by SM Olivier
“You laid the smackdown on Nats?” Chad gave me an assessing look as well.
I shrugged self-consciously. “Not really,” I said.
A bottle of water was placed in front of me and a plate of food. I looked over at Axel and saw his commanding, luminous caramel gaze on me. He looked like he meant business, and, somehow, I think he’d cause a stink if I didn’t attempt to eat.
I sighed and picked up the bottle of water. I hadn’t even realized how dry my mouth was. I also was reminded that I probably needed to brush my teeth.
“My sister's modest,” BJ stated. “She just made the National Team and was headed to the Olympics.”
Was. There wasn’t going to be any Olympics anytime in the near future. It figured it would be my luck to be at the top of my game, only to have the dream yanked away.
“Aren’t you a model too?” the Filipino asked, with something akin to lust in his eyes. “And you’re the girl in the pictures in Cavalier’s footlocker, right?
I saw Sylvia and BJ tense, and I almost laughed. I could tell they were getting ready to protect me or steer the conversation to safer topics. Had I been that bad? Had I been that sensitive on the subject of my sister?
I gave him a crooked grin as I tore a piece of my cheese in half. “My sister is the model, I’m the athlete,” I explained as I took a tentative bite of my food. I didn’t know if my stomach could handle it, but I’d try. “And if there are pics of me in Corbin’s footlocker, it may or may not be me, but I doubt it. Emery and I are identical, and she and Corbin were closer to each other. So, it’s probably Em.”
“It’s you,” Axel murmured.
I looked up at him in surprise. How would Axel know?
My surprise was soon replaced with curiosity. The Cavaliers and Harris-Harrisons had always been close, especially after my mom died. We’d knewn Corbin our whole lives. He went from playmate to tormentor, to a teen who treated us indifferently. By the time his family moved near us again, he had joined up. He would come home to visit, but he never hung around that often. When Emery had gotten her license, though, she had hung out with him a lot when he was home.
From what I had gathered from her and Trevor, Corbin had acted like an older brother to her by then. She tried to get him to hook her up with his friends, and he shot her down. They bantered on Facebook a lot and tagged each other in pictures. I didn’t have that type of relationship with Cor. I had been too wrapped up in Trevor.
So what picture did Corbin have of me, and how could Axel be so sure it was me? Hello? Identical twins!
Axel finally cleared his throat before he reached into his cargo pocket. “We should probably come up with a game plan. It’s going to be dark soon, and if we don’t reach our destination in time, we need to find a place to stay overnight.”
“Why can’t we drive through the night?” BJ asked in confusion.
Axel looked at Miller and Mikey. They had been quiet and was watching all of us intently.
“Hey, Mikey and Miller, let’s hit the head… I mean, the bathroom,” Mr. Blue eyes stated, standing up. Mikey and Miller groaned, obviously disappointed not to hear our conversation. “Wanna come with us too, Philly?” He turned to the toddler.
“Yes!” Phillip nodded. “Potty pwease,” he requested in his cute little lisp.
Mr. Blue-eyes smiled and held out his hand to Phillip.
Jenny began to fuss once they left. Chad immediately stood with the baby cradled to his broad chest and walked towards the SUV.
“We know some things,” BJ said the moment Chad walked away. “But we want to know it all. You guys know more than what you’re letting on, and for our survival, we should know too. I understand OPSEC and all that, but let’s be real, who are we going to tell?”
“Felix,” Axel prodded after a few moments of heavy silence.
“No one knows where this virus originated from.” The Filipino, Felix, leaned forward. “They think it may have been man-made. We heard rumors of a biological weapon being created for a little over a year, but every time we went to investigate these claims… poof.” He made a noise with his mouth before he continued. “Alpha Team finally got a confirmation of the bioweapon, but by the time they located the village, it was too late. Everyone in the town was deceased, and they were only able to collect some data on the possible virus.
