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We arrive at our location around seven in the morning. We’re all exhausted and racking our brains trying to figure out how we’re going to work this. We don’t know how we’re going to get Chase back without causing harm to anyone with us. There seems like there are little to no options.
I climb out of the truck at the motel we’ve booked and groan as I stretch my legs, lifting my arms high in the air and trying to let my body unwind. Tatum’s truck pulls up behind us, and everyone gets out. We all form a group between the two trucks, and I’m kind of hoping they’ve had more luck than we have at coming up with a plan that’s going to work.
“Got good news and bad news,” Tatum says right away, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. “Good news is, Jo’s friend managed to track the cell and find us a location, so we have an idea of where they called from. Bad news is, there is a chance they’ve been watching us, or at least, know that we’re traveling in a group which means if any of us show up, they’re goin’ to know and call it out. However ...”
He glances at Jo, and I know he’s going to suggest something similar to what I suggested. I know it right away. Only the problem with that is, I don’t know if I like the idea of Jo going in alone. It’s dangerous.
“Jo has kept to herself quite a bit, she hasn’t been out and about, and I’m certain they don’t know her face. She could get in.”
“And do what?” Tanner mutters. “One girl against how many fuckin’ men?”
“Let me finish, Tanner,” Tatum growls. “She can go in and look around. Give us entry points, tell us who and what is in there, and then we can make our own attack. At the very least, we will know who and what we’re dealing with.”
“That’s dangerous,” I say, glancing at Jo. “Are you sure this is something you want to do?”
She nods. “We’ve spoken about it. I’ll go in.”
I exhale. It sucks because it’s the only plan we have. I don’t love the idea of Jo going alone, I wish I could go with her, but I also know that we’re running out of time, and if we don’t get Chase soon, he’ll be killed.
“Why don’t we call their bluff?” Ethan mutters. “Why are we risking our lives for Chase, a man who put himself in this position?”
Tatum gives Ethan a look that could kill, and growls, “That’s my brother.”
“Know that, Tatum, I also know that we came here to get justice, and now somehow it’s turned into a fuckin’ rescue mission where people could get hurt, and for what? He is the reason Celia is dead. I say leave him there.”
My mouth drops open, of all the people I thought would say that out loud, it certainly wasn’t Ethan. I mean, I had the same thought driving here. I thought about Chase, I thought about what he had done, I thought about the things he let happen to Celia, and then I got angry that we’re all about to risk everything to get him back.
Then I thought I couldn’t live with myself if we didn’t help him.
I couldn’t sleep at night.
Not just because he owes me and everyone else an explanation, but because he’s a human being and I’m not a monster. I’ve made sure in everything that’s gone down I have stayed true to myself. I’m not about to change that, even if deep down I did have that thought.
“I understand what you’re saying,” I decide to throw in, before Tatum pounces on Ethan. “I feel the same way. The whole drive here, I thought why are we helping this man, when he has caused nothing but problems? But then I remembered who I am. You know who I am, Ethan? Not a person that leaves another person behind. Chase might be that person, and he might not deserve our help, but I’m not that person. Neither are you.”
Ethan stares at me, and then exhales and mutters, “I’m taking a walk.”
He disappears from the group. Tatum glares at him as he walks away. Garrett stands with his arms crossed and Tanner studies me, like he’s seeing me in a whole new light. His eyes are soft and welcoming, his body language welcoming instead of defensive.
“When am I doing this, then?” Jo asks, crossing her arms. “We’re running out of time.”
She’s right, we are.
“Shower up, get changed, and then we’ll go over the plan again,” Tatum says, nodding at her. “We’ll get settled and then go over it so we’re all on the same page.”
I nod, and then follow Jo into the room we’re sharing. Once we’re inside, I turn to her and say, “Are you sure about this, Jo?”
“Not really,” she admits, “but it’s the only plan we have. You are right, we can’t leave him there. Someone has to do something, that someone is me.”
“You could get hurt.”
“I could,” she agrees, “but Tatum assured me he’s going to be waiting, and if I don’t come out in a certain amount of time, he’s going to come in, no matter what. I believe him. I have to trust that you will all take care of me.”
“I will go in guns blazing for you, Jo,” I say to her.
She smiles and hugs me, and then we proceed to shower and get changed. Once we’re done, we meet everyone at Tatum’s room and sit down as he goes over the plan.
“All we need to know is who is in there, what weapons they’ve got lying around, how many entrances and exits there are, and if Chase is in there. Once you’ve got what you need, you get out and we will go in. I’ll organize weapons, we’ll be swift.”
