Rescuing Liberty: Perseverance Book 1 (5 page)

Twelve months ago I was a young,
bright professional reaching for the stars at a marketing firm in
downtown Vancouver, Washington. According to my last review, I had
overcome obstacles and proven myself to be a valuable team member.
My boss was introducing me to the “players,” and helping me make
the right contacts to grow my reputation. It was an amazing
opportunity and I loved the challenges as well as the
rewards.

Nine months ago it was a struggle to
hold onto my job. Many of our clients had closed their doors, and
desperation caused us to donate hours and hours of unclaimed
overtime, just trying to keep the business afloat.

Six months ago I was in line at the
unemployment office—my spirit broken and my hand out—praying for
enough benefits to fill my empty cupboards. I had begun staggering
payments for rent, insurance, and all the other bills I had
accumulated during my success.

Three months ago the government
officials disappeared and government benefits stopped.

* * *

And now I’m locked in a
safe with a little girl, awaiting the return of a questionable
ally.
I should have run when I had the
chance
.

Body and mind thoroughly
exhausted,
I decided to pump the girl for
information before I lost all consciousness. “Hey Ashley, can I ask
you something?”

She didn’t answer, so I softened my
words. “You don’t have to answer me if you don’t want.”

I glanced at her, and she gave me
another of her way-too-somber looks and nodded.

“
What happened to your
parents?”

Her eyes shifted back to her book. I
was about to apologize for prying when she cleared her throat and
replied.

“
Connor killed them.”

CHAPTER FIVE

~Fort Lewis, Washington, June
8

A LATINO MAN, dressed in fatigues
kneeled near the podium of the small Fort Lewis military chapel.
Another soldier approached, hesitating beside the last pew, waiting
to be addressed.

The kneeling man crossed himself,
kissed the crucifix that hung around his neck, and stood. He turned
and asked for the soldier’s report.

The soldier saluted. “Excuse me,
Commander; we have word from the V Ranch.” At a nod from the
commander he continued. “The Progression reached the ranchers two
days before we did, and the ranch has been cleaned out.”

The commander exhaled, closed his
eyes, and crossed himself again. “There were more than thirty men
there. Tell me, are they all dead?”

“
Dead or taken.” The soldier shifted
his weight. “We found a lot of bodies, but not as many as we
expected.”

The commander nodded, and addressed
the cross on the wall. “Recruited or escaped?”

* * *

Connor closed and locked the safe
behind him. Then he had second thoughts about leaving Ashley with
the religious freak. His hand reached for the dial, so he could
open it and correct his mistake.

No, someone that
self-righteous wouldn’t hurt a child.
He
stared at the door as minutes ticked away. There were no sounds of
violence; no blood came pooling under it.
This is ridiculous. She’s your only chance of getting Ashley
out of that safe. Don’t blow it.

Connor walked away, knowing
he’d be the subject of conversation on the other side of the door.
He left Jacob’s store at a jog; determined to run off tension and
possibly exhaust himself into a state of peace. Instead,
frustration grew with the knowledge that he’d gotten nowhere with
Liberty. Maybe Ashley would have better luck.
Women.

He shoved the problematic woman out of
his thoughts and allowed his mind to float back to the last woman
he’d been with; the blonde reporter from NBS. They had met up at a
quaint Japanese lounge on Broadway. Connor arrived first and
requested a secluded table in the corner. The lights were dimmed
and the fragrance from the purple orchid centerpiece added to the
ambiance. He’d used this lounge before and knew it would be
perfect.

The reporter arrived right on time,
flashing her dimples as she approached the table. A knee-length
blue dress clung to her curves and brought out the deep color of
her eyes. Her well-toned legs ended in three inch strappy high
heels.

Connor intentionally widened his eyes
to let her know he was pleased with what he saw. “You look
amazing.” He stood and grasped her hand.

She blushed. “Thank you. And you.” She
gestured at his black-on-black Armani. “But Connor Dunstan always
looks slick.”

Connor smiled to himself as they sat.
The waiter approached and handed them each a menu, asking if they’d
like to start with something from the bar. Connor’s date deferred
to him and he ordered Ginjo Saké. The sushi was exquisite, the Saké
was light and clean, and the night was magical. The two made it
through dinner before Connor’s date brought up the
inevitable.

“
About these allegations …” She smiled
wickedly in an obvious attempt to hijack their evening for her own
benefit.

She was outclassed, though. Like a
kitten playing with a lion. “Ah, ah, ah.” Connor twitched his
finger back and forth. “No business before the third glass of
Saké.” He picked up his glass and offered a toast. “To a gorgeous
woman, and the beginning of a beautiful relationship.”

She dimpled again and tapped her glass
to his. With business effectively put on the back burner, the two
drank and talked for hours. Then the time came for her next move.
She glanced at her watch, announced the time as “late,” and said
she should call a cab.

Connor smiled.
Predictable.
“Absolutely
not,” he replied

She returned his smile, no doubt
thinking he was predictable as well.

“
I drove. I’ll take you home,” Connor
said.

She watched him under her lashes while
she scrolled through her phone contacts. “I don’t want to be a
bother. I can just call a cab.”

Connor put his hand over hers,
effectively recalling her entire attention back to him. “It’s no
trouble at all,” he insisted. This was a dance, and he knew the
steps well. He paid the bill, tipped the valet, and then slid the
compliant little blonde into his SUV.

“
I was planning on heading to the
office after I drop you off. Do you mind if we swing by my house
for my briefcase?” He led his partner into another spin of the
intricate steps.

“
Of course, I would love to see your
place.” She smiled. As he turned over the engine, Connor struggled
to remember her name.

