In Walked Trouble (Under Covers)

by Christina Elle

  Like animals in the wild, glowing, beady eyes reflected back, blinking. Shadows of bodies curled away as if the light might burn them.

  What the fuck was going on here?

  People. There were human beings lined against the wall, their hair hanging in tangled strings, their faces grimy and bruised, their eyes not bothering to disguise the blatant fear they most certainly must be feeling.

  Luke found the terrified expression of a twentysomething blonde woman. As he approached, she cowered from him, making herself so small as if to disappear.

  Shackles. Her hands were bound in wide, metal restraints, much sturdier than handcuffs, secured to the wall with large chains. These people were in a disgusting, unlit basement, chained to the wall like animals. Something hard and fast cut through his gut, nearly knocking the wind out of him.

  Luke lowered his weapon, so she wouldn’t feel threatened. “How long have you been here?”

  She swallowed, her helpless look making his heart squeeze.

  “You can trust me,” he said. “We’re DEA agents. We’re here to help.”

  “Luke?” a female voice said. “Is that you?”

  The sound of that particular voice did things to him he couldn’t rationalize. It used to make him come alive under his skin and make his heart beat double time. Now? That same voice in this situation made rage ignite inside of him, causing flames to nearly fly out of his mouth and burn this entire joint down.

  Jesus Christ. If she was here…

  He let go of his rifle, letting it tug at his neck and shoulder, dangling against his chest, and frantically searched for her. “Cassandra? Where are you?”

  “Here,” she called out from his side.

  Dropping to his knees, he reached into the black abyss for her. He knew the moment he touched her. Electricity flowed like a live wire up his arms, making him yank her to him and hold her in an unbreakable embrace. He lifted the night vision goggles, and pulled her face to his for a relieved kiss.

  He didn’t give a shit if they were done. She could hate him tomorrow. She was in danger and he was here.

  “Luke,” she said in a strained voice that threatened to tear him apart. “Oh my God, Luke.”

  “How the hell—? What the fu—? What happened? How are you here?”

  “Ronan,” she said by way of explanation.

  “I’m gonna kill him.” Luke pulled back, lowering the goggles to examine her face the best he could through the hazy green glow. No bruises that he could tell. “Are you hurt?”

  She shook her head. “I’m fine.”

  Luke scanned her from head to toe, taking in the sight of the same clothes she’d been wearing when he’d left her condo however many hours ago. Her arms dangled above her head, her wrists limp against the restraints. He wanted to rip the goddamn things from the wall. Carry her out of here. Never look back.

  A hand landed on his shoulder, then a second on his other side. Tyke and Ash, reminding him they had a room full of other captives who needed saving, too.

  He gave Cass another kiss, a promise. “You’re safe now,” he whispered. “We’re going to get you out of here.”

  She whimpered, which damn near ripped his heart out. “I know.”

  With effort, Luke stood and lifted his rifle off his chest. He approached the blonde woman, who appeared worse than the rest. Her probably once pale skin was smudged with gray, her white T-shirt was stained, and her hair was matted against her skull.

  “Do you know how long you’ve been here?” he asked her.

  “I…” she tried. Had to clear her throat. Then, “I don’t know. It feels like forever.”

  “Well,” Ash cut in. “We’re going to get you out.” He dipped his chin to Tyke, signaling for him to search the rest of the area. Ash approached the group of what looked like fifteen people. Their hands lifted over their heads, shackled. Luke looked again where Cass had been propped against the wall and clenched his fists.

  Dirty, fucking, no good, cock sucking… Forget Serrano. Ronan just escalated himself to public enemy numero uno on Luke’s I’m going to royally fuck you up list.

  Congrats, kid. I’m coming for you.

  “Who put you all here?” Ash asked.

  “We don’t know,” another voice answered. Luke turned, spotting a male in his thirties. “None of us remember coming here. We woke up like this.”

  “Does anyone come down here?”

  “Yeah,” the guy said. “Usually two or three of them. They snatch one of us, then leave.”

