by Krista Wolf
It was maddening. I found myself staring at the last known photos of us, back two summers when he’d come home for leave. We’d gone skydiving together — something he’d introduced me to as soon as I was old enough to go. There we were, smiling happily. Still wearing our chutes and harnesses. Giving the thumbs up…
My brother…
My only brother.
The tears flowed, and this time I let them go. It wasn’t his fault, I finally decided. It was whatever evil had ultimately done this to him.
And whoever the fuck that was, they were in for a whole world of pain.
Connor…
I sniffled, wiping fallen tears away from the phone’s screen. In the photo I’d stopped on, my brother still looked strong, happy, confident. Totally indestructible.
If only that were true.
No, I finally decided. If my brother was in over his head on something, it just didn’t make sense that he wouldn’t have gone for help. He would’ve done something. Would have had some kind of safeguard against getting caught, especially if he was driving out into the middle of God-knows-where in order to entrap or expose the people who killed him.
Killed. There. You said finally it.
It was a hard acknowledgment — something I’d been avoiding saying out loud, for fear of what it might mean. Killed meant someone had finally found my brother’s Achilles heel. That my older brother’s legacy of strength and invincibility had been finally stained by the shadow of something — or someone — who’d gotten the better of him.
Killed meant Connor needed to be avenged.
I cried some more, curling into a ball. Pulling my legs up against my chest, I threw the phone to the other side of the couch as if it were made of acid.
“Hey…”
My head snapped up, and there was Maddox. He was kneeling before the couch. Somehow he’d made it across the room without me even knowing it.
“You alright?”
He laid a hand on my shoulder, and once again I didn’t see it coming. I shrank back for a split-second, until I realized what it actually was.
“What are you a ninja?” I sniffed.
Maddox only shrugged in the darkness. “Maybe.”
His goofy grin was the perfect ice-breaker. It made me laugh. Made me eventually throw my arms around him and hug him, when I saw he’d already stretched his arms out to me.
“Come on,” he said. “Let’s go.”
He took my hand in his, interlacing his fingers between mine. The gesture was simple, but incredibly sweet. Meaningful in ways I didn’t immediately realize.
We walked the hall, in the direction of my bedroom. Before we got there however, he swept me into his.
“Shhh…” he whispered. “We’re supposed to be leaving you alone tonight.”
I followed him inside, practically tip-toeing as he closed the door. It felt like we were kids again, sneaking around the house during a midnight sleepover.
“Why?” I asked.
Maddox shrugged. “I guess because we didn’t want to overwhelm you.”
My heart softened. “Awww. That’s…”
“Stupid?”
“No, actually it’s kinda sweet.”
A minute later we were beneath the blankets, skin against skin. Maddox spooned me from behind, making me feel safe and warm and protected, all wrapped up in his two very strong arms.
“You’re not the only one who loved Connor,” he assured me with a sigh. My eyes grew heavier and heavier as I squirmed into him.
“We all did.”
Eighteen
DALLAS
“And I’m telling you, your brother loved sushi.”
Austin pressed the bar overhead three more times, his shoulders screaming with the exertion. I could tell the last few reps had been painful. It was all worth it though. His delts and trapezius muscles looked pumped and beautiful.
“Connor hated fish,” I reiterated. “He used to scrape it into a bag under the table, every time my mother made it.”
At that, Austin laughed. “You told on him, didn’t you?”
“Of course. What else are little sisters for?”
“Tattletale.”
“Fuck off.”
It was a lot of fun, talking about my brother’s life with the people who’d spent the most time with him. No matter how many conversations we had about Connor, I always seemed to be learning something new.
“There’s no possible way he ate sushi,” I said. “Maybe by accident, or—”
“Wanna bet?”
I smirked and took another lunge, letting the weights hang loosely from my arms. My thighs were already burning. The pain actually felt good.
“What exactly are we betting?” I asked slyly.
“You tell me.”
Hmmm, I thought to myself. Now this was getting interesting.
I grunted through the rest of my set, then stood up with a long exhale. Grabbing one foot and pinning it against my own ass, I stretched my quadriceps one at a time.
“I’ll bet you anything that Connor didn’t eat raw fish,” I said.
Austin stopped rolling his arm in his shoulder socket temporarily. He raised an eyebrow. “Anything I want?”
I rolled my eyes. “Sure.”
He put out his hand. I sighed and shook it. It was impossible not to be mesmerized by his upper body. Every inch of the exposed skin filling out his tank top was covered in a thin sheen of sweat.
“Remember,” he winked. “You said—”
“Hey!”
We both whirled, to find Maddox hanging in the doorway. He looked rushed. Hurried.
His eyes were solely on Austin.
“We uh… we need to move.”
Austin stepped forward without hesitation, not even pausing to grab a towel. It was amazing how fast SEALs could move when they really wanted to. I’d seen Connor do it, and it was always a sharp reminder these men weren’t just soldiers.
They were elite soldiers.
I cleaned up quickly, and headed into the kitchen. By the time I got there all three of them were suited up and almost ready.
