Chapter 13
Chapter
Thirteen
This had actually worked.
His crazy idea to pretend to be one of the guards had gotten him access to a small facility where he knew for a fact they were keeping Indigo.
The reason Voodoo knew this was because not long after he’d climbed into the vehicle with the dead body of one of the guards he’d killed propped up beside him, an order had come over the radio.
It was calling in any and all men still alive to fall back to base because it was time to implement the plan. While there had been no details on what exactly the plan was, Voodoo was pretty sure he could make an accurate guess.
Dr. Gardner had Indigo back.
Dr. Gardner knew that some or all of the team were out there somewhere in the forest.
Using Indigo as bait to try to lure them all into a trap would make the most sense.
That way, the scientist would have all his living test subjects back under his control.
They knew from Whitney what the long-term plan for himself and his team was.
The doctor was going to undo what he’d done, study them, then do it all over again, which Whitney didn't believe they could survive.
If she was wrong and they did, then Dr. Gardner would once again want to use them as his own personal kill team.
What was the long-term plan for Indigo?
Of course, she could be trained, but he doubted she would ever have the same skills that he and his team did.
They had originally entered the military voluntarily, they’d chosen that path for themselves, even if they could never have expected where it would lead.
But Indigo had been surrounded by violence her entire life.
Wanting to learn how to defend herself didn't mean that she wanted to become a killer like the rest of them. Nor did he want that for her.
In the end, it didn't matter what the insane scientist with delusions of grandeur wanted, because he wasn't going to get it.
Not only was Dr. Gardner never going to get his hands on him and his team, but they were going to get Indigo back. He’d promised her a future that could be anything she wanted it to be—although he’d been clear about what he hoped she would choose—and he wasn't going to break that promise.
So he’d followed the GPS instructions to the small building, hanging back because he wanted to see how many other people had still been out there. Knowing how many men he and his team would be fighting against would make a huge difference in how they approached this.
Wouldn't change the outcome, though.
Especially when a mere two other vehicles approached with two men in each.
That made four, plus there seemed to be another six hanging around the outside of the building.
Ten against the six of them would be easy.
Hell, he could take all ten on his own. Not until he knew Indigo’s position, but as soon as he did, he was making his move.
Arriving at the small camp, he’d nodded a greeting to the others, then grabbed one of the cigarettes from the pack in the center console of the vehicle and stood alone pretending he was smoking it while chatting to his friend inside the car.
That was a very one-sided conversation since the other guy was dead.
But it had allowed him to watch, stiffening when the door to the building opened and three figures moved out.
Three people, the one in the middle was much smaller than the other two.
His Indigo.
She was naked, and even though he was a good dozen yards away from her, he could see red welts dotting her chest.
Anger burned brightly inside him, and Voodoo had taken a step toward them before he even realized what he was doing.
Dead.
They needed to die for daring to touch his beautiful, sweet girl.
She’d been through so much, suffered so much torment from the time she was just a small girl.
It didn't matter to him that she wouldn't be in any pain right now, it only mattered that someone had caused more wounds to her already damaged body.
Before he could do something stupid that would get her hurt all over again, maybe killed, Voodoo caught himself, reined in his rage, and managed to keep it in check by promising it that soon it would be set free.
“Is that really all we have?” one of the men holding Indigo said as he looked around at the small gathering.
“Yeah. Guess they got all the others,” another replied, and Voodoo could hear the fear in the man’s voice.
Good. He should be afraid.
Nothing was going to stop him and his team from destroying every single one of them.
“We need more,” a third man said, also sounding nervous. Seemed all these guards had been briefed on just how dangerous he and his team were.
“Boss doesn’t want to wait. Said he’s waited long enough, and he wants back what's his,” the first man said as he pulled Indigo along with him as he headed for a vehicle and all but threw her inside it.
“It’s going to get us all killed. More men will be here tomorrow, enough to take them down,” the second man said, and Voodoo was happy to hear that Dr. Gardner’s impatience was going to work against him and for Delta Team.
