An Ill Wind

by Monette Michaels

  Fee prayed that their good luck would continue.

  After the explosions began, DJ would sweep in and pick them all up. As long as Chavez was occupied with burning buildings, they should be able to get away scot-free. Or that was the theory.

  Please, God, let that happen.

  Anton led the way down the path with Fee right behind him, then Pia, and Lucia anchoring the rear. The path wasn’t as bad as she’d anticipated, but then she remembered how much worse it had been the night before with the wind and heavier rain threatening to shove them off the narrow, slippery trail.

  When they reached bottom and stood on a small triangular area of soggy ground, Anton turned to them. “Okay, Levi and I went over the safest route to approach the area where the helicopter has the best chance of picking us up and still be out of range of weapons from the compound.”

  Everything relied on the cartel assholes staying in or near the compound and not rushing the meadow weapons blazing.

  Glass half-empty, much?

  Fee wouldn’t hold her breath about Chavez being distracted by the chaos in the compound. Helicopters were big and noisy. There was no way the soldiers in the compound wouldn’t notice a chopper hovering in the meadow and picking up people.

  Pessimistic bitch when you’re sick, aren’t you?

  No, realistic bitch when kidnapped and taken to a foreign country.

  “Watch your step,” Anton warned. “It’s a short drop from this level and then I’ll lead you to the stepping stone path across the creek.”

  The submerged stepping stone path, but it was better to walk on than the sucking mud and rocks of an uneven creek bed.

  Fee stepped down and immediately tripped on a rock that she hit off-center with her right foot.

  Anton caught her arm and steadied her. “Okay, Fee?”

  She nodded and then looked over her shoulder at Pia. “Watch that first step. It’s really rocky here.”

  Pia nodded. “Yeah, and I imagine the gully-washer brought even more loose stones down with it.”

  Fee turned and followed Anton as he led them a few more feet along what had used to be the banks of the creek and waited for Lucia. Once his fiancee had stepped down, she sent him a slight smile. “Go ahead, Anton. I am fine.”

  Anton led them to the flat rocks which made up a natural bridge across the wide creek. The water was about ankle deep once they stepped up onto the first stepping stone. But the next few minutes proved to be dicey. The rocks were slippery and the current was strong enough to hamper a straight-forward walk across the stones. Several times one or another of their party found bad footing, slid off a stepping stone, and then got wet up to their thighs or higher.

  Fee shivered constantly now as the wet and cold got to her. She recognized the early stages of hypothermia. Her reaction time had slowed immeasurably, and she had to focus on each and every movement she made. And she wasn’t the only one. Even Anton’s large body trembled and his movements were much less graceful than just minutes ago.

  When they finally reached the edge of the stepping-stone bridge and climbed up onto what had been the night before a grassy and flower-filled meadow, but was now a water-filled one, Fee could sense the relief from the others as if the rope tying them together transmitted their shudders down the line. But they still weren’t out of the woods—they were wet and cold and needed dry clothes and a warm, dry place sooner rather than later.

  Anton pointed to a single tree sitting off to the side of a larger copse of trees and bushes. “The helicopter will hover to the east of that tree. We’ll keep the safety lines on until we get there. The meadow is uneven and who knows what might have washed into it from the raging creek waters.”

  “Snakes?” Pia muttered.

  Anton looked at her. “It is cold and wet so I would think most of the snakes in this region do not tolerate such conditions. If there are any, they will be by the tree where we will shelter. Ignore them.”

  “Easy for you to say.” Fee’s body quaked and then she coughed. Her skin itched like a bitch at the thought of a snake sliding around her legs, looking for a warm place.

  They’d just begun the arduous trek toward the rendezvous point when the sound of a large explosion thundered across the meadow. It was quickly followed by a series of smaller explosions. The noise echoed off the sheer mountain walls surrounding the valley.

  Looking toward the compound, Fee saw billowing clouds of flames, smoke, and debris. “Sweet Jesus.” She inhaled sharply and stopped in place.

  Pia screeched, “Madre de Dios.”

