Bound Together (Sea Haven/Sisters of the Heart 6)

I'm passing the point of no return, Jackson said, using the bridge Elle created between the other members of their group and Torpedo Ink.

Keep coming. They'll have a truck fall in behind you, Viktor said. My boys will take care of that. Steele? Savage? You on that?

Savage and Steele, both wearing Sword colors, stepped out on either side of the road as the truck carrying the six men Evan had sent to watch for Jackson's arrival came up the road. It slowed and came to a stop when they approached.

"Need a ride. Habit sent us to back you up," Steele said as he approached. "We'll climb in the back."

The driver nodded. Steele had already picked his three targets. He didn't bother to confirm with Savage. Knowing him, the man was going to take them all. Steele put his hand on the door, smiling amicably, and shot the driver in the head, and then turned the gun on the two closest Swords in the back of the pickup. Savage had dropped all three of his targets before Steele finished squeezing the trigger.

We'll be coming up behind him, Czar, Steele reported.

The truck is ours, just ignore it as if you think they're campers. You feelin' a little like the turkey at a turkey shoot yet?

Not my favorite person right now, Viktor, Jackson said. Don't expect anything under the tree at Christmas from me.

I should be, Viktor said. My boys are going to save your ass.

Viktor, Blythe broke in, I'm not close enough. I can feel tendrils of energy coming from the source and I can't tap into it and take it until I get the entire stream.

Viktor's heart jerked hard. Stay where you are.

I have to move a little closer. I won't be able to stop Evan when he resorts to using a psychic power.

He could tell she was already on the move. He shot a glance in her direction. Evidently the others were masking her presence, because there was no telltale sign of dirt rising or even the movement of the trees or brush. He breathed a sigh of relief.

Jackson's truck was nearly to the ambush site. A beat-up ancient-looking camper was sitting just ahead in the road with a man dressed in old blue jeans and a plaid shirt standing beside it waving a cell phone.

That's Ronnie, one of Evan's hand-picked soldiers, armed to the teeth, and the camper shell houses four others, Viktor informed him. Come up on his left, away from the river. Angle your truck so you're closer to that ditch.

Jackson drove to within several feet of the camper, but did as Viktor instructed. I want you to know, you don't keep my ass alive, my woman is going to roast you.

Not my job. My job is to kill that son of a bitch. My boys have the job of making sure your ass is still alive at the end of all this. You hearing this, Elle? Viktor questioned.

Jackson. His name was breathed into their minds. Soft. A caress. So intimate it was difficult to hear.

I'm alive, baby, Jackson assured her. You know I've been in worse spots.

Ink, we need that map now. We need to know where each of us is all the time. Keys, the moment he gives it to you, light us up. Good guys blue, bad guys red. Got that, everyone? Bad guys red. Don't shoot one another, Viktor cautioned.

Almost done, Ink said. Using the vision from the birds and animals surrounding them, he was able to map out the location of every Sword member and pass the information on to another Torpedo Ink member, Keys.

Keys immediately projected the laser-like red dots on their targets and then the blue on everyone left. Check to make certain you're wearing the correct colored dot, and if I missed someone, shout out.

Pretty certain you missed me, Jackson said.

You have the biggest targets all over you, Viktor said. You just can't see them yet. He felt Elle's reaction and wished he hadn't joked with the man. His woman was having a difficult time with her husband being a sitting duck.

Jackson deliberately sat in his truck as if he was listening to his dispatcher. He spoke into the radio and then opened his door. Casual. Confident. Viktor liked the man for that. Most would be sweating.

Lexi, get the ground prepared for him. All hell could break loose at any time.

She's on it, Blythe said.

He heard the strain in her voice and wished, for the millionth time, he had forbidden her to participate. He found himself torn in two directions. After five years of living with slime, he wanted to kill Evan Shackler-Gratsos and rid the world of someone so vile. On the other hand, he wanted to throw his woman over his shoulder and get her to safety.