  “What do they do when they take you?”

  “We don’t know,” the blonde said, her voice breaking. “Once they’re taken, they don’t come back.” Tears glowed in a stream down her face. “You have to help us. Please. Do something.”

  “Do you know what they look like?” Luke asked.

  “They wear dark clothing and masks,” another voice said.

  The team knew drug testing was being done. The gang was doing it to make sure their drugs were effective and powerful. They didn’t want anyone being initiated into the brotherhood unless they were truly worthy. But to see living people; people whose families probably had no idea they were here, was an entirely different thing. It elicited a different emotion. One that put the team on edge.

  “In route,” Tyke said over the COMs, then footsteps approached from their backs. “No one else is down here. Just a bunch of empty rooms. Kinda creepy, actually. They look like stone tombs.”

  “Or antiquated jails,” Reese chimed in. “History suggests the building was used in the 1800s to lock away the criminally insane.”

  The gravity of Reese’s statement caused the air to shift in the room. As if the filthy conditions weren’t enough, the knowledge that long ago this area had been used for more ominous purposes was reason enough to get these people out.

  Luke cut a look to Ash.

  Ash nodded. Time to act.

  Luke approached Cass, but she shook her head. “Them first. They’re worse off.” He paused, his emotions warring inside him. His natural inclination was to save his girl. Bust down walls, slay the dragon, and get her out of there. But she was right. The others needed his help.

  Approaching the blonde, Luke tugged on the heavy chains bounding her to the wall. “There a key around here somewhere? What happens when they come down to get one of you? How do they unlock these?”

  “They have the key,” she rushed to say. “Oh my God. They have the key. You’re not going to be able to save us!” Her voice bordered hysterics, causing the rest of the confined group to shift, the sounds of their bodies growing more agitated. Rumbles of defeat and helplessness echoed off the walls.

  “Calm down,” Ash said. “We will get you out. All of you.” He pulled a pair of bolt cutters from his utility pack. Gripping it in his hands, he eyed the metal, placed the mouth of the cutters around it, and squeezed them closed. Open and closed. And again.

  Barely made a dent in the thick iron.

  “Damn it,” Ash muttered.

  The blonde’s body shook, her face contorting. “We’re stuck here! We’ll never get out!”

  “Shh,” Luke said, placing a hand over her mouth.

  Her eyes went wide, tears still dropping down her cheeks.

  “We’ll get you out,” he said. “Don’t doubt that.”

  Ash flicked his chin away from the group, prompting the team to follow him to the other side of the room.

  They pulled back, talking in low voices.

  “The way I see it,” Ash started, “we don’t have many options. No telling when whoever put them here comes back. We either blow the chains and our location. Or we leave them here until we can figure out another way.”

  Already knowing their team leader’s propensity for not leaving anyone behind, Luke said, “We’re gonna have to be quick. There are fifteen people. So we shoot three at a time, then move onto the next three.”

  “Agreed,” Reese said over the COMs, most likely already doing the calculation in hi
s computer brain. “Five groups, at three people a group, taking three succinct total shots every twelve seconds. That will give us an estimated three and a half minutes to get everyone up the stairs and out the door.”

  “No exits down here?” Ash asked.

  “Negative,” Tyke said.

  Ash’s lips squeezed together, then he lifted his rifle. “All right. Let’s do this. I’m not leaving these people here to suffer.”

  The men outlined the gist of their plan to the chained group.

  “What if you miss?” the blonde asked, choking on a sob.

  Honestly, if whoever was holding them down here showed up, then getting shot would be merciful compared to what the bad guys probably had in store. But Luke certainly wasn’t going to say that. Not only was it insensitive, but it didn’t matter. The team wasn’t going to mess this up.

  “We don’t miss,” Tyke said, standing in front of a brown-haired man.

  The continued to suck in air like she was having an asthma attack, but she did nod.

  Luke stood in front of her. “You’re going to be okay. I promise.”

