by Amy Gamet
Violet was his world, the spitting image of her mother. He walked to the conference room thinking not for the first time about retiring from HERO Force completely. Since Cowboy had officially taken charge, it seemed Jax’s presence here only serve to undermine the other man’s authority. That was the last thing he wanted, and Cowboy certainly didn’t need to be supervised.
The question was what Jax would do instead. He no longer wanted to be in combat or dangerous situations. Jessa deserved more peace than that. Though he hadn’t told anyone yet, she was pregnant again and his priorities were drifting farther and farther away from this place.
“Senator Lane.” The other man was standing and Jax gestured to a chair. “Have a seat. I talked to your wife this morning.”
“Yes. That’s why I’m here.” The recessed lights cast everything in a theater-like golden glow, highlighting the perspiration on the senator’s head. “She wouldn’t want me to be here talking to you. She doesn’t need to know what I’m about to say.”
Jax leaned back in his chair. “I’m listening.”
“She said your man found Cassidy, but he’s not bringing her home.”
“That’s right. Your daughter feels strongly that the other reporter, Julianne Garrison, is still alive.”
“I see. So your man is letting her stay in harm’s way?”
“That’s one way to look at it, I suppose.”
The senator punctuated his words with a pointed finger. “I hired you to bring her back safely. My daughter. Just mine. I didn’t hire you to save the world.”
Jax tapped his pencil eraser on the polished wooden table. “It’s my understanding that it’s Cassidy’s desire to look for her friend that is keeping them at the compound. Not Austin’s.”
“I should have considered he might be loyal to her instead of me, given their history.”
“And what history is that? You never said, exactly.”
The older man pursed his lips, as if the answer to that question tasted sour and foul. “They were romantically involved. It was a long time ago. It isn’t relevant today. But you have a responsibility to me as your client to get my daughter out of there as soon as possible, no matter what she wants.”
Jax understood the senator’s fear for his daughter’s safety and his desire to get her back as soon as possible. And if the other man seemed hard and unconcerned with the other reporters safety, then perhaps that was just a father’s instinctive desire to care for his own.
“Why didn’t you want your wife to come with you today?”
The senator leaned back in his chair. “I told you. She wouldn’t understand what I’m asking you to do. Typical female. She can’t make a decision based on win versus loss. Acceptable casualties. She would have everyone die while she deliberated on how to save them all.”
“You know there was an accident. I don’t have constant contact with Austin at this time. He was able to reach us once, but it’s not a phone call we can return and it doesn’t mean we’ll speak to him again.”
“But you have other soldiers on the ground.”
“Yes.”
The senator leaned forward, pointing his finger again. “Then when they get there, you tell them the only life that matters is the one they were hired to save. Cassidy’s. Not Julianne’s.”
17
Austin waited for Cassidy near the shower outside her dorm, hopeful she would know to look for him there. They hadn’t gotten a chance to speak privately after lunch, though he knew she heard Austin asking David for permission to spend the night.
The weather had taken a turn for the worse with a late spring snowfall and whipping cold winds. David seemed less than thrilled, but as long as he obliged, Austin didn’t care.
The sound of footsteps came toward him in the darkness. “I wasn’t sure you’d be here,” she said.
“We have to go check out those potato cellars.”
“And the pole barn. How are we going to get out there?”
He took her hand and walked toward the main house. “I’m going to take Lucas’s truck.”
Lucas had parked it quite a distance from David’s house, making Austin confident he could hot-wire it without being caught. “But this is it, Cassidy. We’ll check the pole barn and the cellars, but then were leaving. Tonight.”
“In the snow?”
“It isn’t really a problem, I just told David it was. The tent will keep us warm and our supplies are suitable for any weather.”
She nodded. “Okay. That’s more than fair. I don’t even know where else to look if she’s not in one of those places, and I’m getting the feeling we’re living on borrowed time.”
“You noticed that, too?”
“David isn’t going to stand for this much longer.”
The truck wasn’t locked. The interior light came on and Austin turned it off quickly, then got to hot-wiring the starter. It took some time, but soon they were off.
He drove slowly for the first hundred feet or so near the buildings and kept the truck’s lights off, careful to keep his foot off the brake. The truck bounced once. “Must have been a pothole,” he said.
He continued to move slowly as they got further from the main buildings, not wanting to alert anyone to their late-night drive, until something caught his eye in the rearview mirror. “We’ve got company.”
“What? Who?”
“I don’t know, but their lights are on and they’re gaining on us.”
“It has to be David, Lucas or Thomas. They are the only ones with access to vehicles. What are we going to do?”
“Hang on.” He took off through an open field hoping the snow and darkness would hide them. “I have to go faster.”
“But you can’t see!”
“In my pack. Grab the night vision goggles. Quickly.” He put them on and hit the gas, cruising full speed into the night.
Cassidy twisted around in her seat. “They’re not following us. They can’t see where we went.”
Up ahead was a large tree separating one field from another, and Austin was heading right for it. “I have to turn and I can’t brake. Brace yourself.” He took his foot off the gas, slowing the vehicle as much as he could, but he still needed to swerve to miss the outermost branches. Cassidy flew across the bench seat and into his side.
