Page 52 of Rocky

Rue’s sisters met us at the center’s entrance with RJ. They were understandably upset, but I assured them I’d get Rue back. One of the officers would get them where they needed to be safely, and I focused on the task in front of me.

It had been over an hour since Rue had been taken, but the app said we were two miles away from her. Russell, Semiyon, Joe, and Noel were with me, and because we didn’t know what we were walking into, we were ready for war.

We’d just veered off the highway and onto a trail in a wooded area. With the lights off, I drove slowly until we were about a mile away from the location. I went off the trail, parked the truck, and cut the engine.

“We’re about a mile away, but I don’t know if he has a crew with him,” I told them. “Briar said it was him and two men.”

“True. Let’s separate,” Joe suggested, taking the words out of my mouth.

“Good idea. Semiyon and Noel, take this route. Russ, you and Joe take this route. I’ll go around straight on.” I pointed to the map of our location as I spoke.

“You shouldn’t go alone,” Russell said.

“I’ll be good. I’ll send y’all a screenshot of the map. Let’s share our locations, and if you run into problems, let somebody know.”

We quietly exited the truck, and before we parted ways, Russell stopped me.

“Don’t do no stupid shit. I can’t lose another brother.”

I embraced my brother and assured him again that I’d be fine. We headed in our respective directions. The gravel underneath my feet was all I could hear.

Twelve minutes later, I spotted an extremely run-down shotgun cabin with two men sitting outside. I hid behind a tree and checked the crew’s location.

Joe and Russell were approaching the left side of the cabin, and Noel and Semiyon were on the right. I texted my brother and Joe, telling them to go around to the back of the house.

When I gave my attention back to the men covering the front door, one of them had gone to the side of the house to take a piss.

“Perfect.”

Staying as low to the ground as possible, I snuck up on him, hitting him on the back of the head with the butt of my rifle. He fell to the ground in his piss, and I hid on the side of the house.

Just like I thought, his partner heard him fall and headed toward us. When he bent over to check on his friend, he met the same fate, falling on top of him.

“I hope getting to Rue is this easy.”

I checked the crew’s location, and they were nearby. I crept to the back to find Joe and Russell already there, and Noel and Semiyon were approaching.

“I need one of y’all to watch those two in the front in case they wake up,” I said.

Noel volunteered and headed that way.

“There’s a bedroom on the other side. It’s dark inside, but I think I heard someone crying,” Semiyon told me.

“I looked at the windows. They’re old and rusty, but we should be able to pry them open with little effort. We can get to her that way,” Russell suggested.

“I was thinking we kick the front and back doors in at the same time and bum rush his ass.”

“Or we could do that,” he agreed. “The room I heard the crying in is toward the back of the house on the right. Once inside, we’ll find him while you get her.”

“Sounds like a plan. Joe and Semiyon, take the front. We got the back. Let’s set our timers for one minute and kick the door down when it goes off.”

Joe and I set and started our timers before him and Semiyon headed to the front. Russell watched the clock, and we got in our stance with ten seconds left.

“Three, two, one!”

The bottom of our feet hit the back door, and it fell flat at the same time as the front door. Russell charged toward the front of the house while I went straight to the door on the right. It was locked, but it only took a few shoves from my shoulder to open it.

I hit the lights and saw Rue curled up on the bed. She was tied up at the ankles and wrists, with a piece of cloth around her mouth.

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