Angel in the Shadows (Jaxon Malone)

by Mary May

  Jaxon poured herself a glass of juice, taking a deep swallow before speaking.

  “Hey guys, we have company. A man is watching the house. He is hiding behind the neighbor’s fence,” she said in a whisper.

  All three men jumped up and approached the window. Jaxon frowned at them. “You can’t all rush to the window unless we want him to know that he has been spotted!”

  Suddenly the sound of shattering glass and Higgins going bonkers had them all running to the room where the kids were. Shoving open the door, Jaxon was nearly knocked to the ground, when Higgins came barreling through and leaped out of the window in pursuit.

  “Higgins! No!” Jaxon shoved her head out of the broken window to look outside only to be yanked back as a bullet hissed by her ear and exploded into the window frame where her head had been.

  “Whoa… that was close.”

  Trudy gave her a serious frown. “Don’t you know better than to stick your head out windows? It nearly got blown off! You will have to do better than this if you expect to make it very long in my line of work, Kid.” After scolding her like a child, he grabbed her arm and hauled her back out into the hallway.

  Jaxon didn’t even try to defend herself because she knew he was right, and she did know better; she just forgot because she was worried about Higgins. But forgetfulness will get you killed in a hurry. Determined to show Trudy that she knew what to do, she reached down and pulled the gun from her ankle holster. Checking to make sure a round was in the chamber, she asked where the other guys went.

  “They went to go find out who was behind the house and where the kids went.”

  “He was a distraction. I was supposed to see him,” Jaxon said as she banged her head against the wall a couple of times.

  “Yeah, most likely. But we will get him back,” Trudy said as they eased their way down the hallway. “They could have more waiting for us. I don’t know if they know how many of us are in here or not, so be careful not to let them see you. I would like to keep them guessing for as long as possible.”

  “You keep saying them. Who are they?”

  “I figure whoever it is that is missing the kid,” Trudy answered as he dropped down to duck under her living room windows. Following behind him, Jaxon did the same.

  “Think it’s the pit bull?” she asked.

  Trudy whipped his head around, looking at her with a frown. “The pit bull? You think a dog pulled this off?”

  “What? No! Ramone, the guy that is above Zero; he called him the pit bull. I’m guessing he is all brawn and no brains.”

  Trudy still looked confused. “Who called who the pit bull?”

  Rolling her eyes, Jaxon shook her head. “Try to keep up. There is someone that brings the hit list to Zero. Zero described this person as more of a hit man type than the in-charge type. I’m thinking that maybe Ramone showed up with another list and couldn’t find the kid. So, he came looking for him.”

  “Ok, but why would he come here?”

  Jaxon rolled her head toward Trudy, which put her nose about three inches from his chin. “Because I was on the last list he got.”

  Chapter 13

  “You are a target?” Trudy asked in disbelief.

  “Yeah, somehow I caught someone’s attention,” Jaxon said with a shrug.

  “How did you find out? Did they come after you?”

  “No, Jazzy is the one that was supposed to take me out. Kind of an initiation into the club, I think. But lucky for me she couldn’t do it.”

  “Or just hasn’t done it yet,” Trudy replied grimly.

  Jaxon shook her head. “No, she said she couldn’t do it and so did Zero.”

  “Believing everything they say, huh? How long did say you’ve been a cop?”

  “Long enough to be able to read people pretty good. I wouldn’t trust a word that comes out of Zero’s mouth, but I believe Jazzy. She is just a messed-up kid. Saw her parents gunned down right before her eyes. That’s bound to leave some deep emotional scars.”

  “Hmmm…” was all the comment Trudy made to that statement.

  Jaxon glared at him. “Don’t treat me like a rookie, Trudy. I’ve done my time in the field.”

  “Kid, this isn’t just a new playing field; this is a whole new game. In my world, you are a rookie, and if you want to live long enough to claim your badge of honor, you better drop the attitude and learn to listen. Have I made myself clear?”

  Jaxon stared daggers at the man that had issued the command. He didn’t flinch and his dark brown eyes steadily held hers as she digested what he had said.