Sandy? Sadie? Stacy?
Shirley?

Connor reveled in the memory a while
longer. The reporter had been compliant and fun, nothing like the
temperamental red-head who’d just held a knife to his throat. He
wondered why Liberty had to be the damsel in distress he’d decided
to rescue.

Maybe redemption is overrated.

* * *

Once again Connor ended up back at the
remains of his brother’s house. After mentally degrading his feet
for carrying him there against his expressed wishes, he conceded to
the ritual and grabbed a handful of ash.

“
We’re leaving, Jake. We can’t stay
here any longer.” He whispered the words into the wind, eyes
stinging at the thought of never coming back. They were beginning
to water when gravel crunched behind him. He slid the gun out of
his pocket and spun around. A skinny, dark-haired woman stood
before him, holding out her hands in surrender. The smile that
stretched across her lips looked predatory, making Connor want to
take a step back. He held his ground though, and leveled the weapon
at her.

“
I didn’t mean to startle you.” She
took a cautious step forward. “What happened here? Do you need
help?”

She’s approaching me?
Alone? Is she crazy.
There was something
off about her, but he didn’t think she was insane. At least not
yet. He kept his gun aimed at her chest. “Don’t come any
closer.”

Her sinister smile widened. “Oh,
honey, I’m not the one you have to worry about.”

In his peripheral vision, Connor saw
movement to his right. He shifted his weight to the left, spun
right, and fired his Glock at the approaching figure. The bullet
entered his attacker’s stomach. He staggered, and then continued
the motion he’d begun, attempting to smash Connor’s head with a
tire iron. Connor ducked and stepped back as it whizzed by his
ear.

The woman scratched at Connor’s face.
He stepped back, but her claws sunk into the flesh of his cheek. He
attempted to block her, but she grabbed his arms and grappled with
him for the gun.

Connor reached for the tire iron and
pulled his attacker closer to keep the man from swinging. Then
Connor elbowed the woman in the chin. The blow caught her off guard
and threw her head back. She coughed and struggled for breath as
the man’s strength faded with his coloring. He lunged at Connor in
one last, feeble swing, and then collapsed. The woman screeched,
her attack forgotten as she wobbled over and kneeled beside
him.

“
Larry, honey, wake up.” His
glossed-over eyes stared back at her. She felt for a pulse, and
then glared at Connor. “He’s dead. You killed him!”

Connor inspected himself for wounds.
His stomach was covered in the man’s blood and his pants were torn.
There were a few scrapes and he’d have to treat the scratches on
his face against infection, but he’d live. Confident of that fact,
he turned and walked away.

“
You killed Larry! You can’t just
leave me here alone.”

Connor took another step.

“
Murderer!”

Keep walking.
T
he rustle of footsteps
behind him told him others were appearing. He seriously doubted
they’d help the woman though.

“
No, get away! Don’t touch him!” she
shouted.

Connor didn’t look back.

“
Help! Please some—”

Connor reflected on the words of a
poem from his childhood. Little Orphan Annie was about naughty
children getting their comeuppances. It seemed fitting, and as he
left the grizzly scene, he muttered the phrase that ended each
stanza of the poem.

“
And the goblins’ll get ya if you
don’t watch out.”

CHAPTER SIX

AFTER EVERYTHING I’D seen and heard,
you’d think I’d be immune to shock, but clearly I wasn’t. My brain
froze, completely incapable of processing the information Ashley
had just fed me. I sat up and studied the girl, waiting for some
sort of revelation that would force it all to make sense. When
nothing came to me, I asked, “Killed them? Connor killed your
parents?”

She nodded.

“
But he’s your uncle. Your dad was his
brother, right?”

She nodded again, this time looking at me
like I was a little thick in the skull.

“
Why?” I had to ask. The guy—no matter
how repulsive he’d been in the past—had just saved my life. Slime
ball—yes, but murderer? And of his family no less.

Ashley shrugged. “I don’t know why. I
saw him do it, though. He shot both of them. Then he caught their
house on fire.”

Why?
I repeated to myself.
How could he do
this to her?
I looked to Ashley for
answers, but nothing but pain and anger could be found in her
eyes.
His brother?
I would do anything to have my sister back, and this monster
had killed his own brother leaving his niece an orphan?
Is this what I’m supposed to do? Save this little
girl from her murderous uncle?
Her gaze was
too tormented for me to hold, so I closed my eyes and tried not to
dwell on the image of her watching Connor kill her
parents.

Then I realized she hadn’t
called him “Uncle Connor.” But maybe family titles were lost when
one killed their relatives.
And I
thought
my
family
had problems. Connor, you’re one heck of a sick jerk.

Since neither of us knew the code to
the safe, there was nothing to do but wait. I wanted to rant and
rave, enraged by the injustice of it all. But frankly, I was too
exhausted. Giving up seemed like a much more realistic approach to
the entire situation. A life full of child hunters and family
killers no longer seemed worth the considerable effort it took to
stay alive.

I’d seen more than my fair share of
heartache and corpses and I was ready for it all to end. Like a
dog, I’d trotted after hope; my ever-elusive master. And in return
for my faithfulness, life used me like a work horse that had been
rode hard and put away wet. And now there was a sweet little girl
with dark, haunted eyes relying on me.

I couldn’t give up—not yet—but I could
rest. “It’s going to be okay,” I told Ashley. “I need to sleep.
Please wake me the second you hear him approach?”

She shifted and I drifted off to
sleep, interrupted when her mousy, sweet voice finally replied,
“Please, don’t leave me here with him.”