Heart of Stone (HOS Book 1)

by Rob Buckman

  Looking around she saw one of the men lying beside her, dead. It was the same one who'd slapped her. Instead of feeling horror at the sight, she felt happy, a small smile touching her face. He looked uglier in death than alive. A look of fear and horror stamped his face, as if he's seen the bullet coming to take his life. His gun still gripped in his hand, un-fired, useless. Turning round Mike took the biggest chance of his life. If she were on their side, she would have a perfect opportunity to shoot or stab him in the back, not having bothered to check her for weapons. Neither happened. Sighting over the truck, he snapped off ten shots in the general direction of the counter fire, counting the time. Unseen, Kat scooped up the dead man’s weapon and slipped it into her pocket.

  "GO NOW! Go. Go. Go!" he yelled, following as she took off running. 'Smart girl.' He thought. 'She took her shoes off.'

  His mind counted down to zero as another barrage of shots came in, hitting the car and road. The thermite went off with a small pop. Not very loud or spectacular, until the gas caught. The limo went up with a giant, hot 'Whoosh', the intense heat singing the hair on the back of his hands. It was all the cover they needed to reach the trees. He looked back just in time to see the fireball lift into the sky, the limo burning furiously and sending billowing back clouds up.

  "That should get someone’s attention in town." Kat commented.

  "I hope not."

  "Why not, for havens sake?"

  "I don't want to start shooting the wrong people at this point."

  "But they're bound to stop now!"

  "Why? They've been paid to do a job, paid a lot unless I miss my guess. They will keep coming until they're all dead or I am!"

  "What about the police?"

  "If they get in the way they'd shoot them!" It shocked Kat, but before she could say anything or ask a question he was off and running, motioning for her to follow.

  Zigzagging through the tree, they headed across country, just heading away from the general vicinity of the burning car. Now and again he stopped, pulled out a compass and tool a bearing and sometimes changing their direction of travel. Kat said nothing, even though her feet were freezing, and covered with small cuts and bruises. Her lower legs weren't much better. They were covered with whip marks and scratches from branches and bushes. From time to time, she saw gray-brown shapes behind them, or parallel them in the bushes, even when they stopped. She wasn't able to get a good look at what it was. Then she did. Speeding up she grabbed Mike by the arm, hauling him to a halt.

  "We've got trouble." She said pointing to a very large dog that stood watching them. "They have dogs, and they're tracking us with them." To her amazement, he laughed softly, finding she liked the sound of it, wanting to hear it again. Mike gave a low whistle and two shapes detached themselves from the bushes and ran towards them. Kat suddenly realized that they weren't dogs, but wolves. She froze as first one then another came up to her and sniffed.

  "That's not a dog Mike! It's a wolf."

  "Yes, I know. Friends of mine."

  "Friends?!" Max wagged his tail in greeting, rubbing himself against Mike's leg.

  "Take a breather for a minute and I'll introduce you."

  "Right! And pigs will fly."

  "No, seriously. Squat down." She did, hesitantly. "Now hold your hand out. Slowly!" She didn't jerk her hand away as he said it, just complied with his instructions.

  Max stopped rubbing, taking a sniff at the offered hand, Maxine just sat and watched and still not yet sure she liked humans. Too much noise and running about for her liking, but her mate was here so she stayed. After the introduction, both vanished back into the woods.

  "Where do we go from here Mr. Grainger?" Why she called him by his last name she never knew, maybe waiting for formal permission to use his first name. He looked at her and smiled, almost breaking her heart.

  "Call me Mike. Mr. Grainger was my father."

  "All right... Mike. Thank you."

  "Are you still Ms. 'Wounded bumble bee' Ballard?" His smile was a killer. If she hadn't lost her heart to him already, she did when he smiled.

  "Mr. Michael Grainger, you can call me anything you like," she said returning his smile with one of her own, never knowing the devastating affect it had on him until later.

  "Anything?" He said.

  "Anything you want." Standing up she walked over to stand in front of him. It no longer bothered her. She didn't care if he made fun of her using Ms instead of Miss.

