AN: ¡Levántate, Señor, enfréntate a ellos, hazlos caer! = Rise up, Lord, confront them, bring them down!
The Psalm that Julio is praying (referenced above) is Psalm 17. What he shouts is half of verse 13.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
CHAPTER 14
While We Wait
Julio saw the cold look on Eliot's face as he snapped the young man's neck and felt something cold slide down his own spine. Almost in immediate contradiction, a memory of Eliot smiling and laughing the last time they'd worked the soup kitchen together came to mind. Something about that made Julio sure that the video had been stopped where it had on purpose, to make Eliot look like a monster.
"You're the reason there was blood all over Eliot's place the other night." Julio felt Chrissa give him a look but didn't feel like he could turn to look at her in that moment.
"He killed my brother, so I returned the favor."
Julio remembered Eliot telling him that all of his people were okay and that he wasn't assisting in cleaning up a murder scene. So maybe, despite the shocking amount of blood, whoever this man had tried to kill had survived the attack. That would certainly explain Eliot making him and his people hard to find.
"Who are you?" Chrissa asked.
"Hawthorn." His polite smile didn't reach his eyes as he looked at Julio. "So, what can you tell me about Spencer?"
"Nothing."
"Why don't I give you a moment to think about it. And to think about what might happen if I don't get the answers I want." He set the laptop back on the desk before he and two of his henchmen left the room, leaving the Mendozas with only one guard.
. ͽϿ Ѻ Ͼͼ .
Parker knew she needed to wait for the boys. Nate was right, she wasn't alone, and she could do this a lot better with them than without them. That didn't mean that she couldn't prepare. She gathered a handful of micro-cams and a couple of mics. She cast a reproachful look at the snow blowing past. Stealth was so much easier when you didn't need a winter coat. She put a hand warmer in each pocket along with the cameras and mics. Stepping out of the van made her glad for the coat and she hung onto the hand warmers as she headed for the tree line.
Standing in a tight grouping of trees Parker got a better look at Eliot's houseboat. There were lights on in both floors, but she didn't see anyone. After a few moments someone walked from the kitchen to the living room, but she couldn't tell who it was.
Eliot's houseboat was a light grey two-story house with a pitched roof and a narrow deck fore and aft. There was the barest ledge where the understructure met the siding, and it was enough for her to find a toehold but there wasn't any other access on the sides of the house. In the summer she'd navigated the sides of Eliot's house balancing just the tips of her toes on the ledge and keeping a tight grip on the windowsills. The icy wind shot a sudden gust of frigid air under her coat, and she knew she wouldn't be able to sneak around the side of the house. If she slipped off the ledge and couldn't keep her grip on the icy window frames she'd plunge into the freezing river. She decided she'd have to climb to the roof of the front porch and then the roof of the house. She was fairly sure that she could access the upstairs windows and get at least a couple of cameras placed. She went back to Lucille and grabbed one of her rigs and a couple of ropes.
She'd placed a tiny camera in the window for the kitchen and the window for the living room before she climbed to the roof of the porch. There was only one window above the porch on this side of the house and it was a frosted bathroom window. She would have to make it over the peak of the roof to access the windows on the sides or the back of the house. There was a long panel of windows that ran from the floor to just under the peak of the roof in a narrow line at the center of the house to allow for an impressive view of the river as you came down the stairs from the second floor. Parker planted a camera towards the top of the window so that she could observe the stairs later. She pulled herself back up to the roof and moved to the starboard side. With her rig she was able to hang upside down as she placed the camera in the corner of the window for Eliot's bedroom. The bedroom was dark, but Parker was careful not to drop down into sightlines of the window. If there was someone in there, they might see her fingers place the tiny cam in the corner of the window, but she thought the odds were slim. The only room left was Eliot's spare room that he used as a gym and office.
For a few moments she huddled on the gable over the bedroom like a large, black bird while she tried to warm up a little. With her knees pulled up under the coat and her fingers wrapped around the heating packs she hunched her shoulders to bring the collar of the coat higher to warm her neck and chin. She observed the quiet winter scene on the Multnomah Channel. Sometimes the channel was full of boats and just as busy as any other part of the river but occasionally it was quiet and still. She thought that was probably one of the reasons Eliot had picked this spot.
Finally, her fingers and most of the rest of her was warmed so she decided to move on to the last window on the port side. Dangling upside down again she reached down to place the camera in the corner of the window. Before she could press the little camera into place a jolt of panic slammed through the bonds. She lost her grip on the handbrake of her rig and dropped several feet before her fingers responded to her brain's urgent messages and she was able to stop her sudden free fall. Unfortunately, she stopped right in front of the window.
