Retaliate

by Kristin Harte

  “Shit.” I waited for the message to finish before laying out the issues. “Hey, brother, we’re going to need some help at Anabeth’s. Gage is up there alone and sent me a text that they’ve been ambushed. At least one person has breached the house. I’m on my way there, going to park by Shye’s old place and hike in so as not to be seen. Get your ass up here.”

  As I hung up, I thought about calling Deacon or Camden, but I was already coming up on the overflowing creek that had created a fast-moving stream right over the road. I hit it at a slower speed than I wanted, but it didn’t matter. The water had risen deeper than when I’d come down the hill, and the current pushed my truck sideways before I was halfway across the swath.

  I bit out a curse as I tried to hold on to the wheel, but there was no directing the vehicle. I was at the mercy of the water. Thinking ahead, I rolled down my window and unbuckled my seat belt, knowing if the truck ended up in a deep eddy, it would sink like a stone.

  Luckily or not, the water didn’t take me far. A tree stopped the truck with a jolt, making my teeth rattle almost as hard as the metal body itself. I didn’t have time to recover, though. I was in motion before the rocking stopped, reaching for the bag of weapons I’d been carrying with me since before the grand opening at Katie’s restaurant…

  And coming up empty.

  “Motherfucker.”

  The guns. The explosives. The night vision goggles. Even my boots. Everything sat back at Anabeth’s place. I’d left in such a hurry, I’d forgotten to take my jump or weapons bag with me. The only thing I had in my truck was my standard-issue Ontario Mark 3 knife. Black and sharp with a six-inch blade and a handle almost made for my hand, the knife had been at my side since the day I’d joined the SEAL training program. I was almost more comfortable with it than my guns.

  Almost.

  At least, that’s what I told myself as I shoved open the driver’s door and stepped out into the knee-high water. The rain immediately soaked me to the skin, the wall of water falling making it hard to see, and the current pulled at my feet. My shoes gave me no traction, but I pushed through. Hanging on to the truck until I could grab the branches of the tree for support. Let the water come, let the flood cover me. I would make it through because my girl needed me to. My teammate needed me to. And nothing would stop me from getting to them.

  With every step I took, the water dropped lower until it finally fell below my ankles. As soon as I felt balanced and no longer fighting the flow, I started running. Racing through the dark toward Anabeth and Gage. I stayed on the road instead of heading into the forest, unafraid of being caught. No one would be coming up this way unless they were on my team…or the enemy’s. Either way, there’d be plenty of warning if a vehicle actually made it along the rocky excuse for a road. Besides, trying to run through the forest would slow me down. I’d move into the trees once I made it to the property. I wasn’t looking to be a ghost, just to sneak the fuck in and beat down whoever thought they were badass enough to go after my girl.

  As I passed where the burned-out shell of Shye’s trailer sat, I started chanting in my head. One more mile, one more mile…just one more mile to go. Seven minutes or so at a full run, ten in these conditions. Fuck, too long.

  “Just hang on, baby. I’m coming for you.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Anabeth

  My head ached, my ribs were likely cracked, and my arm burned where the bastard had grabbed me, but I was alive. Alive and alone with the asshole from the restaurant. The guy in the Soul Suckers vest with the patch that said Blade. The one I’d mocked with his tarot card.

  Bad plan, Anabeth. Really bad plan.

  Blade paced the foyer as he’d been doing for several minutes already, looking anxious and unsettled. Possibly high too. “You didn’t come home alone. Where’s the guy?”

  I didn’t answer, not sure if he meant Gage or Bishop. Either way, they weren’t with me, so it didn’t matter. I didn’t have an answer. Though, if he meant Gage, that could be a good sign. It meant he hadn’t killed Bishop’s best friend. Meant I still had a chance to get out of this unscathed. Well, as unscathed as possible considering how the bastard had picked me up and thrown me to the floor. I knew I was hurting, but I hoped I’d find the strength and speed to get away when the time came for me to run. Because it would come, and if I let the pain of some measly cracked ribs slow me down, I wouldn’t make it out of this alive.