  She glanced up at him. “You mean it?”

  “I never make a promise I can’t keep. What’s your name?”

  “Nicole.”

  “Nice to meet you, Nicole. I’m Luke.”

  The team asked the group to stand against the wall and twist their bodies away in order to allow the men to get their shots off, and then move onto their next target expeditiously. The grimness of the situation didn’t escape any of them. It was like a firing squad readying itself for an execution.

  “This might hurt for a second, okay?” Luke said as delicately as he could. “But you won’t get seriously hurt.”

  Nicole’s eyes widened. “What do you mean?”

  “You’ll probably have injuries to your hands, wrists, and forearms from the shrapnel.”

  Her lips twisted and her breath hitched.

  “Nicole,” he said. “Look at me.” When she did, he said, “Focus on getting out of here. That’s what I want you to think about. Are you from Baltimore? You have family here?”

  She shook her head. “Just going to school here. My roommate must be worried about me.”

  “Think about that. Think about your roommate and how you’re going to see her soon.”

  She gave a weak, shaky nod.

  “At the ready,” Ash said.

  Luke stole a glance to the third set of people, where Cassandra waited, and his fury shot up another notch. He was going to make Ronan pay for this.

  Luke pulled his handgun out of his thigh holster and peered into the chamber to make sure a bullet was racked. They couldn’t pull off this shot with their rifles. Shrapnel would be a lot worse. At least with his handgun, she’d still get hurt, but not as badly.

  He raised the weapon slightly higher than his forehead and focused on nothing but the metal restraints around Nicole’s wrists. “Can you pull your hands farther apart for me?”

  The metal clanged. “It hurts,” she cried.

  “I know. It’s only for a second. You can do this, Nicole. I know you can.”

  She winced as space expanded, which gave him more room to fire his weapon and minimize damage to her skin.

  “Ready?” Ash asked. “We go on one.”

  “Copy,” each team member said in turn.

  “Three…”

  “Oh, God,” Nicole said, her body shrinking in anticipation.

  “Two…”

  She curled her shoulder away, which moved the location of her hands slightly.

  “Hold still,” Luke commanded in a low, but firm voice, not taking his eyes from his lit target.

  “One.”

  BOOM.

  Three shots fired at once, the sound loud enough to crack the sturdy stone walls. The collective flash ignited the room in a bright spark of yellow. Then darkness.

  The shadow of three bodies dropped to the ground, hunched over, clutching their wrists. The team shuffled to the next group. They’d have time to assess wounds once everyone was freed and out of harm’s way.

  Three.

  Two.

  One.

  BOOM.

  Bodies dropped and, as they’d been instructed, rushed to join the first set on the other side of the room.

  Like a well-oiled machine, the team shuffled to the third set.

  Three.

  Two.

  Light from the main level cast a glow down the stairs. Then rapid footsteps and shouts descended.

  Shit.

  Overhead lights flicked on. Luke squeezed his eyes closed, flipping the night vision goggles from his eyes. He shouted in the direction where Nicole and the rest of the freed captives were. “Go! Over there!” He waved his warm wildly at the catacombs Tyke had explored earlier. His eyes adjusted as Nicole scrambled to pull a man up from the ground, throwing his arm around her shoulders and helping him to escape direct fire.

  Luke dropped to a knee with his handgun pointed at the stairs, attempting to block the remaining prisoners. Ash and Tyke mimicked his move, taking a knee and pointing their weapons at the staircase.

  The other side shot first.

  Seven men shouted in Spanish and fired large, semiautomatic weapons. Each man landed on the bottom step and sidestepped to let the next person down. Bullets soared into the area around the team. Chips of stone exploded from the surrounding walls, leaving shards of white dust floating about.

  Screams of terror pierced the room. Footsteps pounded the floor.

