Gripp

5

Gripp followed the guy warily. He’d expected to be shackled again, but maybe the general hadn’t been lying.

Everyone’s lying about something.

He was taken to a Jeep driven by a hard-faced captain. The guy didn’t speak. He barely even looked at Gripp as he drove through the base. When they arrived at the dock, he gestured for Gripp to get out.

“This is as far as I go, soldier. Move out,” the captain said.

Gripp headed up the gangplank onto the warship. He was greeted by the Admiral of the Fleet. Talk about bringing out the big guns. Why would they do this for him? A criminal. Something wasn’t right here.

“Ready for your mission, soldier?” the admiral asked.

“Yes, sir,” Gripp replied. He wasn’t going to salute everyone, but the admiral was treating him with respect, so Gripp responded in kind.

“We are running reconnaissance around the islands. We’ll get you as close as we can, but then it’s just you and a dingy for the last few miles to shore. Are you up to it?”

“Yes, sir. No problem, sir.”

“Excellent. We’ll get underway soon.”

The admiral dismissed him, and Gripp headed to a side rail. The big ship was moving within a few minutes, picking up speed as she plowed through the waves, leaving Supermax and the military base behind.

Gripp felt a sense of freedom and hope as the sea breeze blew back his hair. His panther purred somewhere deep inside him, lulled by the motion of the boat and the knowledge that soon Gripp would be able to shift and run through the wilderness again.

It had been so long since he’d shifted he felt like he was out of touch with the other side of his nature. Just being free of the shackles and feeling the fresh air on his cheeks brought back the sense of connection.

Soon, we’ll be truly free.

It was too impossible of an idea for him to really believe it. Gripp didn’t trust a single person, especially the military, who were sending him on this mission. The smart thing to do would be to find a way around the GPS tracker and disappear as quickly as possible.

The pretty face of the girl haunted his mind, however. He couldn’t be free of it. Her deep, dark eyes and slight smile bespoke an innocence but a fierce intelligence too.

Gripp couldn’t let her die. He couldn’t leave her in danger. He didn’t understand why he felt that way, but he knew he could not walk away from this mission.

APRIL

S

he was dozing in the very uncomfortable, straight-backed chair when a few of her captors came into the shed. One of them held a phone and waved it as he jeered at her.

“How nice of you to bring me some entertainment,” she muttered. “I almost died of boredom.”

The men laughed, and that worried April. It hadn’t been that funny of a joke.

One of the guys stood in front of her and held the phone up to her face. He waited to make sure she was paying attention before tapping the play button.

April’s heart fell as she saw Wes sitting in a chair. Even with the bag on, she knew it was him. Someone ripped the cover from his head and spoke briefly before one of the bad guys appeared behind him with a machete.

April tried to look away, but one of the guys grabbed her shoulder and gave her a shake.

“You will watch!” he yelled. April held her tongue, swallowing bitterly.

She cringed as Wes’s head was removed from his body. She was tough, but the sight of so much blood and the shock of seeing him decapitated sickened her to the core.

“This is what we will do to you,” the guy behind her said as he dug his fingers into her shoulder. “If you do not cooperate.”

“f**k you!” she yelled without thinking.

One of them punched her in the face. “We know you’re a spy, just like man, right here,” the taller one said, pointing at the phone. “It doesn’t have to end like this for you.”

“Go to hell,” she replied with a grin.

The shorter one punched her in the stomach, and the other one slapped her face. A couple of others at the doorway cheered in approval. They beat her for a few minutes until April was reeling from pain and ready to throw up. The taller guy grabbed her hair and yanked it.

“Think about it, girl,” he muttered, roughly letting her go. “We’ll be back.”

She kept her head down as they exited the room. Once the door had swung shut, she listened carefully as the padlock clicked. From the sound of the footsteps, she was pretty sure the men had all walked away, and no one was guarding her.

April breathed a sigh of relief, taking a few minutes to get her thoughts together. Her cheek ached, and her eyes were watering … the spot above her ribs where she’d been punched throbbed, preventing her from taking a deep breath. She was banged up for sure but not done in.

One of the armrests of the chair she was strapped to had made a shriek of protest when the guys were hitting her. The rope was strong and the knots tight, but the wooden chair was old. Maybe, just maybe …

April worked her arm back and forth, hearing the wood creak. There was definitely a crack in it now. All she had to do was apply enough pressure, and the armrest would break.

Even though the wood splintered and the supports were coming loose, it could take hours to break it, and April wanted out now. She wiggled a bit more, hoping there was no guard at the door.

She didn’t want to draw attention to herself, but she had to make sure there was no one paying attention, or she was finished. Gritting her teeth, April sighed, holding in her nerves.