I didn’t know how to feel about that. The guys were a capable team, so I could understand why Devlin would think they were more than able to handle things on their own. Despite this, a part of me had been hoping Kingsley and Isaac would come back with some miraculous way of saving Clay that Devlin was putting into place.
“Any sign of Hollan bringing in the forces?” Lorcan asked.
Isaac shook his head. “Not yet, but they will be. We might be able to use it as a way to get inside.”
I frowned. “How?”
“Hollan can’t stay in there forever. When his backup arrives, that will be his cue to get out of there.”
Alex stepped in. “But if he’s out of there, and free, he won’t have any reason to keep Clay alive.”
“Does he have any reason to keep Clay alive now?” I asked, though I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear the answer. I couldn’t stand the thought that we were already too late, and there was nothing more we could do.
Isaac nodded. “Yes, he does. He knows we’re still out here and that we won’t just leave. He’ll want to use Clay as a human shield while he’s trying to get out, but there’s also a second reason.”
“There is?” I tried not to feel too hopeful.
Isaac settled his green gaze on me. “Yes, you, Darcy. You still have what he wants.”
I swallowed hard and nodded. “Then let me swap for Clay.”
He folded his arms across his chest. “No. We’ll be in exactly the same position as we were before. That’s stupid.”
“So arm me, and then send me in. I’ll kill Hollan and free Clay.”
“Hollan is trained. He’s not going to just allow himself to be shot.”
Anger built inside me, the relaxed pleasure I’d experienced from being with Alex and Lorcan evaporating. “Well, we have to do something! We can’t just wait for Hollan to come out, especially not if he won’t come out until he’s surrounded by a team of armed men. How the hell are we supposed to get Clay released then?”
Kingsley stepped in, lifting his hand in a stop position to try to calm the situation. “Darcy, take a breath. Rushing into this hot-headed is only going to get us in trouble. We’re miles from anywhere out here, and we don’t know where Hollan will be getting backup from, but the nearest city is miles away. It’s going to take them time to put a team together, and then drive out here.”
Isaac nodded in agreement. “I’m not proposing we do nothing, but we needed to regroup, get ourselves stocked back up with ammo, and reassess the situation. Plus, you’d been hurt, and we needed to make sure you were okay, too, love. Clay would have wanted that.”
The mention of his name kept conjuring tears. “Yes, I know that.”
“We’ll make sure we’re back at the building before Hollan’s team arrives,” Isaac continued, his tone authoritative. “As far as I can tell, that is the only road in and out of here, so as long as we make sure we keep the area surrounded, they’ll have no choice but to drive right into the middle of us. They’ll be focused on getting Hollan out and protecting him, and we won’t be able to do anything until we see Hollan emerge from the building. If we start on the attack too soon, it will just push him deeper inside when what we want is for him to be lured out. If he doesn’t know we’re there, even better.”
“He has cameras everywhere,” I said. “They’re on every external part of the building. At the front of the building, just as you go inside, he had a glass room filled with screens.”
Isaac frowned, thinking. “The part he locked himself into with Clay, did you see any screens in there?”
My lips twisted, my memory taking me back to what I’d seen. “There’s a computer. I don’t know if he’s able to access the external cameras with it, but if I was a gambling person, I’d put some money on that he could.”
Isaac nodded. “Okay, we need to stay hidden, then. Keep to the tree line. If Hollan has communication with whoever he’s got coming for him, we don’t want him to tell them he’s seen us. We spread out, each of us armed, staying in the tree line, and as soon as Hollan comes out of there—sneaking out like the rat he is—then we go in.”
“Are we shooting to kill?” Lorcan asked, his expression serious.
Isaac looked to me. “You know where the memory stick is?”
“Yeah, I think so. I haven’t seen it directly, but he took me into that room to input the code. It must be in there somewhere, though he’s more likely to have it on his person when he tries to leave. He won’t leave it behind.”
“I agree.” He looked back to Lorcan. “Shoot to kill, if that’s what it takes. But getting the memory stick is the most important thing.”
