Chapter 29
29
“ R oman!” Jordan shouted.
She reached forward and snagged the back of Zain’s vest. She tugged and moved him out of the way. The sound of gunfire filled the air. The moment they’d entered the basement, they’d found themselves in a nightmare. The war between the Demon Lords and SWAT had officially begun.
Zain’s eyes snapped toward hers. The spot where his head had been moments before was riddled with bullets. His eyes crinkled in the corners. The crazy son of a bitch had the nerve to grin at her.
“I swear if I didn’t have my head on my shoulders, I’d lose it.” Zain tossed her a wink.
“Asshole,” Jordan muttered. There was no way in hell she would have to be explaining to her sister how her fiancé didn’t return home standing on his own two feet. She rolled her eyes and pulled her gun up and focused.
The lower level of the prison had been a trap. Sergio knew what he had been doing when he’d led them down there. He hadn’t needed the warden after all. They had found him in the elevator with a bullet to the head.
Declan and the others had joined them just as everything went to hell in a handbasket.
The SWAT team had been led into the lower level, but there was a sub-level that was not shown on the blueprints. Below the prison was an old train station. It looked as if it hadn’t been used in over fifty years. The stench was almost unbearable, and the air was stale. She was thankful for the mask that covered her face, but it didn’t keep the aroma from hitting her. She grimaced and tried not to inhale too deeply.
She and her team had become separated with the rain of bullets greeting them. Somehow, they had been pushed forward. There was no way for them to return to the higher level. Jordan turned and knelt along the wall she, Zain, and Mac had slid behind. There was a door near them that was sealed, completely trapping them.
Jordan peeked around the corner, aiming her gun. In that moment, there was a chilling silence. She didn’t see any movement from the gangbangers. What this place had been, it wasn’t any longer. It must have been used for freight and not passengers. It wasn’t built like a normal underground subway or train station like she’d seen before. There were no large platforms for people to congregate and wait for the next train. Just small ledges with wide areas around the tracks were the trains must have stopped and the operators exited.
“See anything, Knight?” Mac murmured from behind her.
She quickly scanned the area and took in the dim lights on the ceiling that provided some illumination. It wasn’t much, but it was something. She truly didn’t want to see everything. There was no telling what they had been stepping in or what was crawling around on the floor.
Her gaze landed on a beacon. About five hundred feet away was a steel doorway. A lone light bulb shined bright next to it, highlighting it. There was even a handle.
That had to be an exit out of this hellhole.
But there was one thing that bothered her. An abandoned train car was parked on the tracks and stood in the way. What would be waiting for them in that car?
Jordan slid back to her position and nodded.
“Five hundred feet there’s an exit. It’s either that or keep going and following the tracks,” she whispered. She continued on about the abandoned car.
Mac nodded.
“Dec, come in,” Mac murmured.
He rested his hand over his ear. Their communicators were giving static here and there. This was not the time for them to be messing up. When they got out of here, she was going to have to have a chat with Brodie. There was no reason why they had to still use these shitty comms. Jordan was sure he could get some high-tech communicators from his tech friend.
“I’m here,” Declan responded.
Mac quickly brought the other sergeant up to date with what Jordan had seen. The gangsters had somehow ended up behind the SWAT team and were pushing them farther down the shaft. Jordan didn’t like it one bit. Where were they leading them?
“Head for that door. We’ll cover you,” Declan growled. “We’re not that far behind you. We’ll hold those fuckers off.”
“Roger that,” Mac replied. He moved to stand in front of Jordan and pushed her behind him. He reached down and took his handgun from his thigh sheath. He raised it and glanced at her and Zain.
“Let’s get the hell out of here,” Zain murmured.
“We’re behind you,” Jordan replied.
“Stay to the shadows,” Mac ordered. He slipped around the corner silently.
Jordan followed with Zain behind her. They kept close to the brick walls. Mac picked up his pace to a light jog.
Jordan continued to scan the area. They came up on the old abandoned train car. She held her breath as Mac paused near it. He held up a fist for them to remain where they were. Jordan wanted to protest, but she knew it would be pointless. Mac crept forward to the car and rested back against it.
