All it took was stepping on a twig or kicking a rock in order to make a noise I couldn’t hear and then it would all be over.
My eyes, still glued to the group of men who seemed to now be digging through the van for weapons. Ranieri was lying motionless on the ground and I hoped and prayed he wasn’t too hurt.
Dale, on the other hand, was nowhere to be seen. He’d disappeared into the night as if he was darkness itself.
I wished I could at least read the men’s lips as they spoke amongst themselves, but it was too dark.
They started to load up one-by-one into the van.
‘They’re leaving,’I told the guys as the van lights kicked on.‘They’re going to get away if we don’t do something.’
‘Do not, and I repeat, do not come out of your hiding spot, Luscinia,’Elio ordered firmly.‘We’re almost there, just hang tight.’
‘But we’re going to miss our chance,’I argued as the van began to pull out of the clearing.
The van made it to the edge of the clearing about fifteen feet away from me before it stopped abruptly. Then, much to my horror, my father got out and looked right in my direction.
‘He sees me,’I whispered, feeling my pack’s panic through the bonds.
I watched with dismay, realizing that if my father got away, I would never be able to live peacefully, but if he got me now I would be given a much more horrific fate than looking over my shoulder forever. He was at the core of every problem in my life and now as he took one step in my direction, his face angry, I gripped the handle of my gun.
Could I do it? Could I shoot him?
I wasn’t so sure.
Then before I could come to my own conclusion, out of the darkness, a figure materialized holding something long on their shoulder.
Feeling my surprise, Elio gave my end of the bond a light tug.‘Cini? What’s going on? Talk to me.’
‘Uh…’I trailed off, not sure of where to begin.‘Dale’s back.’
‘Okay, that’s good, I was worried they had hurt him or something,’Elio said, his voice full of relief.
I nibbled on my bottom lip.‘I think he has a rocket launcher.’
‘What?’That was Dante’s voice.‘Where the hell did that old man get a fucking rocket launcher?’
As Dante spoke the man was pushed back as he fired the weapon, sending a projectile flying through the dark and straight for the van.
It exploded, the force strong enough to send me falling back and causing my head to crack on a rock.
Then everything went black.
Warm arms that smelled of blueberries were wrapped around me when I woke up again and I opened my eyes to find that it was Ranieri who was holding me.
‘You’re okay,’I said weakly as I reached up to touch the black eyes that were forming on his face.
He grinned sheepishly at me.‘I am, though I don’t think I was much help tonight considering I was cold-clocked by a man who should be wearing a life alert.’
I shook my head and winced when it made me dizzy.‘You did a great job. Is everyone else okay? Dale shot what looked like a rocket launcher and I don’t remember anything after that.’
Ranieri’s shoulders shook with laughter.‘Yeah that old coot is fine. One thing you’ll learn quickly about those assholes is that you should never give them anything that lights on fire or explodes, they’re a regular bunch of pyromaniacs.’
‘How did someone like Dante come from crazy guys like that?’I wondered idly as I glanced around the clearing which was now filled with darkly dressed men.
‘I asked myself that every day, baby,’Dante said, his warm hand cupping the back of my head. He made sure to avoid what I was sure would be a nasty bump in the morning as he leaned down for a kiss.
Then Elio and Nico were by my side in another blink, taking kisses of their own. They all looked exhausted but happy.