  "I've already called you many names in my mind, most of them unkind." He moved closer to her until they were almost touching.

  "Like what?" Guessing that none of them were complimentary or flattering. He smiled again.

  "You don't really want to know, do you?"

  "Tell me what you have called me in your mind." Her smile slowly faded. "I can stand it."

  Reversing the rifle, barrel down, he slung it on his shoulder and placed both hands on her arms, gently rubbing the wet fur of the coat, slowly pulling her close. The butt of his handgun dug into her stomach but she didn't care, she was close to him, that was all that counted.

  "I called you a bitch."

  "Is that all?" her raised eyebrows saying volumes."

  "Whore, bitch, back stabber, witch, harlot, cow, thief, and a few others that shouldn't be mentioned in polite company." She placed her arms around his neck.

  "I think you're lying, and being very polite. In your position I would have called you a lot worse than that. But, Mr. Michael Grainger, you can call me anything you like, anything... at... all." He kissed her then, kissed her like she'd never been kissed before. She responded, holding nothing back.

  "Well ain't that sweet! Maybe you want him to fuck you now. Don't you sweets?" They both froze at the voice.

  Breaking apart, they found themselves looking down the barrel of two guns. It was the female team that had them. How they had managed to track them was unknown, but they had. Kat dropped her hands in defeat, unable to take any more, hanging her head dejectedly, or so it looked. Mike on the other hand raised his, unable to think of anything else to do. Being this close to Kat, he wasn't able to draw and clear his weapon without getting them killed instantly. He knew putting his hands up wouldn't help. They were here to kill him, and now her, and that hurt. He would never learn to love her, never hold her in his arms again, and never fulfill the promise in her kiss. Exhaustion set in, and he felt drained. His wounds were throbbing and he wanted to just sit down and go to sleep. He knew he couldn't, he had to think of a way out of this, or he and Kat would be sleeping forever. Kat hugged herself, shivering, crossing, and rubbing her arms.

  "Are you cold sweetie pie?" One asked with a nasty laugh.

  These two were smart, not like the two dickhead's that had come to his camp. They stayed out of arms reach and fifteen feet apart, ninety degrees from each other. At that distance, even if he did manage to get a weapon in action, he couldn't get them both. He needed a diversion.

  She nodded. "Yes. Yes, I'm freezing." She said, moving up and down to keep warm.

  "As soon as we've finished with your boyfriend we'll warm you up, warm you up good, won't we love?" she said to the other girl. Even while they were talking, they were careful, neither taking their eyes off them. This was a game to them, designed to provoke a reaction so they'd have the pleasure of killing them.

  "Too right. She's a good-looking peace of ass. I'm sure when we've finished with her, the boys might like to take a stab." They both laughed at the pun. Kat shuddered and placed her hands in her pocket to warm them hoping it looked natural. She did a little dance, to emphasize how cold she was.

  "You never know, she might like it and want to stay with us. Would you like that bitch?"

  Without warning, Mike got his diversion. Ninety-five pounds of teeth and claws landed on one of the girl’s back knocking her over. There is nothing walking on the face of this earth an angry wolf will not attack, especially if its family was in danger. Sensing danger to somebody he considered family
, Max attacked. Even as Max landed on the first woman, Mike went for his weapon, but he never got a chance to use it. The moment the other girl turned her eyes away, Kat fire the snub nosed .357 pistol through the pocket of the coat.

  "NO! I wouldn't!" She screamed, pumping bullets into the girl’s body until it clicked on an empty cylinder.

  The moment the girl looked away she knew she’d made a mistake. In desperation, she tried to drag her eyes back. Seeing fire blossom from Kat’s midsection, knowing she'd made a fatal mistake. The heavy slugs hit the woman in the chest, driving her backwards. Convulsively, her finger pulled the trigger on the 'Skorpion' as she died, her heart exploding from the impact of the bullets. She never knew she’d hit nothing. Mike instinctively grabbed Kat, hauling her down the moment the weapon went off. The rounds from the 'Skorpion' passed harmlessly over their heads as the barrel climbed in recoil. At last going into battery on the empty magazine as her body hit the ground. Mike tried to call Max off, but it was too late. He'd already torn the woman's throat out. She died choking on her own blood, unable to scream, her heels drumming on the ground in agony until she died. Mike didn't wait. Grabbing Kat by the arm he ran, Max and company leading. Feeling her stumble he picked her up, running as fast as he could with the additional weight.

