CHAPTER 33
DREW
Even in the darkness, the stark fear in the whites of Lola’s eyes broke my heart just a little. She shouldn’t be living like this. She should have nothing to fear. She should be safe.
Pressing a quick kiss to Lola’s cold lips, I encouraged her to duck down and crawl into the space Gabbie and I had discovered on our second day here.
“Drew?” Lola whispered as I turned.
“Yeah, Mouse?” I murmured, trying to keep my voice as low as possible.
“If you don’t come back I’m going to find you and kick your ass.” She said, her voice shaky yet determined.
I smiled. “You won’t even have a chance to miss me.”
And with that, I moved away from the hiding spot. Once again, I found myself in an element that was all too familiar, and the calm that settled over me was all too easy. Although I wasn’t used to being the hunted, being the hunter was something I understood on a level that some might find terrifying. Edging further and further away from the rocks where Lola and Gabbie were hiding, I did my best to draw attention away from them. The hiding place was only a stone’s throw from the river. If a hired assassin knew what he was doing, he’d follow our tracks and locate them easily. That’s why I had to find him first.
Pausing, I cocked my head and listened. The forest was quiet, not even the slightest breeze disturbed the foliage. The stillness was both a gift and a curse. It meant there was no noise to mask my own movements, but that meant my enemy was in the same predicament. Not a muscle twitched as I stood, waiting, listening, and then I heard it. The soft and crunch of dry leaves underfoot. Moving toward the creek, I followed it several feet, taking advantage of the soggy ground to hide my footfalls, then I turned and headed back into the thicker trees, keeping low and stepping carefully heel to toe. Pausing, I listened again. The snap of a twig gave him away, and he was so close it’s a wonder I didn’t feel the heat from his body. Raising my arm, I pointed the Glock that was resting comfortably in my hand, but as I pulled the trigger, he moved, ducking low and charging straight into my body. We fell, a mass of limbs hitting the hard ground with a thump. Clenching my fist, I punched and felt nothing but satisfaction as I connected with bone that crunched in a way that brought a smile to my usually downcast lips. The masked man let out a grunt and rolled. Now free, I jumped to my feet and swung around gun raised. A sharp pain in my thigh made my leg wobble, but I locked my knees and fired in the direction of the shadow in front of me. It missed, and I don’t know if it was instinct, because I couldn’t see shit out here, but I ducked just as the familiar feeling of a sharp blade sliced across my arm. Blades, guns, fists, it didn’t matter to me, I was competent with all weapons, and this fucker could try all he might to gut me, but he wouldn’t win. He was motivated by money; I was motivated by something far more valuable.
Wanting to end this sooner, rather than later, I did the opposite of what natural instinct might tell one to do in these circumstances, and I moved into the man’s body. For a moment, the moonlight broke through the canopy above, and I only had a split second to grab the arm that came at me with the knife, aiming for my stomach. With one hand holding the thick wrist away from my body, I raised my gun that was still wrapped in my hand, and I fired, hitting the fucker in the chest. I didn’t stop there, though. I fired again and again until he toppled backwards and fell heavily to the ground.
Breathing hard, I knelt for a moment to catch my breath. While every molecule in my body wanted me to run and check on Lola, I needed to be sure there was no one else out here. So, I knelt, silent and still, and listened. Once assured there was no one else creeping around the forest, I turned and began running back toward Lola and Gabbie’s hiding spot. My leg throbbed, and I knew I’d taken a hit from that fucking blade to my thigh. Blood trickled down my arm from where he’d tagged me a second time. Ignoring the pain, I ran through the trees, no longer trying to be silent. As I approached Lola and Gabbie, I called out, not wanting Gabbie to shoot me. Dropping to my knees, I grabbed my phone from the water safe pocket of my cargos and used it to light the small hole in which the girls were hiding. Lola’s fearful eyes locked on mine.
“She’s not talking anymore. I think she’s unconscious,” she whispered.
“Let me see,” I murmured, using every ounce of training to keep calm. If Gabbie was dead, I’d go back and kill the fucking asshole that shot her again. If Gabbie was dead, her loss would be monumental; I wasn’t sure how Montgomery’s would take a loss like that. Bomber would fucking kill me. If Gabbie was dead, I wasn’t sure if it was something my conscious could bear. All of those fears raced around my head as Lola crawled out of the small space. Once she was free, I reached in and carefully placed my hands under Gabbie’s armpits, sliding her out into the open.
