Reclaim: Project Xol

by Amabel Daniels

  I rubbed her back. Over her shoulder, I kept an eye on our surroundings, peering into the grounds in the distance.

  She reared back and wiped at her eye. With her face lowered somewhat, she frowned, likely just realizing my garments weren’t the ones I’d had on before. “Where’s Tramer?”

  “In another building.”

  “Can you get him?” She rubbed her hand over my chest, staring at my disguise. “Since you’re…you’ll blend in?”

  I shook my head and she silently gasped.

  “He’s…de—gone too?”

  I took her hand and squeezed it. “No.” Not yet. Dammit. I couldn’t let myself sink to pessimism like that. But the truth remained the same. “They beat him. His foot is…bad. He can’t move well.”

  Her lips slammed into a firm line and her eyes glittered with something stubborn. “We’re not leaving him.”

  I licked my lips and ran a hand through my hair. That was the last thing I wanted to do. Yet, my priority had to be getting her to safety. And… Hell, I had to see this nightmare to the end with her because once it was all done, I could wake up to new beginnings, once and for all. Tramer shared that goal—to finish this terror of Project Xol. He wouldn’t want us to fail on account of him.

  “He’s not going to be able to walk.”

  “Then we’ll just have to carry him.” She smashed her lips tighter together and glanced away. When she met my gaze again, she practically bristled with the tension in her stance and the fire in her glare. “I’m not… I’m not leaving another person behind. I refuse.”

  “I—” I held back a growl. Hell. She didn’t even know what she was asking. If there was any way to get Tramer out of that hut to escape with us, I’d do it. I wouldn’t even be here arguing with her, acting on it instead.

  “They’re looking for me. And if they’re already alarmed at me getting away, they’re going to lock down on him.”

  Still, she didn’t budge. Crossed her arms and shook her head.

  Shit. I knew where she was coming from. Her insistence to save Tramer born of her golden heart and caring nature. She was a good woman with good intentions. Her heart wasn’t in sync with her brain, though. Going for Tramer would be a kamikaze move.

  “How would you even walk out there with me? To get him? His building is across the grounds.”

  Because there was no way in hell I was letting us get separated again.

  “I’ll wait here.”

  Like hell she would. I clenched my hand as frustration and impatience heated my blood. If Tramer were here with us, he would have mediated this already. He wouldn’t want her to risk herself for him. He’d told me as much, ordering me to just go for her.

  It tore at me, having to consciously make this choice. I’d gotten to Cassidy. She was all that mattered. I’d held lives in my hands before, killing the marks the gang had given me. I didn’t hesitate then, pulling the trigger to end others. Faced with the variable of my brother’s torture, it’d been an easy decision. Kill them and move on. Maybe it made me a monster, but I wasn’t as hardened now. Since I left prison, I wanted to use this second chance at life as a decent human being, not a killer.

  Leaving Tramer…it would weigh on me for the rest of my life.

  “Dammit, Cassie…”

  She touched her soft fingertips to my forearm. “If he’s living and breathing…he’ll fight. He’s a strong man, Luke. We can’t abandon him. I won’t.”

  I?

  I raised my gaze to her and glowered. I? What happened to we?

  “If you won’t go for him, I will.” Her lip trembled as she vowed it.

  Jealousy didn’t flare at her declaration to look after another man. I was in the same damn boat. I didn’t want Tramer to die any more than she did, but—

  A gunshot fired to our left and I felt the instant sting of flesh tearing in my arm.

  Foreign yells broke through our relative quiet. I lunged forward, pulling her to me and positioning her behind me.

  “Ah…” The Mexican jeered at us, the end of his gun pointed at my chest. He grinned as he spoke more Spanish I couldn’t follow. He raised his face to yell, only one or two words of unintelligible words coming out. His face twisted, contorting into a gross scowl. Then his brows dipped and his eyes narrowed all the while his mouth opened into a silent scream.

  What the f—

  Cassidy clutched my shirt at my back and I brought my gun up.

  The Mexican dropped to his knees, one hand going up to feel his neck. There wasn’t a sound, no blood either. He lowered even more, crashing forward to his hands, and then I saw the crimson flowing from the back of his neck.