  “I asked you a question, bitch.”

  I still wasn’t answering. In fact, I lifted my chin and glared at him, refusing to back down.

  I didn’t expect the slap in the face he delivered.

  Pain erupted behind my eye and sliced across my lip, and the crack of his hand meeting my face echoed through my head. The force of the blow knocked me right off the step I’d been sitting on. I fell to the floor, wincing and fighting to hold back my tears. The bastard had hit me without reserve, had intended to hurt and scare me with that move. Well, he could keep slapping me. I wasn’t crying because of it, and I wasn’t answering him. Couldn’t. If the guy didn’t know where Gage was, I wasn’t going to give him any information. And Bishop…well, Bishop had left me, but Blade didn’t need to know that.

  Gage. I needed to focus on Gage. He wouldn’t let anything happen to me—not really. If he was still alive, he’d find a way to help me. To get me out. Not because he was a charitable, kind soul, but because I was Bishop’s in his eyes. I was Bishop’s girl, and Bishop was Gage’s best friend. He’d do anything to save me because, deep down, it was the same as saving Bishop.

  I just had to be patient. Maybe. I hoped. At least he didn’t have a gun. Not from what I could see, anyway.

  Oh god, what if he had a gun?

  Before I could wrap my head around that new terror, Blade dropped into a crouch before me, glaring. Looking ready to kill. “Last time, bitch. Where’s the guy?”

  Silence. I just had to be patient. This was bad, it was really bad, but Gage would help me. He’d track down Bishop. The two would—

  Blade pulled a wicked-looking knife from behind his back, one that was long and thick with serrated edges and a curve to the tip that looked as if it would slip under my skin with ease. The sight made my heart skip a few beats.

  So…the name fit.

  Things had just gotten a hell of a lot worse.

  Chapter Twenty

  Bishop

  I crept up on the house after way too fucking long running. I’d never wished for my uniform boots more than I did in those moments when I’d been slipping and stumbling through the woods. The flat bottoms of my dress shoes simply couldn’t stand up to the demands of racing through the dark over wet leaves and grass. Should have worn fucking spikes.

  The rain hadn’t stopped. It continued to drown the mountain in a deluge of water. For once, I was thankful for it, though. That downpour helped hide the sound of every footstep of mine as I moved closer to the Hansen house. As I started jogging through a perimeter check.

  Keeping tucked as far into the shadows as I could, I circled Miss’ property through the tree line at the back. The deeper forest on that side meant it would be easier to hide if I came upon someone. Not that I’d want to hide, but with only a knife for a weapon, my options were limited if I had to go up against more than one guy.

  The back door stood open, obviously the point of entry. Whoever had breached the building had probably kicked it in. No way had Anabeth or Gage left it unlocked and wide open like that. But the door wasn’t the only thing wrong with the picture before me—two guys guarded either corner of the house, making it nearly impossible to sneak inside. I wasn’t out of options, but I was definitely in a difficult situation.

  I still needed to see what was happening around the front, though. As much as I had the urge to race inside the house like the Lone fucking Ranger, I couldn’t. I had no guns, no way to protect myself or Anabeth without getting real close to whoever had her. No way could I risk her.

  Slinking farther alon
g and heading east, I spotted a third man leaning against the house right under Miss’ bedroom window. He looked bored, his attention anywhere but on the woods where I stood. A weak link in their defense. Standing outside in the rain wasn’t any fun for sure, but Gage and I could do it for days if necessary. Water missions were our thing. That guy looked ready to bolt at any second. The other two—the ones guarding the north and south sides of the house—not so much.

  Moving as quickly as I could, I continued on my way, checking for others. I even tried to get an idea of what was happening inside, but the rain obscured my vision, and the curtains over the front windows blocked my view into the house. I needed to find Gage. I needed to rescue Anabeth. I also needed to get my damn hands on a weapon. I could handle two men easily enough with a gun, especially with that guard under the windows appearing completely useless. Four was a different story. That required a little more planning. Backup would be nice, and having my partner by my side would be even better. Plus, Gage might shoot my ass if he didn’t know it was me creeping through the woods. Best to find the cranky fucker and fast.

