“Shit! What do you want me to do, boss?” Anthony slammed on the brakes when he saw three sheriff’s department cruisers sitting along the fire lane.
“The cars are empty, which means they’re trying a sneak attack on the cabin. Let me think. Okay, Anthony, you and I will move ahead in the van, and Antonio, you’ll come in from behind. They’ll be surrounded with no place to hide.” Carden jerked his head at Anthony. “Roll down the windows.” He turned to Antonio at the back of the van. “Hand me one of the AK-47s and a pistol. Arm yourself with the other AK. We’re here to hit our targets, so keep it in semi mode. These idiots aren’t going to ruin our plans for tomorrow.” Carden reached over his shoulder and took the assault rifle from Antonio. “I see movement in the woods, so they haven’t reached the cabin yet. Get out and find cover behind a tree. Take out as many of those deputies as you can, and for God’s sake, don’t get shot. I’ll let them have it from the road. Ready?”
Antonio opened the rear doors and looked over his shoulder at Carden before he jumped out. “Ready, boss.”
Carden gave Anthony a nod. “Gun it.”
The van’s wheel spun in the loose gravel and caused rocks to fly like small missiles. Carden looked back and caught a glimpse of Antonio as he disappeared into the tree cover. With his window down and the rifle aimed at the woods, Carden braced the AK against his shoulder and began firing. He saw three men hit the ground. The ping of return fire glancing off trees and ricocheting down on the van was too close for comfort. The sound was like rain pelting the vehicle’s exterior.
“Those sons of bitches are done.” Carden took aim again, but the sudden blast of Antonio’s rifle in full auto sent men running for their lives. Trees exploded into shredded bark from the force of bullets hitting them. The deputies didn’t have a chance against two rapid-fire AK-47s. They were outgunned and, one by one, fell to their death. The woods went quiet as the echo of gunfire drifted away with the breeze.
“Get to the cabin,” Carden yelled as Anthony floored the gas pedal and barreled down the path. “We have to get the agent and his sister out of there before we’re surrounded. This racket is going to attract every law enforcement agency in a twenty-mile radius.”
The van skidded to a stop in front of the cabin. Carden lurched forward so hard he almost hit the dash. He jumped out, ran to the door, and kicked it in.
“Get Antonio over here quick. We need his help.” Carden ran through the cabin and grabbed the zip ties off the coffee table as he passed through the living room. With a second forceful kick, the bedroom door broke free of its frame.
Julie coiled back against the headboard and tried to scream through the duct tape on her mouth. Fear covered her face.
“We’re leaving now, so get up! You do one thing to piss me off and you die, got it?”
She nodded.
Carden yanked her by the hair and pulled her off the bed. He stretched the zip ties around her wrists then released the ropes that bound her. “Move!” He jammed the pistol into her back and pushed her out the door.
Antonio and Anthony were in charge of getting J.T. out. “How do you want us to do this?” Anthony asked.
“Knock him out. We don’t have time for resistance.”
Anthony shoved the door open so fast it bounced off the back wall. J.T. jumped off the bed, but his efforts were useless. He had only a foot of chain allowing him movement, and with his hands cuffed behind his back, there wasn’t anything he could do. Both Anthony and Antonio had an easy fifty pounds on him. J.T. braced for it as a grapefruit-sized fist was about to nail him between the eyes.
“Grab an arm. Let’s go.” Anthony jerked his head toward the door. He and Antonio dragged the agent out and threw him in the trunk of Julie’s car. “Antonio, put some fresh tape over the agent’s mouth and double-check those cuffs. We’ve got to get the hell out of here.” Anthony ran to the van to help Carden secure Julie. “We’ll be ready to go in five minutes, boss.”
“We’re leaving in two minutes. Get that trunk closed up and torch the cabin.”
A frown furrowed Anthony’s forehead. “Dante is going to be pissed.”
“I don’t give a shit about Dante, and we don’t have time to grab what we brought in or wipe the place down. That’s why people have insurance. Now torch it.” Carden jumped in the driver’s seat and started the van. He laid on the horn and pounded the dash with his fist. “Let’s go!”
Antonio pulled Julie’s car out of the garage and started down the driveway. Thick black smoke began to seep out of the cabin’s seams and chimney. The crack of hot window glass told Carden the house would go up in flames any second.
Anthony closed the overhead, ran out the front door, and jumped in the van. “We’re good to go, sir, and not a minute too soon.” He looked back over his shoulder as Carden barreled down the driveway, a foot behind the bumper of Julie’s car. Orange flames licked the cabin’s log exterior, and the windows exploded outward.