The Belial Ring (The Belial Series 3) (7 page)

“
Yes, sir. And the others?”

“
Unimportant. Do not let anyone get in your way.”

CHAPTER 8

Hershey, Pennsylvania

L
aney walked out of the theater at Chocolate World, holding tight to Max’s hand. Not that she was worried he’d get carried away by the crowd. He was so hyped up on chocolate right at the moment, though, that there was a chance he might just bounce his way out of the place.

“
Laney, can we go to the gift store?” Bright blue eyes from under a mop of wavy brown hair stared up at her. Two dimples winked at her from his cheeks. Max was four years old and cuter than any kid had the right to be.

Laney laughed, looking around.
The people at Hershey sure knew how to market. The entire place was a gift store. “I’m pretty sure we can’t avoid it.”

She shared a smile with Max
’s mom, Kati, an adult version of Max, who was walking behind her.

Kati held out her hand to Max.
“Come on, kiddo. Let’s go see what we can find.”

Max tugged on Danny
’s shirtsleeve. “Danny, want to come?”

Danny gave him a small smile before looking up at Henry Chandler.
“Can I?”

Henry looked down.
“Sure. Just stay where we can see you.”

Danny took Max
’s other hand and Kati walked off with the two of them. Laney smiled at the friendship that had sprung up between Max and Danny. Danny was nine years older, but sometimes it almost seemed like Max was the older one, always making sure Danny was included.

Patrick cleared his throat from behind her.
With bright blue eyes and red hair that still retained its color even as he approached sixty, Patrick Delaney was a Roman Catholic priest—and the man who had raised Laney since she was ten years old.

Laney glanced back at him, already knowing what he was going to say.
“Yes, Uncle?”

Patrick nodded in the direction Kati and the boys had headed.
“I should probably go keep an eye on them.”

Laney tried to hide her smile.
“Sure. That’d be real helpful.”

Patrick gave her a grin before making a beeline for a display of giant candy bars.

Jake slipped his arm around Laney’s waist. “Patrick has a sweet tooth?”

“
Only for chocolate,” Laney said.

Jake looked at his brochure.
“Okay. So we’ve covered the 4-D movie, made our own candy bars, now all that’s left is the chocolate tour.”

Laney smiled.
Jake had planned this weekend away like it was a military op. Seeing as he was a former Navy SEAL, she probably shouldn’t have been surprised. But for a man who hadn’t had a real family since he was a teenager, he’d done amazingly well on his first family trip. She leaned up to kiss his cheek. “Yes, sir.”

“
What’s a chocolate tour?” Henry asked.

Laney linked arms with two of her favorite men.
“I believe it involves singing cows.”

She gave them both credit.
The groans they let slip were very small.

CHAPTER 9

T
hirty minutes later, Laney and the rest of the group were at the head of the line for the chocolate tour. They stepped off the stairs, Henry in the lead, waiting next to the teenage usher.

Distracted, the boy barely even glanced at them when he spoke.
“How many in your group?”

“
Seven,” Henry answered.

The poor kid glanced back
then, barely registering the rest of them before his head whipped back around and his eyes traveled up until they reached Henry’s face.

He gawked for a full ten seconds before turning to look at the floats attached to the conveyor belt
forty feet away. “Umm, you’ll need to split into two boats.”

Henry didn
’t even comment on the boy’s rudeness. Laney knew Henry was used to people staring at him, but she wished he could just go
somewhere
, sometime, without having to suffer that reaction.

“
How about Henry and I take the boys in one, and you guys take the other?” Kati suggested from behind.

“
Sounds good to me.” Laney stepped onto the moving platform, taking a moment to get her balance before walking to the first float and taking a seat in the front. Patrick followed her in, and Jake took the seat behind them.

Patrick took Laney
’s hand. “This reminds me of the trip we took to Disney. Do you remember?”

She smiled.
She’d been eleven, and it was still one of her best vacation memories. She squeezed Patrick’s hand. “How could I forget?” She settled in for an animated story of how chocolate gets made.

Jake leaned over the back as three singing cows sent them off on their trip.
“I thought you were kidding about the dancing cows.”

“
I never joke about animatronics,” Laney said.

A giant chocolate refining plant came into view on the sides of the float.
Laney grinned. This was fun. She turned to Patrick. “What do you say after—”

The float jarred to a stop and the lights went out.
A muffled shriek came from up ahead, followed by nervous laughter.

“
Must be a power outage,” Patrick said next to her in the dark.

Jake leaned forward, his hands resting on the back of the seat.
“Odd that a place like this wouldn’t have backup generators.”

Emergency track lights in the floor came on, but
they weren’t strong enough to make much of a dent in the darkness.

Laney spied a shape walking
toward them up ahead. “Someone’s coming.”

Jake flashed the flashlight he always kept on his key
ring. Laney’s breath hitched. The man walking toward them raised a weapon.

“
Gun!” Jake and Patrick yelled in in unison, just before the man opened fire.

CHAPTER 10

L
aney grunted as she slammed into the floor. Patrick leapt on top of her as gunfire raked their float.