Jordan and Zain both aimed their weapons at the windows. She didn’t see any movement, but she wasn’t satisfied yet. It wasn’t a passenger train where there would have been large windows. It was a freight one with small windows that didn’t reveal anything for them in the low light. Mac slowly moved along the side of the car, keeping low to the ground. Once he was near the edge of it, he turned and signaled.
“You’re up next, princess,” Zain murmured. He turned away, sweeping the area behind them with his gaze. He trained his gun in the opposite direction of Mac.
“You better be right behind me,” she said. If he wasn’t, she wouldn’t hesitate to go back for her future brother-in-law.
His only response, a low chuckle.
Jordan tightened her grip on her weapon and moved. She mimicked Mac and arrived beside the car. She remained low and managed to make her way to him. She strained to hear if anything or anyone was inside it but was only greeted with silence. She studied their target door again. It was made of steel and appeared to be heavy. If it was locked, then they were fucked. Their alternative was to keep going down the shaft which had even less light than they had now.
Jordan swallowed hard.
They could do this.
Zain sidled up next to her. He elbowed her in the side.
“Miss me?” he murmured.
“You are deranged and need to get checked out,” she muttered. How many hits to the head had he taken?
“The CT of my brain checked out fine, I’ll have you know,” he retorted.
Mac grunted and held up a fist to them. Jordan shook her head and focused on her sergeant. Gunfire echoed down the shaft. Jordan stiffened and went to move. Her fellow officers were taking heat. Mac grabbed her by her shoulder and held her in place.
“Dec, what’s your location?” Mac asked.
Jordan and Zain fell silent while waiting to hear their other sergeant’s response through the comms. If Declan didn’t answer soon, she would be going back to help. She met Zain’s gaze in the low light, and he gave her a nod. He’d read her mind. There was no leaving a fellow SWAT officer behind.
“Keep moving,” Declan’s voice appeared in her ear.
She relaxed slightly but was ready to help intervene.
“We aren’t that far behind you. Myles and Ash were separated?—”
“We’re good,” Myles’s deep voice broke through. “Just had to take care of a few things. We’ll be there in just a second.”
“They are fucking herding us,” Declan growled.
“Tell me something I don’t already know,” Jordan muttered.
When they had entered the sub level, they had been slightly confused and were met with gunfire. They had run the opposite way, and ever since, the gang had been behind them.
“Let’s get the hell out of here,” Declan said.
“Roger that,” Mac replied. He turned to her and Zain. “Stay here. I’m going to get that fucking door open.”
Jordan shifted into position at the edge of the car where she could see down the darkened shaft. The train tracks disappeared into darkness. Farther down the way was another light, but it was far, and she didn’t have a good sense about the alternate path. This door had to open.
But where did it lead?
Mac jogged over to the stairs that led to the landing where the door was. He made his way up them and arrived at the door. Jordan moved around to the front of the car to ensure she had her sergeant’s back covered. Where the door was positioned, the ledge continued around the corner and was bathed in darkness. Mac gripped the handle and tugged.
The door didn’t budge.
A bullet slammed into the wall near Mac. Jordan spun on her heel and lifted her weapon. Someone was hidden in the dark farther down the tracks and had targeted Mac.
Jordan’s finger slipped onto her trigger and pulled. Her gun recoiled, but she was ready for it. Zain moved behind her and covered her back. He, too, fired off in the distance.
Another bullet sailed over their heads and hit the concrete wall near Mac as he continued to fight the door. It finally swung open. Mac flew inside with his gun raised.
“Knight,” Mac snapped. “Let’s go!”
Jordan lowered her weapon and glanced over at her sergeant who was standing inside a dark stairwell. He motioned for them to follow.
“Go!” Zain shouted.
More bullets flew over their heads. Jordan ducked down and raced toward the stairs. She paused on the first step and watched Zain post up against the front of the train car.
“Now, Knight. Go with Mac!”
She hightailed it up the few stairs and made it to the doorway. She aimed her gun and fired. A few of the gangbangers had appeared from behind the train car. Her bullet hit one of them in the chest. He flew back a few feet and crumpled to the floor.
“Roman!” she hollered. He needed to get his ass up there with them now. There was no way she was leaving without him or her other SWAT members. Stone and concrete flew in the air from a spray of bullets hitting the wall near her. She was yanked out of the way by Mac.
