Lost Shadows Read online

  “Glad to see you have faith that he still wants me.”

  “C’mon, I told ya, you’re a catch.”

  She flashed him a smile. “I’m going crazy waiting though, which is why I was going for another drive. I thought I’d try to find, like, a hose and wash her as well. You wanna come with?”

  “As tempting as it is, I got other things to do.”

  “Can’t they wait?”

  Scar thought about it for a moment. He thought it prudent to check the borders to see if anything changed after yesterday’s event in the Proving Grounds.

  “Tell ya what, as long as we can visit the border guards, I’m in.”

  “We can do that.”

  “You got a radio.”

  “In the truck. Batteries all charged.”

  “Let’s go.”

  Scar followed Reese to the muddy truck and heard her crutch land in the back before getting in.

  “How much longer on the crutch?” asked Scar after he shut his door.

  “Doc thinks only a few more days.”

  “How does it feel? You look like you’re walking better now.”

  “I am but kinda screwed it up the other night.”

  “In Port Huron?”

  Reese let out a scoff while she started the truck and revved the engine. “Yeah. I never should have asked Meeks to take me along.”

  “He never could say no to a pretty girl.”

  She flashed him another smile. “I knew there was a reason I wanted you to come along.”

  “Hey, who doesn’t like compliments?”

  “Right? Now hang on,” said Reese as she stomped the gas pedal and peeled out of the parking lot. “Where to first?”

  “Head over to Nordell’s place. I’m sure he’s got a hose we can use.”

  “Cool.”

  Reese tore through the quiet streets and arrived at Nordell’s in no time at all. She pulled into his driveway and spied a hose hanging off to the side of the garage.

  “Let me see if he’s home,” said Scar as he opened the door.

  After a few knocks, Nordell came outside.

  “Hey, Gunny. Reese wants to wash this beast and needed a hose.”

  “She does? That thing?”

  “Just go with it,” whispered Scar.

  “Alright,” said Nordell as he waved to Reese. “I got a bucket and sponge you can use in the garage.”

  “Awesome,” cheered Reese as she approached the garage.

  Scar watched as Nordell got her set up and wondered just how silly it was to be doing this. He then remembered what Nordell said the other night while they were in jail about how eating in that restaurant made you think everything was normal.

  Now, here they were, out in the driveway on a beautiful morning with a truck in need of a bath. It was an ordinary thing to do, and it did tend to make you forget, if just for a moment.

  “What’s on your mind?” asked Nordell. “You didn’t come over here just to wash that piece of junk.”

  Scar laughed. “Don’t let her hear you say that.”

  “I won’t,” said Nordell as he watched Reese spraying the mud off the side.

  “We’ve got enough fuel to take some people across tonight.”

  Nordell nodded. “Good. Lighten the load on the food supply seeing as how we’re struggling in that department.”

  “Don’t remind me.”

  “Not all missions go as planned, Scar.”

  Scar nodded.

  “How many you thinking?”

  “We can easily do ten vehicles depending on the size.”

  “I’ve still got some short church buses laying around, and they run on gasoline.”

  “What are those, like, fifteen passengers?”

  “Around that depending on who we put in there. I’ll get with Badger to see how much fuel he’s got and tell him to have it all available by nightfall.”

  Scar liked what he was hearing and knew he could count on Nordell to have everything ready. He knew the people and knew the order in which they needed to go. He’d been in charge of them from the get-go and had assigned “Block Captains” to expedite things.

  Chapter 30

  Washington D.C.

  An arrest warrant was the furthest thing from Stormy’s mind when the cop pulled her over for speeding. Her heart began racing after hearing those words. Apparently, Lawrence Reed still wanted her and Perozzi’s influence stopped at the water’s edge, or the restaurant’s edge, as the case my be. Reed’s reach and determination in finding her were more than she had considered. Since Perozzi prevented her arrest the other night, she figured that was where it would end. She began cursing at her naiveté. She should have known better, and she should not have been driving anywhere.

  No way could she let herself be arrested. No doubt, they would question her, maybe even torture her to get what they wanted. She’d never see the light of day again.

  Options? She couldn’t outrun him with her car, so she had only one option, and it had to be physical.

  She took a deep breath to calm down and then formed the biggest smile she could muster. “A warrant? That’s so weird. Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure it’s a mistake, but I still need to take you in. If I don’t, they’ll literally have my hide.”

  “Okay. Well, I don’t want to get you in trouble. Should I lock my car?”

  “We’ll wait for a tow truck, so you won’t have to worry about that.”

  Whenever Stormy modeled, she always played a character and right now, she was playing a cooperative weak-kneed girl. She was already planning the moves she would make.

  She’d never been arrested before but thought for sure he’d want to frisk her. Any excuse to put his hands on her. Guys were all the same when it came to wanting to put their paws on her, especially out at the bar scene.

  She opened the door and climbed out.

  “I need to search you. Do you have any weapons or anything sharp that I need to know about?”

  She continued smiling. “I do not.”

  “Okay, so put your palms on the hood.”

