Chapter 27
CHAPTER 27
E sme
“Stop pacing. It’s only been an hour.”
“It’s been almost two,” I corrected. I knew Bella was right, but as the minutes continued to tick by, I was becoming more nervous. The knot in my stomach was the size of a watermelon. “I’m trying.” How could anyone have patience with this? I’d resisted calling, but had only stopped searching my phone every few minutes less than ten minutes before.
“Have another drink,” she suggested.
“The wine isn’t sitting well.” I was pacing back and forth in front of the windows. I don’t know if I was hoping to see something or praying I wouldn’t.
“Do you see anything?” Denise asked.
“Only the ice crystals hitting the window.”
“I heard the storm is supposed to be worse than the one before,” Bella chimed in.
Sighing, I noticed in the reflection that Mr. Fox was half sleeping, still sitting in his chair with both dogs at his feet.
Meanwhile, Sally was enjoying a glass of wine while reading. They looked serene.
“How can they just sit there and not worry?” I asked, ensuring my voice was a whisper. I’d remained sick, so worried I couldn’t think straight. If this was what their lives had been like for ten plus years, I had no clue how they could stand living this way. The constant concern, the not knowing. The danger.
Denise followed my line of sight. “Because they’re used to this. You have to trust the guys. They do know what they’re doing. They are trained for this kind of activity.”
“This isn’t a crazy war.”
She laughed. “If you’d seen all the insane things people did that I have, you’d know that there are criminals everywhere.”
“Yes, I know that. I’m more concerned about the people doing this.”
She patted me on the arm. “I’m going to get another glass of wine. Just try and keep in mind Hunter needs to do this. He’s determined to make certain you’re safe.”
“I wish he wouldn’t at this point.” I knew I wasn’t making much sense.
“I’ll go with you,” Bella told her. “Breathe, girl. Denise is right.”
They walked toward the other side of the room and I continued fuming.
Dexter lifted his head, immediately pulling his phone into his hand. He was obviously as concerned about their welfare as we were.
“Anyone want a cup of coffee?’ Sally asked. “I’m going to start a pot.”
“I’ll take one,” I told her. “I’ll come and help.” As I followed her toward the kitchen, I heard a blip. A text? As soon as I pulled out my phone, a horrific cold shiver swept through me.
Hunter: Esme. If you get this, take everyone and leave the house. Immediately. Contact the sheriff. You’re in danger.
“What the hell?” I sucked in my breath and texted him in return.
What are you talking about? Are you okay?
As soon as I hit send, I realized the text he’d sent had been over thirty minutes before. After my text had gone through, I stood where I was for a full minute, waiting to see if he was replying.
He wasn’t.
“What’s wrong?” Dexter sensed my agony, already rising from his chair.
“I don’t know. Hunter texted and told us to leave. We need to get out of here. Now.” I rushed toward him.
“Let me see it,” he instructed.
I handed him the phone, spinning in a circle as I tried to process both what Hunter had said and the fear that was increasing.
“What is going on?” Denise asked as she snapped her head in my direction.
“A text from Hunter.”
“Shit,” he whispered, looking away almost immediately as he returned my phone. “I need to find out what’s going on.”
I was still shaking, trying to feed off the rush of adrenaline that was suddenly rolling through every muscle. “No, I think we need to go before the storm gets worse.”
“We’re not going anywhere. It’s much safer here. Let me check the monitors.” He had his phone out, already making a call.
“What are you doing?”
“Making a call. I didn’t allow my sons to go on this mission to sit back and watch if anything happens to them or to any of you. I’m fine. We’re all going to be fine. No one is getting in this house.” He glanced at everyone in the room as Bella moved to my side. “Just hold on. We’re not going to panic.”
I stared at my screen, praying Hunter would return the text.
“Talk to me. What did Hunter say?” Denise insisted.
“He texted we’re in danger. Go see what Mr. Fox is doing. Find out if there’s anything around us.”
