by R. D. Brady
Laney glanced back at him, already knowing what he was going to say. “Yes, Uncle?”
Patrick nodded in the direction Kati and the boys had headed. “I should probably go keep an eye on them.”
Laney tried to hide her smile. “Sure. That’d be real helpful.”
Patrick gave her a grin before making a beeline for a display of giant candy bars.
Jake slipped his arm around Laney’s waist. “Patrick has a sweet tooth?”
“Only for chocolate,” Laney said.
Jake looked at his brochure. “Okay. So we’ve covered the 4-D movie, made our own candy bars, now all that’s left is the chocolate tour.”
Laney smiled. Jake had planned this weekend away like it was a military op. Seeing as he was a former Navy SEAL, she probably shouldn’t have been surprised. But for a man who hadn’t had a real family since he was a teenager, he’d done amazingly well on his first family trip. She leaned up to kiss his cheek. “Yes, sir.”
“What’s a chocolate tour?” Henry asked.
Laney linked arms with two of her favorite men. “I believe it involves singing cows.”
She gave them both credit. The groans they let slip were very small.
CHAPTER 9
Thirty minutes later, Laney and the rest of the group were at the head of the line for the chocolate tour. They stepped off the stairs, Henry in the lead, waiting next to the teenage usher.
Distracted, the boy barely even glanced at them when he spoke. “How many in your group?”
“Seven,” Henry answered.
The poor kid glanced back then, barely registering the rest of them before his head whipped back around and his eyes traveled up until they reached Henry’s face.
He gawked for a full ten seconds before turning to look at the floats attached to the conveyor belt forty feet away. “Umm, you’ll need to split into two boats.”
Henry didn’t even comment on the boy’s rudeness. Laney knew Henry was used to people staring at him, but she wished he could just go somewhere, sometime, without having to suffer that reaction.
“How about Henry and I take the boys in one, and you guys take the other?” Kati suggested from behind.
“Sounds good to me.” Laney stepped onto the moving platform, taking a moment to get her balance before walking to the first float and taking a seat in the front. Patrick followed her in, and Jake took the seat behind them.
Patrick took Laney’s hand. “This reminds me of the trip we took to Disney. Do you remember?”
She smiled. She’d been eleven, and it was still one of her best vacation memories. She squeezed Patrick’s hand. “How could I forget?” She settled in for an animated story of how chocolate gets made.
Jake leaned over the back as three singing cows sent them off on their trip. “I thought you were kidding about the dancing cows.”
“I never joke about animatronics,” Laney said.
A giant chocolate refining plant came into view on the sides of the float. Laney grinned. This was fun. She turned to Patrick. “What do you say after—”
The float jarred to a stop and the lights went out. A muffled shriek came from up ahead, followed by nervous laughter.
“Must be a power outage,” Patrick said next to her in the dark.
Jake leaned forward, his hands resting on the back of the seat. “Odd that a place like this wouldn’t have backup generators.”
Emergency track lights in the floor came on, but they weren’t strong enough to make much of a dent in the darkness.
Laney spied a shape walking toward them up ahead. “Someone’s coming.”
Jake flashed the flashlight he always kept on his key ring. Laney’s breath hitched. The man walking toward them raised a weapon.
“Gun!” Jake and Patrick yelled in in unison, just before the man opened fire.
CHAPTER 10
Laney grunted as she slammed into the floor. Patrick leapt on top of her as gunfire raked their float.
When the barrage paused, Laney army-crawled out of the float, with Patrick right behind. Jake was already out, lying on his side, his gun pulled. When Laney had seen him slip it into his holster this morning under his jacket, she’d tried to talk him out of bringing it. Now she wished she had brought her own.
Gunfire sounded again, from behind them, but was quickly cut off with a yell.
“The kids and Kati,” Laney said, fear coursing through her.
“Check on them.” Jake returned fire with the gunman in front.
