The scuff of a foot on cement sounded loudly in the room. “Scared, Carrera? Mano-a-mano it is,” Mad Dog said.
A shadow became visible, falling against Liliana’s feet as she sat in the chair. A clatter followed as a clip for an AK hit the floor beside the chair.
Mick rose from the ground, but remained behind the protection of the door. Releasing the clip on the M16, he tossed it close to the chair as well.
“Now this is going to be fun,” Mad Dog said and stepped into Mick’s line of sight. He had no doubt the other man had at least another gun somewhere on his body, but for now, the AK was useless. To further prove it, Mad Dog dropped it to the ground by the chair.
Mick rose and slipped the strap for the rifle over his head. He settled the rifle against the door close to where Caterina stood and removed his satchel. He placed it beside the rifle and pointed to it, hoping she would remember there was a spare clip inside the bag.
With a last glance at her, Mick entered the ammo room and faced Mad Dog as he stood several feet away from Liliana, who was strapped to a chair in the shadows. Despite the lack of light there, Mick could see dark stains on the front of her shirt and the way her head lolled back at an awkward angle.
Fear gripped him, followed by anger.
Killing anger.
“You promised to let her go if I brought you Shaw,” Mick said, fists clenched at his side.
Mad Dog chuckled and shook his head. “So where is Shaw?”
“She’s outside, waiting in the tunnel for the exchange.”
Mad Dog laughed again, louder than before. “Perfect. I’m going to have fun letting you watch what I do to your two ladies.”
Somehow Mick tempered his killing anger, reserving it for when the time was right because he intended to exterminate Mad Dog today. It had been a long time coming, but this vendetta would end this night.
“Bring it on,” Mick said.
CHAPTER 38
Mad Dog copied Mick’s stance, hands held up loosely, feet braced slightly apart. Ready for any attack or defense.
They approached each other, anticipating each other’s movements. Feinting and challenging until Mad Dog finally attacked, shooting out with a drop kick that Mick blocked with his arm.
Mick dropped back, bouncing on the balls of his feet. Waiting for another attack as he played his own version of rope-a-dope, understanding Mad Dog well. Mad Dog thought himself invincible. Never a good trait.
Mad Dog charged him time and time again, unleashing flurries of kicks and punches, which Mick repeatedly blocked, waiting for his moment. His arms and legs ached from Mad Dog’s blows, but the pain was minor compared to how Mad Dog would feel when Mick finally engaged him.
Mick ducked a drop kick, but Mad Dog surprised him by following up with a flying roundhouse kick that caught him across the side of the head. Staggering for a moment, he intentionally let down his guard, inviting Mad Dog closer.
The other man accepted, charging in for the kill.
* * *
Mick had told her to stay put, but Caterina couldn’t keep on listening to the sounds of battle within the room, unaware of whether Mick was winning or losing.
As she neared the door, she stepped on the satchel by her foot and realized why he had left it behind.
She bent, opened the bag, and removed the clip. Forced herself to remember how Mick had loaded the gun and locked the clip home.
As she walked to the door, the white of her hand against the rifle stock shocked her. It was the white of the tunnel walls. Prompted by her fear for Mick, she had gone all camo.
It was what might make a difference in today’s outcome.
Caterina placed the rifle down as she quickly disrobed, even down to removing the Kevlar vest Mick had insisted she don.
Her body had become the same mottled white as the walls. As she entered the room, rifle in hand, neither of the two men registered her entry.
As Cat watched, Mick delivered an uppercut to the other man’s midsection, doubling him over, then following up with another blow that lifted Mad Dog’s body from the ground with its force. Made a sickening crunch as bones broke.
With Mad Dog doubled over, Mick brought his elbow down across the back of the man’s neck.
Mad Dog crumpled to the ground, his body limp at Mick’s feet.
Mick slowly stood upright, bloodied fists clenched at his sides as he glanced down at his opponent. His body heaved as he sucked in breaths heavy from his physical exertions.
Believing the battle concluded, she dropped the rifle, drawing Mick’s attention, although he peered with confusion toward where she stood, obviously not seeing her.
Heavy pounding footsteps sounded as something big lumbered from a far tunnel and then across the room. A large man plowed into Mick, sending him crashing into the opposite wall with a bone-rattling blow.
Mick’s head rebounded against the wall and as he sagged to the ground, a trail of blood marked his fall.
Caterina drew in a shocked breath, drawing the attention of the one man left standing.
Santiago.
She remembered him now from the medical facility. Remembered him fighting with another man the night Wells had been murdered.
Santiago searched out her sound and she reached down and picked up the rifle once again. She shifted quickly toward the shadows, wanting to maintain the element of surprise, since she knew she wasn’t much of a match for the hulking man.
As she did so, Mad Dog stirred, coming to his knees as he shook his head, as if to toss off his dizziness.
Mad Dog snared Santiago’s attention. The big man plodded over and stood there, waiting for Mad Dog to rise.
Once he was upright, Mad Dog stared past the tattooed brute to where Mick sat unconscious against the far wall.
Mad Dog put his hands on his hips and chastised the huge man. “You did good to follow Morales’s instruction and wait. I just hope you didn’t kill him, big guy. That would spoil all the fun.”
