Ballistic: Icarus Series, Book Two (42 page)

“How long were they inside?” Tessa asked, her scar twisting with her frown.

“No clue,” Ty shrugged. “Soon as we saw Micah crawl up under their rig, we pulled back.”

“He did what?” Zander’s mouth dropped open.

Despite his slew of debilitating injuries, Micah had executed a rather impressive, albeit insanely dangerous, escape. The soldiers stationed inside the ticket booth were momentarily distracted when the truck’s engine roared to life. Their backs were turned for a fraction of a second, but it was just long enough for Micah to make his move.

According to Ty, he hadn’t seen anything that impressive since he was ten years old and watched his granny thread a needle with her eyes closed. In the span of a breath, Micah dove out from behind the building, rolled beneath the truck, and disappeared up into the undercarriage, the four armed soldiers none the wiser.

The men in the ticket booth waved dismissively, and their cohorts in the truck rolled off, completely unaware of their unauthorized cargo. As soon as they realized what Micah was doing, the guys mounted up and followed the truck. They hung back at a distance and rode behind the wall of cars to avoid being seen.

Micah managed to hold on until they reached the highway onramp a mile away from the park’s entrance. When the truck slowed for the roundabout, Micah log rolled out from beneath it, and down into the ditch on the side of the road. As soon as the truck was out of sight, Ty and Ballard moved in to get him.

“Poor guy was dizzier than a grizzly in a twister, but he still came up swinging,” Ty snorted. “Took us a minute to talk him down, too.”

“Micah did all that?” Riley bit her lip anxiously and pressed her hand to her chest, staring down at Micah.

“Your boyfriend is pretty bad-ass, Riley,” Ty smiled at her. “I think—.”

“Hold up.” Eli shot to his feet, cutting Ty off. “You said all of the soldiers were wearing masks, right? White masks and black gloves?”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “Why?”

“That’s standard CDC pandemic quarantine protocol,” Eli said, lowering the compress from his bruised face. “If those guards are geared that way, they are working under the assumption that most, if not all, of those people are infected.”

“Ain’t no way,” Ty shook his head. “I got a pretty good at those folks. They weren’t dancin’ in the sunshine, or nothin’, but didn’t none of them look sick.”

“Most of them probably aren’t,” Eli shrugged, “but as long as the guys with the guns
believe
they are, that’s all that matters. Perception is reality. If they are convinced that those poor people are somehow a threat, they will do whatever it takes to contain it.”

“Oh, God,” Riley gasped, her eyes wide as realization struck. “The soldiers think
they’re
the good guys, don’t they? That means—.”

“It means they are not going to go down without a fight,” Tessa said.

“Neither will we,” I said, squaring my shoulders.

Chapter 37

Escape Clause

As much as my body craved sleep, resting had been a fruitless endeavor. After a few hours of tossing and turning, I’d given up and opted for pacing the carousel. There was simply too much noise in my head to even consider sleep.

My brother needs me.

I loosened the laces on my boots, then tightened them back up and double-knotted the ends. I’d already done this at least five times. Maybe if I got them just right, I’d be able to breathe again.

Squints flitted past me like some sort of war fairy, dispensing an armful of random weaponry. Keith followed in his wake, barking about counts and jotting furiously on his clipboard as he struggled to keep up. He was so focused on his inventory that he didn’t notice when Ethan and one of his cronies stepped into his path.

“You need to watch where you’re going,” Ethan barked as Keith’s clipboard clattered to the floor.

“I might suggest you do the same,” Keith growled as he bent up.

“Isn’t that cute,” the other guy mocked, nudging Ethan with his elbow. “The accountant wants to step up to you, E.”

“Oh, please.” Ethan crossed his arms with a smug grin. “I ain’t afraid of—”

“You listen to me,
E
,” Keith cut Ethan off, jabbing him in the chest with the corner of his clipboard. “If you think I’m going to let you half-wits pick over this table like a couple of vultures at a mass grave, you have another thing coming. I know exactly what we have on hand, down to the very last bullet. If you mess up my counts or even consider taking more than what’s been assigned to you, I will know, and I will end you. Do you understand?”

“Jesus, man,” Ethan’s friend said, pulling him out of Keith’s way. “We were just messing around.”

