Explosive Encounter (Task Force 779 Book 2)

by KL Donn

  Nothing is working.

  I didn’t really expect it to, but a girl can hope.

  Instead of lying here idly like some beached whale, I’ve tried to figure out how many men are in, what I assume is a van, probably a cargo one, but I only hear two voices. Could mean there’s only two people, or it could mean there’s someone else sitting silently back here with me.

  “Can I take this off? It’s hard to breathe,” I call out.

  There’s some muttering from up front, and then someone rips the cover off my head, pulling a chunk of hair with it. “Keep quiet,” the stranger says before he goes back to this seat in the front.

  Well, at least there’s only two of them. And I was right, it is a van. The windows are spray painted black, and everything else is cold gunmetal grey. That’s not foreboding or anything.

  “Why are you doing this?” I ask. What have I got to lose? My life? I get the feeling I’ll be losing that, anyways.

  Unless Foster gets here in time.

  Yeah, unless. Meaning he may not make it. He’s two or three states away. My brain is a tad foggy, and I can’t picture a map in my head. Not that it really matters.

  “Why?” he mimics and laughs. It’s harsh and evil. Just like him. “Because of you and Jessica, I lost everything. I had to rebuild from the ground up.”

  “I don’t even know what that means.” What the hell is he talking about?

  “I know you don’t. Jessica will, though.”

  “Care to enlighten me?” I need to shut up. Last time I got vocal, I nearly lost everything without finding out the reason. I can’t do that again.

  “Your real father stole everything I had. He hid it, even after his death I couldn’t find it, that stupid son of a bitch. I should have ended Jessica when I had the chance.” I’m no less confused. “The day you graduated college, I got an alert about an account that I’d been monitoring of his since I had him killed, and low and behold, there was all my money. Left for the ungrateful bitch that I raised.” So much hate in his words.

  “Raised?” A burst of laughter escapes me. “You were there until I was twelve, Van. You never gave two shits about me unless it benefited you. I know all about your fake marriage to my mom. The lies. Her name isn’t really Jessica, either. Yeah, I know everything.” I realize I shouldn’t taunt him, but he makes me so angry, I can’t help it.

  “You only think you know, Everett. You have no idea the lengths I went through to make sure that when that money popped up, yours and your mother's identities wouldn’t matter once I killed you both.”

  “Is that why you sent the cartel after me? Do you even know what they did to me?” I snarl.

  “Of course, I do. Who do you think told them to do it?”

  Shocked doesn’t begin to cover that vile comment. I don’t even know how to respond. I can only hope that I haven’t lost service on my phone because I need Foster to hear everything he’s saying. I need him to transform into the soldier I know he is.

  Cold.

  Calculated.

  Explosive.

  If I’ve ever known anyone who needs to be taken out, it’s Van Gaines.

  My once father.

  My kidnapper.

  My tormentor.

  Curling up my knees to my chest, I drop my head onto them and slowly pull the phone out of my pocket pressing it to my ear and hiding it with my hair. Seeing that it’s still connected, I pray he’s there. “Foster?” I barely breathe the word, so I’m not heard from the men up front.

  “I’m coming, Evie. I’m fucking coming for you. For our baby. For his motherfucking head.” I’ve never heard his voice so venomous before.

  “You know?” I gasp quietly.

  “I forced it out of Weston. Baby or not, I fucking love you, and today ends all of your suffering. Once I’m through with Van, you’ll never have to worry about anything again.” I can feel every word he’s saying down to my bone marrow, and I believe him.

  “Foster.” I hiccup, all my emotions dragging me into a vortex of doubt.

  “Yeah, Evie?”

  “I love you, too.”

  “I know you do.” I can almost hear his smirk. “Now, put that phone back in your pocket and wait for me. Don’t do anything to piss him off. And baby, when you hear a boom, you get down, cover your head, and don’t move until you’re in my arms. He tries to grab you; you drop your weight to the ground.”

  I don’t know if I can do any of this without his voice in my ear. “Okay, Foster,” I whisper.

