“This is one of them.” Eddie shoved him so hard, he couldn’t keep on his feet and slammed into the grass. He rolled so his other shoulder took the brunt of his fall and managed to get to this knees again.
“You fucking coward!” The woman shrieked and launched off the porch, coming at him.
She slapped at his head and shoulders, screaming while the rest of the men hooted and hollered.
“That’s enough, Sissy!” Eddie snapped. “Save some for the rest of us.”
“You’re going to die!” She spat at him, and then marched back into the house. He ran his gaze quickly over the group, trying to find one friendly face in the crowd, or at least one who didn’t agree with this, but there wasn’t one.
A man with several missing front teeth stepped forward and bent close, giving him a tobacco-stained smile.
“Guess Mike’s wife don’t take kindly to you locking her husband behind bars.” The guy hawked up a loogie and spat it on his shirt.
Zane stared straight ahead, going to a place in his mind where he didn’t need to deal with these assholes. A mental place where he’d be with Isaac. Oh, he wouldn’t stay hidden away long, just long enough to regroup and assess the new situation.
“We killing him now?” one of the younger men asked. He appeared to be no older than sixteen, but the pockmarks on his face and sniffling told him the youth was already long gone to drug abuse.
“No, we do it at dawn,” Eddie said, looking at Sheldon Chambers, who’d pushed his way through the crowd.
“Were you followed?” Sheldon eyed his son.
“They’ll never find this place,” Eddie said.
“Hanging or burning?” someone shouted.
“I say both.” Sheldon spat a wad of tobacco in the dirt.
“Yeah,” Eddie agreed. “Both sounds good.”
A hard hand around his arm yanked him upright and he was guided to a small shed that sat between the house and barn.
“We reinforced the toolshed just for you,” a man snarled near his ear. “So don’t be thinkin’ you can escape.”
Shoved inside, his face hit the plank as the door slammed shut. He’d gotten a quick glimpse of the room before the door cut off the man’s flashlight. The place was small, only tall enough to stand in and long enough to sit. The foul stench of animal shit mixed with oil and yard grass enveloped the space.
The padlock clicked into place, leaving behind only the sound of his ragged breath.
Sliding his ass to the hardwood floor, he winced. His fucking hands had almost lost all sensation and some part of him was worried about that. Another part wanted to go to sleep. Now that he was sitting, the throbbing that had grown in his right side was a sharp, pinching pain. He must had cracked a rib going down the falls. Blood had dried on his neck and shoulder, so he imagined he’d hit his head too. Thankfully, he didn’t feel like he was concussed.
The lock clicked and jerked him upright from his slump.
The door eased open and a grizzled and weathered face of an old man peeked inside. Zane stared into the tired green eyes for a long moment. He couldn’t remember seeing the old man in the group or any pictures.
“Flynn Chambers,” the man introduced himself.
“And who are you?”
“Sheldon’s my brother.” The old man shuffled forward with a hunk of bread and a water jug. Zane felt like he could have fucking cried at the show of kindness.
The old man sat the bread and water down and crouched at his feet. With a clacking thud, he dumped a pair of rusted shackles with a chain attached between the cuffs on the floor.
With gnarled fingers, the guy pulled off his boots and clamped the shackles around each of his ankles, the chain rattling.
He didn’t kick the old man in the head. What would be the sense in that when he could see three men with guns standing just behind the partially closed door.
“Lean forward,” Flynn said.
Zane did as the man ordered and the zip-ties were cut. The pain was instant and he kept this head bowed.
“It’ll ease off soon. I was cuffed for three days once,” the old man said.
His arms hung limp; his muscles screamed. Very slowly, he brought his arms around to rest his hands on his lap, unable to do more than that at the moment. The old man lifted the jug of water to his lips and he turned his head away.
“It’s not drugged.”
He turned back as the old man took a sip of the water and then held it to his lips again. Zane took several grateful swallows.