  She leaned against the fender and put her hands on her car. His hands then touch her shoulders and then down her back. Then came the icing on the cake for him as he slid his hands under her boobs. She regretted not putting on a bra. He then moved down her waist and groin area. Pig! She could almost hear his heart pounding in his chest from the excitement. If she were a betting girl, she would guess he was aroused. Perfect distraction.

  She heard the rattle of handcuffs as he went for her left hand. Just as he grabbed her left wrist, Stormy uncoiled. She transferred her weight to her left foot as her hips rotated. Her clenched right fist landed on his temple with her knuckles digging in. The surprise blow snapped his head a quarter turn to the left.

  The strike only needed to stun him for a split-second to set up her next move. His eyes went blank, and it hadn’t registered yet in his mind as Stormy leaned back and used her forehead to strike his nose.

  It was enough to break it and splatter blood in different directions. The lightning-fast strike didn’t give the cop a chance to react as he swayed back and forth before she finished him off with a knee to the groin. He let out a yelp as he collapsed to the ground.

  By far, her favorite move on guys, especially with ones who had just groped her.

  “Sorry, sweetie but I can’t let you take me in,” she said as she looked around to see if anyone had taken notice of them.

  She picked the cuffs off the ground and pushed him over on his stomach to cuff him.

  “You were sweet to remember me, but it was also a little creepy, but not as creepy as you feeling me up. Is it proper procedure to grab my boobs?”

  He didn’t answer but only moaned in pain.

  Wanting to give herself more time, she yanked the radio off his uniform and smashed it on the ground. “Don’t want you to call this in too quickly.”

  She walked to his still running cruiser, opened the door, pushed
the lock button and slammed it shut.

  After getting back in her car, she looked at him through the open window. “Don’t be too embarrassed, though I’m sure you’ll come up with a good story.”

  She hit the gas and took off speeding down the street. She didn’t get her rapid heart rate under control until she reached her house. She wouldn’t take any chances of being caught and grabbed a suitcase. She was pulled over too close to home for them not to start looking in the area for her. She had to leave and take the BMW, which stuck out like a sore thumb, and ditch it somewhere. She wasn’t sure how long she’d be gone or if she’d ever come back here.

  She gathered some clothes and toiletries and threw them into a suitcase. She was good at this, as she had lived out of one for many years while traveling to modeling gigs. She took one last look and headed out to her car. She figured the cop probably hadn’t escaped yet, which gave her some breathing room.

  “What to do? Where to go?” she said aloud as she pulled out of her driveway. She scratched her head and decided she needed help.

  After ten minutes, she spotted a payphone and pulled over. She grabbed the change out of her purse and dialed Kyle’s number. “C’mon, pick up, pick up.”

  Fifteen rings later, she hung up.

  The quarters came jingling back down. She tapped her fingers on the phone. “Oh, I do have it.”

  She began digging in her purse and grabbed a business card. “Major John Green.”

  * * * * *

  Green looked to see the light blinking on the phone. His secretary had transferred a call back to him. He wondered if it might be Reed checking up on him. If so, he had prepared a script in his mind on what to say to him.

  He hit the button and said, “This is Major Green.”

  “Hi John, it’s me, Cheryl. I was wondering if you’d like to get some lunch today?”

  Green’s mind began to race around because he recognized Stormy’s voice but she used a different name. She was in trouble and knew enough not to raise any suspicion on the phone. He had told her he thought the lines were tapped and never to contact him there. She had to be desperate if she was calling.

  “I would love to get some lunch. What did you have in mind?”

  “Well, I’m over at Ballston Mall in Arlington. You think we can get something around here?”

  Green had to think for a second where that was. It was about seven miles away. “That’d be great. What time?”

  “You know I haven’t even had breakfast yet, so right now, if you could. We can beat the lunch rush.”

  “Give me thirty.”

  “Meet me up front.”

  “You got it.”

  Green put the phone back in its cradle and took a deep breath. He kept his cool as he walked out of the office. “Grace, I’m gonna take an early lunch.”

  “She sounded pretty,” she smiled.

  “She is.”

  “Glad to hear it. You have fun. You’ve got nothing on your schedule so take your time.”

  “I will, thanks.”

  Grace had been trying to set him up with some of her friends, but none of them was his type, so he just avoided the subject whenever she brought it up to him. This date was going to be a most interesting one. No telling what had happened. He gave his M9 a reassuring pat as he got on the elevator.

  Chapter 31

  Jackson Michigan

  Scar held the water hose as Reese finished washing the mud off the last wheel. Overall, it didn’t look too bad, despite it being a beat up truck. He understood the attraction to older vehicles. They had character and often held special memories. He had owned one similar to this one and had used it in his construction business. He put a lot of miles on it before trading it in for a new one. While the new one was nicer, he couldn’t help but pine for the old one. It was comfortable and fit like a glove.

  “Whaddya think?” asked Reese getting up.

  Scar sprayed the wheel. “She looks pretty good. You did a bang-up job.”

  “Thanks,” said Reese as she grabbed the hose to give it another rinse. “You know, I’ve never owned a car before.”