. ͽϿ Ѻ Ͼͼ .
Eliot watched Hardison slide off the edge of the ice and he couldn't help the yelp of panic. He wanted to lunge forward and try to grab him, but he was afraid of making the situation worse.
Hardison scrabbled at the ice but couldn't seem to gain purchase. When he finally slipped off the edge he yipped in panic and felt panic zinging through the bonds. He couldn't tell how much of it was him and how much was coming from the pack. There was an odd sensation and he realized it was the squish of mud under his paws. Mud! Mud meant that the water wasn't that deep! He bunched himself for a lunge and threw all of his strength into it. The mud sucked at his legs, but it wasn't enough to stop him. He landed on his belly on top of the ice but hadn't been able to pull his back legs up.
He felt the ice crack before he heard it and he was sure he was about to be plunged back into the icy water. He cried out in panic and started pawing desperately at the ice. Suddenly the need to be calm flooded the pack bonds and even the raging adrenalin in his system was no match for his Alpha's will. While he was still processing this sudden change, he felt a pinch and then a stabbing pain at the back of his neck.
When Eliot saw Hardison leap out of the water, he belly-crawled as fast as he could toward the massive black wolf. Hardison's weight was still too much for the unstable ice shelf and Eliot felt the ice crack sending shock waves through the ice underneath him. He was afraid his added weight might finish breaking the ice, but this also might be his only chance to save Hardison. Hardison started to thrash when he felt the ice breaking and Eliot knew that would only make it break up faster, so he used the bonds to force Hardison to be calm and still. He was nearly to him when Hardison finally stopped flailing. Eliot saw his chance and took it. He bit into the scruff of Hardison's neck and drug him back the way they had come by several feet. He could taste Hardison's blood in his mouth and despite the circumstances he had a momentary flash back of his attack on Hardison earlier in the week. Eliot shoved the traumatizing thought to the side and pulled Hardison several more body lengths from the hole in the ice.
Finally, the surge of adrenaline and sheer stubborn drive left him in a sudden wave of exhaustion, and he let Hardison go. They both lay on the ice panting for a moment as fear, and gratitude zinged back and forth. With the immediate danger somewhat behind them Eliot could feel Parker in the pack bonds. She couldn't know what had happened, but it was still clear that she was panicking for them. Eliot sent reassurance her way before he regained his feet.
Hardison rose with a whine and followed the instinct that pushed him into Eliot's side with a lick to his muzzle before he stepped away with a shake of fur. Eliot made a humming sound and tossed his head to indicate the direction he wanted them to go. Hardison followed after Eliot as they backtracked to the wall of vegetation that was apparently the border of a marsh and not a field.
. ͽϿ Ѻ Ͼͼ .
Julio had heard an odd almost shuffling sound on the roof but either their guard didn't hear it or didn't think anything of it. A few moments later he saw a dark shape drop in front of the window with a jerk. He flinched and the guard and Chrissa both eyed him warily. At first, he couldn't tell wat had dropped in front of the window, but the shape slowly turned, and he could see a woman's face upside down with the eyes squinched shut. Chrissa must have seen it too because he heard her gasp next to him. The guard started to turn to see what they were looking at and Julio knew he only had a split second to stop him.
"¡Levántate, Señor, enfréntate a ellos, hazlos ca…." Julio shouted. The Psalm he'd already been praying was the first thing to come to mind, he didn't get to finish it though, as the guard walked quickly toward him and backhanded him. The blow stopped his words and knocked him from the bench he and Chrissa were sitting on. Chrissa shrieked and reached for him.
"I already told you; ENGLISH!" The guard over pronounced the word English as if Julio were too stupid to understand.
"Ah." Julio put a hand over his face and slid back up onto the bench. Chrissa immediately turned his head and pulled his hand away so that she could see where he'd been hit.
"Baby, are you alright?" Chrissa fussed.
He pulled her to him and settled her head on his shoulder. "Yah. I'm okay. We'll both be okay." He glared at the guard. He used the glare to check out the window as well and what he'd done had worked because the woman was gone. He could only assume that the woman was Eliot's friend Parker, and he hoped that meant that Eliot and or the cops would be there soon.
. ͽϿ Ѻ Ͼͼ .
Parker had been overwhelmed by the panic that had flooded the bonds and when she'd finally gotten control, she'd found herself directly in front of the window. She knew she would have been seen for sure if Julio hadn't created a distraction. It had taken her only seconds to shinny back up her rope and place another camera. She'd dropped the first one when she'd dropped down her rope. She'd seen the guard strike Julio and she hoped that they could pay him back for that before this was over.
