Page 71 of The Reaper

“She’s beautiful, Archer,” Grandma said, admiring Zero’s rich brown skin and long black hair. “She’s so young.”

“She will pick you up in forty-five minutes. Don’t do anything without her, please.”

They both nodded before rushing to hug me.

“We have to keep going,” Tobias said.

“Okay,” I agreed, and the three of us ran to the road.

“Now what?” Heath asked as we reached the car.

“We fight.” I opened my motorcycle’s compartment and took an inventory of my weapons.

“What do you have over there?” I asked Tobias, pointing at the SUV.

“A lot,” he said. “Rifles, pistols, grenades, knives, bulletproof vest.”

“Good.” I handed Heath two pistols, which he tucked into his waistband. I did the same. “Let’s drive seven or eight miles north of here. We’ll make our stand far away from my grandparents.”

They looked at each other and nodded.

“We have better chances if we make them come to us so we can control the surroundings,” I explained.

“So, twelve versus the three of us? Not the kind of odds I like, but I’m ready,” Tobias said.

“Four of us. The woods are on our side.” I pointed to the trees lining the road for miles. Our only odds of having a fighting chance against a group of assassins was if we used the woods to our advantage.

“Let’s go get ’em,” Heath said.

We hopped on the bike and let Tobias follow us.

Eight miles north, we parked the bike and the SUV on the side of the road, making it easier for El Jefe and the gang to find us in our territory. Tobias handed us various weapons, loading us up with everything we could carry. We strapped knives to our ankles, and swung AK-47s over our shoulders, before filling our pockets with ammo.

“Are you ready?” I asked once we had everything.

“Bring ’em on,” Tobias said.

“Ready,” Heath concurred.

I leaned over and wrapped an arm around Tobias, tapping his back. “Let’s stay alive, brother.”

“Let’s.”

Heath pulled me in for a kiss and I cherished his lips on mine. “Don’t die,” he whispered, bringing our foreheads together.

“I’ll try. You too, okay.” I stole another kiss. Heath’s eyes danced with emotion and I struggled to find the words I wanted to say to him.

“Tell me later,” he said, sensing the battle in my heart.

“I will.”

“Let’s spread out,” Tobias suggested, and we scattered, finding cover. Stay alive. That was the goal.

I leaned against the trunk of a giant pine tree, facing away from the road. I held the AK-47 close to my chest, waiting for the fuckers to show up. They would be here any moment, and we were ready for them. I couldn’t fucking believe El Jefe pretended like he didn’t know what was going on. So much for considering me a son.

I searched for Heath and found him about a hundred yards away from me. He peeked to his side, perhaps looking for me, and I gave him a thumbs-up when our eyes connected. Soft whistling coming from the trees above caught our attention. Heath pointed up to my left, where Tobias had camped on one of the thick branches.

Heavy tires crunched the ground and several cars rolled to a stop. I motioned to my eye then pointed to the road to let Heath and Tobias know they’d arrived. They nodded, turning toward the newcomers’ direction, ready for combat. One by one, the doors opened and shut. They didn’t even try to conceal their arrival. They clearly had underestimated us. The snapping of twigs and voices grew louder as they neared us.

---