by Sara Schoen
I bit my tongue to fight back the response. I wanted to scream at him and say that we had done nothing. I had been blamed, by myself and others, and now I was finding out that someone had targeted us. That made me furious. Without thinking I pushed off the ground and started my way toward Jax.
“Where are you going?” Tessa hissed out as she grabbed my wrist.
“I want to know.” I growled, ripping my wrist out of her hold. “I want to know who Ash is, why and where he is. I want to know because I'm going to find him, and I'm going to give him the same fate he gave my family and the one I almost forced upon myself.” She flashed me a look of pure confusion. Without a word, I revealed the long scar down my forearm, and watched her wince at the sight.
I could tell she was about to speak, but Jax rounded the corner and saw me standing out of our hiding spot. Doing my best not to glance sideways at Tessa, I backed away to see him and her in my line of sight. He had a new gun now, not the pistol he had concealed before until needed, a big gun that reminded me of guns you only saw in movies or television shows. If I remembered correctly, the one he had pointing at me now was an AK-47, and I knew he was willing to shoot me.
“There you are,” he said as if we had been playing hide-and-go-seek; we were, but the deadly kind. “Now, before you die would you like to know just why your family was marked for death? You might as well because you'll never find him. Only Tessa and her father really ever talked to him, except our boss and, me, and since Tessa and her father are dead then you'll never know.”
I tried to fight the smile that was attempting to curl onto my lips. He must have figured that Tessa and I would refuse to work together, no matter the circumstances. He didn't even know that she was listening to this, and still held anger for her father's death. My mouth continued to twitch as I saw Tessa, out of the corner of my eye, draw the gun she had taken off of him before. He would never see what was coming, once I drew his fire.
“Actually, now that I think about it,” Jax said, causing my face to turn stoic. “It was all your fault wasn't it? You were driving, you were the one that fell asleep at the wheel, and they died because of it. Your guilt must have been awful,” Jax mused with a smile. I felt my eye twitch as I tried to ignore his words, but he didn't stop. “Ash lost track of you for a while clearly, but he found you again thanks to us. I’m glad to know that you were adopted by the man that found you on the road that night. James Ricker and his family must be so proud of you. It’s lucky he was heading home that night, otherwise you might have died as well from your injuries before someone drove that way the next morning.”
Tessa gasped lightly, as I shook trying to control my anger that was building up on me. Then he said the one thing that sent me into a blind frenzy, “Maybe we will pay them a visit after I get rid of you. Let them know that their daughter won't be coming home.”
I felt my nails dig into the palms of my hand and the muscles in my arm tighten before I snapped. His threat wouldn't be taken lightly, I decided as I raced from my spot and put a smile on his face. I was going to make sure he couldn't harm my new family, and he was going to shoot me, but not if I got to him first. He pointed his gun and I started wishing that I had done more agility training. The accuracy of the gun, from what limited knowledge I had on it, was awful and there would be at least thirty rounds to be aware of; I would have to move quickly, efficiently, and randomly to avoid being hit.
I was better off in hand to hand combat, I thought as I jumped through the hole some of the boxes had created in the stacks as bullets started flying. The bullets would hit the wooden boxes and bounce around inside, a few came through and almost hit me. I zigzagged through the boxes and around the few gaps that showed my position. The bullets didn’t stop, but I could tell he was saving them for when he saw me, so the number of bullets was low enough for him to be conscious of how much he was using.
I ducked under a few more holes and started to climb the stacks of boxes. I was right on top of Jax when I came over a set of boxes. Each set was stacked about eight high so I took my time getting on since I had thought he would expect me to come through the opening behind him, but he must have heard me climbing. When I came over the boxes, the muzzle of the gun was pointed at me.
“I will tell the Rickers you said hello, and good-bye,” he said with a cruel smile. The smile was quickly wiped off his face as another bullet went into his shoulder and forced him to the ground. I glanced back to where Tessa had been hiding, her hand was shaking, but she had hit her mark. She looked like she was about to shoot him again as she approached, but I jumped down beside her and told her to stop. She sent me a curious gaze, before putting her weapon down while I picked up his gun and held it to his chest.
“Who killed my family? Who is Ash?”
“I would never tell you anything, so you might as well kill me,” Jax said as he smirked, knowing I wasn't going to kill him until I got what I needed, even if I had to beat it out of him. I wasn’t above anything at the moment. He had threatened my family, he had told Ash who they were, and I needed to protect them.
I was about to ask again when a loud cry pierced the silence around us. Guns started to fire and I heard the orders being given to head into the neighboring buildings and kill anyone in sight, no matter who they were. Footsteps were racing toward the large shipping gate that was on the opposite side of the room. They were going to come in here, and we were going to be found, but right now I was focused on Jax and what he knew.
“Sara, people are coming,” Tessa whispered urgently. “We have to go.”
“Not until he tells me!”