  “Luke!” Cassidy whispered, pulling me back into the depth of the forest. I tripped on a branch as we backpedaled with her pulling on me.

  Another thug instantly appeared from the side, out of my line of sight, likely this dead man’s partner. His boots barely crunched over twigs and debris as he approached, his movements too stealthy for me to be prepared. Gun at the ready, this one didn’t seem as cocky to smile and yell about what he’d found. Hard, dark eyes surveyed the scene, but his weapon didn’t move from us for even a second.

  I brought my borrowed handgun up higher, steadying my stance to shoot him first.

  He was faster, whipping out his foot and kicking at my hands. I held on to the gun, but I lost my firm grip on the trigger. The bullet blasted at us and I shoved Cassidy back more, wishing the forest could swallow her up and protect her. Anything to give her a chance to run.

  I fired, unconfident in where I aimed, not caring as long as it was away. Others would be coming at the sounds anyway.

  The thug growled as he dodged to the right, but then he flew back to the left. A muscled trunk of an arm wrapped around his waist. Dark skin even harder to make out in the shade of the night. In a macabre tumble, Tramer whipped his hand up to the man’s head, hugging him to his chest. The impact of his hand on his jaw wasn’t gentle. My abs tensed as I witnessed the strike—a lethal one.

  Huffing hard breaths, Tramer limped to stand, still holding the other man. If his uppercut to the jaw at that angle hadn’t ended the cartel worker’s life, the twist of his head between Tramer’s hands did the trick.

  With his arms going slack, the man’s entire body followed the pull of gravity as well. He dropped, the thud of his massive body softened by the damp forest floor.

  Cassidy choked behind me. A cough? A gag? I groped my hand back to reassure her.

  Holy…shit.

  What we witnessed wasn’t pretty, but she wasn’t alone in watching someone’s violent death. It stunned me just the same. Yeah, I was a murderer, but I’d never taken a life with my bare hands like that. Her fingers shook as she threaded them between mine. I squeezed her hard.

  Holy. Shit. I blinked a few more times, watching Tramer eye his victim. He raised his gaze to meet mine before he glanced past me at Cassidy. One more forceful exhale and he frowned at me. “What the hell are you waiting back here for?”

  I scoffed. I couldn’t help it. I’d only just found Cassidy, shocked and floored when I’d seen her crawling out the damn rooftop. Had we not been arguing about his ass, we would have been long gone on foot. I didn’t need to be told that we should act now and think later. Smartass.

  “We were figuring out how to get to you,” Cassidy said, stepping closer.

  Tramer checked a glance over his shoulder before saying, “Well…” He splayed his hands up in a here I am! gesture. “Let’s get a move on then.”

  “Can you walk?” I asked, wincing as he came toward us. Sure, he was limping and seemed to be panting for that much movement, but he was upright. And mobile. If he could sneak up on a cartel thug and take him out with the strength of his bare hands, he had to be in better condition than I’d previously thought. Or he’d inherited some natural genes a regenerative Xol mutant might envy.

  “No. I fucking flew over here.” He snorted as he stood before us. “Like goddamn Tinkerbell.”
r />   “You got the bag?” Cassidy asked, surprise lightening her whisper. Letting go of my hand, she went to the man’s side. She pulled at the straps, her gaze sticking on his shirt. He must have pilfered the garment somewhere. The gashes weren’t exposed, but the wet stains clinging to the linear shapes explained enough.

  He grimaced, leaning toward her as he let her remove the straps of her backpack from his shoulders. I gripped his arm to prevent him from toppling over. His only reply was a firm pat of his hand on mine, an acknowledgment that assured me he was thankful.

  “It was in the room they left me in. Silver lining.” He grinned for a second as Cassidy pulled the bag onto her shoulder.

  “You’re…” She struggled to swallow and gestured at his chest. “You’re bleeding.”

  Then she glanced at me and gasped. “You too.”

  I checked my arm. The bullet had only grazed me. Another stroke of luck.

  “I’ll live.” Tramer and I said it in unison.

  Cassidy grimaced, worry lingering in her sharp gaze.

