A firm hand gripped her elbow and dragged her forward.
She stumbled along, dragging her feet over the dirt. Her twisted knee throbbed. She swallowed the whimper clawing her insides.
“Don’t worry, Audra, isn’t it?” His hot breath invaded her pillowcase, filled it with the scent of stale coffee. His fingers bit into her upper arm. “You’re Audra, aren’t you?”
She loved to remain silent but not if it cost her another life. She’d already lost Tina. A hot tear trailed down her cheek. “Yes.”
“You’ll need that fire to get you through what’s to come. It’s why I picked you.”
Fuck you, she fumed inside her head. Despite his grip, she slipped down the incline. She felt every beat of her heart through her knee. Mud squelched beneath her boots. A wash, maybe. Why did she bother memorizing the route?
Because she planned to escape.
How? Oh for pity’s sake! The ying and yang inside her head needed to be quiet for a moment. Or a hundred. Eddie and her mother, Oscar and Faye, Mrs Rodriquez, the principal and deputy were safe. What happened to her no longer mattered. She’d done her duty.
Around her, the men fell quiet.
Even the wind seemed to still. She drowned in the rise and fall of her own breathing. Sweat trickled down her temple despite the chill creeping into her toes. Don’t think about what’s up ahead. Don’t think about the raping or… She truncated the thought.
Trees stirred the air around her and the light seeping through her hood dimmed. They walked farther on pavement then her boots clomped on wood. Her thighs burned from the trek. Her knee nearly buckled each time she put weight on it.
“Alright boys.” The leader pulled her to a stop.
Hinges creaked. A puff of warm air brushed her shoulder. Callused fingers slid over her hands, tugging on her handcuffs.
“We’ll let the ladies rest up before resuming their new duties.”
The bracelets fell away from her wrists. She ignored the throbbing in her joints as she moved her hands in front and rubbed the abraded skin.
His hand returned to her elbow then he steered her forward again. “Step up.”
She automatically obeyed. The toe of her boot knocked something before she found the step.
A hand swatted her bottom and thrust her forward. She stumbled then crashed into flesh and bone. Arms caught her as she fell and hands helped her stand on her own.
“Five minutes, ladies. I suggest you prepare yourself for your new role.”
She’d like to prepare him for a head chopping.
A door slammed shut. A key turned in the lock.
Audra whipped off her pillow case. If those thugs thought she’d submit, they were sadly mistaken. By the light of the single bulb overhead, she took in her surroundings. A scream bubbled up her throat.
Chapter Thirty-One
Rage boiled under Papa Rose’s skin as he sprinted over open ground. Mud sucked at his boots, water dropped on his bald head. His senses expanded and he raised his gun. Pulled the trigger. In a puff of leaves, a white spot on the hedge to the left of the mobile home exploded.
Someone cried in pain.
He rushed forward.
Bullets whizzed passed his ear. Bark splintered off the tree to his right.
He sited his gun, sweeping it right. A flash of red. He squeezed the trigger.
Another yelp.
The M-4 spat behind him.
Fire burned across his upper arm. The fuckers had shot him! He roared, a primal sound that ripped from his throat and battered the house.
Falcon’s battle cry echoed behind him.
Two more shots rang out.
His right ear melted in a puddle of warm wetness. He let loose another round on a spot of yellow.
No shout of pain answered this time.
Damn. He’d missed. Ignoring the tree trunk offering shelter, he charged across the semi-circular drive. Gravel rolled under his boots like marbles. His left and right legs tried to go separate ways. Pain roiled through his groin. Switching it off, he headed for the gate.
Brainiac would be avenged.
“Shit!” Falcon swore behind him.
A bullet slammed into Papa Rose’s shoulder. Swinging his hand, he caught the gun in his left hand. Raising the weapon, he aimed at the yellow blob among the green. He fired. Once. Twice. Red burst from the yellow then it disappeared.
“That’s for B!”
The wooden gate loomed. Papa Rose didn’t slow. He twisted so his bad shoulder took the brunt of it then slammed into the gate. Wood screamed as the force shredded it. Metal rattled as the hinges gave up the fight. Blackness exploded inside his head.
Fuck that hurt. He shook away the encroaching pain. No time to be a wuss over a flesh wound. Mission incomplete. He stumbled through the gate. Dead grass crunched underfoot.
Falcon steamed by firing at men as they scattered. Bam! One tumbled down by the swing set.
Another shot. Another corpse by the above ground pool. Blood spattered the blue sides and an arc of green peed onto the ground.
Nearing the end of the mobile home, Papa caught a third near a rusting bicycle.
The man tangled with the bent wheel as he went down.
From the corner of his eye, movement snared his attention. Papa Rose zeroed in on it.
A little boy, just a hair older than Toby, screamed, “Daaa-Dee!”
What the fuck! Papa Rose shifted his arm just as he tightened on the trigger. “There’s kids!”
Jillie hadn’t said anything about kids.
A woman in gray sweats and a blue jacket tackled the boy, curling her body around him.
Or women!
Slowing, Falcon cleared the house. He raised the M-4 so it pointed slightly skyward.
A board connected with the former Green Beret’s head. His eyes rolled back in his skull and he went down.
Papa Rose aimed at the head peeking round the corner. “Drop it.”
The wood clattered to the ground.
Six guns swung in his direction.
He grabbed the woman by the hair and pulled her in front of him. With this back to the mobile home, he pressed the gun to her temple.
Falcon lay still. Blood dripped from the gash on his chin and out his mouth. More poured from his shoulder and thigh.
A man in slacks and a Polo shirt waved a pistol in his direction. “Drop your gun and we’ll kill you quick.”
Papa Rose smiled. “If that gun was loaded, you would have already shot me and my friend. Now, I have one for her and…”
The man in slacks glanced at the M-4.
Papa Rose tightened his grip on the woman until she whimpered. “And whoever is stupid enough to go after the rifle. Then I’ll just pull my other gun and shoot the rest of you murderers.”
“Murderers!” The woman on the ground uncurled. Tears streaked her cheeks, her fists pounded the ground. “We welcomed you into our camp and after eating our food, accepting our hospitality, you raped and beat and…”
The boy clutched her shirt and cried.
Thoughts clicked into place. The truck in the wall had been new. It must have belonged to Jillie and Toby’s attackers. Papa Rose inhaled through a rush of pain. Brainiac had been right. They’d been too scared to call out to them and he had more innocent blood on his hands. “Did the animals who attacked you last night drive a red pick-up with a light bar and lift kit?”
The woman on the ground wiped her nose on her sleeve before scurrying to the fallen man’s side. He moaned when she rolled him over. The child stuck closer than a shadow.
Papa Rose shifted his attention to the man in the polo shirt. “Did they?”
His forehead wrinkled but anger still tightened his features. “Like you don’t know.”
“Listen up asshole,” Papa Rose growled.
The folks with the guns backed up a step.
Okay, maybe cursing at them wasn’t the most diplomatic move. But dammit, they’d killed Brainiac. He took in a steadying breath and scanned the backyard. Six bodies lay unmoving. No telling how many more fell on the other side. His pulse throbbed at his temple. “Do either of us look like the fuckers who attacked you last night?”