“What the hell is going on?” I asked firmly.
Maddox and Kane shot each other a concerned glance. Austin was busy lacing up his boots.
“You know those transponders we talked about?” said Maddox.
“Yeah?”
“One of them moved.”
I flew up the stairs, taking them two at a time. I was back in a flash, wearing dark bottoms and a black hooded sweatshirt.
“What do you think you’re doing?” asked Austin.
“Coming with.”
I slipped into my own boots, which weren’t all that different than theirs. Connor had turned me on to them years ago.
“Yeah… no.”
“Oh no?” I snapped. “And why no—”
“Because it’s too dangerous,” said Maddox. “We’re going after the people who came after you, Dallas. We swore to protect you, not deliver you straight to them.”
“But you don’t even know they want me!” I shouted. “For all we know they wanted something of Connor’s. Something still in the house.”
“No time to argue,” Austin said firmly. “You’re staying.”
They wore desert night camo, with vests and belts. Sidearms at their hips. Rifles slung, all three of them.
It was kinda hot.
Dallas!
“So you’re going to leave me here alone?” I asked coyly. “All by myself?”
Maddox seemed prepared for my statement. He checked the safety and then slid me a Glock — one of the three different pistols they’d bought to replace the one I lost in the fire.
“Set the alarm behind us,” he ordered. “Don’t leave the house, don’t do anything except sit tight and wait for our call.”
I scoffed at him. “Think that’s gonna help if they come for me?”
“They’re not coming for you. You’ve been here for weeks now, and nobody’s come for—”
“Yeah, but now you’ve been digging,” I offered. “You said it yourself, these guys are pros. They have military ties — the same ties you do. And you know what happens when you dig?”
Maddox glanced at his chronograph, then slumped his shoulders in exasperation. “What?”
“You leave marks.”
I look to Kane. He was already smirking.
“You know she’s probably right.”
Maddox shook his head disgustedly. He looked pissed.
“We can’t protect her if we’re not around her,” Kane went on. “And we can’t afford to leave one of us behind. Might be best just to—”
“FINE.”
Maddox spat the word and left the room quickly. When he came back, he threw something at me: a tactical vest.
“Put that on,” he barked. “Then jump in the back, sit really low, and keep your head down the whole time. Got it?”
I slipped my arms through the holes and pulled the sleek material tightly around me.
“Yes sir,” I said, snapping a salute.
Nineteen
DALLAS
It was almost a little surreal, riding along in the back of the truck. Sort of like being in a movie. I was surrounded by fully-armored, heavily-armed soldiers, following a fast-moving GPS signal in the dead of night.
“They turned again,” said Austin, guiding Maddox through the darkened streets. “Head west.”
I stared out the window as we whipped past Rock Springs and straight through Monterrey. It was exciting. Exciting in the sense that we’d be getting answers, yes. But also exciting to just be a part of everything.
They’re a team, I kept reminding myself. You’re gonna need to stay out of their way.
It was good advice, except that I had a stake in this too. These men in black — if that’s who we were even chasing right now — had something to do with my brother’s death. They’d left me without Connor; homeless, penniless, and with nothing to lose.
And there was something very reckless, very dangerous about that.
“Slow up,” said Austin. “They’ve stopped.”
We were in Summerlin now: a masterfully-planned community with a circular, central hub. An old ex had taken me here a few times. The downtown area was always clean and bright and bustling, but in a way very unlike the main Vegas strip. Less cheesy. More real.
“Remember,” warned Maddox. “This could be nothing. That SUV is part of the Nellis base motor pool. It could be it’s been taken out by nothing more than a couple of flyboys tonight, for a night on the town.”
“Yeah,” said Austin. “Except this particular vehicle keeps going to the same three spots, over and over. And this is one of them.”
A click from beside me told me Kane had chambered a round. His usual casual demeanor had been replaced by one a lot more frosty. He was silent but observant. Totally aware and alert.
“There.”
We were winding through a series of back alleyways when the truck suddenly slowed down. Maddox killed the lights as we rolled to a stop. Everything was quiet. You could literally hear a pin drop.
Up ahead, two vehicles were parked nose to nose. I recognized one of the big, black SUV’s from the photographs instantly. The other was a sand-colored Jeep.
“Ready?"
Austin and Kane nodded. Apparently they’d clicked open their doors before the engine had been killed, and now they exited with surgical silence. Maddox remained behind the wheel, his window open, listening.
“What are they—”
He silenced me with a finger over my lips. Straining to see, I climbed defiantly into the front seat.
“You were supposed to stay in the back!” he hissed.
I shook my head. “Fuck that.”
I felt his hand on my head, pushing me down. He kept going until all but my eyes were below the level of the dash.
“I hear voices,” I whispered.
He nodded.
“What are they sayin—”
“Do you not understand the concept of being quiet?”
I blushed foolishly, but Maddox wasn’t even looking. He was laser-focused on Kane and Austin, who were now leapfrogging between parked cars as they made their way up the avenue.