  “Hendrick?” Tramer asked.

  She heaved in a deep breath through her nose and kept her lips sealed shut.

  I shook my head and motioned for him to wrap his arm around me, opposite of the side I’d just gotten nicked with the bullet.

  He gave one grave nod.

  “Which way do we go?” I asked. I’d mapped out the compound, but I had no clue where we were in relation to the highway we’d been on before.

  “We’ll go away, for starters.” Tramer hopped toward me and took my support. “We’ll do a three-leg run.”

  Cassidy nodded and led us further into the woods. “Is this north?”

  “More northeast,” Tramer said between grunts as we figured out a pace.

  “Good,” she whispered.

  The chaotic noise of men shouting grew distant behind us, but I knew this couldn’t be a simple trek out of their territory. Men, more guards, had to be waiting out here. Hiding like a guerilla security fence.

  “Wait.”

  Tramer caught his breath next to me as Cassidy turned. A frown showed her confusion, maybe something like impatience too.

  “Take this.”

  She nodded and accepted the extra gun I’d gotten with this uniform. Gone was her skittishness about handling weapons, or maybe the night’s events had warped her into a more hardened version of herself.

  Having her in front of me wasn’t ideal, but Tramer couldn’t lean on her. Despite his injuries, he proved he wasn’t invalid just yet. I’d feared he was worse off when I’d found him in the hut, and he’d expressed the same conclusion. Either he lied back there to get me to move, or he’d simply wrapped it well and sucked up the pain. We weren’t more than a yard behind Cassidy as she nearly jogged away.

  Still, I knew we couldn’t maintain this pace for hours. Sweat streamed from us, our clothes damp—if not already wet from blood. My grip on Tramer slipped from the slickness. Water. We had to recharge at some point. Thirsty, hungry, wounded…we were in the worst state for a blind escape run through unknown land.

  Tramer guided Cassidy on turns and where to head for, looking ahead and gauging… Hell, I didn’t know what. I was certain this wasn’t his first time fleeing from deadly, organized enemies. We let him take the helm, from the backseat, so to say.

  “Stop.”

  He’d whispered the word and we skidded into each other.

  I blinked and wiped sweat from my brow as he peered around the dark forest. Trees had spread further apart for a while now, and thick, knotty underbrush slowed our way. Less rainforest and more…well, normal forest. We weren’t on any kind of a path that I could see, and maybe that was Tramer’s intention.

  He groped at his waist and I watched in my peripheral vision as a knife glinted in a sliver of the weak light from the crescent moon. If he was arming himself… I cocked my head slightly, feeling him remove his arm from my shoulders. Okay. I got it. Time to get defensive. We’d fight better if we weren’t a doubled-up hobbling form.

  “What—”

  Tramer shushed Cassidy’s quiet question.

  Then I saw it. A black bulk of a shadow sliding behind another tree. Men from the cartel. I wasn’t surprised that we’d encountered more. They wouldn’t have such a stronghold in the forest without a true perimeter guard. Apprehension to solve this problem reared first, not fear.

  Tramer looked at me without moving his head and I barely tipped my head to nod. He glanced to his right and I followed the direction of his attention. Another bulky shape. This one shifted one foot to the other, if the slight swaying motion was anything to go by.

  We waited another moment, breathing hard in the pungently sweet damp forest. No other movement. An animal screeched in the distance, a short distraction to this game of stalling. The guards were likely waiting for us to come further. Two on two. It was doable. Even with Tramer as injured as he was.

  I didn’t budge. Cassidy shook, standing as still as she could in front of us. I hated her fear, but I had faith. We’d gotten this damn far. We just needed to wait…

  Tramer twitched his hand holding the knife. Just a flick, but I saw it for the cue it had to be. He tapped his finger to the hilt.

  One.

  I looked at Cassidy and our immediate surroundings.

  Another tap. Two.

  A slab of rocky earth jutted up a few feet, framed by a couple of small trees. The small nook was just in front of us and it was here where she should take cover.

  A third tap. Three.

  Tramer and I shoved Cassidy down and I dove to the left, rolling further away. He had to have gone right. It could work, on a far hope, if Cassidy stayed down.

