Pros & Cons Ch. 05

Five in total. Pistols and flashlights, because they hadn't expected to chase us. And this wasn't his A-team. If I'd been facing my guys, I would be dead already. They wouldn't be stupid enough to wade through the clearing, they would have circled around until they were behind me. These guys must be local, some random goons sent to secure me and Sienna before the real pros showed up.

I skirted the edge, finding a prime spot to lay down.

I swallowed the grunt of pain, and adjusted until my belly was on the ground. I was less of a target this way, and I could see them even though they couldn't see me.

I shouldered the rifle in the crook of my firing arm - which just so happened to be my injured shoulder as well. I had to reposition my body a few times until I didn't have to twist around to get everyone in my sights.

I let out a breath as the first target came into view, and adjusted the sight just a hair, my finger teasing the trigger. Quietly, I waited, until the first guy got closer. He was all the way on the other side, but I wanted to start with the closest to the hill. I squeezed the trigger and shot him right above the left eye.

The others dropped, giving me just enough time to get the second and third targets. Four and five ran for cover, having now figured out where the shots were coming from. They returned fire, missing me by several inches. I eased back even as my vision swam and my head spun like crazy, but I managed to get the smaller of the targets in my sight. I took a shot at him...

And missed.

Fuck.

I realigned my weapon and aimed again, got him just above the ear. Skimming the trees for the last of them, exhaustion set in and my heart was drumming wildly, as though trying to pump the blood out of my body even faster.

I caught sight of the big guy as he ran up the hill, and by then it was too late to aim properly and shoot. But I did anyway, and yup...

Missed.

I scrambled off the floor as quickly as I could, even as my body begged me to stay down. I could barely see him, but I ran at him with full speed and nearly cheered when my injured shoulder punched right through his gut. I grabbed both his thighs and lifted him, slamming his back into the trunk of a tree.

I straightened and planted the full force of my forearm into his face, satisfied with the sickening crunch of his nose breaking. Next I aimed for his throat, trying to crush his windpipe. But he landed a few punches into my abs, and two of them hit just the right target. I cried out and pulled back.

He tackled me.

And we both went tumbling down the little hill. I got hit by a couple of rocks, scraped my arms and face on some broken branches. But it's the thin trunk of a young tree that knocks the breath out of me. I found myself wrapped around it, my lungs refusing to take in another breath.

Distracted, bleeding and inches from death, I'm no match for the other guy. He could've waited until I died right there, but he clearly wanted to kill me himself.

Guns forgotten on the floor, he sat on my stomach and wrapped his meaty paws around my neck. His grip is fucking unbreakable, so I punch and scratch at his face to try and get him off. But they were soft love taps at this point. None of my attacks had much power in them. What little I could see was already blurring around the edges.

I sent a prayer to whatever deity would listen to watch over Sienna and keep her safe as the last of the world turned to a blurry darkness.

My limbs fell to my sides. I stopped fighting, just as I lost the will to live. I was eddying on the winds of unconsciousness when I was startled awake by a loud bang.

The hands around my throat loosened and oxygen abruptly filled my lungs. I took a large, painful breath and coughed. Shocked, I reached for my throat, because I could still feel the tight grip he'd had on my neck. My eyes watered and I tried to sit up, but it took every bit of strength I had just to fill my lungs with air.

I blinked my eyes open and saw the most beautiful woman I'd ever gazed upon in my entire life. I couldn't understand why exactly I'd been allowed to get into Heaven, but I was damn grateful-

"Wake up! Axel, please. Please, wake up. Axel!"

I snapped out of my trance and blinked up at the face looking down on me. She was crying and shaking me, slapping me when I refused to respond...

And it shouldn't hurt, but it fucking did.

"Wake up! Axel."

"What...the fuck? Did you just fucking slap me?" I groaned, pushing her hands aside. With her help, I was able to sit up and glare at her. My voice sounded deeper than usual, and I was taking deep lungfuls of air.

"You didn't wake up and I thought..."

She shook her head, then gently propped me up against the very tree that had tried to break me in half. I looked around at the fucker that had tried to kill me, but he was lying dead on the floor. His blood flowed steadily out of him.

I resisted the urge to kick him in the face and instead waited for Sienna to get back. She had fabric in her hands, which she may have torn from somewhere. Lifting the hem of my shirt, she hurriedly wrapped the length around my middle and tied the ends firmly behind my back.

If I had the strength to grunt or growl, I would have. But all I could do was stand while she helped me up, and let her lead us back towards the bar.

"They'll have a car, I think. If we can steal one, then we can get to a safe distance before they realise their guys aren't coming back. Just five minutes, bear, you can do that for me, right?"

I growled my assent, and she slowly led us back into the forest. She caught me when I stumbled and righted me when my legs stopped working, but she never once showed her frustration with me or gave up. I held onto her until we were close to the bar and she left me against a tree to check if we had company.

I glanced at the bar, realised the smoke we'd smelled earlier was from a fire that had started upstairs. It wasn't so bad that the authorities were already on their way, but it was only a matter of time before the cops were all over the scene. I held a weakened hand to my side and did my best to stay upright.

My grip tightened on the pistol I held when I heard footsteps, but I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw Sienna running back to me with a smile on her face and hope in her eyes.

"They must have all run after us when they realised we were gone. I got the keys to one of the pick-up trucks they drove here in," she said, waving a set in front of me. After celebrating her victory, she carefully assisted me into the passenger seat of a red pick-up before covering half my upper body with her coat. It did nothing to fight off the cold, but I suspect even a roaring fire couldn't have done that. I nearly fell right out the door when she let go, and she made such a fuss that I had to remind her of our situation to get her moving.

She slammed the door hard and pushed the key into the ignition after a long minute. The engine roared to life and she swerved onto the road, narrowly missing a pole by a few inches.

"Where are we going?"

Her lips pursed into a flat line, and I wondered if she would answer me. Then she said, "A close friend. He lives about thirty minutes outside of Kansas and he can help us. I won't tell him any of the other stuff, I promise. I just want him to help you."

I turned to look at her, my heart beating slow despite the flood of emotions that suddenly washed over me. I swore to myself that when she and I got out of this mess, that I would take her as far away as possible from all this danger. She would never feel any fear or pain ever again. I would protect her, even if it was the last thing I ever did.

We were racing to our destination at this point, with Sienna breaking every single rule of the road. She didn't really seem to care that I was being tossed around like a limp doll, sparing only a second to pull me upright and pat my arm while she murmured apologies.

"Shit, you're so cold."

"You gonna warm me up, darlin'?" I teased, trying to distract from the pain. "But I have to warn you. I'm not sure I have enough blood to get it up right now."

She actually laughed. That glorious sound filled the car and warmed my insides even as the air-conditioning tried to thaw the cold from the outside. She reached across for my hand, and I gave her the thumb she liked to hold because her hands were too small to wrap around the entire width of my gigantic paws. She squeezed hard. A gentle gesture, insignificant to most, but it meant the world to me.

"I thought for sure you'd be able to get it up for your girl. Because apparently that's what I am now."

I closed my eyes and felt consciousness fade with every beat of my heart. "Maybe if I tried really hard..."

My voice faded as my vision darkened, and I let out a long breath before I focused again.

"...with me, Axel. Stay with me. Don't fall asleep."

Her voice sounded distorted and far away, as if my senses were no longer keyed into reality. Fuck, I wanted to do as she asked. But I couldn't. I would take a little nap, and when I woke up, I would know what to do.

Yeah. Just...a...little...nap...