Page 98 of Storm Warning

He wanted them to go out in this storm? But the storm was safer than being in Whitman’s path of destruction. While that meant people would be safer, horror filled her that it was all coming down to this.

“It’s okay, Remi,” Jo whispered. “They’ll be okay.”

No. No, it’s not. Jo and Dylan aren’t part of this.But if she said something, this guy might kill them in her office. Except he’d said he wasn’t a barbarian. Still, Jo and Dylan already knew too much. And Hawk. He was out there somewhere, and maybe he could get here in time to help them out of this nightmare before it was too late. He was good at that, after all.

A radio squawked and Whitman answered. “Speak.”

“We got ’em. They’re trapped.”

“Kill them.” Whitman looked at them. “Your hero and his brother aren’t coming to save you.”

You’re a barbarian after all.

40

Hawk and Cole.Brothers to the end.

“Listen, bro,” Hawk said. “I’m sorry I doubted you. That I so easily believed that you’d gone rogue. In my defense, I wanted to find you. I’ve been looking for you for months. I wanted to make you see reason. I couldn’t understand why you’d be working as a hired gunman. I blamed myself.”

Cole scoffed. “You give yourself too much credit.”

Hawk laughed. “You’re right. You can hold your own without my interference.” For good or bad.

“What’s the plan?” Cole asked.

Hawk fired his gun at the lock and the chains broke away.

“So, you really want to hide in there?” Cole arched a brow. “Won’t we be trapped? Let’s wait out here in the shadows. Letthemgo into the bunker.”

“And we’ll lock them in,” Hawk said. “I like it.”

“After we take them out we’ll take their radios and guns. We need to know what they’re planning.” Cole grimaced slightly. Trying to hide his pain?

Hawk nodded. “You came up with that while bleeding from a gunshot wound. Impressive.”

“I aim to please. Now quiet.”

Hawk left the door partially open so it was easy to see they’d shot off the lock. This way, the men would think Hawk and Cole had gone into the bunker to hide.

He joined Cole in a shadowed alcove beyond the bunker entrance, pressing back against it, squeezing into the too-small space. He gripped his locked and loaded gun, ready to use it. The raging storm echoed against the concrete walls, making it hard to know if the men had even found the bunker yet. Had they made a mistake?

Because he couldn’t exactly wait here forever.

Movement in the tunnel triggered him to press back as far as he could, pushing against his brother. Cole grunted, breathing hard. The pressure was hurting his wound.

Four men argued about going inside the bunker, and one of them came up with the bright idea to simply lock Cole and Hawk inside. Wonderful. Not really what he and Cole had planned, but they would roll with it. If they rushed forward with their guns out, they were going to get a belly full of bullets. They had no egress here. Their armed pursuers hadn’t been as stupid as they had counted on. Lesson learned.

Then one of the men opened the door and went into the tunnel after all. One of the other three followed him inside. Yes! The two remaining men paced near the bunker doors.

“Divide and conquer?” Cole asked.

“What about your wound?”

“I’m running on adrenaline, man. Let’s do this.”

Hawk nodded. They wouldn’t escape without taking these men out. It was now or never. “I’ll take the cave dwellers.”

When the two who had remained outside shifted towardthe rail overlooking the fierce Pacific, Cole and Hawk crept forward, pressing into the wind. Cole rushed the two men near the rail and Hawk slipped into the bunker, stealthily approaching the other two from behind, then disarmed them both quickly. Kicking their weapons, flashlights, and radios toward the entrance, he backed out. Once he’d tossed their stuff out, he slammed the bunker doors, leaving them standing in the dark. Using the damaged chain, he quickly secured the door again, preventing the men from escaping the bunker. He’d send someone back for them later. They pounded and shouted their disapproval with colorful language.

---