by Tess Oliver
I raced to my car, threw the backpack behind the seat and climbed inside. Traffic was still light with only a few early commuters hitting the highway to work. I would stay close enough without causing the driver to do anything stupid. He had precious cargo in the back, and she was, no doubt, being flung around as it was.
The unwieldy van teetered from side to side as it barreled along at eighty miles per hour. My Camaro kept easy pace with it. We were headed in the direction of the compound, which was not surprising. It was Dreygon’s personal fortress and probably the one place left where he felt he still had complete control.
I was still in shock over what he’d done to Jericho. It was clearer than ever that Dreygon was losing control of his main people, and the betrayal was making him boil with fury. For a long time I’d felt secure in the notion that he’d never hurt his own granddaughter, the only living flesh and blood family member he had left, but that security was gone. Angel was in danger. Gunner’s little kidnapping charade was like child’s play compared to her being Dreygon’s captive. It was hard to figure why he was so obsessed with her. He was angry and didn’t seem to care about Angel, and yet, he’d gone to risky lengths, even showing up at my house, to get her back.
Streams of dirt shot out from the van tires as it sped up to pass an old truck that was weighted down with what looked like some trash digger’s haul from a garbage dump. The van nosed back into the right lane just missing an oncoming vehicle. Another car was in the oncoming lane, and I squeezed the steering wheel with frustration. The van was getting away, and I remained stuck behind the slow-moving vehicle. Once the oncoming traffic had cleared, my foot slammed the gas and I raced around the truck. The driver, an elderly woman with a big straw hat, stared straight ahead, seemingly oblivious or not caring that she was traveling ridiculously slow for the highway traffic. I had the car advantage, and in minutes, I’d caught back up to the van. It was moving at a much higher speed now, and I gritted my teeth in nervous tension.
The landscape and mountain range were beginning to look familiar. We were nearing the turn-off to the compound. I had no idea what I was going to do once I reached the compound, but I’d think of something. There was no way I’d leave this place without Angel.
My phone rang and I pressed the blue tooth on my dash. “Seth? How is he?”
“The ambulance is here. They are taking his vitals right now. I don’t know his name.”
“His first name is Jericho, but I’m not sure about his last name. Maybe he’s got a wallet.”
“I checked his pockets. There’s nothing.” There were several other voices coming through the speaker. “The police are here. They took the gun you gave me.”
“That’s fine. I’ll get it back.”
“Luke, what should I tell them? They are asking tons of questions. That wound in Jericho’s leg is a bullet.”
“Shit,” I muttered, “he didn’t deserve that. Tell them the truth, Seth. We’ve got nothing to hide. Let them know who I am and that I’m in pursuit of a kidnapping victim and that we’re heading to Dreygon Sharpe’s compound.” This might have been the opportunity to nail Dreygon with something that might stick. No one would be safe until he was behind bars.
The van turned off into a cloud of desert dust. “I’ve got to go, Seth. Are they taking him to the hospital?”
“Yeah, I’ll travel in the ambulance. Not that I have any other choice.”
“See you soon.” While I had the horsepower and aerodynamic advantage on the asphalt, my low chassis car was not ideal for unpaved desert. One good ditch and I could strand myself. The dust made visibility limited, and more than once my tires spun without gaining traction.
Keeping up with the van, in my not built for off-road Camaro, was harder than I’d anticipated. With Dreygon as the van’s navigator, a navigator who’d traveled this terrain thousands of time, they had the advantage. I knew the path well enough to anticipate a climb in elevation. Slabs of granite, the rocky feet of the mountains behind Angel’s Ridge, would pop up at any time. With visibility no better than a road shrouded in thick fog, it took all my attention to keep from sticking the front end of my car into a pile of rocks.
Sagebrush and the thin, sharp branches of the spindly trees dug into the car’s paint job like a thousand razor sharp fingernails. Then the stark cement walls of the compound loomed in the distance like the outer barrier of a prison or military complex. The man hadn’t just gone crazy. He’d been insane for years. No one in their right mind would build such a place unless they were wracked with paranoia that everyone was out to get them. And it seemed there were more secrets inside his inhospitable homestead that few knew about. Whatever these dark truths were, somehow, Angel was in the center of it all.