The moment Jackson set his foot on the ground, Viktor felt small vibrations traveling up his leg. Lexi, he knew, was communicating with the earth, sending it orders. He hoped she was as good as Gavriil and the others had said. She'd need to be.

Jackson slid out of his truck, his thumb sliding the safety off his weapon as he approached the camper.

Don't go past that bumper for any reason, Viktor cautioned.

Jackson stopped abruptly just short of rounding the hood. "You call? I've got another call I have to go to. Tell me what's going on, but make it fast."

As he spoke the Swords stepped out of the tree line on three sides of him, all wearing their colors. A good hundred strong, making an arc, coming out of every campground or rising up out of the brush. Jackson pulled his weapon from his holster and laid it against his thigh as he looked around. "You invited me to the party? How nice. Haven't been to one of these in years."

Ronnie shook his head. "Not my party, but you were invited."

He stepped back, and a group of men walked forward together as a tight-knit unit just as a truck closed in behind the sheriff's truck, effectively blocking him in. Jackson kept his eyes glued to the man in the center he caught glimpses of.

That's Evan. He's surrounded by bodyguards and they're keeping close to him. They're all wearing body armor, Jackson reported to Viktor.

Viktor slipped back out of the crowd of Swords where he'd been stationed with Habit and the Louisiana chapter. As he'd expected, Evan wanted them close. They were to the right of Jackson. He didn't have a good angle for a kill shot. I have to get into position. Reaper, Mechanic, Absinthe, Transporter, Casimir and Preacher, get into position to take out the guards.

Moving now. Within moments each man had checked in to say they were in position.

Viktor still couldn't get a clear shot, but the angle was better and he was certain once he had the guards cleared away he could kill Evan. The moment the guards fell, or the sound of gunshots rang out, all hell would break loose. Jackson's safety was paramount and he was in a dangerous position.

"Are you going to hide in your little protective circle like a coward or come out and face me?" Jackson said. "Clearly you arranged the reception." He gestured with one hand, keeping the other, holding his gun, down by his thigh. "I'm feeling very honored that you thought so much of me you had to bring an army with you."

The air shimmered. Grew hot. Around the bodyguards a visual shield of translucent, iridescent waves appeared. Evan Shackler-Gratsos stepped to the front. He wasn't tall, and his once stocky frame was thin. His nose was slightly hooked and his cheeks hollow. His skin looked sallow but his eyes were alive with hatred and glee.

"I see you sample your own products," Jackson continued matter-of-factly. "Not a good idea, but then you never were very smart. Evan Shackler, the whiny kid who followed my father around everywhere. I remember you. You looked better when you were fifteen."

Do you feel his power? My God, he's nearly filling the entire campground and he's not even generating much actual energy. Elle's voice shook.

You've got this, baby, Jackson assured.

The moment he responded, little sparks of red and orange zipped through the air around Jackson, landing on his skin like tiny fireflies, burning him.

Evan looked around. "Is that little bitch of yours here? Good. My men are going to party hard with her tonight. She was hard to train, not one of the bright ones, but in the end she did what she was born for."

I'm moving closer. Blythe was firm. Jackson, don't answer us no matter what.

He's concentrating on you.

Damn it, Blythe, you stay put. Viktor didn't want her anywhere near Evan. That bad feeling nagging at him kept growing. That wall of transparency shimmering between Evan, his bodyguards and everyone else meant no bullets would penetrate. Just get down his protection so I can take the shot.

I have to be closer to do it. He's very powerful. It's going to take a minute, so be ready. Lexi, you need to be ready just in case. Rikki, you and Abbey too. This entire forest could go up in flames if he gets a chance to retaliate.

That didn't make Viktor feel better about her moving from the pocket of safety they'd created for the women. He risked a glance up toward the road where the women were concealed. The gate was closed and locked, but that didn't mean bullets couldn't reach them or any of the Swords rushing up the road to get to them.

Player, you're nearest to Blythe, make your way closer. Do it slow so no one notices you changing position.

