Lost & Found (Possessed 3)

Leaving Pepper, lips swollen from their kisses, body tense with distress, had to be the hardest thing Nick had ever done in his life. She tried to be so fearless as she listened to their plan, told her brother to come back as she watched them pack away their gear. She fought every natural instinct in her body to beg them not to leave, and he saw the battle play out on her face. She was so much stronger than she gave herself credit for.

They were nearly five kilometres away from the cabin when they not only heard but felt the first explosion as smoke, immediately, billowed into the sky.

“Shit! He’s not wasting time,” Ace growled angrily just as Nick’s father’s voice came over the radios they all had.

“Nicky, he’s here.” The wavelength crackled as the smoke blocked some of the signal. “Son of a bitch has balls.” Before the words left his father’s mouth, another explosion went off.

Fuck,” he growled, slamming on the brakes and turning the SUV around. “Get James on there, tell him to come back.”

“On it,” Ace told him, speaking to James before he’d even finished talking.

The best-laid plans almost always fail; however, he hadn’t planned for failure with this one. He’d planned on perfection. He’d planned on keeping Pepper safe. He needed her to be safe.

“James will meet us there. What the fuck was that second explosion?” Nick knew the question was rhetorical, but failure was eating at him, and he wondered if he hadn’t disarmed one of the bombs correctly.

“Call the fire department,” he muttered to Ace. Knowing his cousin was probably already on it, he couldn’t help saying it anyway. He was in a situation where he’d had complete control, and now, they were stuck in chaos.

The five-kilometre drive back home felt twice as long as the one to get to their current location. He felt like they were going at a snail’s pace. His eyes were sharp, watching every moving branch, waiting for another attack.

As they finally reached the cabin, he saw that the back end was gone; everything practically burnt to the ground. He couldn’t care less about that. It was nothing to the safety of their woman and the fear she must be experiencing.

Flames began making their way to the front porch as he saw a small pool of blood at the first step. “Motherfucker,” he roared, jumping from the vehicle with Ace. They ran inside calling for his father. “Dad!” No answer. “Come on old man, fucking answer me!” His voice cracked just as Ace gripped his shoulder, pulling him back from inside the inferno that was his home.

“Nicky!” was called from behind them. Whirling around with guns drawn, it took them both a moment to recognize his father covered in smoke, blood, and snow.

“Fuck, Jake, you okay?” Ace asked as they ran towards him.

“Never mind me, you find that son of a bitch. He’s gone after her.” Leave it to the old man to be bleeding from his head and still be worried about Pepper.

“You okay, Pop?” His eyes roamed over Jake.

His father did something he hadn’t done since his mom passed. Wrapping a hand around Nick’s neck, he brought their heads together and said, “I’m fine, Nicky-boy. Go get your girl.”

“Fire trucks are on the way, wait for them. Send James after us once he gets here. Shouldn’t be but a few minutes,” Ace told him as Nick began following Pepper and Roxie’s tracks.

They started out at a brisk pace, noticing immediately that Medina had tried to cover their footprints. Too bad for the asshole, Roxie was too far away from Pepper for him to cover hers as well.

Ace had plenty of soul-searching, earth-shattering moments throughout his career. More life and death decisions to make than he cared to think about. Not once had any of them been as personal as the one they were in now.

He’d been worried about Pepper being out in the open, having to play bait to this psychopath, but he’d never imagined the other man would be so gutsy as to attack so soon after they had left. He had to have known they would come back upon hearing the explosions.

“You think this could be a trap?” he asked Nick.

“Fuck, yes,” he cursed. His cousin sounded deadly given the events that were occurring. Not that he wasn’t, but for Nick to be so hot under the collar, he knew the man was in love with their woman.

“Watch your six,” Ace told him, separating to run further ahead. They knew they would have to circle around the man to get the best outcome possible.

“Watch yours, too,” Nick called back to him.

A flash of light brown crossed his vision from about fifty feet to his left. Shaking it off as being a deer, he kept his eyes on Roxie’s tracks when finally, he heard voices from up ahead.

“Come on out now, Pepper,” was called, and he knew it was Alex. She had hidden. Good girl, he silently praised.

Stopping, he waited for Nick to catch up. Roxie’s angry bark carried through the trees, and he couldn’t help smiling, knowing she was taunting the man.

“How far ahead do you think?” Nick asked quietly, coming up from behind him.

Listening as the man called for Pepper again, Ace replied, “Maybe a hundred feet. What’s up that way?” He hadn’t explored too deep through the mountainside at their back door since moving home, so he hadn’t a clue.