Up ahead, I could see the massive black gates swing open. No doubt, Max was at the switch just waiting for the van to come over the horizon. I was so focused on the gates that I missed seeing a sharp ditch. My front tire jammed down hard, and the front bumper of the Camaro creaked and groaned as if it had folded in on itself. I threw the car in reverse and slammed down the pedal. The tires spun and spit out a shower of sand and gravel. The center of the car scraped along the desert floor as it shot backward. I looked up ahead. The van was just reaching the gates.
I drove sharply to the left to avoid the ditch again and raced toward the compound. I hit a slope and my car went slightly airborne. My head smacked the ceiling as I flew off the seat. I landed with a thud. The van sped inside, and the black gates made their slow journey back to shutting themselves tightly against the outside world. . . and me.
I put the car in park and fished around for the tire iron I kept below the seat. I grabbed hold of it and jumped out of the car. The gate had just inches to travel before it snapped shut. I raced toward it and reached the wrought iron just before the final few inches had closed. I shoved the tire iron between the two sides. The gate shrieked in protest as it clamped down on the tool. The ear-splitting sound of metal crushing metal shattered the still desert air.
“What the fuck?” Max’s bulgy eyes peered around the corner from where the control panel was hidden. His mouth dropped open when he saw me. The gate continued its now thwarted attempt to shut. Sparks flew from the hinges, and the bitter smell of burning wire wafted down from the gears at the top. The gate gave one last valiant try to close and then gave up. It hung there limply on its shorted out hinges.
I pushed inside and saluted Max like I had on the day that Angel had first walked me inside the compound. She’d saved my life that day. Now I was back to save hers, as she’d always imagined I would.
The van pulled into Dreygon’s giant garage. I raced toward it. Everyone else seemed to still be fast asleep. It was hard to know who else was living at the compound. There were several bikes parked at the front of the garage that I’d never seen before.
I slid up the passenger’s side of the van and reached Dreygon before he heard me approach.
“Fucking—” he snarled as I pushed my gun into his temple. “Put your hands on the dash where I can see them. You too,” I said to the driver. “Otherwise, I kill Dreygon.”
“You’d be in big trouble,” said the guy behind the wheel. I’d nailed him with my fist more than once, but hell if I knew his name or gave a damn.
“You think? Tell you what, why don’t I go ahead and shoot him. Then you can tell your story to the police and I’ll tell them mine and we’ll see who gets the raw end of the stick.” I reached with my free hand to the sliding door and kept the gun trained on Dreygon. Angel’s face was flushed and her eyes were glossy with fever as she fell against me. I wrapped my free arm around her. This time someone was going to have to cut it off to take her from me.
A noise sounded near the entrance of the garage. Max stood there with a gun pointed at us. His hands shook, and his eyes popped wide from his skinny face. A nervous trigger finger was never good.
“If you want to live, Dreygon, tell Max to put down his gun.”
Dreyg
on’s jaw twitched in anger. I pushed the gun harder against his head. “You ordered my execution as easily as if you were ordering a fucking ice cream cone.” My teeth gritted down over my words. “I will shoot you just as easily.”
“Max,” Dreygon called through the window, “put the gun down.” Max was still used to following his orders. He leaned down and placed it on the ground.
“Get over here, Max,” I said.
The look on his face made it seem as if he wanted to rethink entering into the fray. He came near and seemed confused by Angel’s weakened state. The layer of Jericho’s blood on her clothing made it that much more alarming.
“Get in,” I said.
He hesitated but only for a second. Heat flowed off of Dreygon in waves. For once, I had the upper hand on the bastard, and it felt good. We were on his turf, but he’d lost control of things.
“I’m taking her out of here. You know that I can take the nose off your face from a hundred yards, so if you want to save your ass then this passenger door stays shut.” I leaned closer. “If I so much as see one inch of you pass this window opening, I’m taking you out.”
