Chapter 45
Time to Get the Girl
Theo
“This is fucking insane,” Tobias hisses as we creep along the dark country road. “I can’t believe you talked me into doing this shit.”
I shrug; not that he can see it since it’s dark as shit and the only light is coming from the half-moon hanging above us.
“I told you what I planned on doing and that it was going to be dangerous.” There’s no point arguing with him since he’s right.
Between coming out here at night and my injuries, this is an insane idea.
But it’s our best chance of finding Ollie and Rhys. Especially since it’s been a week since they were taken.
“You agreed with it,” Alex adds with an exasperated huff on my other side.
“Yeah, but I didn’t think you’d actually do it,” Tobias snaps back. “And did you really have to bring the dog?”
“I couldn’t exactly leave her behind,” Alex says as he reaches over and pets a barely visible Harlow on his other side. “Besides, she might help us with tracking.”
I frown. “Do you even know if she’s trained to track?” While in theory it’s a solid idea, in reality we have no idea what commands Ollie trained her with. If she’s even trained at all.
Alex shrugs. “I guess we’ll find out.”
Tobias heaves a heavy sigh. “We’re going to get ourselves killed.”
Maybe, especially since the plan involves stalking the small group of gang members that have been lingering on the outskirts of Haven. I’m not sure why they’re suddenly hanging around outside, but I’m not going to let this opportunity go to waste.
Even if my ass cheek and thigh currently feel like they’re on fire.
The three of us continue on in silence, the only sound being the rustling of the trees and our breathing.
Each step is a reminder that I should have taken the full dose of my pain meds, not half, but I didn’t want to risk drowsiness.
At least I’m no longer on antibiotics. Although I imagine the doc isn’t going to be pleased with me when I come back to him with ripped stitches.
A low growl from Harlow, followed by muffled voices, has all three of us stuttering to a stop.
“Is that…?” Tobias whispers, his eyes focused on the thick woods to our left.
“Let’s go find out,” I say as I move toward the voices.
Sneaking through the pitch-black forest is ten times harder and more painful than walking on the road.
Each snap of a twig beneath our feet has us freezing like deer as we strain our ears to hear if we’ve alerted the people up ahead.
Thankfully, they seem occupied with whatever conversation they’re having because we close the distance enough to make out what they’re saying.
“…said we should meet them next to the outbuilding within the next two hours,” a gruff voice says followed by a groan and a sigh.
“Why can’t we just ambush them when they’re trying to get back to the settlement?” another voice complains. “I don’t want to camp outside in the rain for another night waiting for them to never appear because Luke got the wrong place again.”
I frown. Are they talking about Ollie and Rhys? Or someone else?
“Boss says we have the right place and to get our asses there. Unless you want a knife to the gut, I suggest you do as you’re told,” the first voice says. “The bloke’s been in a foul mood since they got out.”
The other voice snorts. “He’s been in a foul mood since the Lodge fucker double-crossed him for a better cut. I don’t think the escape has much to do with it.”
My eyebrows shoot upward. Rhys and Ollie escaped? How? And why didn’t they come back to Haven? My confusion clears as I remember what the other guy said; they’ve been trying to ambush them. Knowing Rhys, he probably saw this coming and has been taking the scenic route from wherever they were held.
Although that plan might have failed because Luke seems convinced that he’s found them. And Ollie and Rhys won’t know they’ve been caught.
Shit. We need to help them.
Alex clearly has the same thoughts I do because he’s creeping closer to them. Harlow slinks next to him like she’s stalking prey. Tobias glances at Alex and his jaw tightens in the low light before he follows suit. For all his complaining earlier, he’s not turning back at the first sign of danger.
Good. We’re going to need all the help we can get.
I sneak behind them, gritting my teeth as my leg screams in agony at the slow, methodical pace I’m setting. Getting shot in the ass is… well, a pain in the ass. Especially when you’re trying to be heroic as fuck and saving the love of your life and your best friend.
Upon closing the distance between us and the Scourge, we find the small camp they’ve made in the middle of the forest. They have a small fire going, making it easier for us to hide in the shadows as the two thugs go about eating their dinner, oblivious to our presence.
The younger of the two looks pissed as he eats the last of his food from his pot before throwing it beside the fire.
