Man of Honor (Passion in Paradise Book 4) (64 page)

“Could work,” Slade
said after a long moment of silence. 

“Then let’s quit
talkin’ it to death and do it,” Ice bit out impatiently.  Looking toward the
cloudy sky, he frowned.  “We’ve only got a couple more hours of daylight and
the news is predictin’ some weather to roll in by nightfall and drop us to
freezing.  We don’t want the women out in that shit, Zeke.  They’re both tiny
as fuck.  If there’s a sudden temperature drop or one of the mountain varmints
finds them…”

“It could be fatal,”
Zeke snapped, his jaw clenching as he glared at his brother.  “I’m aware! 
There’s also about a hundred other things that could prove to be lethal to our
girls.  Chief among them, Henry and David Watson!  We gotta plan this carefully
or we endanger their lives even more.  If we spook either one of these
bastards, they won’t hesitate to put a bullet in somebody.”

Ice held up his hands
and took a step back.  “Point made, man,” he conceded.  “I’m just anxious to
get up there and find them.”

“You think I’m not?”
Zeke growled.  “One of the fuckers that raped and tortured my woman is
breathing in her air space right now.  I’m fucking
desperate
to get to
her.  But I won’t risk her safety by moving too goddamn quick and not thinking
this shit through.  You got me?”

“I got you,” Ice
agreed softly. 

“Zeke, we’ve got
three four wheelers stashed here at the clubhouse.  You’re welcome to use them,
man, but we’re gonna need more,” Wrath interjected.

“I’ve got one,” Jake
called out.

“Me, too,” Abel
offered.  “And Dad’s got one, too, that he’ll let us use.”

“I think Doc Aarons
over at the vet clinic has a couple that he uses to treat farm animals.  He’ll
help,” Cain interjected.  “And I’m pretty sure Mack Daniels has one, too.  I’ll
call ‘em now.”

Zeke nodded.  “The
Sheriff’s station has three, too.  That’ll give us three four man teams to
approach from three different directions.  TBI has called in a chopper to give
us an overview of the area.  With any luck, they can give us a heads-up on what
direction they’re in.  They’ll call in help from the surrounding states if we
need them here in the mountains.”  Taking a deep breath, he continued,
“Alright, if you need to go get a four wheeler, move out now.   In half an hour
I want us all headed up that mountain and we’re not coming down until we have
Honor and Maggie with us.”

Standing tall as the
men scattered, Zeke felt Wrath move to stand beside him. 

“How you holdin’ up,
Sheriff?” the motorcycle club president asked quietly.

“I feel like somebody
reached in and ripped out my beating heart,” Zeke confided huskily.  “If I lose
her…”

“You won’t,” the
other man stated in a low, but firm voice.

“She’s my oxygen,
man.  Without her, I’m suffocating in an airless world,” Zeke confessed
raggedly.  “I know I gotta hang on for her, though.  I gotta hang on because
you can bet your ass that she’s hanging on for me.”

“Damn straight,
Lawman,” Wrath replied, thumping Zeke on his good arm with a closed fist before
turning to start issuing orders to his motorcycle brothers.

Twenty-nine minutes
later, Zeke climbed astride one of the sheriff Department four wheelers.  “You
know these mountains better than anybody, Slade,” he told the former Navy
Seal.  It was true too.  Slade had tracked animals of both the four legged and
two legged variety through this mountain range.  He was trained for it, and
Zeke wasn’t too proud to step aside when there was a better man for a job this
important.  “We follow you,” he informed the muscled, sandy haired giant of a
man. 

Nodding once, Slade
twisted the key in the ignition and aimed his four wheeler for the woods
running alongside the biker compound.

Following behind him,
Zeke began to pray.

Skyview Bluff
somewhere in the Smoky Mountains– 3:45 pm

Honor

In life, there are
days that shape a person into who she will become while trying her spirit,
strength, and determination.  These are the moments where a person is tested
and forced to prove their mettle.

When Honor McKinnon
woke that morning, she never suspected that this was one of those pivotal days,
but standing there, staring into the cold, calculating gaze of a killer, she
knew that just was what kind of day it had turned out to be.