Alarm jangled through me. “Isn’t getting Clay back the most important thing?”
“Clay knows the risks.”
His words were cold and settled over me like a blanket of snow, freezing me right down to my core. “Please, Isaac, we have to do everything we can.”
“And we will, Darcy. Don’t try to tell us how to do our jobs.”
I slammed my lips shut, knowing nothing I would say would make any difference. I made a silent promise that I wouldn’t let Clay down, however, whatever Isaac said.
“I want everyone to be ready.” Isaac addressed us all. “Eat, and stay hydrated. Check your weapons and reload. We’ll move out soon, to make sure we have plenty of time to get into place, and be ready for when they arrive.”
Everyone nodded in agreement and set about doing as Isaac had instructed. Cellophane-covered sandwiches were passed around, together with fresh bottles of water. I didn’t feel much like eating, having eaten the sandwich before, but I drank some more water and checked on my hand which Alex had bandaged. It didn’t seem to be any worse after the activity in the back of the van.
Something caught my attention, and I frowned. The thrumming in the air was faint, but definitely there, and I exchanged a glance with Alex, who stood beside me, making sure he heard it, too, and it wasn’t my imagination. He frowned at me in return, and then looked in the direction of the sound. I didn’t like it. What was it? Distant loggers using chainsaws? Vehicles coming?
No, it was something else, and the realization made my blood run cold.
Chapter Nineteen
In the distance came the hauntingly familiar thrum of helicopter blades. The sound caused every muscle in my body to tense, and I looked at Isaac. “It’s a helicopter. Someone’s coming.”
I gazed up into the bright blue fall sky peeping through the branches of the trees, anxiously waiting for the aircraft to appear, though the sound was still faint, and I assumed it was still some distance away.
Isaac looked back at me, worry causing lines to cross his brow, his lips thinning. “Shit! Looks like they’ve sent a chopper to lift Hollan out of here.”
We’d expected Hollan’s backup to arrive by road. Using the chopper meant they’d arrived far quicker than we’d anticipated.
Lorcan rubbed his hand over his mouth. “How are we going to handle this? It's not as though we’ve got the firepower to take a chopper down from the air.”
Isaac shook his head, but he was already moving, heading toward the van. “No. We’ll have to wait until they’ve landed. Our plan still applies. They’ve arrived to take Hollan to safety, and he’ll have to come out of the building to make it to the chopper. He has no choice, and when he does, we’ll be waiting for him.”
“He’ll use Clay to protect himself,” said Kingsley, breaking into a jog to join Isaac at the van. “How are we going to fight against men and a helicopter?”
Isaac glanced over his shoulder. “The helicopter itself can’t hurt us. It’s no different than them arriving in a car. They’ve just arrived faster, and it means we can’t chase them if they get away.”
“He’s not going leave the memory stick behind,” I said, “especially now that I know where it is. He’ll have it on him when he tries to leave”
Alex spoke. “I still don’t see how this is going to work. If Hollan has got
Clay in front of him to protect him, and the chopper is going to land at any minute, how are we going to get to Clay and the memory stick without someone getting killed?”
Isaac glanced up at the sky. The noise of the helicopter was getting louder. “We’ll surround the place. There are four of us, five if you include Darcy. And Clay isn’t helpless either. Yes, he might have been unconscious when we last saw him, but that doesn’t mean he’s stayed that way. He might be able to fight back. We can take them from every angle.”
Alex nodded in agreement. “Hollan will open the doors as soon as he sees the chopper land, and that will be our opportunity to stop him.”
“I don’t like this,” I said, worry twisting through me like vines. “I can see Clay getting caught up in the gunfire if we start shooting at Hollan. Hollan’s men are going to start shooting back.”
Isaac shot me a look. “What else do you expect us to do, Darcy? Should we just let them walk away from this? The minute Hollan gets into the helicopter, he will shoot Clay dead. Do you understand?”
Ice pierced my heart at his words. I understood.