“One rifle. One box of ammo.” Keith pointed at them in turn. “Am I clear?”

“Clear,” Ethan nodded, his jaw clenched. He glared at Keith’s back as he rushed on about his business, and then stomped over to claim his weapon.

“This is so dumb,” Christa shrieked, stomping her foot.

She was angry that we’d left her out of our plans, and had cornered Jake by the restrooms to plead her case. Falisha jerked her chin at me as she and Tessa rushed by. Guns clattered and knives clanked. Shoes squeaked on tile, and voices echoed around me. I closed my eyes tight, desperate to shut out the chaos for just a moment.

The images in my mind were far more terrifying.

Coming to, with the Alpha’s inky blood dripping from my hands. Blackened bodies piled at my feet. The deep, X-shaped gouges in Zander’s back. The look on Riley’s face when she finally realized what I had done. Micah’s battered body.

He’s dying, and it’s all my fault.

Bella whimpered anxiously at my side and nudged my leg with her nose. Her big brown eyes flicked up, pleading for reassurances I couldn’t give. As far as kamikaze missions go, our plan (complete with contingency) was actually pretty solid. We had information, weapons, and the element of surprise on our side but I still couldn’t shake the sense of dread coiling in my gut.

Before I knew what was happening, my laces were dangling in my fingers again, and Bella was gone. She must have wandered off while I was playing tug of war with my boots. With a sigh, I retied the laces and knotted them three times.

I reached for my pack and pulled it into my lap, digging through the contents one last time. One change of clothes. A day’s worth of rations. Small first aid kit. Lighter. Two bungee cords and six feet of rope. Beneath it all, was my brother’s ratty old lion and the bottle of booze Rhiannon had given me. It was all there, just like it had been five minutes ago when I last checked.

I watched from the corner of my eye as Zander slid a clean, gray t-shirt over his head. Despite his fervent resistance, Collin had insisted on suturing the wounds on his back before we left. Twenty stitches in, I stopped counting and turned away, no longer able to bear the sight of what’d I’d done.

“Finally,” Ballard joked, patting him on the shoulder.

“Dude,” Zander winced, laughing despite his obvious discomfort.

He trusted me, and I hurt him. I almost
killed
him.
It didn’t matter how quickly the physical wounds healed. This incident would leave a scar…for both of us.

Zander’s brow furrowed and he quickly turned in my direction.
Don’t,
I mouthed, holding my hand up. His jaw clenched, and he stopped in his tracks, his eyes challenging me. I looked away, willing him to do the same. The eagle dangling over my heart was burning a hole right through me.

“Are you sure about this, Mason?” Tamsen asked, biting her bottom lip.

“You’ll look out for him?” Mason whispered. His arms locked tightly around his son. “No matter what.”

“Of course, but—.” Tamsen’s breath caught.

“Then, I’m sure,” Mason said, his sharp breath tussling Caleb’s curls. “Daddy has to go and help our new friends, now. You be good for Tamsen until I get back, okay?”

“I go, Daddy?” Caleb asked, once again latching onto Mason’s neck.

“Not this time, buddy,” Mason’s face tightened as he kissed the boy’s temple.

“I go!” Caleb whined.

“I’ll see you soon, I promise.” Mason pried his son free and passed him, kicking and screaming, into Tamsen’s arms. “I love you so much, Caleb.”

“Daddy!” Caleb wailed. “I go. I go.”

“Be careful,” Tamsen choked back a sob and hurried away with Caleb squirming.

“She’ll be there,” Mason whispered to himself, absently spinning the band of gold on his finger. “She has to be.”

I’d fought him on it when Mason had insisted he come along, but there was no deterring him. Now, I understood why. I whistled softly through my teeth and Bella came running. I dropped to a knee and buried my face in her neck, hugging her tight. She licked my face and craned her neck over my shoulder, her front paw resting on my leg.

“Go to Caleb,” I whispered, scratching her behind her ears. She pulled back and cocked her head to the side, her eyes locked on mine as I rose to my feet. “Take care of him, Bells.”

She licked my hand and barked softly, then hobbled off into the shadows.

“Mmm,” Squints grunted, nudging my arm.

In his hands, he held Louie, freshly cleaned and sharpened. Aside from a new groove worn into the blade (presumably, from where I’d buried it in that alpha’s skull) and the blood stains on the fabric, you could hardly tell it had been party to a massacre just a few hours ago.