“I’ll leave this and the bread here. Finish it up.”
“Why?” he rasped, his eyes finding the old man’s.
“Every man deserves a last meal,” Flynn said.
“I’m a US soldier. They’re coming,” he rasped.
Flynn watched him with those tired old eyes for a long moment and then left him. Had Flynn called in the anonymous tip?
The door creaked shut and the lock latched and then he was alone. He brought the bread to his nose and sniffed it. It didn’t smell poisoned. The water hadn’t been, so maybe the bread wasn’t. He took a chance and tore off a piece with his teeth. It tasted so fucking good that the large hunk of bread was gone in two minutes, three tops.
With a full belly and his thirst quenched, he ran his fingers over his raw wrists, trying to sooth the abrasions.
He studied the ankle cuffs, the rusted metal like something out of an old western movie and he’d bet money they’d been around this place since the dawn of time. The rusty chain between the cuffs gave him about two feet to work with. Just enough to drag when he walked. The chain would make running difficult, but he had to try.
He dozed off for a few hours and then made himself stay awake. About an hour before dawn, he made his move.
First order of business was getting out of this shed. He shoved to his feet and knocked on the door. He wasn’t surprised when the guard peeked at him through the slats instead of opening the lock.
“I have to take a piss. You want me to do it on your tools?” he said.
Lids narrowed at him and then the lock jangled.
“Don’t make no trouble, or I’ll shoot you and they won’t get no lynching,” the man said, opening the shed door.
“I just need to piss.”
The man stepped back and Zane shuffled out of the toolshed, the chain between the cuffs dragging in the dirt. Making his way along the side of the shed, he stopped in the back and reached for his zipper. He tugged it down and shot the guy a look.
“Going to watch?”
“Fuck no!” The guy jerked around. “Don’t try nothin’.”
Zane whipped out his dick and pissed on the back of the toolshed. It wouldn’t matter if it smelled because he wasn’t going back inside. He zipped up.
One guard? That’s all they put on him? He must look like shit if they thought one man could contain him.
He whirled, chains clanking, and the man turned, but Zane was already close. He punched the heel of his palm upward into the man’s nose. The bones cracked beneath his palm. The hit wouldn’t kill the guy. People were misinformed when they thought punching someone upward in the nose killed them instantly, it took a bit more than that.
The guy dropped his weapon and held his face, Zane moved in and cinched his arm around the man’s neck and twisted. The snap was loud to his own ears, but not to the house.
It was a kill move, and the man dropped like a stone.
Snatching up the rifle, Zane took off back toward the falls, shuffling through the grass, dragging the chain between his bare feet.
Isaac
He couldn’t believe his fucking eyes when Zane came hobbling down the side of the dirt road, clutching a rifle and wearing… what the fuck were those, ankle cuffs?
“Zane,” he whispered, and Dillon standing closest to him, squeezed his shoulder.
They’d met up with Alpha and Fury a few hours ago and followed the trail Zane had left every time he fell or was pushed. To avoid detection
, they’d stayed beneath the thick trees and underbrush that lined the dusty road.
He couldn’t stand it any longer and lunged from the trees across the distance to Zane.
“Isaac?” The surprise in Zane’s voice was laughable, but Isaac wasn’t laughing.
He reached Zane and hauled him into his arms all the while pulling him back into the safety and shelter of the trees where everyone waited.
“And here we thought we’d have to rescue your ass.” Dillon grinned and clamped a hand on Zane’s shoulder.
“I wondered what the lagging was,” Zane huffed, leaning heavily against him.
Isaac kept his arm around Zane’s shoulder, steadying him. His heart pounding so fucking hard, gently holding him. His teeth clenched, holding back hot words at the damage he could see on Zane. Cuts and bruises littered Zane’s face and blood had dried on his neck and shoulder.
“Lag? I’ll have you know that Isaac had us double timing,” Dillon said with a smirk.