  "Max! Home. Head for home Max." Looking back for a second, Max took off in another direction, staying just ahead, but not too far ahead, where he would lose Mike.

  The light was fading fast, the sullen sky already dark with rain clouds and mist, the temperature dropping steadily. They re-crossed the road and headed up country, now outside Roland Hawkins property. They were on Mike's land now and he knew it like the back of his hand. He had to put some distance between them and the killing ground, but tracks were the problem. He couldn't take the time to cover them properly, and the ones they were leaving, a blind man could follow. Once they reached the dense forest, he put Kat down, unable to carry her any longer.

  "Stay close behind me Kat and try and step where I step." He said, shaking his head to get rid of the cobwebs.

  Kat nodded, understanding why, without being told. Mike took off again, careful to stay on the soft, loam-covered ground. Pine needles had fallen for hundreds of years, and the spongy loam effectively killed any sound they made. Looking back down the hillside, Mike could still see their trail, as it was almost impossible to move on the wet slippery ground cover without leaving some evidence of their passage. Higher up there would be more rock outcroppings, and it was here he intended to lose them, if they could get far enough ahead. Behind them, they could hear shouts and calls, as one or another of the group found their trail. The uphill going was tough, and was the only reason they could stay ahead. In some places they had to haul themselves up using saplings and small bushes, but to his surprise Kat never needed help. At last, they came to an area of exposed rock, and using hand signals, Mike indicated that they should stay on the rocks. Kat nodded, following him around the flank of the Mountain. Half a mile later, to Kat's surprise, Mike started back down hill, skipping from rock to rock in a macabre dance. Her feet were nothing more than dead lumps on the ends of her legs by now, and it wasn't long before she stumbled, landing with a thump on the wet ground. Without a word, Mike came back and picked her up.

  "Not far now Kat, hang in there." It didn't take an expert to tell her he was nearing the end of his tether.

  Staggering with exhaustion and loss of blood he slowly climbed the mountain, tripping and slipping over roots and wet rocks, past caring now, walking by instinct alone. He saw the first blaze on a tree and knew he was close to a cache of arms and equipment. Stopping now and then, he leaning against a tree, not daring to sit down.

  "Mike! Put me down, I can walk."

  "You sure you can walk?" he gasped. "It's just for a little ways?"

  "I'm sure. Lead the way." Kat said in a tired voice.

  Mike knew they couldn't go on much longer like this, fearing he wouldn't be able to make it to the hideout. But he did, by figuratively walking into the rock wall of the outcropping.

  "Shit!" was all he could manage. "Wipe your feet off." He mumbled in a dull voice, reaching down and pulling the boot knife out.

  It took two tries before he cut the laces on his boots. Hooking one heel under the other to pull them off, stepping out of them onto the rocks. Not understanding, Kat just looked at him, thinking he'd gone mad or something.

  "What?" She asked.

  "I said wipe your feet off. Use the coat."

  "Why?"

  "For Christ sake women, stop asking question and do as I tell you." He tried to focus his eyes. "When you've done that, and only when you’ve done that step into the rocks... don't want to leave tracks for people to follow."

  "Oh, I see." She said, the light dawning at last. But why they should be climbing rock instead of running, she still couldn't understand. Even now, she could hear voices behind them.

