Kylen's Secret

by Jadyn Chase

  My heart flipped. He was right there. Kylen wasn’t six inches from me right now. I would have given anything to throw my arms around him and kiss him, but I had to play my cards just right.

  Charlie was one man. I could overpower him easily. While I ran through how I would go about it, Kylen stepped back. His boots slipped out of my sight. I didn’t see where he went or how he did it, but he wasn’t there anymore. The privy fell silent. I was alone.

  My pulse thundered in my ears. This was it. This was my chance to break out of here. I had to overcome Charlie, and I would be free. While I rushed through one scenario after another, a heavy fist pounded on the door. “Hurry up. That’s long enough.”

  “Just a minute.” My voice quavered. I sounded just as scared as I could hope to convince him, but it was no act. I trembled in my shoes.

  I knit my fingers together to steady my shaking hands. Then it hit me. I couldn’t have asked for a better position to surprise and hopefully overpower Charlie. He would come after me pretty soon. Then I could nab him before anybody knew what was going on.

  I rotated right and left in a tizzy of excitement and anxiety. Could I really do this? I had to. I had to do it for Kylen and the Kelly’s as much as for myself. The next minute, Charlie knocked again, louder. “Come on! Come out!”

  I jumped in terror. I leaped straight for the door and ducked into the corner. I panted to catch every raking breath. Cold sweat sprang out on my palms. I’d never done anything like this before. I didn’t even know if I could go through with it.

  Before I could change my mind, the door slammed open. It hit me in the chest. Pain and fear exploded through me. A demon I didn’t recognize erupted out of me and attacked Charlie with monstrous ferocity.

  He barged into the privy and I pounced on him from behind. Without thinking about it, I seized him by the back of the neck. I steered him forward, and his own momentum carried him straight ahead. I pushed him into the open stall where I just stood shaking in my shoes.

  He tried to turn around to break my hold, and I vented all my anxiety and anger on him. I delivered a swift kick to the back of his leg and buckled one knee under him. He hit the floorboards hard. I never knew I could be so strong. I clenched my fingers on his neck and crammed his head down the hole.

  He flailed his arms in circles, but I gritted my teeth and held him down. I leaned all my weight against his back so he couldn’t get out. I slapped his hip with my free hand until my grip closed on his sidearm.

  Quicker than lightning, I towed him out dripping with filth. Stinking water and chunks of muck clung in his hair and beard. He squinched his eyes shut to protect himself from it. His mouth popped open and he bellowed in rage, but he couldn’t hold a candle to me right now.

  I jerked him over backward. He landed on his back on the floor, and I smashed my gun into his face again and again. One thought kept repeating in my head. I had to knock him out before he shifted. I couldn’t let him shift under any circumstances.

  Blood poured from his nose. His eyes rolled back in their sockets, and he lay still. Little by little, the stench assaulted my nose and drove me off of him. He didn’t move. My knees wobbled in holy terror at what I’d done. I might have killed a man.

  I had to get out of here while I had the chance. I checked the gun. It was fully loaded with a round in the chamber. So much the better. No one better get in my way, or by God, I would kill someone.

  I took a firm grip on my weapon and tiptoed to the door. I peeked outside. Where was Kylen? I couldn’t know. I only knew I had to run for it. The privy would be near the outer edge of the compound. My view of the fence through the longhouse window told me it was. I darted out of the privy and made a dash around the building. I got five steps before I collided with Kylen.

  11

  Kylen

  I grabbed Hannah by the shoulders. “Hannah! What are you doing out here?”

  She panted to get her voice working. Her eyes darted left and right. “We have to get out of here, Kylen! Come on. They’ll be coming after me any second.”

  I pulled her behind the privy and hissed in her ear. “Keep your voice down! The boys are all over the place. If my Pop finds out you broke out, he’ll flip.”

  She jerked out of my arms, and her sparkling black eyes pierced me to the core. “I’m not going back in there, Kylen. You don’t know what I just did to get out of there. You can’t ask me to go back.”