  “You haven’t?”

  “We could never afford a second one. Weren’t any jobs around, so, I’d always drive my mom to work if I needed to go somewhere.”

  “Yeah, the years before the crash were hard. I had to lay off a bunch of guys. I didn’t want to, but I had no choice.”

  “I couldn’t have found a job if my life had depended on it.”

  “You know, Reese, you could literally choose any car around here to drive.”

  “I know, but I had my first kiss with Cole in this one,” she said as she dropped the nozzle in the bucket.

  Scar gave her a knowing nod.

  “And besides, it burns rubber really easy,” smiled Reese. She began rinsing the soap out of the sponge and bucket.

  Scar returned the smile while looking at the lack of tread on the tires. “You’re going to need new tires.”

  “I know. Badger has a new set for me,” said Reese as she turned the water off and began looping the hose around the holder.

  “Oh?”

  “Yep. Said he’d put them on this afternoon.”

  “Perfect. Why don’t we check out the borders, and then we’ll head over there.”

  “You done out here?” asked Nordell as he came back outside.

  “Yepper,” said Reese. She handed him the bucket. “Thanks so much.”

  “No problem. You know, it looks better than I thought it would.”

  “Doesn’t it though?”

  “You guys out of here?” asked Nordell.

  “We are, Gunny. Gonna check the borders and then go get her some tires.”

  Nordell leaned his head over to look at the tires. “Good idea.”

  “You wanna come with us?” asked Reese.

  Nordell grimaced. “I’ve risked my life enough this past week.”

  Reese’s mouth dropped open as she put her hands on her hips. “I won’t kill ya.”

  “I’m good, really, but thank you.”

  “Okay,” said Reese as she hugged Nordell.

  “I’ll see you later this afternoon then,” said Scar.

  “You got it. Remember, to buckle up,” joked Nordell.

  Reese feigned insult before getting into the truck. She started it up and revved the engine a few times. She looked over at Scar who pretended to buckle up before cracking a smile. Reese cocked her head at him as she backed it up and throwing it in drive while stomping on the gas. The tires squealed before they caught and rocketed them down the street. “I didn’t want to disappoint, Gunny.”

  “No, of course not,” said Scar. “One must always uphold their reputation.”

  “Riiight.”

  Scar was glad he had come along and was enjoying the day. He could see why Winters was attracted to her. Besides her beauty, she was resilient and tough while keeping a sweet side to her. She had a way of putting you at ease and always included you in whatever she was doing. This wasn’t something everyone could do, but her outgoing personality naturally allowed her to do it effortlessly.

  If you didn’t know her, you’d think she was this delicate, innocent girl, which was her true self, but circumstances made her into something else. He had heard the stories of her taking pleasure in gutting a cop. He had witnessed her satisfaction when Nordell executed the cops the other day. She was dealing with inner demons he could only imagine.

  How could she not?

  Ten days of torture would do damage to anyone, especially the kind she had endured. However, when allowed to do something ordinary like washing the truck, her true self came out shining, and it was good and sweet.

  They made it up to Lansing Road in quick fashion and found Eddie Perlee standing in front of the house they’d been using as sleeping quarters. The tall grass on the lawn was matted down with vehicles coming and going.

  Reese threw the truck in park, and they climbed out. Eddie gave a casual salute
and noticed the pickup had just been washed.

  “Did you wash this ole heap?”

  Scar motioned to Reese.

  “It doesn’t look half bad,” said Eddie.

  “She was in dire need of a bath,” beamed Reese.

  “So what’s up?” asked Eddie.

  “Just wanting to inspect the borders,” said Scar. “Anything change?”

  Eddie shook his head. “No, not really.”

  Scar detected a hesitation. “No, or not really?”

  “Well, my guys did report on a meeting the Jiji commander had this morning, which isn’t all that unusual, but it took longer than usual and they seemed happy about it.”

  This got Scar’s attention. “Oh?”

  “I didn’t think anything of it and figured it had something to do with the firefight yesterday.”

  Scar gave it some thought. “Maybe they’re moving their guys around after yesterday.”

  “Which is what I was thinking.”

  “Or they’re getting ready to attack,” interjected Reese. “These bastards aren’t gonna wait forever.”

  She was right of course, and it had been worrying Scar, which is why he wanted to check out the borders. It had been too many days since they attacked Mordulfah’s compound for him not to have struck back. Yesterday’s firefight certainly had to affect that timetable. He wished Thomas would get back with them to report on Mordulfah’s activities. Perhaps his absence said more about what was about to happen. Thomas had promised he would come back and tell them about Mordulfah’s plans. It was inevitable at some point they would attack Jackson again.

  The only question was when?

  The best thing he could do was get his men ready, so for the next couple of hours, Reese drove him to all of their guard posts to keep the men motivated.

  Chapter 32

  Washington D.C.

  The traffic was light as it was mid-morning and the lunch crowd hadn’t hit the streets yet. Stormy hadn’t given him specific instructions but he figured she’d be on the lookout for his vehicle. He had thought about switching the cars, but it would have taken too long, and she sounded desperate.