Page 35 of Intangible
Running out to the car, Knox slid sideways out of the parking lot, heading for Memphis’ cabin.
“See if you can flush them out the back. Kill the man, but don’t hurt the girl. She’s going with us,” was the last thing Knox heard before her phone went dead. It had sounded like whoever it was had made it into the house.
Sliding the car to a stop next to the driveway leading to Memphis’ cabin, Knox grabbed his sidearm, pocketing the extra clip. He cursed himself for not bringing more firepower, but he hadn’t expected to face an unfriendly welcoming committee when he left that morning.
After quickly creeping through the woods next to the driveway, Knox crouched behind a tree, where he could see the cabin. The front door was open so he could see three or four men inside the living room. He also saw one that lay on the front porch not moving.
He took a couple of minutes to assess the situation. If they had already made it in the front door, chances were good Memphis had moved them into the bedroom on the back of the house.
Knox remembered there being a door in the back with a dog door in it. It made the most sense that the back bedroom door would be their best escape route.
Moving through the trees to the side of the cabin, Knox saw his first target waiting on the side in the trees with his gun pointed at the back door. So, they had thought of the same thing. He knew he had to clear the way out if Memphis and Thayer had even a slim prayer of making it out of the cabin alive.
With a quick pull of the trigger, Knox put the man on the ground right before he had to dive behind the trees, dodging a second man’s bullets.
Suddenly Murphy burst out of the dog door running for the trees. Knox sprang up, shooting the other man in the chest as he took aim at the dog. He managed to hit the man in the head with the second shot as he fell back. They were all wearing Kevlar, so a bullet to the chest wasn’t going to do it. He would have to adjust his aim.
Knox would have loved to get at least one of the automatics from the men he shot, but he simply didn’t have time. He moved quickly to station himself at the back of the house. If Memphis was trying to bring them out this way, he needed to be in place.
With a sharp whistle, he brought Murphy over to him. “When I tell you to, dog, I need you to go get them.” The dog looked at him quickly before crouching down on his haunches to face the cabin, letting out a bark.
“Ready,” he whispered. Murphy stood, his muscles quivering. “Go!”
Chapter 14
Earlier,Memphis woke up still holding Thayer on the couch. The movie had ended a while back, he guessed, based on the black screen on his TV.
He was starting to drift back off when Murphy crawled off the end of the couch with a growl. That was odd, Murphy never growled. When he heard steps on the front porch, he sat up, shaking Thayer.
“Thayer, wake up,” he whispered. Though groggy, she sat up to let Memphis stand.
“What is it?” she whispered, her eyes going wide when she saw the concerned look on his face.
“I don’t know. Get your phone and come to me.” He had crossed the room to a small coat closet. Reaching in, he pulled out a shotgun and a box of shells, emptying them into his pockets. “Call Knox. I think we might need his help. Murphy. Come.”
With trembling fingers, Thayer hit the speed dial for Knox, getting him almost immediately. Memphis checked that the gun was loaded before pulling Thayer behind him as they backed slowly toward the bedroom.
When the front door crashed in, she screamed, dropping the phone.
Pointing the shotgun at the door, Memphis emptied the first barrel. When a head popped in the door shooting, he emptied the second barrel at it. With a grunt, Memphis pushed them into the bedroom. He kicked the door closed as they both fell to the floor. Cracking the gun open, he fished two more shells out, reloading.
“Quick, help me shove the dresser against the door,” he yelled, cocking the gun.
Scrambling out from under him, Thayer helped him push at the dresser, maneuvering it in place. Memphis pushed her to the floor again in the corner behind him.
“When I tell you, I need you to run out the back door into the woods. Don’t look back, just keep running. You’ll come to a neighbor’s house in about a quarter mile. You can call for help from there.”
Memphis gritted his teeth watching Thayer look down at her bloody shirt as she tried to understand where it was coming from. Pulling up her shirt, she found nothing until she looked at her hands. They were covered in blood. Her eyes wide, her gaze darted to him as he shook his head, trying to clear his vision.
“Memphis! You’re bleeding!” she whispered as she started feeling frantically around his body. He grunted when she found the wound on his side. “My God, what do we do?”
“Thayer!” he barked at her to get her attention. “It doesn’t matter. Did you hear what I said? I need you to run when I say.”
She shook her head vigorously. “I don’t want to leave you.”
“I know, sweetheart,” Memphis said calmly. “But they’re not getting their hands on you again. I’ll keep them here so you can get away.” Taking his eyes off the door briefly, he turned to look at her. “Please, Thayer. I need you to do this.”
Leaning forward, she placed her forehead against his.