  “I’m not asking you to go back,” I whispered. “I’m just saying Pop is expecting to rescue you. He won’t expect that you already got out on your own. He’ll have to change his plans—whatever they are.”

  She wilted and lowered her eyes to the ground. “I’m sorry. I should have waited to hear what you wanted me to do. I didn’t mean to spoil your plans.”

  “Cut it out!” I had to slow down to steady my voice. Finding her safe and unharmed ate a hole in my guts. “You did good. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. I just have to figure out how to get you out of here without us both getting caught.”

  “Can’t we just run for it?” she asked. “What’s to stop us?”

  Before I could answer, Liam slipped around the corner. “What’s going on? Oh, hello, Hannah. What are you doing here?”

  I turned on him. “Where’s Ezra?”

  “How should I know?” He waved over his shoulder. “Last I saw him, he was heading for that shed over there. He said he saw someone coming out of it with a crate of ammo. He thinks it might be a weapons locker or armory or something.”

  I frowned at the building. Then I shook that thought out of my head. “We have to get out of here. We have to get Hannah up to the trucks before they find her. Can you create a diversion?”

  An evil grin cracked across his face. “Create a diversion—me? Come on. Look who you’re talking to. Who do you know that’s better at making a big, loud, distracting mess than I am?”

  I bit back a laugh. “Yeah. Just make sure Ezra doesn’t get caught in the crossfire. All right?”

  He snorted. “I wouldn’t torch my own brother. Give me some credit.”

  “Good. Do it.” I grabbed Hannah. “Come on.”

  I steered her to the fence behind the privy. “I’ll give you boost over, and then I’ll climb over after you.” I glanced down and found her studying a semi-automatic Barretta in her right hand. “Hannah? Did you hear me?”

  She raised her gaze to my face. An eerie mix of sadness and curiosity mingled in those eyes. “I…. I think I might have just killed someone, Kylen.”

  I cupped her chin and drew those sweet lips to my own, but she didn’t respond to my kiss. “If you killed someone, I admire you and respect you more than ever. It’s not everyone who can fight the Lynches and escape. Did you know my Uncle Luka puts a notch on his belt for every Lynch he kills? You could do the same thing. A dead Lynch is a feather in your cap on Riot Ridge.”

  She blinked up at me. “Really?”

  I nodded at the gun. “You better hang onto that. You might need it before we’re through. I was worried you might get caught up in this fight without a weapon. Now I’m certain you can handle yourself. Now come on. Our whole Clan is out there waiting to get you free. We have to get word to my Pop so he can sound the retreat.”

  Her countenance broke into a magnificent smile. Her shoulders relaxed, and she slotted the gun into the waistband of her jeans. I threaded my fingers together to make a step. She put her foot into it and took hold of my shoulder.

  I glanced into the yard. I didn’t see Liam anywhere. I kicked myself for not planning this better. I should have coordinated with him so I knew when he would create a diversion. Then I would know when to boost Hannah over the fence.

  Either way, I couldn’t go back on it now. She stepped into my hand. I straightened my back and lifted her up. She vaulted onto the fence and landed with her belly draped over it. In seconds, she swung her legs clear and dropped on the other side.

  Just then, a shout went up across the compound. I pee
ked over my shoulder and spotted one of the guards in the tower. He pointed at me and yelled. Two other guards looked over and saw me standing there, plain as day. One of them swung his rifle to his shoulder.

  My hair stood up on end. I might just get caught in this nightmare of a compound. I might have to shift to fight my way out. I couldn’t think of a worse outcome, especially when Pop told me to avoid this at all costs.

  A gun went off somewhere. Bark splintered from the wood next to my head, and I ducked for cover. At that moment, Ezra burst out of the shed that Liam called a weapons locker. He raised his arms to protect his head and bolted for the fence.