Bella was frantically checking her phone. “Nothing from Jagger.”
“Fuck this. Stay right here. I’ll see what we’re dealing with.” Denise raced from the room and I was completely frozen in place. God, my hands were shaking so badly I almost dropped the phone.
“Did you try and call him?” Bella asked.
“That’s what I’m doing right now.” Almost immediately it went to his voicemail. Now I was petrified. “No answer. Something is wrong.”
“Try him again. It could just be the storm,” Bella suggested.
“No. I feel it in my gut. He’s hurt. He’s…” Oh, God.
Pop! Boom!
“What the hell was that?” The sound came from the kitchen. Almost as soon as I rushed toward the door, I smelled smoke. “Sally!” There was no answer. I rushed into the kitchen, noticing flames. There was a gaping hole in the kitchen’s roof, smoke billowing through the opening.
“Sally!” She was on the floor. I rushed forward, dropping to my knees. “Help me!”
The dogs were barking, both going crazy, each one running from one room to another.
Denise rushed in. “Drones. There are drones all over the property. You can clearly see them. My God. We need to get everyone out of here.”
Before we had a chance to move, there were more popping sounds. Suddenly, it seemed as if smoke was everywhere. The next boom rocked the house.
“Explosives!” Denise yelled. She yanked out her weapon, beckoning for us to come closer.
Bella called from the other room, the dogs continuing to go crazy with their barking.
I rushed out, finding more smoke billowing from other parts of the house. Without thinking, I headed toward the office where Dexter had the communications equipment. More popping noises occurred, the smoke becoming thicker with every passing second. The moment I bounded into the room, Dexter started to collapse.
“No!” I flew to his side.
“They’re coming. Get out. Leave me.”
Suddenly, the lights went out, other popping sounds happening all throughout the house.
“Not a chance. Come on.” It was a struggle, but I managed to get my arm under his, slowly pulling him to his feet. “Lean on me.” As least he didn’t fight me, allowing me to guide him from the room. Every step was slow, but his frail body was easy to maneuver. He was already coughing, choking on the acrid stench and the smoke rolling through the hallway.
When I returned to the main room, flames were already licking up two of the walls. How in God’s name had the fire expanded so quickly?
“Come on!” I could barely see around me, the blackness creating a thick fog.
All I could make out were figures, but the front door was wide open. I struggled to make it to the door, Bella helping by flanking Dexter’s other side. Together, we made our way toward the door and outside.
The frigid air hit me hard, stifling my breath. As soon as we were several feet away from the building, an explosion rocked us, pitching all of us forward and onto the ground. I scrambled to get out from under Dexter, immediately checking to see if he was breathing.
“Shit. Bella. Denise! Sally!” Why weren’t the dogs still going crazy? I was in a heavy fog, but pressed my fingers against the side of his neck.
Thank God, he still had a pulse.
“You’re going to be okay,” I told him.
He grabbed my hand, pulling me down. “I’m sorry. I was wrong.”
What the hell was he so wrong about? “It’s okay.”
“Esme!” Bella called.
“I’m here.” My voice was strained and I searched the perimeter, shaking from the sight of embers flying in the air, several trees already catching on fire.
I started coughing, choking on the black smoke, my eyes feeling the effects of the putrid air. Blinking, I did what I could to focus, able to see Denise had managed to get Sally out.
“Sally,” I managed.
“She’s fine,” Denise called.
“Where are the dogs?” I yelled, shocked as the flames began to consume the roof.
Suddenly, there were sirens in the distance. Help was on the way.
“Pepper! Xena!” Bella called, frantically beginning to search for them.
Dexter grunted as he tried to sit up. “Is… Sally…”
“She’s fine. She’s safe. Just rest. We’re going to be okay.”
A single dog barked. Pepper. I could see her shadow in the darkened night by the light of the fire.
“Xena! Xena!” Bella was screaming, already becoming hysterical. “She’s not here.”
I fought to stand, still coughing. As I moved closer, she raced toward the house.