In the dim light, Laney could just make out Henry struggling with a man in the dark at the back of the second float. Henry lifted the man up and slammed him down to the ground. The man screamed and went quiet.
Laney stayed low, behind the floats, as she made her way to where Kati and the kids should be. Patrick followed closely behind her. When they reached the float, she looked in and was relieved to see Kati and the boys huddled on the floor.
“Come on, Danny,” Laney said. Danny quickly climbed out of the back. She gave him a hug while Patrick got Kati and Max out of the front seat.
“What’s going on?” Kati asked. Even in the dim light, Laney could see that her friend was shaking. The words of Agent Clark floated through her mind: Whatever’s coming, all our analysis suggests that you will be involved.
Laney reached over and squeezed Kati’s hand. Damn it. Is this what he meant? Is this attack part of what he feared? She never should have let Kati and the kids come with them. What had she been thinking?
Laney put her arm around Max. “It’ll be all right.”
A yell from the direction of the first float told her that Jake had found his target. But gunfire was now directed at the floats from a different spot up ahead. The shooters had backup.
Henry came back around the float. He slid a gun along the floor toward Laney.
“Are you hit?” Kati asked.
Henry’s voice was calm. “I’m fine.”
But Laney could see the hole in Henry’s shirt. He’d been shot. But she knew he was already as good as healed.
Jake duck-walked up to them. “I’m out.”
“Here.” Laney handed him the gun Henry had retrieved. She turned to Henry. “You need to get Kati and the boys out of here.”
Henry took both boys in his arms. “I have two operatives in the parking lot. They should be heading here now. I’ll get Kati and the boys to them, and then I’ll come back for you guys.”
Henry looked down at Kati. “Kati, stay with me. Anyone steps out with a gun, you step behind me. I’m your shield.”
“Henry, I can’t—”
Laney grabbed Kati’s arm. She didn’t have time to explain about Henry’s abilities, about how the bullets would hurt him but that he would heal almost instantly. She didn’t have time to explain who Henry was. “Do it, Kati. He’s your shield. Trust him. Now go.”
Jake aimed the gun toward the remaining gunmen. “I’ll cover you.”
Laney squeezed Kati’s hand. “Trust him.”
Kati nodded.
“Now!” Jake yelled, leaping up and covering their escape.
Henry disappeared into the dark, Kati right behind him.
“Okay. Our turn to disappear,” Patrick said.
Gunfire raked their float. “Any ideas?” Laney asked.
Jake nodded over the float toward the emergency exit across from them. “We’re heading there. They may have more guys outside, but at least we’ll have a better chance of seeing them. You guys ready?”
Laney nodded, but felt the familiar stirrings of fear. Why the hell did these things keep happening to her?
Jake leaned out and fired. The gunman dropped. But they could hear footsteps running toward them. “Don’t know if that’s the good guys or the bad. So let’s get going.”
The three of them bolted for the exit. Laney reached it first. She crashed through, Patrick right behind her. The door opened onto an alley lined with dumpsters.
Laney groaned. Even though she lacked her
uncle’s and Jake’s military training, she recognized a perfect spot for an ambush.
A man popped up at the end of the lane from behind a dumpster. Bullets peppered the wall behind them.
“Laney!” Patrick pushed her to the ground.
Jake burst out of the door behind them, firing. The gunman dropped. Jake turned and grabbed a piece of wood, jamming it in the door.
“Uncle Patrick.” Laney’s eyes grew wide as she saw blood spreading across his sleeve.
He shook off her concern. “It’s just a graze. Don’t worry.”
Gunfire crashed into the door behind them. Jake grabbed Laney and Patrick by the arms. “Let’s move.”
They reached the end of the alley. Jake grabbed the weapon from the man he’d shot. He slid out the magazine. “About ten left.”
Behind them, the door to the factory blew open. “Go!” Jake yelled.
Together, they ran into the parking lot. A man appeared between some cars, and Jake took him down. Patrick made a beeline for the man, taking his weapon.