It was fascinating, watching them. They glided with practiced movements, each advancing forward with military precision. Both had their rifles drawn. Both were ready for anything.
Long, agonizing seconds ticked by. Eventually we couldn’t see anything anymore. Maddox and I sat there, ears cocked, trying to focus on the distant sounds of voices, even laughter.
All at once, the laughter stopped.
“Dallas, I—”
Maddox’s whisper was shattered by a staccato of gunfire, as everything seemed to happen at once. Light flared from rifle-barrels. There were men running, yelling. Screaming.
“GET DOWN!”
The truck started up and lunged forward, knocking me back into the seat. I took my spot on the passenger side, Maddox too busy to argue as he jammed the accelerator, racing toward the action.
“I SAID—”
Three men sprinted toward a secondary alley, firing as they went. I could see Kane firing back from a fixed position. Austin advancing to flank them, shooting while running toward the side of a brick building.
SCREEEECH!
Both vehicles sped away. Both moved in different directions. The SUV sailed past us, and Maddox traded shots with it from out the window.
“Go after them!” Austin shouted to Maddox.
A moment later he and Kane were gone, both sprinting full tilt down the darkened alley. Maddox gave me a sideways glance, then tore off in the direction the Jeep had gone.
“Put on your seatbelt,” he growled.
“But—”
“NOW!”
Twenty
MADDOX
The Jeep had a damned good head start. Whoever was driving it was quick and decisive, and the size difference between our vehicles made it even easier for them as we weaved in and out of traffic.
“They went left!”
I squinted hard as I gripped the wheel. Having a second set of eyes was always a good thing. Having that second set of eyes as Dallas Winters…
You’re an asshole, Maddox.
I could hear it in my head as clear as day. Connor’s voice.
You were supposed to protect her, not get her involved!
“Piss on that,” I spat angrily. “You never told us anything! You got wrapped up in something you should’ve—”
“What?” Dallas was staring at me like I had five heads.
“Nothing.”
“Who the hell are you talking to?”
“Nobody,” I growled. “I was—”
CRACK! CRACK!
I ducked instinctively at the sounds of gunfire. Dallas was staring ahead, mouth open. Eyes transfixed.
“GET DOWN!”
I yanked the wheel hard, swerving left and right. Trying to make us a harder target, while with my left hand…
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
The pistol rolled in my hand with every bump and jolt. It was impossible to aim and swerve. Every angle was bad.
CRACK! CRACK!
I saw the glint of sparks against the Jeep’s back bumper, but not much else. Up ahead, I could see the guy in the passenger seat reloading…
“Let me drive!”
Dallas already had one leg over mine. She grabbed the ‘oh-shit’ handle above the driver’s side window, and used it to pull herself towards me.
“ARE YOU FUCKING CRAZ—”
“Let me drive so you can shoot!” she yelled. I was still firmly in my seat. She was sitting almost completely in my lap now.
“But—”
“Move the fuck over!”
It happened out of reflex, like I was obeying an order. Shit, she’d said it forcefully enough.
“Dallas—”
“NO TIME,” she shouted back. She hit a button and the passenger window rolled
down. “C’mon!”
Unbelievably, I listened. I yanked the receiver back on my SCAR and stretched my entire torso out the window for leverage.
“Keep it steady for a second!” I shouted. “Give me a good—”
The first round ripped into my shoulder just above the clavicle. The second and third ones were grazing, tearing two streaks in my jacket right along the top of my arm.
I could feel an instant wetness coming from my wounds. It only made me grit my teeth harder as I squeezed the trigger…
CRACK-CRACK-CRACK-CRACK!
The passenger jerked back with the impact, his arms flying forward as he dropped his weapon. It went skidding off along the pavement, even as he went limp against the side of the Jeep.
Almost immediately, someone yanked my target back inside.
“You got him!”
We turned again, this time so sharply I imagined the Jeep flipping over. It didn’t, but it came damn close. And somehow Dallas gained ground on the turn.
What is she, a professional driver or—
The jeep spun sideways again, this time onto the main thoroughfare. The village center was made up of a big circle, the spokes of which ended in a big central hub. There were people everywhere, walking the sidewalks. I saw crowds, old and young. Couples holding hands…
I lowered my rifle.
“Get alongside it!” I shouted.
My arm stung. My pride stung more. Red had blossomed through my shirt and was dripping down toward my elbow.
“YOU’RE HIT?”
Dallas’s face was stark white — all concern. She kept glancing at my wounded shoulder.
“It’s nothing. I’m fine,” I told her. “Hey, keep your eyes on the roa—”
I jerked the wheel for her… just in time to avoid sideswiping a van. Dallas put her head forward, shoulders hunched. I felt the truck surge beneath us as she pressed the pedal to the floor.
Goddamn it, this is crazy…
It was crazy. The streets were full of cars, the sidewalks teeming with people. I could hear the screech of the Jeep’s tires are it tore around Village Center Circle, nearly rising up on two wheels as we bore down on it.