The Heart's Shrapnel (20 page)

“Why didn’t you just tell him it was me?”

Dylan looks down at his feet. “I wanted to give you at least that. I guess in a way, I wanted you to get revenge on the person who killed your brother . . . me. And, I’m a selfish man, Wes. I needed that money more than I needed our friendship. I’m sor—”

“Don’t you dare say you’re sorry one more time, or I’ll make sure to blow that word right out of your vocabulary.”

He nods before turning around.

What’s he doing?

Fishing in his pocket, he takes out a key.

He’s unlocking the women?
I’m not sure his reason for letting them out, but I don’t want to chance it in case he plans on harming them. With all of the strength I possess, I lift with my legs, bringing the chair with me, and slam down hard, shattering the legs.

Dylan quickly turns around, but he’s not fast enough. I lift my feet out of the rope, spin, and knock him down. He falls back, hitting his head hard on the table.

“I’ve got the key,” Mandy says. She unlocks the door from the inside while I secure Dylan after finding a rough corner to slice at the rope still wrapped around my wrists.

“Go,” I shout once the door opens. “Get everyone out of here.” As Mandy starts ushering everyone out, I turn Dylan onto his stomach and tie his hands together behind his back. The irony is stifling in here.

“Hey, Wes. You in here, man?”

Ryan?

Ryan rushes through the door and skids to a halt at the scene in front of him. “What the hell?”

“Exactly,” I mutter. When he starts rubbing the back of his head, I remember Dylan saying he ran off. “What happened to you by the way?”

“Hell if I know. One minute I was checking for another entrance and the next, I’m being whacked like a piñata. You think it was him?” he asks, gesturing to Dylan.

“Possibly. He said you’d run off.”

“Yeah, right,” he scoffs. “Wait. Is he . . .”

I can’t answer. I don’t even want to admit it to myself. Nevertheless, I shake my head.

“Shit, man. I’m sorry,” he mutters while looking around. I see his eyes grow wide; then his brows furrow. “What the hell is this? Some sick porn shoot?”

“You didn’t see them?”

“Them? Who?”

“The women that were being held against their will . . . they were kept like sardines down here . . . Mandy was one of them,” I add. I watch as his face goes from confused to surprise, to anger. “Both her and Lily were in that vehicle the day we spotted women.”

“But, we didn’t see them. I would have noticed if she were in that group,” he says a little defensively.

“We left too soon.”

“I’m really going to kill him now.” He starts for Dylan.

“No,” I reach for my gun Dylan sat on the table and aim it at Ryan. His steps falter, and he looks at me in dismay. “I understand why you want to kill him, but you’ll only put yourself in a difficult situation, Ryan. Leave him to me.”

“Okay,” he nods. “I can respect that. Where is she?”

“She just left literally seconds before you came in. I can’t imagine they got—”

Ryan runs out the door before I finish my sentence.

I turn a passed out Dylan onto his side. “Looks like it’s just the two of us . . .
friend
.”

***

When I pretended to be Phillip, I wanted war—I wanted blood. And damn it, I still do. Dylan killed my only sibling, my brother—my twin. And by doing so, he killed me.

With the cloth I found and some chloroform, I repeat the scene we did with the Iraqi.

I place the doused rag over his mouth. “Remember this?” I ask him as he frantically fights for air. “It should have been you we tortured.” I take it out and let him catch his breath. “It should have been you!” I shout.

His head turns to the side. “
Lo siento, mi amigo
.”

“Save your sorries for someone that gives a shit.”

“You have to believe me,” he pleads while gasping for air.

His words only to anger me more. Lunging forward, I grasp at both sides of his uniform, getting up as close as I can to look him in the eyes. “I don’t have to believe shit! You hear me? You are dead to me.” I push him down with barely restrained force.

Needing to separate myself for a moment to collect my thoughts, I leave him to see what is happening outside. Grabbing the key, I shut the door in case he gets any ideas.

Ryan is on the phone with Mandy tucked at his side. There’s no separating these two now they’re together again. And that’s how it should be. Then, I notice Lily. She’s still vacant, staring at nothing.

What did he do to her?
Jane pops into my mind. She’s going to be devastated. I’d told her she could trust my men and they weren’t bastards. Little did I know that wasn’t true. Now Lily has paid a price. Jane will know what to do.

Ryan hangs up the phone. “That was General Fieldman—the replacement. He’s sending out men to come for the women. This is going to blow up, man. We can expect camera crews any minute now.”