“I will tell you that I will find the Rickers and I will kill them all, making sure they know you are what got them killed, and their children.” I pushed the gun to his head, and was itching to pull the trigger, but I needed the information. I had to know who this man was. I had to find him and kill him, so that I could save my family. I had killed today, and while I didn’t like it, I could do it again if it meant saving the people I loved. I never got the chance though. Tessa lifted the gun she had stolen from him and shot him in the head before turning to me.
“Look, I know who killed your family, reconsider our deal and I will get you out of here alive then give you all the information you need,” Tessa said, taking a hold of my shoulder to get me to focus on her. There was shouting and gunfire outside, “Just take my offer and I will get us both out of here.”
I glanced back at Jax, then at her. I had no other options, she had taken that away and now I needed her if I wanted that information. “You give me the information and I will see to it that you're brought into the agency,” I said as we shook hands.
“Deal, but for now let's focus on the alive part of this deal,” Tessa said as she grabbed my hand and led me toward the door we had come in, away from the gunfire and shouting and hopefully to safety.
Chapter 26
We escaped just in time, because as the cartel members rushed toward the building we had been in, we were ducking into the shadows to make our way out of the compound. Tessa had expertly led me through the building, and provided us with the perfect opportunity to slip out of the building unnoticed when she unloaded her weapon in the room we had escaped from. She said that her actions had caused more attention than she intended, but it would work out better in the long run. Everyone was heading in the direction of where her shots had originated from, and that meant there was less chance of them running into a cartel member while escaping.
“Maybe your friends finally came once we made it out of here,” she mused as she led me between buildings and through the compound until we were close to the edge. The fence was within sight, but to get there we had to go through a large open space. Instead of racing toward it while the compound was distracted, she pulled me into another alleyway between buildings. I watched as she removed a panel from one of the building’s sides and jumped in. She reached her hand back out to pull me in before sealing us inside. “We will be safe here for a
while, I would escape here when I was little and wanted some alone time,” Tessa explained as she sealed us in.
“How is this even here?” I asked, confused and suddenly claustrophobic in the small confined area. I couldn't hold my arms out fully extended in any direction and it felt as if Tessa and I were constantly hugging each other from our proximity.
“My father built it for me,” she said, sorrow deep in her voice. “He did it so I could have an escape.”
“I'm sorry about him by the way,” I said in a poor attempt to offer her solace in this hard time. I knew nothing I, or anyone else for that matter, said wouldn't make a difference to her now. She had lost her father and now she was working with someone she had been ready to kill. Her mind must be a windstorm of confusion as she tried to figure out what to do and how to act, but so far she was doing well minus some irrational moments.
“It's fine, unfortunately I have learned it's the nature of our business. Now, let's talk about this deal and hopefully get us both out of here alive,” she said. I was about to speak, to tell her that we could do this once we were out of the compound, when she continued. “I will tell you who killed your family and where to find him, and you give me a place at the agency.”
“I can't give you a place. You already know that, and the guy you saw can't do it either. He isn't in charge of this team,” I paused momentarily, allowing the information to take hold before I added, “but I can send you to someone who can.”
While I couldn't see Tessa's face in the dark space, I could feel her tense and hear her breathing pick up. “I will take whatever I can get at the moment,” Tessa said nervously. There was an edge in her voice that told me that she didn't trust her childhood hiding spot. She was suddenly extremely uneasy, and I couldn't blame her, we had been seconds from death at all times tonight, but why now? What was making her anxious at this moment?
“What's wrong, Tessa?”
“Are you sure they will take me?” Her voice cracked with fear. “They know I sent men after their people, and I am a part of this group. What if they don't take me? Will they kill me?”
I hesitated momentarily, “I don't think they will kill you, but I honestly don't know. You did kill their friends, but with the information you have it will probably outweigh that. You'll need something to offer once you meet them.”
“Won't you be coming with me?”
“I won't be,” I said strongly. “Once you give me the information I need, I'm leaving. I'm going straight for him and I won't come back until he's gone for good. You'll have to go without me, and I will have to trust you in that you won't tell them where I went. It's on you to prove to them that you're worth giving a shot to, and if all else fails, say you know where to find me and that will make you worth the risk, even if I'm dead by the time they find me, they’ll want to find me.”
Tessa gulped loudly, feeling the pressure of the situation. “You couldn't have gotten all the files, but I know all the information. They will know everything that I know and can use that however they wish. Will that be good enough?”
“Probably, but just in case,” I said as my hands went into my pockets. I rifled through my pockets until I felt the paper crumple under my touch. “You'll have to prove that you talked to me,” I said, pulling out the pages of the files I had ripped out and handing them to her. “You have to know, Tessa, if you go into the agency you can't tell anyone. There's no coming back if you change your mind, you have to know that right now.”
A low angry growl came from deep in Tessa's throat, “I don't want to be here anymore.” Her voice was dark when she spoke, “I considered them family and they only want me dead now. There's nothing left here for me.”