“Wait, weapons?” I say, my eyes widening. “You’re going to ...”
“Leave what we’re going to do up to us,” Tanner says, his voice gruff. “Those men are the reason Celia is dead. They will suffer.”
I give him a hurt look, and then glance away. He’s going to take someone else’s life to make himself feel better? How is that going to work out in the long run? When cops come after him, or more people from the group seek revenge. He’s making the situation so much bigger than it needs to be.
“You’re angry,” Tanner says, obviously directing his question to me.
I look to him. “I think you’re making a mistake. I think hurting someone else to make yourself feel better is opening a whole new world of problems. We want to get out of here clean, not even filthier than we already are.”
“Then what would you propose we do?” Tanner snaps, crossing his arms.
“Call the cops, Tanner. Have them deal with it.”
“The cops will do fuck all.”
“Actually,” Garrett says, standing. He doesn’t say a great deal, but whatever has him excited, is enough to get his voice roaring to life. “I have an idea. I know people, won’t say how, run drugs and guns. We get Jo to plant those drugs and guns, then we call the cops, they’re all goin’ to go down, big time. You can guarantee that they’re already on the cops’ radar, this would be all it would take for them to get put away.”
“Even better if I’m still in there,” Jo says, nodding. “Yes, it’s perfect. If they’ve got Chase, and me, and then cops come in. It’s going to be kidnapping as well as all the other charges.”
“It’s risky.” Tatum rubs his chin, narrowing his eyes. “But it’s better than the idea we had. How are you going to get your hands on that many drugs and guns, and how the fuck are we goin’ to get them in there?”
Garrett pulls out his phone. “Let me make a few calls.”
“Still doesn’t cover how we’re gettin’ that shit in there,” Tatum points out again.
“I can hide some of it on my body, and I can carry a backpack.” Jo shrugs. “I’m sure we can get enough on me to plant in the place.”
“This is fuckin’ crazy,” Tanner barks, standing up. “No fuckin’ drug runner is goin’ to give us that many drugs to plant on someone, nor are they goin’ to risk their reputation when there are cops involved. You’re all wastin’ fuckin’ time.”
“I know where he keeps the drugs,” Garrett says. “Nobody said anything about askin’.”
I raise my brows. “You want us to steal drugs and guns?”
Garrett grins, a wicked grin. “Oh, yeah, we’re goin’ to steal them alright. And we’re goin’ to bring the lot of them down.”
“Fuck,” Tanner exhales, running his hands through his hair. “This is fuckin’ insane and stupid, it’ll never fuckin’ work.”
Then he turns and leaves the room.
I look to Tatum, who watches him go and then his eyes meet mine. “He’ll come around. He wants his revenge, I get that, but it’s not worth riskin’ his life for. He doesn’t see it now, but one day he will understand that we’re doin’ this for him.”
“I know. You’re right,” I agree.
I just don’t think he knows that.
~*~*~*~
“YOU SURE THIS IS THE right place?” Tanner breathes, glancing over at Garrett.
“Yep. You know I used to run drugs, this is the guy I used to run them with, but we had a massive fallin’ out. I know the ins and outs of his operation because it used to be mine. He keeps the drugs here, I know the security, I know every fuckin’ way in and out.”
I glance at Garrett with wide eyes. “You used to be a drug runner?”
“Past tense, not who I am anymore.”
Shit.
I had no idea.
I mean, he definitely has that silent, deadly feel about him, but I never picked him as someone who deals in drugs. I wonder if Tanner is okay with knowing his friend used to be into such heavy shit? I mean, obviously it doesn’t bother him because here we are.
“Now,” Garrett goes on, “only one entrance into the compound, and there are three shipping containers that he keeps his products in. He has security on the place twenty-four-seven in the way of cameras and three men. The cameras we can dodge, I know where they are and we’ll be covered enough not to be recognized. The men, we cannot. Got a plan for that, too.”
I feel a little nervous hearing how this is going to go down. We’re sitting in thick bushland currently, after Garrett directed us to the location of the drugs. We’re all praying that whoever he used to run with still hides them here because otherwise we’re screwed and back to plan A. We’re all wearing dark clothes—our faces will be covered, Garrett didn’t want to risk anyone figuring out who we are.
It’s still risky, of course, but we have to take some risk with what we’re about to attempt to do, right?
