Four men were left, but just as they found the window where Matt and Derrick knelt and raised their guns to fire, the man in the ball cap turned his gun on the man beside him and shot him dead. Then he shot the next man, who fell to the ground. The last man dropped at the same time. Matt’s gaze jerked to the side of his yard where he saw Jeff standing, pointing a gun at the man who’d fallen last. Jeff shifted his gun to the man in the ball cap and yelled, “Drop your weapon and get on the ground.” The man did it immediately.
Overwhelmed by all that had just happened, Matt took a moment to catch his breath. He would have to take time to mentally process it later.
“Let’s go,” Derrick said.
At that, Matt and Derrick leapt up and cautiously made their way down the stairs and toward Matt’s backyard, careful to make sure no other men were hiding in wait. A few moments later they joined Jeff in Matt’s backyard.
Matt’s eyes went to the five men who were down. Not one of them moved. Among them were Russ and Eric. Were they all dead? Sickened by the thought that he was responsible for any of their deaths, when the smell of smoke filled his nostrils and he turned to see his house in flames and saw all the windows shattered by the men’s’ bullets, any sorrow he’d begun to feel was wiped away. These men hadn’t had to do this. They hadn’t had to get in the middle of Matt and Dr. Larsen’s interaction at all. They’d inserted themselves where they didn’t need to be, prepared to take twenty percent of the Bronson family’s food. For themselves. And when that hadn’t worked, they’d come after Matt and his family, prepared to kill them.
Rage at their audacity blasted through him. Then he looked at the man who was face down on the ground. It was the man in the ball cap. Narrowing his eyes, Matt recognized him in the dim moonlight. It was Chris. He was the one man who hadn’t thrown a Molotov cocktail at Matt’s house, the one man who hadn’t gone inside to set his house on fire, the one man who hadn’t shot at his house. The man who had killed the others to keep them from shooting at Matt and Derrick.
Jeff holstered his weapon and gestured to Chris with his chin. “What do you want to do with him?”
“Let him go,” Derrick said. “He’s not the bad guy here.”
“He took out two of them,” Matt said, pointing to the dead men on the grass.
“I know,” Jeff said. “I saw him do it. That’s when I moved in.”
Chris got to his feet, his face showing clear remorse. “I wanted to warn you they were coming,” he said to Matt, “but I didn’t get the chance.” He sighed. “I tried to talk them out of setting your house on fire but Russ was livid that you’d taken his guns.” A small smirk tugged up one side of Chris’s mouth. “Nice move, by the way.”
Remembering the way Chris had taken twenty percent of the food he’d found, Matt felt his anger rekindle. “You were part of them.”
Chris’s chin lowered toward his chest, then he looked at Matt, his eyes bracketed with anxiety and fear. “I did it for my family.”
Picturing Chris’s wife and small children, Matt couldn’t fault him for agreeing to join the cooperative. And the fact that he’d actually killed two of the men, which quite literally could have saved Matt and Derrick’s lives… Matt wasn’t going to fault him. Besides, he remembered Chris purposely not looking through his house for hidden food.
“Look,” Chris said, “we can work this out later, but you need to know,” he looked at Derrick and Jeff, “they were sending other men to hit your houses. I’m pretty sure they knew I wasn’t on board with their plans so they didn’t tell me everything. You might want to check on your places.”
“We’ll take my truck,” Derrick said. “I’ll drop Jeff and Chris’s off near Jeff’s house, then Matt and I will go to mine.”
Matt looked at his house where the flames were growing ever brighter. “What about my house?”
“I’m sorry,” Derrick said. “There’s nothing we can do about it.”
Matt knew he was right. “Let’s make sure the same thing doesn’t happen to your or Jeff’s house.”
“Thanks,” he said.
The four of them took off at a run to the next street where Derrick had parked his truck.
Chapter 42
Jessica
What was happening at her house? Sitting on the tailgate of Matt’s truck in the barn lit only by the moonlight trickling through a high window, Jessica gripped the walkie in her hand, frantic with worry. She’d heard Matt say that someone was trying to burn their house down. The thought made her sick. Especially when she considered what would have happened if they hadn’t left. What was wrong with those men? Had hunger made them lose their minds completely?
Then she’d heard Derrick say “Hold.” Why? Had something else happened? Listening to events unfold without knowing what was going on was torture. She was desperate to get an update, but she knew radio silence was critical. She looked at Emily, who seemed completely calm. Then again, it wasn’t her house that was being threatened. She looked at her children, who seemed as freaked out as she was.
“What do you think’s happening?” she asked Emily.
The tall brunette shook her head. “Not sure, but they said they were going to watch your house from neighboring houses, so I’m sure they’re perfectly safe.”
“Until they attack those men,” Dylan said with a scowl. “We should help them. Three against who knows how many. It’s not a fair fight.”
Emily tilted her head. “They can handle it. We’d just get in the way.”
Glad that Emily had spoken up, Jessica nodded. “I agree. We stay here as planned.”
Dylan scowled harder, then he looked away.