"I killed your father," Evan said. "And then I killed my mother. I shot him six times and drowned her. Everyone thought a rival club killed him and my brother drowned my mother. It's easy to manipulate people into believing anything I want them to. I kept my eye on you, but I couldn't get to you, but then my brother took your woman. I tried to get her from him, but he wouldn't let me have her." Evan grinned. "He was such an idiot I had to show him how to train her. He enjoyed it, but learned he did too late."

Jackson just watched him. He didn't move a muscle.

"Put the gun down. You're surrounded in case you hadn't noticed."

"I'll keep it, thanks." Jackson deliberately took a slow look around the circle of grim faces. "You really must think I'm a badass to bring so many of your little friends."

Evan shrugged. "They need to witness what I do to my enemies. It keeps them in line. Put the gun down."

Jackson slowly shook his head. Evan raised his hand. The tension in the air became so heavy it felt like a gathering tornado. He pushed the air toward Jackson. Fire crackled. Flames snapped toward him like a great whip. The crack was loud. The whip of flames never touched Jackson.

The moment Evan created it and the long sizzling whip of fire rushed toward Jackson, a powerful vacuum sucked it away from him. The shimmer around Evan tumbled down.

Under the truck. Now, Jackson, Viktor commanded as he took the shot.

Evan dove to the ground as his bodyguards began to shoot at Jackson and the camper with automatic weapons. They'd lined the inside of the camper with protective bulletproof armor, but it was taking a tremendous hit. Jackson was already rolling under the truck into the depression Lexi had created for him. He hunkered down as deep as the long depression allowed while hundreds of bullets hit his vehicle.

The moment the first shot was fired, the world turned to hell with the Swords shooting at everything and nothing. The noise was loud and chaos reigned. A wall of flames rushed toward the truck and leapt to surrounding trees. Men rushed between Viktor and his target but he was relentless, stalking the man, trusting his brothers to take out the bodyguards.

It was impossible to see for a moment as Lexi and Elle created some kind of dirt barrier between the truck and the wall of rushing flames.

Go, go. Blythe said. Get out of there, he's very powerful.

Jackson rolled to his left, down into the deeper ditch. Ilya, Sarah and Alek burst out of the truck with Maxim and Stefan as a wall of flame rushed over it. They leapt for the ditch. The flames followed and hit a solid wall of dirt and water.

Lexi, Rikki, Abbey, I've got this now. Ilya said. I can defend us here. You and Elle let Blythe feed you power and take out the rest of them.

Steele and Savage joined Jackson and the others in the ditch. They went back to back as did Sarah and Ilya and Jackson and Alek.

Reaper fired and one of the bodyguards went down, giving Viktor another glimpse of Evan, just his leg, but it was a target. He took the shot and the man screamed. One of the bodyguards reached down and dragged him up and into the center of them. Evan disappeared, but the battle began for supremacy.

The Egg Taking Station campground became an instant battleground. The Swords members stepped toward the truck from all directions, pouring bullets from every type of weapon from handguns and shotguns to automatic rifles. Torpedo Ink and the Prakenskii brothers shot their targets methodically, kill shots as they'd been trained from the time they were children. As the Swords went down, they became aware that Jackson and his small band of defenders weren't the only enemy. The club members rushed for cover or hit the ground. A few ran toward the bikes.

The fight in those few seconds was hot, not just from the wild gun battle, but from the flames Evan threw in every direction in order to cover his retreat. Viktor had to fight through the bodies and skirmishers, the smoke and flames, to try to keep track of the bodyguards and Evan abandoning the field.

Viktor felt the exact moment when Blythe took control. It was impossible not to feel it. Everyone felt it. For one moment guns fell silent. Power became a living, breathing entity, so strong the force of it shook the earth beneath their feet, the trees and bushes swaying. The flames froze so they appeared as long towers of flickering orange and red.

Evan's scream pierced the stillness. It was the wounded cry of an animal, and then he was yelling for his men to get the bitch on the hillside. "Get her. Get her now. Kill her. One million to the man who brings me her fucking head."

