Dangerous Connections (Blackthorne, Inc.) by Odell Terry

Author:Odell, Terry [Odell, Terry]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Terry Odell
Published: 2013-10-18T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 23

Without thinking, Elle had her Glock unholstered and at the ready. “What the hell was that?”

Jinx had dropped his flashlight. He lifted it and shone it upward. His hand was shaking, but since hers was, too, she couldn’t find fault with it.

“I don’t know,” he said. “And I can’t say I want to find out. I vote for moving. Fast.”

She didn’t argue, simply followed as he raced along the two-track. She didn’t put her Glock away, either. Did Mexico have the equivalent of Bigfoot? Or Sasquatch? Nobody had ever proven they existed, had they? Or was someone being tortured?

Elle forced her mind to the mission. Find Trish. Jinx’s labored breathing had overridden the banshee howling. “Slow down. All we’re doing is wearing ourselves out, and we could be missing signs someone’s been here. Whatever was making that noise, I think it’s behind us.”

Jinx slowed to a walk. “Are you sure? Maybe it’s following us, but decided to use stealth mode.”

“If it’s—or they’re—smart enough to use stealth, then they wouldn’t have made all that noise to begin with.”

“There is that.”

The same sound, but more distant, thundered through the air. Elle froze, trying to pinpoint it. No point in walking right toward it. The sound died down, then returned, but from behind them. Another burst filled the jungle, then another, until they were surrounded by a howling, roaring cacophony.

“This is not good,” Jinx said. He slipped the AK-47 off his shoulder and held it in firing position. He turned in a slow circle.

“Hey!” Elle said.

He stopped, his head snapping around. “What? Did you see it—them?”

She grabbed the barrel of the AK-47 and pointed it downward. “Never let the muzzle point at another person. Ever. Unless it’s your target. One slip and I’d be hamburger. And keep your finger off the trigger until you’re ready to shoot.”

Although there wasn’t enough daylight to see color yet, she knew his face was the shade of the impending sunrise. She softened her tone. “I didn’t mean to snap, but that’s rule number one.”

“You want this thing, then?” He kept the muzzle pointing downward, but tilted it so the stock moved toward her. “I told you, I’m not a gun person.”

Wordlessly, she accepted the weapon. She tilted her chin along the path and started walking. There was a brief lull before she heard his footfalls behind her, along with unintelligible muttering. So he was miffed. Too bad. This wasn’t the time to develop Jinx’s shooting instincts.

A moment later, he strode to her side. “I guess I wasn’t thinking.”

Which was as close to I’m sorry as any man ever got.

“When it comes to guns, there’s usually no time for thinking,” she said. “It has to become second nature. Instinct. I should never have expected you to become an experienced gun handler in an hour. We practice over and over… and over… until all the rules are embedded in our muscle memory.”

“Yeah, but I screwed up, and I could have killed you.” His head hung, and his feet stomped along the road.

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