“We don’t have any choice,” Kingsley said. “I know this is hard for you, but sometimes we need to make these difficult decisions.”
I blinked back tears. “I understand.”
“Good. Then we need to move. We don’t have much time.”
The sound of the chopper had grown louder, the pulse of blades whacking through the air. If I never saw another helicopter, it would be too soon. How many men were likely to be on board—two? Four? Eight? I didn’t even know how many a helicopter held. The fewer there were, the better. I hoped, considering how fast people were arriving to help Hollan, they wouldn’t have had time to put together a big team. They’d been sent to get Hollan out, not fight us. They didn’t even know we were still here.
From the back of the van, Lorcan started handing out weapons. Each man was given a high powered semi-automatic. He handed me one of the smaller handguns. I knew it wasn’t his way of insulting me. Lorcan knew that was the kind of gun I was used to handling. Now wasn’t the time for bad shooting.
“Come on!” Isaac jerked his head back toward the road. “We need to move fast.”
With each of us armed, we set off at a run, back through the trees and toward the building where I’d been held prisoner. My body ached as I jogged, all of the bruises and grazes I’d received over the past twenty-four hours hurting with every single step. My footfall jarred my bad fingers, but I ignored the pain and kept going. I just prayed we’d soon have Clay freed and the memory stick back in the rightful hands.
My breath rasped in and out of my lungs as I struggled to keep up with the guys. They never left me behind, however, one of them always staying behind me to cover my back while the others ran up ahead. Even on a rescue mission, they still cared about my welfare. I was pleased they hadn’t made any noises about leaving me at the van. It would have been easy for them to say it would be safer for me, but they’d already witnessed everything I’d been through. They’d seen I was able to be one of them, to do everything it took to bring the mission to an end for us all.
My feet struck the road, and, with every step, the sound of the helicopter got louder.
“We need to move!” Isaac shouted. He ran up ahead, Kingsley’s and Alex’s long legs making them fast. Lorcan, still not fully recovered from his gunshot wound, stayed back with me, but even so, we increased our pace, knowing we needed to reach the building before the chopper landed. It was close now, so close. My heart felt like it was going to burst from my chest, and my breath whistled from my lungs in wheezing gasps. The muscles in my thighs burned. I didn’t think we’d make it, and it seemed almost impossible that the people inside the helicopter wouldn’t spot us from the air. Where would we even hide around the building? With its flat roof, there were no porches or open doorways to hide inside.
Isaac seemed to read my thoughts as we reached the end of the road and the clearing where the building was located. Everything looked exactly as we left it.
Isaac made a forward motion with his hand. “Get under the tree cover,” he yelled at us. “The chopper won’t see us from the sky from there.”
Isaac motioned us forward. Kingsley headed in the opposite direction, circling the building clockwise, rather than the anti-clockwise way we were running. We split up, using the circle of trees surrounding the grounds to spread out. Lorcan and I ran around the perimeter, behind the building. I kept the gun held down at my side, but I was prepared to use it. Once the chopper had landed, they wouldn’t be able to see us if we approached them from behind the building. I didn’t know which door Hollan would emerge from, but I hoped he’d have Clay with him. If he didn’t, I would jump to the conclusion that we were too late, and Clay was already dead.
I didn’t want to think too hard on the possibility of that coming true. Not having Clay existing in this world made my soul want to wither and die. He was too bright a spark to suddenly no longer exist.
We didn’t have much time. As soon as Holland opened the door, we needed to be in position.
Every muscle in my body begged me to stop and rest, but I forced myself on. Saving Clay’s life was far more important than any discomfort I might suffer. He’d put himself in this position for me, and I wasn’t going to let him die for it.
We stayed under the cover of the tree canopy, but the helicopter was ferociously loud now, hovering above. They were checking out the scene, perhaps trying to make sure the space available was big enough for them to land. I didn’t doubt that whoever was inside the chopper would also be armed, and, if they spotted us, they wouldn’t hesitate to start shooting. We were the enemy to them, the outlaws. Hollan was the good guy in their eyes, but I assumed they barely knew a fraction about the type of man he really was.