  A shadow suddenly moved toward me, causing me to jump and pull my knife. Rex, looking way too fucking happy to see me, trotted through the darkness. Wet—soaked, really—and as silent as his fucking owner, the dog came right to my feet and wagged his tail. I didn’t need to find Gage. He’d found me through his dog.

  I knelt down to rub his head. “What are you doing here, boy?”

  Rex turned to look behind him before taking two steps back, returning his focused gaze to mine. I’d watched enough Lassie episodes as a kid to know the jokes about that damn dog barking and making a scene to get the little boy to follow her. Rex wasn’t much of a scene-maker, but his point was clear. Follow me. So I followed a damn dog through the pitch-black woods until we reached Gage’s Jeep. I’d missed it on my first go-round because he’d buried it well beneath the trees alongside the shed on the west side of the property. Smart man.

  “How’d you train Rex to come get me?” I asked once I found my friend in the dark.

  “You ever watch Lassie?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Me too.” He went quiet, ending the conversation. Going back to staring out across the yard toward the house. I followed his gaze but saw nothing unusual. Nothing that would make us pause. Nothing standing in our way except the two guys on guard duty. But if he felt the need to wait, there would be a reason for it.

  “Situation?” I asked, almost not wanting to know.

  “All fucked up. Big guy from the restaurant—road name Blade—is inside with Anabeth.”

  I gripped my knife harder. “She okay?”

  Gage didn’t answer. There were a couple of reasons for that, I figured. Either he knew she was okay and thought that was a stupid question; he knew she wasn’t okay and didn’t want me kicking his ass for not protecting her; or he wasn’t sure and…fuck, I had no clue why he wouldn’t just say that. Knowing Gage the way I did, option two was out. The man would have given his life for Anabeth’s simply because he didn’t like bringing women into war. My connection to her would have solidified that decision. If he was allowing Blade to breathe the same air as Anabeth, it was because he had a reason. The first option was also unlikely—Gage wouldn’t waste a second telling me how stupid I was. The third…well, the third made me want to race into that house blind to get to my girl.

  Gage spoke before I could take my first step. “Last I saw, Blade had her in the foyer and was pacing pretty intensely. I figure we’ve got about three minutes to get in there before the answer to if she’s okay moves into the probably-not range.”

  Motherfucker. My heart stopped, restarting in a pounding rhythm. If he hurt her…if he killed her… I couldn’t even think it. Couldn’t allow myself to picture a world without her in it without wanting to run inside, to hell with the fact that it’d be a suicide mission. The smart thing to do was wait for the path to be clear. It was also the hardest.

  I pointed to the northwest corner of the house where one of the guards stood. He’d spot us if we made a run for the front door. Even with only half-decent aim, he likely would shoot one or both of us. He’d also raise a shit-ton of noise and give away our approach.

  “We need to take out the eyes around the house. Especially that guy.”

  Gage didn’t even blink. “Already on it.”

  “How?”

  “Deacon. Called him in as soon as I texted you, but he was closer and made it up the mountain a lot quicker. You took fucking forever.”

  Yeah, I did. “My truck got swamped in the creek. I had to run for it.”

  “You should run more. Your time is shit.”

  Someday, I’d wring his neck. Today was not that day. “Okay, jackass. Let’s get off my speed and back to the issue of some guy holding my woman hostage. What’s the plan?”

  “Deacon’s in the air. He’ll take out the guy in our way. Once he’s done, we go in.” He cocked his head, his brow furrowing as he thought something through. “Well, unless we reach that three-minute mark first. Two minutes at this point.”

  I tightened my hold on the knife, looking out across the yard and waiting for a sign that it was time to move. I would never forgive myself for walking out that door if anything happened to Anabeth. Never. Which meant I needed to get her the fuck out of there and away from this Blade guy.

  Two minutes was too long.

