“Our father. . .?” Alexis asked the question on Cliff’s mind, earning herself a hit to the head with the butt of the gun.
“Yes, I’m your half brother. I came here to learn about you before all of this mess. Then when father said you were necessary to close a deal, I knew that I could step in and get the job done.”
“This doesn’t make any sense,” Alexis whispered.
“Sure it does, you’ll figure it out soon enough. Or maybe you won’t. Father always said that women were a weakness.”
Wade shoved Alexis and began to walk toward Cliff, his already panicked state started to rise. Though every ounce of training told him to remain calm and collected, all of that went out the window when someone he loved was in danger.
A plan, he needed a plan. By the dil
ated look in Wade’s eyes, Cliff could only assume that the man was on drugs. As he brought Alexis closer, he could take the small man out, giving her a chance to escape.
“Come on, Wade. I thought that we were friends. I liked having you at my shop,” he lied. The man’s eyes narrowed into thin slits.
“You were just a means to learn about my sister, about this demon child that should have been taken care of a long time ago. Now she’ll serve a purpose and Harposia will stay off our backs letting us run the cartel as we wish.” Wade sneered at his sister. “Of course, we do have quite a long journey ahead of us. I’m sure some of father’s men will want to make sure the product is up to par.”
Red clouded Cliff’s vision and fire burned in his veins. Standing here, listening to this man of her own flesh talk about her as if Alexis was nothing more than trash was one of the most disgusting things Cliff had ever witnessed.
A shrill sound broke through the room and Cliff reached into his pocket to get his phone.
“You better make that quick,” Wade commanded.
Glancing down at the screen, Cliff held back his sigh of relief when he saw Preston’s name. Somehow, he needed to get the officer to realize that something was wrong.
“Hey, Preston. I think that maybe we should get together for beers tonight instead of tomorrow. Heard there was a new bar off the highway on the way to Asheville. Think you could call everyone to meet us there? Great. See you then.”
Cliff could only hope and pray that Preston understood what he was trying to tell him because the way Alexis’ face morphed meant that she comprehended every word. She knew that he had a plan.
Just as Cliff slipped his phone back into his front pocket, Wade’s eyes skipped over to the front window, giving Cliff the second he needed to pull the gun from the back of his pants.
Wade didn’t even realize what happened by the time the bullet landed between his eyes. With the drugs in his system, his reaction time was too slow to counter before Cliff obtained the shot.
The sound of Wade’s gun dropping to the floor broke Alexis out of her stupor and she rushed toward Cliff, barreling into his arms.
“I’m so sorry,” she repeated as she peppered his face with kisses.
As much as he hated it, he pulled her off of his body and cradled her face in his hands. “Babe, you’ll have all of the time in the world to apologize, but right now, we have to go.”
Gripping her hand, Cliff ran through the living room toward the back door with Alexis trailing behind. Thank goodness for her FBI training and healed leg wound, she was able to keep up with his pace as they flew through the door and over the back deck.
Cliff spared a glance over his shoulder, the large vehicle that had captured Wade’s attention now barreling toward the house.
“We need to head toward the lake; there is a path just beyond it leading to Harlan’s.”
Together they sprinted toward safety, hand in hand. The clearing came into view and Cliff began to breathe a sigh of relief.
“Oh god, they’re coming, Cliff!”
At her frantic voice, Cliff peered over his shoulder to find nine men chasing them on foot.
His speed was fast, but with Alexis in tow, he moved a bit slower. He shouldn’t have made that mistake. As if these men were part of an Olympic track team, they were closing in on Cliff and Alexis at an alarming rate.
The lake was in view, the path just beyond the marshy bush visible only to a knowing eye.
Taking them toward the left, Cliff diverted from the path and maneuvered them over fallen trees and prickly bushes. The full growth from spring offered them some camouflage. All too soon, the woods came to an end and Cliff made a choice.
Turning toward Alexis, he gripped her shoulders in his hands.