Page 54 of Atone in Darkness
“Yeah, well, next time you want to invite me to a party, send better directions.”
That cracked him up even if Marisol was looking at him like he’d lost his mind. “The cavalry has arrived. That’s my brother-in-law, and he’s not alone. Jarvis will let us know when it’s safe to come out.”
Not that he was going to sit and twiddle histhumbs while his friends had all the fun. He did another scan of the area and took a head count. He couldn’t be sure, but it appeared that all of the guards were maintaining their positions. Chances were that Jarvis and company would have to dig them out of their hidey-holes one by one.
Sure enough, one of the idiots started taking potshots. It was impossible to tell if he actually had one ofthe Paladins in his sights or if he was trying to lay down covering fire for his men. Whatever his reasons, it didn’t end well for him. A loud scream rang out over the hillside and then silence.
Jarvis growled, “I repeat, throw out your weapons, or you’ll get the same treatment your buddy just did.”
This time, one of the guards tossed his rifle out from behind a thicket of trees and steppedinto sight with his hands up. Chase watched in horror as another man in black stood up long enough to shoot him for surrendering. As the man crumpled to the ground, other guards broke cover and ran.
The shooter had made a serious mistake, which proved to be a fatal one. He remained standing just long enough for Chase to get off a clean shot. There was shouting mixedwith sporadic gunfire as theremaining guards crossed paths with Jarvis and his crew. He was in the mood for a little more payback and hated that they were having all the fun. But as tempting as it was to join them in rounding up the men who’d made his life a living hell, Chase wouldn’t abandon Marisol now.
He maintained his vigil, watching for anyone who might have slipped past Jarvis’s watchful eyes. “Don’t worry, sweetheart.It won’t be long now. Then we’ll get out of these woods and back to civilization.”
Not that he was exactly looking forward to that when he and Marisol still hadn’t worked out what came next for the two of them. Still, he wanted to say something, to find out if she’d meant what she’d said about wanting to spend whatever time he might have left together. This might be the closest the two of themwould have to privacy for some time to come. Once Jarvis and his buddies took the guards out of the equation one way or the other, Chase and Marisol would get whisked off to the nearest Paladin headquarters.
Somehow he didn’t think his fellow Paladins would be quite as forgiving of her connection to the enemy. It might take some fancy talking on his part to convince everyone that she was as mucha victim of the so-called Cadre’s machinations as he was. Even if the two of them parted ways, she would need help rebuilding her life. Between his buddy Jake and the techie guys in Seattle, they could at least give her the new identity she needed.
He hated the thought of her once again being out in the world alone, but he’d sleep better knowing that she at least had that layer of protectionbetween her and the Cadre’s hunters.
The minutes were counting down. “Marisol, when we get to headquarters, we need to talk. You know, to figure out where we go from here.”
She looked past him toward the trees. “Your friends will never accept me, not when they find out that I worked for their enemy. I can’t blame them for feeling that way. I was part of what happened to you.”
She was doingher best to look stoic, but he knew her too well now to be fooled. “It might take time, but they’ll come around. I can’t share the details, but it’s not like Paladins haven’t hooked up with someone from an enemy camp before this.”
Her dark eyes widened in surprise. “But—”
Before she could finish the statement, Jarvis called out, “Chase, are you going to lurk behind that rock all day? BecauseI’m telling you, I’m not in the mood to play hide-and-seek with you.”
Chase couldn’t help but grin as Jarvis and several other men came into view. He recognized Lonzo, Larem, and a couple of other members of the Seattle crew, but there were also men he’d never seen before. That didn’t matter. If Jarvis trusted them, that was good enough for him. He stood up and held out his hand to Marisol. They’dapproach his friends together, making it clear from the get-go that she was with him, not an enemy. A friend if not far more than that.
Still, she hesitated, unsure of her welcome. “Come on, Doc. Give me the rifle, and let’s get out of here.”
Then a single shot rang out. The impact of the bullet spun Chase around to face a Cadre guard who had somehowslipped past Jarvis and the others. The paincame in waves as the blood poured out of the exit wound in his chest. He collapsed against the boulder that had sheltered them from a frontal attack as Marisol screamed his name and returned fire. Damn, for a beginner, she did a fine job of taking out her target.
Then she was at his side, cradling him as his legs turned to mush and refused to support him. This was bad. Real bad. And a major piss-off.He’d survived this long only to get shot in the back.
“Chase, don’t you dare die. Not again.”
He wanted to make that promise, but he wouldn’t lie to her now. “Sorry, babe. Don’t worry. I’ll be back.”
That much was probably true. The only question was if he would come back crazy or not. He gripped her hand, needing that connection with the woman he’d been lucky enough to love even for a shorttime.
Then his friends were there dragging her away. She fought them with everything she had, but one woman against that many powerful men didn’t stand a chance. Finally, she surrendered, held back by Larem and a man he didn’t recognize. She looked so damn alone and scared.
One of the strangers charged into the circle of rocks and dropped a duffel on the ground. Then he knelt beside Chase. “Holdon, Mosely. You don’t know me, but I’m a damn good combat medic. I’ll get you patched up.”
His brother-in-law appeared on Chase’s other side and gripped his hand hard. It wasn’t the first time his friend had been there for him when he’d taken a fatal wound. “Sorry, Jarvis. Got careless.”
“Yeah, I’ll kick your ass for it as soon as you’re up and around.”
The words were coming harder now. “Takecare of Marisol for me. Not sure I’ll make it back. She’ll explain.”
“Don’t talk that way.”
He was pretty sure Jarvis tightened his hold on his hand, but he couldn’t really feel it anymore. If things turned out bad, the man would take it hard. Most likely blame himself for not getting there sooner.
He managed one more whisper. “Nobody’s fault.”
Jarvis said something, but his words were comingfrom too far away for Chase to make sense of them. It didn’t matter. They both knew how they felt about each other, just as they both knew this moment might come. If this was the end, at least this time he would die among friends.
As death lapped at Chase’s mind, he focused his fading gaze on Marisol as she stared back at him with such passion and pain in her pretty eyes. He ignored all the otherchaos that surrounded them. All that mattered was taking one last memory of Marisol into the darkness with him.
