Released date May 2012 Warrior’s home is the second installment of the Warrior series. This story has been a labor of love for me. The story is of Riley Davis and Abigail Banks. Abigail is running from her past, the police and a drug lord, Riley was really just trying to hunt a prized buck.
STORY EXCERPT:
She stilled, frozen with shock and fear. She looked around frantically, realizing she was the last girl standing. She relaxed marginally. Throwing down the gun, she sat on the ground trying desperately to fight the tears that she could feel welling up in her eyes. “This is no time for hysterics,” she hissed to herself.
Calming herself with some deep breaths, she cleared her mind. Her brain clamored for a plan. She knew what had to be done. It was just getting her legs to work that seemed to be the problem. She blew out a harsh breath and rose to her feet.
Her body moved mechanically. She searched each body carefully, stripping them of cash and assorted items she thought might be useful in the future. Some of Derek’s men she had known. It was slightly satisfying to see their corpses lying motionless in the dirt. She thought idly of how she had prayed for just this sight more than once. They were ruthless. Their philosophy was blood in, blood out. They knew the second they were patched into the club that only death would separate them from the gang. Well, they got their blood.
Abigail stripped a jacket off one of the detectives and slipped it on. It was getting cold, maybe even getting ready to snow. There was nothing worse than getting stuck out in the snow with no shelter to protect you. She had seen more than one person freeze to death from wind-chill alone.
The ribbon around her heart was tightening. She may have grown up on the streets, but she had compassion. It saddened her to see the officer’s dead. She thought of the families they may have left behind and the children they may never see grow up. She bent down to the last detective, the skinny one, and after emptying his pockets, she whispered, “I’m sorry. Thank you.”
Tucking the money and two pistols into her jeans, she bolted into the forest, running as fast as she could. She knew walking on the road was out. Someone would come looking for either the detectives or Derek’s men, and she had better not be anywhere near there when they did. All she hoped was that she could make it to a shelter of some sort before it got dark.
She ran until the cramping in her gut was so overwhelming she had no choice but to stop. The pain was almost crippling. She braced herself against a tree with the palm of her hand, bent down, and threw up the remainder of the sandwich from that morning. Standing up straight, she stretched her gaze towards the sky, instantly feeling better.
Damn! I wish I had wilderness skills. Her only experiences with the woods were the ones in Central Park. Not real helpful out here.
The sound of a gunshot wrenched her out of her thoughts and set her heart racing with panic. She froze for a split second and heard rustling in the distance. Someone’s coming. She ducked behind the tree. Pulling one of the guns from her jeans, she cocked it and poised herself, ready to shoot. She waited as the noise got louder.
Suddenly, a large black shadow flashed on the ground, too quick for her brain to process. Abigail fired off two rounds and fled in the opposite direction.
Racing through the woods, the only sound was the thud of whatever she shot as it hit the forest floor and the wind in her ears. Seconds passed and she heard a voice.
“Hey, stop!” he yelled at her and then she heard him running after her.
Blind panic and adrenaline flooded her system. She picked up speed and didn’t dare look back. I’m not going to die! Fuck no, not today, thank you kindly.
She never saw the ledge, until it was too late. Abigail came, or at least tried to come, to a complete stop on the edge of a small cliff. Teetering, she desperately fought to keep her balance and not fall over the edge. It wasn’t a long drop, maybe ten feet, but there were sharp rocks and a river below. Her foot slipped on the sod and she lost her fight.
