by Jaime Lewis
Claus pulled the car into a run-down motel that looked like it had been abandoned, but the flickering vacancy neon sign said otherwise.
Elijah sighed. “There isn’t anything else?”
Claus snorted. “Not unless you want to stay in a shed with pigs and cows. There isn’t anything in this town. Are you sure you don’t want to go elsewhere?”
“Shit. No, we need to play it safe and lay low for a day or two. At least with this place, I’m sure they won’t worry about you showing any ID or paying with cash.”
While Claus went inside to get their rooms, Elijah sent Vargas a text on the burner phone he had purchased to communicate. Vargas replied, letting him know that he had picked up some supplies he had requested. They agreed to meet up later after dark and go over the plan that Elijah was concocting in his mind.
Claus got back into the car and grinned.
“What are you smiling about?”
“We may have some luck on our side. There is a big rally tomorrow being held downtown Sugar Bend. A major corporation wants to buy up land around the National Park to build, and the people in the area aren’t happy about it.”
“And, that concerns us why?”
“A protest rally means heavy police presence. I can’t imagine these small towns have a huge police force, which means—”
“They will be too busy to patrol the rest of the town.”
“Exactly. And if Vargas is right, that cabin is about thirty minutes from town. As long as we have a good plan, that should give us plenty of time to do what we came to do.”
“What about the guys that Vargas said were staying with them? We know that the brother is a SEAL.”
Elijah smiled. “We create a distraction. Call Vargas and tell him to pick up some gasoline.” Claus raised an eyebrow at him, and Elijah’s smile grew, “I’m in the mood for a bonfire.”
As Claus drove around to the other side of the motel where their room was, Elijah had made his final decision. He wasn’t going to let Mia have the easy way out, death is too easy for what she’s put him through. He was going to make her pay for her disloyalty by being his possession. She would live out the rest of her life under his control.
◆◆◆
“You need us to do what?” Stitch asked, looking at his friend the Sheriff as if he was out of his mind. Two days had passed, and there had been no signs of Elijah or Brice Vargas. Not that they’d let their guard down either.
“I need you guys to help with crowd control.”
“You do realize we hate crowds,” Irish said, drawing nods from the others.
“I promise you won’t be in the mix of the crowd. I just need some perimeter assistance. Several agencies from the neighboring counties who were scheduled to assist are now dealing with their own rallies in their towns. This land control shit is so out of fucking control it is a wonder we haven’t had riots.”
The Sheriff pleaded with his eyes, “I just need you guys for about an hour or two.”
Stitch looked at Ace. It was funny that they still looked to their team leader for his thoughts first, even in their personal lives.
“What about Mia and the others? We can’t take them to the rally.”
Alex stepped up next to Ace. “Ace, we can handle ourselves for an hour or two. If it makes you feel any better, I have my gun with me.”
“Look, if you’d be more comfortable, I can pull the deputy I have working dispatch and have him patrol out here. I can call my assistant and have her cover dispatch for that time. She’s always looking for more hours.”
Ace looked at the team. “This is a group decision. It’s everyone’s call. If you don’t want to, I’ll understand.”
Stitch laughed out loud when Tenley pushed Potter forward and told the Sheriff that her husband would love to volunteer, which earned her a scowl from Potter. After speaking with Autumn, Frost stepped forward, followed by Irish after some reassurance from Bailey. That just left Ace and Stitch. Alex gave Ace a wink, and Ace turned and said he was in. Stitch glanced over at Mia. He was having a hard time with the decision, and as if she had read his mind, she answered for him.
“Stitch is in as well.” When he looked over at her, she said, “Stitch, go and help your friend. We’ll be fine. We will have the deputy, and Alex has her gun.”
Though he was still unsure, he turned toward the Sheriff, “I guess you’ve got yourself a team.”
“How does this even work? We aren’t deputies.” Ace asked.
Sheriff Prescott grinned. “Do each of you promise to uphold and enforce the laws of this town?”