  Huffing out a breath, she nodded her head. “Ok, fair enough.”

  Trudy nodded his head. “Good girl, now let’s get down to business.”

  Minutes later they were standing in front of a black 1986 Ford Bronco. It was a jacked-up sky-high four-wheeled drive. A massive brush guard with a wench gave the front end a formidable appearance.

  Glancing over at Trudy, Jaxon stopped beside the truck. “I take it this is yours?”

  “Yup, get in,” he ordered.

  Pulling herself up into the monstrosity, Jaxon looked in amazement at the steel roll cage and the 5-point harness system that served as the seatbelt.

  “Dude… seriously?”

  Trudy reached over and shoved her back into her seat before buckling her in, pulling the straps tight enough to cut off oxygen. “Yes, seriously, and the first thing you need to do is get rid of that Hot Wheels car you have now and invest in something similar to this. You need big, beefy and with lots of horses under the hood. This beast has a 490 big block. I could pull a mountain if I had a place to hook up to one.”

  “But why the overkill? Are we hunting Bigfoot? Why on earth would I need a tank like this?” She watched as he turned the key and winced as the motor roared to life, vibrating the entire cab.

  “Kid, you need every safety feature known to mankind and then some. When you are after what we hunt, remember they are immortal, but we are not. We die fairly easy. A simple car accident can take us out in a hurry. So, you buy something big and heavy made of actual steel and then you add even more safety features such as the harness, roll cage, and air bags. This baby could roll off a mountain and I would most likely walk away.”

  Trudy tapped the windows. “This is bullet-proof glass. The same stuff they put in the President’s limo. I have a sealed undercarriage and a double-hulled fuel tank. My tires are puncture resistant and I have nearly a water-tight interior.”

  “Only nearly water-tight?” Jaxon asked with an arched brow.

  “Yes, it will eventually fill up, but it will take about an hour. Hopefully that will give me enough time to escape, but long enough for whoever sent me to the bottom to think I drowned.”

  “I’m impressed and a little freaked out. I don’t suppose you want to sell it, do you?”

  Trudy chuckled. “Kid, you could ask me for anything including a kidney and I would probably hand it over, but no one comes between me and my truck. Don’t worry, we will get you fixed up. What you got to keep in mind is this. We got to protect ourselves from both human and demonic attacks. You got to think about ten steps ahead. Prepare for any situation you may find yourself in. This isn’t a life for the faint of heart.”

  “Yeah, I’m starting to understand that.”

  Seeing the look on Jaxon’s face, Trudy sent her a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, kid, you’re not feeling anything every Murharreb before you hasn’t felt. You will get the hang of it.”

  Shaking her head, Jaxon return his smile with a small one of her own. “I hope I survive long enough to do that.”

  “If you didn’t have the chops for this, God wouldn’t have called you.” Trudy then put the truck in gear and backed out of Jaxon’s driveway.

  They pulled out and headed for the highway. Coming to a stop, he looked over at her.

  “Ok, where to?” he asked.

  Jaxon looked at him in surprise. “How do I know?”

  Trudy growled,
sounding very much like Higgins. “Think, Malone! Where would Zero take off to? Where was he before? Would he go back there?”

  “Oh… yes, he probably would,” she replied. After giving Trudy directions to the back alley where they had found Zero, Jaxon gave herself a stern lecture about getting her head in the game.

  A block shy of their destination Trudy pulled over and killed the engine. “From here we walk in,” he ordered before opening the door and jumping out.

  Jaxon did the same, following closely behind him. Once they got close, she reached out and pulled him to a stop. “The door is down that alley. They have a secret knock, but I know it.”

  “A secret knock? Are you kidding?”

  He waved off her reply as they crossed the street and ducked behind the same dumpster she and Higgins hid behind a few days ago. The thought of Higgins had her chewing her lower lip in worry for the big dog. Sending up a brief prayer for his safety, she hunkered down behind Trudy.

  “Sloan said the entire town was mapped out with tunnels. He said everything was covered,” Jaxon whispered.

