Chapter 10
Chapter
Ten
A shift in the air had Voodoo freezing.
Nothing discernible had caught his attention, no sound or sight, it was just a feeling that he and Indigo were no longer alone.
As in tune as she already was with him, something he could only attribute to the fact that both of them had finely honed instincts, even if Indigo didn't know exactly how to use hers, she froze as well.
“Is it them?” she asked, her voice a faint whisper, without any training at all, she seemed to have mastered how to speak without letting her voice carry.
According to Whitney, one of the effects of the drugs was a heightened ability to tap into the more primal part of the brain, those instincts that most people no longer used because mankind had been living in relative safety for too long.
All those skills that humans once used to evade predators, that people like him had learned to access as part of their military training, now came easily.
Even walking with a broken leg and a crutch, Indigo made a lot less noise than most people would walking normally.
“Yes,” he answered without hesitation. It didn’t matter that he hadn't seen anything, hadn't heard anything, if his senses said someone was out there, he trusted that.
“What do we do?” she asked, and he was so proud of her for already knowing she was ready and willing to fight.
Still, as much as Indigo was definitely improving, the infections receding, her temperature still elevated but hovering closer to normal, her wounds healing, she was still injured, still weak, and had zero training in how to fight.
This wasn't the kind of thing you could learn in the midst of fighting for your life.
“You're going to hide,” he murmured as he reached out and swept her off her feet.
Indigo’s lips pressed into a thin line, and he glimpsed the spirit that had gotten her through twenty-nine years of a life that was constantly trying to beat her down. No matter how hard it tried, though, she kept bouncing back up.
“Don’t bother arguing,” he warned. “I don’t know how many of them there are, and we need to kill them quietly, so they don’t get a chance to communicate our location with Dr. Gardner and the rest of the guards.”
Giving a sharp nod, he knew she agreed, even if she didn't like feeling like a burden. Everyone in her life had made her out to be one, to not be worthy enough of their time, attention, and love.
But not him. He was determined to prove to her the opposite.
“When we get home, we’ll get you trained,” Voodoo promised as she scanned the area for a place where she could hide. “Then next time you can join in the fun.”
Spotting a small tree that was sprouting out of the bottom of a much larger one, he determined there was enough leafy brush to hide her small frame, so he headed toward it.
Setting her down, he pushed her back a little so her spine was pressed against the trunk, then arranged the branches around her until she was no longer visible.
Because there was no way in hell he was leaving her without a weapon, just like when he’d left her in the cave to get water for them, he pressed his back-up weapon into her hands.
“Remember how to use it?”
“Take off the safety, aim for the chest. Don’t hesitate because if I waste my chance, I might not get another one,” she parroted out the instructions he’d given her.
“Only shoot if you absolutely have to,” he reminded her. “We don’t want them to know we’re here.”
“I know, because if they do, then they can call in our location.”
Convinced that she was as informed and prepared as he could get her in a short space of time, Voodoo still found it difficult to push to his feet.
Leaving her behind felt wrong. Not just because she was injured and weak, and not just because she was one of them, not even just because everyone in her life had let her down.
But because she was his.
He knew it, felt it in some deep, dark part of his soul he hadn't even known existed. Voodoo had wondered how Steel had fallen for Rose so quickly, and how Blade had fallen for Whitney even as he thought at the time she was one of the people they were fighting to bring down, but now he knew.
From the first moment he’d dropped to his knees beside her unconscious form as she tumbled out of that supply cabinet, he’d felt it, she was special.
Now he had to leave her behind, knowing there was a chance that he wouldn't ever come back to her. While he always knew that his enhancements gave him an advantage, Voodoo was also careful to never get cocky. Being arrogant led to making mistakes, and he would never make a mistake when his team’s lives were depending on him being at the top of his game.
Now that it was Indigo relying on him, it was even more important that he not let anything distract him, not even his own superiority.
