The Belial Ring (The Belial Series 3) (38 page)

Laney drove forward with her knee, ready to make sure the man never had the option of reproducing, when he let out a strangled cry.
“Aw crap, Laney.”

Laney stopped.
“Yoni? What the hell are you doing here?”

Yoni rolled onto his knees.
“Apparently I’m getting my ass kicked.”

“
Sorry. Sorry.” She helped him up.
Shit
. Apparently Yoni had needed the whole syringe to stay down. “How did you get here?”

“
I put a tracker in your pack. And then I stole a car from some kid when you abandoned me. I’m not feeling real good about that part, by the way.”

Laney groaned. She
’d taken the battery out of her phone and disconnected the GPS on the car. She hadn’t thought to look for another tracker.

He nodded.
“Yeah. I know you.”

“
Did you tell anyone else where I was?”

“
Not yet. While I took a nap, someone stole my phone and disabled the radio in the helicopter. I would have stopped and made a call but I was pretty sure you were trying to get yourself killed. So I headed here instead.”

She breathed a sigh of relief.
“Great. Now it’s time for you to go.” She pushed at his shoulder. She might as well have been pushing an oak tree. He didn’t even sway.

“
No. I told you before, I’m going with you. I know what you’re up to. If you’re going after that guy Maddox, then so am I.”

“
No. I’m going alone.”

“
Yeah, well: alone plus one.”

“
No, Yoni. No way.”

Yoni didn
’t budge. “Jake was my best friend. And he loved you. If he was alive, he’d be right here, where I am. And seeing as he can’t be here, it’s my job to be here.”

Laney
’s heart broke. “No, Yoni. If anything were to happen to you . . . You have a son. Think about him.”

“
I am. I’m thinking about the world he’s going to grow up in if these guys succeed. I’m thinking about the man he’s going to become. It’s my job to set an example. You don’t let your friends face danger alone. So, I’m coming, Laney, or I tell everyone where you are. Your choice.”

Laney stared at him.
She knew he wasn’t bluffing. “Okay. But don’t you dare get yourself killed.”

Yoni saluted.
“You got it, boss. So what’s the plan?”

Laney glanced over at him.
“The farmhouse and barn are up ahead. Maddox is probably in one of them.”

Yoni grabbed her arm.
“Probably? As in maybe?”

“
Yoni, you can leave at any time.”

He put up his hands.
“No, hey, this is great. We’ll just walk up, face an unknown number of super-powered humans who each take a magazine to the heart to kill, and hopefully find the guy we’re looking for. It’s great. I hate plans that get bogged down in too many details.”

CHAPTER 88

L
aney walked quietly through the trees. Yoni was to her right, about six feet away. He moved soundlessly.

Laney had seen Yoni in soldier mode before.
And although she had planned on making this little trip solo, she had to admit that she was glad he was here.

Yoni put up his hand.

Laney stopped and lowered herself to the ground.
Together they crawled toward a large dense yew bush.             

Laney looked over at Yoni, but he had a finger to his lips.
He pointed ahead and to their right.

Laney strained to hear.
Then the sound of a gunshot cut through the night.

Yoni grabbed Laney
’s arm. She knew he was getting ready for them to run.

She hunkered down, shaking her head.
“Listen,” she whispered.

Branches snapped from the direction of the gun blast.
A wind blew toward them, and Laney could just make out the blur as it raced up the tree across from them.

Laney
’s heart began to gallop. Only a Fallen or nephilim could move that fast. Two more blurs moved into the clearing underneath the tree, pursuing, searching.

She
knew the Fallen could sense one another, so the men in the clearing knew their quarry was nearby. But they might not know that she and Yoni were as well.

Laney wasn
’t sure what was going on. She didn’t know if she should help somebody or just let them all just kill one another. So for the moment, she stayed silent.

The man in the tree leapt down, landing on one of the men.
The movement was fast, but not so fast that Laney didn’t catch a glimpse of his face in the moonlight.
Maddox?

The man Maddox
landed on let out a yell, and his partner turned.

But Maddox was faster.
He pulled the first man up from the ground and used him as a shield. Bullets immediately dotted the man’s torso.

Laney
leapt to her feet and lit up his partner. The man collapsed to the ground.

Maddox’s head whipped around toward her
.

Laney moved from behind her cover, careful to keep from pointing her gun at Maddox.
“Maddox, I’m with the SIA. I’m here to get you out.”

From the corner of her eye, she noticed Yoni
getting to his feet, keeping his weapon trained on Maddox. Apparently he wasn’t yet convinced that Maddox was a good guy.

“
You’re human,” Maddox said.

Laney nodded and then stopped.
She shrugged. “Sort of. I’ve met your sister.”

She reached the man who
m she’d shot. His wounds were already beginning to heal. Laney pressed the muzzle of her weapon against his chest and pulled the trigger twice. The man’s chest exploded in a burst of blood. Satisfied that his heart was now beyond repair, Laney stepped back.

Maddox watched her with a bemused expression on his face.
“And who exactly are you?”

