by Bianca James
The lethal looking, high powered shotgun was pointed directly at the Jarrad’s head as if to emphasize his point.
Jarrad’s training kicked in and he did the math to calculate the spread of the shot at that distance. Not only would it tear him to shreds, the cone shaped spread of shot from the weapon would most likely kill Cassie if the shooter fired from his current position.
There was no point taking risks when the tactical advantage had been well and truly lost.
Cassie was still looking confused at the man’s comments to Jarrad. Condition?
“Oh, you poor dear. You didn’t know? How adorable.”
Cassie turned around and looked at the man properly for the first time. His hair was short, like Raven’s but salt and pepper. He was older than Raven, but his face was hard and his body equally trim and muscular. A man whose job kept him lithe and trim. A man with a very dangerous occupation.
He wore black denim jeans, a black shirt and a full length black leather coat. It was a fair bet he had a small arsenal hidden under there. She’d seen his type before. Former soldier turned mercenary turned hired thug. Even his eyes were hard. Lifeless and soulless, like sharks eyes.
“I’m not a fool Raven. I was watching the cabin in case someone else showed up. There you were, right on cue doing your ‘save the damsel’ thing and racing off to save your precious girlfriend with no real plan. So predictable.”
Chapter 22
Jack, in his haste had made a huge tactical error. There had been one more kidnapper than he’d deduced from the footprints. He should have trusted his gut. His jaw clenched as he ground his teeth in frustration, standing there arms up and weapon on the ground. No backup and no idea how he was going to save Cassie. He wished he had more of a plan going in.
He also wished he was a better tactician. His old CO used to say he was a great instinctive fighter but not the most tactical guy he’d ever trained. Now look where that had got him. At the wrong end of one of the most powerful shotguns in the world and his woman still held prisoner.
You’re a genius, Raven. A real tactical genius.
Raven put his arm around her, the warmth of his touch comforting her immeasurably. It felt good to have him so close. Even though she could look after herself, he made her feel safe. She had missed his touch. More than she realized. He seemed to be genuinely concerned for her welfare and had risked taking a bullet for her. That didn’t strike her as something a guy who just wanted to chase a bit of ass would do.
Maybe he really cares.
The two remaining goons and their boss were in a heated discussion on the other side of the room, but the dark, deadly aperture of the shotgun barrel was still trained on them. The smooth and professional gunman still had his finger on the trigger. Safety off.
Nervously, Cassie scooted closer to Jack, drawing strength from him. She nervously fingered the chain around her neck, as she always did when she was anxious.
“What was he talking about when he mentioned your ‘condition’?” she asked. Her voice wavered with anxiety.
“Long story. I got a medical discharge from the army because of a brain trauma I sustained from an IED.”
“IED?”
“Improvised Explosive Device. A roadside bomb,” he went on to explain.
“What’s the condition he was talking about?”
“Now’s not a good time to dwell on that,” he advised.
Her fingers tugged at the key on the end of the chain. She bit her bottom lip as she tried to come to terms with his revelation.
“What’s that?” Jack asked, his narrowed eyes trained on the necklace that she was twirling and tugging, like a nervous tic.
“Nothing.” She pulled the key from her shirt to show him. “Just some old key my grandma gave me when I was little. She just called it ‘the key’ but never told me what it was for. She said I’d find out when the time came. It’s one of the few things I have of hers, so I wear it as a kind of good luck charm.” She forced a nervous laugh. “It’s not working, is it?”
“Put it back. Hide it. I think I know what it is and why it’s so valuable to these clowns,” he said urgently in a hushed tone.
“But, how do you—”
“Not now.” he whispered. “Just trust me. Okay?”
She nodded. She did trust him. There was something about him that engendered trust. She felt that he knew what he was doing. He had an assured air about him. She’d been a PI for long enough to be able to read people. Jack had the bearing of a guy who had done a lot of stuff she’d probably never know all the details of. Dangerous stuff. He was the real deal and she was certain beyond doubt that he’d protect her. No matter what.
A gleam of trust shone from her eyes as she nodded in agreement. Raven was pleased to have her confidence. He knew that was the start of something, something that he could build on in the future. But to have any chance of a future, they had to get out of this mess. Alive.
The menacing shotgun barrel was aimed directly at Raven’s head. It was so close that Jack could almost feel the coldness of the steel against his skin.
“Here’s how we’re going to do this, princess…I’m going to ask you some questions and each time you lie or I even think you’re lying, I’m gonna blow off one of your boyfriends limbs with this.” He raised the weapon to Cassie’s face so she got to see the large black opening of the barrel. She couldn’t even imagine the destruction such a blast could unleash.
“And you,” he pointed the barrel back to Jack’s head, “if you so much as think about doing your ‘covert ops’ shit, I’ll blow your head off.” Jack had no doubt he meant it.
The gunman turned his attention back to Cassie. The gun remained trained on Raven’s head.
“Where’s the key?”
Her eyes darted to Jack. With a barely perceptible shake of his head he signaled her. He had a plan. At least she hoped he did.
