28. Tyson
TWENTY-EIGHT
TYSON
One second, we’re cruising through the mountains, Carter taking the chance to feel the freedom on her skin, and the next, we’re staged on the side of the road, ready to let bullets fly in order to preserve her life.
In no world is this fucking normal, but I didn’t relearn how to walk, cross the country, and kidnap the girl of my dreams just to lose her when things get a little tough.
Preparing for this kind of thing came with the territory of rescue, and thankfully, we have enough firepower to down one car full of goons until we reach the next safe house I set up.
Her father was never letting his best asset go without a fight, and as the two best soldiers draw their weapons, I do the same, the three of us aiming for whoever dares to disrupt our chance at a new life.
“Two out,” Massi says, staring straight ahead until we see the faint glow of headlights, his counts always dead-on accurate.
Since we started running missions together, we came up with a system, a way to communicate how far away our enemies were, and to this day, it’s like muscle memory.
One measurement is one shot. Two means they are two shots away, our little language meant to determine how many bullets we’d need, or how close our targets are based on how many shots it’d take to immobilize them.
It’s our own form of clicks, like soldiers use in the services, but still just as effective if you understand it, and this code is what’s kept Massi and I alive through many, many battles.
“Carter, stay low,” I warn, not wanting her to be seen before we get off a few shots, and her eyes quickly meet mine, but instead of arguing, she takes my word, ducking to the ground in a crouching position.
“On my count. Carter, don’t move until I say three, understand?” Massi coldly commands, the blood-thirsty killer that lives inside of him being activated right before our eyes.
“Two hostiles,” I inform, seeing two shadows moving in the vehicle, but none coming from the backseat.
This is a scouting mission, meaning this won’t be our only fight, but the second those two car doors open, Massi begins the countdown, and I take a deep breath, knowing that I’m shooting to kill.
“One.”
There’s no torture room, or a place to drag their limp bodies in order to extract information, there’s only the battlefield, and either we kill these men, or they take our most precious asset – Carter.
“Two.”
One thing is for certain, their orders aren’t to kill her, so that immediately gives us the upper hand once the bullets start flying, but any scenario where the three of us don’t come out of this unscathed is just unacceptable.
“Three.”
As soon as those two syllables leave his lips, Carter pops up from the ground, and bullets fly through the air, the sound enough to cause a ringing in my ears, but we outnumber them, and my only focus is on the two figures in the distance.
Carter and Massi barely blink, their shots landing close in succession on the mirrors, doors, and shattering glass right out of the windows, but I’m missing the targets by a mile, my head foggy as I fall into a state of panic.
The last time we had bullets flying at our heads, Carter was taken, Massi was forever damaged, and I nearly died.
The stakes are arguably higher this time, as we know what happens if Carter disappears again, but that fact only heightens my nerves, my hands shaking each time I pull the trigger.
“Massi, I’m useless!” I yell, but he’s so caught up in the moment he doesn’t hear me over the gunshots, and as I look to Carter for reassurance, a flash of red steals my vision, and every single ounce of oxygen from my lungs.
Her petite body disappears in an instant, only a swift tuft of dark hair sweeping through my line of sight, and just like that, the space where she was just standing is empty, a darkness in its place as the world around me goes black.
Reaching my hands out, I try to find something to ground myself, to keep from falling into a frozen state, but Carter’s limp body, lying helpless on the ground is the only image in my head, and I slide down into the dirt, unable to fight, breathe, or save her.