“We see Roman,” Declan growled in her ear. His voice was eerily calm as he barked orders to the SWAT members with him, but he only had two words for Mac and Jordan. “Keep. Moving.”
“We can’t leave them,” Jordan screamed.
“You heard Dec. We keep moving.” Mac got in her face, a deep scowl present. He pointed up the stairwell. “We don’t even know what lies up there. We need to check it out. If not, we are going back down there. Now get your shit together, Knight.”
Jordan inhaled sharply. Mac was right. They didn’t know where the stairs led. For all they knew it could be a dead end and the SWAT team would need to keep going farther down the tracks. She nodded and swallowed hard.
“Lead the way, sir,” she replied. This time she was back to herself. She had let her emotions get the best of her. She loved those men as if they were her blood brothers, and to leave them to fend for themselves while the gang was closing in on them was like asking her to snatch her heart out of her chest and leave it behind.
But Mac wouldn’t steer her wrong.
She glanced up the stairs and blew out a deep breath. It went up a few flights. Her hand tightened on her Glock. Her MP5 got left behind when she’d run out of ammo. She hadn’t had a choice. They had been walking fast, and she had to resort to her backup weapon.
Mac turned and began jogging up their long stairwell. She followed him but then paused when a slight beeping noise drew her attention back to the door. She pulled out her flashlight that was in her cargo pants.
“Mac.” Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of wires and red lights flickering. The series of beeps grew faster. She shook her head and sheathed her gun. There was no fucking way their luck was this damn bad.
“Knight! Move. Now!” Mac yelled.
Jordan spun on her heel and drew on everything she had inside her to race up the stairs. She took them two at a time behind Mac, trying to put distance between them and the explosive.
“The door is rigged. Get away from it now!” Mac shouted into the comms.
The ground shook underneath them. Jordan cried out from the explosion. Her hand shot out and gripped the metal handrail. Her body fell back against the wall. She glanced back down where she had been standing moments before and couldn’t see anything through the dust and rubble.
Her eyes burned, and her chest grew tight. She coughed and tried to inhale, but she fell into another coughing fit. The dust was quickly filling the stairwell, making it hard to see and breathe.
“Knight. Are you good?” Mac asked.
Jordan pushed off the wall and stood. She could only make out his figure. Her legs trembled, but she gripped the handrail and started back up the stairs toward him.
“Yeah. What the fuck was that?”
“A fucking trap. They wanted us here,” Mac replied grimly. He stepped aside and allowed her to go up to the stairs above him.
She turned and flashed her light again into the rubble. The others wouldn’t be able to follow them. She swung around and shined her light up and took in another door.
“Guess we are going this way,” she murmured. She whipped out her gun and flipped off the safety. She took the first step but felt a firm hand on her shoulder.
“Behind me, Knight,” Mac growled. He raised his weapon and brushed past her.
They continued their journey. The higher they got, the air was easier to breathe. She slowed her breathing down to try to keep from coughing.
They finally arrived at the door. Mac glanced over his shoulder at her. She tightened her grip on her weapon. She was prepared for anything. Mac pushed on the lever, and at first it didn’t budge. He did it again, this time leaning into it with his shoulder, and it released.
Jordan took in the sun on the horizon. She snatched off her mask and inhaled sharply. The fresh air filtered through her lungs. She coughed and stumbled behind Mac as they exited the stairwell shaft.
“Where the fuck are we?” she muttered after finally getting her coughing under control. She immediately raised her gun and pivoted in a circle, taking in the dense woods.
“The prison is over there,” Mac pointed.
Jordan glanced in the direction of where he indicated. They had to be a couple of miles away from the prison, if not a little more.
Mac took a few steps away and held his hand to his ear. “Dec, come in.”
Static greeted Jordan in her ear. She grimaced and shied her head away. She pulled the comms out of her ear and replaced it.
“Dec, Iker. Can anyone read me?” Mac said.
Jordan, still not comfortable in their new setting, trained her gun and took a few steps around. If the gang had wanted them to come up the stairs and exit this way, then where were they? Where was Sergio? Viktor? Bravon?
