The wait for Daniel and Dimitri after I’d finally reached them on the radios they left with was excruciating. They reassured me they were coming back with a plan, though, so I have to have faith in it. In them.
West came running back exhausted about an hour after I sent him to track Thomas, but I know if he’s returned now, he got the location.
The sound of an ATV has me rushing outside, shotgun in hand and aimed at the direction it’s coming from, just in case it’s not Atticus’ men.
As soon as they get close enough to see, I know it’s them, so I lower my gun. I wait only long enough for the engine to die down before asking, “What’s the plan?”
“You know where they are?” Daniel asks as he walks up to me, a gentle look on his handsome face.
“I can take a guess. West was gone for one hour, three and a half minutes.”
“That’s a pretty specific time.” Dimitri’s hard gaze meets mine.
“Out here, specifics can mean life or death.” For Atticus, I won’t risk it, and I think they know that.
“Fair enough.” He nods towards the table and lays out a map of the mountain. “Can you point him out on here?”
“They went north so likely within a couple miles of here. There’s an old fishing cabin not far off the road that almost everyone uses.” I circle an area about a forty-minute hike from my cabin. “But I’m coming with you. West can show us exactly where they are.”
The two men share a look before Dimitri tells me, “Sorry, sweetheart, Atticus would have our balls if we let you come with us.”
“I’m not asking permission, Dimitri. I’m coming.” Walking away, I don’t care what their plan is. Grabbing my backpack filled with water, granola, and first aid supplies, I whistle for West, and we begin the trek towards Atticus.
Dimitri
“Son of a bitch!” I don’t want this woman out there any more than I want Daniel in harm’s way. The cocky little bastard has wormed his way under my skin, and if something happens to him, there will be hell to pay.
When King sent us up here, it was more to see what the situation was and bring Atticus home if McCray hadn’t shown his face yet. We arrived just in time to nearly see our friend get his ass blown to bits.
After spending the last ten years with the younger McCray, I was eager to leave, start fresh. I hadn’t anticipated joining a corrupt clan of men with their own unbreakable morals.
I watch Daniel now as he tries to reason with Catalina. The kid has a good fucking heart, far too good for this life, but I understand his motives far more than he realizes.
I can only hope this situation doesn’t get him killed.
Catalina
I see the way they watch each other. The secret glances, the wanted touches. Neither man wants anyone to know what’s going on, but I do. And, so help me god, if I have to use it in order to get Atticus back, I will.
“I’m going, Daniel. He’s mine. I have to be a part of this.” His head rears back at the resolution in my words.
“If you feel that strongly about it…” I don’t know if he expects me to back out or what, but I level him with a hard glare. “D, she’s coming. Ain’t nothing keeping her here,” he shouts to Dimitri.
The man walks over to us, his own long-range rifle strapped across his back, and points. “You stay behind me. I say get down, you get the fuck down. I say run, you damn well run. No fucking questions.” He waits until I nod before barking, “Lead the way.”
“West.” The canine perks up at his name. “Seek,” I command. He dashes off at a quick pace until we hit the tree line then slows down. Dimitri keeps stride with me while Daniel hangs back slightly, watching our surroundings more closely.
Adrenaline, anticipation, and fear fight for supremacy in my mind the closer we get to the cabin. I want to find Atticus, but not knowing how we’ll find him terrifies me. I barely know these two men with me now, but for his sake, I have to trust them to do what’s right.
All the little doubts I’ve had the past few days with Atticus seem so silly and stupid now. I’m not naïve enough to believe that our relationship won’t take a lot of work, but I know that what we’ve shared is special. It’s one in a million, and if I’m lucky enough to find love after watching my mother suffer without, then I’m going to take it. I’m going to own the fuck out of it.
If only we find my man relatively unharmed.
The bitter cold and wind blast through the layers of warmth I’m surrounded by, and my teeth are chattering before we’re halfway to our location when West suddenly stops cold in his tracks.
Daniel and Dimitri are at my side in a flash as I close my eyes to listen. A crunch of snow and snapped twig to the east of us draw my attention there, and I see a deer off in the distance scrounging for food. I’m more than relieved it’s not a wolf or something equally terrifying.
