Hammer

21

What the hell just happened? Hammer thought frantically. The silence was thick and eerie. So thick that he could not hear anything else. He could not hear the scurry of animals. He could not hear the sway and whistle of wind ripping through trees.

All he heard was deafening, painful silence.

And then, behind them, the slow footsteps of a very confident man. A man who knew he had the upper hand.

A man who was unafraid of breaking the silence by crushing dried leaves beneath his feet.

Hammer watched as a singular leaf lifted, tossed around by the silenced wind. The hair on the back of his neck rose at the same time that the silence cracked. It seemed, suddenly, that he could hear every sound in the world.

“Hello, old friend.” The voice was smooth and slick. Familiar. So when Hammer turned and saw Ajmal, he wasn’t surprised at all.

CHARLIE

Old friend?

The words hit Charlie like a slap in the face.

She was actually surprised that she hadn’t gasped out loud. But no, she remained silent.

Because all she felt was a weird sense of betrayal. Why hadn’t Hammer told her he knew Ajmal?

Her mind was frantic as she considered everything she knew about Hammer. He had opened up to her, sure. But she was starting to realize that she actually knew very little about him.

What else was he hiding? Had he even ever told the truth to her in the few days they had known each other?

Charlie wanted to kick herself. Mostly because she was falling for Hammer. Actually, scratch that. She was knee-deep in her feelings for Hammer. Charlie wasn’t sure how it had happened.

He wasn’t exactly the kind of man she usually fell for. But then again, the person she’d had feelings for last had betrayed her too.

She forced herself to listen to the conversation between Hammer and Ajmal. When she looked at Ajmal from behind Hammer, she saw he had a gun.

Charlie had to swallow several times before she could breathe. She leaned her head against Hammer’s back, unable to stand straight.

The gun was pointed directly at Hammer, and that wasn’t the only thing, Charlie realized.

There were three large men standing around Ajmal, all carrying assault rifles.

We’re in some major s**t, Charlie told herself. Hammer stiffened against her, and when she looked down, she saw that his hands were balled into fists.

“So what are you going to do now?” Hammer’s voice sounded almost weary. But Charlie did not miss the undercurrent of controlled fury in his voice. A low rumbling growl emanated from Hammer’s back and chest.

Just then, Hammer took a step away from Charlie and towards Ajmal. The weariness had left his voice. Now his voice was sharp and hard.

It stung to hear him sound like that. She had known Hammer was a tough man from the moment she met him. But he had softened so much in the time they were together. Hearing that hard shell close around him made Charlie feel like a failure. And yet she hadn’t even been trying to change him.

For a second, it was difficult to breathe. It felt like a hand had crawled down her throat and closed around her lungs and heart.

“You’re a coward, Ajmal. You always have been.” She watched as Ajmal pressed his lips in a thin line.

Hammer threw his head back and laughed. It was mirthless and vicious.

“Why don’t you go ahead and shoot me?” Hammer taunted Ajmal and took another step toward him. The three men around Ajmal raised their rifles at the movement.

But Ajmal raised his hand to them, and they lowered their guns.

Hammer took another dangerous step toward Ajmal. Ajmal still held his gun pointed at Hammer.

Would his gun even work against a dragon? Then she remembered the wound on Hammer’s arm.

And her stomach turned.

Once Ajmal shot Hammer, he’d move on to her. Charlie lowered her head, swallowing again. She closed her eyes and shook her head violently.

Too many bad thoughts had flashed through her mind. And memories.

Memories of how Ajmal had always leered at her in the camp. Memories of his suggestive talk. Memories of the way he had touched her without her consent.

She was pretty sure that Ajmal would not just shoot her. He would do other things with her, to her, first. He would torture her.

Then he would probably let her die slowly.

“Come on, can’t you shoot me?” Hammer sneered at Ajmal. “You’ve already stolen everything from me, haven’t you?”

For the first time, Charlie saw Ajmal waver. She saw the tremor at his wrist. She saw the fear in his eyes.

She was almost elated, but she could not allow herself to be.

Not yet.

“Remember how you stole my life from me?” Hammer was still taunting Ajmal. “Remember how you lied and let me rot in prison? When I had never done anything to you?”

The field was quiet. Charlie could not even hear herself breathing. She wasn’t even sure she was breathing.

“Shut up!” Ajmal shouted suddenly, his hand shaking. A vein throbbed in his neck.

“Why should I?” Hammer roared back. For a second, Charlie saw the outline of dragon wings on Hammer’s back.

But then it disappeared. It was probably just a trick of the light.

“You’ve spent your life stealing people’s heritage and doing every illegal thing under the sun. Why shouldn’t I call you out on it? Since you’re going to shoot me anyway.”

Just then, Hammer lunged forward at Ajmal. He wrenched the gun out of Ajmal’s hand before the man could react.

This was enough for Ajmal’s goons to move because the one nearest to them took aim.

The shot rang out, and time froze. Everything froze, including Charlie.

She did stop breathing as she watched the bullet spin through the air.

Hammer reached out behind him, grabbed her into his arms, and stepped aside.

The bullet missed them both by seconds. By inches.

Hammer did not wait for another bullet but spun around and started firing shots. The men returned fire as they dove into the forest. Beside her head, a tree trunk splintered, sending shrapnel toward her.

Charlie ducked, feeling woodchips fly into her hair. “Hammer,” she screamed. He dragged her away from the battle, where the shooting quickly stopped. Either the others had abandoned their leader, or they were dead.