Chapter 18 #2
But one thing she was certain of was that she wasn't going to go passively toward whatever fate awaited her. Didn't matter if that fate was death, capture, or freedom, whatever it was, she was embracing it and running toward it rather than cowering in fear, hanging back, being passive.
Voodoo had come.
The whole team had come.
For her.
They’d held off on going after their revenge, something that had been the focus of their lives for the last decade, all because they decided she was worth more than that.
Nobody had ever thought she was worth anything, so knowing what these men were willing to give up for her when they didn't even know her made her feel like she was worth a billion dollars.
It was all because of Voodoo, so when she saw a glint, off in the trees on the other side of the river, she knew.
Something was wrong.
Someone was going to try to shoot him.
They’d used her as a distraction, because as soon as Voodoo’s teammates caught sight of her being dragged along, they’d all stopped shooting. She had no idea how many, if any, were still alive other than the one holding her and whoever was aiming a weapon at Voodoo, but it didn't matter.
No way was she going to be used to garner everyone’s attention, keep them all on edge, looking for a way to get her out without getting her killed in the process, and then get them all captured.
They weren't spending the rest of their lives in the back of that truck.
Not so long as she could do something about it.
As soon as she screamed her warning to Voodoo, he acted. He didn't bother wasting time looking, trying to figure out if she knew what she was saying, he just trusted her. That meant the world to her. It made her feel valued, like maybe she was a part of this team in some small way.
Voodoo’s shadowy form disappeared from view, at the same moment that five other shadowy forms appeared from amongst the trees.
They surrounded her, only it didn't feel like they were boxing her in, it felt protective, because Indigo knew without a shadow of a doubt that they were there to do whatever it took to save her life. Save all their lives.
“You're not getting away,” a cold voice spoke. She was pretty sure it was Steel’s. Or maybe she just assumed it was because she knew that Steel was Delta Team’s leader, so she thought he was likely the one who did all the talking.
“Stay back,” the man behind her yelled, jamming the barrel of the gun into her temple. It probably would have hurt if she were capable of feeling pain like a normal person.
“If you think we’re letting you walk away from here, you're stupider than I gave you credit for,” Steel continued. The hard edge to his voice sounded almost bored, like this was all just a bothersome distraction before reaching the foregone conclusion.
“You won't risk her,” her captor yelled, but there was a quiver in his voice as he said the words. He knew how dangerous the men surrounding him were, and he wasn't at all sure that he could get himself out of this alive.
A single shot was fired, and the houseboat that Voodoo had previously been on took off down the river as fast as a boat could move.
Where was Voodoo?
Had he moved in time? Had she issued her warning too late?
Had he been injured? Killed?
“Hear that shot?” another of the men surrounding her asked, this time she knew it was Dragon.
That guy was one scary-looking man. Something about his unusual violet eyes told you he was not a person to be messed with.
Since he was on her side, she didn't have to worry about him, but it didn't mean the man clutching her to him as a shield felt the same way. You couldn’t be in Dragon’s presence and not fear him.
“That was your buddy who just tried to shoot my friend meeting his maker,” Dragon continued. “Know what that means?”
Her captor didn't say anything, but because he was holding her pressed up against his body, she could feel the shiver that rocketed through him.
Seemed like the man knew exactly what Dragon was trying to say, even if she was having a bit of trouble getting her cloudy mind to put the pieces together.
“Let me help you out,” one of the other guys said, Thunder this time.
“Your buddy is dead. They’re all dead. The only ones left alive are you and whoever is hiding out on that boat with your boss.
Your boss is a coward, but he’s going to get what's coming to him sooner or later. Right now, though, all our attention is focused on you.”
“You know what we can do right?” another of the guys piped up.
She was pretty sure it was Blade. “I'm sure you didn't take this job without knowing all the details. So you know that besides being able to hear each beat of your hammering heart, I love to play with my knife. Dragon can smell the fear leaching off you. Lion spotted your little friend before Indigo here called out a warning. Steel could quite literally rip you to pieces, and I don’t think Voodoo is going to be very willing to help put you back together again since you're holding a gun to his girl’s head like you really think we’re going to let you blow her brains out.”
“His girl?” her captor stuttered. “You're lying. She’s not involved with any of you.”
“I beg to differ,” Voodoo said as he walked out of the river, water streaming down him, his weapon in his hands, looking strong, and whole, and real.
Alive.
Relief almost had her legs giving out. Or maybe that was exhaustion.
Now that Voodoo was there, she couldn’t help but feel like everything was okay. She might trust Voodoo’s team, but that was because she trusted him.
Actually trusted him. Her. The woman who didn't trust anyone because every single person in her life had let her down before.
Voodoo had never let her down, and she was beginning to believe he never would.
“You touch my girl, you're going to pay the price. Don’t worry, your boss isn’t going to get away even if he thinks he is.
I tagged the boat, so as soon as we finish up here with you, we’re going to go visit him.
We have unfinished business,” Voodoo continued, and Indigo smiled despite there being a weapon held to her head.
This was almost over. Really almost over.
She hardly dared to hope it might be. Just because her nightmare hadn't been anywhere near as long as Voodoo’s didn't mean she didn't wish Dr. Gardner dead just as badly.
The man gripping her tightly enough that he’d leave behind bruises was panicking.
She could feel it flowing off him. He didn't know what his next move was going to be, but she knew he was trying to figure out how he was going to do the impossible and get away from six highly trained killing machines.
There might be a whole lot more to these guys, but they knew how to kill, quickly and efficiently if they wanted to, slowly and messily if they chose.
Somehow, she knew what he was going to do before he did it.
Her captor was going to try to shoot his way out of this, only he wasn't going to start with her. He was going to try to shoot the Delta Team guys.
For some reason, she thought he was going to start with Voodoo.
No way in hell was she allowing that to happen.
Everything seemed to slow down, becoming almost unnaturally drawn out. The man behind her screamed, the sound much too loud for her ears, as he moved the gun, aiming it at Voodoo.
Indigo screamed, too, then she reached out, grabbed his hand, and yanked it down until the weapon was now aimed at her, at him. Her fingers fought with those of the man holding her hostage.
When she won, she pulled the trigger.
Sending a bullet plowing through both of them.