Zeke

 

As soon as the note was revealed, Nathan ran out the back door saying, “Let’s catch this son of a bitch,” through gritted teeth. As he disappeared around the corner to make a loop of the house, Zeke spotted something hurtling in through the smashed window. He instinctively leaped forward, pulling Sophie to the ground and covering her body with his. She let out an involuntary shriek on the way down but lay still underneath his strong frame, her breath labored with shock.

 

Two small, metal canisters rolled along the tiled floor towards them, hissing as gas spewed out and began to cloud their vision. Zeke kicked the nearest one away as far as he could, but the second one was just a little too far to reach.

 

Suddenly someone scooped Sophie up by the underarms and began to drag her outside.

 

“Zeke!” she called out.

 

“I’ll go back for him,” Nathan grunted.

 

Zeke was so glad to hear his old commander’s voice in the smoky haze, and that he’d helped Sophie first. Within seconds, Nathan was back and pulling him to safety.

 

Zeke coughed and wiped at the stinging gas, attempting to clear his lungs with the fresh summer air outside. Sophie and Nathan sat on the grass nearby, their eyes pink and streaming with tears.

 

“Did you see him?” Zeke asked Nathan between coughs.

 

“No. He’s a little cleverer than we thought. I did a circuit of the house, and by the time I got back here, he’d launched these and disappeared.”

 

Sophie stepped forward with her hand stretched out towards Zeke. He took hold of it gently and pulled her in towards him, wrapping the other arm around her. “You OK?”

 

She sniffed and nodded. “Yeah.”

 

“Let’s get in the car. Do a few blocks. I know the area so let’s take mine,” Nathan said, holding up a ring full of keys. He then quickly dashed off to the summer house to tell his wife, Tracy, to head to her sister’s place and stay there until she heard from him.

 

Zeke, Sophie, and Nathan ran to the older man’s Chrysler parked in the drive and hopped in. Nathan pulled away at full speed just seconds after the doors were shut. He swerved and looped the neighborhood’s streets as all three of them kept their eyes on different sides, looking for anyone running or just acting weird.

 

Zeke and Sophie were both in the back. Zeke grabbed Sophie’s arm and flipped it over to see a web of little cuts all bleeding into one little trickle. He looked deep into her eyes. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered. It hurt to see her hurt.

 

“It’s not your fault,” she whispered back.

 

He turned away to look out the window. He couldn’t let her get much deeper in this. If anything happened to her through association with him... well, he just couldn’t handle the thought. That would finish him. He’d found it hard enough to deal with losing so many colleagues, but to lose the first woman he’d cared about in so long, it would be too much. He didn’t want to be her downfall.

 

She must have sensed his anguish, as her hand squeezed his knee as if to tell his thoughts to shut up.

 

There was no sign of anything to follow up on.

 

“Shit,” Nathan said, slamming his hand on the steering wheel. “He’s outsmarted us. “Just then, a car drove so close behind them it caused Nathan to tilt his head to peer into the rearview mirror. “Zeke, can you make out the person in that car?”

 

Zeke turned. “No, he’s wearing a hood and a scarf over his nose and mouth. That has to be him. We need to find a way to stop him.”

 

Before Nathan could respond, the car behind them rammed into Nathan’s hood, causing it to swing open and block his view of behind. Sophie gasped and held onto the seat in front of her, her fingers gripping it so tightly that they were turning white.

 

“Brace yourselves,” Nathan warned before slamming on the brakes. The car behind crunched right into the back of the Chrysler – it was like two soda cans had slammed together. As soon as both cars ground to a halt, Nathan and Zeke leaped out, but before they could even lay a hand on the other car, it reversed, turned, and speed away.

 

Zeke kicked a stone, shouting, “Fuck! Shit!” He leaned over and rested his hands on his knees and breathed deeply.

 

Nathan held his head in his hands – looking like a statue of defeat.

 

After a minute, they jumped back into the car, and Nathan put his foot on the gas, causing a few wheel spins, but then Zeke heard a grinding sound and could smell burning rubber.

 

“Shit, I think we’ve got a flat,” he said, shaking his head in frustration.

 

***

 

The mood in the car while they waited for one of Zeke’s motorcycle club guys was heavy with despair. Every now and then Zeke punched the seat in front of him.

 

“We’re professionals,” he said through stiff lips. “How is he managing to get the better of us? We should be able to kick his ass.”

 

Nathan sighed. “It’s the element of surprise. It’s half the battle. You know that.”

 

Zeke nodded.

 

Their lift eventually arrived. Toby from the club asked no questions. He made small talk, but it was clear he could tell from the mood in the car to keep it easy.

 

Back at Nathan’s house, Zeke followed him up the path, giving him a piece of paper. “This is the number of a guy who’s been helping us so far – Sophie’s boss. He’s good. He knows everything so far. If you need anything, call him straight away. I’m going to get her out of town for a couple days while we plan our next move. Stay safe. I’ll call you.”

 

As he walked back to the car, a pang of guilt tugged at his gut as he caught sight of Sophie’s large, frightened eyes. She looked so innocent sitting in the back of that car, the fear oozing from her.

 

He climbed into the passenger seat up front, giving Sophie a measured smile as he did. “Can you take us to Woodbrook?” he asked Toby.

 

“Really?” Toby asked, turning to look at Zeke with one eyebrow raised.

 

“Definitely.” He turned to Sophie and explained. “We’re going somewhere safe for a few days. Somewhere secluded that no one knows about.”

 

Sophie frowned. “This Woodbrook place... what is it?”

 

“It’s my safe house,” Zeke said softly, keeping his eyes on the road.