“Uncle Patrick, get down!” Laney yelled as a man appeared behind him. Patrick rolled to the ground, shooting. Bullets dotted the man’s torso.
Arms wrapped around Laney, yanking her off her feet. Laney reared back and then dropped all her weight toward the ground, slamming the heel of her right boot into the man’s instep.
He howled and released his grip just enough for her to take a step back and wrap her right arm around his neck. Dropping onto her knee, she yanked the man forward.
He flew over her shoulder with a yell. Laney kept hold of his arm as he dropped, and brought her heel down on his throat as he landed.
Laney looked up and saw Patrick and Jake were in hand-to-hand fights of their own. Scanning three-sixty, she saw three more men zeroing in on her. Fast.
Patrick looked over at her, sizing up the situation. “Laney! Run!”
She didn’t pause. She ran.
CHAPTER 11
Laney weaved between the parked cars, trying to put some distance between herself and her three pursuers.
A man stepped from behind a large panel truck ahead of her and smiled. “Going somewhere?”
Laney didn’t stop. She ran full tilt, dropping her shoulder at the last minute and burrowing it into the man’s hip. Grabbing his legs behind the knees, she yanked. With a yell, he slammed onto his back.
Laney landed three punches to his face before he could react. The last knocked him out cold. She detangled herself from him and looked behind her.
The men chasing her were still there, but closer. She took off again, trying to come up with a plan to lose these guys. She was outnumbered and outgunned.
She groaned. Crap. Why hadn’t she at least checked the two guys she had taken down for weapons?
Guess that’s what happens when you have two months of peace. Your survival skills get rusty.
Nearby, tourists and families had noticed the chase and were either running for the factory or cowering behind cars. Good. She didn’t want anyone hurt in the crossfire.
The thought gave her pause. She realized that her pursuers weren’t actually shooting at her. They were all armed, but not one of them had taken a shot. Why the hell not?
Out of the corner of her eye she saw a blur of motion making its way toward her. She recognized that blur. Thank God. Henry.
The blur moved directly toward her. She came to an abrupt halt as the blur jolted to a stop right in front of her. She stopped so quickly, she lost her balance, and fell backward.
Her eyes traveled up the black boots, the black slacks, the black shirt, and finally came to rest on a chiseled face with pale blue eyes, mocha skin, and dark brown hair.
Her heart pounded. Not Henry.
CHAPTER 12
Laney crab-walked backward, scrambling to get to her feet. The man reached down and grabbed her arm, pulling her up. “Been looking for you.”
Laney stared into his face, terror leaving her paralyzed. He was a Fallen, or at least a nephilim. Either way, that meant superhuman speed and strength.
“We’re going for a little ride.” He picked her up, his hands squeezing her arms painfully. Over his shoulder she saw Jake running for her. And another blur.
She looked back at the man holding her. “I don’t think so.”
She headbutt him in the nose. He yelled, loosening his grip. She wrenched herself from his grasp. She quickly ran her right hand along the side of his neck while reaching around the other side with her left, pulling him into a choke.
Taking a step back, she twirled him around. Unable to get his balance, he fell back. But she miscalculated his weight and he dropped from her grasp.
With a yell, he fell onto his back, but nimbly jumped back to his feet. Laney aimed a punch for his face, but he moved out of the way at the last minute and grabbed her fist. Laney shifted, avoiding the punch aimed for her own face.
The man wrapped his arms around her, trapping her against his chest. “Forgot about your little tricks. I won’t give you that chance again.”
He spun her around so her back was to his chest, then leapt to his feet. He pinned both arms with one of his own, and wrapped his other arm around her legs. She struggled but couldn’t move against his strength.
From the corner of her eye she saw the blur of motion heading toward them. Her arms and legs might be trapped, but she could still move her head. She threw it back, catching him in the jaw.
“Bitch!” he screamed, releasing his grip slightly. Laney braced herself.