  Gunfire erupted. I crawled, staying as low as I could until I was sure I’d circled around. Rocks dug into my skin and branches swatted at my face. All the way through the forest, I aimed to surprise the first guy from behind.

  They’d stopped firing, but then a rifle burst out shots to my right. Tramer? Or was it the cartel’s man? No matter. My target was crouched around a high stump. He leaned over the rotted jagged top and peered ahead.

  Now. I got to my feet and lurched toward him. As soon as I wrapped my arm around him, I brought the handgun to his head and fired.

  Cassidy screamed.

  No! I shoved the dead man aside and sprinted back to the jutted rock she should have been safe behind. I reached the spot and found nothing but stirred-up dirt. A skid in a slicker part of the mud, like a shoe had pushed off. Where was she? What happened? Goddammit! I didn’t want to call out for her and alert others to my—our location. She should still be there, hiding. Unless—

  “At your six!”

  I resisted the urge to look in the direction of where Tramer had yelled from and instead turned to where he’d warned of danger. Cassidy lay on her stomach, like she’d fallen.

  A camo-dressed thug stood with his foot on her back, holding her down as he jabbed the tip of his rifle at the back of her neck.

  I raised my handgun and fired.

  Nothing.

  What?

  I pulled the trigger again.

  Fuck.

  I was out of ammo.

  Chapter Six

  Cassidy

  “No!”

  I sucked in another mouthful of dirt as I scrambled to face Luke.

  His yell came from behind me, probably past this guy pinning me to the ground.

  “Ass. Hole!” I writhed again, trying my damnedest to get his heavy boot off my back. The pressure increased, shoving my gut down and spreading sharp aches up along my lower ribs.

  Fine. He could break my damn bones and squish my guts. But he was not going to win. Never mind the gun poking into my neck.

  Hell no. Not like this. I grunted, flailing my arms out to try to shove off his foot.

  “Ah. Hello there. Punk,” the man said. His boot turned, like he was facing away from me.

  No. Don’t go for Luke. Please don’t. I need him.


  “Let her go.”

  The man laughed at Luke’s order.

  “Hmmm.” He smashed his boot down on me more.

  I gasped for a solid breath as panic claimed me. I tasted bile and winced at the burn.

  He dug the end of the gun into my skin more. “I don’t think so.”

  Then suddenly, the pointed stab on my neck lifted. Which meant whatever it was had to be aiming at Luke now.

  I ground my teeth and blinked to see around the dirt.

  Most of the fading forest was wet, like it had rained earlier. But when this thug had found me and I ran, he’d tackled me to the ground. Dirt and muck floated up still, and I couldn’t see a damn thing shoved down like this in the dark. I brought my arms forward, pulling off a swimming motion. Instead of trying to push his foot off of me, I groped on the ground. A rock. Anything. Please. I refused to be defenseless. Slimy leaves and handfuls of debris weren’t going to help me. I persisted, feeling for something.

  “Lower the knife,” the thug ordered Luke.

  “Get off of her. Now.”

  The man chuckled as I felt something cold and hard. I grabbed it, sucked in a deep breath, and flung to my side. Maybe Luke had him distracted and the man wasn’t paying as much attention to me, but finally, I rolled over a bit. Enough to bash his shin with an old bit of fence pipe.

  He grunted and stomped down, but I edged over before he could hit me. His boot scraped against my stomach and I bit back a growl. I didn’t have a chance to crawl away. He was shoved out of sight as Luke barreled into him.

  The rifle dropped to the ground next to me and I hastened to sit up and grab it.

  Luke wrestled with the man in a frenzy mere feet from me. Deep, guttural grunts clashed as they fought on the ground.

  I narrowed my eyes, spreading my hands over the rifle, seeking how to handle it. How—

  A gun fired not far off. I looked up and squinted into the distance. Tramer?

  I tore my attention back to the weapon in my hands. Jesus. A rifle. Yeah, it had a trigger, but then what the hell was this lever? Shit. I floundered, so far out of my minimal expertise of guns. The safety had to have been off if he was going to use it on me…