Page 27 of Digital Desire

Soon she heard vehicles and saw the dust start to kick up as they rounded the corners.

“Alpha one, this is alpha two. Confirm that the target is on board in the right rear seat with a man beside him. Chopper is in the third car.”

Aubrey gasped, and it was now abundantly clear who they had been talking about. Chopper was more involved with the cartel than they realised if he had been charged with this job.

“Keep a clear head,” Alex warned from next to her.

The vehicle came into view, and as the first vehicle passed the checkpoint, she waited a second before the explosion came. The vehicle lifted into the air as it flipped over and over, taking out that threat. Reid and Jack fired almost simultaneously and the second and third cars swerved as the drivers were taken out. Aubrey watched as the second car came to a rolling stop and the doors opened. Shots were fired instantly and then returned by Jack and Reid. The back door opened, and she saw Will pushed out face first before a hail of fire rained down on the person firing at Reid and Jack.

Two men from the third car were crouched low as they fired at Jack currently running towards an unmoving Will who was lying prone on the ground. Aubrey watched as the two men fell, hearing the discharge of a weapon beside her as Alex covered Jack and Will. Jack reached Will and fell to his knees beside him. Her heart almost stopped as she watched Jack lift his brother, hoisting him over his shoulder, before running for cover.

Liam joined him running backwards as he covered his friend. She saw Chopper try to run away and took aim through the scope. Her finger hovered over the trigger as she watched him move further away and she realised with horror that she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t do what these men did with such ease.

In that minute she wished with all her heart that she could, but it wasn’t her. She was a cop, sure but she couldn’t kill someone. She watched as he ran to the road and was picked up on a motorbike that sped away in the opposite direction. She felt a firm hand on her shoulder and looked up.

“It’s okay, let him go. There will be other opportunities to finish this,” Alex said kindly.

“But I’m meant to be covering them, and I failed. I could have gotten them killed.”

“You did not fail, I had it covered. Killing is not something that should ever be done lightly and is not something many can do. It takes a piece of you every time you do it, so please, do not berate yourself for being the person who can’t.” He held out his hand and helped her up as they moved down towards the cars and the dead men side by side. She wondered if Alex was just being kind and Jack would chew her out, but she needn’t have.

The instant she saw Jack talking to Will in the back of the car she took off running and didn’t stop until she was in his arms.

His arms came around her and held her tight as she buried her nose in his neck, running her hands all over him to make sure he was okay. “Are you alright? Did they hurt you?” she asked pulling back and wincing when she saw his face. His eye was black and swollen, his lip split, but he still looked perfect to her.

“I’m fine,” he said with a lopsided grin and a wink.

“Let’s get out of here before they come back with more men,” Jack said as Reid pulled up in their vehicle.

Liam came over with a handful of weapons, phones, and knives he had apparently taken off the bodies. Aubrey helped Will walk and realised he was moving gingerly from pain and that she probably hadn’t helped when she’d launched herself at him, but she had acted on instinct. Her need to touch him far outweighed anything else.

It was in that moment that she realised that whatever else happened she would give Will a chance, give them a chance. She had thought she had known how fragile life was losing her parents but watching these men fight for one of their own, kill and risk being killed, it had suddenly hit home that in a split second everything could change. Will could have died, and she would have lived with a lifetime more regret that she did already.

Slipping her hand in his, she smiled when he gave it a light squeeze and winked at her. They would get through this and see what happened. Maybe the future could be sweet if they lived long enough to see it.

Chapter 13

They had arrived at the safehouse Jack had somehow managed to secure in Buga. It was over an hour away from Cali and had a large enough tourist population that they could get lost in it. The house was about two miles out of town and surrounded by lush fields of arabica plants. The house had belonged to a corrupt official that had died when the last cartel in Cali had been overthrown by Rojas.

This home had been sold to someone in the US who used it as a holiday home now that Buga was not infected by cartel filth so much. The owner was one of the many contacts Jack, and his men, had engineered over the years—both before Eidolon had formed and since.

The home itself had five big bedrooms all with an en-suite and a large, open plan living area and kitchen. A large patio and BBQ area led down to a pool and deck.

“Let me clean that face of yours up,” Aubrey said as they stepped through them into the living room.

“It’s fine. I can do it when I shower. I stink and want to get cleaned up,” Will replied not wanting to bother her.

“Never could do as he was told,” sniped Jack.

Will looked up sharply ready to tell him to lay off, that he was too tired for this shit. But Jack was grinning, and for the first time in what felt like years, he saw the older brother who had built Lego with him. He looked away before Jack caught his eye, afraid he would see the relief on his face. “No, I guess not,” he answered instead. “How about I shower, and then you can do all the fixing up I need?” he said to Aubrey.

She put her hands on her hips and tilted her head as she regarded him. “Okay but only because you do actually stink.” She laughed and then dove out the way when his eyebrow shot to his hairline.

“You’re going to pay for that,” he said before he sobered. “Do we know any more on who set me up and killed Pierre?” he asked directing his question at Jack.

“We know that Santiago Rojas wanted you to fill his shoes. We know that Pierre was working for them but other than that we don’t have much.” The outside door opened, and Drew walked in followed by Jace.

“Hey, man, what are you doing here?” Will asked as he strode over to his cousin and embraced him, giving him a hard slap on the back.