Shit, Caterina thought, tightening her grip on the rifle. Hoping she wouldn’t have to use it because…
Santiago surged forward and grabbed Mad Dog around the neck. Snapped it with one swift twist.
Mad Dog fell to the ground, only this time he wouldn’t be getting up. His head rested at an unnatural angle against the floor as his sightless eyes stared toward her.
A moan came from across the room. Mick was beginning to stir.
Santiago noticed immediately.
The big man took a step toward Mick, clearly intending to finish him off, but Caterina couldn’t let that happen.
She pounded the wall with the butt of the rifle, drawing Santiago’s attention away from Mick.
The massive man turned in her direction, immensely muscled arms open wide to draw someone into their deadly embrace. The broad width of his chest provided a huge target. The proverbial side of a barn.
She drew up the rifle and aimed, pulled the trigger.
The first bullet struck Santiago high up on one shoulder, but the unexpected kick of the rifle made the next few shots go wide of that very large expanse of chest.
The bullet did as much damage as a BB might. Santiago lurched in her direction, but Caterina raced deeper into the shadows so she could prepare to shoot again. Her body color changed as she ran, providing her cover, but as she cut across the room, she stepped into something wet and slippery.
Her feet flew out from under her and she landed hard, just a few feet away from the chair holding Liliana.
Santiago rounded the back of the chair and stopped short, searching the area for her.
Caterina held her breath, waiting for him to charge. Trying to figure out what to do next. Hoping she could get the rifle up in time to get off another round.
From across the room came the scuffle of a footstep and a pained breath.
Mick was on his feet, the wall behind him the one thing that seemed to be keeping him upright.
Santiago turned in that direction and laughed
the large loud laugh of a lunatic. Echoing eerily throughout the room until another, smaller sound intruded.
A soft pop. No louder than a soda can opening. Followed by a second pop that finally silenced Santiago’s insane humor.
The colossal man landed barely a yard away from her, shaking the ground with the force of his impact, a neat round hole in the middle of his forehead.
Caterina scrambled to her feet and over to where Mick slowly sagged back down the wall. She kneeled beside him and reined herself in, regaining the normal human tones of her skin.
“Must be in heaven ’cuz I see an angel,” Mick said, wincing since it seemed every breath cost him great effort. The deep rattle that came from his chest caused her heart to constrict with fear, as did his slightly unfocused gaze and the blood on the wall behind his head.
“We need to get you to a hospital.”
A limp and ungraceful nod confirmed that Mick understood, but somehow he managed to say, “Liliana.”
“Give me a second to dress.” Caterina left him the rifle just in case and quickly retrieved her clothes, along with his satchel.
She returned to Mick’s side and eased his arm around her shoulders, helped him to his feet, but she sensed what it cost him. Mick leaned on her heavily and his breath rasped in his chest, each inhalation clearly paining him.
With heavy plodding steps they approached the chair to which Liliana was strapped, but as they neared the figure in the shadows, fear increased with every step.
The large amount of blood behind the chair became apparent, as did the awkward angle of the person’s head.
But as they took another step, they stopped short, realizing the person was much larger than Liliana and was wearing a dark khaki shirt with olive green pants.
“It’s a park ranger. She’s not here,” Caterina said, glancing up at Mick only to see the despair nearly overcome him before he controlled his emotions.
“She’s here. I know it. He’d want to keep her close,” he answered and applied light pressure on her arm to guide her in the direction of the tunnel from where Santiago had emerged.
“To use her as bait again?” she asked, worried at the way he leaned on her, barely able to remain upright.
“He’d… want… play… with her.” It was a sacrifice for him to speak. With each word came a fearsome rattle from deep in his chest.
Caterina didn’t ask any more, providing him with the strength he needed to take each painful step down the hall until they came to another rusted door.
Mick leaned against the wall heavily and took out his gun. His hand shook as he did so. As their gazes met, Caterina understood.
“Let me have it. I promise not to miss this time,” she said.
He didn’t argue, handing her the Glock.
Caterina approached the entrance. The door was ajar and a spill of low light fell into the tunnel. Gingerly she opened the rusty door, which creaked with the movement.
She waited, thinking the noise might have given away her presence, but nothing happened.
Pushing the door wider, she copied what she had seen Mick do earlier, staying low as she peered within to scope out the room.
In the center, someone was strapped to a chair, head of dark hair slumped down toward her chest. Fear crept over Cat and as it did so, the strange halo sight took over, outlining the figure in the chair with an aura and filling it with colors—the colors of warmth and life, she realized.
As she glanced all around the room, she could sense no one else was there and entered, the halo sight receding as she did so.
“Liliana?” she asked as she approached and the person’s head lifted up.
A mumbled sound escaped the prisoner and Caterina took another step closer, realizing that this time they’d found Mick’s sister.
Caterina rushed over and kneeled before her. Carefully removed the duct tape over Liliana’s mouth. Tried to avoid the sight of Liliana’s naked breasts and the bruises on her face as she said, “Are you okay?”
“Never better if you and Mick are here,” Liliana said and glanced toward the door, as if expecting her brother to enter.