“I know,” I say as I run a hand down my face.

“Where’s Dylan?” he whispers, and I assume it’s so Lily doesn’t hear his name.

“He’s still where I left him.”

“What will you do with him?” Mandy inquires, detaching herself from Ryan.

I think, really think, about that question. What will I do with him? I know what I want to do. “Leave it to me and the authorities. I promise he’ll pay one way or another.” Placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, I look at her and Ryan before I head back into the pit. It won’t be long before the soldiers arrive. Better make this quick.

He still sits in the spot I left him, tied to a chair. Probably too weak to free himself.

Kneeling before him, I wait until he looks down at me. His eyes are bloodshot; his skin is drenched in filth and sweat.

“When I first came here, I wanted nothing more than to kill the bastard who killed my brother,” I tell him.

He winces.

“You know that,” I continue. “I felt like I was being killed, brought back to life, and killed again . . . you did that.”

Dylan groans in agony.

“I had to tell my parents . . .” I pause to get my bearings. “Well, you can imagine how that went. My mother has welcomed you into her home many times, fed you . . . treated you like one of her own. So now I’m leaving you with the image of her devastated face when she finds out you killed her son.”

Dylan cries harder. His eyes swell from his tears.

“And when the hell did we become sloppy?”

He squints.

“Yeah, that’s right. You remember asking me that? I can’t believe you. All this time,” I say in a hushed voice, more to myself.

I walk around him, come up behind him, and lean down so I can speak directly in his ear.

“Make no mistake . . . I will haunt you until your last breath. Some say that’s worse than death itself.”

He lets out a choked cry before I take a few steps back. Reaching into my pocket, I retrieve my gun and aim it right at his left shoulder. “Four centimeters from the heart,” I say before shooting him.

Climbing the ladder and into the desert air, I see a whole fleet of army vehicles on their way to pick up the women. I’m not worried about Dylan. Unlike my brother, he’ll get immediate help.

“Where are you going?” Ryan asks as I walk to my truck.

“To get my girl.”

Jane

With what little help we had, we all pulled our weight and managed to get through the war zone. It was the scariest thing I’ve ever had to deal with in my life. But, this is what I love to do, and this is what I will continue to do.

“Aren’t you still the prettiest thing on this planet,” a voice says from behind me.

Cody?

Cody stands behind me, a boyish grin on his face. I never thought I’d get a chance to see him again.

“Cody? Cody Shotwell?” I ask.

He smirks. “That I was. I see you do remember me.”

“How could I forget? It hasn’t been that long.” I wrap him in a big hug. Letting go, I say “I didn’t even know you were here. They sent you after you’d been shot?”

“Nothing more than a lady pheromone, Jane. Keeps women coming from miles around when they see a scar on a man,” he winks. “The army has no qualms about that.”

“Guess not. So were you caught in the bombing?”

He takes his hat off to scratch his head before placing it back on. “Yeah. Didn’t get nothing from it, though. Just came to check in on some of my friends and heard you were here. Just wanted to say, hey.”

I smile politely. “You’re so sweet. Thank you. It means a lot since I’m kind of by myself here and don’t know a whole lot of people.”

“How long are you here?”

“Day after tomorrow, but that might not be the case now.”

He looks around at the occupied beds. “I see that. Looks like you all got this covered though.”

“Mostly. Choppers have been loading and unloading like crazy trying to get the critical patients to an actual hospital; one that is more equipped with the proper medicine and more available staff. But, we’re handling it.”

“So, where’s Cyclops?” He asks, abruptly changing the subject.

I quirk a brow. “Who?”

“You know . . . the dude that was trying to put a big hole through me with just his eyes. I practically got a tan from it.”

I laugh. “Wes . . . I mean, Phillip! Yeah, I don’t know. I’m assuming he’s probably handling things on base; making sure everyone is safe and secure.”

He’s probably up to no good. I’d be worried, but I know he has to do what he has to do about his brother’s death. The less I know, the better.

“Yeah, probably. The bombing has stopped.”

“That’s good news at least.”

“Yes, it is. Well, anyway, he seems like a great guy. It was nice seeing you, Jane.” He leans in and gives me another hug. “I better let you be and get back to saving the world. Keep in touch?” He hands me a note with his contact information. I put it in my pocket.

“Definitely. Stay out of trouble,” I say as he turns to leave.

“Not a chance!” he shouts over his shoulder.

