Page 70 of Operation: Chosen

Ali swallowed hard, measuring her words. No manipulation, just honesty. And if anything happened to them, Eric would die knowing she wished she could go back and change what she’d done. She would go back and say yes. Maybe her fears wouldn’t have clung to her so tightly if she’d dealt with them when she was younger and at the side of someone who cared.

“I grew up poor, Indie. My mama was a drug addict, and my daddy died when I was almost too young to remember him. I never had new clothes for school. A lot of times, I was too afraid to use the shower at home, not because anything was ever done to me in the bathroom, but because it’s a place of vulnerability and I refused to be vulnerable.”

Jayzon frowned. “You got money now. I seen your car.”

She nodded. “Yes. I have a lot of things, but I wasn’t happy getting them…and I’m not happy now. Everything I had, I was afraid of losing. That made me work hard to keep it all. I never enjoyed any of the things I bought because there was so much fear.”

Big E slowly shook his head. “That ain’t me. I ain’t afraid. And if I get money, I’ll enjoy spending all of it.”

“I didn’t think I was afraid either. I was so caught in the trap that, until I stepped outside of my regular life, I didn’t realize I was even in one. That’s you right now. The difference is that you could make a difference. You could be free. But not if you stay with the gang.”

Eric squeezed her arm, and she stopped talking. “Big E, I’ll do what I can to help you, butyou’vegot to help you first by walking away from this.”

“E!” someone called from behind the shed. “Anyone in there? You looking for them in the shed?”

Big E lowered his pistol, stuck his head inside and made a point to look back and forth. He backed out and raised his hand like he wanted someone to stop. “I looked. They aren’t here. I’ll check back in the horse trailer. They couldn’t have gone far.”

Big E slowly closed the door, and Ali rested against the strength of Eric’s back, laying her forehead against his shoulder. He’d protected her with his body the whole time. She held her breath, waiting for the waves of nausea and tension to pass. Voices kept talking right outside in mumbles too low to hear. She wouldn’t speak and give them away. Not when Indie had saved them. If she blew it, that would hurt him too.

Eric’s body was rigid with tension, and he still held his arm out, protecting her against anyone who could open the door. How could she have ever thought he wouldn’t do enough for her? How could she have thought so little of him? He’d been everything for her, right up until she’d met Frank and had realized one of them would help her career without question while the other didn’t seem quite so sure.

The voices moved away from the door, but she was terrified to open it and find Indie had set them up. That would be so easy and the perfect way to prove to his brother that he could be trusted. She kept her voice low. “We need to get him out of here. When they discover he lied, he’ll be in just as much danger as we are.”

Eric gave a single nod of agreement. “Herb made his choice. He wanted the profit. You sleep in the bed you make, and the potential danger is what he’ll reap. I wish he’d just stuck with the auctions he used to do.”

Ali could imagine what Eric was going through. Watching someone you liked and respected go down a path they can’t turn away from was almost as difficult as going down the path yourself. “You can’t save him. He’s broken the law too many times.”

“I know. But I don’t have to like it.” Eric finally moved, forcing her to relinquish her spot on his shoulder.

She wanted to be at his side, if he would let her, for the rest of her days. At first, she hadn’t thought another marriage could be possible. After her last marriage, she didn’t think she ever wanted to be married again. The chance that Eric would even listen to her had been so small that she’d considered it null.

Eric slowly opened the door and peered around. “It looks clear, but stick close to me. Behind me, that is.”

In other words, he wanted her to let him protect her. She gave a salute and gripped his shirt on either side of his waist so he could feel her without having to look or pay attention to her. His focus needed to be solidly in front of him, not worrying about where she was.

“The road is about a hundred yards ahead of us once we’re behind the shed again.” At least they didn’t have to climb out the window they’d had to climb in the first time.

Eric’s chin dipped slightly like he was almost becoming something else, a warrior. He slowly scanned the area like a soldier on recon. Keeping up with him wasn’t easy, but she kept hold with one hand until they reached the trees.

Three shots behind them made Eric pull up short and yank her for cover behind a tree. He held her close, his chest quickly rising and falling. “I think they’ve discovered we’re on the move again.”

* * *

Too much soundmade discerning what the noises were and where they were coming from impossible. Loud stomping of multiple people headed right toward them was the most concerning, even above the gunfire. He and Ali were too out in the open to avoid being seen. Neither of them had dressed to hide since they’d thought they were going to an auction, not a kidnapping.

“Run.” That was his last option. They’d barely escaped too many times for Herb not to pull out all the stops to catch Eric. He had to know his scheme was finished if Eric got away. Ali gripped Eric’s hand and raced for the wooden fence in the distance.

Car engines grew louder as they pressed forward.

“They’re over here!” Clayton’s voice made Ali trip slightly.

Eric held tight to her, hoping the momentum would keep her on her feet and she could continue running.

“Eric, wait for us!” Jayzon called.

Eric glanced over his shoulder and released Ali, Jayzon, and Indie were running toward them. Instead of taking to the trees like they had, Indie had led them right through the open area. One of the kids who had been in the car stood next to the shed with a rifle pointed right at the boys.

“No!” He couldn’t let them be gunned down. Even if Indie hadn’t helped him, he couldn’t let that happen.

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