“He’s hurt bad,” Caterina advised and looked around for some way to cut the tape binding Liliana to the chair. A short distance away a long knife rested by the door and she grabbed it, made short work of the bindings.
Liliana rose stiffly and tied her shirtfront together, trying to hide her condition. While she did so, she asked, “What happened?”
“A park ranger is dead, along with Mad Dog and another of the gene therapy patients.” As Caterina spoke, she urged Liliana to follow her and they hurried back to Mick’s side.
As they rushed through the door, they spotted Mick slumped against the wall. His labored breathing was louder than before and a sickly pallor had replaced the healthy tones of his skin.
Liliana kneeled before her brother and gently eased his head up. He opened his eyes and looked at her, but Caterina could see his gaze was unfocused.
“Hermanita. You’re safe,” he said and coughed, bringing up rich red blood.
Liliana nodded and gently swiped away the blood along the side of his mouth. “I’m okay and you’re going to be okay as well, Mick.”
Together they helped him to his feet, but as her gaze met Liliana’s, Caterina realized how concerned Mick’s sister was. How serious his sister was about Mick’s injuries.
Carefully they picked their way back, avoiding the pit of the missile silo. Gingerly walking over the trip wire.
From some distance away, Mick managed to advise Caterina on how to trip the booby trap to protect anyone who might enter the tunnel. The small explosion that followed brought down part of the tunnel wall. It would have trapped them beneath the debris if they had tripped it on the way in.
With the area now safe, they moved as quickly as they could back toward the Jeep and laid Mick in the small jump seat area, Liliana kneeling beside him.
Caterina took the wheel, aware that she had to get him medical help.
Liliana braced Mick’s body, trying to keep him steady. She was certain he had broken a rib or two and punctured a lung. She wanted to avoid doing any more damage by the errant motion of the Jeep. He seemed weaker with each passing moment, but he held onto consciousness somehow as Caterina drove up off the beach and onto the nearby public road, obviously aware that Mick couldn’t handle a jostling ride along the surf’s edge.
“Hold on, Miguelito. We’ll get you help soon,” Liliana said, feeling his pain as if it were her own. Aware that he had once again sacrificed himself for her.
“I’m okay,” Mick said, registering the mixture of guilt and concern in his sister’s voice. Not wanting her to feel responsible for what had happened.
But even on the smoother public road, every movement brought pain and Mick gritted his teeth to contain the agony. His broken ribs were grating together with every bump. His labored breath and the blood he coughed up once again confirmed to him that one of his ribs had damaged his lung. His ears were ringing and he realized he had a concussion, maybe even a skull fracture.
He was done for sure, Mick thought as he fumbled to extract his cell phone from his pocket. Somehow he managed to hand it to Liliana as his fingers began to go numb. His extremities were cold from shock and the blood filling his lung, drowning him and making each breath laborious.
But the mission was also done. And it had been a success because both Caterina and Liliana were safe.
“I’m going home,” Mick said to his sister, satisfied that he had completed the mission he had been meant to do. Feeling freer than he ever had as he allowed himself to slip into the darkness calling him.
Liliana watched helplessly as Mick lost consciousness. Tears complicated making the phone call, obscuring her vision, but she somehow speed-dialed Ramon. Fighting back tears, she explained where to find Mad Dog and the others.
“Where are you now?” Ramon asked.
“Hartshorne. Heading to the Highlands,” she
said and shot a glance at Caterina as she drove.
“I’m going to give you directions to the hospital,” Liliana yelled to Caterina against the road noise as she took a quick look at her brother before returning her attention to Ramon.
“Meet us there, Ramon. But I need a promise from you.”
Her cousin hesitated. “I can’t make any promises, Lil. Bring them in and we’ll figure out what to do.”
She shot another glance at Caterina, who seemed to have overheard a snippet of the conversation.
“I don’t care who’s looking for me. We’re going to the hospital,” Caterina shouted back over the din from the wind whipping into the open vehicle.
Somehow Liliana had never had a doubt that’s what Caterina would say, because Caterina loved Mick. Liliana had never been more certain of anything else in her life.
“We’re on our way, Ramon,” she said, hung up the phone and took Mick’s limp hand in hers, praying that it wasn’t too late.
Liliana had no doubt her brother cared for Caterina as well, and hoped the two of them would have time to be able to share that love.
CHAPTER 39
A steady throb behind his eyeballs kept pace with the repetitive electronic beep nearby. Mick cracked open his eyes and a gentle familiar touch on his hand told him he was not alone.
“Cat?” he asked, and suddenly she was standing above him, her beautiful face filling his vision.
“I’m here, Mick,” Caterina said.
He tried to smile, but his lips were dry and pulled with the motion. Caterina quickly offered up some ice chips to wet his lips and parched throat.
“Thank you.” Turning his head, he realized he was in a hospital bed with an assortment of tubes and wires attached to his body. He tried to move, but he felt stiff and moving was painful. “How long have I been here?”
“A little over a day, love,” she said and offered him some more ice chips, but he shook his head, which only created an intense well of pain in the middle of his skull.
Sins of the Flesh Page 24