he knew Anne was in when he suddenly felt her on the move. He snuck behind the house and was prepared to attack from behind. The whole house was abuzz with activity. He spun away from the window and peeked through just before a guard walked by it. Several people were heading out the front door and not being quiet about it.

  He couldn’t risk the noise so he turned off his radio. As he got up to move, he was caught out in the open, unable to move without being seen. Two of the guards walked right past him and looked toward the front of the house at something. If they turned even ten degrees, they’d see him for sure. Dean was ten feet from any kind of cover, caught halfway to his next hiding spot. He dared to not even raise his rifle for fear of being seen in the peripheral of the guards.

  His heart raced as he stayed motionless, not daring to breathe. It was mere seconds before they turned and moved away. Those seconds seemed like an eternity. All the while he could feel Anne moving away from the house. He could feel her stronger than before.

  Dean ran for cover as soon as it was clear. The daylight dwindled as night began to set in. There wasn’t much in the area to hide behind. The nearest neighboring house was at least 400 feet away. The growing darkness was his best cover. Two guards were at the front of the house. They both had weapons drawn and were scanning the area. Shit, did they see us? Dean thought to himself. Then one of the guards ran off, leaving one at the front door with his back to Dean.

  Dean sprinted from where he was hiding towards the guards. Before Dean could even be sure of his next move, he had already covered the guard’s mouth and slid his knife across the guard’s throat. He dragged him behind the side of the house nearly soundlessly. He held the guard until he was lifeless.

  A moment later, his heart leapt. He caught sight of the main group of guards heading toward the boat. Several were boarding with one lagging behind carrying something over his shoulder. Anne! his mind screamed as he caught sight of her face dimly lit by the lights from the boat. She looked lifeless, but he could feel her even stronger now than before. He grabbed the AR-15 off his shoulder and bolted towards a group of boulders lining the edge of the beach. He wasn’t concerned with being seen and was reckless in his assault.

  He slid into position like a baseball player sliding into home, feet first. The inertia from his sprint moved his upper body forward as he placed his rifle onto the rock and lined up his sights. The guard suddenly lost his balance and nearly dropped Anne. The large guard stepped back as another man moved in toward Anne. Dean made his target and honed in. The light from the boat was like a spotlight on his target.

  *

  The unmistakable thunder of a gunshot rang out from nearby. The guard fell lifeless to his knees as a bullet lodged into his head. His falling body came crashing down toward Anne.

  Anne wiggled away from his grasp and stood before his body could crush her.

  In an instant, Marshall grabbed her as a shield and scurried backwards towards the dock. Another one of his bodyguards from the boat came out and shot back.

  “Whoever you are… you can’t win. I own the police and Feds! I have more power than you can ever dream of.”

  “You pissed off Bulldog and the Marines. No power can help you now!” a male voice roared. Anne's heart leapt with hope. Dean! He found her!

  “Let her go!” Dean threatened with a primal growl.

  "Never!" Marshall sneered.

  Cold metal pressed into the side of Anne's neck. A gun! A chill crawled up her spine as the gun's nuzzle poked deeper into her gullet.

  Twist away. She had to twist away from him to give Dean a clean shot.

  Marshall dragged her towards the boat as his bodyguards fired shots towards the ridge where Dean was. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a large boulder about a hundred feet away near the edge of the shore. If she escaped, she might get shot.

  More shots rang out from both the guards and Dean’s position. She saw puffs of dust and debris pop up all over the boulder that hid Dean. Suddenly, the bodyguard behind them screamed in pain and slumped to the ground with a thud. Several others from the boat fanned out and took cover and readied to return fire.

  She let her body go limp, using the weight of her body to catch Marshall off guard as he tried to grab her before she fell. With the gun no longer pointed at her neck, she twisted. With one hand, she grabbed it and tore it from his grip. She swung the other and punched him under his nose. He howled in pain.