“She’s inside. No. No!”
I caught her, pushing her away. “I’ll go get her. Wait right here.” Without waiting for her approval, I rushed toward the house, the extreme heat taking my breath away. It seemed everything in the house was burning.
Screams came from outside as a beam fell, barely missing me. I dodged, almost knocked to the ground. “Xena. Xena!” I screamed out her name several times before being forced to cover my mouth and nose.
Pop! Pop!
Oh, my God. Were those shots being fired? I turned around, trying to keep from becoming confused. “Xena.”
“No!” Sally’s voice cut through the horrific sound.
“Esme!” Denise screamed. “Get out!”
Not without Xena.
Woof!
The single woofing wound was followed by a series of whines. I pushed forward, deeper into the darkened room. “Xena.”
Hearing another series of whines, I dropped to the floor, crawling toward the sound. When I managed to touch soft fur, I said a silent prayer. “Come on. Baby. We need to go.” Another series of coughs strangled me and I covered my mouth, my eyes burning.
A coughing spell replaced my voice, but I managed to grab her, pulling her close. When I finally had the pup in my arms, I stood. She was heavier than I’d expected, but nothing was going to stop me from getting her out.
The house was creaking, the fire roaring. Items were popping and falling from every angle. I dodged something falling from the ceiling, coming within feet of the door. Then I tripped.
As Xena was forced from my arms, I heard myself scream for her to run. Run.
Run!
I felt flat on my face, immediately trying to rebound.
Crack!
Pop!
Just as I made it to my feet, a whooshing sound caught my attention just before…
A few minutes earlier
Hunter
“No one is picking up the goddamn phone,” Shephard stated. He’d tried to call several cell phones from the moment we’d gotten broken reception. No one had answered.
The sheriff had been next. He’d dropped the horrible news.
Our parents’ house had been reported as being on fire.
“Fuck. Fuck. I knew it!” I yelled at the top of my lungs.
“Stay calm,” Jagger said to both of us. “I’ll get us there. Damn you, Rover. Don’t conk out on me now.”
As Jagger rounded a bend, I squeezed my phone. None of us were praying men. We had no right to be. We’d seen and been through enough horrors, causing such a high number of deaths that in truth, we didn’t deserve anyone’s mercy.
But that didn’t stop me from asking God for a favor.
I didn’t care what happened to me as long as our family was spared.
As long as the woman I loved was allowed to live a long and happy life.
Fuck the rules.
Fuck the glorious honor of once being a part of the SEAL team. I was no longer that man.
Red and blue lights. Everywhere. They lit up the night sky.
“Fuck,” Shephard moaned.
“Faster,” I snapped. While I was trying my best to curtail my rage, the realization that our entire family was in danger continued to eat at the decent man inside. I had blood spots in front of my eyes, a need to hunt down the Italian Don almost all I could think about. Yes, the people in the trucks following us had lost their lives, both vehicles careening off the mountainside, yet that wasn’t enough.
Because I knew the bastards sent to hunt us down weren’t the ones in charge.
“Almost there,” Jagger yelled, pushing pedal to the metal when the Rover had been hit in at least one critical area. She wouldn’t last much longer.
With the cell coverage still limited, I dialed the number of the contact I’d known. Would any of the bastards answer? Did anyone at the great organization care they’d sent us on a suicide mission?
Somehow, I doubted it.
“Pick up, you prick.”
As if the great gods in the sky heard me, a voice answered.
“Yes?”
“You listen to me, you asshole. We’ve been compromised.”
“Code name?”
“Fuck you! I don’t have time for corporate bullshit. You know exactly who this is. What are we facing? What did we walk into?”
The person on the other end of the line hesitated.
“To hell with you. I’m coming for you and your members next.”
I was about to hang up when the man cleared his throat. “You have your mission. Continue it.”
My mission? I wasn’t in the mood to remind the fucker I was no longer in the black ops business. “Saving my family is my only mission.”
“Follow orders, soldier.”
