Page 154 of Fighting With Light

I frown and glance out the window in the direction gunshots are going off.

“Yeah, what’s your middle name?”

“Gabriella,” she says.

“Oh…”

She grins and takes my hand.

“We don’t know how many are out there.”

“Alright, then, let’s get to work.”

Gunshots pop off again, and the door to the garage slams open. Emerson stomps through, huffing like a raging bull. Blood splatters across his face, and he hangs his rifle off his shoulder.

“Nice of you to join us, Emmy,” I say.

He glares at me and sets his sights on Mom. She shakes her head no, and he looks back at me.

“Okay then, time to get to work.” I grin.

Clarence will stay with Mom. Emerson gives Aelia a look and we follow him back out the door. A bullet hits the brick above the garage and we duck, moving with our heads down to an outcropping of rocks next to the driveway. The house is built into the side of a rock face and there are mountains behind and to the sides of the property.

“I counted three at the gates and eight in the east and west. They have us surrounded. Two of our men are down, one dead.”

I curse and glance at Aelia. I don’t like this at all. But I can’t help the question rolling around in my mind. How did my father do this? Where did he get the money?

“We take care of the three at the front, then help the guys out back.”

We follow Emerson, dodging bullets and using the night as cover. Moving as a unit to the front of the house, I let off a string of bullets with my rifle while Emerson covers me. Aelia watches our backs, and we keep moving closer and closer to the source of gunfire.

There’s thick landscaping near the gates, and since they shot out our floodlights, it’s dark and hard to see if anyone is in the bushes. Emerson and I take a few steps, then I hear Aelia move behind me. She pulls her pistol, shoots, and rolls into the bushes. I hear a grunt and then a gurgle, and she crawls back out with blood on her hand and her knife covered with it.

“Missed one,” she says. Emerson stays still, scanning the area ahead of us. The ping of bullets in the wood rushes past our ears, and we run off to the side, returning fire.

“We need to get around them,” Emerson grunts.

We take turns returning fire until I have to change my mags. Emerson covers me and then we switch. At the front gates, I can barely make out two of the shooters, covered in black, but one isn’t hiding very well and the other is moving to a different position.

Emerson and I act, raining down bullets on both of them. We approach closer and find one bleeding out and the other dead.

Next, we go to the west side of the property to help the others as they fire back.

“Do you have any grenades?” Aelia asks.

I glance at her over my shoulder. “Now you want my grenades,” I grumble.

“Hell yeah, I do.” She grins.

I chuckle.

“Hey, both of you focus,” Emerson grunts.

I wink at Aelia and her shoulders shake with silent laughter. We help the others on the west end and move towards the back of the house that faces north. I don’t think these guys expected us to be as well-armed or fight back the way we are. It seems like they didn’t bring enough firepower or other means to subdue us.

As we move to the back, we’re caught by surprise and three men take a run at us. He pulls his pistol on me, and I narrowly miss the bullet, grabbing his wrist to break it. He sees it coming and flips around, so I lose strength behind the blow.

My attacker spins around, putting me into a chokehold, so I squat down and throw my weight back to land on him. His grip loosens and I take my chance, slamming my head back into his nose and grip his balls, squeezing as hard as I can. My assailant screams and lets go almost immediately. I grab the knife from my thigh and plunge it into his lungs, then rip it out.