Once Cody is out of sight, my mind goes to my plans for the rest of the day. Do I pack? Do I stay longer? There’s no telling at this point.

“Jane, can you run to the back and get me some more gauze,” one of my nurses yells.

“Sure thing.”

I head to the back and shuffle through a big mess. Nothing is in order anymore with the rampant chaos over the last couple days. There’s been no time to organize.

Wes made sure to put the bed back out front. There’s nothing to suggest I was even back here with the baby.

“Jane,” a repulsive, gritty voice says from behind me. My breath catches in my throat.
What is he doing here?

“What do you want? I’m busy.”

He laughs. “What do I want? Well, I want to get back at that lover of yours for what he did to me. I’ll need you for that.”

***

Wes

My damn truck won’t move fast enough. I shouldn’t have left her. But, what could I have done? She was needed, and I couldn’t deny her that.

I finally make it to the entrance. The familiar guards are standing at either side of the gate. God, they annoy me.

“Can I help you?” one asks.

I already have my badge in hand like last time.

The soldier looks as if he remembers me because his brows shoot up.

“This is an emergency. I need to get in.” It’s not an emergency, aside from the fact that I want to take her away from all of this.

He quickly scans my badge and yells for me to be let in. With the recent bombing, I’m sure he expects it’s something serious. He just doesn’t know it’s about a woman.

They let me through, and I don’t even shut the door or turn off the engine when I park in front of her tent. Running inside, I quickly scan the room.

Why am I not seeing her?

“Are you looking for Jane?” It’s the same nurse who talked to me about Jane’s condition before.

“Yes. Where is she?”

“She’s gone.”

“She’s gone? What do you mean she is gone? Where the hell is she?” I grab her shoulders.

The plump woman lets out a gasp. “It’s that man. He has her.”

“What man?”

“Her ex. It’s all my fault,” she cries. “I sent her to look for some supplies, and I saw him go back there. But, he was so quick.”

“How long ago was this?”

“Just maybe ten minutes or so.”

I finally let go of her.

Shit. Shit. Shit.
I turn and race to my vehicle. I don’t have time to think. They couldn’t have gone too far in ten minutes.

I drive for miles. Calling on my radio, I get someone on the other end and ask if they’ve had reports of a vehicle racing through within the last fifteen minutes. There has been, but where the vehicle was going is uncertain. Thanking them, I set my hand radio down. At least I know I’m going in the right direction.

Then I see it. Tire tracks. They aren’t that noticeable because of the desert sand, but they head to a typical warehouse type building. Much like the one I had used to beat that Iraqi to death. I pray to God Jane isn’t dealing with any torture like that.

I grab my gun from its holster, bring it in front of me, and switch off the safety. There are muffled voices coming from inside—one male and one female, to be exact. She’s alive. I take a second to thank whoever is looking out for me before moving in closer.

It has gotten dark fairly quick. Has been these past few weeks. The building is flooded in darkness except for the ten-foot radius around them. Lanterns from the looks of it. Jane’s in a chair with her limbs strapped and her mouth covered. My hand reflexively closes around the handle of the gun. I want to shoot the prick right on the spot. And I would . . . except for the barrels of unknown content in close range to her.

And there he is.
Kevin
. He’s spreading oil all over and around Jane. He’s going to burn her alive.

***

Jane

The smell is overpowering. My body is weak from the fumes, and I have no idea why Kevin is doing this. I know he keeps saying he wants Phillip to pay, and from the bandage on his nose, I’d say it has something to do with that. Wes never mentioned having a run-in with him. If I had to guess, I would say it was the night he left the motel.

Kevin starts coughing. “Boy, I sure do hope lover boy comes soon. These fumes are getting to me.

My hands continue to work themselves out of the rope that’s slowly loosening by the minute. I’ve been working at it for a good twenty minutes. I just need to keep him talking.

“Kevin, why are you doing this? You don’t have to.”

He tosses the rag he used to smear oil over my exposed skin and my clothes.

“That’s where you’re wrong, Jane. You see”—he kneels before me as he puts his filthy hands on the tops of my knees—“first, you leave our home without telling me where you’re going. Then, I get a call from the army telling me I’m needed over here and that you, my girlfriend, is working in their hospitals. I was shocked. I figured you to be many places, but not in the army. And, if that wasn’t enough, you have the audacity to sleep with another man, a soldier. Not to mention the many times you disrespected me. Oh, how I counted the ways.”

“I told you many times I wanted out, and we were done. You never wanted to accept it!”