  Carefully, she did as she was told, thinking it was a hell of a way to ruin a perfectly good mink coat. Shivering as the cold air hit her skin and wiping her feet clean, she stepped into the rocks, replacing the coat as quickly as possible before she froze. Sticking the knife back in its scabbard he took her hand and began scaling the rock pile. The weather-dampened rocks were slippery, even in socking feet they still slipped and slid in places, but didn't leave any marks worth noticing. Even in his condition, he was careful to leave no trace of their passage. His grandfather would have been able to follow him, but he doubted that this bunch had the expertise to do so. The light was fading fast as they reached the halfway point. Mike heard voices, even closer now, knowing the group was closing in. Signaling Kat to be as quiet as possible he continued upward, at last reaching the top. The entrance to the hideout, nothing more than a gap between the rocks where the tree roots had forced the rock apart, was located at the foot of an old pine tree that had grown up through the rock pile over the years. The narrow entrance was covered by a large boulder, and it took every ounce of strength he had left to move it and carefully set it aside, wedging it place with a small rock. Once they were inside it would be simple matter to remove the rock and let the boulder roll back into place. Kat looked at the hole with misgiving, wondering where it led and what was down there. At this point, he was no gentleman, going first and helping her down. As she did the coat rode up, his hand sliding up her naked body. For all the effect it had on him, it might as well have been a dead pig. He stood her to one side in the dark and climbed back up the hole. A moment later a slight grating rumble came, indicating that the rock was back in place. They stood in the darkness, holding each other, simply trying to get up enough energy to move. Kat stiffened as she heard muffled voices, and someone swearing.

  "Shit! I know I saw something up here."

  "Well there isn't anything now," Bonner muttered.

  Standing beside the lightning blasted tree Bonner looked around in the gloom, scanning the terrain with the infra-red scope. Nothing, not even a shadow. It was as if they had simply vanished off the face of the earth. Their tracks led here, and then just disappeared. He even check up the tree to see if they went that way. Nothing, not heat signature.

  Damn it! I thought we had them."

  "What do we do now?"

  "Use this outcrop as a center and start a sweep around it. They have got to be here somewhere!" Sitting down on a boulder at the foot of the tree, he lit a much needed cigarette, not caring if the glow could be seen or not. If he drew fire, at least he know where they were. Nothing happened. A light rain started to fall, adding to his discomfort. It was bone cold, and would get worse later tonight, and pulling his radio out he keyed the unit.

  "Let's call it quits for tonight. Come on in, and we'll make camp near here." With that, he stood up and climbed down from the outcropping, totally disgusted with the whole situation.

  Taking her hand, Mike led off into the darkness, within a few feet placing his hand on top of her head to make her bend down. Kat calculated that they must
have come about two hundred yards at this point, then he stopped. There came another grating noise and she guessed that he was moving a second rock out of the way. Suddenly, she was blinded as he struck a match, hearing a hiss of gas as he lit a lantern. Looking around she discovered they were in a large cave with a foam mattress in one corner and boxes of supplies stacked neatly to one side. At one end, a blackened pot and a neatly laid pile of wood indicated a fire place, while in another the slow trickle of water could be heard. The roof of the cave was one giant slab of rock. This sloping downward from the fireplace to the sleeping area. Near the fire, it was possible to stand without bending, but by the bed, it was only four and a half feet of head room. Mike immediately staggered over to the bed and sat down, almost at the end of his rope.

  "Light the fire Kat, and heat some water. I am going to need it to clean these wounds and get a cup of coffee inside of me before I die." His smile was weak, but it still tugged at her heart.

  Hearing a snuffling sound, she turned, finding two wolves sitting by the back wall looking at her. How they had got in she had no idea, but she wasn't in the mood to go through any more introductions.

  "You two sit there and behave yourselves, and don't get under foot, or else out you go!"

  "That's telling them Kat," Mike muttered. Max looked at her and blinked, looking first at his mate, then at Mike.

  "Don't look at me pal, she's in charge." Max licked his mate's face and lay down, a moment later she followed suit. Shivering with cold Kat lit the fire, looking up as smoke stared to rise.

  "Don't worry Kat." Mike said seeing her look. "The smoke travels upwards through another passage way, then up inside an old pine tree, any smoke goes straight up and vanishes before it can be seen or smelled."

  "What about light?" She said, lighting a propane stove.