Viktor's heart nearly stopped. He turned his head to see his worst nightmare. Blythe was in plain sight, her face a mask of concentration.

Get down. Get down. Viktor yelled the command into her mind, willing her to obey him. Blythe wasn't the kind of woman who jumped at a man's directive but he poured every ounce of who and what he'd been made into inside that order. His heart thudded wildly and he could taste fear in his mouth.

As Evan screamed, she dropped to the ground and dirt and leaves geysered up in front of her like a massive fountain, a wall between her and the barrage of bullets coming her way. He vowed to remember to find a way to thank Lexi later. Rikki was taking the energy Blythe wove and bound to the women's powerful gifts and she doused the flames licking through the grass and trees. At the same time, the river rose, sweeping several of the Swords away with the sudden force of power in the water.

Gavriil, Lev and Master, one of the Torpedo Ink members, ran toward the locked gate, firing at the ten club members who had peeled off to obey Evan. Gavriil was fearless, firing on the run as he leapt over the gate, and then ran backward, using two weapons, blocking the road between the club members and the women. Master went to his knee just in front of the gate and Lev to the side of it.

The ground trembled and then shook, knocking the four remaining club members down on top of their brethren Lev, Gavriil and Master had killed. The moment the four men went down, Lev and Master were standing above them, firing the kill shots before any of the men could recover.

Mechanic followed the group of bodyguards surrounding Viktor. He moved carefully through the Swords, his weapon out, trying to look as if he were part of the battle. He sighted on the calf of one of the bodyguards, squeezed the trigger and brought him down. While the man lay writhing on the ground, the group kept running, dragging Evan between them. They were angling up toward the back logging roads headed back toward the railroad tracks. Mechanic shot the bodyguard in the head as he lifted his automatic toward the bluff where Blythe was.

To Viktor, it looked as if every Sword member was looking to collect the one million dollars Evan had promised for Blythe's head. They turned away from Jackson and began to try to work their way up through the campgrounds and trees toward the road where the women were stationed.

Get out of there. All of you.

We can't. We move and Evan will take over again. I've got his power. He can't use it. You have to kill him, Viktor. Blythe said. We'll hold them back until you get the job done.

There isn't holding back a hundred men, Blythe. The woman made him crazy. Can't you do one damned thing

I tell you to do?

Not if it means you and the others could die.

She was firm on that. There was not going to be any budging her so Viktor didn't argue. The Sword members looked like locusts swarming, but Torpedo Ink and his blood brothers were whittling them down. He saw Player and Maestro take out six with just six quick shots and then they ran to protect Blythe, still firing, picking off two more on the edge of the road. Code fired methodically, bringing down a good number by himself.

Absinthe went to one knee between two Sword members, but he wasn't looking toward Blythe, but to the left of her. He fired and one of the bodyguards jerked and then fell, tumbling down through the grass. He immediately turned right and then left, firing at nearly point-blank range on the two Sword members on either side of him.

Evan turned toward the battle and raised his arms, gathering power. Viktor took a shot at him, but was at an odd angle and just winged him in the shoulder. Cursing, Evan dropped to the ground, the two bodyguards putting their bodies in front of him. As they did, Preacher and Casimir fired simultaneously and both toppled. Evan wasn't there.

Viktor raced toward the spot where Evan had been. When he reached the two bodies on the ground, he realized just how close to the women Evan had gotten. He was parallel to Blythe and over to the left by about thirty feet. Club members were still firing weapons, trying to get to her, trying to be the one to collect the reward.

Where'd he go, Blythe? I can't see him.

He's hidden in the grove of trees just above where you are. Be careful, Viktor, he's up to something.

Viktor was still wearing Sword colors, relying on the identifying mark Keys had put on him. He began to make his way up toward Evan, hoping the Sword president wanted more company than just the one bodyguard remaining.

He actually felt the small tremor in the earth and thought it was Lexi, but then dirt trickled and burst like a fountain right under Blythe. His heart stopped. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Evan rise with his bodyguard shielding him. Blythe tumbled with the dirt toward the men below.