  Anton grinned over his shoulder. “That must have been the building they were cooking meth in. There were lots of flammable chemicals in it. I also made sure Trey and the others knew which buildings held all the stored drugs. They will be blowing up millions and millions of dollars of drugs, in street value. This will be a devastating loss to the Sinaloa cartel.”

  “Good,” Fee said.

  The next explosion startled her, but this time she kept moving, following Anton toward the pickup point. The sound of small weapons’ fire sent a cold chill over her already freezing body.

  “Trey…” Fee whimpered. Please let him be safe.

  “They are fine.” Anton halted by the tree, then shrugged the weapon off his shoulder and checked it over just as she’d seen her brother and Trey do. Her Russian doctor friend knew his way around an assault rifle, it seemed. “Lucia, come.”

  Lucia took the rope off her waist and handed her end of the rope to Pia. “Get the rope off and be ready.” She moved to her man and took the handgun he gave her and then checked the weapon. Okay, so Lucia also knew her way around a gun.

  Fee wanted a gun. Yeah, Keely had only shown her the basics that one time, and Pia had dragged her to a gun range once. But how hard could it be? Safety off, point, and shoot. At this moment in time, she was totally in the mindset she could kill a cartel bastard if one shot at her friends.

  The whup-whup sound of a helicopter echoed loudly in the meadow.

  Fee turned and found the speck coming from the northeast, but it could’ve been any helicopter.

  “Is that our ride?” she screamed to be heard above another explosion reverberating over the meadow.

  “Yes,”Anton shouted back, his gaze fixed on the direction their men would come from the compound. “When the helicopter hovers, keep your head down and move to it quickly. A man will help you into it.”

  “What about Levi and the others?” Pia yelled.

  “They are coming now. Just get on the helicopter.” Anton moved to cover them with his weapon.

  The chopper came in fast and low.

  Tweeter stood in the open cabin door, a rifle in his hands. God, she hoped he was anchored in. When the pilot, DJ, placed the helicopter into a hover, Fee ran toward it, pulling Pia with her who, in turn, tugged at Lucia. “Let’s go.”

  Fee wasn’t sure how the men would make it in time, but one thing Fee knew, they weren’t leaving without Trey, Price, and Levi.

  “Hey, Fee.” Tweeter set his weapon down and lifted her up and then swung her into the cabin as if she weighed nothing. When the other two women were inside, he handed them headsets and indicated the jump seats. “Strap-in,” he shouted.

  Fee sat in a seat facing the front of the helicopter and pulled the shoulder harness over her chest and snapped it into the buckle. Pia and Lucia sat across from her. Once she figured out how to operate the headset, she could hear the chatter among DJ, Tweeter, and the others on the ground.

  “Ace, everybody secure? We gotta go,” DJ’s calm voice cut through all the chatter. “Visual shows Chavez’s men aren’t as disorganized as we’d hoped.”

  “Shit. Give it a few more seconds, DJ.” Tweeter’s voice was tense. “Vasilov, get in here. Trey, you guys find a place to hunker down. DJ is going to do her thing.”

  “Roger that,” Trey’s calm voice came across the headset. “Anton, get on board. We’ll be fine.”

  Some of the tension went out
of Fee’s shoulders, but not all. DJ having to “do her thing” didn’t sound good. But there had been no fear in Trey’s voice. She would’ve heard it. She knew him well enough for that. Would she have a chance to get to know all the rest of his moods?

  He’s got this. Chill.

  Her snarky inner voice shouldn’t have reminded her of how cold and wet she was. Fee shuddered, her teeth chattering so hard, she clenched her jaw to stop them.

  From her view out the open door, she watched Anton back up toward the helicopter, then turn and leap into the cabin. In the distance, El Hacha’s compound had become a hell on Earth of fire, smoke, and even more explosions. Somewhere between the middle of the field where they were located and the chaos in the compound, Trey and the others were trapped.

  Tweeter yelled, “Go, go, go!” He turned toward them. “Make sure you’re strapped in tight, ladies. It’s gonna get rough in a bit. Vasilov, you comfortable riding on the edge with the cabin door open? I could use some help in taking out some bogies.”

