Reckless Abandon (Phantom Protector Book 1) (19 page)

“Let’s just say Jonah wasn’t very impressed with
our new offices. I think he’s still sneezing from all of the dust.”

Jamie raised her brow. “That should be
interesting.”

The general pointed to the red dots outside
their perimeter. “These are the latest heat signatures we pulled from
satellite. I’m sure they are waiting for the attack signal, but we aren’t going
to give them the chance. We are going to slip out of the tunnel and take them
down before they even know what hit them.” He pointed to the left side of the
field. “Brody,
Lydia,
Thompson, and I will disable these guys. It’s going to be about twenty against the
four of us.”

Brody nodded. “Sounds about even to me, since we
have superman”—He pointed to Thompson—“on our side. He can suck their powers,
and Lydia
and I can toss them around like puppets, and that will leave you to watch our
backs.”

The general grinned. “I was thinking the same
thing.”

He pointed to the other side of the compound,
where the thickest of the tree line runs. “Ridge, Jamie, and Briggs will take
this side. There are only five heat signatures, and between your abilities, you
should be able to handle those with no problems.”

The general slid black boxes to everyone at the
table. “Use your earpieces to communicate and report if you have any problems.”

They each opened the boxes and slid the comms
into place. “Jonah will do his best to be our eyes in the sky. He’ll be
monitoring as much as he can with the limited equipment and reception he has.”

They all stood.
 
Jamie reached for her bag and pulled out her shoulder holster. She slid
it on and secured the weapons into the slots. She pulled out her belt and
threaded it to her waist. Two knife pouches hung loose, one on each side. She
turned to Briggs. “How are you on weapons?”

He grinned. He pulled her into his arms and
pressed his lips to hers in front of God and everyone. She ignored the catcalls
that echoed in the room. The move was so out of character for the silent giant
she remained silent and stunned, even as he released her. “I’ve got three guns
on my body and you by my side. I couldn’t ask for more.”

Her heart raced, her adrenalin went into
overdrive…the fight…the kiss…probably both. Briggs kept his gaze glued to hers.
His eyes deepened in color, rolling with a depth of emotion she could feel down
to her core. She loved this man and there wasn’t a thing she wouldn’t do for
him. The thought scared her, and going into a battle, it wasn’t a good feeling.

Brody strolled up beside her and threw his arm
around her shoulder. “You two love birds ready?”

Max cleared his throat and held out his hand to
Jamie. “As ready as I’ll ever be. Let’s get moving. The sooner we get this
done, the quicker I can get you back to Sarah, just like I promised.”

Jamie placed her fingers in Max’s hand. He
squeezed and led the way out of the room. “Which way to the tunnels?”

The general walked past them and down the
corridor toward the living quarters. He descended the stairs that led to the
storage area. He flipped the light switch on at the bottom of the stairs. Jamie
glanced around at where green storage containers had stood only a week before.
The space was empty now other than a set of shelves pushed up against the wall.
Empty cans sat open on the metal. She glanced around at her friends, no, her
family, who were about to be in a fight for their lives.

The general pushed the metal shelving unit to
the side. The empty cans fell clanking to the ground. He ran his hand along the
brick exterior and slid his fingers to an alcove in the grout. Leaning back, he
pulled with the all of his strength.

A portion of the wall slid open, just like she’d
seen before when she and Brody had stumbled upon the little secret. That had
been before the shelf unit sat in front of it. When they were still green
around the gills, they’d gone exploring. Their curiosity had gotten the better
of them and they’d snuck into the storage room and opened one of the green
containers. Brody had picked up one of the knives inside and used the wall as
target practice. He’d bet her five bucks that he could get the knife between
the grooves, and he had. When he tried to pull the knife free, a section of
bricks had moved. They’d been shocked when they found the secret exit and had
never told another soul about it in all of their years at the facility. The
secret exit must have been one the General had forgotten about. It was a secret
that everyone in the compound now knew existed.

It had been an accidental find at the time, but
it would come to save their lives today. At least she hoped. She said a silent
prayer for her friends as they each maneuvered through the tunnel. The cobwebs
and rubble from years before had since been cleaned out, no doubt when they started
the evacuation. Flashlights were held to wall in clips bolted to the stone just
inside the corridor. Each of them grabbed one and flicked them on.

The general whispered, “When we get to the end,
everyone goes black. Leave the flashlights in the tunnel. They won’t even see
us coming until it’s too late.”

Butterflies assaulted Jamie’s midsection. She’d
been in fights before, but never one as important as this one. Her heart
thundered in her chest. She was sure it echoed to everyone around her. Max grabbed
her hand and brought it up to his lips. He pressed a kiss to her palm. “We’ve
got this.”

Ridge grunted from behind them.

Max glanced back at the twin. “You know, I don’t
think anyone has ever told me what your gift is. What is it that you can do?”

Ridge chuckled. “Let’s just say I can provide a
bolt when needed.”

Jamie raised her brow. As long as she’d been at
the compound, she’d never seen Ridge use his gift. She hadn’t even been sure he
had one. He’d always kept to himself, never showing any emotion until recently.

The end of the tunnel was covered in green
shrubs, hiding them from the forest beyond.

“Time to go dark,” the general ordered. They
each turned off their flashlights and set them down. Her eyes tried to adjust
to what little moonlight was shining through the shrubs. “Everyone remember the
plan?”

Jamie pulled one of her guns from the holster
and ejected the clip to make sure it had plenty of ammo. She shoved the clip
back in and nodded.

“We’ll rendezvous at the hanger on the other
side of the field.”

They all went their instructed way, maneuvering
as silently as they could through the forest; guided by the light of the semi-full
moon. Her heart raced as she questioned her ability. Her gifts were useless in
a fight. Healing and manipulating emotions would only get her so far. She
steadied her thoughts, remembering all of her combat training. She could do
this. She would do this.