  “I imagine so. The demons can come and go undetected, but humans cannot.”

  “Does every town have this problem?”

  Trudy shook his head. “Not necessarily to this degree, but they all have some activity.”

  “What makes a town more prone to have a bigger infestation than others?” she asked.

  That made Trudy’s lip twitch slightly as he glanced over at her. “Infestation, huh? Makes them sound like cockroaches, which is a pretty good description of the nasty things. Maybe I need a big can of Raid.”

  “Yeah, I wish it was that easy. So what’s the plan?” Jaxon asked as she glanced around to make sure no one was coming up behind them.

  “We wait.”

  Ten minutes later they were still waiting. Jaxon shifted, trying to keep her legs from going to sleep.

  “Hey, we got action,” Trudy whispered. Jaxon could feel him tense up as two men approached the rusty door. After they rapped out the secret knock on the door, it opened and they quickly stepped inside.

  “How many people would you say are involved in all of this?” Trudy asked as he turned to look at Jaxon.

  Shrugging slightly, Jaxon shook her head. “There is no telling. A lot would be my best guess.”

  Trudy nodded as he scrubbed his hand down his face. “That was my guess, too. So what are the odds of us getting inside being that we know their stupid knock? Do you think the guy at the door knows everyone in “The Club”?”

  Jaxon rubbed her hands hard down her thighs. “I don’t know for sure but my gut says probably not.”

  “Yeah, mine, too. Let’s go for it.”

  Without another word, he stood up and headed toward the door like he had every right to go in there. Jaxon scrambled to catch up with him before he started knocking.

  Jaxon made her face appeared relaxed as the door swung open but she had her hand on her pistol just in case.

  The guy standing at the door barely even looked at them, simply giving a brief nod of acknowledgement as they walked past him. Going down a short hallway, Jaxon waited until they were out of earshot to tug on Trudy’s arm.

  “I have no idea where to go. I wasn’t in here; Sloan was,” she said in case he thought she knew where to go.

  Trudy nodded then kept walking. Jaxon had no other choice but to follow his lead. The hallway ended in front of a door. With no other options presented to them, Trudy reached out and turned the knob. Once the door was open they could see stairs leading downward. Meeting Trudy’s eyes briefly, Jaxon cocked her head in a “What do we have to lose?” manner. As they carefully navigated the stairs, they both kept their eyes and ears peeled for anyone coming up toward them. When they finally reached the bottom, they both stopped and stared.

  The smell of damp earth surprised them both. A dimly-lit tunnel similar to a gold mine shaft with dirt floors and rough-cut timbers supporting the ceiling stretched out before them. They saw a few people going in different directions, but like the guard at the door they didn’t pay them much attention.

  “Whoa… when Sloan said tunnel this isn’t what I envisioned,” Jaxon whispered.

  “No, me either. I think I am more surprised that we found them so fast,” Trudy replied. A frown wrinkled his brow as he stood looking and clearly thinking of their next move. “This place makes the hair on the back of my neck prickly,” he said as he glanced down at her.

  “Yeah, I’m right there with you,” she answered. “Do we keep going?”

  Trudy looked all around where they were standing. “Yes, we will look suspicious if we just stand here. Just keep your eyes peeled.”

  Jaxon shook her head. “Ha, you don’t have to tell me.”

  “Ok, let’s keep going.”

  A few minutes later the tunnel branched off in five different directions. They all appeared the same as the one they had just walked down.

  “Now what? Do we flip a coin?” Jaxon asked as she peered down each tunnel.

  “No, I have better idea.” He pulled the dagger from his pocket, shielding it from view under his jacket. By the faint glow it was emitting, Jaxon knew it was detecting evil. Not that she needed a magical dagger to know that. The chills running down her spine told her plenty.

  Pulling her pistol from the holster, she nodded. “You take care of the bad guys that I can’t see and I will take care of the ones I can.”

  Trudy gave her a serious look. “Don’t shoot to kill and only shoot if a human’s life is in danger. You need to purchase some rubber bullets. They will take a person down and hurt like hell, but they won’t kill anyone.”

