Page 82 of Riptide

“He’ll beat that mouth right out of you.”

“By the time he’s done with you, you’ll be lucky if you have teeth.”

“She won’t need ‘em to suck cock.”

“Let. Me. Go!” Kaimana screamed at the top of her lungs as they dragged her by the arms, her feet flailing.

It took every ounce of self-restraint not to run after her and instead moved into position and drew his gun. It had been months since he’d been to the range, and he prayed like hell his aim hadn’t gone to shit.

He glanced to his watch as a text from Evan came across its face. 15 seconds

Seth took aim at the men as they ushered Kaimana into the back yard and hauled her up onto an outdoor stage. Bright lights shone directly onto six women who barely looked twenty. Dazed, they stood barely dressed in front of a crowd. Although mostly men were in attendance, several women also sat waiting to bid, paddles in their hands.

Seth looked to his watch again. 10 seconds

“Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two,” he took a deep breath and released it and pulled the trigger, “one.”

A single bullet tore a hole through one of Kaimana’s captors. As her arm dropped from his grip, she curled her fingers into a fist and landed a solid blow to the nose of her other captor. Kaimana broke free and ran to the girls, ushering them off the stage and into the cover of the forest.

A hail of bullets sounded, soon followed by yelling. In an orchestrated chaos, uniformed FBI agents swarmed the home. Seth tore across the lawn, weaving and ducking the fighting and gunfire as he searched for Kaimana.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Raine Presley running into the mansion. What the fuck?

Wind and dust stirred in the air, and Seth covered his ears as the roar of propellers thundered nearby. He glanced to the driveway and caught sight of Garrett leaping from the copter, gun drawn. Through the cloud of dust, he saw Evan in the helicopter.

Seth headed toward the front of the mansion. As he rounded the side of the house, he caught site of Kaimana running to the edge of the woods. After she ushered the last woman, she turned and ran toward the bunker.

“Kaimana!” he called to her, but she didn’t hear him through the commotion.

Seth tore into the woods. Within seconds the din morphed into a low hum, screams and the cry of night insects and animals. He slowed, attempting to conceal his location. In the distance, he spied Kaimana, her familiar silhouette in the light of the entrance. She ushered girls out of the tunnel into the freedom of the forest.

The light flickered as he approached. Kaimana backed up out of the tunnel, her hands in the air. Seth’s anger spiked as a man approached her holding a gun. Marretta.

“This is your fault. Look what you fuckin’ did, bitch,” he yelled at her.

“Fuck you,” she spat back at him.

“You’re coming with me. You’re my property,” Marretta told her as he lunged for her and attempted to drag her toward the water.

“The fuck I am. You’ll have to kill me first,” she screamed at him, struggling to break free of his grip.

“No you’re gonna be alive I’m afraid…at least for a little while. I’ve got something special planned for you.” He lodged the gun against her ribs.

“You can either shoot me dead or you’re going to die,” she promised.

Seth caught sight of Garrett in the shadows. He stepped behind Marretta and pointed the gun at him. “Drop it, asshole. Get on the ground, you son of a bitch.”

“What is it with all these fucking people?” Marretta still held the gun pointed at Kaimana.

“Drop the gun now!” Seth shouted as he landed a solid kick to his back, shoving him onto his knees.

“You’re a dead man,” Marretta said as the gun fell from his hand and rolled onto the ground.

Freed of his grip, Kaimana ran toward Seth.

Garrett stepped out of the brush, his gun aimed at Marretta. “You’re not going anywhere.” He looked to Seth and nodded. “Hey.”

Seth ran towards Kaimana and hugged her, still keeping an eye on Marretta. “You okay? Did they hurt you?” He stepped back to inspect her and cupped her cheek.