Page 50 of Finding English

Silently the three men advanced down the alley to the back of the restaurant, moving around simple fishing wire traps strung between dumpsters. At the back window, Jack went first, listening for sounds as he did. Henry followed, and Calder brought up the rear.

Henry could hear movement from the main restaurant dining room and fought everything in him to not rush in when Cass cried out. Jack grabbed him and held up a finger for him to wait, the demand in his eyes not up for discussion. Jack crept forward and got into position as he’d explained. He lifted his firearm and then motioned for Henry to do his part.

Taking a breath, Henry stepped through the door and what he saw would haunt his nightmares for the rest of his days. Cassie lay on the ground, her arms and legs tied with rope to the legs of tables. Silk scarves were placed over her body and he could see blood on her face from a gash on her forehead.

Bunce was standing over her; a baseball bat raised high as if to reenact his previous attack on her, breaking her legs and arms. Henry knew he had to stay out of the way of Jack’s shot, so stepped sideways, his eyes locked on Cassie who hadn’t noticed him in her fear.

As Bunce went to lower the bat, Henry yelled and dove toward Cassie as Jack fired. Henry’s body landed on her, his hands covering her head as a weight fell on his legs. Seconds later, Jack and Calder were dragging Bunce off him. Henry lifted his head to look behind him and saw Jack had done as Calder had asked and merely shot the bat out of his hand.

Bunce was now screaming blue murder as Jack put a knee in his back and restrained him with ties from his pocket as Calder let Cruz, who had just pulled up outside, know what was going on.

Turning back to Cassie, he stroked her face, cataloging her injuries as her unfocused eyes tried to meet his. He laid a hand against her pulse and found it hammering out of control, her heart beating way to fast.

“Cassie, what did he give you?”

He saw her try to speak, but her words came out slurred, her body not responding. This wasn’t right. His gut told him something was very wrong with his Cass.

“Calder.” His fear must have transferred to his call because Calder rushed over, falling to his knees. Lifting her drooping eyelids, Henry saw her pupils were huge, almost covering all the beautiful brown.

Calder noted her pulse and heart rate along with the slurred speech and got on the radio to Cruz. “We need an ambulance. I think Bunce has given her that new drug.”

Henry’s heart almost stopped, not wanting to believe that he could still lose her. She was in his arms, but even as Bunce was led away, he was still hurting her.

Henry roared as he leaped to his feet, the warmth of his blood seeping down his arm from the broken stitches as he attacked Bunce. He punched the man in the face over and over until Jack and Calder dragged him off.

Jack held his arms and spoke close to his ear. “You got your hits in now get your shit together. She needs you.”

Jack lifted a chin at Cassie, who was almost unresponsive now and fell weak in his friend’s hold. Jack let him go, and Henry was beside her; he was never leaving her again.

As Cassie was loaded into the ambulance and hooked up to machines, she began to go into ventricular fibrillation. Henry begged her to hang on as the paramedics shocked her heart, and he felt as if his whole world was slipping away.