Henry slammed into the two of them, sending Laney airborne. She landed on the hood of an Altima ten feet away; momentum rolled her off the car, and she fell onto her back.
“Ow,” she muttered, staring at the sky.
“Stop right there.” A man stood two feet away. In blue jeans and a turtleneck, he obviously wasn’t a cop. “Raise your hands.”
Laney stayed on her back, putting her hands up. Keeping them in the air, she rolled back and then forward onto her knee. In the same motion, she wrapped her hands around the man’s ankle, trapping his leg in place, and drove her shoulder into his knee. Hard.
The man screamed as he fell back, his skull slamming into a car’s side mirror on his way down to the ground. Laney continued her forward momentum, landing a groin shot with her right knee followed by a right elbow to his chin. The man’s eyes rolled back into his head.
“Night-night.” Snatching the man’s gun, she stood.
Patrick ran toward her from the left. He’d acquired a weapon somewhere along the way as well. Jake was slamming a guy onto the hood of a car one row over. No other gunmen were visible—except for Henry’s.
Henry and his opponent rolled along the ground. The man picked Henry up and slammed him into a jeep. The windows exploded out with the force of the impact.
“Henry, get down!” Laney yelled.
Henry dove for the ground as Laney opened fire. Jake and Patrick joined in. Henry stayed low, crawling out of the circle of bullets.
Laney, Jake, and Patrick closed the circle around the Fallen, their bullets turning the man like a rag doll.
Jake reached him first. Grabbing the front of the man’s shirt, he emptied his gun into the man’s heart.
The man collapsed.
Laney dropped to the ground next to the assailant. “Who are you?”
Blood poured from the man’s mouth. “One of many.”
CHAPTER 13
Laney watched the light leave the man’s eyes. One of many? What the hell does that mean?
Patrick grabbed her arm and pulled her up. “You need to go.”
“You mean we need to go,” Laney said.
Patrick shook his head. “Laney, they weren’t after all of us. They were after you.” He pushed her toward Jake. “Get her out of here.”
Jake took her arm. “Let’s go.”
Laney shook Jake free. “Wait just a minute. They weren’t after me. They were after all of us. We all need to get to safety.”
>
“Patrick’s right.” Henry stepped next to her. “The rest of us were just in the way. For some reason, they were trying to get to you. They didn’t shoot at you, Laney. They were trying to take you.”
Laney stopped moving, picturing the attack, the men running after her in the lot. The Fallen who’d grabbed her could have killed her. But he didn’t. He’d tried to leave with her instead. Was it possible? “But why?”
“We need to get you to safety,” Henry said.
Laney shook her head. “No. You need to stay with the boys and Kati.”
“He should go with you,” Patrick argued. “I’ll take care of Kati and the boys.”
Laney looked at his shirtsleeve, now soaked in blood. “Uncle Patrick, you’ve been shot. We need to get you to a hospital.”
Patrick shook his head. “I told you it’s just a graze. I’ll take care of the boys and Kati.”
Henry nodded. “Patrick should stay with them, but we need to go. I left Kati and the boys with my operatives. They’re fine. And they’re not the ones these guys were after.”
Laney looked around, trying to wrap her mind around everything. “But why would anyone be after me?”
Jake took her arm, pulling her way. “We’ll figure that out later. Right now, we need to move.”
CHAPTER 14
Johnson City, Tennessee
Amar walked down the hall, his footsteps echoing off the heavy wood floor. The architect of this home had designed it to look like a farmhouse, but it was really a king’s farmhouse. Everything was overdone just a little.
The marble floor was imported Italian. The chandeliers were dripping in crystals. The fireplace mantelpieces had been taken from a castle in Austria. Everything was just a little more than it should be.
Just like me, thought Amar.
This house was so different from where he’d grown up. He curled his lip in distaste when he pictured the squalor his parents had lived in. They’d sold him when he was seven. He’d been one of a legion of child beggars on the streets of India.