Angel held tightly to me as we backed out of the garage. I released her just long enough to slide the garage door shut and snap the padlock closed. As I reached for her, she collapsed. I swept her up into my arms. I ran with her to the gate and slid out. I lowered her into the passenger seat of my car. She curled into a ball in the front seat as I climbed into the driver’s side.
“Where’s Jericho?” she asked without lifting her head from the seat.
“He’s heading to the hospital. We’re going there right now.”
I took the path back to the road with more caution. The last thing we needed was for the car to get stuck permanently in a ditch. I looked over at Angel. Her face and lips were the color of snow. My chest clamped down around my heart. She’d tried so hard to free herself from Dreygon’s clutches, and all of it had gone wrong. But she was with me now, and I would destroy anyone who tried to take her away.
Her lashes fluttered open and she stared at me with those amazing teal-blue eyes. “Am I dreaming this?” Her soft words were nearly drowned out by the shrubs clawing at the car.
“No, Baby, you’re not.”
“Good,” she said softly, and her eyes drifted shut.
Chapter 13
Angel
Finally feeling safe, I slept solidly while Luke drove us to the hospital. As the car pulled into the parking lot, it tossed me awake. I opened my eyes. I quickly closed them and opened them once more. He was still there, looking like the darkest and richest confection in a box of sweets. I still had to convince myself that I wasn’t in the middle of some fever induced hallucination. I reached over and touched his arm. He smiled down at my fingers.
“Just wanted to make sure you didn’t disappear now that I’m awake.” I felt as weak as a newborn kitten and sicker than I’d ever felt before, but I needed to know. “What happened? When Cash took you out, what happened?”
“We got to the river, and he let me go.”
“That makes sense. When he’d volunteered, my entire opinion of him had been ripped to shreds. I’m so glad I turned out to be wrong.” I scooted up and cracked my neck from side to side. Every part of me ached. “Why didn’t he tell me though? I was in such agony—” my voice broke, and tears streamed down my face. I didn’t have the strength to stop them.
“He didn’t want to put you in danger.” Luke parked the car and turned to face me. He wiped away a stream of tears with his thumb and instantly everything about his touch felt familiar. I’d longed for that touch for days, and a black hole had formed in my heart thinking that I’d never feel it again. The tears streamed faster and a sob broke free. “I thought you were dead, Luke. I thought I’d lost you forever.”
“Just can’t get rid of me that easy, I guess.” He leaned over and kissed me lightly. My lips were dry and cracked, but they felt better the second his mouth brushed mine. “Let’s get you inside.” He came around and lifted me into his arms. I closed my eyes and relaxed my head against his strong, hard shoulder. I was safe again. In his arms, I felt incredibly secure. I never wanted to lose that feeling again.
I opened my eyes and peered down at the blood stains on my clothes. “Can we see Jericho first?”
“There’s an ambulance in the emergency dock. Something tells me they just brought him in. Seth is in there with him.”
“Seth? Your brother is here?”
“Yep, he came along to help rescue you.”
I snuggled against his shirt, taking comfort in his familiar scent. “I like him already.”
The glass doors opened, and it seemed everyone in the room looked up as Luke carried me inside. I looked worse off than I was. He lowered me to a seat near the reception window. I had to convince myself to let go of him. Suddenly, I had the need to hold onto him and never stop.
“She’s got a high fever and needs to see a doctor.”
The nurse pursed her lips and looked through the glass as if she could measure my temperature just by looking at me. “It’ll be a few minutes and then the triage nurse will assess her condition. We just had a gunshot wound come in.”
I sat up straight in the chair. “Is he all right?”
The nurse looked puzzled by my interest.
“We’re friends,” Luke said. “My brother was the man who walked in with him.”
“They just rolled him into a room,” a deep voice that sounded remarkably similar to Luke’s came from behind.
Luke’s brother was just as handsome but lighter in coloring. Even with blood stains smeared across his shirt, he had an easy going air about him. He gazed down at me and a smile spread across his face. “Thank God he found you. Otherwise, I was never going to hear the end of it.”