He grabs my jaw and squeezes. The pressure sends a jolt of pain through my whole body. “How many times do I have to tell you we’re not over until I say we’re over.” He squeezes harder before letting go.

This is it. I’m going to die at Kevin’s hand.

I work my hands again while he fiddles around. I’m not even sure what he’s doing. But, as I look closer, I realize he’s assembling a rifle.

“What do you think? This should finish him off, wouldn’t you say?” He laughs and it’s pure evil.

My heart pounds and my body dampens with sweat. I’m scared out of my mind of what’s going to happen to Wes. But, he’s stronger than Kevin. He can take him down. I know he can. “I don’t think he—”

A sound stops me mid-sentence, and we look to see what it is. But then it’s silent again.

Wes?

“I do believe we have our first visitor, Jane. What do you say? Should we give him a proper greeting?”

“Kevin, don’t. Please,” I cry.

He clicks his tongue on the roof of his mouth and shakes his head. “Don’t tell me you’re in love with the man. You just met him . . . and we just broke up, remember?”

“So what if I am? I don’t love you. I never have,” I spit out.

Kevin flies over to me so fast, I don’t see his hand come up to slap me. He hits me so hard my head whips to the side, and my face contorts with pain.

“Don’t. Move.” Wes’ voice is low and rough. I turn my head, needing to see him, but I can’t. Kevin is still in front of me. His hands are up in the air.

“Now. You are going to do exactly as I say and walk away from her,” Wes says.

Kevin laughs. “What are you going to do? Shoot me? You and I both know that if you do, you risk blowing us all up.”

“I’m no amateur. Back away . . . now.”

Kevin walks past the oil spill.

“That’s enough!” Wes shouts. Kevin obeys, and Wes briefly eyes me up and down. “Are you okay?”

My eyes tear up. God, he looks good. My hero. I never thought being strapped to a chair, drenched with oil, and fighting for my life I would be thinking about his body—how strong and capable it is. The combat gear he wears only adds to the danger and sexiness.

“I’m fine. Just be careful,” I beg him.

While Wes moves up to Kevin, I wiggle my wrists more aggressively trying to work them free. I’m nearly there. If I keep it up, I should be able to squeeze through, and I hope it’s soon because they are being rubbed raw.

I freeze when I hear shouting. I look over where the guys are. Kevin’s sporting a ridiculous grin as Wes gets in his face. Kevin’s always felt untouchable.

“I’m giving you one more chance to turn around and leave before I take away that option from you altogether,” Wes says loud enough for me to overhear.

Kevin mumbles something and Wes responds by raising the gun. Is he letting him go? He can’t trust him, does he? I know Kevin. He never backs down.

I watch in dismay as Kevin gets further away. My hands work in overdrive. Once he’s out of sight, Wes sprints over to me.

“Let’s get you out of here.” He goes behind me and starts to untie the rope.

“Ugh.” Wes says and I hear the wind rush from his lungs. He skids off to the side, sliding through the oil mess.

A blood-curdling laugh follows. “Phillip, Phillip, Phillip. Rookie mistake. Never assume the innocence of another man. Especially when you’re at his fight.”

Wes tries to get up, struggling in the slick liquid. He’s covered. “My mistake.”

Kevin laughs. “And you want this sissy, Jane? Look at him.”

“Leave him alone!” I shout.

“No. I’m going to have fun with him . . . like he did with me.”

It all happens in a flash. Kevin bolts toward where Wes flounders in the oil. He kicks him in the head, his boot making a hard thwacking sound.

My jaw clenches. I’ve been on the receiving end of that before.

When he does it again, I give one more hard yank against the rope and my hands spring free. With all I have, I charge Kevin, coming from behind where he’s not expecting me, and I shove him. His legs give out as his feet slip, and he slides across the oil and falls. But, before he does, he reaches back, grabs my arm, and takes me down with him.

The hard cement floor knocks the air out of my lungs and everything goes dark.

***

Wes

What that bastard doesn’t understand is I’m expecting this to happen—planning on it happening. I want him gone, and I can’t do so unless he gives me no other choice . . . And he just did.

When Jane freed herself and came bolting toward him, I thought I was going to die on the spot. She wasn’t part of the plan. She was to stay in her seat, and I would free her and bring her to safety. But she didn’t.

That son of a bitch took her down with him, the coward. I don’t see her moving. Her beautiful, delicate body is lifeless. Is she breathing? Is she alive?