“
My name’s Delaney McPhearson.”

Maddox jolted, but then the man he was holding beg
an to stir. “Excuse me a sec.”

He reached down
, picked up the man’s weapon, shot him point blank in the heart four times, then let him drop.

H
e turned back to Laney. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“
Good things?” she asked.

“
Well, that depends on the source. According to Amar, you’re the end of us all. According to Clark, you’re the savior.”

Yoni interrupted.
“Any chance we can save the meet-and-greet for later? We need to move.”

Maddox raised an eyebrow.

“Yoni Benjamin, former Navy SEAL, current Chandler Group operative. All-around badass,” Laney said.

Yoni nodded.
“The woman don’t lie.”

“
Come on, time to get you out of here,” Laney said.

Maddox shook his head, pointing at his neck.
“’Fraid not. This little thing will kill me if I step off the property.”

Laney stepped closer, noticing for the first time the collar padlocked around his neck.

“Is that a dog collar?” Yoni asked.

“
Technically it’s a cat collar, but regardless, I need to get it off,” Maddox said.

“
Pretty big cat,” Yoni mumbled.

“
Okay, so where’s the key?” Laney asked.

“
Back in the barn.” Maddox nodded his head in the direction from which he’d come.

“
Of course it is,” Laney muttered.

CHAPTER 89

Outside Johnson City, Tennessee

H
enry yelled into the phone. “How long?”

He was sitting in the copilot seat of the
quiet, stealth-modified helicopter. He’d purchased it a few years ago, in case it was ever needed on one of the Chandler Group’s projects in more contentious areas. He’d never imagined he’d be using it in the States.

Henry could tell Clark, who was on the other
end of the line, didn’t have such a fancy toy available. The agent was yelling into the phone to be heard above the noise of his own chopper. “Ten minutes away. We’ll meet you outside the northwest gate.”

“
No. Laney’s sure to be on the property by now. We’re landing inside.”

“
Henry, that’s suicide. We don’t know how many men are in there. And you don’t know she’s there.”

Henry pictured Laney
’s face as she realized that both Jake and Rocky were dead; her look of concern when she heard that Maddox was missing. He knew her. She was taking this risk to avoid anyone else getting hurt. She was inside the estate. He had no doubts.

“
She’s there. I’m willing to stake my life on it.”

“
You
are
staking your life on it. They’ll see and hear us way before we can get close.”

“
Not me. They won’t know I’m coming. My team and I will rappel in and create a landing zone for the rest of you.”

Henry knew Clark was thinking of the dangers.
Henry pressed his case. “It’s Laney. You’re the one who keeps saying she’s the most important person in this mess. If we wait, we could be too late.”

Clark
’s sigh was barely audible, but Henry caught it. “All right. How long until you’re in place?”

Henry glanced at his watch.
“Seven minutes.”

“
We’ll be right behind you.” Clark disconnected the call.

Henry put down the radio and glanced over his shoulder.
The Witt siblings looked back at him, waiting. “We’re going in as soon as we get there.”

“
We’ll be ready,” Jen said.

Henry nodded, taking in the head
-to-toe body armor they each wore, the high-powered weapons in their hands. Mike and Jordan had been trained for this. But Jen? She was born for this.

He felt
a flicker of hope. They’d get to Laney before it was too late.

Henry glanced behind him.
Kevin Chang was in the second chopper, and had another three guys with him. He knew Clark had at least that many, maybe even a few more. And there were more still, speeding toward the area by air and by car.

“
It’ll be enough,” Henry muttered as he turned his eyes forward again.
It has to be.

CHAPTER 90

L
aney ran through the trees behind Maddox. She could make out lights ahead, and as they moved closer, she saw the outline of the barn.

Maddox stopped at the edge of the trees.

Laney glanced up at him.
“Maddox, do you feel anyone near?”

Maddox nodded.
“Yes, but I don’t think they’re in the barn. The house, maybe the trees. But I can’t tell about the Fallen.”

“
Well, I guess that’s as good an assurance as we’re going to get,” Laney said.             

Yoni slipped back to join them.
He’d disappeared to do a little reconnaissance on his own. “I didn’t see anyone. There’s a tree over there that will give me a bird’s-eye view. I should be able to cover you from there, at least as you cross the open space. Give me two minutes to get into position.”

Laney nodded.
“Okay.”

Yoni disappeared.
She and Maddox waited. Laney counted down the seconds. At two minutes, she tapped Maddox. “Let’s go.”

Maddox sprinted across the open space.
Laney could barely see him in the shadows. The night vision goggles were no use here, not with all the light; they would just blind her.

The barn door opened up ahead
, and a shaft of light spilled into the yard. Laney sprinted for it, slipped through the door, and closed it behind her.

It took a moment for her eyes to adjust.
Giant cages covered the space. But the area was completely wide open.

Laney felt exposed, vulnerable.
She raised her gun, straining to hear any noise. She heard a scuffle to her right, and Maddox appeared from a doorway, holding up his hand. “Found it.”