  She sent out a silent prayer that a bullet wouldn’t hit her and bolted towards the boulder. Halfway there, she slipped and tumbled with a thud against the rocks.

  More shots zinged from Dean’s position and now a second position along the same edge of the beach but further to the south. They missed Marshall, who jumped onto the boat. The boat’s engine revved up as he tried to escape. Anne would have the last laugh. She reached out to the boat. She asked it to take him to the middle of the lake and circle endlessly until he ran out of fuel. The boat didn't seem to mind the idea. The guards continued to return fire at Dean and the other shooter.

  She saw Dean poke out from behind the rocks to take another shot. She heard a loud bang and heard him cry out and scramble for cover.

  “Dean!” She had to get to him. She pushed her body up and ran up the steep sloping beach towards the ridge where she heard his voice. She was only about 100 yards from Dean but it felt so much farther as she raced to him. All the while she was terrified, not knowing how badly he was hurt. Shots rang out and echoed all around. It was difficult to tell who was shooting at who.

  “Dean!” Anne screamed as she ran from cover and headed in his direction.

  "Stay back!" he yelled.

  She kept climbing and ducked behind boulders to dodge the whizzing bullets.

  As she crouched behind a boulder, she looked up toward the house and saw one of Marshall’s guards in the window aim his gun again at Dean. Before she could scream she saw another man come up from behind. The guard slumped down on the floor a second later. The other man poked a large gun through the broken window and took aim.

  Chapter 28

  Tiny briefly glanced at the lifeless guard. He had snapped his neck like it was a tooth pick. He didn't have time to think about his victim. He knew his friends were counting on him. He was their only cover. He didn't know how many guards were out there or where they were positioned.

  The last of the daylight was fading as he scanned the area looking for targets. He made out Dean’s position as Anne ran towards him. He shot at a few shadows. They were almost certainly pointless targets but he had to keep the enemy guessing and ducking for cover. Then he heard the engine of Marshall’s boat rev up as it slowly pulled away from shore. Tiny now had his first real target.

  The enemy had to be stopped and he knew only one way to do it. He dropped the magazine from his weapon and loaded a new one from his bag which contained specialized incendiary bullets. He lined up his target quickly and fired in rapid succession. Round after deafening round hit the boat until one found its way to the gas tank, igniting it and the rest of the boat in a fierce ball of fire.

  A short smirk shone on his face as he saw a fireball escape from the hull. He dropped the magazine and replaced it with conventional ammunition. Slowly, he scanned the area again for any sign of additional guards. The light from the burning boat flickered and lit the shoreline. He searched the area for both friend and foe as he listened to his radio for any information from Dean or Keith.

  He finally saw Keith race to Dean’s position. Keith must have seen Dean get hit. “Well, I’ll be damned, I didn’t think you could move that quick with one foot.” Tiny mumbled to himself. He saw Keith jump over the boulder and crouch near Dean and Anne. His heart jumped when he saw Anne reach for Dean’s AR-15. She stopped shortly after apparently realizing they were on the same side.

  “Great,
Dean’s got himself a trigger-happy girl,” Tiny grumbled to no one in particular. He continued to scan the area for guards. The flickering light from the burning boat made everything appear to move. Sweat began to bead on his brow as he strained to look for danger. He was in his element as the designated marksman and was tense but steady. Ever watchful, he was ready to destroy anything that dare harm his brothers in arms. He scarcely breathed as he swept the area through the scope of his Barrett M82A1.

  Tiny looked for any signs of stray civilians. The foot paths were clear and the only nearby building, a brick garage, looked empty. Tiny paused as his sweep brought him back to where the rest of his team was. Keith was working on Dean’s shoulder. He worried about how bad Dean might be hurt. Tiny watched as Anne got closer to him. She held his hand and looked into his eyes.

  “Oh Dean, I sure hope your taste in women has improved.”

  He had his reservations about Dean’s last romantic encounter right before it had ended in an epic disaster. That one required a court martial to sort out.

