Click – Brothers At Arms #5

Click informed her of the day’s events, “We found the money Vincent was paid and another stash from the bar the other two tried to take over. Emily was able to identify the bar money along with some gold and silver too. Which means Delaney’s brothers robbed her dad’s house after they killed him. At least now that money will go a long way to raising her son. But we haven’t found Barrett yet, so we have to watch the computers tonight.”

Desi snorted. “I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that Barrett is under a rock somewhere hiding and waiting for his sons to come find him. Just like some god damned troll or something. Either that or he’s waiting for us to fall asleep, so he can come out, get his money, and leave his sons behind. He would look at their getting caught as failing him.”

“That’s harsh girl, probably true but still harsh.” Click shook his head.

Desi shrugged. “That’s my observation of Barrett. He doesn’t give a damn about anyone but himself. Everyone including his own sons are tools for him to use and abuse.”

Click tugged her away from the window and moved her over to the bed. “Come on honey, let’s just put Barrett on hold for a while. Diabolus is on first watch, So I’ll need to get up and be on the second watch. We also have some men on the roof watching over us. We can worry about him tomorrow. I just need to hold you for a while.”

Desi nodded as she kicked her boots off. Getting out of her jeans, she laid down.

Click leaned forward and removed his boots, then stripped off his jeans, cut, and shirt as well. He stretched out on the bed. She laid there facing away from him. Growling a bit, he pulled her around to face him and laid her head on his shoulder. He then clicked off the light.

Desi smiled in the darkness and snuggled in. His heartbeat pounded under her head as she closed her eyes and drifted off.

A few hours later, that same dream came again. Where she always heard heavy footsteps walking down a long hall. The sound of those footsteps seemed so familiar to her but she did not know why. The sound became louder with each echoing step and soon that was all she could hear in her dream state. With each coming footstep, the fear inside her grew until she sat up and screamed. Only this time no sound left her tightened throat. This nightmare was familiar to her as she had been having it since she was fourteen and found her mother dead. Sweat beaded on her forehead and a few drops rolled down the side of her face. The fear inside her was real. She scrambled from under the covers and fell to the floor. Crawling over to the nearest corner, she drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Her eyes darted around the room as if to find something that would tell her she was safe.

In the moonlight, her gaze found Click’s face as he slept on the bed and her heart calmed a bit. Then she remembered he promised to keep her safe and the fear inside her abated a bit. She closed her eyes and prayed he would keep his word as she chanted in her head, it was just a dream. Just a dream…

Suddenly, she heard something in the hall and her body jumped as she snapped her head around to stare at the doorway. The door was still closed but the footsteps in the hall didn’t stop. They would pause every few steps but then they continued down the hall. Was it a dream? Gasping in fear, she crawled over to the bed and nudged Click’s shoulder.

Click bolted up and looked around the room then he was about to say something but she slapped her hand to cover his mouth. His eyes widened as he stared down at her and he could read the terror on her face.

She motioned for him to be quiet. Turning her head, she stared at the door. She raised her shaky hand and pointed at the door.

Click nodded his head as his gaze followed her finger, wondering what she was so spooked about. Getting up, he grabbed his pants and then went to the door. He pressed his ear against it and listened for a moment, then he turned his head to look back at her. He could see she was terrified, so he left the doorway to crouch down beside her. “What did you hear?” he whispered. “Was someone out there?”

Desi nodded. “I heard footsteps,” she whispered back. “I’ve heard those footsteps before in my nightmares and when I hear them, I have to run.”

Click frowned and asked, “What do you mean you have to run?”

She shuddered. “When I hear those particular footsteps, it means Barrett is looking for me, so I run.”

Click stared at her for a long moment then he asked, “You think those footsteps belong to Barrett Raggetti?”

“I know they do.” Desi nodded.

Click turned his head and glared at the door. Then he grabbed his phone out of his back pocket and sent a text to Zeus. He finished getting dressed then grabbed his weapon and told her, “You stay here. No matter what you hear, you stay here.”

“I need my gun.” She growled. She was still afraid of her nightmare but she was fast losing her fear.

Click nodded. “Fine, grab it, but you stay in this room. If there is trouble out there, I don’t want you involved in it.”

A soft knock sounded on his door and Click went over to open it.

 Zeus, Memphis, and Grave Digger stood there, ready for war. Each man had a weapon in his hand and they stepped inside.

 “What the hell is going on?” Zeus asked in a whisper

Click motioned at Desi and told them softly, “She heard footsteps walking down the hall and she thinks they are Barrett’s.”

Zeus raised his head and glared at Desi. “And just how do you know his footsteps?”

“I know them because he almost caught me on three separate occasions. And I can still hear them in my nightmares.” Shaking her head, she went on to say, “Believe me when someone is hunting you, you remember everything associated with them.”

“Ok.” Zeus nodded. “Let’s find out if she’s right or not.” He looked back at Memphis and Grave Digger. “Be careful and make your way to the main room. I texted Diabolus but he hasn’t gotten back to me yet.”

“Do you really think Barrett somehow got inside the clubhouse?” Grave Digger questioned.

“I don’t know,” Zeus whispered. “But at the moment, I’m not discounting the idea either. Come on, let’s go.” He headed for the door and everyone followed him.