“Henry,” she
breathed, watching him carefully as he strolled toward her and Maggie as if he
hadn’t a care in the world… as if he hadn’t just put a bullet into his younger
brother’s skull.  Pausing when he reached his only brother’s body, she felt a
wave of panic when he bent to pick up the gun still clutched in David’s
lifeless hand.

“I suppose I should
say hello, shouldn’t I, Honor?” Henry greeted her with a nasty smile that
showed entirely too much tooth.  “Fancy seeing you here.  And Margaret,” he
said, pausing in his walk to them to bow slightly toward her.  “What a
surprise.”  Frowning, he pointed at her shirt.  “I do apologize for the mess I
made.  It appears you have some of my departed younger brother’s brain on your
very lovely silk blouse.”

Honor watched as Maggie’s
eyes dropped to her chest.  “Oh, God!” she heard the older woman scream before
bending at the waist to retch.

Chuckling wickedly,
Henry turned to smile at Honor.  “Well, that should keep her occupied for a few
moments,” he murmured as he wandered toward a trembling Honor.  “How
are
you doing, my pretty kitty?  Have you missed me?” 

Honor’s guarded eyes
watched the man who was responsible for so much of her misery approach her
while her heartbeat pounded in her ears.  His dark brown hair was slightly
mussed and windblown and his face was pink, reddened by the sharp breeze
blowing over the mountain.  His eyes looked almost black, and it could have
been a trick of the light but there seemed to be a weird light emanating from
them, some malevolent glow burning in his gaze.  Holding out a hand, she took a
stumbling step backward.  “Stay away from me,” she bit out.

“Now, Honor, relax. 
I know that my brother has been filling both your pretty heads with some sordid
little tales about me and my past,” Henry continued as he glared at his
brother’s corpse.  “Sadly, the boy never did know when to keep his mouth shut. 
I really should have gotten rid of him when I killed Angela, but you know how
it is with family.  It would have saved me
so
much trouble though if I’d
just ended him sooner,” he mused aloud, shaking his head as he stared at his
sibling’s body.  “Ah, well.  Hindsight is twenty/twenty, isn’t it?” he asked
with a careless shrug.

“Henry, I don’t know
what you’re planning, but you’ve got to know that half of Paradise County is
huntin’ us right now.  Just let us go and run while you can,” Honor advised as
the sound of Maggie’s heaving continued as she watched the woman fall to her
knees.

“Oh, we’re all done
running, my sweet Honor,” Henry breathed as he lifted a hand to curl around her
neck, jerking her stiff body against his.  Sniffing her hair, he groaned. 
“God, how I’ve missed your sweet smell.  Even when you were young, you smelled
like paradise,” he whispered, his hot breath fanning her face as his cold lips
rubbed against her cheek.

Honor could taste the
bile rising in her throat.  “Stop,” she whimpered, squirming against him as the
arm around her became like a steel band, trapping her against him.  “I mean it,
STOP!  Let me go!” she screamed, closing her eyes as she fought his hold on
her.  She wouldn’t let this happen again, damn it!  She was older.  Faster. 
Stronger.  She just had to keep her head on straight and figure a way out of
this nightmare.

“Fuck, I still love
it when you fight. Fight me some more, my little slut” he growled nipping her
ear lobe as she twisted against him.  “But then again, you aren’t just mine
anymore.  I bet you let that fucking sheriff have some of my cream, didn’t you,
Pretty Kitty.  Did he lap it up, you bitch?  Did he taste what should have been
only mine?”

“You’re delusional! 
I’ve never been
yours
, Henry.  What you took from me, you had to steal! 
I never gave myself willingly,” Honor screamed, grunting as he jabbed the gun
he was holding into her stomach.  “You’re a sick, twisted monster that preys on
little girls and innocent women,” she shrieked, opening her eyes to see Maggie
desperately searching for a weapon.  God, if she could just keep him distracted
long enough for Mags to find something…
anything
to use against this
rabid creature.