  Luke eyed one of the men through his handgun sights and pulled the trigger. He hit center mass, making the guy’s body jolt back from the bullet’s impact. The man’s lips curled in disdain and he moved his aim to Luke. Before the other man could shoot, Luke pulled the trigger a second time, then a third, placing two more bullets in the man’s chest. Blood gurgled from his mouth. His weapon dropped to the ground as the man fell to his knees, then tipped forward, slamming facedown onto the ground.

  Ash took out two on the left. Tyke took out the two to the right.

  “Two more,” Luke said over the COMs. “Anybody see them?”

  Tyke answered. “To your left. Move!”

  The pair aimed the semiautomatics at the team.

  Luke dove and slammed his back against a crumbling wall of stacked stone. He holstered his handgun and quickly brought his rifle up.

  Peering through his optic, he inched around the side of the wall toward where the other two men had been. One ran toward the captive men and women.

  “No!” Luke yelled. He pointed his gun at the running man’s chest, lining up his shot with his red laser.

  A bullet whizzed past and landed in the wall across from Luke. He spun around, taking cover.

  Damn it.

  Quickly peering around the corner, he watched the man unlock shackles of prisoners, before another bullet flew past him.

  Taking cover, Luke leveled his breathing, attempting to sort out the situation.

  “Her!” he heard someone shout. “He wants her!”

  Her.

  No.

  It could’ve been anyone. They could’ve been referring to any number of women in the group Luke and his teammates were trying to save.

  But he knew it wasn’t.

  Sickness invaded Luke’s stomach. Not the nauseous, I’m going to throw up kind. No, it was the something life changing is about to happen and you’re too weak to stop it. The kind that told him he’d be a target for Serrano by putting his name on that report. The kind that told him exactly what he’d find behind that bathroom door when his mom said she was taking a bath all those years ago.

  He hadn’t listened to the voice then, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to listen to it now.

  Luke rotated from behind the wall, watching in stunned silence as the black-haired man dragged Cass with a firm grip around her arm and a fist in her brunette hair. She kicked her legs, but it did nothing to stop their progress as he pulled her across the filthy floor
toward the stairs.

  Luke stepped away from the wall, his attention set on going after Cassandra. Two steps. Three. Then something stopped his forward motion. It was like hitting a wall. But that couldn’t be. He’d stepped away from it. There was nothing in front of him.

  He froze, an explosion of pain erupting in his chest. He looked at Cass, connecting with her distraught gaze. He lifted an arm to her, but she was out of reach. He couldn’t get to her.

  “Come back,” he said.

  Why was it so difficult to pull a breath?

  Then the wall hit him again, jerking him backward. He stumbled a step. Dropped to a knee. More pain in his chest.

  “Calder!” someone called out.

  “Calder’s hit!” someone else shouted.

  Hit? He wasn’t hit.

  Was he?

  Glancing down, he spotted steam coming out of two circles of tattered fabric below his sternum.

  One final look up at Cass, whose eyes expanded and arms reached for him. A silent scream shaped her lips, “No!”

  And that quick, he lost her all over again.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “What the fuck we want her for?” a male voice said.

  Cass was hurled face-first into the back of a car. Her chest smashed into the chilled leather seat, then she tipped sideways and rolled onto the floor. Pain detonated in her shoulder and neck. Reaching to the area, she winced as she tried to sit up.

  “Negotiation,” another voice said.

  A strong hand lifted her to the center of the bench seat, as she was squeezed between two larger bodies. She glanced to her left, spotting the recognizable downward curve of Joaquin’s nose. Then to her other side where Ronan sat.

  The two men exchanged words in Spanish she didn’t catch, but based on the heated tone of the words and the tight pinch of their lips, it wasn’t a pleasant conversation.

  The car sped through the city, flashes of streetlights zipping by. The driver didn’t say anything, just kept his eyes forward on the road. A passenger rode in front, he also didn’t turn. He did, however, have a large, black gun resting across his lap.

  Cass swallowed hard. Where were they taking her? And why?

  She closed her eyes, but that was a mistake. As soon as she did, her mind replayed Luke’s far-off expression. His body shuddering when the bullets hit him.