Chapter 40 #2
With that last word, he barked and started sniffing the ground.
He walked out of the back door of the container before turning in circles, sniffing and growling, as he led the way.
With every passing minute, Shadow walked under various containers, passing aisles of them.
Some of the containers were so low that I had to crawl under them as he led the way.
The Wildcats weren’t far behind.
We jogged behind Shadow for about twenty minutes before he started barking. Quickly, I pulled him closer to me and grabbed his maw. “Shh. Here’s a treat, boy. No barking.”
A massive ship carrying thousands of containers stood about five hundred yards ahead of us. I bet the fucker was planning to escape by hiding on the ship. Several men carrying revolvers patrolled the vicinity around the ship. It was safe to assume there would be men patrolling the ship as well.
The fucker Vadim was thorough, I’d give him that.
But not for long.
Only one thought circled my mind.
I needed to hurry. Tara was waiting for me.
Every cell of my body was raging to spill Vadim’s blood. To drain his very soul from his body.
Whether there were a hundred men or a thousand men separating me from my beauty, I would fucking annihilate every single one of them. Because Tara was waiting for me.
I turned around to find the four women’s eyes trained on the ship as well. Whatever they saw in my eyes had them bracing themselves. Before they could waste any more of my time, I said, “I’m going in. Guns blazing.”
Lena’s gaze moved around at the rest of the girls and stopped on me. “It would be better to sneak in and attack. Create a diversion. Be more strategic about it.”
My eyes snapped to Samaira. “Were you strategic about anything when you went to save Dominic?”
“Fuck no.” She scowled.
“Exactly,” I said, dropping the large bag from my shoulder on the ground. I pulled out my two M16 assault rifles from around my shoulders and grabbed Shadow’s collar and pulled him closer. “Get in the bag, buddy. I’ll let you out once we’re aboard.”
While the others were gaping at me, Samaira quickly dropped to her knees and held the bag open while I packed Shadow in it. He must be sensing the danger in the air because he didn’t make a fuss about it at all. He must know, too, that Tara was waiting for me.
By the time I was ready to march out, the rest of the ladies were prepared with their assault rifles.
Lena mumbled, “We still should’ve planned better. This is so fucking risky.”
“Glad we’re wearing Kevlar vests,” Naomi responded.
I was glad Naomi said something because I had no words to explain to Lena that my mental stability was hanging on by a thread. The only fucking reason I’d gone through even that minimal conversation was because I had to pack Shadow in my bag, and I fucking needed Shadow to find Tara.
All I could think about was Tara. My girl, held captive in a monster’s lair. The monster I had failed to identify. While I hadn’t trusted Greg much, I had spectacularly failed in recognizing him as a threat. But I wouldn’t fail her this time.
With a single glance behind at the girls, I loaded my rifles and charged toward the ship. “Let’s get Tara, Wildcats.”
I charged to the ship, my arms raised to the side, and opened fire. Because Tara was waiting for me.
The bullets tore through every obstacle in my way. Anybody I didn’t catch, the Wildcats did. My eyes were trained only on the ramp leading to the ship deck. If I had to kill every man in my way, I’d gladly do it with a smile on my fucking face. Because Tara was waiting for me.
These fuckers were keeping me away from my beauty, and the beast inside me would fucking tear them all apart. My blood was running rampant under my skin. The violence I’d always kept leashed in my mind was blown to shreds. Because Tara was waiting for me.
The air smelled of smoke and sea. Wind itself stood still at the wrath pouring out of me. I had to hurry; I had to run. I had to kill. Because Tara was waiting for me.
I rained down hell on every fucker who came near me. The rat-tat-tat-tat of the bullets became the soundtrack of my vengeance. I kicked. I punched. I picked them up and threw them away like the trash they were. Because Tara was waiting for me.
I stormed up the ramp and started shooting. But my bullets ran out. So I simply held the weapon and bashed the skulls of every man who tried to stop me from getting to Tara. Because Tara was waiting for me.
As soon as the coast was a little clear, I got Shadow out of the bag. “Let’s go, Shadow.” My voice was hoarse, desperation clinging to every syllable. “Find your mom. She’s waiting for me.”
We had entered through the top level of the ship, yet there were several rows of containers stacked on top of each other. A person could get lost here. While Shadow tracked Tara’s scent, I tore apart any fucker who tried to get in his way.