She ambled around the little clearing they stood in and didn’t detect anyone near them. The sounds of the forest were the only thing she heard. She spun back to face Mac.
“Now what?”
“We can’t stay here. Let’s move,” Mac said. He scanned the area and nodded toward an overgrown path in the woods.
Jordan didn’t like the feeling she was getting, but she had no choice but to follow Mac. They couldn’t go back down the stairs to help out the guys.
Jordan gripped her gun. A bead of sweat traveled down her temple. Her heart pounded. This was definitely the most intense mission she’d ever been on. She was glad she had Mac at her side. He had been a trained soldier. A Navy SEAL. She would follow this man anywhere.
“Stay close to me,” he said. He paused and held up a fist. He swung around and took in the scenery behind her.
Jordan turned, aiming her gun. The hairs on the back of her neck rose.
“We are not alone,” he said.
“No shit. I feel it. Someone is watching us,” she said. Jordan wasn’t one to run from a fight, but today they would be outnumbered, and the only way to live to see another day would be to run.
“Move!” Mac pushed her in front of him.
Jordan didn’t have to be told twice. She picked up her pace to a slight jog. She had no idea where she was going. The woods were thick, and there were slight hills. She hopped over a small tree that had fallen. Mac was right behind her. The path finally ended, and it led them to a large tree that went high in the sky.
“I’m so fucking lost.” She spun around and faced Mac.
His infamous scowl was in place as he, too, scanned the area. There were nothing but trees and nature surrounding them. Jordan couldn’t see the prison any longer. Had they gone in the wrong direction?
“Dec, come in. Can you hear me?” Mac held his hand to his ear again. He walked a few steps away from her.
Jordan held her breath while she waited to hear her other sergeant’s voice, but nothing but static returned. She grimaced and pulled the communicator from her ear. It was dead. She slid it into her cargo pants pocket.
“It’s useless,” she said. “We have to get back to the prison. The guys are in trouble and need us.”
Jordan didn’t want to think of the hell the guys were going through. Had they been captured? Were they all still alive? Zain should have run to the door with her. He would be right here with her if he had. Anger pulsed in her chest at the thought of the stubborn man who wanted to provide cover for her to escape but ended up trapping himself.
Anger filled her at all of them. They should have waited until Declan and the others had arrived. They would all be standing here had they just waited. They could have fought off the enemy a little while longer to give the other members time to catch up to them.
They never left each other.
“They will be fine. They have been trained—” Mac’s voice cut off by the sounds of gunfire.
Jordan watched his body jerk forward as he was hit.
“Mac!” she screamed.
He fell to his knees and raised his gun, firing into the woods toward the perpetrator who had shot him. She raced forward and caught his body, but he was too heavy for her. They fell to the ground with him landing partially on her. She screamed again and pushed with all of her might to move the big man. Voices were coming toward them.
Jordan slid from underneath Mac. His eyes were closed, and his breaths were coming rapidly.
“Mac,” she said again.
She rolled him over onto his back. His eyes fluttered open. She ran her gaze over his body. Most of the bullets had hit his vest, but her gaze landed on his thigh. His pants were torn, and blood was pouring out of the wound.
“Oh, shit.”
The voices were getting closer.
Mac attempted to get up. He grimaced and swung his angry gaze to her.
“Run,” he bit out through gritted teeth.
“Are you fucking for real? I’m not leaving you,” she said.
The stubborn sergeant shuffled himself back until he could rest against the large tree near them.
“Hand me my gun,” he ordered. He pointed to where it had fallen a few feet from her.
She stretched and snatched it up and gave it to him. Pain crossed his face as he reached down for a new clip on his waist. He released the empty one and tossed it aside, slamming the new one in.
His gaze snapped to her again. “I said run, Knight. That’s an order.”
“No.” She shook her head.
Later, he could write her up for insubordination if he wanted to. There was no way in hell she was going run away and leave him to fend off whoever was coming. Jordan needed to find something to stop the flow of blood. She placed her gun on the ground and yanked off her boot. She snatched her sock off and was happy for once that she hadn’t worn ankle socks. She took her long sock and turned to Mac. “We have to stop this from bleeding, otherwise you are going to lose all of your blood.”
“You’re too stubborn for your own good, Knight.” Mac said. His intense gaze focused on something behind her.