  Anton nodded. “Da.” He moved about the helicopter with ease, showing his former Russian military training had never quite gone away. He hooked himself onto the cabin wall by the doorway and then sat, his legs dangling over the edge. The weapon in his hands seemed almost like an extension of his body.

  As DJ took the helicopter up and swung around and away from the meadow, away from the compound, Fee could see Chavez’s men spreading out from the conflagration, searching the outbuildings that were still intact for Trey, Price, and Levi and shooting at—

  “God, who are they shooting at?” Fee whispered. “Trey…”

  “Button it, sis.”

  Fee recognized her brother’s stop-being-a-pest voice. Price was irritated, but not in danger.

  Trey’s voice came over the headset. “Just sit tight, little doc. Once DJ clears the way, we’ll be right there.” He sounded steady, fearless. Not in pain.

  “Heads up on the ground. We’re coming in,” DJ said. “I’m going to take out a group of bad asses on the north side of the compound.”

  “Roger that,” Trey said. “We’re ready.”

  Ready to do what? Were they going to run across half the meadow with the hounds of hell on their asses? What?

  Fee gripped the harness and leaned forward, straining to see out the door. But Tweeter and Anton now filled it, their weapons aimed at the ground.

  “Go, go, go. Light them up, sugar,” Tweeter said.

  DJ let out a rebel yell. Fee was thrown back as the helicopter suddenly went faster and began to weave. Then came a roar and the chopper jerked. What looked like a rocket left the underside of the chopper. The missile hit the ground among a group of men who approached the outermost building of the compound. The one where Anton had met Fee and Pia. The one that had held the boat—and the explosives that Anton had mentioned.

  Beyond that same building, she could make out three men as they ran toward the thicket of trees near where DJ had picked her and the others up just minutes ago.

  The cartel soldiers zeroed in on Trey, Price, and Levi and gave chase, shooting at them.

  Tweeter and Anton fired at the enemy, giving Trey and the men cover.

  “We’re away. Take out the building, DJ,” Trey ordered.

  “Roger that.” DJ swooped away from the compound and some ground fire. Then she put the helicopter into a wide turn and began the approach toward her target.

  “Sugar, this one is for all the money,” Tweeter said. “Shit. Evasive…”

  “Shut it, Ace,” DJ snarled, “I got this.”

  And she did. She swerved and the rocket launched from a shoulder-held weapon held by a cartel soldier missed.

  “Shoot at me, will ya?” DJ swooped over the landscape like a giant dragonfly and lined up for her next fly-by. She held steady, shots streaming from the belly of the helicopter. The bullets ate at the ground and took out anything in their path including the man with the rocket-launcher. His last shot went wild and took out some of the cartel men.

  “Good shooting, DJ,” Trey said.

  “Thanks.” DJ swooped over the stand of trees where their men hid. “Be back in a few to pick you up, guys.”

  DJ maneuvered the chopper until she hovered in a direct line with the last building on the north side of the compound.

  Cartel soldiers ran from the compound and headed for the trees where her man and the others hid.

  “Okay, sugar, keep the cartel jack-offs pinned down,” Tweeter said. “Then blow that sucker.”

  “You got it, Ace.” DJ sent a fusillade of bullets at the cartel soldiers. Those who weren’t hit, dropped down. Still others shot at the chopper.

  Then a roar came from under the helicopter and the cabin vibrated as another rocket was launched. It hit the building and the percussion from the resulting huge explosion rocked the chopper.

  DJ moved away from the blast and then circled around and behind the copse where Trey, Price, and Levi hid. “Ride’s here. Get the lead out,” DJ said.

  “Roger that.” Trey led the way as Anton and Tweeter lay down cover fire. He jumped up and inside, then came straight to Fee. “You okay, sweetheart?” He stroked her face with a grimy hand that smelled of smoke and gunshot residue.

  Fee checked him over with hands and eyes. He was covered in dirt and sweat. No blood. She let out a heartfelt sigh. “I am now.” Tears streamed down her cheeks as Trey sat next to her and put his arm around her. “I am now.”