“So, what do you say?” I asked carefully. “Do you agree with our terms?”
“I don't really have another choice,” she said with a heavy sigh. “What do I have to do to find them?”
“I will point you in the right direction when we get out of this hiding spot. You'll go through the fence I point you toward. I slid under the fence when I came in and you'll probably have to do the same to get out. Then you're going to head straight, follow the street, but stay hidden. On the roof of the convenience store is where my team is waiting for me. You may find a redhead and the dark haired guy you saw, but just keep going. Don’t stop to talk to them, because they may not be ready to listen. You want the one that answers to Demon. Tell him I sent you, and he will listen to whatever you have to say, but you'll still be on a limited amount of time so get to the point. They don't like to be kept waiting.”
“What do I say?”
“Tell him that you saved me and that I'm alive. Say you want to offer a trade, the information you know for safety. That will get their attention, then take your time, take as much time as you can so that I can get out of here. Demon will come chasing after me, and I can't have that. I have to be out of here before he can find me. Go into an enormous amount of detail, waste time, but don't make it obvious.”
“I don't know how to do that!” Tessa cried, her anxiety ringing in her words.
“You can do this!” I retorted, grabbing her by the shoulders so that she would be forced to relax and stop panicking. “Think about it as if you were making a deal for your cartel. Talk with a purpose and make it seem as if everything you say is important. They will want the details and when you're done, hand them the papers I gave you as proof that you talked to me.”
“What if that isn't enough?”
“Use my name,” I said. There was a heavy silence between us as I made the choice that could kill us both. I knew the name was important, because if she went back to her cartel, my name would be marked and eventually they would hunt me down and kill me. “My name for the agency is Night Stripe. No one else knows that except them. It won't be in any file, any database or anywhere. You would have only known that from me. Tell them I sent you and you will be fine!”
Tessa took a deep breath which I thought was to take a moment to herself, but she surprised me by speaking, “The man you're looking for is named Ash Crest. He is a hit man we hire when we need to get rid of someone, but can't have their blood on our hands. He is also just a regular gun for hire, someone pays him and someone dies. You can't let him know I sent you, or that will raise awareness of my flip and the boss will move faster and change it so my information will be useless. It will be impossible to find him if he hears about this and figures out it was from me.”
“I understand,” I said, nodding my head even though she couldn't see it.
“You're going here,” Tessa said, slipping a piece of paper into my hand and closing my hand into a tight ball around the paper. “To get there you're going to need to call on a friend of mine. Ash is in South Carolina, and you'll need someone to take you there. He's about half an hour away from here on foot and they will be after him once they realize we are gone. He is one of our informants in the area and soon they will go around killing them all so that the loose ends can be tied up. Please get him out of here,” Tessa pleaded.
“I will do my best,” I promised.
“Ash has a lot of security so you'll need to be prepared. He goes on errands himself and you'll have a few moments while guards change around to get in. In his office will be other files and probably the one on you and your family, but it will also be the best place to get him alone.” Tessa paused momentarily, allowing the silence to get heavy around us again. “You won't be able to back out like you did with Jax, you'll have to kill him and put an end to it. If you make too much noise, then you'll die instead.”
I felt my breath catch in my throat. Had I chickened out or had she just taken the shot before I could? I shook my head to get rid of the thoughts, now wasn't the time to think about it. “Got it,” I responded when I realized she had fallen silent so that she knew I was understanding her. “What about your friend? How will he know to help me?”
“Tell him that it's time to put the world into perspective.” I raised an eyebrow curiously at her. I
knew she couldn't see it, but I couldn't stop the reaction. The phrase seemed odd and out of place, but it clearly held significance for her. “My father used to say that to us when we had to go away for a while. After joining these guys, he said it to me a lot when something bad was going to go down. John would have to take me out of town to prevent me from seeing whatever was going to happen. He does his job well, and he will get you where you need to go. He will know what the phrase means and know you're a friend. Just give him the address and sit back for the ride.”
There was gun fire racing past us, and yelling as people were ordered back. I heard Tessa start to move around, and saw the light peeking through the opening as she glanced outside to see if anyone was around us. She grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the hiding spot as she walked into the alleyway. When she was sure no one was around she pointed me in the direction of her friend's home, and I pointed her toward my team. With any luck we would both make it out of here alive, I thought as I started to walk toward my destination. I stopped when she sighed heavily and started to talk.
“If this works, then I will see you back at the agency, right?”
“If we make it out alive—yes, you'll see me.”
That was all the answer Tessa needed, a promise that she would have someone if I made it back. She quickly turned and headed toward the fence line I had pointed her to, and I flipped open the address where her friend was. I went in the opposite direction she had gone and raced off the compound. I didn't look at my destination until I was a safe distance from the encampment and my team. When I looked at my final destination I realized it was going to be a long drive; South Carolina was a long way from Maryland.