They slowed and used hand signals as they got
closer to where the heat signatures had been. She glanced up at the tall trees,
making sure no one was hiding above to ambush them. She tried to control her
breathing and be as quiet as she could as they tiptoed behind three of the men
that were gathered. She glanced at Ridge. He held up three fingers. She
maneuvered behind a tree trunk and glanced around, looking for the other man.
She spotted him off in the distance. She held up one finger and pointed off in
the distance. She pointed at Ridge and Max and then to the three men. She
pointed at her chest and then to the man farther away.

He nodded. Max’s eyes widened as he shook his
head. He didn’t want her to go alone, not knowing where the fifth man was, but
he didn’t have a choice. It was going to take Ridge and Max to take down the
three steroid-induced men standing together.

She nodded and narrowed her eyes. He narrowed
his gaze back. She kissed his cheek and then sprinted away. When she got closer
to the lone man; she darted behind a tree, pressing her back into the bark.
Shit. Where’s the fifth.
She pulled the
gun from her ankle holster and slid it into the waistband of her jeans, just in
case she needed quick access.

She lowered to a crouch behind the brush and
pulled one of the knives from its sheath. She glanced around once more, still
not seeing the other goon that the heat signature on the map had shown. She
lifted her arm, took aim, and released. The knife sliced silently though the
air. She knew where it would hit before it ever even made contact. It pierced
her target’s chest dead center, straight through to where his heart beat.

He collapsed to the ground. His body went limp
as he lay dead on the ground.
One down,
one to go.

She pulled the other knife from its sheath. She
pushed up from the ground, only to be stopped by an arm around her throat and
the silencer end of a gun shoved against her temple. “Nice throw,” the
unfamiliar voice said. “Now drop it.”

She shook her head and held the knife firmly in
her hand. She reached up to the arm that was suffocating her and clutched the
muscles that threatened to collapse her windpipe.

“I said drop it, or I shoot you now.”

She gasped for air. Her mind darted through all
the scenarios imagining how they’d play out. There was only one where she was
still left alive, and it didn’t include her losing her knife.

She turned the knife in her hand. The deadly
blade now facing her assailant she shoved it back as hard as she could. It
wouldn’t kill him, but it was enough to shock the hell out of him. His hold on
her neck loosened. She grabbed his arm and used all of her might to throw him
over her shoulder, grabbing the gun from his hand as he landed with a thump on
the ground in front of her.

She straddled the man, pointing his own weapon
at his head. “Where is Floyd?” she demanded.

He didn’t respond. She twisted the knife.
Screams of pain left the man’s throat as he reached up to grab her hand in an
attempt to stop her. “Where is he!”

Her assailant’s eyes darted in the direction of
the three men that Ridge and Max were going to fight.

“Oh god,” she whispered. She lifted the gun and
swung it back down, hitting the man’s head with the butt. His arms fell to his
side, and his eyes slid to the back of his head.

She pushed herself up to her feet, took a deep
breath, and then ran back the direction that she’d come. She reached up and clicked
her earpiece. “Floyd is on this side of the field.” She didn’t listen for a
response. Her breathing was heavy as was her chest tried to replace the needed
air. Dread filled every fiber of her being. She stopped, dropped, and inched
closer to the worst scene she could have ever imagined.

Ridge lay on the ground, completely unconscious
but breathing. She could see the rise and fall of his chest. Floyd had Max by
his throat and lifted into the air, his feet dangling. Max had his hands around
Floyd’s grip, trying unsuccessfully to remove the fingers that were choking
him.

Jamie lifted the gun and moved from her hiding
spot. “Drop him.”

Floyd’s gaze darted to her. “Ah, there you are,
little healer. I knew you’d come.”

“I said drop him.”

Floyd dropped Max to the ground. He rolled onto
his side and gasped for air. “He’s too easy to kill anyway. He doesn’t even
have a gift.” He pointed to where Ridge laid unmoving. “Unlike him. I think I
might enjoy being able to use his.”

Jamie’s impulse was to hurry to Max’s side. She
took two steps and stopped.

Floyd held up a finger that he swayed back and
forth. “Uh-uh-uh.”

Floyd reached down and pulled Max up. He placed
his arm around Max’s throat. “You can’t help him, little healer. I’ll kill him
first.”

“You won’t get the chance.”

Jamie was a master shot. She’d take Floyd down
even if she had to shoot through Max to do it. As long as Max stood still, she
didn’t have to worry about hitting any major arteries. Jamie’s finger itched on
the trigger as she aimed. Before she could pull the trigger, the gun was
wrenched by an unseen force from her hands and went flying into the forest of
trees. Jamie almost dropped to her knees.

“Surprised?” Floyd asked with a grin on his
face. “I can do a lot more than throw a gun a few feet away with my powers.” He
placed both palms on either side of Briggs’ face. Max’s hands went to Floyd’s
in an attempt to remove his grip. Dread filled her. She knew that was the same maneuver
she’d use to break someone’s neck.

She straightened. “You think you know everything,
but you don’t.”

Floyd stilled, but the grin remained. “You think
you know more than me, healer?”

Jamie’s legs were shaking, but she wouldn’t give
him the satisfaction of showing she was scared. She widened her stance and
crossed her arms over her chest. “I know about Alicia.”

Max screamed. “Jamie, no!”

“Shut up,” Floyd said as he pressed down harder
on Max’s temples.

Jamie held out her palm to stop him, and Floyd
hesitated. Jamie held Max’s gaze. She silently pleaded with him to understand
what she was about to do next.

She moved her hands behind her back and started pacing
slowly. “I know all about how you were married to Alicia and how you killed
her.”