“They secured the village before the scientists were called in. With Alpha Team, we were actually able to find and locate some of the infected for the scientist to examine. They observed the test subjects to give us a better understanding of the virus once it establishes a host. They’ve been running the test and still trying to find a cure for the… infection. Before communications were dropped this morning, Harris told us the infected were more dangerous at night. They seemed to be faster, more intelligent. We really don’t want to be in the open when the sun sets.”
I gasped as I looked at BJ. He appeared as waxen as I felt.
“There’s no need to be worried,” Chad said as he returned with Jenny. The huge man was now feeding the baby a bottle. “We’ve encountered the infected over there, and we’ll protect you until we reach our safe zone.”
I barely registered how comfortable the large man was in taking care of the baby. He was caring for her with an ease that suggested he had done it before.
I felt tears burn my eyes once more as I covered my face. My dad wasn’t any safer than we were. “Who’s protecting my dad?” I stated hoarsely.
“Your dad?” Felix asked in confusion.
“Lieutenant Colonel Harris is our father,” I said in agitation as things fell into place. “Is he even on his way home?”
“Colonel Harris is your father? But… isn’t your last name Harrison?” Chad inquired with a frown. I could see the wheels working in his head.
From what I had gathered, he was on Bravo Team. If Alpha Team swept the village for the scientist, then they must have secured it for my dad. Did Wyatt and Corbin never tell Bravo Team their relationship with my dad, and where was Corbin’s dad? He was deployed, too. Generally, they worked alongside each other.
They were two of the most brilliant scientists the military had.
Fear was gripping me once more. I felt light-headed and anxious. My dad could be in danger, and I didn’t even know if Uncle Scott was with him. They always worked better as a team.
“My mother was Isabella Harrison- Harris,” BJ stated numbly. “After the girls were born, she put them in modeling. They were nearly as hot a commodity as my mom. They modeled together until they were about twelve. Em developed an eating disorder, and there was a stalker after them. Dad thought it was best if they were removed from the spotlight. Mom got cancer and died. The stalker never went away. Dad then got orders to Andrews, and he decided to get their names legally changed to our mother’s maiden name so they couldn’t be found.”
I saw the shock on all their faces. I never even told Sylvia about Marlon Gains. He was a memory I tried to bury. I had issues sleeping for years because of him. Em may have gone to treatment for her eating disorder, but I went to therapy because of what he had done to me. His obsession for Em paled in comparison to his fixation on me.
“I’m cold,” I stated abruptly, feeling uncomfortable under their gazes. “I’m going to get my hoodie and brush my teeth.”
I stood and walked stiffly towards the truck. I was getting cold, so it gave me the perfect excuse to get up.
There was a reason why I’d become so driven with Tae Kwon Do. I had motives I never admitted aloud to anyone but my therapist. I never wanted to feel powerless and helpless ever again. Martial Arts became my security blanket. The more confident I got in my training, and the more matches I won as a young teen, the better I slept at night.
I shuddered. Where was my therapist? I would love to talk to her right now. She was always such a great listener and put things into perspective. Most of the time, I just needed her to listen to me. I had made the mistake once of expecting support from Em when everyth
ing had been so overwhelming, and I regretted it still to this day.
I climbed into my truck and pulled out my bag. Right on top was my dojang hoodie. It was my favorite. It was black with my silhouette on the back, with my name on the front. I was doing a flying side kick in white. I liked it because no one technically knew it was my form on the back, but I knew. Coach had gotten all of us unique personalized gifts this past year. I silently prayed that, wherever he was, he was safe.
I leaned over and reached into the boys’ bags next and grabbed their sweatshirts, too. I imagined they would be getting cold soon. It was still technically mid-spring, and even though it was comfortably warm during the day, the temps were known to drop at night.
Reaching into my toiletry bag, I pulled out my travel toothbrush and toothpaste. I got a bottle of water and rinsed my brush. It wasn’t very practical to brush my teeth in a parking lot when a bathroom was fifty yards away. However, I was too lazy to take a walk and still wanted to be alone with my thoughts. When the disgusting taste left my mouth, I rinsed my brush, stuck it back in my bag, and then took a swig of water to rinse my mouth.