  He got halfway across the yard before all hell broke loose. All the guards shouldered their weapons and unloaded on him. Bullets whizzed in all directions. They kicked up craters of dust around Ezra’s feet. He pranced every which way trying to get away from them. They zinged through his hair and pocked the walls and posts of the fence and buildings.

  I couldn’t make up my mind what to do. We came here to free Hannah. Now she waited for me on the outside. I told her I was right behind her. I should clamber over and make for the woods, but I couldn’t leave my brother.

  The dragon in my soul reared its head to protect him. I would lay waste this den of thieves and leave nothing left alive. I took a step forward, but I was already too late. Liam appeared out of nowhere. I was so focused on Ezra I didn’t see Liam until he materialized in the center of the yard. In a fraction of a second, he shifted. He sprouted out of his body and started growing.

  His neck lengthened to an impossible size. His back bent and he landed on all fours. The next instant, the red dragon boomed out for all the world to see. Bullets ricocheted off his scales. He reared on his hind legs and his wings thumped outward to protect Ezra.

  Liam writhed in an arc. He whipped his head around and sprayed a devastating fountain of fire in all directions. It woofed toward the vulnerable wooden buildings and pelted the fence. In a few seconds, the whole compound burst into flame.

  I lost sight of Ezra in the confusion. The guards launched off their towers and shifted in mid-air making a beeline for Liam. That kid sure knew how to make a mess. I couldn’t ask for a better diversion than this.

  Heat puffed against my cheeks. If anyone thought twice about me, all their attention diverted to Liam. He gave me an opening. Now I had to use it. I turned to the fence and took hold of the hemp ropes tying the posts together. I scrambled to the top and flung one leg over.

  I didn’t see Hannah anywhere. She was too smart to stick around. She must have run for cover the minute she got outside the compound. I brought my other leg over, but before I jumped down, I looked back.

  A dozen dragons soared in to surround Liam. He released one last spurt of flame that ignited the longhouse. Then he vaulted skyward and streaked away. The Lynch dragons zoomed after him out of a mushroom cloud of smoking fire that lit up the whole mountain range. They vanished into the clouds.

  I let go of the fence and landed in a crouch, but no one saw me run away. I dove into the cool, dark woods. As soon as the dark closed around me, my head started to clear. Someone grabbed me from behind. I spun around to find Hannah standing there.

  “Are you okay?” she whispered. “I thought they caught you.”

  I seized her with all my strength and kissed her. I crushed her against me, too relieved to speak. I would never let her go, now that I got her back. I never realized until I lost her how much she meant to me.

  I couldn’t explain to Pop or my brothers or even to myself what our night together did to me. It changed me. I stopped being a kid that night. Now I had someone depending on me. I became a man of our Clan with responsibilities like my father and all the other men I grew up with.

  She softened in my arms. Her lips melted, and her delicious hands slipped around my back. She clung to me, and her sweet, soft mews of relief and gratitude intoxicated my mind. I would have taken her then and there, but the distant sound of thumping flames wouldn’t let me relax.

  I pushed her back and caressed her cheeks. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine,” she breathed. “I’m so happy to see you. Thank you so much for coming for me.”

  “I’ll never let you go. Do you hear me? Never!”

  Her eyes brimmed with tears and her lips trembled when kissing me again. I couldn’t stop feasting my eyes on her. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

  She nodded fast. “I’m all right. Are you?”

  “I’m all right,” I panted. “Come on. We have to get out of here and find Pop.”

  I took hold of her hand and charged off into the wood. At first, I wasn’t sure where I was going, but I didn’t care as long as we headed away from the compound. After a mile or so of running, though, I slowed down to take stock. I stopped on a hilltop to check the countryside.

  Hannah gasped for air behind me. “Where are they?”

  I measured the terrain. The rocky outcropping poked its rugged head out of the canopy not far away—at least, it looked not far away. It might have been a few more miles. I couldn’t gauge from here.

  I shook my misgivings out of my head. “We’ll head back to Jacks River. All the trucks are parked up there. We’ll meet up with Ruben and Jonah. One of them can go get Pop and tell him you’re out.”