  Jaxon nodded to show Trudy she understood; then he took the lead, walking ahead while watching the dagger that was in his hand. They had gone only a short distance when Jaxon reached out and tugged Trudy to a stop.

  “Hold on… do you hear that?” she whispered.

  Tilting his head in the direction Jaxon was pointing, Trudy listened for a few seconds.

  “I hear it. A low drumming. I think it’s a little further down.” Placing a finger against his lips, he nodded for them to keep going. Jaxon drew in deep breaths to try and calm her racing heart. The closer they got to the weird drumming sound, the harder her heart would beat. It almost seemed to keep time with the frantic beating of the drums. Up ahead she could see a dark area on the left side of the tunnel. The sound was louder than ever.

  Trudy stopped and pointed to a dark area up ahead and to their left. Jaxon nodded to indicate that she saw it. Expecting him to head toward it, she was surprised when he reached in his pocket and brought out a small vial. Opening the lid, he dipped his forefinger into the liquid before he raised his hand to Jaxon’s forehead, making a small cross. He repeated the action, placing a small cross on his own. He then bowed his head and said a few words in an unknown language.

  “This is anointing oil. I always anoint myself before I enter a place of evil,” he explained.

  “You should have done that before we ever entered this place, and what did you say? Was that a prayer?” Jaxon asked.

  “You’re probably right and yes, I prayed for protection and for the Lord to guide us,” he answered as he tucked the bottle of oil back into his pocket.

  “Oh, that’s good,” Jaxon replied as she placed her hand over her still-racing heart and blew out a breath.

  “You ok?” Trudy asked with a concerned look.

  Jaxon shook her head. “I don’t know. My heart is racing like crazy and I feel light- headed like I can’t breathe.”

  “Here, give me your hands.” Once Jaxon complied, he told her to close her eyes and to follow his instructions. Placing her hands in his, she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply then exhaled slowly counting to ten. She could feel a slight tingling in her hands as she felt all the anxiety drain away like pulling the plug in a bath tub. Her heartbeat slowed and she could breathe. Opening her eyes, she looked up at the man standing before her.

&
nbsp; “Whoa… what did you do?” she asked in awe.

  Trudy looked at her intently. “Do you feel better?”

  “Yes… I really do. That was a cool trick.”

  Nodding, he released her hands. “Good, remind me to show how to do it later. Now I want you to stay behind me when we make the turn up ahead. I have no idea what we are going to find or what we are interrupting. Anything can happen. I just want to peek around the corner and see what I can see.”

  Jaxon nodded then fell in line behind him. Now that her heart wasn’t hammering in her ears, she felt calmer and more like herself.

  Trudy reached the place where the tunnel branched off to the left. There weren’t any lights in this tunnel like there were in the others. Slowly inching his way to the opening, he paused for a moment before he carefully looked around the corner. Without looking back at Jaxon, he motioned with his right hand for her to follow him. Before Jaxon could move to fall in line behind him, she felt a strong hand clamp over her mouth and around her right wrist where she held her gun.

  Once more her heart rate shifted into overdrive, but before she could bring her hand up to knock the hand away, she heard Sloan’s deep voice in her ear.

  “Shh… It’s me. Don’t shoot.”

  Slapping his hand away, she looked at him with a furious glare. “I should shoot you -- it might teach you not to sneak up on me like that!” she hissed.

  “I’m sorry, I just know how jumpy you are and if I appeared out of thin air you were going to freak out on me.”

  Rocko stood just behind Sloan and Jaxon couldn’t stop the relieved smile that spread across her face when she saw that Higgins was with them.

  Reaching out, she patted the dog on the head and ruffled his ears gently. “I was worried I would never see him again.” Higgins’ tail thumped against the dirt floor, but his eyes were looking everywhere and Jaxon could tell he was on edge.

  “Yeah, he needs some training, but he is an excellent demon dog. He would have chased them right back into hell if I hadn’t stopped him,” Rocko said with a small smile.