  “I’ll see you soon, baby.”

  I slip the phone back in my pocket, and the waiting begins. I have no idea how much time has passed or how much longer until he gets here. I don’t speak to Van again. The betrayal hurts more than I would have thought possible given how angry I’ve been at him since before Mexico. My whole life really.

  I loved him. I cried when I wouldn’t get to see him. I hated how much Mom would make up excuses for his absence, and I would get angry with her for it.

  I owe her so much. I don’t know if what Ryder found is true, if she’s my mother or not, but I do know, the more I think about our past, the more confident I grow in the fact that I’m hers. There’s simply no way she could have been such an amazing influence in my life without loving me so deeply. By blood or not, she’s mine, and I’m hers.

  19

  Foster

  Time for Chaos!

  Weston drove the entire way to North Carolina, and now, we’re about thirty minutes outside of some small town I don’t even remember the name of. The man is a speed demon when he needs to be.

  According to Ryder’s GPS, Van is only about ten miles from our location and in a dark blue cargo van with blackout windows and a rusted front bumper. Should be easy enough to identify.

  With Everett in the van, explosives are out. Because of civilians on the highway, I won’t be able to use my rocket launcher, which is a bummer because the thing is a real beauty. I custom-built it myself. But I won’t risk innocent lives.

  Luck was on our side, though, when we discovered there was construction on the road for a broken line, so we’re using that as cover.

  “Hey, Chaos! Ares is on the line!” Asher calls to me from his position next to the signal truck directing traffic.

  “Where are you?” I ask immediately as Tac transfers the call to me.

  “Three car lengths behind them. He’s being cautious. What’s the plan?” The rage in his tone is unmasked.

  “He’ll be on us in about ten miles. In seven miles, you’ll see the start of road construction signs because of a broken line; we’re there. Apollo is in the traffic truck. I’m on the fucking pole. Shaker and Knot are on the road, working, and Phantom is in the field to the east waiting.” The plan isn’t the best we’ve ever had, but until we got here, we didn’t know what the options were going to be.

  “Backup?”

  “Feds are on the way, troopers in civilian clothes and vehicles are on standby to box him in. And you’re behind him.”

  “Got it.”

  “Don’t let him fucking hurt her, Ares.”

  “Not a fucking chance.” The phone clicks off, and I know he feels the failure of protecting Everett, even though I’ve not accused him of it. I’m pissed but knowing that she’s pregnant and at risk of losing our baby, I’m positive he was doing everything he could for her, and I won’t fault him for this.

  Van, however, is another story.

  “I’ve got him coming in fast, only slowing marginally for the construction,” Ryder says through the mic we each have in our ears. “Foster, you ready?” The road is slowly clearing, but there are still people traveling, so that’s what the troopers are for.

  In another mile, they’re moving in behind Van once he’s past them, to put a stop to other vehicles that are getting close.

  “Make sure they allow Ares to pass,” I say, pulling a percussion grenade from my belt.

  “They’re through. Ares is on them. Whenever you’re ready, Chao
s.”

  I take a few deep breaths, forget this mission is personal, and wait until I see the vehicle round the small bend in the highway. Recognizing the rusted bumper, I count to five to make sure there are no other vehicles other than Ares, and I pull the pin.

  I throw it and begin counting, praying he doesn’t speed up. “Five, four, three, two…” It lands two feet in front of the moving vehicle, and BOOM! “Coming down! Phantom you got them?”

  “In my sights,” he responds.

  I descend the bucket I’m in as the van swerves and hits the barricade dividing the highways, and a tire blows as it comes to a complete stop.

  As soon as it’s safe to do so, I hop out of the bucket and sprint towards the van. Knot and Shaker are in front of me, Apollo is at my side, and Ares is coming in from behind.

  Weapons are drawn. Whoever the passenger is comes out shooting. Phantom gets him with one shot to the head, and he’s down. Dead before he hits the ground.

  “You’re next, Gaines! Put your hands up, and don’t move!” Knot yells as he jumps the barricade and makes his way to the vehicle.

