Page 37 of Operation: Chosen

He slipped his hand around her slender waist and tugged her close. Saying “you’re welcome” seemed so silly compared to what he really felt inside. He was bending to show her how he felt instead, when he heard a car revved in the distance.

She gripped his arm and looked all around. “What’s that?”

Sound traveled far and could be disorienting down in the little valley where Wayside was situated, but this felt very close. “I don’t know.” He reached for his phone as an urgent text came through. “Connor says the gang members are back. I guess they must have thought they could get through if the guy working security couldn’t see their faces.”

An engine gunned, then metal crunched. “Are they trying to break through the gate?” She gripped his arm harder.

“I don’t know. I want you to go to Junior’s house. Stay there with Gabby and Terrell. Do not leave until I come get you. I’ve got to get the other boys into hiding.”

Ali stopped him with a whirlwind of a kiss, then raced off toward Junior’s house. He turned to get his bearings as he heard the car crash against the gate again, then it roared as the engine got louder.

They’d made it through the security gate, and Eric had seconds to warn Big E and Jayzon to take cover.

ChapterFifteen

Ali banged on Junior’s door once before it swung open. His wife Gabby stood there, her face pale. “Junior already headed up to the main house.”

“Can I come in?” She hoped Gabby would understand that after having a gun pointed at her by these same people, she didn’t want to be alone in her house. Especially since they knew which house was hers and they seemed to want to get on the property badly.

“Of course.” Gabby tugged her inside and closed the door.

Ali hadn’t realized when they’d sat together at the dining room table that Gabby was about a foot shorter than she was. She had rounded cheeks and narrow eyes that were even narrower when she was worried. “I don’t know what to do. I feel helpless,” Gabby said. She shoved aside the curtain in the front window, but all that showed was the row of cabins in front of them.

“Eric is going to check it out.” Ali slowly lowered into a chair and fought the roiling in her stomach. Eric, the one with only one good arm right now. Eric, the one she’d kissed just minutes before.

“I hope Connor gets everyone.” Gabby sat in the nearest chair with an exasperated huff. “I hate not knowing what’s going on.”

“Where’s Terrell?” Ali hadn’t seen him since she’d arrived, and he didn’t usually hide from her.

“Terrell?” Gabby called over her shoulder, raising her voice only a little to be heard in the back of the cabin.

There was no answer. “Terrell?” she said a little louder.

Ali stood and headed down the hall. She may not have been invited to do so, but she felt like watching the boy was part of the job Eric had entrusted her to do when he’d told her to come to this cabin. She pushed open the first door which should be a smaller bedroom if this cabin were like all the others. The room was empty with just a made bed, a dresser, and a television. The window curtain billowed in the breeze.

“Oh no…”

* * *

Eric’s armjarred with each step, but he pressed on. After his Army training, he was a somewhat ambidextrous shot, but not nearly as accurate as with his left. Unfortunately, his left arm was out of commission. As he rushed past the parking lot, the rumble of the coming car ground to a halt.

Shots broke the night, and Eric flung himself to the ground. There was no cover near him other than the darkness. As the shooting continued, the sound of scraping against the ground came closer. Eric tried to glance over his shoulder, but all he could see were the distant lights of the main house, scattered lights from the cabins, and one large light above the main barn.

Had they broken in from multiple points? He froze, trying to hear everything around him.

“Eric? Is that you?” Terrell’s muffled voice came from a few feet behind him.

“Terrell? What are you doing out here? They are coming for you!” How had he managed to get out of the cabin when Eric had told Ali to keep an eye on him?

“I escaped out the window. I heard them breaking through the gate and had to come help you.” He belly crawled until he came up alongside Eric. “So, what do we do now?”

He wanted to grab Terrell’s arm and race him back to the safety of Junior’s cabin. “Avoid being seen,” Eric answered, then listened for any of the other Wayside men to come or send word about what they could see.

Lights from a nearby ATV flashed on, then the engine started. Eric scrambled to get off the road and get Terrell away before they were exposed by the light. He squinted, focusing on the driver to figure out who it was. From the body shape, tall and broad, he guessed the driver was Connor.

Terrell muttered, “I heard Junior talking to the other two while I was sneaking by. They are all still in their cabin. Not sure if Junior was going to stay with them or just trust them to stay put.”

Eric gripped Terrell’s arm to get his attention. “I doubt he would blindly trust them. Even those who are showing they can be trusted didn’t follow orders tonight.”

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