“I’ll repeat myself. Fuck off.”
What the hell was the man getting at? Was this all because I hadn’t finished a job from years before?
Was it possible the Italian Don was in town? I laughed involuntarily. A man considered one of the most dangerous in the world, his power unequaled by any crime syndicate had decided to handle his personal revenge on his own. And I’d been led down a path, so I’d stop at nothing to eradicate him. The thought was revealing. It also offered an intense type of peace.
I was no longer entangled in a venomous web. I was no longer bound by duty, honor, and rules. I could handle this as I saw fit.
“Be prepared for a bloodbath.” I ended the conversation, tossing the phone. “Giuseppe Carlotto could be in town, boys. We might have a real war on our hands.”
Neither brother said anything, merely glancing at each other. We were prepared to handle anything. Together.
We were on the road leading to my parents’ house. Sirens blasted through the blown-out window. The stench of smoke was strong, orange flames licking at the sky. As soon as Jagger pulled along the road, I was out onto the slickened pavement, racing toward the burning house.
There were fire trucks and deputies everywhere, utter chaos greeting us.
I rushed up the driveway, knocking down at least two people as I made my way.
“Where is my family?” I yelled as loudly as possible. The roar of the fire was horrific, the firefighters actively trying to douse the flames. “Where are they? Esme! Bella! Mom!”
“Sir, you can’t go there!”
“Get the fuck out of my way.” I roared past the firefighter, determined to get to my beautiful Esme.
I heard someone screaming at me, felt the hands of several firefighters trying to pull me away, but nothing would stop me. I couldn’t see anything, forced to push my way through people. Too many people.
“Esme! Esme!”
“Oh, God, Hunter. She’s still in there. She’s still in the house!” Bella screamed at me as soon as I approached.
I glanced at the house, my heart racing. The roof had been thoroughly compromised.
“Drones hit it,” Denise said as she flanked my side.
“Oh, my God!” Shephard swept her into his arms.
Denise wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’m fine. Esme is still inside.”
“Not for long,” I snapped.
“Son, you can’t go in there!” My father stood right in front of me, blood soaking his shirt. “It’s too dangerous. They knew how to strike us.”
“I don’t give a fuck. I will save her.”
“Hunter. Wait,” Jagger encouraged.
I wasn’t listening to anyone.
There was a moment, two seconds where I could tell my father was both proud of me and terrified because of my actions. But nothing would stop me. Nothing on this godforsaken planet.
There was no hesitation on my part. I ran into the house, jumping through the flames.
“It’s too dangerous!”
“Get out!”
“No!”
The shouts reverberated in my ears, but I didn’t give a shit. I shoved debris out of my way, dodging falling enflamed pieces of wood. I could barely see anything and had it not been for the active flames, I wouldn’t be able to find her.
I turned in a full circle, keeping my arm covering my face. The heat was intense, the smoke crippling, but I fought my way through the front room, searching and praying, begging some higher form of being to grant me this one wish.
A single sound grabbed my attention and I fell to my knees, pulling and yanking debris.
“Hunter!” Jagger yelled from somewhere inside the house.
“Here. Help me! She’s down. Hurt.” I heard the sound again and reached out. When I touched skin, I sucked in my breath, digging and pulling away the debris covering her. A beam. A fucking beam was holding her down.
“We’re here,” Shephard dropped by my side.
“We have to get this off.” I didn’t need to instruct either man what to do. They were right there and together, we struggled but finally managed to lift and toss the beam.
“Pull. Pull!” I couldn’t be certain if my words made any sense or were heard.
“We need to get the fuck out of here!” Jagger jumped to his feet, narrowly avoiding being trapped by a wall of flames.
I lifted Esme into my arms. There was no time to assess her condition. We ran straight for the door, flames covering every inch.
“Come on, brothers. We can do this!” Shephard’s yell lit a fire within me.
My brothers moved through the flames.
My turn.
This time, I was taking a leap of faith.
So I did.