We’re out of bullets.
“Fuck,” Alex says softly as our wide eyes meet in the dark. “Well, it was nice knowing you, Theo. You were a good friend.”
I swallow hard and nod. “Yeah, you were pretty decent, too.”
Alex chuckles, but there’s no humour in it as mud squelches behind us from the incoming enemy and our eventual death.
And then the last person I expect appears from around the rock, a grim expression on their face. “Nice to see you again, boys. Shame about the circumstances.”
Rhys
“We need to gosave them!” Ollie snarls, her eyes wild with terror as she lunges to her feet.
I grab her before she can leave the safety of the bushes and drag her back down. “And we will. But we need a damn plan first.”
“But the longer we wait, the more danger they’re in!” She tries to throw off my hold, but I tighten my grip. Harlow growls at her side, feeling her owner’s distress but not understanding who or what is causing it.
Fear, dread and guilt ride me hard, and while I’d love nothing more than to run off and save my best friends, I know that’s not the best thing to do right now. “I know, princess, but if we run in there half-cocked, we’ll be as fucked as they are. We need a plan.” I say the last part more firmly, imbuing dominance into my tone.
That seems to do the trick because she settles with a huff and sinks a hand into her dog’s fur.
Satisfied that she won’t run off and get herself killed, I turn to Rachel and Tobias. “Did you count how many gang members there were when you were running back here?”
Tobias grimaces and shrugs. “I wasn’t really counting.”
“About ten to twelve if I have to guess, but it’s hard to make out numbers when you’re running for your life,” Rachel says after a moment of thought, her military training kicking in. “If the guys are sensible, they’ll hide out behind cover and return fire until we come to help.”
I nod. “That’s pretty much what I taught them.” I just hope they remember that lesson. “The location that they’ll most likely be in is rockier and less covered in trees than here. It’ll make it harder for the guys to hide out but easier for us if we stay in the trees and fire on the assholes shooting at them.”
“Won’t that get us caught and pinned like them?” Ollie asks with a frown. I can still see the fear in her eyes, but it hasn’t overtaken her like it did before. She’s actually thinking now rather than just reacting.
Good. This woman is kind of terrifying when she thinks.
“Maybe,” Rachel answers. “But it’s our best chance of getting them out of a tough spot.”
That’s all Ollie needs to hear before she’s nodding. “Let’s do it.” She jumps to her feet, her jaw clenched with determination. There’s that look on her face that tells me no matter what any of us say, she’s not going to change her mind.
I bite back a sigh and stand. “Let’s stick together. Less chance of blue on blue.” While flanking on either side would give us an advantage, the risk of shooting one another is too high. I want everyone to be alive by the end of this.
The four of us set out towards the gunshots, keeping low to the ground and staying in the shadows of the trees. Each crack of a gun makes Ollie jerk next to me, almost like she’s terrified that it’ll be that bullet that hits Theo or Alex. But she doesn’t stop moving or hesitate when we all raise our weapons and shoot at the first of many enemies that we see.
Several of them return fire, forcing us to dart behind trees and rocks for cover. But we don’t hide for long, using the shadows to conceal our movements. More shots are fired on both sides, and bullets slam into the trees and ground around us, spraying bark and mud at us. One bullet almost grazes Tobias, but I jerk him to the side before it can hit.
He shoots me a grateful look before turning to aim and fire at another gang member slinking towards us. The only sign that the close call has affected him is the slight tremor in his hands. Ollie squeezes my shoulder and mouths ‘thank you’ to me.
I nod at her before the two of us return our attention back to the enemies in front of us. But we can’t sustain this if we want to reach Theo and Alex alive. So I start looking for inspiration.
Rachel is the most focused I’ve ever seen her. There’s a cool, blank mask on her face as she fires with expert precision at anything that moves ahead of us. She’s an amazing shot, arguably better than I am.
It gives me an idea.
“How good is your shot?” I ask her.
She flicks her gaze to me for a second before turning back to the enemy. “Sniper good.”
Perfect. “Can you climb trees?”
She snorts. “Is the Pope Catholic?”