  “So Deacon takes out the guy on the northwest corner back there. There are two more on the east side—one parallel to that guy, and one farther up, almost to the front of the house. Plus, we’ve got Blade inside.”

  “That’s on us. We take Blade out while Deacon finishes off the guys outside.”

  So just one. We could handle one in our sleep, even with me only having a knife for a weapon. “Bust in and hit him hard?”

  “Is there any other way?”

  Yeah, there was. Sniping the fuckers before they even knew you were there. Deacon Manns was one of the best at that shit. I loved ribbing my brother—the Army Special Forces hero—about the Green Berets not being as good as us SEALs, but the truth was, Alder and Deacon were a couple of smart soldiers. In a situation like this, where stealth, subterfuge, and silent assassination were our best bets, Deacon was the first person I would have called. After Gage. Because that silent, broody motherfucker had fought by my side for a lot of years. And we were about to do the same again.

  Less than a minute until go time.

  “I’ve only got my knife.” I inched forward. Ready to attack. Adrenaline racing through my bloodstream. “Left my ammo bag in the house.”

  Gage didn’t blink, simply pulled a gun from the holster on his hip and handed it to me before watching the house again. Intense, focused, and ready for action. I figured we had thirty seconds left before we were going in whether the guard on the northwest corner was still breathing or not.

  A single pop sounded, breaking the constant drone of the rain. It wasn’t loud—most likely not even heard in the house—but there was no mistaking what had just happened. Especially when the guard in our way suddenly fell to the ground. Deacon, former Special Forces sniper and current bar owner, had just taken out our first target. Time to act before the other two figured that out.

  I tucked my knife under my belt and gripped the gun Gage had given me, ready to get this over with. To get my girl out of there. Without a signal, without a fucking word, we took off for the house at a run. Gage and I moved as one silent unit, not needing to speak to know the plan. Use the darkness and the rain to cover our approach, bust the front door down, save the girl, and kill the bad guy. Easy, except the girl held my heart in her hand, and if anything happened to her—

  “Bishop.”

  I stopped and raised my weapon, unable to figure out why Gage had called my name when we were so close to the porch. “What?”

  “If she’s down…if I was wrong about the three minutes…I’m sorry.”

  Down…dead. Fuck, I’d never felt
so close to a heart attack in my life.

  Gage looked pained, almost unsure of himself. Not like the Gage I knew at all. Neither was apologizing. The man had never apologized for shit. I knew he understood how much Anabeth meant to me, knew he’d do anything for her, but he’d waited for me. He’d done exactly what I would have in the same situation. If he’d rushed in there without clearing the guards, he’d be dead. And so would she.

  She might be anyway.

  “Get me in the fucking door, man. We’ll deal with the rest once we’re inside.”

  She’d better be alive.

  I slipped the rest of the way to the door, taking my spot on the right side as Gage stepped squarely in front of it. We’d broken down doors before—we’d probably do it again at some point. This was the easy part.

  Not getting shot once we’d made it inside was harder.

  Gage gave me a look—making sure I was ready—before he raised his foot and kicked forward. The wood frame didn’t stand a chance against his assault. The door busted through the jamb and swung open, wood and glass flying all around and scattering across the floor. I was inside before the useless piece of wood hit the wall behind it, stomping my way through the foyer.

  Blade had turned when the boom of Gage’s foot hitting the door sounded, but he was slow to react. He was also not prepared for us, because he froze for just a second as I hurried toward him with my gun pointed at his face. That’s when his knife hit the floor, and my world went red. He was going to cut her? To slice into her skin and make her bleed?

  Out of my peripheral vision, I could see Anabeth huddled against the stairs behind him, could almost sense the fear radiating off her. That, along with the image of that knife slicing through her pale, soft flesh did me in.

  This fucker had to go.

  But he wasn’t slow or stupid, though he was suddenly unarmed. A fact he came to realize just in time. Before I could reach him, he grabbed Anabeth and pulled her to her feet. Using her as a shield, hiding like a coward behind her body.