Desi grabbed her bag and fished out her own weapon then followed them as well. She refused to be left behind.

The main room was dark and that made Zeus pause. They had a watch set up on the laptop and he saw no light from that device at all. He knew then there was someone who didn’t belong in their house. He turned and looked at the four men behind him and motioned for two to go to the right and he and the other man would go to the left. Then he motioned for Desi to stay at the hallway entrance in case whoever was out there got past them.

She nodded and tightened her grip on her weapon while stepping back into the shadows.

The four men disappeared into the darkness of the main room and she waited with bated breath, for whatever came next. Time passed slowly for a little while, then she heard footsteps running toward her and she got ready. The shadows parted as a man came barreling around the corner and almost ran her down. All she could see in the moonlight was the man’s eyes and they blazed at her. But she knew who he was and she brought her weapon into firing position. He was almost close enough then she tightened her finger on the trigger and took aim. She fired her weapon and then heard a scream as the man stumbled but kept coming. He knocked her down. Feeling a sharp pain in her side, she realized too late that there had been a knife in his hand. He’d stabbed at her as he stumbled past her and tried to keep going.

Then the light came on in the main room and the shadows faded. She looked up just as Barrett disappeared into the wall, a short distance down the hall. He went through another tunnel they hadn’t known about but she gasped and hissed as she looked down at her side. Blood stained her shirt and she knew for sure now that he had stabbed her. Just how bad she was hurt she didn’t know.

Now doors began opening down the hall as half dressed men spilled out into the hall. Shouting broke out in the main room.

With a pain filled gasp, she stumbled toward the main room.

She got to the doorway and found everyone hovering over a man on the floor.

Grave Digger ripped the man’s shirt open and began checking his wound. Diabolus was lying on his belly and the stab wound Grave Digger was working on was in the shoulder area of his back.

Click saw her and rushed over to grab her up before she fell to the floor. Then he noticed the blood. “That fucker!” He growled. Lifting her up, he carried her over the table where Grave Digger was working on Diabolus.

Zeus had been watching Grave Digger carefully. “How is he?” he asked him.

“The fucking asshole stabbed him in the back,” Grave Digger told them. “The coward snuck up behind him and stuck him in the back. Diabolus never stood a chance.”

Diabolus began to come around and shouted in pain when he opened his eyes. “Holy hell, what hit me?” He groaned.

“Barrett somehow got inside the clubhouse.” Zeus growled.

“What the hell is going on here?” Leon demanded as he came into the room.

Zeus turned his head and glared at him. “Barrett was just here.”

“Inside the clubhouse?” Leon exclaimed.

“Inside the clubhouse,” Zeus repeated back as he nodded.

“And he got away?” Leon growled.

“Yes, he got away,” Desi spoke up as she pushed Click away and made him put her down. “But now he’s got one more bullet hole in him. I shot the bastard as he passed me in the hall.” Then she fell forward and ended up lying on the floor next to Diabolus.

Now they all could see the blood on her shirt.

 “Sonofabitch,” Grave Digger swore as he shook his head. Reaching over, he lifted her shirt to see where the blood was coming from. They could all see the wicked stab wound on her side but one look told Grave Digger the wound wasn’t a mortal one. He looked up at Click and told him, “Get a towel, and cover the wound. Press down to try and stop the bleeding. I think she’ll be okay. I can’t help her right now as Diabolus is worse off than she is.”

 Memphis rushed out then came back with a towel.

Click grabbed it and pressed it down on the wound at her side.

Desi opened her eyes and groaned.

Click leaned down to whisper to her ear, “I know it hurts honey, but we’ve got to stop the bleeding.”

Desi nodded then closed her eyes again as tried not to cry as the pain washed over her.

Zeus stepped over to where she was laying and squatted down beside her. “You said you shot Barrett?”

Desi opened her eyes and nodded. “Yeah, just about the time he stuck his knife into my side.”

“Did you hit him?”

Desi groaned and replied, “Yeah, I hit the bastard. He’s bleeding bad from his shoulder.”

Zeus nodded. “Ok, well we have to try and find out where he went then.”

“There’s another door,” Desi whispered.

“Another fucking door?” Leon stated, as he looked angry.

Zeus ‒ who was way past the point that he cared about all the secret passageways in the compound ‒ simply shook his head. “In the hallway or what?” He kept his eyes on her face.

 Desi gasped a little and said, “Yes…look for blood on the wall. He had to push it open and his hand was covered in blood.”

Zeus paused, then said, “Thank you. I wasn’t sure you would or could shoot him if it came right down to it.”

Desi glared at him and said with a growl, “It was my pleasure. I’m just sorry I missed killing him.”

Zeus stared at her and then shook his head. “I hope you never have to kill any man. It’s something hard to live with.” He got to his feet and announced to all the men and women gathered in the main room, “Barrett was here and he got inside through a doorway we haven’t found yet. Desi said he went through a door in the hall and we have to find that door. She thinks there might be blood where he went through. He nodded at his men. “Find it.”

Everyone walked down the hall while slowly looking for the blood.

Suddenly, Memphis yelled out, “I found it, Zeus. I found the door.”