I was bent over, spitting the water out, when I felt a presence at my back. I was about to strike out but then froze when I felt cold steel pressed against my head.
“Not a word,” a male voice hissed in my ear. I heard the gun’s slide cocking back. “And don’t you dare scream. Just give me your keys, and we’ll leave here without hurting you.”
Fear and reasoning battled inside my head. I could quickly disarm one assailant, but he had said “we.”
“What’s going on here?” I heard Axel ask from behind me.
“Just mind your own business,” a shrill female voice sneered. “Move one more inch, and my husband is going to blow her brains out.”
“Mom,” I heard a young boy’s voice cry.
“Shut up, Ben,” another boy hissed.
Slowly recognition sunk in, and my fear was replaced by anger. “Really? Rosa and Luke?” I sneered. “We gave you enough food to last you at least two weeks. Is this how you repay people that show you good deeds?”
“Food you had stolen from us. You could have given us more,” Rosa cried out hysterically. “You have so much of it. Now it’s ours.”
Of all the people to run into, we had to run into them? I thought. Where had they even come from? Had they been following us?
“Mom,” the first boy continued to sob. “Please, they were nice to us. We should have left after they gave us the food.”
I heard a resounding smack.
“Woah, woah,” Axel said in a calming voice. “No reason to hit your son.”
“How about you refrain from telling me how to raise my son,” Rosa scorned. “Ben, Hector, get into the truck. Luke, grab her keys.”
“Where are they?” Luke tapped the gun into my head, making me wince.
I went to grab my keys but felt the butt of the gun smack me in my head. I saw stars and cried out in pain.
“I said don’t move!” Luke yelled.
Then I heard several bolts being pulled back.
“Touch her again and I’ll fucking kill you,” Axel said with deadly quietness.
Suddently, I was being dragged around, now facing Axel, Mr. Blue-eyes, and Felix. They all had their M-4’s raised and trained on Luke.
“All I need is the keys, man. She just needs to tell me where they're at,” Luke’s voice shook despite the confidence of his words. The muzzle of his gun dug into my temple. I knew with my body shielding him, he had a false sense of confidence. “Tell my boy where your keys are, and he’ll grab them.”
“They’re in my pocket,” I hissed out in pain as the muzzle dug further into my skin.
“Hector!” Luke called out. “Grab the keys from her pocket.”
The older boy reached into my pocket and seized them. He held them up triumphantly. “Got them!”
“Now, here’s what’s going to happen,” Luke stuttered out. “My wife is going to drive us out of here, and we’re taking the girl to the rest stop exit Shoot at us, and you might hit the girl.”
He pulled me to the tailgate of my truck as panic seized me. More agony shot up to my scalp as he dragged me backwards by my hair with one hand and held the gun to my head with the other. I cried out in shock and hurt.
“I said not to touch her!” Axel roared, raising the scope to his eyes. Felix and Mr. Blue-eyes began to talk to him urgently. I could see his strong jaw clench and unclench.
“If anything happens to my girl, know this,” Axel finally rasped out. “I have the resources and ability to hunt you down. I will take your sons from you and make sure they're raised honorably while I feed you to the infected piece by piece.”
A cold chill ran down my spine. I was glad he was on my side. I also hadn’t missed his term of “my girl.” I didn’t want to examine the thrill at the thought of really being his girl.
I shoved my foolish thoughts aside and focused back on the situation I was in.
I knew he was just trying to scare Luke, to antagonize him. He had to pretend I meant something to him. Who would want to provoke a man that large and intimidating? No sane man, that’s for sure.
“You do as I tell you, and I won’t touch her again,” Luke sniveled. “Climb up,” he commanded me.
He released my hair and lowered the tail gate. I knew I had no choice but to obey him. I turned around and put my foot on the bumper of my truck before climbing in. I heard Mikey yell for me, but I kept my head down. I didn’t want him to see my fear.