Garrett reaches into his pocket and pulls out some weird dart looking thing and hands one to Tanner and Tatum. “Darts. Knock someone out so fuckin’ fast they’ll not see the ground coming. You got to get a good shot, or we’re done for.”
“You’re going to shoot darts at those men?” Jo asks, her eyes wide. “Where did you even get those?”
Garrett looks to her. “Never you mind that. They’re effective, and they work. We’ll take a man each. Once they’re done, we’ll go in. The compound is locked, which is where Ethan will come in. He’s goin’ to cut the lock as soon as we give him a signal and we’ll enter the compound. The men will have keys on them, or they’ll be in the office. We’ll have no more than ten minutes to find those keys and get the goods before they’re alerted to the fact that someone is in the compound. Work together, work efficiently. The girls will stay up here, keeping a watch and letting us know if anything gets too close. We all clear on that?”
Everyone nods, and Garrett opens his backpack then pulls out three guns and loads them with the darts before he hands one to both the men. Within a few minutes, he has directed them to exactly where they need to go and tells them he’ll make a signal when it’s time to take the shot. Ethan will wait over on the other side with the huge bolt cutters Garrett gave him.
Jo and I will keep a watch out.
This is insane.
Thrilling, yet insane.
“If there is any sign of trouble, you ladies need to call out, no hesitation,” Garrett says to Jo and me. We both nod. “Let’s do this.”
The men prepare themselves; Ethan disappears through the thick bushland, Jo and I get into position so we can see the massive cleared area. It is well hidden out here, surrounded and protected. I can see three large red containers in the middle of the compound, a small office-like structure, and huge barbed wire fences. So far, I have only seen two men walking around, the other must be in the office.
“Anything goes wrong, anything at all, you run, Callie. You hear me?” Tanner says, squatting down in front of me and reaching out, taking my chin in his hand.
“I hear you,” I say. “Please be careful”
He nods and leans forward, pressing a kiss to my lips that makes my whole body tingle. I forget that everyone else is there, no doubt wondering what the hell is going on between the two of us, and just take in the incredible feeling that washes over my body. Tanner pulls back and stands, and I give him a weak smile as he turns and says to the others, “Let’s get this done.”
They disappear, and I wriggle farther forward on my stomach and peer down.
“That was kind of hot,” Jo says, and I turn my head and look at her, flushing.
“Yeah,” I whisper. “It was nice.”
“You two are something then?”
I shrug. “I don’t know what we are. He said he has feelings for me, that he regrets what happened and is sorry, but I can’t help my own doubtful thoughts sometimes. It’s like they creep in and try to destroy how I feel about him.”
“Because of what he did?” Jo questions.
I look back at the compound. “Yeah, because of that. I feel almost guilty that I even talk to him, let alone feel something for him. It’s almost like my body is punishing itself for its own emotions, if that makes sense?”
“Yeah, I understand guilt, believe me,” she murmurs, “You have no reason to feel it, though, honey. You’re allowed to feel something toward Tanner without punishing yourself for it. What happened, it’s finished with. He made a mistake, no doubt about that, but he was misguided and wrong. He admits that. If you like him, if you care for him, then you shouldn’t hold back. Life is far too short.”
I narrow my eyes, still watching the compound, afraid to take my eyes off it, and say, “You’re speaking from experience right now?”
She goes silent for a moment.
“Everything okay?” I ask her.
“Yeah,” she whispers, “it’s fine. Sometimes I just wish I was someone else, sometimes I wish I had the choice to make the decision I wanted instead of being forced with one. It doesn’t feel nice, you should be glad you’re able to make those choices for yourself.”
I purse my lips, both understanding and confused by her words. She’s acting like she doesn’t have a choice, but she does. Everyone does. She doesn’t have to stay with Patrick, even though leaving him would be hard.
“You have a choice, Jo,” I say, careful with my words. “You’re just not choosing to take it.”
“What would you know?” she snaps, shocking me. “You think because of what you’ve lived through, that my situation is easy. It isn’t easy, it’s so far from it. I don’t get to just change my path, to just recreate my life. You wouldn’t understand.”
“Jo,” I say, but I can’t finish my sentence because I see movement down near the gate. Tatum waves up at us, and I give him a small wave in return.
They’re going in.
I still can’t see a third man, but Garrett was adamant that there are always three guards. That makes me feel a little uneasy, and I focus all my attention on what’s going down right now. I focus on Tanner, watching as he squats down in the bushes, aiming his gun through the fence at a man currently lighting a cigarette. My heart leaps into my throat, and I feel unwell, wondering what the hell is about to happen. I’m scared. I don’t like the unknown.