  I begin to take slow steps forward, my only thought is on Evie. Knot can deal with Van for now. I’ll get my turn with him later.

  Maniacal laughter interrupted by deep coughing emits from the vehicle, and it’s then that I see what he has in his hand.

  A trigger.

  “I could blow us all up now.” He shakes the device in his hand. “Or I can watch you scramble to save the girl when she’s destined for death.”

  “What are you talking about?” Knot shouts.

  “I’ve already rigged the back doors to blow if they’re opened. You’ll be picking up pieces of her for miles. Let me go; I’ll let her go.”

  “Tac?” I murmur as I’m slowly moving to the back of the vehicle.

  “I’m here. Bomb squad is about an hour out.”

  “I don’t give a fuck about them. I can handle this myself. Get a fucking ambulance or two, though. You make sure Everett's the fucking priority. No matter what happens to me, she’s tended to first. You got that?”

  “Don’t do anything stupid, Chaos,” he barks out.

  “You know me, man.” I kneel down behind the van as Ares comes closer. “Go big or go home, man.” Fuck. This asshole wasn’t playing around. A fucking pipe bomb sits under the rear axle with a blinking red light. How it didn’t already explode is beyond me.

  “Chaos, don’t you–” I cut the mic off because I don’t need the distraction in my ear.

  “What do you need?” Ares asks.

  “For this to be a crazy fucking nightmare,” I mutter.

  “No shit. But what else?”

  I stand back up and look around the van, Knot is about six feet from the front of the vehicle trying to talk Van down.

  “You got any Kevlar?” I ask Ares. He gives me an odd look and then nods. He runs back to his vehicle, and I can see him pulling more than I would have thought he had out of the trunk and backseat. Where the hell are his weapons?

  Turning the mic back on, I call to Phantom. “Phantom, you got a good shot on Gaines?”

  “I’ve got him,” he confirms. “What are you about to do?”

  “Nothing fun,” I answer.

  “Knot, can you get closer?” I don’t know if this plan of mine is going to work, but I have to try.

  “Sure.”

  “I need you to piss him off. I need for his hand to come waving out the window and when it does, you grab it and hold the fuck on. Phantom, as soon as Knot has that fucking grip, shoot that son of a bitch right through the skull.”

  “Check,” Phantom responds.

  “You sure, man?” Knot asks.

  “I ain’t fucking sure about anything right now, but it’s all I’ve fucking got,” I say. “Tac, you still there?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Isolate us.”

  “Done.” I can tell he doesn’t like it, but my team wouldn't let me do what I’m about to if they knew my plan.

  “When this is over, make sure everything is in her name, alright?” I’m fucking pissed this is our last option.

  “What the fuck are you about to do, Chaos?” I can hear the chair hitting the floor as he stands with force.

  “Something I already regret, but if she’s alive, I don’t fucking care.” Nothing else matters but Everett and the baby. The cursing in the background is all I need to know he’s about to tell Nix, at the very least. “Good knowing you, man. Give Code my love.”

  I switch the mic back off and grab my phone from my pocket, this one is going to be ten fucking times harder. “Evie?”

  “Foster, what’s happening? Can I come out now?” I had the phone on mute, so she wasn’t able to hear anything I’ve said.

  “Soon, baby. Listen to me, though. I love you so fucking much. The baby, too.”

  “We love you, too, Foster.”

  “I know you do. No matter what happens, keep your head down until you hear Ares, okay? You’ll do that for me?”

  “Yes, of course, but why Ares? Where are you?” She sounds confused and terrified, and I’d like to kill Van myself.

  “I’m here. I’ve got to deal with something. I need you to lay down behind the front seat, curl up into as small of a ball as you can, and don’t get up. You got that, Everett? Stay down.”

  “Yes. I’m doing it now.” I can hear her moving as Ares approaches with about a dozen Kevlar vests that just might get me through the explosion that’s about to occur.