“Thank you for taking care of Jericho.” I’d had no medical treatment yet, but I already felt stronger. Having Luke near had done that. He was my magical elixir for all that ailed me.
The woman took my information and shooed us from the reception area. “There’s a waiting room over there. The nurse will call you when she’s ready.”
Luke gave me his hand and helped me to my feet. The three of us walked into the waiting room and sat down. “Did the bullet hit any major arteries?” I asked.
“I think it mostly hit muscle, but he lost a lot of blood.” Seth glanced over at Luke as if he wanted permission to go on.
Luke nodded. “It’s all right.”
“He was pretty beaten up. Lots of bruising.”
“My grandfather has lost his mind completely.”
Luke took hold of my hand.
“Do you think there’s any chance he’ll leave me alone now?” I asked.
“Not sure. I can’t tell what his motives are when it comes to you.”
I thought back to the bizarre conversation I’d had with Gunner on the bus. “I asked Gunner that when he found me. He rambled on about blackmail and evidence. None of it made sense, but something tells me we haven’t seen the last of Dreygon.” I thought about what he’d done to Jericho, and in my fevered haze, I’d heard him bring up Cash. “Do you think Cash is in danger?” I asked.
He didn’t respond at first. “He’s in hiding but that doesn’t mean he’s safe. No one is safe until your grandfather is locked up.”
***
After two intravenous bags of fluids, something for the fever, and a shot of antibiotics, I felt a hundred percent better. I was still shaky from lack of food. The sandwich the kind nurse had brought me contained wilted lettuce and rubbery ham, but to my starved palette it was delicious.
I’d gotten cleaned up and changed out of the blood stained clothes. Now I waited for my discharge papers. Luke had barely left my side as if he didn’t trust anyone around me, not even the medical staff. We’d been through so much together in such a short time and there always seemed to be something horrid and dangerous hanging over our heads. Most of that was due to the gray-haired tyrant of A
ngel’s Ridge. How quickly I’d grown to hate the man who’d raised me, but he’d been an entirely different person back then. Power, or the perceived loss of it, seemed to have gone to his head, and now he was willing to hurt anyone in his path. I knew he still had enough dangerous, even slightly psychotic, people behind him that Cash was in a lot of danger . . . and Jericho. And I feared for Gunner’s safety as well. I just couldn’t figure out why I’d joined his list of enemies. I knew growing up that rival clubs were a threat to me, but there seemed to be something much deeper than that now. All of it was baffling.
Luke poked his head in. I couldn’t help breaking into a smile every time I saw him.
“Jericho is fully awake now. He’s in some pain. The doctor thinks that other than a slight limp, he’ll recover completely.”
He walked over and took my hand. I slid down off the bed. “Is he bummed about the limp?”
“No, he thinks it’ll get him sympathy with the ladies.”
“Yeah, because he needs that.”
“Seth is on his way back to pick us up, but we have time to stop in and see Jericho.”
“Great.” I moved to leave, but Luke’s fingers tightened on my hand and he pushed the door to the room shut.
He pulled me against him, but he didn’t kiss me. He wrapped his arms tightly around me and held me. “You can see Jericho in a minute. I just need to absorb all this. I need to feel how real you are and that we’re standing here together, no longer stuck inside the compound, no longer under Dreygon’s control. I just need to feel you in my arms while this all sinks in.”
I buried my face in his shirt. “I knew I wasn’t imagining it. I knew you were my prince come to take me away from my stone tower. You were my battered and bloodied prince, but you were my prince, nonetheless.”
After a few minutes of holding me snugly against him, he relaxed his arms. “Now we just have to find a way to slay the Dreygon.”
I smiled up at him. “Well, that was clever.”
“I thought so.” He took my hand and led me out of the room and down the hall to the elevator. “Jericho is on the fourth floor. While I’m certain Dreygon isn’t careless enough to show up here, I’ve arranged to have a guard stationed outside his room. It’s usual protocol for gunshot victims anyway.”