“Call Dillon. His number is the first one in my contacts. Tell him we need an evac.” Pressing my fingers to the pulse under Gabbie’s jaw, I found the slow, faint beat. Not good, but at least she was alive. “Tell him Gabbie needs medical attention, and we need it, like, yesterday.”
Noticing a wadded-up piece of cloth at Gabbie’s side, I reached for it and pressed it against the bleeding wound on her shoulder, far too close to her chest for my liking. Glancing at Lola to make sure she was okay, it was only then I noticed that she stood shivering in nothing but her bra and shorts. Looking back to the blood-soaked cloth in my hands, I realized that she’d shed her shirt for Gabbie.
“He said he’s putting a chopper in the air. Twenty minutes.”
There was nowhere for a chopper to land close by, and Lola was going to be hypothermic any minute in these conditions. Knowing we had no other choice, I shoved the bloody shirt under Gabbie’s fitted top to secure it against the bullet wound before I turned to Lola and placed my Glock in her small hand. The torch app on my cell phone illuminated her pale face, and I noticed her lips were a shade of blue. When I bent to scoop Gabbie up into my arms, she finally understood. She needed to protect us because my hands were now full.
“We gotta move, Mouse.”
Turning in the direction of Grandma Catalina’s home, I began to walk. My pace was obviously much slower carrying Gabbie, but even so, Lola struggled to keep up. She was fumbling and tripping, more so than she had while I’d been dragging her through the forest. She was also quiet . . . too quiet.
“Lola?”
“Yeah?” she asked after a short pause.
“You with me, Mouse?”
“Yeah,” she panted.
We slid down the slight embankment and waded back into the water. There was no way around; this was the narrowest point for miles, and although more exposure to the icy water wasn’t a good thing, hiking out here in the elements while Gabbie bled out wasn’t an option.
“Grab my belt, Mouse,” I ordered, the stress over the shitty situation causing my voice to be much harsher than it needed. Lola didn’t argue or call me out on it; instead, she obediently latched on to the back of my cargos as we moved through the water. I could feel her shaking at my back, and my injured thigh almost gave out as I pulled her from the water with Gabbie still in my arms.
“I’m really cold, Drew.”
“I know, baby. It's not far now, just hold on.”
Inevitably, she had to let go of my pants after almost pulling me down with her stumbling, but the sound of her heavy feet behind me pacified me enough to keep moving without constantly checking on her, and I kept talking to keep her focused.
“Why don't we take a vacation after this, a real vacation?”
“A vacation?” she asked.
“Somewhere warm,” I suggested.
Lola was quiet a minute. “I want to go back to Thailand and pay my respects to Norm and Pen-Chan’s family.”
“Perfect, we can visit Chiang Mai then head over to Ko Phi Phi. I’ve been there before. It's warm, there's white sand, and an ocean so blue it hurts your eyes.”
“Sounds pretty,” Lola said, her voice barely a whisper.
The sound of beating rotor blades in the distance almost brought me to my knees. So close but still so far.
“Hear that, Mouse?” She was quiet so long I almost stopped to check on her.
“The helicopter.”
I could hear the relief in her voice, and I had no doubt it matched mine. Gabbie was still out cold, but she was breathing. Every now and again I paused to check, placing my cheek by her lips, and the slight breath of air that tickled my skin was like winning the lottery every damn time I felt it.
“Call Dillon. Tell him we’re ten minutes out, due west from the homestead, and tell him we need thermal blankets if they’ve got ’em.”
A moment later, Lola swore, and I paused, glancing back over my shoulder.
“My fingers,” she shivered. “Having trouble getting them to work.” All of a sudden, she offered me a shaky smile, pressing the phone to her ear. “Got it.”
We continued on, and what felt like hours later, but was probably no longer than eight minutes, the sound of heavy feet thumping through the forest caused my eyes to shut with sweet relief. That sound had to be the sound of fucking angels.
“Drew?” came Bomber’s familiar voice.
Yep, the sound of fucking angels, big, oversized, arrogant angels.
“Here!”