Luke climbed up next to me and leaned behind me. I didn’t have the opportunity to jump out before his gun was digging into my back.
“Screw you, Tonto,” Rosa cursed out from the driver's side window. She poked her head out and pointed another gun at the men. “Maybe if your girl wasn’t such a selfish bitch, we wouldn’t be taking everything for her.”
Her racial slur made me snarl. Her ignorance knew no bounds.
My mind churned for a solution to the problem. I didn’t want to give them all of our supplies, but I really, really didn’t want to lose my baby, my truck. I must have overdosed on adrenaline today because I couldn’t come up with the solution as my head pounded.
I heard my truck start, and soon we were pulling out of the parking spot. “Why does she treat you and your son like you’re beneath her?” I scoffed at Luke as we drove at a slow pace towards the exit.
I refused to look at the people I left behind; their emotions would affect me and I needed to keep my feelings locked down. If this was my fate, then so be it, but I wasn’t going down without a fight.
“She loves me and only wants what's best for us,” he bit out, but I heard the insecurities in his voice.
“Whatever makes you feel better, I guess,” I mocked him. “Rosa treats you like a dog. She speaks to anyone that contradicts her or makes her unhappy with disrespect. And we mustn’t forget she slapped your son for speaking his mind. I guess everyone has to fall into line, or she punishes them.”
“Shut up!” he screamed at me, and I knew I had hit a nerve. “Don’t make me hit you again.”
“Well, you could,” I goaded. “But my man is JOpS. Do you know what that is? Heard of the rangers? How about the Seals? PJs? He’s all that and then some. He’s trained to be the ultimate human weapon.” I tried to sell the lie but noticed how easy the words “my man” fell from my lips. I couldn’t remember the last time those words came out of my mouth without cringing or feeling despair.
“Touch me,” I continued, “and he’ll hunt you down like he promised and make you regret you ever did.”
“Rosa!” he bellowed.
She slammed on the breaks, and I tumbled back, stricking my spine against a tote. I bit back a curse.
“Get out!” he growled.
“Wait,” Rosa said as she jumped out of the truck, holding her gun towards me. “I want the sweatshirt. Give it to me.”
I began to protest, but knew it was fruitles
s. I slowly removed it as I glared at Rosa. She didn’t need my sweatshirt. She was just high on her power trip.
“Throw it here,” she said with a scornful smile. “Maybe you’ll share better next time.”
She bent over and retrieved my sweater. She slid it on and gave me another smug smile. “So warm.”
“If you believe in Karma, you’re screwed,” I said scornfully. “I just hope your sons don’t pay for your greed.”
Without warning, I heard the slide of her gun. I dove in the opposite direction, hearing it go off, and hoping she had a horrible aim.
Chapter 7
BJ, Sylvia, and Axel jumped out of the SUV and found me crying by the rest stop exit.
There was a small copse of trees and bushes on both sides, before it led out to the highway. I had crawled to one of the bushes and stayed there, clutching my knees to my chest. I knew it would only be a matter of minutes before help arrived.
“Did they hit you?” BJ cried out.
“No.” I shook my head, wiping my cheeks.
“Then why are you crying?” Sylvia bent down in front of me. “If it’s the supplies, it’s okay. We have enough to keep us going for a while.”
“It’s not that.” I sniffled as I pulled up the hem of my shirt to my nose.
“Your life is more important than your damn truck, Ave.” BJ sighed in frustration. “If it makes you feel better, I’ll steal you a better one.”
I nearly snorted with laughter, imagining my once trouble-making brother boosting a vehicle. The academy had straightened him out and provided him the stability he needed that my parents wouldn’t or couldn’t give him.
“Blanch was a beautiful truck, but it’s not that.” I revealed my stomach once more as I wiped my running nose. I knew I looked like a hot mess, but I really didn’t give a damn.
“Did they hurt you?” Sylvia hugged me harder.
“No. Not much, anyway,” I cried out. “Rosa took my favorite hoodie.”
I knew I was being totally irrational, but in my exhausted, distraught head, it was worth crying over.