She slid the sock underneath his leg and pulled it as hard as she could to wrap it around his thigh. It wasn’t quite long enough. She took off her other boot and sock. She tied her socks in a knot on one end to make them longer. She put it underneath Mac’s thigh and tied it as tight as she could above the wound like a tourniquet. It wasn’t the best thing she could have done, but it was something.
She quickly got her boots back on and picked up her gun.
“Can you get up?” she asked. The shouting was getting closer. She held out a hand to Mac. He would need to keep moving. She was not leaving another member of her team.
“I said keep going,” he growled. He ignored her outstretched hand and pushed off the ground. He fell back to the tree. Sweat coated his brow, the coloring slowly leaving his face.
“And I said not without you,” she snapped back.
She rested his arm around her shoulder and placed her hand around his waist. They began to walk, but Mac was losing his strength. They took a few steps, and he swayed.
“Don’t pass out on me. Please, Mac.”
She would beg him if she had to. He needed to keep moving.
“Go,” he mumbled. His eyes glassed over, and he fell against another tree that had been on his other side. He took his arm away from her shoulder.
Tears blurred her vision. She couldn’t leave him like this. He turned to place his back on the tree and slid to the ground. The warm trail of tears burned down her cheeks. This had to be a nightmare. She brushed the angry tears away. Her hands shook as she took her sergeant in. He was always strong, stubborn as a mule.
“If this is where you fight, then this is where I belong, too,” she said. Jordan knelt on the ground beside him and raised her gun toward the crashing in the woods. If they didn’t have a badge around their neck, she was pulling the trigger.
This was it.
“Knight, I just need to say?—”
“Save it, Mac. Tell me when we get home.” She brushed more tears away. She didn’t want to think that he may not make it. He was not giving her his last dying request or confession now. That day was reserved for when they were old, gray, and comparing their grandkids’ crazy antics.
“You are an asshole, Knight,” he muttered. He may not have had the strength to walk, but that didn’t keep him from aiming his gun.
Two guys exited the trees, guns raised. There was no question that they were Demon Lords. Jordan didn’t hesitate to pull her trigger. She and Mac fired their weapons. The men dropped down to the ground. Their screams echoed through the air.
“Bitch,” came a yell to Jordan’s right.
She swung around and fired again, hitting another one of Demon Lords. Mac’s gun continued to fire. Jordan ducked a bullet that came close to hitting her. She swung around and fired again. Her aim had been perfect. The gangster who had dared to shoot at her fell to the ground.
Jordan’s heart was in her throat. They only had so many bullets before they ran out.
“Put your gun down, Officer Knight. You and Sergeant MacArthur are surrounded. I promise you will not make it out of here alive if you keep firing,” a voice said.
Jordan glanced over at Mac. His arm was starting to waver. His dark hair was plastered to his head. He was white as a ghost. She reached over and pushed his arm down.
“All right. We give up,” Jordan said through clenched teeth. It pained her to do so, but surrendering now could mean they would live to fight another day.
“Very good. Now toss your weapons onto the ground,” the voice said.
Jordan yanked Mac’s gun from his hand. He narrowed his gaze on her. His head fell back to rest on the tree. Mac would fight until there was no breath left in his body, but she had a duty to protect him. Get him home to Sarena and their child. That was now her mission.
She tossed Mac’s gun down on the ground as well as hers.
“They are down,” Jordan shouted. She raised her hands and kept her palms outward facing.
More men dressed in the infamous dark clothing of the Demon Lords stepped out of the brush with their guns trained on them. They did have Jordan and Mac surrounded. She glared at them while waiting for the leader to present himself.
She didn’t have long to wait.
Sergio.
The motherfucker had a wide grin on his face. He barked a laugh and waved his gun toward her and Mac.
“The boss wants them alive,” he announced.
Jordan stiffened. The men came forward and reached for Mac.
“Don’t touch him!” she shouted. She jumped to her feet and pushed the men away who reached for a barely conscious Mac. Those damn angry tears blurred her vision. She landed a punch on one of the men but was grabbed from behind. She kicked and struggled to free herself as they dragged her away. “Mac!”
A burst of pain exploded on the back of her head, sending her into darkness.