Page 167 of Stand: Part One

“Once we’ve exterminated Miguel, we can refocus our efforts,” I said, cracking a kink in my neck. “If we stretch our resources too thin, then they’ll become useless, and you know how I feel about useless things.”

Scott dipped his chin. “Miguel has to be nearly bled dry by now. All those safe-houses were demolished within hours of each other. He has no resources left on this side of the border.”

“That we know of,” I added grimly.

We were silent as we continued down the path, lost in our thoughts and theories of what was to come. Scott was right, though. We were missing something, and in my line of work, missing something was a deadly mistake to make.

I fully planned to personally double my efforts into hunting this shadow clown before he, or she, became emboldened to attempt more damage.

“The wind is picking up,” Scott suddenly commented as a heavy breeze blew through the trees.

I nodded as I reached back for my phone when the light sound of an approaching helicopter caught my attention.

“Are we expecting anyone I don’t know about?” I asked Scott.

“No,” he answered sharply.

Kicking Elsie into gear, Scott and I raced back down the path just as a loud explosion rocked the air, throwing both our horses into a fit.

Fuck!

Elsie and Zac both suddenly skidded to a stop, bucking and kicking, a shrill squeal echoing through the trees. Tightening my legs, I pulled the reins to keep myself from falling off as I tried to rope Elsie back under control.

When her front hooves finally touched the ground, I kicked hard, driving her to race off toward the noise. Scott was only a few paces behind me after regaining control of Zac, pushing just as hard as me to get back to the estate.

Two days. Two fucking days and now my private home was being attacked, with the most precious item I owned not permitted to leave it.

God-fucking-dammit.

When the sound of gunfire erupted, I kicked even harder. We were nearly ten minutes out on a steady cantor, but I aimed to cut that time in half, fueled by the wrath simmering in my blood.

Keeping steady, I managed to pull out my phone to check Jaden’s vitals, ensuring she was still alive. Her heart rate was through the roof, but she was alive. For now.

Whoever the fuck thought to enter my property today, I would end their entire fucking bloodline before the sun went down.

Finally breaching the trees, I could see a black gunship helicopter hovering next to the house, smoke filtering from the destruction as it began to rain gunfire across the lawns.

Launching myself from Elsie, I quickly descended into the dog kennel, ignoring the chaotic barking and howling as I pressed the hidden trigger release on the wall to reveal an extensive arsenal of weapons.

Grabbing the RPG, I heaved it over my shoulder, engaged the settings, then marched out onto my lawn. Taking aim, I fired it at the damn chopper, the explosion a satisfying storm of thunder as it erupted into a fiery ball of crushed metal, crashing to the ground with a loud metallic thud.

Tossing the RPG aside, Scott and I turned back to the kennel to quickly arm ourselves and made our way to the house. Checking my phone for Jaden’s location, imagine my fucking surprise when I saw she was not yet bunkered down in one of the panic rooms where she was supposed to be by now.

Both of her legs had better be fucking broken or I was going to break them myself and permanently chain her to our bed when this was over.

“You take the east. I’ll take the west,” I said to Scott as we approached the back of the house. “Jaden is the top priority.”

“On it,” he replied before separating from me to head in the opposite direction.

Creeping through my own house, I quickly maneuvered around the disheveled furniture and chunks of blown-apart drywall, following the sound of gunfire and combat.

Sliding to my knees, I knelt beside an upturned table just as a swarm of bullets burst overhead. Shoulder to the floor, I returned fire, my aim far better than that of my adversaries. Moving past their dead bodies, I pressed my rifle hard against my shoulder and squeezed off two more rounds, dropping two more unsuspecting bodies to the floor.

The sound of barking among the gunfire caught my ears.

“Camaro!” I called as I moved toward the sound of her bark. Jaden’s mark had placed her somewhere near the parlor, so she had to be close.

But before I could advance, the muzzles of several rifles rounded the corner. Lifting my knee, I kicked the rifles hard, throwing off the trajectory, and slammed the butt of my M16 into the face of the nearest body.