Behind the Lens (Home in Carson Book 1)

by Renee Harless

  The opening for the lake came into view and Alexis sighed in relief at the sight of Cliff’s back. She had never felt such exaltation during a worse circumstance. The only thing that came close was when Heath found her outside her father’s bunker.

  Alexis’ body grew tighter, if possible, as the elephant of a man carried her closer to their pack.

  Suddenly one man fell to the ground and her captor's arm tightened around her waist as he stopped in his tracks. A moment later, another man fell, then a third.

  From her perspective, she couldn’t make out where the shots were coming from, but knowing Cliff, Alexis assumed that he had rigged up the area as a precaution. She wanted to get her hands on whatever device he was using to set the weapons off.

  “Ow,” she grunted behind the man’s hand as his arms began to dig into her rib cage.

  “I need to call the boss. Keep her quiet,” elephant man commanded as he roughly handed her over to a smaller, but equally muscled hulk.

  Alexis considered using the switch off to break free and scream for everything she’s worth, but she hesitated. She had no idea how many of the men were armed. They could easily take her and Cliff out. The odds weren’t in their favor. The exchange happened quickly and she didn’t even get the opportunity to kick the man in the shins or groin. They tossed her between them already knowing how she planned to fight, like they’ve done it many times before. And knowing the type of dirty business they run with her father, she’s confident they’ve seen it all before. They’re probably some of the same men that took out her team in the bunker. Death and innocence meant little to them. Demons in a black suit.

  From the cabin side of the lake, Alexis’ eyes widened as another man approached behind Cliff. He moved stealthy, his crouched position masking the sounds of his feet crunching on the ground while Cliff mocked the men standing before him.

  A second man followed behind him as the first man lifted a crowbar in the air. As the newcomer buttoned his suit jacket, Alexis recognized him immediately – her father.

  Biting her captor’s hand, Alexis wrenched her face free and shouted Cliff’s name just as the crowbar collided with the back of his head.

  “No! Cliff!”

  Alexis had been in a panic before, but nothing like this. Nothing like watching a blindsided Cliff helplessly fall to the ground, his lifeless body landing with a thud.

  “Cliff!” she cried out again, her heart shredded inside her chest. Her body acted on reflex as grief consumed her. Alexis’ legs and arms flailed about uncontrollably. She pushed against the captor’s hold, trying to reach the man that held her heart.

  Regardless of her fight, she was carried back toward the other side of the lake, her father watching their approach with each step. She felt so much hatred toward the man that she shared DNA with.

  “Glad to see you’ve finally come around,” he sneered.

  Alexis, still squirming in the captor’s hold, leaned her head toward her father’s. Without a thought to the consequences, she spit in his face. The moisture landed in his hair and on his tanned skin. She seethed at him, her chest heaving as he reached for a handkerchief and wiped away the wetness.

  She was not expecting the left hook after her father delicately placed the cloth back into his pocket. She tasted the blood from her now split lip, the fleshy skin catching on a jeweled gold ring he wore on his index finger.

  “You’ve always been too defiant for your own good. Take her to the car, we’re on a tight schedule.”

  “What do you want us to do with the man?” one of the men asked as the captor carried her past Cliff’s limp body lying on the wet ground, the edge of the lake nipping at his legs.

  “Toss him in the lake.”

  A few of the men took turns kicking at Cliff’s abdomen, and Alexis winced at every punt.

  Wake up, Cliff!

  But he didn’t hear her internal plea. And as the men shoved his massive body into the dark pool of water, any hope Alexis hung on to disintegrated into the air. He made no movement as his body floated face down in the same place they had skinny-dipped not long ago. She thought she knew of despair, knew of loss, but those thoughts are nothing compared to the hopelessness washing over her.

  This couldn’t be happening. There had to be a way out.

  Knowing that her survival rate nearly became non-existent if they got her in the car, Alexis tried to buy herself more time.

  Her luck swayed in her favor as the men carried her back toward the cabin. Just as they rounded the top of the porch movement from the field caught her eye. At first, she thought it was just an animal, but she saw a bright red shirt as the person hurried toward the tree line.

  Preston.

  She didn’t know how the man knew to come or that Cliff needed his help, but she won’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

  Distracted, she almost missed that they’d opened the back door and were shoving her inside the cabin. Wade’s lifeless body was ignored as the men stepped around him.

  “Where did he keep his weapons?” her father asked as he began tossing objects around the room, ripping doors off of cabinets, and ripping the couch cushions. She grimaced at the mess that they made to Cliff’s home.

  “Where?” her father shouted at her when she didn’t answer.

  Like she was going to give up that information to him.

  “I don’t know.”

  Standing nose to nose with her, Lev fumed, spit spraying from his mouth as he spoke. “Don’t lie to me, girl.”

  Remembering her father’s phone call at the shop, she used his words for her against him. “I’m not lying. I’m just a dumb whore, remember?”

  This time she expected the hit and masked her flinch as his uppercut knocked her teeth against each other.

  “Search the house,” he commanded his men, except for the captor holding her against his frame. The small elephant man stayed still.

  Time. She needed time.