“No, you were meant
to be mine,” Henry growled as he tried to capture Honor’s mouth.  Lifting the
gun, he pressed it to her temple.  “Be still!” 

She heard him roar out
the command as he painfully pressed the barrel against her skin.  Panting and
out of breath, she stared up at the monster holding her.

“I. Am. Not. Yours! 
I’m never gonna be YOURS!” She shouted, clipping out each word starkly.  “I’m
Zeke’s.  My heart.  My soul.  My body!  It’s all Zeke’s.  Don’t you see?  I
WANT Zeke.   I love ZEKE!” she bellowed in his face, uncaring that he held a
gun to her head.  She was past rational thought or action.  She’d sacrificed
enough of her life to the jackals that had hurt her.  If this was the end for
her, she’d damn well go out fighting. 

Shoving her away from
him, Henry’s nostrils flared as he lifted a hand and backhanded her.  “I don’t
care if you love him.  I’ll make you forget him.  In fact, I’ll make you forget
him right now,” Henry snarled as he lunged toward her and gripped the hem of
her khaki skirt and began pulling it up her thighs.

“No, you bastard! 
Not again!” Honor heard Maggie scream as the woman barreled toward them,
tackling Henry from behind.  “Honor, run!” she screamed as she used her nails
to claw at Henry’s face.

“Get off me, you
fuckin’ cunt,” Henry voice thundered, disturbing the birds in the trees. 

Frozen in place for a
moment as she watched Maggie kick, scratch and bite at the demon tormenting
them, she looked around for a weapon.  Spotting the long stick that David had
been using as a cane, Honor sprinted toward it, stumbling as she heard the
harsh blast of a gunshot.  Looking over her shoulder, she screamed as she saw
Maggie fall, blood pouring from a hole in her thigh.

“Get back here, you
stupid bitch,” Henry raged as Honor’s fingers closed around the long, thick
stick.

“Honor, run!  Find
help!” Maggie yelled weakly before she collapsed completely on the ground.

She didn’t want to
leave Maggie, but staying meant they both could die.  Her best hope was running. 
With any luck, Henry would give chase and that would give a search party time
to find Maggie.  She could see the bullet had hit her leg, but hopefully it had
missed the artery.  Seeing Henry rushing toward her, Honor whimpered as she
turned and dashed toward a break in the woods.

Ignoring the sting of
the brush tearing at her bare legs, Honor ran, clutching the stick in her hand
like a lifeline.  She could hear the sound of Henry behind her, his breathing
labored as his feet slammed against the ground.  Spotting a tree ahead, Honor
bit her lip as she raced toward it.  She hadn’t climbed a tree in over a
decade, but right now, she was determined to make like a monkey and climb.