“Back at the cabin.” She met the gunman’s eyes with her own and held an icy stare. Unwavering in the hope he’d not see through her deceit.
“We searched the cabin.” To emphasize his resolve to carry out his threat, he racked a shell into the chamber—schlock-schlock and pointed the shotgun to Jack’s leg and pressed the tip of the barrel hard against his thigh. “Looks like someone’s about to lose a leg—”
“It’s not in the cabin,” she blurted without hesitation or breaking eye contact. “It’s in my car, the old Cutlass. Glove compartment. Go see for yourself.”
“You,” he turned to Boil Face, “go search her car.” Boil Face, eager to get away from his maniacal, shotgun wielding boss made a beeline through the splintered opening made by Jack’s dramatic entrance.
Cassie saw Jack nod slightly confirming she had made the right call. One down, he mouthed silently to her. The odds were more even but there was still the monstrous Benelli M4 to consider. In close confines, a weapon like that didn’t even need to be aimed. Just point and shoot in the general direction of your enemy and it was lights out for anyone within the deadly spread pattern.
So confident was he in his ability to control the room with the M4 that the gunman hadn’t even bothered to zip tie either Cassie or Jack.
That was his first mistake.
“You two,” he waved the gun in their direction, “move over there.” He directed them to a position he could cover them more easily, but he also put them in a direct line between himself and the remaining henchman.
That was his second mistake.
And it would be his last.
Chapter 23
With a tilt of his head, Jack gestured to the remaining kidnapper, the one with the Austin Powers teeth. He was all hers. Jack needed to give his full attention to that shotgun or they’d both die in a fatal hail of lead shot.
Cassie was fine with her end of the deal but was concerned for Jack. The thought of him taking a hit like that made her stomach churn and the thought of losing him, although she hardly knew him, felt unbearable.
“Trus
t me,” he said softly but resolutely. His eyes hardened. Raven the covert ops soldier, who’d been lurking below the surface until now, was ready to engage the enemy.
In his mind, he visualized the scatter of the weapon once fired, calculating the increased diameter of the cone with each foot it travelled from the end of the barrel. It wasn’t an ideal scenario, but it was all he had to work with and like it or not, their lives depended on him. Hers in particular.
Silently he mouthed a countdown for her to sync with.
Three
Two …
In an instant, like a coiled spring he rushed the gunman before the man’s brain could process what was happening. Jarrad’s gigantic frame towered above the gunman, making him pause a beat before trying to bring the weapon to bear on Jarrad.
The shotgun turned slowly, its owner still in shock at the appearance of the menacing ex-soldier.
Cassie leapt at an awestruck and dumbfounded Austin Powers, crash tackling him to the ground with a hip and shoulder combo before punching him in the jaw and knocking him out cold.
“Yeah, Baby!” she shouted triumphantly with her best impression of an English ‘Austin Powers’ accent. She couldn’t help herself.
Then she remembered Jack. The shotgun!
It was like it all happened in slow motion. Raven didn’t even try to close the gap on the gunman. He just stood there as the powerful piece of hand held artillery turned on him.
Schlock —
He never got to finish pumping the round home.
Jarrad gave him a right hook that nearly took his head off.
Chapter 24
Cassie was still hugging Jarrad with all her might when she was stopped short by a gun barrel stabbing her in the ribs.
“Well, well look at you two lovebirds.” Boil Face prodded her again with the gun.
Jarrad stared at the hoodlum with contempt. Again he’d underestimated the resolve of these hillbillies.
“You found that in the glove compartment, didn’t you?” She looked at her own backup gun he aimed at her.
“Sure did. Thanks for that. Now I can have your little treasure box all to myself. I never did like the idea of sharing with the others, being an only child and all, sharing really doesn’t work for me.”
“Did you bring the key?” she asked, knowing he couldn’t possibly have it.
“You mean the one you keep fiddling with around your neck? Those other morons are so stupid. A little too much chlorine in their gene pool, as my momma used to say. I keep my mouth shut and my eyes open. I ain’t nobody’s fool.”
Clearly. You beady eyed little prick.
“Nice and easy, now…walk, very slowly, over to the box and open it up with that sneaky little key of yours.”
He looked at Jarrad. “You stand over there and don’t move. You might be big but I’m a crack shot and a round in the head will stop anyone. Even you.”
Cassie’s face flushed with rage, powerless to do anything with him pointing a gun at her and Jarrad. She knew it was loaded. No point having a gun if it’s not loaded, her grandma always used to say.
“Enough with the nonsense, open the box and don’t try anything stupid. I’ll shoot, you know. I’ll kill you where you stand and open the box myself if you don’t hurry up.”
She saw greed in his eyes and knew he’d shoot her if she gave him cause to. Reluctantly, she made her way to the locked box, took the key from around her neck and knelt down at the front of the box. Boil Face stood behind her, gun aimed at her head.
Reaching inside the box, she saw what looked like a bunch of old legal documents. As she rummaged through them, she felt something familiar beneath them.