  “I don’t suppose you’ll allow me to change? I’m sure whomever you’re taking me to won’t appreciate the blood or medical scrubs,” she tried to reason with her father using the techniques she developed for interrogations.

  “You suppose correctly.”

  The beast holding her replied, “I don’t know, boss. Harposia doesn’t like us not looking our best.”

  Idiot.

  “You idiot. Keep your mouth shut.” At least she and her father both agreed on something. Shaking his head, her father looked her over, sneering as he took in her ragged appearance. Hell, if he ran through the woods for dear life, he probably wouldn’t look too great either. “You have five minutes to change into something sensible. If I were you, I wouldn’t consider doing something stupid. And wash your face, you look like a mess.”

  She tried to cock her eyebrow at him, knowing that he was the reason she looked the way that she did, but the swelling on her face was already hindering her movements.

  “Stand guard at the door,” her father told his minion, who promptly carried her toward the hallway.

  He dropped her at the foot of the door and she barely had a chance to catch herself before she landed on her bottom. As Alexis stepped inside the room, she moved to close the door, but the beast reached out and stopped the motion.

  Great. She got an audience too.

  Alexis stepped toward the dresser where Cliff allowed her to place her clothes in the drawer. From the full-length mirror in the corner, she could see the man watching her back, but she knew that he couldn’t see but a sliver of her. Grabbing a tunic style tank top, Alexis figured she could put this on first, giving her a little bit of coverage as she tugged on a pair of shorts.

  Lifting the dirty shirt over her head, her intake of breath was followed by a sharp pain under her ribs, most likely where the man had kept her pinned against him. Biting her cheek to counter the ache, Alexis slipped the bright pink tank over her chest.

  Reaching in the second drawer, Alexis moved aside a few pairs of pants in search of her d
enim shorts. Hopefully, that’s what the muscled-man believed she was doing. Below the second pair of pants rested her loaded gun. She didn’t need to check it to make sure that it was ready to go. It was small and compact and if she settled it a certain way along the waist of her shorts, it wasn’t as noticeable.

  Toeing off her shoes, she shimmied the scrub pants over her hips, trying her best to ignore the muscled man’s gaze in the mirror as he stared at her ass. Holding the gun and shorts in one hand, she slid her legs through the holes and tugged them up her thighs. A quick tie of her tennis shoes and she was as prepared as she could be.

  Right now, the only prayer she had was that her father didn’t have her searched. She’s counting on his underestimation of her skills.

  Alexis moved to exit the room, the security guard crossing his arms as he blocked her in.

  “I’m going to the bathroom to wash my face.”

  He narrows his eyes but allowed her to pass. Her shoulders brushed across his frame and she tried not to cower at the contact. Alexis got the impression that he didn’t always agree with her father’s command and only did so because Lev was the boss.

  “I’d like to use the toilet, please,” she tried to ask nicely, hating how the act of pleasantries had her almost swallowing her tongue.

  “Make it quick. Your five minutes is almost up,” he growled.

  Alexis guessed because there was no window in the bathroom that he assumed she couldn’t go anywhere. Go - no. Plan - yes. Turning on the sink faucet, Alexis began rummaging through the lower cabinet until she found the small device, no bigger than the palm of her hand. She flipped it open and grabbed one of the small trackers inside. She placed it in the center of her bra, hoping that if worst came to worst, Dylan could use Cliff’s computers to track her.

  She took the time to rinse her face free of the blood before opening the door to the bathroom. Her father now stood with her guard.

  “Your time is up. Time to go.”

  Muscle man gripped her arm tightly, and she was thankful he didn’t grip around her waist again. Once they were back in the living room, the last of the men filed in saying that they found no weapons outside.

  She hoped Preston was able to get to Cliff without these men noticing. And if she had any wishes left, she wished that Cliff survived.

  Alexis was tugged through the house and as she reached the porch, she gazed at the cabin wistfully in one last goodbye. She’d miss Cliff. This place was their beginning and their end, their love story made out of years of heartache and loneliness.

  The group paused at the top of the steps on the porch, something close by startled them.

  “Do you smell that?”

  Closing her eyes, Alexis let her sense of smell take over.

  Gas.

  “Smell what?” her father asked the man as he sniffed the air.

  The men closest to her began taking heaps of air into their systems, trying to determine the scent. She could hear the raspy sounds of their inhales.

  With her eyes still closed another noise pinged, a soft clicking off in the distance. Instantly she knew what that meant and she tried to jerk her arm away, tried to free herself.

  “Hey, stop it now,” her captor shouted just as the first blast exploded at the back of the cabin.

  The group moved collectively as the blasts continued.

  “Get the girl in my car,” her father shouted, and the beast-man lifted her and ran toward the town car.

  Alexis fought against the man as he shoved her into the back seat. She kicked and screamed, but nothing worked. With an elbow to her stomach, Alexis hunched over as he pushed her inside at the same time her father pried open the car door and settled in the seat as if nothing was amiss.

  The sound of the doors locking echoed in the car as the muscled man closed the driver’s door. He moved the car at lightning speed down the path. Turning in her seat, Alexis watched as Cliff’s home went up in a ball of flame and ash. The cloud of smoke was horrific.