  Tiny cursed himself for letting the distraction get the better of him as he heard a fresh shot ring out. Before he could make out the shooters location, Anne had already grabbed Dean’s AR-15 and returned fire. The shooter ducked behind a boulder before he could line up a shot. Then he heard Anne yell out loud, “Shit! I am out of ammo!”

  As Tiny began to mentally scold her for needlessly letting the enemy know her weakness, he noticed she wasn’t ducking. She held her aim where the shooter had been before. A second later the guard went for the kill. Instead of trying to reload her rifle, she began firing. Tiny had the shooter lined up and fired at the same time as Anne. Both Anne and Tiny hit the guard, killing him instantly. Apparently her ruse had worked.

  “Nice one, Hollywood.” Tiny said out loud. He suddenly had second thoughts about Anne. “Hmmm… this one may have some potential after all.”

  Some movement to the north caught his eye and he took aim at the garage. He was about to fire when he noticed the lights had gone on in several of the houses. Tiny waited. He needed to be sure he wasn’t about to fire on any bystanders who may have gotten in the way.

  It wasn’t the first time he had to worry about civilian casualties. He wanted a better look at the area before engaging. The building they were behind was in a good spot to ambush Anne, Dean and Keith. He fumbled for his night vision goggles. As he swung them up to his face he felt the slushing of water inside. No! The cheap civilian-grade night vision goggles he brought had leaked and failed. In frustration, he whipped them at the wall. They splintered into a thousand pieces like they had been shot out of a cannon.

  Then he saw the flash of gunfire coming from behind the building. Ah, those ARE bad guys. He lit up the area with devastating fire from his .50 caliber rifle. Moments later, he saw two figures flee north. One was clutching his shoulder.

  “Tiny, what’s the status?” Keith asked through his radio.

  “The boat is completely engulfed in flames. I didn’t see anyone jumping overboard. I saw two guards fleeing north. I think I wounded one of them, but I don't see anything else at the moment. Looks like we’re clear. I’ll do another sweep, but be advised, I am night blind.”

  “Dean’s been hit. Looks like we are on Plan B for evac. We have to get to a boat.”

  “It’s not that bad!” Tiny heard Dean growl in the background.

  “Nearest hospital is on the mainland. I know where we can get a boat. Get to the dock we saw on the way in. I have a friend with a boat there. Look for the Neptune's Belle. It'll have fuel and a key stashed on board,” Tiny told him through the radio.

  “Roger that, Tiny. I’ll get a spot near there and cover you. Meet us there.” Keith ordered.

  Several loose shots rang out from the remaining guards. They tested the area, looking for other possible attackers beyond Dean’s position. It wouldn’t be long before they would try to attack. A guard tried to take out Tiny’s position but was obliterated as a round from Tiny’s rifle blew a chunk of rock into his head.

  Tiny watched as Keith left Dean and Anne. He moved through the area, methodically looking for danger. Eventually, Keith got to an obvious cover spot. As he got the okay over the radio, Tiny headed out of the house and worked his way to the garage where his friend’s boat was stored. As he ducked out of the window more and more bullets were landing near his position. He was ducking out just in time.

  Chapter 29

  “Are you going to be okay walking?” Anne whispered as she squeezed Dean’s hand.

  “I could walk to California if I had to,” he told her with a smile as he gritted his teeth when he stood up. They had both watched as Keith disappeared into the darkness, working his way to cover Tiny. Dean listened closely on the radio for Keith’s okay to make the run for it. Like Tiny, he too had equipment issues. His radio was loud with static.

  Anne's nerves were frayed as she tried to keep an eye out for danger while she made sure Dean didn't bleed to death. It felt like something terrible might happen at any second. Her heart raced, and she felt weak as she began to shake again mildly. Dean reached out and touched her cheek lightly as he moved her head to face him as he gently kissed her. For a moment her heart rate slowed a bit and her body calmed as she stopped shaking.

  “Anne, it's okay. You're doing great. We're going to be fine,” he assured her.