“Thanks,” I said, grabbing for it.

“Uhn,” Squints shook his head back and forth, one hand still wrapped tightly around the handle.

“What?” I sighed. “If this is because I won’t carry a gun…”

“Pffft,” he snuffed dismissively.

“What, then?” I asked.

He scratched at his beard as if lost in thought. After an awkward pause, he pushed his glasses up his nose and pointed sharply in my face. His arm swept wide, gesturing toward each of my friends as they bustled about the room, preparing for a battle they should never have been asked to fight.

“Umph,” Squints grunted, tilting his chin at me.

His fingers curled into a fist, his eyes fierce, despite the distortion from the thick lenses he wore. He let out a measured breath, tapped his temple with his middle finger, and then slowly pressed his hand to his heart, his fingers splayed out. He nodded resolutely, shoved Louie into my hands, and walked away.

Mason had already joined Riley near the weapons table. The two of them chatted anxiously as they received their guns and improvised hardware. Riley crossed her arms over her chest as Squints approached. Her gaze met mine over his shoulder. They held fear and fortitude in equal measure, but beneath it all, I saw sadness—betrayal, maybe. I owed her so much more than an apology. Even if we’d had the time, I wouldn’t have known where to begin.

“That dude is hella weird,” Megan said, suddenly at my side. “Nice bat-thingy, by the way. Wanna trade?”

“Yes, he is,” I said, side-eying the small handgun she clutched in her hand, “and no, I don’t.”

“Suit yourself,” she shrugged, shoving the gun into the side of her studded belt. After a moment of awkward silence, she shrugged again and turned to go. Two steps off, she looked back over her shoulder at me. “Oh, and I’d maybe start with,
I’m sorry.
”

My mouth fell open, and I stared after her, dumbstruck. Did she just…? No. I shook the idea loose before it could grab hold. The others had begun to gather near the emergency exit. Jake and Tessa stood shoulder to shoulder near the door. Though lost in conversation, their eyes absently tracked Falisha as she paced back and forth in front of them. One hand was fisted at her side. The other was clutched around Tim’s sawed-off shotgun.

Tim. I’d all but forgotten him in the chaos of the last couple of days. What does that say about me as a person?

I’m a monster.

“Hey, kiddo,” Tessa said, heading toward me as I approached. “I think we are just about set, here. Riley just finished Mason’s little makeover, and he is getting changed now. It isn’t a perfect match, by any means, but it’s dark, so we should be okay. Squints is handing out the last of the gear, and Zander took a couple of guys out to grab the bikes. They should be back any minute. You good to go?”

“I kind of have to be,” I said, clutching Louie tightly in my hands.

“Yes, you do.” She nodded, her eyes fixed on my weapon. “You’re
sure
you won’t take a gun? I grabbed one for you, just in case you changed your mind.”

She reached into her back pocket and pulled out the smallest gun I’d ever seen. The barrel couldn’t have been more than a couple inches long. The weapon, itself, barely filled Tessa’s palm.

“Trust me. It’s a bad idea,” I said, my jaw set.

Tessa opened her mouth to challenge me, but a rhythmic banging on the outside of the door pulled her attention, and she slid the tiny gun back into her pocket. Jake released the lock and removed the board that was lodged beneath the handle. Devon strode in, followed immediately by Ballard and Zander.

“Right on cue,” Tessa said, jerking her head toward the door. “Let’s get moving.”

“Tessa, wait,” I said, grabbing onto her arm. “Before we go, I need you to promise me something.”

“I don’t like the sound of that.” She crossed her arms.

My eyes drifted to Zander, then back to her. Tears threatened, but I swallowed them back. Weakness was a luxury I could no longer afford. There was far too much at stake.

“Liv?” She narrowed her eyes.

“If I lose control,” I began, my voice shaking.

“You won’t.” Tessa’s jaw tensed, and she immediately tried to pull away.

“
If I lose control
,” I pressed, not releasing her arm, “I want you to…take care of it.”

“Liv, no.” Tessa yanked her hand away.

“Tessa, please,” I hissed, desperate. “You have to.”

“Don’t,” Tessa whispered her face taut. “Don’t ask me to do this.”