He shifted his hold on me and some of my adrenaline drained away when I realized that fighting against him was futile. One of his beefy arms locked around mine and he used his free hand to wind my thick hair up in his fist, so that I couldn’t head-butt him or bite at him. He didn’t have to struggle very hard to corral me into a submissive position.
“Listen, fireball, this could be fun if we were both naked and redheads were my jam but we aren’t and that Irish in you doesn’t do it for me. Calm down and breathe for a hot second and I’ll let you go.”
I scowled up at him and tried to work my leg into position so I could get my knee between his legs. He blocked the move and growled at me to knock my shit off. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I will. I don’t know who you are or what kind of fresh hell you brought with you up this mountain, but there’s a government-sanctioned raid about to pop off on that compound in less than three minutes and your happy ass has wandered into the perimeter. You need to get gone before the good guys mistake you for a bad guy.”
I went limp in his hold, hanging there like a ragdoll. He had to adjust his grip on me to keep me from hitting the ground.
He grunted and gave me a little shake as he asked, “Hey, you okay?” I shook my head slowly and started to push his hands away.
“What do you mean there’s a raid happening?” I knew what the words meant but they sounded like an alien language.
“I’d pull out my badge and show it to you, but those fuckers at the camp caught me snooping around a week or so ago. They worked me over, put a bullet in my chest, and dumped me in the river. Idiots didn’t check for Kevlar. I was pretty messed up and really fucking lost. It took me a week to find my way to a phone, and a few more days to convince my boss to send a crew in. Usually, these clandestine grow operations aren’t a big deal, but this one,” he shook his head and rubbed at his camo painted chin. “This one has ties to the big boys in Mexico and they aren’t scared to add to an already out of control body count. You need to get out of here before the flashbangs start to go off and chaos takes over the mountain.”
Back on my feet, I stumbled away from him and bent over so I could put my hands on my knees. “You wouldn’t happen to be Wyatt Bryant, would you?” It seemed like such a long shot but the way he talked, and the fact that his concern seemed to be for me and not the fact I’d tried to take him out with a WWE move, made me wonder.
I saw his eyes widen and his jaw clench at my question. “Why would you ask me that?”
I let my head fall forward and struggled to get my composure back together. “Because I’ve spent the last week with your brother and your partner searching these woods for any sign of you. They know bodies have been turning up in the river and Webb is convinced one of them is yours. Grady had to quit his job in order to come looking for you. They were worried sick when you didn’t check in. Chaos has already ripped this mountain apart and you, sir, are right at the goddamn center of it.”
Webb’s brother stared at me for a long silent second and then threw his hands up above his head as he started pacing back and forth in front of me. “Fucking Webb. That goddamn kid will never learn. Impulsive as shit, and unstoppable when he gets his mind set to something. I can’t believe Grady played into his bullshit.”
“His bullshit just saved my best friend’s life. Those guys at the camp took her and a local rancher as hostage.” I lifted my eyebrows. “Your partner and the rancher’s brother went into the camp to get them back. I bet you know what would have happened to all them if they were there when your raid started. You brother is reckless but sometimes someone has to be.”
He swore again and continued to pace. “I’m the one who dropped the bodies in the water. The guy in charge of the camp and the grow field sent a couple lackeys to ditch me in the river. I played dead until we got to the shore and then I tried to turn them. Promised them immunity and green cards if they would lead me to the people who set up the operation. It’s too well funded to be some fly-by-night dealers. They were either too scared or too loyal to talk. They wouldn’t give it up and, unfortunately, they tried to finish the job they started at the camp. It was me or them and I’m always going to pick me.”
I snorted. “So does your brother and apparently, your partner . . . they pick you, too.”
He opened his mouth to retort but ended up swearing and jumping back a foot as the ground right in front of his feet exploded upward. The ricochet sent dirt kicking up in my direction so I took a step back toward the rocks. Webb’s brother dove for the pistol he dropped to catch me and swore long and loud as a bullet dug into the ground inches away from his fingertips.
I looked up at the rock surface and saw Ten standing at the top, her weapon trained on the man who was now lying at my feet. She looked like an ancient warrior queen, ready to defend her territory and punish the intruder.
I called up to her, “He’s with the DEA, so you probably want to stop shooting at him.” She made a face at me and I shrugged. “He’s Webb’s brother. Apparently, he just has a really shitty sense of direction and got himself lost out here, but now the troops are on their way in. I hope they’re in time to save your brother, Special Agent Bryant, because he gave up pretty much everything to try and save you, even though he didn’t know if you were still breathing or not.”
“Webb is clear. He had a few guys hot on his tail when he darted back into the trees, but most of the bad guys turned around to return fire when I started shooting. This spot is compromised so we should move.” Wyatt’s painted eyebrows lifted at her bossy tone and that distorted smile flashed through the face paint covering his features. Ten looked between the two of us with a sharp frown. “There still was no sign of the older guy and Sutton. That’s bad news because there is no way Cy is going to leave his brother in the middle of that shit show. We need to go find your friend and make sure our hero doesn’t end up on the wrong end of a DEA strike.”