“How the fuck can you stand it out here?” Dimitri growls as the immediate danger passes.
“It’s peaceful.” I shrug, walking away as West continues his trek.
The atmosphere changes the closer we draw to the cabin, and the second it comes into view, I have to fight back every instinct inside of me screaming to rush in there. Now I understand why Atticus has these urges to kill for me. The fear would consume him the same way it is me in this moment. I hate the wait and see as Daniel moves round the back, and Dimitri searches around the front.
Voices can be heard, but no specific words, which leaves me hopeful that Atticus isn’t too badly injured. Watching as the two men send hand signals back and forth before Dimitri returns to my position is hard. They know what’s about to happen but left me out of the complicated portion of the plan on purpose. The only thing I get to do is send West after Thomas if he escapes their grasp.
“Promise you’ll stay here, Cat. If you don’t, I’m not leaving you, and Atticus won’t make it out of that cabin alive.” The grave look he shoots me makes my answer clear.
“I’ll be here. But Dimitri, you bring him back to me.” He nods before heading to the cabin. The sound of glass shattering followed by a bang and bright flash causes me to jump, but I remain still as I watch Dimitri kick in the front door. The sound of a gun going off, trailed by cursing has me standing taller and forcing myself to remain still.
One minute it’s deafening on the mountainside, and the next, it’s the serene quiet I’ve loved my entire life. You’d never know there was a small war playing out behind those four walls.
Coughing and a body emerging from the smoke cause me to hunker down behind the tree blocking my hiding spot.
It isn’t until the body starts running that I realize it’s Thomas. I pull the shotgun from my shoulder and fire once, hitting the tree near his head, compelling him to duck as he runs blindly into the woods.
“West, follow,” I instruct, and the dog takes off. “Dimitri!” I call. “He’s getting away!” No answer and my heart stops in my chest.
Running into the smoky structure, I brace for the worst. Daniel and Dimitri are huddled on the floor over a body, and I react. I don’t think, I don’t stop and wait. I just go. “That son of a bitch is dead,” I hiss before they realize I’m there and gone.
I know Atticus is the one who took the bullet. I know it’s him on the ground. The scent of his blood permeates the air. I know he’s injured.
What I don’t know is if he’s dead.
I don’t want to know.
Because if he is, then my life has been irrevocably changed again.
He’s dark and gritty. Raw and unfiltered in all its forms. But, dammit, Atticus is mine, and if he’s not in this world, I don’t want to be either.
Small branches whip at my face as I race after Thomas, not caring about anything else other than hunting him down. The sound of West growling catches my attention, and I switch course and slow down slightly. Resting the shotgun against my shoulder when I see the prick cowering against a tree, I can’t help the sadistic thoughts that run through my mind.
Shooting him like a sitting duck.
Leaving him to die.
Letting him become wolf meat before he’s dead.
I want this man to suffer for everything he’s done to Atticus and his family. For what he and his, our, family did to my mother. What they wanted to do to me then and now.
I want him to feel my rage.
When the shotgun bucks against my shoulder, the scream of pain escapes his mouth, the ricochet of sound bounces through the woods. I realize I’ve pulled the trigger without thought.
McCray drops to the ground, a hole in his side, blood rushing from his body in rivulets, and I feel nothing. I don’t feel better; I don’t even feel bad for him.
I’m numb from the anger and fear for Atticus.
“I hope you die out here.”
I don’t give him a chance to say anything as I turn around, West on my heels, and rush back to the cabin in time to see Daniel and Dimitri helping Atticus from the building.
Relief swamps me as I watch him walking on his own, if a little weak. Lines of pain crease his face as he looks up to me. I rush over. Unsure of where he’s hurt, I glide my hands up his chest gingerly.
“You were given a fucking order,” he growls, his voice full of agony.
“I’m so glad you’re not dead.” I don’t care how angry he is at me.
“Christ, little lamb.” He drops one arm from Daniel’s shoulder and pulls me into his chest. “You ever disobey an order again, and I’ll lock your ass up.” His words are harsh, but I hear the worry, feel the way he breathes me in deeply. Barking orders is his way of dealing with the stress.