She was breathing hard. “This is scaring the shit out of me. It’s like Space Mountain, that roller coaster at Disney World that’s all in the dark.”
“Roller coasters are fun.”
“This is not fun, Austin!”
In the distance he saw the four hills Lucas had shown them earlier, the tops of the potato cellars. He steered toward them.
“Uh oh,” said Cassidy. “Look over there.”
Sure enough, the car that had been following them was headed for the potato cellars, too. “Wait a second,” he said. “What if they aren’t following us at all?”
“What else would they be doing out here at night like this?” She gasped. “Oh my God. Austin, they’re going to see Julianne.”
“Maybe. If she really is alive and she’s out here someplace, they must be taking care of her.” He took his foot off the gas, allowing the truck to slow down on its own. It came to a complete stop about four hundred feet from the hills. The other vehicle parked in front of the structures with its lights on.
They watched as someone in a coat and hat crossed in front of the headlight beams, then disappeared on the other side of the cellar hills.
“Can you tell who it is?” he asked.
“No.”
Austin put the truck in park. “I’m going to get closer so I can get a better look.” He reached for his pack, withdrawing a firearm and loading a magazine, then tucking another in his pocket.
“Be careful,” she said.
She sat in the cab of the truck trying to see where he’d gone, but quickly lost him in the snow and darkness. She felt safe in that moment, knowing Austin the Navy SEAL was there to protect her.
He was such a
strong force in her life, and in the world in general. She was certain if Julianne was alive and on this property, he would find her.
I still love that man.
The thought made her choked up. Would she never learn? Never protect her heart? He wanted to see her again. Wanted a second chance. It was so tempting, her heart and her body wanting him so much, but her mind knew better. He’d hurt her before and he would hurt her again.
The driver’s side door opened.
“That was quick,” she said as he slid in beside her.
Lucas turned and faced her. “That’s funny. It seemed like I was back there forever.”
Cassidy screamed loudly. Lucas punched her in the jaw and she stopped, shocked by the pain that exploded across her face.
“That’s Thomas over there,” he said. “Do you want him to know you’re here?”
“No. Please don’t tell him.”
“I won’t if I don’t have to. I’m sorry I hit you.” He shook his hand out. “You shouldn’t be here, Sister Cassidy. If he finds out, he’ll be real angry.”
“How did you find us?”
“I saw the light come on in my truck so I came outside just in time to see you two driving away. I hopped in the back.” He gestured toward the field that separated them from the potato cellars. “You have no business snooping around out here. What are you doing, for heaven’s sake?”
Lies popped into her mind, not one of them remotely convincing. She opened her mouth, not sure what she would say. She was as surprised as Lucas when the truth came out. “I’m looking for Julianne.”
Lucas's eyes shot to hers in the darkened cab.
“You know who she is. I can see it in your face. You remember her.”
He looked away.
“She’s my friend. She's the nicest, kindest, gentlest human being I've ever known, and she went missing from this place.”
“Is that why you came to The Community? To look for your friend?”
“Yes. You could help me, Lucas. You could tell me what happened to her. You could help me find her and bring her home to her family. Everyone is so worried about her, and you could help.”
“There is no Julianne. Not anymore.”
Her face crumpled. “Is she dead?”
“Are you a reporter, too?”
“Yes.”
Lucas reached inside his coat, withdrawing a firearm. Cassidy stared at it, transfixed. “Lucas, please…”
“It has a silencer. Top of the line model from Finland.” He sighed heavily. “Brother David has the ear of the Lord.”
“No. He's hurting people. He won't let anyone leave. God wouldn’t tell him to do that.”
“God told him to kill Julianne.”
She gasped. “Is that what happened to her?”
“No.” He turned his head to face her. “He had me do it instead.”
She reached for the handle to open the door, fear and panic exploding in her veins, but he was too fast. He wrapped his arm around her neck and pulled her against his chest. “Stop fighting me,” he said.
“Let me go!” she yanked her arm back, stabbing him in the solar plexus with her elbow. He grunted but kept hold of her neck.
“Listen to me.”
“She was pregnant,” she said. “She was a good person and you killed her.” She aimed lower this time, sinking down as low as she could before striking him in the scrotum.
“Ah!” This time he let her go. In the darkness she fumbled for the door handle, finally grasping it and opening it to the outside, an icy blast of air coming into the cab of the truck. “Your friend is alive,” he said.
She spun around, the snow nearly making her slip. “Is that a trick?”
“I could shoot you right now, but I have not. I wouldn’t kill her and I won’t kill you, either.” He put the gun on the dash. “She might be better off dead than the way she’s living.” He stared at the car in the distance with its lights on. “That’s my fault, too.”
Understanding dawned, horrible and shocking. “Thomas is in there with her.”
“Yes.” He keened like a small child about to sob. “He found out what I’d done, that I let her live. I knew about the baby. It didn’t seem right to kill her.” He took a shuddering breath. “I thought for sure he would tell Brother David, but instead he started…hurting her. He knew I couldn’t tell anyone. Until you. You can stop Thomas. You can save her.”