“Listen, fireball, this could be fun if we were both naked and redheads were my jam but we aren’t and that Irish in you doesn’t do it for me. Calm down and breathe for a hot second and I’ll let you go.”
I scowled up at him and tried to work my leg into position so I could get my knee between his legs. He blocked the move and growled at me to knock my shit off. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I will. I don’t know who you are or what kind of fresh hell you brought with you up this mountain, but there’s a government-sanctioned raid about to pop off on that compound in less than three minutes and your happy ass has wandered into the perimeter. You need to get gone before the good guys mistake you for a bad guy.”
I went limp in his hold, hanging there like a ragdoll. He had to adjust his grip on me to keep me from hitting the ground.
He grunted and gave me a little shake as he asked, “Hey, you okay?” I shook my head slowly and started to push his hands away.
“What do you mean there’s a raid happening?” I knew what the words meant but they sounded like an alien language.
“I’d pull out my badge and show it to you, but those fuckers at the camp caught me snooping around a week or so ago. They worked me over, put a bullet in my chest, and dumped me in the river. Idiots didn’t check for Kevlar. I was pretty messed up and really fucking lost. It took me a week to find my way to a phone, and a few more days to convince my boss to send a crew in. Usually, these clandestine grow operations aren’t a big deal, but this one,” he shook his head and rubbed at his camo painted chin. “This one has ties to the big boys in Mexico and they aren’t scared to add to an already out of control body count. You need to get out of here before the flashbangs start to go off and chaos takes over the mountain.”
Back on my feet, I stumbled away from him and bent over so I could put my hands on my knees. “You wouldn’t happen to be Wyatt Bryant, would you?” It seemed like such a long shot but the way he talked, and the fact that his concern seemed to be for me and not the fact I’d tried to take him out with a WWE move, made me wonder.
I saw his eyes widen and his jaw clench at my question. “Why would you ask me that?”
I let my head fall forward and struggled to get my composure back together. “Because I’ve spent the last week with your brother and your partner searching these woods for any sign of you. They know bodies have been turning up in the river and Webb is convinced one of them is yours. Grady had to quit his job in order to come looking for you. They were worried sick when you didn’t check in. Chaos has already ripped this mountain apart and you, sir, are right at the goddamn center of it.”
Webb’s brother stared at me for a long silent second and then threw his hands up above his head as he started pacing back and forth in front of me. “Fucking Webb. That goddamn kid will never learn. Impulsive as shit, and unstoppable when he gets his mind set to something. I can’t believe Grady played into his bullshit.”
“His bullshit just saved my best friend’s life. Those guys at the camp took her and a local rancher as hostage.” I lifted my eyebrows. “Your partner and the rancher’s brother went into the camp to get them back. I bet you know what would have happened to all them if they were there when your raid started. You brother is reckless but sometimes someone has to be.”
He swore again and continued to pace. “I’m the one who dropped the bodies in the water. The guy in charge of the camp and the grow field sent a couple lackeys to ditch me in the river. I played dead until we got to the shore and then I tried to turn them. Promised them immunity and green cards if they would lead me to the people who set up the operation. It’s too well funded to be some fly-by-night dealers. They were either too scared or too loyal to talk. They wouldn’t give it up and, unfortunately, they tried to finish the job they started at the camp. It was me or them and I’m always going to pick me.”
I snorted. “So does your brother and apparently, your partner . . . they pick you, too.”
He opened his mouth to retort but ended up swearing and jumping back a foot as the ground right in front of his feet exploded upward. The ricochet sent dirt kicking up in my direction so I took a step back toward the rocks. Webb’s brother dove for the pistol he dropped to catch me and swore long and loud as a bullet dug into the ground inches away from his fingertips.
I looked up at the rock surface and saw Ten standing at the top, her weapon trained on the man who was now lying at my feet. She looked like an ancient warrior queen, ready to defend her territory and punish the intruder.
I called up to her, “He’s with the DEA, so you probably want to stop shooting at him.” She made a face at me and I shrugged. “He’s Webb’s brother. Apparently, he just has a really shitty sense of direction and got himself lost out here, but now the troops are on their way in. I hope they’re in time to save your brother, Special Agent Bryant, because he gave up pretty much everything to try and save you, even though he didn’t know if you were still breathing or not.”
“Webb is clear. He had a few guys hot on his tail when he darted back into the trees, but most of the bad guys turned around to return fire when I started shooting. This spot is compromised so we should move.” Wyatt’s painted eyebrows lifted at her bossy tone and that distorted smile flashed through the face paint covering his features. Ten looked between the two of us with a sharp frown. “There still was no sign of the older guy and Sutton. That’s bad news because there is no way Cy is going to leave his brother in the middle of that shit show. We need to go find your friend and make sure our hero doesn’t end up on the wrong end of a DEA strike.”
