Page 72 of Devil's Due

I’m sorting through the parts I’ve found when my phone rings.

“Prez.”

Demon’s tone is sharp, and he wastes no time. “Got Warped Jokers on the way. Looks like they’re heading in your direction.”

Fuck!

“Where are they?”

“Still on the highway, about twenty minutes out. Could be wrong, Beef, but you need to get out of there.”

He’s right. I do.

“Go straight up from the cabin. There are tracks you can follow, and then veer off out of sight into the forest. Hopefully the Jokers won’t have a tracker with them. We’re getting together now and coming up behind you, but you’re on your own until we get there.”

“Got it, Prez.” I’m already outside the door when I end the call.

I march straight in. “Stevie. Get your shoes on. We’ve got to get out of here. Got to go on foot and find somewhere to keep low.”

Her eyes widen, but the urgency in my voice means she doesn’t protest or argue, asking simply, “Max?”

“He’s coming too. He can make it, Stevie.” He’s been getting stronger, and that leg is weight bearing now. I can’t risk leaving him for those sadists, and if he does do any damage to his healing leg, it’s better than him, or us, being dead. “I’ll grab his collar and lead.”

I know he’s well trained, but don’t want him running off on the scent of some animal or other. As Stevie gets her trainers, I go to the pile of doggy stuff the prospects had brought and which we’d so far left untouched.

Picking up the collar I stare at it. “What the fuck is this, Stevie?” There’s a square shaped object hanging from it.

“It’s a…” Her hand covers her mouth, and she swallows hard before completing her sentence. “It’s a GPS tracker. In case he gets lost.”

Swearing, I rip it off the collar, then place the leather around Max’s neck and buckle it and attach the leash.Someone has known exactly where Max was since he came to the cabin.They must have been biding their time to arrange an attack assuming where her dog is, that’s where she’ll be.Fuck.

There is no time to waste. Quickly I herd both Stevie and Max out of the cabin, eyeing the slope above us. The ground is rough.

“I’ll make it.” Something in the tension of my body must have conveyed my concern.

“The ground’s uneven.”

“I’ll be okay.”

The first hundred yards isn’t too bad. Then she stumbles and almost falls over a root which I hadn’t noticed in time to warn her. Luckily my grip on her elbow prevents her tumbling to the ground. We carry on, making slower progress than I’d have liked. While Demon thought we’d be able to find somewhere to hide, there’s nothing but tree trunks to shelter us here.

I stop and crouch down. “Get on my back, Stevie. We’ll move faster if I’m carrying you.”

“I’m too heavy…”

“Stevie. Just do it. I carried packs heavier than you in basic.”

She’s not heavy at all, or at least, not now. Maybe if we go too far I’ll start to feel it.

“Is Max okay?”

“He’s fine. Now hang on.”

I’ve got a weight on my back and one hand on the leash, but at least we can start moving faster. I take care to watch my step, not wanting to trip and hurt either of us, and turn off the trail into the trees. Now I don’t have to watch Stevie’s every step, and I don’t need to find an even path. I just have to remember to tell her to duck when there are low-hanging branches.

Behind, in the still air, I hear the sound of motorcycle engines. I try to count them, more than a couple, definitely. Four, five?

My gun is loaded. Extra ammunition carried in my cut. My knife is in my belt. I strain my ears for the sound of the Devils Prez promised to send, but the sudden silence of the engines means the Jokers have arrived at the cabin, and, for now, as I’d been warned, we’re alone.

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