Page 65 of Conquered Betrayal
With another huff of breath, Landon took his shoulder in his huge jaw and dragged him backward to the bunker.
“That’ll do it.” I jogged ahead, scanning the area for any more of Emerson’s thugs, and held the door wide.
Landon almost didn’t fit. It took him three tries to scrape through the door, his rump wider than his shoulders. Dicky’s head was smacked repeatedly on the doorjamb before getting inside. I tried not to notice.
Making sure the door locked behind us, I assessed the TV monitors. As each screen flashed a new image, I noticed a location tag in the bottom right corner: Northeast #23, Southwest #15. An image of the pair of hunters we’d passed on the way here came up on a central one. From what I could see, they were near the light we’d taken out: Southeast #5.
A feed popped up with Emerson on it. I tensed. He skulked through the brush, keeping to the shadows. My stomach twisted. I wanted to vomit. My brother hunted me for sport.
Landon huffed, drawing my attention. His paw lay on Dicky’s chest, and he had a “get on with it” expression in his eyes.
“Yeah, okay.” I moved to the cupboards underneath the monitors. When I opened the first one, the stench of old blood wafted out to me, making my already nauseous stomach turn over. Inside were rope and bungee cords along with rust-covered pliers and shears. I didn’t want to imagine what those tools had been used for.
With Landon’s help, I pushed Dicky onto the desk chair, then wrapped the rope as tight as possible around his shoulders. Before I could finish, Landon nudged Dicky’s hand so it lay in his lap. The effect made it look like Dicky was jerking off on the job.
“Always embarrassing to get caught with your pants down.” Through the window, Dicky would resemble someone lolled in post-ejaculation bliss. “Come on.” I moved to the back wall, ignoring the shoulder mounts of the wolf and elk head staring down at me, and heard Landon follow.
We had to find a way out of here. I wasn’t positive if we were in Alaska, but the terrain felt right. My brother and his goons had talked about taking their prey to the arena by plane, and wouldn’t have had to do that if it were close to the other compound.
In the corner, a thick metal door was inset in the wall, a keypad on its side. For shits and giggles, I tried the last four-digit code I’d been given at the compound. The light remained red.
I aimed Dicky’s gun and let off two shots on the knob.Shit, that’s loud.I spun around, looking for any movement beyond the window. Nothing stirred. Turning back, I rattled the knob. It fell off, but the door didn’t budge—probably had numerous bolts like Marley’s doors. The only way through would be if we knew the code.
“No dice with the door,” I murmured to Landon. “We could have used your keypad hacker.” I scanned around for other options. Even though the bunker was defensible, I didn’t like the idea of sitting here waiting—too passive, and they had more weapons than we did—and everyone out there probably knew the code to the door. They could also call for reinforcements. Maybe more were already on the way.
My internal clock counted down. They’d find out what we’d done to Dicky soon.
The radio on the desk crackled. “Where are they now?”
Tension crawled up my spine at the sound of Emerson’s voice, the band around my chest squeezing tight. We had to put a move on, to get out of here before they cornered us and we eventually ran out of bullets. They had us outnumbered four to two, and could overpower us if they used the right strategy.
But I had a gun now. We had a way to defend ourselves. And the hunters wouldn’t have Dicky tattling our location every five minutes. We’d evened the playing field.
Landon huffed his way in front of the monitors, staring hard as they changed from view to view. My eyes went to the collar around his neck. I needed to get him out of that thing. It would have a tracker on it. I could see my brother not using it immediately because it would spoil some of the fun, but he would eventually.
I took a moment to search the desk drawers and other cupboards for the remote. Nothing. The next time my brother’s image flashed on the monitors, I noticed it tucked into his utility belt. He stopped walking and held his radio to his lips.
“Dicky, come in.”
A frown furrowed his brow before the camera changed to another view.
“We’ve got to go before someone comes and investigates,” I said, turning to Landon. He stalked toward the door leading to the arena and pawed at it.
With a last glance around, I snatched Dicky’s radio. Then, with a deep breath, I opened the door and stepped outside where my brother was bent on killing me.
22
LANDON
“I have to be honest,I’m hesitant to bring you on board with your connections.” I stared at her over my desk, trying to keep my heart rate level with the girl of my dreams sitting across from me. Even though she looked frazzled, maybe even a little tired, she’d grown into her womanhood and shed the last vestiges of her teenage years.
On paper, she was a perfect fit for Urick Enterprises: double business and economics major, graduated top of her class from University of Toronto. I loved seeing ambitious young adults making waves in the business world. But she squirmed in her chair, her eyes leaving mine to stare at her thighs. My statement had made her uncomfortable.
I knew, then, I shouldn’t trust her, but my resolve changed the second she lifted her gaze and said, “I would like to stand on my own two feet, away from anything connected to my family.”
Real emotion shone from her eyes, and I scented her fear. I’d been keeping loose tabs on her over the years, told myself I wasn’t being a stalker because I’d never act on any of the information, and knew her father had passed away a couple of years ago, putting her brother in charge of Mahn BioIndustries.
If I could help her out of a difficult situation, I would. My bear demanded it.