Assuming these people hunting them knew who he was and that he was out there was the smart thing to do.
It was the only logical conclusion given the sheer amount of men Dr. Gardner was throwing at this area.
There had been time for that first lot of guards shooting at them as they exited the lab to figure out that his team had been there and call it in.
It didn't take him long to locate the people he’d sensed. There were eight of them, not great odds when he had a vulnerable woman with him to protect. Killing them all wasn't difficult, it was getting it done before anyone noticed something was wrong.
Still, whatever the odds, Voodoo would make sure he got it done.
With Indigo’s life hanging in the balance, there was no other option.
No one was getting their hands on her again, that was the vow he’d made to her and he wasn't going to be another person in her life to fail her.
Following the men for a bit, he watched to see how they worked, how they moved. They were fairly thorough in checking their surroundings, although not thorough enough since none of them seemed aware of his presence.
Separating them was a given. It was the easiest way to take out a few without the others realizing it.
Once he started, though, he was going to have to work his way through the group quickly.
Just one left alive long enough to spot Indigo, or see him, or find one of his colleagues’ dead bodies, would be all it took to bring in a swarm of guards, more than he could take out.
Noticing a deer up ahead, Voodoo decided that was the perfect ruse to get things started.
Stooping down, he grabbed a rock, then tossed it gently toward the animal. He didn't want to hurt or scare it, he just needed a sound in that direction that would draw the men’s attention but provide a realistic reason that something other than him had made the sound.
The deer looked at the rock as it landed beside him, fussed a little, but didn't take off running, and he thanked his lucky stars as he watched the men stop, whisper between one another, and then break off into pairs.
Luck was definitely on his side tonight.
As he watched from the shadows, he saw two of the men, weapons drawn, approach the area, walk close enough to his position that they could have easily spotted him if they were looking.
But they weren't, their attention was focused on where the sound had come from, and he watched as they spotted the deer and immediately relaxed.
Amateurs.
It was almost child’s play to sweep in behind them, come up behind the first man, and slice through his neck.
The second turned right as he was about to strike, but it was already too late.
He was too close, and the man didn't have any time to react besides realizing he was about to die before Voodoo was on him, burying his knife deep in the man’s neck, severing his carotid artery, and ending his life even if it would take a moment for him to bleed out.
Since there was no time to waste, the men would check in with one another sooner rather than later, Voodoo left the two men behind and took off in the direction he’d seen some of the others split up.
He wanted them dead.
Now.
Wanted to know that Indigo was safe, wanted her back in his arms where he could watch over her, then wanted her back at the mansion where he knew there were no threats waiting for her.
Another two of the men were down when it happened.
A scream.
A gunshot.
His heart in his throat as he realized that his girl had been spotted and there were still four threats out there.
January 24th
5:06 P.M.
Those voices whispering in her head that she was worthless, better off dead, that no one would miss her, and that she should just hurry up and end it all had been shoved into a box and locked away.
Most of what they said was largely true, and yet for once in her life, Indigo found that there really was someone by her side who actually saw something in her that they liked.
Of course, there was every chance that Voodoo was lying to her, manipulating her, trying to gain something from her, and would turn out to be every bit as awful as both of her exes were.
Yet she didn't believe that.
Maybe she was wrong, but maybe she was right. Maybe Voodoo wanted to help her find her footing after this, maybe he wanted to offer her a home and a family. Maybe he was attracted to her and wanted more than friendship when she was ready to take that step.
That was what she was clinging to as she gripped the gun in her hands, holding it so tightly her fingers ached.
That was why when she saw two figures moving toward her she didn't hesitate.
Just waited to see if they would spot her, prepared to do whatever it took to protect herself and Voodoo.
At first, Indigo thought they were going to move right on past her without even knowing she was there. She was sure Voodoo had done a good job of hiding her, and since it was difficult to see out of her little hidden shelter, she assumed it was also difficult to see in.
But like it usually did, luck turned its nose up at her.