Chapter 9 #2
Quinn practically fell off the rear seat, tumbling onto the concrete in a disheveled mess.
Coulter yanked him to his feet, shouldering half his weight, before helping him squeeze through the narrow opening.
Scout stopped at the exit, stitching more rounds across their six, cursing when her rifle clicked, the mag fully spent.
Another round caught her in the shoulder, knocking her on her ass, as the pain kicked out the last of her oxygen. She tried to gulp in a breath, but nothing got past the freezing weight of the heavy cloud weighing down her chest. Grabbing her hand, Quinn dragged her under the door.
Cold, fresh air lifted some of the effects, but pain still burned beneath her skin. He hauled her to her feet, half-carrying her across the pavement as they headed back toward the fence.
She tapped his shoulder halfway there, chest heaving, the containers still blurring at the edges. “I’m good.”
He snorted, shoved her ahead, blocking any possible shot from behind as they retraced their steps, squeezing back through that hole in the fence.
Coulter held one side wide, grabbing her hand when she nearly face-planted into the mud.
He ushered her forward, staying on Quinn’s six until they reached the SUVs.
The chassis rocked as they jumped in, Quinn sliding behind the wheel. He caught the keys Coulter tossed him as she fell across the rear bench seat, sliding into the far door as Quinn shot backwards before spinning the wheel, peeling out of the gravel spur.
He hit the asphalt as he popped it into second, tires slipping on the wet surface.
The rear end fishtailed, the entire vehicle shimmying along the road before he straightened it out, worked through the gears.
Neve’s vehicle appeared behind them, quickly eating up the distance as they raced along the winding highway, waves crashing against the rocks, more rain already splattering across the windshield.
Lights reflected in the rearview, illuminating half of Quinn’s face as he glanced back, cursed. He tapped on the nav, quickly scrolling ahead before focusing on the road, the speedometer pegged at some insane speed.
He lowered the window, waved his arm out the side, slowing just enough to skid onto an old logging road, gravel spitting out from beneath the tires, a water bottle on the floorboards skittering across the vinyl.
Neve followed after him, headlights bouncing, a cloud of dirt and pine needles billowing out behind her. Quinn kept up the speed, skidding through some washboard, then bouncing onto another track, branches and brush whipping against the side of the vehicle, the ends scraping across the windshield.
Those headlights returned, farther back, but not gone, following their movements as if they already knew where Quinn was heading.
Quinn looked back at her. “You still seeing double?”
She straightened, all those kinetic impacts still messing with her breathing. “Twenty-twenty.”
“Good.” He lowered the rear driver’s window. “I think we’ve got that drone out my side. No way Coulter can get a bead on it without sitting on the door frame, and in these conditions, that’s a bit insane, even for you guys.”
Scout slid over, clicked in her last mag. “It’s dark as shit out there, and the damn canopy’s super thick.”
Quinn spared her a quick glance over his shoulder. “So, do some of that soldier crap that always impresses the hell out of me.”
She rolled her eyes, a smile tugging at her mouth as she repositioned her body until she had the scope pressed to her eye, most of the barrel inside the vehicle instead of getting pelted with pine branches.
She scanned the canopy, switching to thermal when a blip hovered on the edge of her view before sliding left.
She followed it as it darted in and out of focus, hiding behind the thick foliage before appearing in an opening for maybe a second, then vanishing again, the rain and the fog messing with the thermal and night vision.
The icy drops cooled her skin, the cold wind numbing her fingers when she got a break in the canopy, the heat on the drone lighting up her scope.
She panned forward, judging the distance before exhaling — squeezing the trigger. The rifle kicked against her shoulder, the thut sounding through the cabin as the drone flipped over, spinning erratically a few times before crashing into the trees.
Quinn whistled. “See? Impressed. Now, hold on. We still need to lose those bastards.”
He picked it up, taking the corners a bit sharper, driving like he saw the road a few seconds in advance.
Neve kept pace, following his line, somehow keeping her vehicle upright and moving despite the ruts and washouts.
They crossed a culvert, water raging down the far side, a few deep tracks eroding the edge.
Quinn hit the brakes, skidded to a halt in a spray of mud and gravel. He jumped out, waved Neve on, then disappeared behind the vehicle. Scout peered out the back, but the glow from the taillights simply lit up the fog, throwing the light back at her.
She started a mental countdown, ready to jump out, fire at the oncoming truck when Quinn sprinted back, sliding in and peeling out as the culvert blew behind them, shooting muddy water and chunks of metal into the air.
The ground shook, some debris falling on top of the SUV as they barreled down the track, those headlights fading into the rearview.
Neve waited up ahead, once again falling in behind Quinn as he drove past, taking a route Scout hadn’t known connected to the forest main all the way back to the bunker.
The sun had already crested the trees, painting the foliage a deep orange as he parked in the same carport where he’d made love to her earlier, Coulter’s truck taking up the other space, his rear window now sporting plastic and tape.
Coulter stepped out, shaking his head as he rounded the vehicle. “I gotta say, brother, I’m not sure if you’re crazy good or just plain nuts.” He slapped Quinn on the shoulder. “Welcome to Black Hollow, Quinn. You’re gonna fit right in.”
Quinn looked over at her as Coulter met up with Neve, kissing her as if he hadn’t expected to ever see her again, then headed for the door. “Does this mean I get to know the super-secret handshake now?”
Scout leaned against the vehicle. “Only if you kiss me like that.”
He grinned, took the three steps separating them before sliding one hand around the back of her neck as the other wrapped around her waist, tugging her against his chest as his lips slanted over hers, his tongue delving inside.
Scout urged him closer, drowning in his taste until he finally pulled back, brushing this thumb across her mouth.
He sighed. “Talk about crazy…” He rested his forehead on hers. “I swear you scared a few years off my life, tonight. Seeing those bullets in your vest. I bet your ribs are screaming.”
“Not when you’re kissing me. Besides, it’s no worse than all those lacerations still oozing down your skin.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. And I’ll let Shepherd know he needs to order a dozen vests for you, too.”
She laughed, taking his hand as they headed inside. Gideon and Darwin met them in the kitchen arms crossed, eyes narrowed.
Darwin cocked his head to the side. “Wynn said you took a few hits.”
Scout sighed, flashing Wynn a stink-eye. “Vest held. I’m sure it’s just some bruising.”
“You know the drill.” Darwin shifted his gaze to Quinn. “You, too, Mountie. I can see the shrapnel wounds from here. And that was apparently before you crashed headlong into a blast door. You’ll be lucky if you didn’t break anything.”
Quinn shrugged. “Seemed like a good idea at the time.”
“Risks generally do until they bite you in the ass.” Darwin raked his hand through his hair, tousling it about his head before straightening his glasses.
“Though, I suppose you’re lucky you left when you did.
Word just came across the wire. They apparently had a massive chemical leak that leveled the entire warehouse.
Local fire says it might take all night to put it out. ”
Scout cursed. “Guess she wasn’t kidding when she said to burn it all to the ground.”
Gideon stepped forward. “She?”
Scout glanced at her teammates then back to Gideon. “Yeah, so good news, bad news. The good news is, Zadie downloaded a bunch of files from a server hub before it was purged.”
A throat cleared behind them as Gus and Kane stood in the hallway, staring.
Gus arched a brow. “And the bad news?”
Scout pushed out a breath. “One of her men rummaged through Quinn’s Silverado when we had to abandon it on that spur. They know who he is, that Brea’s his sister, and based on what she said, this show’s just getting started.”