“The deeds, give ‘em here,” Boil Face demanded impatiently.
When Samuel Colt developed the 6 shot Colt “Walker” revolver for Captain Walker and his Texas Rangers, the gun was so powerful and heavy that Walker remarked “it would take a Texan to shoot it”. It was the largest and most powerful handgun of its day and remained so until the .357 Magnum appeared nearly a century later.
Of course, history wasn’t really of any interest to Boil Face when Cassie spun around, pointed the hefty, historic and near priceless piece of Samuel Colt iron at him. She cocked the hammer like grandma had taught her and watched with delight as his trembling fingers dropped her backup piece to the floor. A girl from Montana could handle the “Walker” like the best of those Texas boys.
Both of them heard the thump-thump of the approaching helicopter rotors at the same time.
Chapter 25
Spider walked through the demolished wall of the warehouse offering nothing more than a casual glance at the destruction and havoc wreaked by Jarrad. After all, he was now a Bear Mountain man and an ex-soldier. He expected no less.
“You must be Cassie,” he said by way of greeting as he removed his helmet and held out his hand.
“And you are…?”
“Webb. Lieutenant Jim Webb. But you can call me Spider. Everyone around here does.”
Cassie shook his hand. He didn’t seem to be a threat, although she had no idea what he was doing there.
As if in response to the questions going through her mind, he responded.
“Jack radioed me earlier. Told me to head up to the Larsen place and scout around from the air looking for anything unusual and to help out if I saw anything going down. That’s when I saw this bozo,” he tilted his head toward Boil Face, “take off in the Oldsmobile. Jack mentioned it was yours when we spoke, so I followed him.”
“Thanks,” Cassie responded. She was still trying to process all that had happened.
“No need to thank me. Looks like you guys have it all under control. I’ve radioed the State Troopers. They ought to be here soon to take these losers away.”
“What’s Jack doing?” Spider asked.
In the corner of the warehouse Jarrad was busy rummaging through the contents of the strong box. He raised a hand in greeting to Spider but continued reading the documents.
“We’re all good here thanks, Spider,” he finally spoke. “You’d better get out of here before the troopers get here and start asking about your involvement in our little escapade. That might be awkward.”
“Copy that.” He flashed her a cocky smile, turned on his heels and headed back to his still idling chopper.
Chapter 26
Jack drank his steaming coffee as Cassie sorted through the various old papers at a corner table at Rosie’s.
“Here you are, dear.” Rosie placed a plate of rustic looking and delicious smelling apple cobbler in front of Cassie.
“Thank you so much, Rosie and thanks for the offer of a room here until I get my place sorted. I don’t know what to say.”
“Say you’ll keep this old girl company while you’re here. It’s been a while since I had a female lodger,” she appealed before leaving them to their talk.
“So, where were we?” Jack prompted.
“I think you were about to ask me about my secret, having already shared yours in the most dramatic manner possible, ‘Wreck-It Ralph’.”
“Who?” He looked confused.
She rolled her eyes. “Never mind.”
By the time the sun hovered above the horizon, Jack had told her all he knew about the water rights and why they’d tried to blow up her spring and steal her deeds. Two cups of coffee later, Jack had also finally told her about his military service, his PTSD and how he came to be on Bear Mountain.
“Does my condition scare you?”
“I’ll need to learn how to help you and give you space when you need it, but I’m not scared. I know what I’m in for and I’m ready.”
“I want you to be my soul mate,” he said matter-of-factly.
“Okay.”
“Wait…what?”
“I said Okay, but first I have to tell you something.”
He didn’t say anything. He wanted to give her the time she needed to work out what she wanted to say.
“I’m a
Private Investigator. Not a very good one, apparently, but that’s what I am nonetheless. I came here because my grandma wanted me to investigate something, which I now know to be this whole water rights thing. She left me money from an insurance policy to pay for me to come here and work out what was going on.”
“And the cabin? The land?” Jack asked.
“All mine now, including the water rights that everyone seems to have their panties in a bunch about.”
“Do you think she might have had another reason to have you come up here and stay?”
“Yeah, I’ve been thinking the same thing. The whole cloak and dagger business never really made sense to me. Maybe she had something else in mind for her not particularly successful PI granddaughter. It sure does seem the kind of place where anything can happen.”
They held hands across the table. Each had a playful gleam in their eye as they intertwined their fingers.
Jack had never been happier. Maybe it was love. If it wasn’t, then it was a good start and something they could build on, given time.
“Want to come for a run?” He had a wicked grin on his face and his eyes sparkled mischievously.
“A what?” Her brows knitted in confusion.
“Come with me and I’ll show you what really goes on in the forest.” A guttural, sexy growl escaped from his chest.
Cassie flushed crimson with embarrassment as she looked over to see if Rosie had heard Jack’s audacious suggestion.
“Don’t mind me dear, I’m an old woman, my hearing’s not what it used to be.” A cheeky giggle twittered from her lips.
Chapter 27
Cassie felt like a shameless hussy. And she loved it.