“Did Luke say how far we are from the outbuilding?” he asks glumly while staring at the fire.
The older guy calmly finishes his food and places his pot down next to him before answering. “About two miles northeast of where we are right now.”
The young guy groans and rubs his face. “And here I thought I’d get a semi-decent night’s sleep,” he mumbles as he rubs his face.
The other man doesn’t look all that sympathetic. “Plenty of time to sleep when you’re dead.”
If it’s up to me, that’ll be sooner rather than later.
“Are there going to be any of those Lodge assholes there? Or can I actually rely on the people there?”
The older man shrugs. “Guess we’ll find out when we get there.”
It seems the Scourge and Lodge members don’t get along. I file that piece of information for later.
The three of us wait patiently as the two men clear camp, throw on their backpacks and put out the fire before beginning their journey.
Thankfully, they don’t even attempt to stay quiet as they trudge through the undergrowth of the forest, making it stupidly easy to follow them.
I also don’t have to worry so much about staying silent, making it much less painful for me.
But just to be safe, we keep our distance and our mouths shut.
Covering the two-mile distance takes nearly an hour since navigating through an overgrown forest in the dark is difficult as hell.
But our oblivious quarry finally slow as they reach what looks to be an abandoned farm.
The house is completely unusable; the structure nothing more than a burned pile of bricks, but the brick and metal outbuilding about fifty metres away appears solid enough.
Which is probably where Ollie and Rhys are holed up.
Alex stops at the edge of the forest and crouches as the two Scourge members hurry to the other side of the ruined farmhouse. “What’s the plan?” he asks as Tobias and I stop next to him.
“We need to know numbers. There’s no way in hell this Luke guy doesn’t have a large force of Scourge here to recapture Rhys and Ollie. Not since they’ve escaped once already,” I say as I scan the area in front of us.
It’s flat and open, which is great for scouting but not so great for when we need to get closer to the outbuilding.
In the low light, I’m able to make out several figures, all congregated beside the crumbled house.
A few others are on the opposite side, closer to the outbuilding, but with it being so dark, it’s hard to make out exact numbers.
“I count at least ten, maybe twelve, and about half of them have hunting rifles and shotguns,” Tobias whispers grimly. “Far too many for us to take out in a gunfight.”
“If we end up in a gunfight,” Alex says, his own gaze flicking between the two sets of figures. “We could use our knives instead.”
“Come on, you know as well as I do that the worst thing you can do is bring a knife to a gunfight,” Tobias says with a scoff.
“Good thing we have both,” I say, patting him on the back before turning to Alex. “What’s your idea?”
“We sneak up on the guys closest to the outbuilding and take them out as quietly as we can. I reckon if we do that, we could even sneak Ollie and Rhys out of the building before they even know they’re gone.”
I think over his plan for a moment before nodding. “Sounds like a plan. Let’s go.” I go to move, hoping to use the forest for cover for as long as I can.
“Whoa, wait, what?” Tobias hisses, grabbing me before I can leave. “We’re just going to go stab a couple of guys and hope they don’t notice the dead bodies?”
I roll my eyes and shake off his grip. “I’d hoped you’d have enough sense to hide said bodies before they’re found.” Although he does have a point. While the darkness will obscure most of our killing, it won’t completely cover it up for those next to the house.
Unless…
“Alright, Tobias, you’re volunteered yourself for distraction duty,” I say, patting him on the shoulder. “Make sure that the guys next to the house aren’t looking our way while we’re busy killing them off.”
His eyes open so wide I can see the whites of his eyeballs in the moonlight. “You can’t be serious! Are you trying to get me murdered?”
“You’ll be fine, just play it smart.” I’m sure that since he and Ollie share genetics, he’ll have enough brains and bravery to think of a way to keep himself safe while distracting them.
Alex sighs, taking pity on the man. “Do you want to swap with me?” he asks. “I don’t mind playing distraction just as long as you know you’re going to be slitting people’s throats if you go with Theo. It’s probably going to be messy and just as dangerous.”
Tobias blanches. “Never mind. I’ll play distraction.”
“Good choice,” Alex says as he claps him on the shoulder. “Give us fifteen minutes to get into position before you start and try not to die.”
“Right.” He hesitates. “I don’t think I need to tell you this, but my sister will kick my ass if either of you die during this, so just… don’t die either.”