38
Mecca
My eyes popped open and my neck whipped around until my gaze landed on Arjen’s tense posture. He glared in the rearview mirror, his eyes scanning the area. We had been the third to last vehicle in what was a fifteen-vehicle convoy.
One vehicle would veer off at an exit, and a few more at another exit until we were left with us, the SUV I had driven, and the three jeeps that carried Arjen’s usual six-man detail, and Khane.
We had cleared the wooded area and were on a cleared stretch of low traffic interstate. My tension hadn’t died down, and I remained on edge as we continued to drive. Each time I calmed enough to close my eyes, my senses would take control and cause me to hop up and scan the area like a dog whose nose for trouble was wide open.
The only time Arjen’s hand wasn’t on me was when we stopped to refuel. He had purchased a bottle of water and a bag of plain chips when he found out I hadn’t eaten all day. I forced myself to eat the chips, not tasting them after he had pleaded for me to eat a few.
The notion that I had someone willing and wanting to take care of me, at times, was lost on me. Although every cell in my body fought for the independence I was used to, I was mindful to allow him to be the man he wanted to be for me.
The sight of our house perked me up and had a deep smile spreading over my face. After driving us up to the front of the house versus the garage, Arjen exited, and I could hear his men entering behind us, one vehicle already driving around the side of the house to park.
Despite all we had went through today, Arjen walked around, opened my door, and helped me from the vehicle before placing his hand in the spot I liked.
We were jerked from our state of silent contentment of being home when the sound of a commotion near the gate erupted to the tune of loud shouts and gunfire. Our guns were out and aimed as we ducked behind the jeep and searched the lit exterior of Arjen’s house.
“Khane?” Arjen shouted, checking on his brother.
“Cass,” Arjen called out again. “What the fuck is going on out there?”
Every light inside and outside the house went black. Next thing I knew, we were being handed NVG’s, night vision goggles, from one of the men. The bright moonlight added to what I presumed were emergency lights in the hedges at our backs. It was just enough to make the goggles ineffective at our current location.
“How the fuck did they get in? Who are they?”
From Arjen’s side of the conversation, it sounded like there were men inside our well-protected property with us. If that were the case, they had already been here waiting on us. They had taken advantage of Arjen, taking away all of his men to rescue me.
Although the house was protected by a high tech security system and a gated and guarded community, determined adversaries had trumped the security measures and found their way to our home anyway.
We remained crouched in our positions, waiting. What the fuck was going on?
Multiple gun blasts sounded around us, carried by a breeze winding its way through the dark sky. Arjen had his hand to his ear, attempting to hear whatever was being reported.
“They have us surrounded, at least twenty. Stay close, love.”
“Okay,” I replied.
This was not the time for me to prove anything. I would fight, to the death if I had to, but I was also going to stay close to Arjen like he had suggested.
The last time my hardheaded ass hadn’t listened, I had run off and almost initiated a war with a cartel. If fate hadn’t made plans between Raymond and Silvia, twenty-six years ago, I would be dead.
A shrieking whistle hovered in the air like a low flying fighter jet.
“Down! Down! Down!” Arjen yelled before shoving me to the ground. His big body landed on top of mine, crushing me to the paved driveway.
The loud boom rocked the ground beneath us, shaking up my crushed insides. A big crater was blown into his front yard, uprooting grass and dirt about a hundred feet to the right of us. The impact of our fall had knocked one of my heels clean off my foot as dirt and grass rained down on us.
Arjen jerked me up by the arm, lifting my entire body in the process before setting me on my feet. No sooner than I regained my equilibrium, did two men came up on us out of nowhere.
One caught Arjen off-guard, sending a hard lick from his weapon to the side of his head that caused him to stagger away a few paces. The other man stood in front of me aiming his weapon at my face.
“On your knees and toss the fucking weapon!” he shouted. I complied, but my mind was running through hundreds of scenarios on how to get on the right side of this wrong. The sight of HB skidding across the concrete and landing just out of my reach put a deep ache in my heart.
The man standing over me was supposed to be keeping me in check, but he was distracted by Arjen and his buddy who were now trading punches. Since he obviously didn’t see me as a threat, I didn’t waste the opportunity he didn’t know he was giving me. My upward kick connected with his weapon, knocking it away, but not out of his hand.
The impact of the kick caused a deep gash to open on the part of my bare foot that connected with the metal. I sent my bloody foot into the weapon a second time causing it to fly up and strike the ground behind the man.