For a moment, I had the horrifying idea that they would land on the roof, and then Hollan would get a free run to his escape route, but the pilot must have decided it wasn’t big enough to make a safe landing. The building on top of the roof which housed the stairs reduced the amount of space for the blades. There were also wires which traversed overhead, and would have been lethal to a helicopter trying to set down.
The wind caused by the blades of the aircraft as it began to descend sent leaves and other debris whipping from the ground, scattering around us. The branches of the trees bowed under the pressure of the air.
I lifted my arm to shield my face as the helicopter lowered onto the cracked concrete of the abandoned parking lot. I couldn’t look away completely, however. We had to watch the doors. Lorcan and I were near the rear of the building, and I watched the smaller exits with intensity, willing them to open.
Come on, Hollan. Where are you, you son of a bitch?
The helicopter was on the ground now, mostly hidden from our view by the rear of the building. If Hollan was going to try for an escape route, it was going to be now. I held my breath in anticipation, my gaze scanning the place for any sign of movement. Which door would he leave by? The rear exit to the right of the building was the closest to where we’d left him, but leaving via the front would bring him closer to the helicopter and reduce the amount of time he was out in the open and vulnerable.
Time seemed to slow, everyone waiting for who would make the first move. Did the occupants of the chopper know we were here? Even if they hadn’t spotted us, they might have something like heat sensors which would reveal our positions. Either way, I didn’t think the occupants of the aircraft were leaving the shelter of its metal shell in order to extract Hollan themselves. They were waiting for him to go to them, and so reducing the danger they’d put themselves in.
The door at the rear of the building cracked open, and my heart lurched in my chest. Clay appeared in the space first, but he wasn’t alone. Dribbles of blood had dried down the side of his head where he’d been hit, and his eyes looked vacant, the lids dropping shut even as he was forced out into fresh air. Hollan appeared directly behind him, and I note
d how Clay dragged his feet as Hollan pushed him forward. Clay looked to be barely conscious, though he must be to keep himself upright. Hollan wasn’t strong enough to hold a man of Clay’s size up by himself, even though Hollan was bulky with middle-aged muscle.
Hollan paused in the doorway, looking left and right, checking to see if there was any reason not to make a run for the chopper. In his right hand, he held a gun, the barrel of which was pressed against Clay’s bloodied head. I knew the weapon wasn’t for Clay’s benefit—he wasn’t going to be fighting anyone soon. No, Hollan was doing exactly what Isaac had predicted and using Clay as a human shield against us.
Isaac’s words rang in my head. They would let Clay die, if that was what it took to get the memory stick back. I cared about the memory stick, about the reasons Devlin needed it, but I didn’t care enough to see Clay dead.
My heart pounded, my mouth running dry. My palm had grown sweaty around the grip of the gun I still held at my side. I knew this wasn’t going to go down well with the others, but I had to do something. If I could get my hands on the memory stick myself, then Clay would survive.
Taking a deep breath, I sprang forward, into the open.
Lorcan hissed from behind me, “Darcy, no!”
I hurried in Hollan’s direction and lifted the gun, pointing it at him. Hollan saw me coming, and his eyes widened in surprise. He’d never expected me to come back.
“Let Clay go!” I demanded. “It’s me you want.”
I sensed Lorcan moving up behind me. “What the fuck, Darcy?” he yelled. There was warning in his tone, and a question ... what are you doing?
I ignored him. “Let Clay go,” I repeated, directed my words at Hollan, “and I’ll give you the code.” I had to shout to be heard over the noise of the blades of the chopper, trying to drown out my voice.
“We’ve been here before, Darcy,” Hollan shouted back. “You’re not going to give me that code.”
“I will, I swear it. I was going to before the guys showed up, remember? We had a deal. You were going to let me see what was on the memory stick, and in return I was going to unlock it for you. That deal still stands.”
Decoding Darkness: A Reverse Harem Romance (Dark Codes Book 3) Page 13
