Chapter Fifteen

Water hit me in the face. “Wake up!”

I jerked upright and looked around in confusion. Where was I? What had happened?

“Wake up!” More water was thrown at me. “Did you think I wouldn’t find you?”

My vision cleared and my memory came rushing back. I shot to my feet, only to be jerked back down. I was handcuffed to a kitchen pipe inside the rusty remains of an old travel trailer. “If you have harmed any of them, I will kill you.”

Pops cocked his head to one side and studied me like I was an interesting but odd specimen. “I believe you would try, but that won’t be necessary. I’ve challenged Stone to combat. Winner gets you.”

“No! I’ll never work with you again.”

“Never is a long time,” Pops shot back.

Something beeped. Pops pulled out his satellite phone and smiled. “Your man has come for you. Don’t go anywhere.” He casually strode off.

“Dammit!” I jerked at the cuffs.

Pops called, “Oh, by the way, I removed your lock picks.”

“Fuck!” I reached inside my bra with my right hand. It was gone. I quickly checked my braid. That pick was gone too. I screamed, “You are a dead man. Do you hear me? A dead man.”

Pops laughed.

I scanned the trailer for any kind of weapon. There weren’t any. The windows were gaping holes and through the broken metal door I could see an old, abandoned gas station with two faded red, vintage gas pumps. I rubbed my aching forehead. Where was I? As hot as it was, I still had to be in Arizona.

A better question was: What drug had Pops used on me? Ugh. My mouth tasted like old socks. Think. Think. I knew my father would set booby traps for Alex and the squad. Pops always played dirty, and he probably thought killing them would break my spirit.

A cry of fury broke from me, and I kicked the shit out of what remained of the kitchen sink. I had to get free and warn them. No one hurt my family. I yanked as hard as I could, and the pipe fractured. Oh, my God! It was working! Rearing back, I slammed both feet into the pipe, again and again. Crack! The metal broke in half. “Ha! You screwed up Pops and it’s time I taught you a lesson.” I slid the cuff off the pipe and stood up. The world spun dizzily around me. “Whoa!” The tranquilizer was still affecting me.

Very carefully, I walked over to the window and looked out. A shimmering haze of heat hung over saguaro strewn hills. Where had Pops parked? He always carried enough weapons to start a small war. Staggering like a drunk, I went to the opposite window and spotted a brown jeep parked next to some skeletal trees. “Gotcha.”

Picking up the broken pipe, I eased the door open and wobbled over to the jeep. Yes, there was a God! Through the dusty back window, I could see a variety of weapons and a case of water. I swung the pipe and broke the window.

The car alarm sounded.

I grabbed an AK-47 and checked it over. It was fully loaded.

“Well done, Tess,” Pops yelled.

“You want a fight? Fight me.”

Pops laughed. “You can barely stand. It wouldn’t be much of a fight,”

A coyote howled.

Utter relief swept over me. Alex and the squad were here. I grabbed a bottle of water and drained it. “Are you afraid of me, old man?”

Pops dragged an unconscious Hispanic man wearing desert camo down the hill. He stopped six feet from me. “Drop your weapon or I’ll put a bullet in his head.” He jammed the muzzle of his rifle into the man’s cheek.

Horror knotted my stomach. That was Rodriquez. Had he hurt anyone else? I dropped my rifle and raised my hands.

“Good girl.” Pops tossed me a handcuff key. “Cuff yourself to him.”

I did and quickly checked to see how badly injured he was.

Rodriquez winked at me.

Holy shit! He had let himself be captured. I bit my lip to keep from grinning. Pops was about to get a much-needed lesson. “Did you find Roberts?”

“Not yet.” Pops handed me a bottle of water. “Drink it. I saw your medical records.”

“Now you’re concerned about my health?”

“I can’t have my best soldier incapacitated.” Pops scanned the hills. “Is your man a coward?”

The desert floor moved and a man in a ghillie suit suddenly rose up. “I could have killed you anytime in the last ten minutes, Reynolds.” Alex’s pistol was pointed at Pops. “But you are Tess’s father.”

It was the first time I had seen my father at a loss for words.

A buzzing noise caught my attention. “Is that a drone?” I pointed.

“You brought a drone?” Pops snapped.

“No, we didn’t and if you didn’t, it belongs to Roberts,” Alex replied.

Johnson and Tex erupted from the desert floor. Both were wearing ghillie suits.

“Someone stole one from the Marine base in Yuma,” Johnson said.

Tex raised his binoculars. “It’s armed.”

“Not for long.” Pops opened the rear of the jeep, took out a case. “Rocket launcher. Don’t get nervous and shoot me.”

The drone was getting a little too close. “How about you blow that thing to kingdom come before it uses us as target practice.”

Pops placed the rocket launcher on his shoulder, sighted in on the drone and fired. The missile streaked away and two seconds later, a fireball erupted.

The men stared at each other, and I could feel the testosterone levels rising. “Here’s a thought. How about we go kill Roberts.”

“Get in the jeep,” Pops ordered.

Kaboom! The ground shook beneath our feet. A fireball rose high into the air.

I glared at Pops. “You made a goliath bomb, didn’t you?”

“I wanted to see if the Alpha Dogs were as good as everyone claims,” Pops said without an ounce of remorse.

A black helicopter raced across the desert.

I watched it for a moment. The pilot was good. Flying that low was hard. “The hunters aren’t going to be happy you blew Roberts into itty-bitty pieces.”

Without even a goodbye, Pops jumped in the jeep and took off.

“Coward,” I yelled after him.

Alex held out his hand. “Ready to go home?”

“Yes, I am, but first can you uncuff us?”

“Yes, ma’am.”