Holden motioned him over and when he guided Zane closer, Holden aimed the muzzle of the silencer at the chain and pulled the trigger. With a quiet snick, metal blew apart.
“Sit down over here,” he said, guiding Zane to a bed roll.
Colin took out a set of tools and sat next to Zane’s feet, working at unlocking the ankle cuffs.
Ethan crowded close and applied salve to Zane’s wrists before wrapping them up.
“What’s the plan?” Zane glanced at their captain.
“We’re going in before dawn,” Maddox said.
“Let me see,” Ethan said, and lifted Zane’s shirt before very gently touching the area at Zane’s ribs. The man hissed, but held still.
Isaac sucked in a quick breath and bent to see the dark bruise that covered Zane’s right side.
“Rocks caught me on the way down the falls.”
“And your head,” he murmured, moving closer to run his fingers gently through Zane’s hair, finding the cut that had already scabbed over.
“That should hold it,” Ethan said after wrapping up Zane’s ribs with white gauze and tape. “Any sharp pains?”
“It’s a dull thud now. A rib is probably cracked,” Zane admitted. The man’s eyes were closed and he was leaning into his fingers. Isaac kept caressing Zane’s scalp, offering silent support.
Ethan lifted the light to shine on the cut at the back of Zane’s head. “Doesn’t need stitches, but let’s keep an eye on it.”
“Captain?” Zane said.
“What do you need?” Maddox came closer and crouched next to them.
“I might need to sit this one out.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll take care of it.”
Isaac wanted to laugh. Sit this one out? Of course, Zane was sitting this one out!
“There’s about thirteen of them. Eddie, Mike’s wife, Grandpa, an older uncle, and several adults and teenagers mixed in. I could be wrong, but I think the uncle might have called in the warning to the tip line.”
“Copy that,” Maddox replied. “Did you get a look at the inside of the house?”
“No, but you’ll see that it’s falling apart. Should be easy to breach.”
“What did they have planned for you?”
“A lynching in the morning with plans to burn my body.”
He gnashed his teeth and went to stand, but Zane gripped his arm and kept him sitting.
“Can you give us a moment?” Zane asked Maddox.
The rest of the team gazed up from various places, some on bedrolls, some eating dried snacks, a few cleaning their weapons.
Nobody moved away.
“Babe,” he whispered. “They aren’t going anywhere. We just got you back.”
Zane gave him a sheepish look.
“I’ll just be over here,” Maddox said and kicked the bed roll closest to them.
“What?” Oliver glanced up.
“Move your bedroll.”
Oliver didn’t argue and moved his bedroll to the other side with the others. It wasn’t far, but it afforded a bit more privacy.
“Thanks,” he said when Maddox brought two bedrolls for him and Zane to lean against, and then dropped a pair of socks and boots nearby.
Maddox winked and returned to where River, Blade, and Holden were looking at a map.
“This is as private as we’re going to get.” He eased down beside Zane and offered him a slight smile.
Zane slanted a look at Ethan and the medic huffed. “Yeah, yeah, I’m going. Don’t get up,” Ethan ordered and then made his way over to speak with Maddox and River.
Isaac turned until he was facing Zane. Sitting cross legged in front of him, he placed a hand on the man’s knee and blocked him from the group.
“Better?”
“Isaac,” Zane began and then stopped.
“Yes?” he whispered, keeping his voice low.
“I thought I was going to die going over those falls.”
His throat grew tight. “I thought you did.”
“I thought you might have followed me over and fell to your death,” Zane murmured, lifting fingers to touch his jaw.
“A tree stopped me. Then Holden bench pressed me to safety.”
“Thank you, Mother Nature and Holden.”
He gave Zane a lopsided smile.
“I don’t want another day to go by without telling you that I love you.”
His eyes went wide.
“I should have said it that day,” Zane continued doggedly, curling his hands into fists.