They sat there in the dimly lit space, waiting, waiting, waiting. It was killing her. She had to get out. With a glance at Dylan, who was still sulking as he sat on a stack of boxes, she jumped off the tailgate and walked over to him. “Let’s go for a walk.”
He looked at her with a frown. “What for?”
She gave him her best Do what I say look. “Come on.”
With a huff of annoyance, he stood and walked with her to the man-door at the front of the barn. He opened it and stepped through. She followed. It was lighter outside, though with only a sliver of a moon, not all that bright.
She inhaled the fresh air and tilted her head back with her eyes closed. “Mmm. It’s nice out here isn’t it?”
“Yeah,” Dylan said. “I guess so.”
She turned to look at him. “I appreciate your enthusiasm in wanting to help Dad, but we have to think things through. If we show up, it will throw off their plans. They’d have to adjust for us and most likely protect us. That would put everyone in danger.”
His scowl was back. “I know.” Then he looked at her with wide eyes. “But I want to help! I want to protect our family too!”
She drew him into her arms. “I know you do, sweetheart, and I love you for it. But there are times we need to let those with more experience take the lead and listen to what they say.” She pulled away and tried to smile, but as she considered her next words, it was impossible. “You’ll have your chance.”
A noise caught Jessica’s attention. She looked in the direction of the sound, which was toward the houses in the neighborhood. Two men were running away from a house. Then she heard a loud whoosh! Was it coming from Derrick’s house?
“What was that?” Dylan whispered.
Jessica walked away from the barn to get a better look, but she didn’t see where the men had gone. Her eyes slid to the walkie at her hip. She had no idea what was going on at her house, but she felt like she should tell the men that something was happening here.
With slight hesitation, she lifted the walkie from her hip, then pressed the Talk button. “Something’s happening on your street.” She knew they would know where she meant.
A bright flame lit the night sky. She pressed the Talk button again. “Fire!” She hooked the walkie onto her hip then turned to Dylan. “Let’s go.”
With Dylan by he
r side, they ran toward the barn. Cleo was barking frantically from inside. What was happening? What had gotten Cleo so upset?
“We need to be quiet,” she said to Dylan as she turned the volume on the walkie down before creeping toward the man-door.
He nodded.
She opened the door a few inches, then held back a gasp. Two men were inside. They were in the process of tying up Kayla and Emily. Cleo was restrained by her leash, but she was barking and growling. Brooke was nowhere in sight. Where was she? Had the men done something to her? Terror at the thought skated over Jessica’s skin. The poor girl had been through enough.
Quietly closing the door, Jessica stepped back, then lifted the walkie to tell the men what was going on. A hand clamped over her mouth while an arm wrapped tightly around her arms, pinning them to her side. The walkie fell from her hand. Terrified, she fought back, twisting and kicking, but it did no good.
“Stop fighting or we shoot the boy.”
Eyes going wide, Jessica froze. They had a gun on Dylan? How many men were there? Were they the same men she’d seen running from Derrick’s house, or other men completely?
The man turned Jessica so she could see he was telling the truth. Another man held a gun to Dylan’s head. Dylan looked on the verge of tears, all of his earlier bravado gone.
“Are you gonna behave?” the man said in her ear.
Wanting nothing more than to draw her gun and shoot him dead, she nodded.
“Good.” He released her mouth and arms. “I’ll take this.” She felt him taking the gun out of the waistband of her jeans. He pointed her gun at her, then gestured to the man-door. “Go inside.”
Hoping and praying that Matt and the others wouldn’t be too distracted by the fire…that’s when she knew. The men of the co-op had known all along that all of their goods were inside this barn. They must have seen them moving their RV as well as Jeff parking his utility trailer inside. Had they set the fires to distract the fighters in their group so they could take everything of value when they were at their most vulnerable?
Furious at the thought, she spun around and shoved the man behind her with all her might. He was taken off guard and fell back a step, but he held on to the gun.
“What the…?” he asked, his eyebrows slashing downward as he glared at her. He stepped forward and gripped her upper arm until she cried out in pain.
“Let my mom go!” Dylan shouted.
“Shut up,” the man with the gun on Dylan growled.
“Everyone in the barn,” the first man said.
Still fuming, Jessica did as instructed, opening the door and stepping inside. The two men already in the barn strode toward them, one of them dragging Jessica near Emily and Kayla, zip-tying her hands in front of her. Dylan joined her a moment later with his hands tied as well.
“Are you okay?” she asked the three of them.
They nodded.
“They took the walkie talkies,” Emily said with a grimace.
Now there was no way to call for help.
A man wearing a blue shirt came over to Jessica and knelt in front of her. “Where are the keys to the trucks?”
She looked at the two trucks in the barn—one hitched to the RV, the other to the utility trailer. “I don’t know.”
He scowled at her. “You wouldn’t lie to me, would you?”
Of course she would. She shook her head. “No.”
“Good. Because I’d hate to have to shoot one of these kids to get you to tell me the truth.”
That got her attention. “I am telling you the truth. I don’t know where the keys are.” In all reality, Matt and Jeff had the keys.
The man shook his head then went to talk to the other three men.