“You watch Tanner and Ethan,” Jo says, her voice still hard, which makes my heart ache because we never argue, we never disagree. “I’ll keep an eye on Tatum and Garrett.”
“Okay,” I say softly, focusing on Ethan now.
He’s in the bushland about five yards from the gate, crouching down, waiting to get into the compound as soon as the men are down. Tanner does a waving motion, I’m guessing to Tatum or Garrett, and then he focuses all his attention on the gun in his hands.
Everything after that happens quite quickly, the sound of a gun being fired echoes through the trees, and within a second, the man smoking a cigarette is clawing at his neck, dropping to his knees and frantically trying to pull something out. Tanner hit him with efficiency, straight in the neck. Not even one minute passes and the man falls forward onto his hands, his body swaying as whatever drug is now moving through his system takes over.
“Tanner hit one guy, he’s down,” I say to Jo.
“Tatum did, too. There isn’t a third man yet. Nobody has come out of the office. Garrett is still watching; I don’t know what he’s saying but they’re moving.”
Maybe there isn’t a third man today? That would make this really, really easy.
I focus on Ethan and see him rushing toward the front gate, pulling a dark mask over his face so he becomes unrecognizable. He uses a bolt cutter to open cut the lock and then he’s inside the compound. Moments later, the three men have made their way around and are inside too, all of them covered. I know which one Tanner is, only because I haven’t taken my eyes off him. They move quickly from there, rushing over to the shipping containers. I can’t tell what they’re saying, but Garrett’s hands are flying around, pointing the office.
Tanner moves toward it while the others keep speaking to each other quickly.
Tanner disappears into the office and what seems like hours pass before he finally comes back out, even though it’s only been a matter of minutes.
“I feel sick,” I say to Jo, my stomach churning, my whole body on high alert, full of anticipation as I watch.
“I do, too.”
Tanner walks out of the office, and that’s when I catch movement at the side of the small office building. Someone else is in the compound. My heart feels like it launches into my throat as I see a man slowly creeping down the side of the building, a huge gun in his hands. He peers around at Tanner and raises the gun.
He’s going to shoot him.
The other men are far too busy to notice; they’re not close enough.
“He’s going to shoot Tanner,” I say to Jo. “Oh, god. I’m calling out.”
“No,” Jo says, grabbing my arm. “If you call out, we’ll all be in danger.”
I jerk my arm out of her grips, my eyes frantically watching as the man brings the gun up and looks through the scope. No. I can’t let him hurt Tanner. I can’t. I’ll risk it.
I stand, even when Jo yells at me not to. I raise my arms in the air and scream as loudly as I can, “Tanner! Behind you!”
Tanner jerks and his head slowly turns in my direction. All the other men stop talking and they turn, too. The guy with the gun moves quickly, his whole body swinging in my direction, the gun raising up, his eye still looking through the scope. I’m a distance away, but obviously not far enough. Jo screams and launches up, grabbing me around the waist at the same time the gunshot sounds out.
Everything after that happens in slow motion.
One minute I’m standing, the next something hard hits my shoulder. At first, it feels like a punch, shoving my whole body backward to the point I can’t stay on my feet. I hit the ground with Jo beneath me, and seconds seem to pass by, and I don’t feel anything.
Then comes the pain.
Like a burning hot poker being shoved through my body over and over again.
I open my mouth and my screams can be heard echoing through the bushland. Blood soaks my shirt and the sounds of more gunshots can be heard in the distance. Jo is calling out, her voice frantic, but I can’t stop myself from rolling around screaming long enough to hear what she’s saying.
I’ve never felt pain like this in my entire life.
It’s so intense I can’t breathe. I can feel my entire body reacting to the pain, slowly becoming less and less in control. I can’t move my arms, I can’t get to my feet, I can’t stop the sounds being ripped from my throat. My stomach turns, my heart races, and every single inch of me feels like it’s being lit on fire.
Then my breathing becomes labored. One breath gets a touch harder, and before I know it, all of them come out as short hard pants. No matter how hard I try, I can’t get the air into my lungs. As a result, my body feels strange, like slowly it’s starting to go numb. Jo’s screaming is drowned out by a white noise and my head feels light, airy even.
Is that what it feels like to die?
Is this how Celia felt?
It’s kind of enjoyable.
Comforting, even.
I like it.
Yeah.
It’s nice.