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“I’m on my way,” the sheriff said. “One of my deputies’ll be behind me. We’ll get there as fast as we can.”
“I’ll stick around for a while, see if anyone else shows up. I guess you know the drill by now.”
“Yeah, the FBI agents gave me a number to call if any more Bratva showed up. I’ll give them a call and arrange another delivery.”
“Thanks, Sheriff,” Cody said, then ended the call.
He tossed the three gagged and bound men into the bed of the pickup truck and settled in to wait for the backups.
Chapter 15
Ten minutes after he’d talked to the sheriff, another truck rumbled into the park. As soon as he heard it, Cody exited his truck, closed the door quietly, and melted into the trees.
When the men in the second truck spotted the other Russian’s truck, they swerved to the side of the road and parked.
Two men slid out, both holding guns. They hustled to the first truck and peered into the windows. Didn’t bother to check the bed of the truck, but instead muttered a few words and started toward Cody’s truck.
He watched them check the passenger compartment and the storage space behind it, then they turned to face the woods. Both of them held flashlights, and the beams wobbled a little. As if they were worried. Unsure of what was going on.
After exchanging a few words, they did the same thing the other three had done -- they separated. One came toward Cody, the other went the other way. Toward where Sierra was hiding.
His heart rate sped up. He wanted to lope after the second guy and take him down. Prevent him from getting anywhere near Sierra.
Instead, he took a deep, steadying breath. Let it out slowly. He’d deal with the first guy, then go after the man heading toward Sierra.
He was confident the guy wouldn’t find her. She’d lie on the ground when she heard his footsteps. She’d dressed in black, with long sleeves as he’d asked her before they left the farm, so there was very little chance the guy would spot her.
But very little wasn’t nothing.
He dealt with the first man quickly. When he was propped up against a tree, out of sight, Cody started toward Sierra.
The Russian was making an effort to be quiet, but leaves crunched beneath his shoes. Branches cracked, the sound like gunshots in the quiet woods. More sounds of night animals filled the air. The howl of a coyote, joined by his pack members. The scrabble of claws against trees, as opossums and raccoons moved around in the dark.
Cody moved more quickly. The man in front of him hadn’t reached Sierra’s hiding spot yet, but Cody didn’t want him any closer. Moving quickly but still silently, he finally caught up to the guy and repeated the zip tie, gag thing again.
As Cody hoisted him over his shoulder the guy struggled, kicking his feet against Cody’s abdomen. Finally Cody grabbed the ties around his ankles and held his legs away from his body. When he reached the second truck, he dumped the guy unceremoniously into the bed of the truck.
When the second guy had been dealt with, Cody retrieved the first guy and dumped him in the truck as well. He’d been watching carefully and he’d only seen the two of them, but he stood with his back to the cab of the truck and let his gaze wander over the woods. Listened carefully for any sounds made by a human.
The three or four minutes he waited felt like a lifetime. Worried about Sierra, knowing she’d be terrified, he counted out the seconds to stop himself from running to her. Finally, when he was sure there was no one else, he trotted down the trail toward where he’d left Sierra.
A few minutes later, he reached the tangle of tree stumps and the boulder where he’d left her. All he saw was her dark blond hair gleaming in the darkness. Knowing she’d be panicked, hearing someone so close, he said softly, “It’s me, Sierra.”
If he hadn’t known it was Sierra, he would have assumed the flash of lighter color was a deer, bedded down for the night.
Stepping over the fallen trunks and branches, he got close enough to Sierra to whisper, “It’s okay, bae. You can stand up and come out now.”
She rose to her knees, then stood up. Her dark form made her almost invisible among the trees. She looked around until she spotted him, then rushed toward him. Wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly.
“Are you okay?” she asked, leaning away to study his face. She ran her hands over his hair, his nape and his ears. Cupped his cheeks in her hands. “You’re not hurt?”
“I’m fine,” he said, smoothing one hand down her back. “There were five of them, and no one touched me.”
“Five against one? Oh, my God,” she said on a long, ragged exhale. “Did you use your superpowers?”
He smiled and buried his face in her neck. “Oh, yeah. I whipped out my cape and took them out. Five guys, coming at me separately in the woods? Child’s play. I took ‘em out one by one and stashed them in their trucks.”
He was bragging, and he knew it. He needed to stop, but he wanted to impress her. Juvenile, sure, but all that adrenaline… “One guy came this way, but he never got close to you.”