She took her time traversing the roof and slid down her rope to the roof of the front porch. She left her rope in place in case she should need it later and slid to the edge of the roof. Looking underneath she didn't see anyone, so she climbed down the corner post and then hurried back into the trees and the waiting bulk of Lucille.
She was ready to bury herself in hand warmers and she really wanted to call Hardison and find out what had happened. For now though, she'd have to settle for the hand warmers. She pulled Hardison's quilt out of its go bag along with bunny. She settled on the floor of the van where she exchanged her coat for a sweater and set her boots near the door. With the sweater, Hardison's quilt, and several hand warmers she was fairly comfortable. Bunny firmly in her lap she pulled one of Hardison's tablets closer and started the program that would search for and pair with the micro-cams. She set up the cameras and the microphones to record and then she and bunny settled in to rest until the boys came. At first, she couldn't sleep even though she knew she'd need all the rest she could get. She was still jumpy from her near fall and her sneaking back to the van. She focused on the pack bonds and could feel the boys drawing steadily closer. With her mate bond to Hardison she focused on his heartbeat and used its steady rhythm to ease her to sleep.
. ͽϿ Ѻ Ͼͼ .
Hardison couldn't ever remember being this cold. The first part of their run and their two river crossings hadn't been too bad. The cold night air had actually felt really good as they'd run for miles. But after he'd fallen through the ice, and hadn't that been one of the most terrifying moments of his life, he just couldn't seem to get warm. And now the back of his neck hurt along with the fact that his back feet might actually freeze solid and snap off, this was turning into a very long night.
After that close call on the ice, he'd noticed that Eliot had kept them on or close to roadways. This would probably make the trip a little bit longer but if it meant that he didn't get plunged into icy water again he was okay with a few extra miles. A little less than an hour after they'd escaped the ice, the road they'd been following brought them to a town. Hardison couldn't remember all the towns that had run together on the north side of the Columbia River. One town flowed without distinction into the next and the only one he could remember was Minnehaha because he'd thought the name was so funny, but he was pretty sure that they were a lot farther north than that. Eliot was keeping them mostly within sight of I-5 so Hardison didn't feel totally lost even if he didn't know exactly where they were.
After what seemed like an eternity of back alleys and slowing for intersections, where there might be traffic even at this ungodly hour of the night, they came to a set of train tracks. Not that this had been the first set of tracks they'd come to, but Hardison could smell the river. He didn't know what all the scents were that he was picking up in the icy wind, but he was sure it was the river ahead of them. Eliot slowed and Hardison stopped to watch as Eliot scented back and forth. There was no way that there was a hint of Parker or anyone else that they might know here so Hardison couldn't guess what Eliot was looking for. He was so tired. They had run such a long way and all he wanted to do was curl up and sleep and try to get warm. Just as he was about to sit and rest for a moment Eliot looked at him and growled. With a yip he tossed his head and turned to follow the tracks.
Hardison continued to follow Eliot and he could tell they were getting closer to the river. Before too long he looked up and saw the trestle bridge that spanned this part of the river. It was a bridge for a train and not something designed for cars and pedestrians. They moved in sync as they slipped past equipment, pipes, and towers that seemed to litter this part of the waterfront. It was a long way across the river but on this bridge, there wouldn't be cars or bicycles or anyone at all to notice them. Hardison could feel a trickle of excitement coming from Eliot and it spurred him on. With a yip Eliot took off at full speed and it took a second before Hardison saw, and ramped up his own speed. In a moment it became a competition, and they were racing.
The pain from the wound to his neck, the exhaustion, the cold that was sending pins and needles through him, all of it was forgotten in the joy of running with his Alpha under the full moon. Hardison caught up to Eliot, but his legs and his lungs were burning from the exertion. Eliot flashed him a wolfy grin and for a split second Hardison could feel the burn of the cold wind in Eliot's lungs. Hardison could tell that it was only with effort that Eliot was keeping ahead of him. He pushed harder and was nearly a half a body length ahead of Eliot but there was still a quarter of the bridge left to go. The burn of the wind and his muscles was quickly pushing toward pain and Hardison had to back off. He wanted to win but it felt like something inside him might explode if they didn't slow down soon. The last quarter of the bridge flew past and Hardison new that Eliot was ahead of him even if it was only a little.
Eliot slowed them down to the pace they'd been traveling for most of the night, but Hardison still felt like his heart was hammering in his ears and his breath was still coming in heaving gasps. He looked over and he could see that Eliot had already caught his breath and was more or less just waiting on him. Eventually his heart resumed its usual place and oxygen became a real thing again. Hardison couldn't help the happy yip as he bumped shoulder to shoulder with Eliot. They had continued to follow the train tracks and before long they came to the other side of Hayden Island and to the start of another bridge.