  Just as they turned the corner leading them back toward the town, Alexis caught something red off in the distance. It was Preston. And he was not alone.

  A plastered smile on her lips, Alexis tried to turn back in the seat, but she was met with a cloth across her mouth and nose. Chloroform filled her lungs as she struggled to breathe. Her kicks became less and less violent until she fell limply against the door of the car.

  “Didn’t think we’d let you off that easily, did you?”

  Chapter Nine

  “Come on, man,” the muffled voice called out to him. The compressions on his chest ached against his tired muscles and bones.

  “Alexis needs you.”

  Oh, Alexis. He tried to save her, tried to do what was best for both of them, but failed miserably. He deserved to die in the pool of water where they spent their nights to escape the grueling heat.

  A bright light beckoned him just beyond his reach, he stretched out toward it, but his arms didn’t move.

  “Cliff! Come on!” the voice called out again. It seems familiar, but he couldn’t pinpoint it. Air swirled in his lungs and an ache pounded at the back of his head. Suddenly water rushed out of his diaphragm and lungs until it was spilling from his mouth.

  Cliff coughed uncontrollably as he fought the pull to continue retching up the freshwater.

  “Thank goodness,” that familiar voice sighed. Preston. Cliff watched as the man sat back on his heels, his own chest heaved with exertion.

  The entire afternoon roared to life in Cliff’s mind and though he fought off death only seconds ago, his body yearned to move, yearned to fight.

  “Alexis,” he groaned as he rolled onto all fours. “They have her.” Even to his own ears, his voice sounded foreign.

  “I know. Look, we need to get out of here. I smell gas.”

  Oh, shit. The self-destruct. In a last-ditch effort, Cliff set off the self-destruct button from his phone hoping to create a diversion. If the smell of gas had already reached the lake area, then there wasn’t much time to waste. The entire process took about ten minutes.

  “Can you walk?” Preston asked as he helped Cliff get to his feet. He was unsteady but moved as quickly as possible through the trees.

  “How did you find me?”

  “Ryker. He called me after you left and said something didn’t sit right. Then he saw the black cars barreling down Main Street and kept me in the loop. I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner.”

  “I’m glad you’re here at all,” Cliff acknowledged as the field came into view. His muscles continued to shake as they hobbled out of the tree line, just as the rest of his house went up in flames.

  “Oh, fuck,” Preston shouted, trying to shield his face while Cliff kept his gaze trained on the car speeding away. Once it was out of sight, Cliff looked back to find his truck just at the edge of the dancing flames.

  Grabbing Preston’s arm, he asked, “I need you to take me to my apartment above the studio. And I need you to get Joseph to put this flame out before it gets too bad.”

  Typing on his phone, Preston nodded until they reached his cruiser hidden behind the brush along the gravel path.

  No sooner than the cruiser pulled into the back of his shop did the town descend on him. Many offering their worries for Alexis, others comforting him. This large extended family wanted nothing more than for him to get Alexis home safe and sound. It was his own wish.

  Harlan guided everyone into Cliff’s shop while he, Preston, and Dylan made their way upstairs. Dylan showed up with the rest of the town.

  “Hey, man, I’m sorry,” Ryker apologized as if the entire fiasco was on his hands, but Cliff assured him that her father and half brother fooled them all. Cliff went on to explain how Wade had been in it. He came to town at first to learn about his sister, knowing that she had been here a few years back. The side missions are in her FBI file. But when her father put a bounty on her, he wanted to be the one to bring her in.

  “Fucking, sicko. Both of them,”
Dylan growled. “Selling your own daughter and sister into sex trafficking. I just can’t fathom it.”

  “They think women are weak. If Alexis has her wits about her, I’m sure she’s giving them hell right now,” Cliff told them as he sat at the large computer in the center of the room, bringing up the tracking application.

  “I placed a tracker in her shoes when she came to live with me. Let’s hope that it’s still working and didn’t get knocked loose. Or that the stubborn woman found it and took it out.”

  Clicking on a few keys, a map came to life on the screen with two small dots, one right on top of the other.

  “God, I love that woman.”

  “What?” Preston asked, leaning closer to the monitor.

  “Somehow, she found my box of trackers, which doesn’t surprise me, the little snoop. But she placed one on her body. So now we have two trackers to follow.”

  “Smart girl.”

  “Preston, did you get my message relayed?”

  His friend nodded and explained that he called the Asheville department and they were setting up a police barricade, but they needed a time frame. With the tracking system, they would be able to stop them before Lev had a chance to get to the larger city.

  “How did they get through Main Street without anyone seeing them?” Cliff asked Ryker.

  “From what I can tell, they took the service roads. They never showed on the cameras.”

  “Fucking, Wade. He probably scoped out all of the possible exits to the town. God, I’m a fool,” Cliff admonished himself.

  “No, you’re not. I ran the background check for you, remember?” Preston pointed out. “He was clear, only a speeding ticket on his record. Now that I know it is her half brother, I can see the resemblance. Surprised none of us saw it before.”

  Dylan’s phone began to ping with incoming messages and he relayed to the group that most of the men downstairs were heading to Cliff’s cabin to help put out the fire.