Isaac reached for the clenched hands and smoothed them out, brushing over the raw, cracked skin of Zane’s knuckles before lacing their fingers together.
“I don’t ever want you to feel pressured into something you don’t want.” He held up a hand when Zane opened his mouth. “Let me finish, please.”
When Zane nodded, he continued.
“I want to say we have all the time in the world, but you and I both know we don’t. We could be gone at any moment, but I don’t want that fear to force you into saying something you’re not ready for. Does that make sense?”
“Isaac?”
“Yeah?”
“I’ve been ready for you my whole life. It just took me a while to figure it out.”
He smiled in the face of Zane’s earnestness. The crackling of the fire, the low murmur of voices, and the night bird calling for its mate faded. The light from the moon dappled Zane’s beloved face and Isaac drew the man’s hand to his mouth.
“I was so stupid,” Zane went on.
“No, you weren’t,” he said, gently kissing over Zane’s bruised hand.
“I am.” Zane withdrew his hand and touched his fingers to the strands of his hair, fingering the blond locks. “I’m stupid and crazy in love with you and I have been for a long time. I kept denying what happened when I was younger because I was afraid of what people might think of me.”
“I get it. Coming out gay can be one of the most terrifying things, but your brother is gay. Your friends are gay, hell, almost your whole unit is gay. You’re safe here.”
“I didn’t say it made any sense,” Zane husked on a laugh and wiped the back of his free hand against his eyes.
“But we make sense,” he whispered, holding his hands out, palms up.
Rather than take his hands, Zane fisted his shirt and pulled him slowly closer, the man’s eyes glittering in a sliver of moonlight.
“Hell yes, we do.”
Zane
With the full might of Infinity and Fury, they overtook the house. It took several hours and another night to subdue the Chambers, but they got it done. The FBI and local officials were called in and the group of crooks were hauled off.
After a long flight and grabbing a new go bag with essentials and fresh clothes, he talked Isaac into getting a hotel room with him.
As the door of the Hilton hotel closed behind them, he eased Isaac into his arms. Rubbing his hands down the man’s back beneath the sweaty, filthy t-shirt.
“
Let’s take a shower,” he said huskily.
“God yes,” Isaac agreed.
After grabbing lube and several condoms from his go bag, he stood in the large, white tiled shower beneath the warm spray with Isaac’s soapy hands running over his body.
Leaning his head back, he closed his eyes when Isaac closed a soapy hand around his dick and stroked him from tip to base.
He hissed beneath the firm touch and tipped his head down to watch Isaac sink to his knees on the tile floor. The water ran down his chest and abs, washing away the soapy residue along his front.
Leaning forward, Isaac aimed his cock between his lips and pressed the tip into his mouth.
“Oh fuck.” He shuddered and flattened his hands against the tile but didn’t dare look away.
Isaac took his sweet fucking time, pulling his hot mouth along his length before tonguing the slit along his crown. Soapy hands caressed the back of his thighs and he spread his legs when slippery fingers slid up the crack of his ass. He wanted to feel those fingers inside of him, just as they’d been pressed into Isaac getting him ready.
He groaned when Isaac read his mind and brushed his fingers over the sensitive puckered skin before gently pressing the tip of a finger inside of him. Zane growled and gazed down through the water, finding Isaac’s eyes locked on him.
The mouth at his cock sucked him harder and he parted his legs, allowing the finger to breach him completely.
Reaching downward, he cupped what he could of Isaac’s head and clamped his teeth tight. Nothing helped, nothing staved off the hunger and need rolling through his body. He shouted when Isaac touched something deep inside and his cock pulsed. Stars exploded behind his closed lids as he emptied his cock into Isaac’s mouth.
Panting, Isaac slipped his finger from his body and sat back on his heels before rising upward. His gorgeous cock thick and engorged standing proudly.
“Jesus, you’re tight,” Isaac grunted, moving in for a kiss.
Battle It Out Page 18