  She didn’t answer. She followed me back the branches into the shaded woods. Long before we reached the outcropping, a thunderous boom drifted to my ears from far away. I didn’t like that sound, and when I got to the top, I realized why.

  Orange and yellow and red winked across the sky. Clouds of flame rippled over the forest with dragons darting in and out of it. In front of my eyes, a black monster whizzed into view with a brutal grey beast on his tail.

  The pursuer bombarded his quarry with fire. He overtook his hapless foe and smashed into him flying faster than thought. The two reptiles somersaulted over each other and tumbled out of the sky. Dragons battled all over the place from one horizon to the other. I couldn’t keep track of them all.

  Hanna drifted to my side. Her delicate hand slipped into mine. She whispered so softly I could barely make out the words. “You want to be up there, don’t you?”

  “No.” I rounded on her. “I want to be down here with you.”

  She didn’t look at me. Her eye traced the interwoven flight patterns of dozens of dragons rocketing through the clouds. “I would give anything to be up there. It looks amazing.”

  I spun around fast. I grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her so she couldn’t see them. “Stop it! Neither of us is going up there. They’re up there making sure you get away. Now come on. We can’t stand around daydreaming. I only hope Ezra and Liam told Pop that you were already out of there before the manure hit the rotating device.”

  I towed her down the rock. We plunged into the shadows, and in a few minutes, we broke cover into the grassy fields of Jacks River campground.

  None of the trucks had moved, but I didn’t see Ruben or Jonah anywhere. They must have launched to join the battle still raging in the distance. I hesitated. What should I do? Should I wait around?

  Just then, a dragon fluttered through the canopy and came to rest next to us. It shifted, and Liam strutted over to me. “How was that for a diversion? Not too shabby, huh?”

  I jumped for the nearest truck and fished the keys out from under the mat. “Did you tell Pop that we got Hannah out? Does he even know she’s safe instead of burning to ash in there?”

  The satisfied smile drained off his face. “I never got a chance to tell him. I was running from those fools when him and Luka and the whole cavalry came roaring out of the trees to fight. I got away.”

  “You got away while they’re all back there fighting for their lives,” I retorted. “They probably think she’s dead.”

  He jerked one shoulder back. “Well, how was I supposed to tell him? I never got a chance.”

  “I don’t know, but the least you can do is go tell him now. Go tell him to
call the retreat.”

  He watched me slide the key into the ignition. “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m taking Hannah up to the Ridge. It’s the only place she’ll be safe.”

  He smacked his lips and bobbed from one foot to the other. “Typical. You always want me to do your dirty work for you.”

  “None of us would be doing this dirty work if Pop knew what was going on. Jesus, Liam, even Ruben and Jonah are up there, so things must have turned south in a hurry. Now get up there before someone winds up dead.”

  Liam turned away. He flexed his knees to leap into the air when Hannah jumped forward. “Hold on a second. Wait, Liam.”

  “Now what?” I snapped.

  She took a step toward me. “Just listen to me a minute, Kylen. We can’t leave. The Lynches are still up there. If you call the retreat now, they’ll follow you back to the Ridge. They’ll attack you there and we can’t let that happen.”

  “Why on Earth not?” Liam interrupted. “We can defend the Ridge against them with no problem. They can’t touch us on our own ground.”

  She closed her eyes and drew herself in on herself. “Please, just listen to me, both of you. I overheard Everett talking in the longhouse. They kidnapped me to draw you guys into a trap. Their goal was to weaken you and kill as many of you as they could. They wanted to lure you away from the Ridge, and once they weakened you, they planned to attack you, wipe you out, and steal your land for themselves. So far, you’ve played right into their hands. We can’t leave or they might just succeed.”

  Icy fingers gripped my heart listening to this. I didn’t want to believe her. I wanted to grab her and run for the hills. I wanted to bury my head in the sand and forget any of this ever happened. I wanted to believe, the same way Liam believed, that we would all be safe on our own little Ridge.