Men charged at me. I snapped their necks. Men charged at Shadow. I broke their skulls. I was madness and wrath. I was desperation and guilt.
By the time Shadow led me down one story through a metal staircase on the edge of the ship, Lena’s voice crackled in my ear. “Three of us are on board the ship, and Sloane is keeping watch of the dock. We’ve cleared the entire area of the shipyard.”
“There are several floors under the main deck, each carrying plenty of cargo. One of you could come down.”
“Noted,” she said. “I’ll come down. Sami and Naomi are dealing with some fuckers on the main deck.”
“Alright.”
Shadow was quiet as he sniffed around and went back and forth around several containers before picking up a trail. Throughout the way, I knocked out five men, hiding them between various containers. “They should be thankful I didn’t throw them overboard, shouldn’t they?” I said to Shadow.
We were on our third level under the main deck when Shadow’s tail started wagging.
And I found out why right when we turned the corner, and I immediately pulled us back, hiding us behind a container.
Keeping Shadow close to me, I leaned back around to find five men carrying attack rifles, making rounds around three containers.
Bingo.
They were all hypervigilant. Guess they’d heard the gunshots.
I stepped away from where I was hiding and paged in the Wildcats. “Three levels under the deck. Two aisles to the right of the staircase. Five men protecting three containers. We’re going in.”
“We’ll be down shortly.”
She knew I couldn’t wait for them to arrive. Because Tara was waiting for me.
This was the final obstacle. These men expected me to charge right in. They were ready to shoot on sight. I had to be careful. Because Tara was waiting for me.
With that one thought in my mind, I got on my knees and pulled Shadow closer to me.
Tara had told me he was a fighter dog in his past. That he was a rescue.
His size and the scars on his side proved that.
“Shadow, boy. It’s time for you to remember your fighting days, buddy.
Heck, remember the time I sneaked into your apartment, and you bit me.
I need you to do that. Run. Chase. Bite. ”
I felt ridiculous talking to a dog and asking him to be my backup. But something inside me believed in him. Shadow was Tara’s child, and I knew he was ready to help me save her. I needed him to create a diversion.
I pointed him toward the aisle behind the three containers. “Run and bark. Chase them. And bite. You become a distraction, while I get rid of the rest. Okay, buddy?”
If Hugh ever saw me at this moment, the fucker would record it and play it on the largest screen for every single fucking family lunch and dinner of my life. I leaned closer to him and whispered, “We keep this between us. Okay, bud?”
As if he understood everything perfectly, Shadow gave a low bark and licked my face.
“Alright, let’s go.”
With that, Shadow took off running in the other direction, barking loudly. I leaned around the container and saw the men suddenly jump in fright, looking around. Three of the five men took off running in the direction of Shadow, leaving me perfectly manageable prey.
It was time to fucking hunt.
I walked around the container, going the longer route, and waited for one of the men to look the other way.
The moment the man farther from me turned toward the other men yelling about a loose dog, I lunged at the man closest to me and pulled him behind the container.
Before he could shout, I pressed my hand on his mouth and snapped his neck.
I looked toward the other man from under the container, keeping note of Shadow’s position from the direction of the sound of his occasional barking. I had to be quick about getting rid of these men before they started shooting. Because Tara was waiting for me.
A few seconds passed, and the man got restless. His footsteps moved closer to where his partner once stood. “Tony?” he whispered, as if Tony was going to whisper back. Yelling would’ve at least alerted his other friends. Fucking idiot.
I quickly crawled under the container and dragged him under, taking him by surprise. Before he could yell, I snapped his neck and hid him along with Tony.
Right then, the door to the container slammed open, and Greg stomped out like a deranged animal. “What the hell is all this ruckus about?”
A wave of violent rage caught hold of my body. The urge to march out there and slam his face against the metal container became unbearable. The only reason I held back was Tara. I needed her out of there safely. She was waiting for me.
One of the men came running to him. “Sir, a dog is loose in this area.”
“A dog? What the fuck is a dog doing here? Go complain to the ship’s crew. Must be one of theirs.”
“Yes, boss.”
“I need five of you to keep an eye on this area. That fucker Knox will be here any fucking moment. Didn’t you hear the fucking gunshots?”
“Yes, boss.”
Greg—fucking Vadim—looked around as the three men gathered around him. “Where’s the other two?”