With a resounding yes from all eight men, the Sheriff said, “Congratulations, you have been deputized under the laws of the town of Sugar Bend.”
Stitch cocked his head sideways and eyed the Sheriff, “Did you just make that shit up?”
The Sheriff grinned, “Yep.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
The next morning after seeing their men off to the rally, Mia, Alex, Tenley, Autumn, and Bailey sat around the living room picking at the make-shift breakfast buffet they had set-up for the guys. There were platters of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, grits, toast, home fries, and fresh fruit.
Mia wasn’t very hungry. Her stomach was still in knots from everything going on. She did manage to eat some toast with jelly to put something in her stomach so she wouldn’t get sick.
As promised, Sheriff Prescott had his deputy stationed in the driveway. Mia had felt bad that the guy had been put on babysitting duty, so she had taken him a plate of food, which he thanked her for.
“So, Mia. What’s next for you?” Bailey asked as she sipped on a cup of coffee.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, once all of this over, what are your plans? Are you going back to New York?”
She put her coffee mug down on the table next to her. “I am.” She saw the surprised looks on her friend's faces, not to mention the frowns, and she smiled. “I am going back to pack my things. Stitch and I talked. I’m going to move in with him, and from there, we’ll look for a place together.”
“What about work?” Tenley questioned.
“Well, I was supposed to meet with the owner of that clinic and shelter that Stitch’s mom volunteers at. He is looking to sell, and I might be interested in taking it over.
“Mia that is awesome news!” Bailey exclaimed.
“Well, nothing is set in stone. I still have to meet with Dr. Katz.”
“I’m sure he’d sell to you.”
“Is a business like that something you can afford?” Alex asked.
“I’ve looked into the process of taking out a business loan. Plus, with the practice also housing a shelter on site, there are grants available as well. Like I said, I’ll see.”
“Well, it sounds exciting.”
“Where’s Autumn?” Tenley asked, looking around.
“I thought she went to get a soda out of the fridge in the garage,” Bailey said just as Autumn emerged from the bathroom using a towel to wipe her mouth, and Mia suspected she had just gotten sick. She didn’t look so well.
“Damn, honey, you look like death warmed over you,” Alex admitted getting up and heading into the kitchen to find some crackers or ginger ale for her.
“I think I have a stomach bug or something. I’ve been queasy for the last couple of days,” Autumn said, dropping on the sofa as if she had all the energy zapped right out of her.
Mia eyed Alex, who glanced over at Tenley, who then looked back at Autumn with a sly smile.
“Autumn, could there be a possibility that you’re pregnant?”
When Autumn’s eyes widened with a look of shock, Mia could tell the beautiful redhead hadn’t considered that possibility. She knew Autumn and Frost were trying, but from the deer in the headlights look, Autumn hadn’t thought through that scenario.
“Oh, shit! I don’t know. I mean, there could be a slight chance, but hell, I just went off the pill. Plus, I wasn’t sick when I was pregnant with
Cody.”
“Every baby affects your body differently. Look at me; I was on the pill, now I’m knocked up with twins that already have their daddy’s battle training, going by the punching and kicking my insides take every day.”
“Well, there is only one way to find out,” Alex said, looking at Autumn.
“What’s that?”
“Take a pregnancy test. And, I just happen to have one with me.” Alex dug through her purse and pulled out a pregnancy test kit.
Tenley gave Alex a funny look. “Do I even want to know why you’re carrying around a pregnancy test in your purse?” Tenley’s eyes shot wide open. “Oh, my, god! Are you and Ace trying to have a baby?”
Now it was Alex’s turn to give Tenley a look. “No….I have to be married first before I’d consider having a baby. And with mine and Ace’s luck at planning a wedding, I’ll probably be the first eighty-year-old woman to pop out a kid.” Everyone laughed, but Mia could tell Tenley’s comment hit a sore spot with Alex. Again, Mia saw that dawning look in Alex’s eyes. She would definitely need to drop a hint to her brother to get his ass in gear and marry Alex.