  Anne lost the only source of energy she had once the boat caught fire. Whatever she was able to soak in would have to be enough to get to the boat. She worried it might not be. Still, Dean’s presence seemed to give her a different kind of strength. As long as she was with him she knew they’d be okay. Anne looked back at Dean and wondered why he would risk everything like this for her. She couldn’t understand why anyone would care so much for her but she knew he did.

  Dean caught Anne's attention when he motioned towards a man hauling a boat out of a shed. It was a surreal sight watching a one hundred and sixty-pound man pick up a two-thousand pound boat.

  So there are others like us.

  As he dropped it into the water, Dean tried his radio again.

  “Damn, no radio. Anne, Tiny looks ready. I can’t confirm anything on the radio. I think we should run for it.” She nodded and followed close behind. With his good hand occupied with keeping steady pressure on his wound, he needed her to hold on to his gun.

  They jumped in the boat with Tiny and soon saw another man come out from the rocks. He raised his hand up, down, and then to the left.

  “It’s Keith,” Dean whispered as Tiny got in the boat and started the motor. The second he jumped in, Tiny gunned it as they sped for shore. Occasional small arms fire hounded them as they fled. The ever increasing darkness made it difficult for the guards to target them.

  Anne felt a small but steady flow of energy from the small boat’s outboard motor. The relief came not a moment too soon for her. Keith kept a watchful eye on the shore and on the now-dwindling flames from Foss’s boat. Tiny focused on navigating the boat to the mainland.

  Dean held Anne and whispered into her ear, “We’re all right, Anne. You’re free and we’ll be back on dry land in fifteen minutes.” She steadied herself against the waves and movement of the speeding boat all the while carefully holding a dressing to Dean’s wound. They spent most of the trip silently looking into each other’s eyes. Both were so relieved just to know the other was alive.

  *

  The shore was pitch black when they landed. Tiny guided the boat to the dock and Keith helped him secure the rope.

  Even with his bullet wound, Dean never even flinched as the waves beat the small boat towards the shore. Keith helped him out of the boat and Anne was instantly next to him as they walked towards the parking lot.

  Tiny insisted on going with them to help show them the way to the hospital. As they neared the lot, red and yellow lights bounced off the night sky.

  “Wonder what that’s about,” Keith muttered as they realized the
re was an ambulance and tow truck in the lot.

  “Probably some drunk kids causing some trouble. Happens a lot this time of year especially with those who come in from out of town,” Tiny chimed in as they reached the lot. “I wouldn’t worry about it. Let’s just focus on getting Romeo to the hospital. My truck’s not too far away.”

  “No offense, Tiny, but we’ll just follow you,” Keith said with a smirk. “I drove with you once during a mission and that was enough for me.”

  “Hey, we got back in one piece, didn’t we?” He laughed as they walked towards Tiny’s truck.

  “Keith, do you remember where we parked?” Dean asked as he scanned the area, not seeing Hawk anywhere.

  “We were right by the door to the marina.” Keith looked at the spot but saw the car missing.

  “Whose car did you take?” Anne asked as she felt the energy from the vehicles around her. None were familiar to her.

  Keith kept glancing around trying to find Hawk. “We took yours, but I don’t see…”

  “Oh, shit…” Dean muttered as he saw the tow truck pulling out from the water a dark sports car.

  Anne followed his gaze and felt her heart begin to race. Grabbing on to Tiny’s jeep, her energy surrounded it as she whispered, “Hawk?”

  Suddenly, images came flashing towards her mind. Dean and Keith parking Hawk in the lot. Hawk waiting as darkness fell. A front loader coming into the lot and barreling down on him. Hawk accelerating as much as he could while the giant yellow machine just kept pushing him closer towards the edge of the marina. Hawk pushed back, but the front loader ultimately had more weight and thrust him right off the lot and into the bank of the marina. His lights flashed and horn blew but soon he was encased by the water and no sound emerged from him.