When the barrage
paused, Laney army-crawled out of the float, with Patrick right behind. Jake was already out, lying on his side, his gun pulled. When Laney had seen him slip it into his holster this morning under his jacket, she’d tried to talk him out of bringing it. Now she wished she had brought her own.

Gunfire sounded
again, from behind them, but was quickly cut off with a yell.

“
The kids and Kati,” Laney said, fear coursing through her.

“
Check on them.” Jake returned fire with the gunman in front.

In the dim light, Laney could just make out Henry struggling with a man in the dark at the back of the second float.
Henry lifted the man up and slammed him down to the ground. The man screamed and went quiet.

Laney stayed low
, behind the floats, as she made her way to where Kati and the kids should be. Patrick followed closely behind her. When they reached the float, she looked in and was relieved to see Kati and the boys huddled on the floor.

“
Come on, Danny,” Laney said. Danny quickly climbed out of the back. She gave him a hug while Patrick got Kati and Max out of the front seat.

“
What’s going on?” Kati asked. Even in the dim light, Laney could see that her friend was shaking. The words of Agent Clark floated through her mind:
Whatever’s coming, all our analysis suggests that you will be involved.

Laney reached over and squeezed Kati
’s hand.
Damn it. Is this what he meant? Is this attack part of what he feared?
She never should have let Kati and the kids come with them. What had she been thinking?

Laney put her arm around Max.
“It’ll be all right.”

A yell from
the direction of the first float told her that Jake had found his target. But gunfire was now directed at the floats from a different spot up ahead. The shooters had backup.

Henry came back around the float. He slid a gun along the floor
toward Laney.

“
Are you hit?” Kati asked.

Henry
’s voice was calm. “I’m fine.”

But Laney could see the hole in Henry
’s shirt. He’d been shot. But she knew he was already as good as healed.

Jake duck
-walked up to them. “I’m out.”

“
Here.” Laney handed him the gun Henry had retrieved. She turned to Henry. “You need to get Kati and the boys out of here.”

Henry took both boys in his arms.
“I have two operatives in the parking lot. They should be heading here now. I’ll get Kati and the boys to them, and then I’ll come back for you guys.”

Henry
looked down at Kati. “Kati, stay with me. Anyone steps out with a gun, you step behind me. I’m your shield.”

“
Henry, I can’t—”

Laney grabbed Kati
’s arm. She didn’t have time to explain about Henry’s abilities, about how the bullets would hurt him but that he would heal almost instantly. She didn’t have time to explain who Henry was. “Do it, Kati. He’s your shield. Trust him. Now go.”

Jake aimed the gun
toward the remaining gunmen. “I’ll cover you.”

Laney squeezed Kati
’s hand. “Trust him.”

Kati nodded.

“Now!” Jake yelled, leaping up and covering their escape.

Henry disappeared into the dark, Kati right behind him.

“Okay. Our turn to disappear,” Patrick said.

Gunfire raked their float.
“Any ideas?” Laney asked.

Jake nodded over the float
toward the emergency exit across from them. “We’re heading there. They may have more guys outside, but at least we’ll have a better chance of seeing them. You guys ready?”

Laney nodded, but felt the familiar stirrings of fear.
Why the hell did these things keep happening to her?

Jake leaned out and fired.
The gunman dropped. But they could hear footsteps running toward them. “Don’t know if that’s the good guys or the bad. So let’s get going.”

The three of them bolted for the exit.
Laney reached it first. She crashed through, Patrick right behind her. The door opened onto an alley lined with dumpsters.

Laney groaned.
Even though she lacked her uncle’s and Jake’s military training, she recognized a perfect spot for an ambush.

A man popped up at the end of the lane from behind a dumpster.
Bullets peppered the wall behind them.

“
Laney!” Patrick pushed her to the ground.

Jake burst out
of the door behind them, firing. The gunman dropped. Jake turned and grabbed a piece of wood, jamming it in the door.

“
Uncle Patrick.” Laney’s eyes grew wide as she saw blood spreading across his sleeve.

He shook off her concern.
“It’s just a graze. Don’t worry.”

Gunfire crashed into the door behind them.
Jake grabbed Laney and Patrick by the arms. “Let’s move.”

They reached the end of the alley.
Jake grabbed the weapon from the man he’d shot. He slid out the magazine. “About ten left.”

Behind them, the door to the factory blew open.
“Go!” Jake yelled.

Together, they ran into the parking lot.
A man appeared between some cars, and Jake took him down. Patrick made a beeline for the man, taking his weapon.

“
Uncle Patrick, get down!” Laney yelled as a man appeared behind him. Patrick rolled to the ground, shooting. Bullets dotted the man’s torso.

Arms wrapped around Laney, yanking her off her feet.
Laney reared back and then dropped all her weight toward the ground, slamming the heel of her right boot into the man’s instep.

He howled and released his grip just enough for her to take a step back and wrap her right arm around his neck.
Dropping onto her knee, she yanked the man forward.

He flew over her shoulder with a yell. Laney kept hold of his arm as he dropped
, and brought her heel down on his throat as he landed.