“I’m scared, Mom,” Kayla whispered.
“It’ll be okay,” she whispered back, although she knew no such thing. Glancing at the men to make sure they weren’t listening, she leaned toward the Kayla. “Where’s Brooke?”
Kayla shook her head. “I don’t know. She went out the back door to go to the bathroom right after you left.”
That could be good news or bad. If the men hadn’t seen her, then it was good news. But if they had and hadn’t brought her inside, that could only mean she was hurt or worse.
She couldn’t let herself think of that just then.
“What do they want?” Kayla asked.
“I think they want our supplies.”
“Stop talking!” Blue Shirt said. He seemed to be the one in charge.
Ignoring his command, Jessica asked, “What do you want?”
He knelt in front of her and enunciated his words like she was an idiot. “I. Want. The. Keys.”
If it came to their lives or their things, of course she would do what she could to get the keys for him. Otherwise, she would be damned if she would give him any of their stuff. If what Matt had said on the walkie was true and the group these men were with was burning their house down, then the RV and what was in it was all they had in the world.
She stared at the man in defiance. “I. Don’t. Have. Them.”
Fury broadcast from his eyes. He reached out and slapped her across the face. Hard.
Her head snapped back and she cried out in shock and pain. At the look in his eyes, she knew things were only going to get worse.
Chapter 43
Matt
“We’re too late,” Derrick said as the men climbed out of his truck in front of his house.
The moment Jessica had called them over the walkie to report something happening at Derrick’s house, Matt, Jeff, Derrick, and Chris had raced over there. When Jessica’s message had reached them, they’d just gotten to Jeff’s house, which was already engulfed in flames.
Now, as they watched smoke and flames billowing out of Derrick’s front window, all Matt could think about was his family. Were they okay? When he’d tried to reach Jessica, she hadn’t responded.
He grabbed his walkie again and pressed the Talk button. “Jess, are you there?” He waited a moment. “Jess? If you can hear me, please answer.”
“Mr. Bronson!” Brooke yelled as she ran up to them, her eyes wild with panic.
“Brooke?” Matt asked. “What are you doing here? What’s wrong?” Seeing her there when she was supposed to be in the barn with his family sent alarm bells ringing in his head. “Where is everyone? Are they okay?”
Shaking her head from side to side she said, “No. Some men broke in and took them hostage.”
“Hostage?” He looked at Chris as if he should know about this, but he shook his head like he was clueless. Matt turned to Brooke. “How did you get away?”
“I left to go to the bathroom. When I was on my way back I saw some men sneaking up to the barn. I didn’t want to call you on the walkie talkie because I was afraid they would hear too.”
“How many?” Derrick asked.
“Two for sure. Maybe more.”
No wonder Jess wasn’t answering on her walkie. She couldn’t. Matt set his jaw. “I’m going.”
Derrick grabbed his arm. “Hang on. We can’t go in there without a plan.”
This time it wasn’t his house he was trying to protect, it was his family. A million times more valuable. He knew Derrick was right, but he wasn’t willing to wait long. Every second counted. Matt turned to Chris. “What do they want? Revenge?”
Chris shook his head. “I don’t know. I didn’t even know they were going to the barn.” His eyebrows bunched. “Why’s your family in there anyway?”
“To stay away from the fight, for one thing,” Matt said. “We also moved some supplies in there.” Had he said too much? Could Chris be trusted?
Slowly nodding, Chris said, “I know a man was assigned to keep an eye on your house after the, uh, altercation earlier. He must have seen you taking your stuff there.”
Spotting a thirty-three foot RV wouldn’t be difficult. Of course they’d seen them moving it. “Are you saying they’re after our supplies?”
“Most likely.
”
He would trade his food for his family in a heartbeat, but he wasn’t sure the men of the co-op would be that easy to work with. Not after what had happened earlier. But if the men knew their leaders, Eric and Russ, were dead, would that change their minds?
Matt was quiet a moment, his mind spinning. “I can give myself in trade as a hostage.”
All eyes shifted to him.
He grimaced. “Okay. I have a plan, but I don’t know if you guys are going to like it.”
Chapter 44
Jessica
Jessica’s mind raced and her heart slammed against her ribs as she catalogued how dire their situation was. She and her children and Emily were tied up, held captive by four men who wanted to take what they had. Brooke was missing—maybe hurt, maybe dead. Matt and Derrick and Jeff had no idea what was happening. Her house might be on fire. Derrick’s house was most certainly on fire.
Then she thought about the message she’d managed to get out. The one that told the men that something was happening in Derrick’s neighborhood, that there was a fire. Derrick’s house was close. Surely Matt and the other two men would come check on them in the barn. Maybe there was hope after all.
Heart settling, spirit calming, Jessica briefly closed her eyes, and when she looked at her children and reminded herself that they were all right, her despair lessened. Everything would be okay. Matt and the others would come to check on them, they would see what was happening, and they would save them.
As she imagined how it would play out, hope surged inside her.
A loud knock sounded at the rear barn door. One of the men went to it, his gun drawn.
Pandemic: The Beginning (Pandemic Book One) Page 17