Sheer terror swept over me when there was no instant come back. “Wes!” I screamed into the com, as I charged toward the tent. “Wes! Wes!” I nearly ran into two camp residents who were running across the road carrying what gear they owned. When I grabbed the zipper, and yanked it up, the sight of the empty interior sent another lightning bolt of fear lancing through me. “Wes! Wes! He’s gone, Candy! Wes is missing!”
I heard running feet in the com, my brothers yelling, and knew they were all converging on my position even as something caught my eye. A streak of moonlight shone across the sleeping bags for a brilliant two seconds before it disappeared, only to reappear a moment later. The back of the tent had been cut from roof to floor as it flapped in the wind. My heart did a flip-flop as I screamed into the com.
“Oh, Jaysus, Wes…where are ya?”
I dove through the slit in the tent, coming up in a squat, frantically looking side to side for him. Camp residents were running at breakneck speeds in their panic to get away from the unknown malevolent force among them. In the distance, I caught sight of a large man across an open field. His stumbling gait wasn’t normal and there was no mistaking him.
I wanted to scream as I realized Wes wasn’t alone. A man jogged beside him, holding onto his arm, as they headed for a row of parked cars at the end of the field. I took off running in their direction. They were a good fifty feet in front of me. “Wes! Wes!” When he didn’t reply, I knew the man had found the coms he’d been wearing and destroyed them.
“Patsy!” Candy shouted in my com.
“Runnin’ east, boss,” I panted, glancing over my shoulder. “Thirty feet in front of ya.” I swung back around, located Wes, and kept running. He was lumbering, not running the way he should, which had to mean he was hurt.
“Monroe! In position?” Candy asked.
Rex’s voice came back instantly. “Affirmative, Captain!”
“Reeses!” I screamed Rex’s nickname. “Parked cars, east end of the empty field. Wes is with another man.”
“Yeah, I see them, Patsy.” After a pregnant pause, he spoke again. “Your boy is hurt.”
My heart fell. Rex had them in his sights, which meant I was right. Wes was hurt. There was no time to beat myself up, but I had a go anyway. I shouldneverhave left him alone.What a fucking eejit.As if a flimsy bloody tent was going to keep him safe.
I sprinted, closing the gap between us, keeping an eye on Wes and the stranger. The man stopped them at the passenger’s door of a parked car. “Run, Wes, run. What the hell are ya doin’?” I hissed to myself.
The fire was providing some light, but it wasn’t until a car suddenly drove past, briefly illuminating the pair that I saw he’d slumped against the car, gasping as the man fumbled with the key fob. Wes held both hands over his middle and looked like he was struggling to breathe. As the car passed, I went cold from head to toe as I watched a dark stain slowly spreading down the front of Wes’ jeans.
“If you’ve got the shot, take that fucker out, Rex!” Candy’s voice instantly grounded me.
The man with Wes wrenched open the back door to the car and shoved Wes, making him stumble and fall to his knees. The kidnapper suddenly stood tall and lifted a knife above his head, letting out a blood curdling scream. A second later, the knife came down—
I heard the crack of a high-powered sniper rifle a second before…the left side of the killer’s head blew off.
WES
I heard a distant echo of what sounded like a gunshot and, already on my hands and knees, realized I could hold out no longer. My elbows simply gave out as if all my strings had been cut. A second later, I crumpled to the ground face first as my world began to gray out.
“Patsy!” I yelled, only to realize no sound had come out. Pain sliced through my guts just like my attacker’s knife had. I fell onto my side curled into a fetal position, laying my head on the cold dirt. I tried desperately to draw in air, but it was futile. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I realized the knife had probably punctured a lung on its way in. I closed my eyes and began to drift away, feeling only cold as a heaviness I’d never felt before overtook all other sensations.
“Wes! Wes!”
I tried to force my eyes open at the sound of Patsy’s voice. I knew he was close but where, I couldn’t say.
“Wes! Holy Mother of God! Wes!
I caught sight of him then…the beautiful Irish dream of a man I’d fallen in love with. He ran toward me and dropped to his knees on the ground in front of me. I groaned as he gently rolled me to my back. I gasped, trying to drag in more air, giving up when it was too painful.
“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, Wes! Yer hurt mo mhuirnín.”
His silken voice roused me, and I tried to raise my arms, giving up when the effort was too great. He bent over me and slid his arms under my knees, supporting them as he raised them, and muttering what sounded like prayers to every known saint.I stared up at him in a daze. I felt my lips curl as his pretty blue eyes filled with tears. A moment later, I felt pressure on my belly and scrunched up my face, heaving with all my might to move away from the sudden ache. The pressure got stronger and I flinched, unable to make my arms work to push at the impossibly strong man pressing into my middle.
Around us, everything felt like chaos, but the second I was able to blink away the tears, I saw him there, hovering above me. Patsy smiled down at me as he stroked my beard with his free hand.
“I love you.” I felt my lips moving but again, no sound came out.
“Listen, luv, I already called the ambulance. They should be here any minute.”
“Mr. Chaudry?” Candy’s blurry face swam into view as he bent over. “Help is on the way. The threat has been neutralized.”
