Rescuing Liberty: Perseverance Book 1 (26 page)

“
This
is
a treat,” his deep
voice boomed. He addressed Gina, “You don’t know who you’ve brought
me, do you, dove?”

Gina closed the distance between them.
“Of course I do, Daddy. This is Connor Dunstan. The lawyer from
Olympia.”

The major shook his head. “No. He’s a
bit more than that.” He held out his hand to Connor. “Hello
Commander Dunstan. Welcome to my camp.”

“
Commander?” Gina asked.

“
Been a long time since I was active
duty,” Connor replied, shaking the major’s hand. “I’m just an
attorney now. Or I was anyway. I’m sorry sir, but I didn’t catch
your name?”

“
Major Jack Thompson,” the major
replied. Turning to his daughter he added, “He’s just being modest,
Gina. This one is talented. Special Forces Commander. One of the
youngest and best.” He turned back to Connor. “I was sorry to hear
about your last tour.”

Connor bit his tongue. When he could
finally trust himself to respond in a way that wouldn’t get him
killed he said a polite, “Thank you, Sir.”

“
What happened?” Gina
asked.

“
There’ll be plenty of time for old
war stories later,” Major Thompson said, pulling his daughter close
and inspecting her. “You look tired.

“
Exhausted. Looking forward to
sleeping on a cot tonight.” Her gaze shifted to Connor, but he
pretended not to notice.

“
I’m afraid I’ve spoiled her,” the
major said, shooing his daughter away. “But it’s hard not to when
she reminds me so much of her mother, God rest her
soul.”

Connor smiled. “Gina is
quite lovely.”
I
f
you’re into the type of women that would kill baby seals for
sport
—
he turned his smile
toward Gina
—
with her bare
hands.

The major looked past
Connor to a group of soldiers entering the tent.
“I see she managed to bring back her brother as
well.” The major frowned as he nodded in Jeff’s direction. “That’s
inconvenient.”

Jeff stepped forward. “Major,” he
said, flatly.

“
You were lucky this time; Gina came
for you. If you leave this camp without permission again, I will
come for you myself.” He sneered at his son. “And you will not be
coming back. Understand?”

“
Sir, yes sir.” Jeff lowered his eyes
and stepped back into the shadows of the tent.

Another young soldier entered and stood to
attention.

“
Rohjers.” The major smiled at his
man. “Report.”

“
They’re here, Sir.” The newcomer kept
his pose, awaiting further orders.

“
Well what are you waiting for?” A
sadistic grin spread across the major’s face as he watched Connor’s
expression. “Send the ladies in.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

MY EYES FELT like they were glued shut.

Clip clop, clip clop, clip clop.

The sound was obnoxious and loud, demanding
that my head beat in time with it.

Clip clop, clip clop, clip clop.

A familiar scent tickled my memories;
leather, sweat and … and … horse? I tried again to open my eyes,
but darkness held me in its embrace.
Maybe
my eyes are open and it’s night?
I couldn’t see any
shapes though. Nor could I move. Searching my memory for clues, I
saw Ashley riding a bike
. Then she toppled over and
…

Ashley?
I
wanted to scream out for her, but my mouth refused to form her
name.
My hands dangled uselessly above my head,
pulling at my shoulder blades, making me wonder why I was upside
down. My throat felt like it had been scrubbed with sandpaper and
something dug into my chest, making it impossible to take a deep
breath. I finally forced one of my eyes open. The undercarriage of
the horse greeted me, complete with a dirty-grey cinch. The forest
floor passed by above my head. My face itched, but I couldn’t
convince the muscles in my arm to bend properly so I could scratch
it. I leaned forward, trying to rub it against the horse’s stomach.
It took forever to get my body to cooperate, and once it finally
started swaying, I couldn’t get it to stop.

Clip clop, clip, clop, swish, thud.

I’d fallen off the horse and had somehow
landed on my back. The sun, in the center of the sky, tried to
blind me as I looked for clues about our location. We had been
traveling down a well trodden dirt path in the middle of the
forest. Trees loomed on either side of the path, making it
difficult for me to see anything else. The horse I’d been riding
stopped, turning to look at me like I was the most idiotic human
she’d ever carried. After all, my job hadn’t been very difficult.
She was the one doing all the work. Shadows moved in, and then arms
pulled me to my wobbly feet.

“
Steady, there.” A teen boy stood
before me, holding up my arm.

“
Is she okay?” The voice came from
behind me.

“
I don’t know, how much did you use?”
The boy ahead of me spoke again.

“
No more than normal, but look at her.
When did she eat last?”

When did I eat last?
I wondered.
We didn’t eat breakfast,
so last night?

The rapid changes in elevation, the
insatiable pounding of my head, the ping-pong match of
conversation, and finally the idea of food did me in. I leaned over
and dry heaved. Nothing came up, but the pain of retching made me
eyes water. Hands braced on my knees, I fought to regain control of
my stomach as the fire in my throat raged out of control.

“
Water. Please,” I asked.

Then some pimply-faced teenage angel put a
bottle of water in my hand. I fumbled with the cap until the same
angel took it from me and returned it opened. I tipped the bottle
up and drained the contents down my blazing throat. It stung at
first, then felt like aloe soothing a sunburn.

“
Thank you,” I said, handing him back
the bottle.

He led me back to the horse, helped me
mount, and adjusted the stirrups to fit my feet. I thanked him
again. The world was still wobbly, so I leaned forward, onto the
horse’s neck, his mane scratchy against my cheek.

“
Ashley?” I asked.

The boy pointed toward the horse that
carried Ashley. She was draped over the back of a horse, behind
another young rider and she wasn’t moving. “Is she okay?” I
asked.