  Taking a deep breath, I say a silent prayer and remind Evie again, “I love you, baby. You were the best thing to ever come into my life.” I don’t give her a chance to respond as I hang up and grab the vests from Ares.

  “Apollo is coming with more, you crazy son of a bitch.” He shakes his head, obviously understanding what I’m about to do, or at least guessing.

  “Hey, I’m nothing if not unpredictable.” I laugh but don’t feel the humor. I always knew I’d die saving a life, never figured it’d be the love of my life, though.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” Asher comes around the ass-end of the van and glares at me.

  “Disarming a bomb?” I crick a brow and give him a crooked smile. He doesn’t fall for it.

  “Are you fucking stupid?” he growls.

  “Pretty smart, actually,” I retort, and he growls again.

  “Here’s more.” He tosses four more vests at me, and I know they’re his, West's, and whatever spares we might have had.

  “Might make it through this after all,” I try to joke. Neither of them cracks a smile. They don’t think I will any more than I do.

  Tapping my comm, I say, “Knot, Phantom, you ready?” as I place a few vests around my chest and use the rest to cover the small pipe bomb.

  “Affirmative,” Phantom says.

  “I need ten seconds,” Knot growls, and I can hear Van swearing at him. Pissed about how things are unfolding and still believing he can get away from this.

  I look back at Apollo and Ares. “Count down from ten. I’m grabbing and rolling. You guys get the doors and fucking block my woman from the explosion.”

  “This can’t be the only way,” Apollo bites out, frustration and anger evident in his tone and on his face.

  “Right now, it is. None of us expected him to have a fucking bomb.” I groan, ready to just get this over with, and yet, not ready at all.

  I take a few deep breaths, get a good grip on the pipe, close my eyes, and give them a nod. The counting begins in my ear, and I have flashbacks of my time with Evie. The way she smiled, her soft laugh. How erotically she sighed my name when I made her come. All things I’ll never get to experience again because I let fear reign.

  I’m pissed.

  I’m sad.

  “Three…two… one…”

  I’m dead.

  Everett

  I’m vibrating. I’m frozen. I have no idea what’s happening, but terror clenches my core, and even though I can hear who
I think is Nix fighting with Van, and Van who is threatening to blow us all up, I don’t comprehend a word being said.

  My ears are filled with the sound of my blood pumping through my veins. I've been unable to focus on anything since Foster hung up on me. There was something in his voice, too. He sounded regretful, but I don’t understand why.

  I don’t care about anything that happened before; I only want to focus on the future from this moment on. A future that includes him and our baby. The trouble is, he sounded as if there was no future.

  It was like he was saying goodbye.

  Tucked up behind the front seats, my back is to the door, and my hands are covering my head like he instructed, and I’m sick of sitting still. I don’t know if I’m waiting to die or be rescued, and it's torture.

  Just as I’m about to move from my spot, Van’s head splatters, and there’s a small detonation from the back of the van. Not like something exploded, but like someone set off a cherry bomb or fireworks.

  “Don’t move, Everett!” I hear Matthew’s voice from outside.

  The driver’s side door opens, and Van’s body falls out as Nix’s head pops in. “Stay right there,” he instructs, and I nod.

  I know I should feel something about Van dying. Remorse, sadness, maybe even a bit of regret. But I can’t feel anything except relief. The man sold me to a cartel, kidnapped me, and threatened to kill my mom. All based on greed from what I gathered of his babbling. It’s all still very unclear, and maybe I’ll find out the full story one day. Maybe I won’t.

  “Did he hurt you?” Theo climbs in the passenger seat and pokes his head around.

  “N…n…no, I’m fine,” I answer. “Where’s Foster?”

  There’s something there in his eyes. His lips thin into an angry line, and I watch the way he looks over to Nix.

  “Where’s Foster?” My voice grows hysterical, and I can’t control it.

  “Just stay calm, Evie,” Theo encourages, and I want to scream. Something is wrong, and they aren’t telling me. “An ambulance will be here in a couple minutes to take you to the hospital.”