“The pregnancy test was for one of the patients at the clinic. Well, it was for his wife. They have some financial issues at least until he can get his benefits and pension straightened out, so I bought the test for them and some groceries. I dropped the groceries off but forgot about the test.”
Bailey clapped her hands together. “This is so exciting! Well, go pee on that stick,” she told Autumn.
A few minutes later, Autumn came back. Her face was unreadable.
“Well?” Tenley questioned as she shoved another forkful of home fries in her mouth.
“I think I need to have Frost rework the addition on the house because he’s going to need to build a nursery,” Autumn said that part with a little squeal and was smiling ear-to-ear as she held up the stick that showed pink lines.
Everyone jumped up, were hugging and congratulating her, when suddenly Tenley doubled over and clutched her stomach.
Alex was right by her side.
“Tenley, what’s wrong?”
“The babies…” She took another deep breath and exhaled.
“Ten…what about the babies? What’s going on?”
“I think the babies are ready to escape.”
“Seriously?”
“Oh god, my water just broke.”
Mia looked down, and judging from the slight puddle forming around Tenley’s feet; she told the truth.
“Alex, you need to call Potter. I need Potter,” Tenley said in between breaths, and Mia couldn’t help but be both excited and worried.”
“Should I call for an ambulance?” Bailey asked.
“No, let’s call Potter and see how fast they can get here. Tenley, let’s get you over to the chair.”
“No! I’ll ruin Stitch’s chair.”
“Honey, Stitch isn’t going to care about the chair. If he does, I’ll buy him a new one.”
“At least get a trash bag that I can sit on.”
Mia wanted to laugh at Alex’s subtle eye-roll. She ran and got the trash bag from the kitchen so Tenley would sit down.
“Mia, can you run out front and let the deputy know what’s going on? That way if we need to get Tenley to the hospital before the guys get back, he could take her.”
Mia nodded and headed outside. It was cold and dreary outside. She heard Stitch say this morning that there was a chance for snow later in the day.
As she started down the porch steps, she caught a whiff of smoke, and she looked around. Not seeing anything, she walked around to the side of the house, and she gasped when she saw a shed near the back of Stitch’s property on fire. The hair on the back of her neck stood up.
She took off and ran toward the deputy’s patrol car. As she approached, the window was half down, and she saw the Deputy was slumped against the steering wheel. His eyes were closed, but she knew on instinct that he wasn’t asleep on his own doing.
She covered her mouth, spun around, and sprinted back to the house. She didn’t even bother looking around to see if anyone was near. She was almost to the front door when a bullet struck the house just left of the door. She stumbled through the door, slamming it and locking it.
“Was that a gunshot?” Alex questioned, getting up and coming toward Mia.
Mia was too stunned to speak. She felt herself shaking. She had to warn the others. Someone was out there. Oh, god, that poor deputy, she thought to herself.
“Mia, what’s wrong? You’re shaking like a leaf.”
Mia looked at Alex. God, she wished she had the strength that Alex had.
Mia was nodding her head when she found her voice. “Someone shot at me. The Deputy is knocked out or something, and Stitch’s shed is on fire.”
Suddenly, an explosion occurred nearby, and Alex ran to the kitchen window. When she returned, she started closing all of the window blinds and pulled the curtains closed.
“Bailey, did you get a hold of the guys?” Alex asked, and Mia stood there for a minute in awe as Alex took control of the situation. She reminded her of her brother when he was in commander mode.
“No, I keep getting a busy signal. It’s weird. I can’t even get through to 911.”
“Okay, since we don’t know who or what we are dealing with, our best option is to hunker down here. Autumn, help me get Tenley into the bathroom. Mia gather some blankets and pillows and brought them into the bathroom.”
Just as Mia crossed the living room, the huge picture window shattered, and Mia screamed as she fell to the floor.