“Boss wants what he wants,” the first guy said as he slammed the car door closed and rounded the car, heading for the driver’s seat.
Not wanting anyone else to try to get into his vehicle with him, that would ruin his little charade, and Voodoo knew it was only because there were so few of them that hadn't already happened, he quickly tossed the cigarette, stomped it out, then jumped into his vehicle and started the engine.
Following along behind the vehicle that Indigo was in before anyone else could try to join him, he saw a man throw up his hands, like he was trying to call him back, but he pretended not to see and kept going.
Thankfully, no one made a big deal out of it, and the rest of the men must have piled into one of the other vehicles, because only one more pulled out behind him.
Good odds.
Only two men were in the vehicle with Indigo, none with him, and if all the vehicles were the same as this SUV, then there were no more than five in the one behind him.
That left possibly another five back at the building, likely meant to hang back and then come in as backup once they thought they’d lured him and his team into a trap.
Tonight, the only trap that was going to be set was his own.
Grabbing his radio, Voodoo slowed his vehicle, allowing the one with Indigo in it to move on ahead, while the one behind him was forced to also slow since there wasn't space on the narrow road to go around him.
“Think I saw something,” he muttered, making sure his voice wasn't distinguishable in case they could recognize him from it.
When he came to a stop, he jumped out of the vehicle and took off into the forest, pretending he was following something.
A moment later, he heard pounding feet, and he knew the others had fallen for his ruse.
Leading them deeper into the forest, he waited until he knew they were lost to the chase, completely unaware they were chasing after nothing, then he stopped, turned, and much like he’d done earlier when Indigo was abducted, he sprayed bullets into the forest.
Bodies dropped one by one, before they even registered what was going on, before they had a chance to fire back.
Confident in his ability to hit what he aimed at, Voodoo didn't bother confirming his kills, he merely took off at a dead run back to his vehicle. The need to get to Indigo, to have her back in his arms was overwhelming, and he couldn’t deny it any longer.
Driving faster this time around, he sped off into the night, praying for Thunder’s usual good luck at driving at high speeds while never crashing.
It was only because he was carefully watching the road to make sure he stayed on it, that he saw it.
Skid marks.
Like a vehicle had recently gone over the edge of the embankment.
Slamming on the brakes, Voodoo was out of the car without even thinking. Running toward where he knew deep in his gut Indigo’s car had just crashed. He approached with far less caution than he should have. If anyone had been alive in that car, they could have easily shot and killed him.
He might be able to heal himself, but he couldn’t raise anyone, not even himself, from the dead.
In the passenger seat of the vehicle was a man who was clearly dead, he hadn't been wearing a seatbelt, and he’d been thrown into the windshield. No one else was in the vehicle, though. No driver, and more importantly, no Indigo.
Movement behind him caught his attention just in time, and he spun around, weapon raised, ready to kill whoever was coming.
January 25th
12:30 A.M.
Was she going the right way?
Did it even matter?
It wasn’t like Indigo was running to a certain location, she was just running.
Doing her best to escape, to fight, to live. To make plans for the future, entertain hopes and dreams, and build a life that was secure, that couldn’t be washed away in the storms that seemed to continuously rain down upon her.
Nothing and no one was going to take this chance from her.
Voodoo was out there somewhere, and all she had to do was find him and everything would be okay.
She had no idea how he’d become so important to her so quickly. No idea how he’d managed to convince her that he was worthy of her trust, her faith, when she hadn't even known she still possessed the ability to entertain those notions.
But the whys and hows weren't important. All that mattered was that she believed Voodoo was out there, knew he wouldn't leave her behind, that he’d be doing his best to get himself to her. Might even be somewhere close by right at this very second.
Believing in him could be the biggest mistake of her life, after all, she had no experience with people ever being there for her.
It was such a risk, her entire life was on the line, Voodoo her only meaningful chance at escape, and even if he did save her now, it didn't mean he wouldn't let her down in the future.