Torch light flickered through the trees, and before I knew it, Bomber, Dillon, and Larz were fast approaching.
“Fuck,” Bomber spat out as his eyes landed on Gabbie’s prone form.
“Took a bullet to the shoulder, but it's low, no exit,” I explained, and I transferred her to Bomber’s arms. I was done, the adrenaline would soon wear off and every ache in my body would slow me down. Right now, Gabbie needed speed. Dillon wrapped a thermal blanket as best he could around Gabbie, then pried my gun from Lola’s hand, wrapped her in her own blanket, and scooped her into his arms. “Gabbie’s grandmother is in a panic room back at the house.”
“I know Grandma Catalina. I’ll take care of it,” Larz said as we jogged in the direction of the house and chopper. “Is the forest clear?”
“I think so. Gabbie counted three, we took them all out. One back by the house, one by a creek about two miles behind us, and another about one hundred yards east along the same creek.”
“I’ll co-ordinate clean up and get in touch with local PD,” Larz offered.
“Ask for Sergeant Rivers. He might be a little more cooperative then some of the others,” Dillon said in his usual commanding tone.
At that, we peeled off as Larz headed toward Grandma Catalina’s house, and we followed the winding driveway to the open road where the chopper had landed. Bomber wasn’t too far ahead of us and already lowering Gabbie to a stretcher on the floor inside the chopper’s belly. The rotors still whirled, and I ducked, now limping as the pain in my leg doubled. After helping Dillon get Lola onto a second stretcher, I kneeled by her side and strapped her in as Dillon went to get a saline drip started in Gabbie.
Lola’s eyes never once left our female team member.
“Is sh-she okay?” she asked through chattering teeth and blue lips.
“She will be,” Bomber said, determination set in his stubborn jaw.
“I’m s-ssorry,” Lola whispered, her voice so broken it caught all our attention.
Dillon leaned over her shaking body and placed one hand gently on her forehead.
“Not your fault, sweetheart. Don't you dare think this was on you. Gabbie will kick your ass if she finds out you’re guilt tripping over this. This is his fault, and he will pay.”
He pulled away, and I put my own hand on her forehead, the only part of her body not covered by the thermal blanket.
“Anyway, now she’s really a part of the team. She was the only one who hadn't been shot,” Bomber murmured, brushing Gabbie’s hair away from her face. A tender gesture from the arrogant player he normally portrayed. We all knew he had feelings that ran deep for Gabbie, but he carefully masked them behind cheesy one-liners and playful banter. The way he gently fussed over her now belied the cocky nonchalance he usually wore around her. “Come on, sweet thing, open those pretty eyes for me,” he almost begged. He called her sweet thing often, and it was nothing more than a brash pet name designed to get under Gabbie’s skin, and it worked every time. Now, though, the fear in his voice and the undisguised affection made it something different, something softer, something intimate.
Glancing back down at Lola, I watched as a tear slid over her lashes and down her face, disappearing into her hairline. Leaning forward, I kissed her lips gently, not caring that my boss and Bomber were likely watching with blatant curiosity.
“You, me, and a bikini, Ko Phi Phi Beach, baby,” I whispered in her ear.
“Sounds like a p-plan,” she breathed as her gaze settled on mine. “B-but I think you’d l-look ridiculous in a b-bikini.”
Bomber smothered a laugh while Dillon smirked as he checked on the saline bag dripping into a needle in Gabbie’s arm.
“Funny, Mouse, very funny,” I growled, leaning back against my seat.
“You need me to look at that?” Dillon asked, nodding toward my thigh.
“You’re b-bleeding, again?” Lola mumbled from under her thermal blanket.
“Just a scratch,” I said, tucking the blanket tighter around her shoulders. “Don’t look, I wouldn’t want you passing out from the sight of blood,” I added, giving her a wink.
“Who the fuck are you, and where is our cranky bear?” Bomber asked.
I gifted him with my middle finger before lowering my hand back to Lola’s forehead. Then I rested my head back and closed my eyes. Every ache in my body was screaming: my thigh throbbed, and the cut on my bicep was still bleeding freely, I could feel it trickling down my skin. I needed stitches and a shower. Lola needed a new safe house, and once I knew Gabbie was going to be okay, I was going to end this once and for all.