Alex came crawling out of the bathroom.
“Mia!”
Mia shook even harder than before. She couldn’t move. Alex came up beside her.
“Mia? Mia, look at me.” She took a few seconds to process Alex’s words. She also saw that Alex had her gun in her hand. Mia needed to be strong and brave. She got through the ordeal back in New York alive.
She went to say something when they heard men talking just outside on the front porch. They said something about going around the back.
Mia’s eyes widened. “Alex, the back door is unlocked.” Before Alex could say anything, Mia leaped up and sprinted for the back door. When she got there, she knew she had to do something. She gasped when she recognized Claus, Elijah’s employee standing to the right at the bottom of the porch stairs.
She had to protect the others. She wasn’t sure how many bad guys there were out there, but if she could draw some away from the house, it would help Alex and the others. She eyed the woods that led to the trails. With her body still recovering from the incident in New York, she wondered how far she could make it before they caught up with her. Her main concern was her ankle. As long she could run, she could endure the other aches if it meant saving her friends' lives. She tested her ankle by putting weight on it and bounced a little. It was a little sore, but she could do it. She had to do it. The thought sounded good, and before she could question herself, she yanked open the door and took off to the right. As she made her way down the stairs and toward the tree line that led to the trails, she heard the shouting behind her, followed by gunfire, and she prayed the girls were okay and that this plan would work.
◆◆◆
“Stitch! Gather everyone up,” Sheriff Prescott called out just as the team made their way back to the Sheriff’s department. The so-called rally ended up being a dud with only a handful of protestors showing up.
They met the Sheriff by his patrol truck. “What’s going on?” Stitch asked.
“A 9-1-1 call just came in. There was an explosion on your property. I can’t get in touch with my Deputy. There are reports of gunfire. I’ve got other deputies en route now.”
“Fuck!” Everyone scrambled into their vehicles and took off toward the cabin.
Stitch was scared, angry, and felt guilty. He banged his fist on the dashboard.
“Motherfucker! The bastard from the bar must have followed us.”
“That, or he saw you all cozy with Mia and asked around and got your information from somebody. It is pretty easy to check a background, especially with his connections. Think about it, Stitch. We have a lot of cop friends. This asshole is a detective who most people would assume is a good guy. If he asked, it’s possible someone said something.”
Stitched glanced back at Irish, who was trying to call Bailey.
“I can’t get through.”
“Shit!”
Ace pressed the gas pedal to the floor, and Stitch held on. In record time, they made the turn up the driveway leading to the cabin with cop cars following. The truck skidded to a stop, and Alex emerged from the front door carrying her glock, but it wasn’t so much of her presence that drew their attention. It was the blood all over her.
Ace got to her first, pulled her into his arms, and then started patting down her body and looking her over to find out where the blood was coming from. She swatted at his hands. “The blood isn’t mine.”
“Whose is it?” He barked, obviously shaken up by the scene.
“The guy who made a huge mistake by trying to attack us.”
“Where is everyone else?” Stitch asked, looking around. He saw the flames shooting from the shed. Just then, the fire department arrived. He didn’t care about the shed; all he cared about was that all the women were safe.
“Autumn and Tenley are inside along with two dead perpetrators.” She looked at the Sheriff. “Sorry, I tried to warn them, but they fired first.”
“Where are Mia and Bailey?” Irish asked.
“Mia took off towards the trails. I think she was trying to lure the other two guys away from the house. I think Bailey may have been with her. I don’t know for sure, though. She definitely isn’t in the house.” She looked between Stitch and Ace. “I think it was Dr. Walters. One of the dead inside is the guy from the bar.”
“Dammit!”
“Are you okay?” Ace asked, pulling her into a hug.
She looked at Potter. “I’m fine. It’s Tenley I’m more worried about.”
“Tenley’s hurt?” Potter asked as he took off in a sprint toward the front door.