She just prayed she
could get to the top of that tree before Henry burst through the brush and
found her.

~~~***~~~

One quarter mile
from Skyview Bluff - 4:40 pm

Zeke

“Team 1 to Base. 
We’ve reached the midway point.  Team 1, out,” Zeke reported to the deputy he’d
left in charge at their base camp to track their movements.  Taking a deep
breath, he hoped like hell they were barking up the right tree by heading into
the wilderness.  He currently had the assistance of both the Tennessee State
Troopers and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and both agencies had
focused their search within the town limits.  They were scouring every inch of
Paradise for any sign of Honor, Maggie or the Watson brothers.  Here it was
just his team of men, however, that had headed into the mountains.  Park
rangers had put two helicopters in the air to aid in the search, but so far
they’d come up empty as well.  It wasn’t surprising since this area was thick
with trees and foliage. 

Ten minutes earlier,
Zeke had thought he heard the echo of a gunshot.  They’d been aiming toward the
direction they thought it had been coming from, but hadn’t found any results
yet. 

“Jesus,” Wrath
muttered under his breath, “Never thought our clubhouse would be the base for a
police operation… well, unless we were the ones they were after,” he amended
with a half-grin.

Clipping his radio to
his belt, Zeke snorted as he dismounted his four wheeler.  “Yeah, I’m still a
little shocked myself, but you know what they say about desperate times and all
that shit.”  Looking around at Ice, Wrath, and Diego Fuentes, Zeke squared his
shoulders.  “I appreciate everything you all are doing to help find Honor and
Maggie.  It means a lot to me.  But you should all be aware, I’m not coming off
this mountain without both of them, nightfall or not, but you can turn back at
any time.”

“Fuck that.  I’m with
you, Brother,” Ice acknowledged softly.  “Let’s go find our girls.”

 “I’m ready to roll,
too,” Wrath added, his craggy face serious as he met Zeke’s gaze.

“Both of these women…
they overlooked my past and embraced me as one of their own.   We do not leave
without them,” Diego stated quietly.

 “Alright then,” Zeke
said with a last look around at their determined faces.  “Move out,” he
ordered, turning to begin trudging up the first of several steep hills.

For several minutes,
the group of four men climbed in silence.  Each of them was silent and
watchful, their keen eyes constantly sweeping their surroundings as they
searched for any sign of Honor or Maggie as they dry grass and leaves crunched
underneath their boots.

After fifteen or so
minutes, Zeke heard Ice whistle sharply as every man there froze in place. 
Turning his head to look toward his brother, he saw him pointing at a bush. 
Moving closer, Zeke’s blood pumped furiously as he saw what Ice was pointing
out.  Reaching his hand out to tug the scrap of pink cotton material that had
been snagged on the bush free, Zeke’s mouth went dry.  It was the same shade of
pink as the button down shirt Honor had been wearing this morning. 

“We’re headed in the
right direction,” Zeke growled, “Look alive, men.”

The men resumed the
search with renewed vigor, energized from their find, and Zeke’s steps faltered
a few minutes later when he heard a low moan from ahead.  Squinting as he
looked up the hill ahead of them, he spotted a small wooden shack against the
tree line.  Holding up a closed fist, he motioned for the men to stop. 
Pressing a finger to his lips with one hand, he pointed at his ear with the
other.  Then, he waited.

A few seconds later,
he knew he wasn’t imagining things.  Somewhere close there was a woman
moaning.   And it seemed every man there realized it at the same time as they
all surged forward, rushing up the steep incline.  “Honor!” Zeke shouted. 
“Maggie! Call out if you can hear us!”

“C’mon on!  Somebody
sing out,” Ice yelled as he hurried up the steep slope behind Zeke.

“Here!  I’m here!”
they heard a weak feminine voice call back to them as they all crested the hill
within seconds of each other.

 “Fuck!” Ice snarled
as he spotted Maggie’s prone body lying beside an obviously dead man. 
“Maggie!” he exclaimed as he sprang toward her, closing the distance between
them quickly as Zeke rushed behind him.

“Shit, baby, what the
hell did you do to yourself?” Ice growled as his eyes scanned her.  “Don’t you
ever stay out of trouble?”

“Seriously?” Maggie
yelped faintly.  “I’m shot here, you redneck asshole,” she growled at her
would-be rescuer. 

“Shot?  Where?” Ice
replied sharply, his eyes already scanning her body and narrowing as he noted
that her skirt was soaked with blood.  “That motherfucker is a dead man,” he
bit out through clenched teeth as he carefully reached for the hem of her
skirt.

“Tell us what
happened, Mags?  Where’s Honor?” Zeke asked as Ice carefully pushed Maggie’s
clothes out of the way to get a look at the wound. 

“Henry found us.  He
killed David,” she returned, grimacing with pain as Ice shifted her leg to wrap
his belt around her thigh in a tourniquet.  Maggie’s eyelids fluttered as Ice
tightened the belt. 

“Maggie!  Stay with
us, babe!” Ice ordered sternly.  “Open those pretty green eyes for me.”

Turning, Zeke handed
his radio to Wrath.  “Call it into base camp.  Tell ‘em to get a chopper to the
clearing at the midway point.  They’ll have to airlift her out.  There’s no way
she could get on a four wheeler.”  Spinning back to Maggie, Zeke reached for
her hand, holding it tightly.  “C’mon, Mags, open your eyes,” Zeke urged as
Maggie cracked opened pain glazed eyes and tried to focus on him.