“You have to help us get her out of here.”
He nodded. “Close the door. I’ll be right there.”
She shut it quietly and turned toward the potato cellars. A sound like a big rock hitting pavement came from inside the car, making her jump. “No, no, no!” She opened the door and peered inside, her head jerking back at what she saw, blood and gore and horror.
She slammed it closed.
Where was Austin? She wanted to scream for him, to call out and run, but the blowing wind, fluttering snow and headlights in the distance were all she could see. She was crying, tears running down her face. Lucas had shot himself.
Lucas was dead.
“Austin,” she called quietly into the field. She moved through the cold night air, hugging her arms to her chest. Julianne was in that building, probably being raped by Thomas. And somewhere nearby, the only man who could help her stop this nightmare was hiding in the darkness, watching it all unfold.
18
The short end of each potato cellar ended in a wooden side, the aged planks painted pale blue and fitted with a double barn door. The cellar doors the man had gone through were directly in front of the car with the headlights shining, and the sides and top of the cellar were covered with several feet of earth, making it impossible for Austin to get close without being detected.
But he needed to find a way, because a woman was screaming from inside the cellar.
He was perched behind the man’s car, gun drawn, weighing his options. Every muscle in his body wanted to burst forth and propel him forward into that space, knowing someone was experiencing a terrible situation. But the tactical reality was he had no idea of knowing what awaited him on the other side.
“Austin.”
He turned to find Cassidy walking toward him through the snow. Her voice was raspy and she sounded like she’d been crying. He stood. “Be quiet. There’s someone in there.”
The woman screamed again, a plaintive sound like an injured animal.
“Julianne!” Cassidy whispered. “We have to help her. It’s Thomas. I think he’s raping her. Lucas was in the truck—”
“What?”
“He stowed away in the back when we first came out here. Julianne is alive. He couldn’t kill her like David asked him to, but Thomas found out and he’s been hurting her. We have to help her.” She moved toward the building but Austin hauled her back.
“Where is Lucas now?”
“Dead. He shot himself in the truck.”
Her eyes were wide like saucers, her reaction oddly mechanical. She was in shock.
“If we go in there, we’ll have to kill him,” he said.
“Let me do it.” She reached for his gun.
“Wait, Cassidy.”
“I’m tired of waiting. Don’t you hear her screaming? He’s hurting her, Austin. We have to do something.”
He nodded. “Agreed, but we have to make sure he doesn’t have the upper hand. He could use her as a shield if we’re not careful.” He pulled a knife from a pocket in his pants, handing it to her. “I have a smoke grenade, but it will blind us just as effectively as it will him. Not going to use that unless I have to.”
“Let me help.”
He assessed her coolly. “Combat is different than anything you’ve experienced. Take the knife and go to the car. Keep yourself out of harm’s way.”
“But what if you need me?”
“Go, Cassidy.” A light in the distance behind her caught his eye. Another set of headlights. “Fuck.” He gestured to the approaching vehicle. “If Lucas is dead and Thomas is in
the cellar…”
“That’s David.”
“Don’t go to the car. Hide in the next potato cellar. We have to do this, now.”
She nodded and jogged away. Austin pulled his night vision goggles back into place and approached the double doors, the peaceful snowfall contrasting with the violence he heard within.
He slid one of the doors open, light flooding the space from the headlights outside. There was a naked woman on an angled conveyer belt, a man on top of her, turning to stare at Austin.
“Get off her,” he said.
“Get out of here, Lucas, you simpleton. I’m just having some fun.”
Austin fired a shot into the cellar, deliberately missing them. Thomas hopped up, holding up his hands until his pants fell completely down, showing his limp erection. He grabbed the pants with one hand, the other still raised.
“Lucas is dead,” said Austin. “He killed himself because of his part in what you’re doing here.”
“You’re the man who brought Sister Cassidy back to The Community.”
“I’m the man who’s taking Julianne back home. Step away from her.”
“I’m unarmed. Don’t shoot.” Thomas moved over and Julianne came down from the conveyor belt, stumbling when her feet hit the ground. Austin moved instinctually to catch her, his gun shifting as he did.
Pain sliced through Austin’s hand and thigh and he dropped his weapon, dots on his goggles that could only be blood. He looked down to see a throwing star sticking out of his quadriceps—three blades out, two blades in. It had gone through part of his hand on its way to his leg.
He’d underestimated Thomas, assuming the half-naked man was unarmed and allowing his attention to be distracted by the limping Julianne. He must have grabbed the star from a pocket when he pulled up his pants.
Austin bent down and reached for his weapon, the motion of his thigh muscle further deepening the wound, and he lost his balance. Thomas moved to run by him out the cellar doors.
A warrior’s cry sounded behind him as Cassidy took Thomas down with a karate kick and a fierce jab to his eyes. He fell to the ground just as Austin yanked the throwing star from his leg and picked up his weapon. He turned back to Thomas, not believing what he saw.