“
She’s fine. Just sleeping.” He
mounted his own horse and we all started moving. The man in front
of me held my reins. Four young men surrounded us. I had no idea
who they were or where they’d come from. The last thing I
remembered was—

“
Where are our bikes?” My tongue
seemed swollen, slurring my words into one.
What’s wrong with me? I sound like an idiot. I feel like an
idiot.

The boy closest to me gave me a very
perplexed look.

W
rong question?
I wondered what I was supposed to
ask.
Surrounding us? An escort?
“Where are you taking us?”

The boy continued to stare at me. “The major
will answer your questions.”

“
Major? Who are you?” Nothing made
sense to my cotton-filled head. I rubbed my eyes and tried to
focus.

Clip clop, clip clop, clip clop.

The horse’s footsteps were my only
response.

“
Please.” My voice sounded desperate,
even in my own ears. “I don’t understand.”

“
We are not allowed to converse with
prisoners.” A voice behind me replied, also sounding young. I
widened my eyes and looked at my escort. They were all young. None
of them even had facial hair.

Maybe Peter Pan is their
major?
I scratched my head. “Prisoners?”

The youth riding ahead of me turned in his
saddle. Dark eyes glared at me under brown, unruly eyebrows. “Yes.
Now shut up, or we’ll have to shut you up.” His lip curled up in a
sneer.

I shut my mouth and focused on my horses
soft, velvety ears, silently praying.

The mysterious horsemen led us into a large
camp, bustling with activity. It looked like an anthill, where all
the insects wore camo and carried guns. Each person seemed to be
going out of their way not to look at me, and I wondered just how
much trouble we were in. The place smelled of campfires, food, and
too many people living without indoor plumbing. I hoped we wouldn’t
be staying long, and questioned whether or not Ashley and I would
live through the visit.

We rode to a large tent in the center of the
camp. One of the men unloaded Ashley, draping her sleeping form
over his shoulder. I dismounted, and another man grabbed my wrist.
Someone motioned for us to enter.

The flap closed behind us, and it took a
moment for my eyes to adjust to the change in lighting. I closed
them to help the process along. When they opened, the first thing I
saw was Connor. He leaned against a table beside Gina. She gave me
a wicked smile then slid closer to him.

Yeah, you may have won, but is he really a
prize?

Connor wasn’t bound, gagged, or forced
against his will. He popped something into his mouth and chewed,
frowning at me as he whispered something to Gina.

“
You!” I shouted. Breaking free from
my captor’s loose hold, I lunged at the man who’d abandoned us. The
tent erupted in chaos. I tuned everyone out and focused on the
memory of pain in Ashley’s eyes when she awoke to discover Connor’s
betrayal. Her voice played through my mind, reminding me of how she
defended the pig who’d abandoned her. I wanted his blood. I reached
behind my back for my gun, but it wasn’t in my
waistband.

Pity.
It
didn’t matter. I could still strangle him. My hands were just
closing around his neck when the soldiers reached me. It took three
men to pull me off Connor. I struggled—kicking, shouting, and
throwing punches—determined to get free. “How could you?” I was
inches from him, and tears of anger and frustration streamed from
my eyes. My captors held my hands firmly behind my back. “I trusted
you! She trusted you!” I squirmed, ignoring the painful pull on my
shoulders.

Loud, eerie laughter shook the
tent
; one part mirth, two parts malicious,
a hundred parts creepy. The type of laugh you’d hear from a mad
scientist right before he revealed his evil plan to take over the
world.

My shoulders stooped as
Connor’s betrayal sunk in.
What has he
done?
“This is a Progression camp, isn’t
it?” I asked.

Connor’s
blasé expression stared back at me, making me feel
each foolish moment I’d wasted trusting him.
You!
I wanted to scream at
God.
You told me I could trust
him!

“
I see our reputation precedes us,”
said the man with the creepy laugh. He was short and thick around
the waist. Thinning brown hair with streaks of grey highlighted the
many angles of his face. There was nothing intimidating about his
appearance, but his laughter was a whole different story; it sent
shivers down my spine. Finally his mouth closed and looked me over
for a moment before turning to address Connor.

“
Do you always have this effect on
women, Commander Dunstan?” he asked.

Connor stiffened. “As I said before, I
am no longer a commander.” I could see sparks of anger igniting in
his gaze, but they were not directed at me.

“
Yes, you said that.” The sinister man
clasped his hands behind his back and paced. “. And yet—” he
motioned toward the back of the tent and the soldier carrying
Ashley stepped forward. The girl still wasn’t moving and the
soldier had her cradled in his arms like a baby. Hair fell across
her face, but the major tucked it behind her ears and studied her
like he was sizing up a prize, trying to determine its worth. Then
he looked back and forth between Ashley to Connor, chuckling. “This
one resembles you quite a bit. It appears we have found your price
of admission.”

Little bells and whistles went off in
my head. I looked to Connor for some sort of clarification, but he
was busy glaring at the major.

The major didn’t seem to care about
Connor’s scowl, though. He turned and held out his hand to me. “I
don’t believe we’ve been introduced, m’dear. I’m Major Jack
Thompson.”

I looked at his hand, and then glanced
at my arms which were being held tight by his goons.

The major chuckled. “It’s alright
boys. She promises to play nice now. Don’t you?”

Do I?
I glanced from Connor to the major. This was a decision I was
not prepared to make. Luckily, my response was unnecessary. My
captors released me, and the major grabbed my right hand and raised
it to his lips.

“
Liberty,” I whispered. My eyes felt
trapped by his. I was disgusted, terrified, and completely
enthralled.

“
Liberty? What a charming name. And
such a charming lady.”

Charming lady? Where?

Connor stirred. “You’ve made your
point. What do you want from me?”

I pulled my hand away from the major
and watched the two men for clues about our situation.