  CHAPTER 14

  Three weeks later, April 15th

  Elk City, Idaho

  Fee locked the door behind her last patient of a very long day. The small rural clinic was a bare bones satellite operation of the medical group that staffed the Grangeville Medical Center. Serving a sparsely populated area of Idaho, the clinic was only open three days a week— Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. It boasted a staff of three—Fee, Pia, and a receptionist who doubled as bookkeeper, plus a cleaning crew that did the heavy duty cleaning after clinic hours ended. Prior to her arrival, the Elk City clinic had been closed for over a year due to the lack of a doctor willing to live in the middle of nowhere. For that year, the population in the area had driven the two hours to Grangeville for their medical needs.

  Her arrival had been celebrated by the locals, and her clinic days had been full ever since.

  “Thank God, it’s Friday,” she muttered to the empty reception area that looked as if a mini-cyclone had hit it. Actually, one had—in the form of two-year-old twin boys who’d been brought in by their much-harried mother for some routine shots and a check-up.

  Chuckling at the memory of the toddlers’ non-stop jabbering and antics, Fee began picking up toys and tossing them into a much-abused toy box. Cute little buggers. With their dark-hair and light green eyes, they could’ve been Trey’s sons.

  At the errant thought, Fee froze in mid-toss. An onslaught of biological urges swamped her and had her heart melting. She shook off the hormonal storm and threw the last toy into the box, then slammed the lid on the cleanup and wayward thoughts. Thoughts which had begun to pop up more often since her time in Mexico and Trey’s rescue of her. Thoughts that ruled her lonely nights as she tossed and turned on the lumpy bed in the barely adequate living space situated over the clinic.

  Premature thoughts, because her relationship hadn’t moved past first base with Trey. There were sixteen-year-old girls who came to her clinic who had a more active sex life than she did.

  To be honest, things had been hectic. First, there’d been the precipitous move from New Mexico to Idaho and all that entailed, with her in New Mexico tying up loose ends and Trey working on SSI ops out of the country.

  Upon arrival in Idaho, she’d moved into the provided apartment over the clinic and then immediately jumped into her job’s first gargantuan task—reopening the long-shuttered clinic. There had been a lot of work to do to bring the clinic up to her standards.

  After opening the clinic and establishing routine office hours, she’d then taken
up the reins of her other medical staff duties by working an ER night shift every other Friday at the main hospital in Grangeville.

  Her work schedule and Trey being away for most of the last three weeks had precluded building on the connection that had been cemented during the ordeal in Mexico.

  With a free weekend looming ahead, she and Trey were finally getting together for their first real date—dinner and a movie.

  Since it was almost an hour drive from Elk City to Sanctuary, Fee had also been invited by Ren and Keely to spend the weekend at the Main Lodge on Sanctuary. That way, Trey wouldn’t have to make a two-hour round trip to take her home after their date. She’d been looking forward to the stay at the Lodge since her studio apartment was a poorly finished attic space with a half-assed stall shower, a sink, and a toilet in what looked to be a cardboard closet.

  Now that her work day was done, her mind turned to the issue which had lurked in her subconscious since the night she’d slept in Trey’s arms in the cliff house above Madera. Was she ready to “sleep” with Trey?

  He hasn’t asked you yet. But if he does? My vote is—go for it.

  Yeah, that was the problem.

  Trey hadn’t even tried anything sexual during the few times they’d connected for a quick meal between his SSI missions and her work schedule. In fact, he’d never gone past kissing her—and even Trey’s kisses had ranked above the best sex Fee had ever had.

  Fee was fairly certain she was ready to skip a few bases and round home with Trey, but…

  But?

  Trey had been very vocal about her taking the lead in the going-to-bed decision. He wouldn’t make the next move. Dammit.

  “But I want him to lead,” Fee muttered. Mostly because she was an insecure wuss.

  “What did you say?” Pia came around the corner of the check-in desk with a bag of dirty linen to be set outside for pickup by the laundry service the main hospital had all its satellite clinics use.

  Pia moving to Idaho had been an unexpected blessing. With the Sinaloa cartel on the warpath after the destruction of its Madera facilities, the border had no longer been safe for Pia or her mother. The two women had accepted SSI’s generous offer of a place to live. The same offer Fee had refused and now regretted, because—crap apartment—but she hadn’t known that at the time.