Got Thrills? A Boxed Set (A McCray Collection) by Carolyn McCray

Author:Carolyn McCray [McCray, Carolyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Off Our Meds MultiMedia
Published: 2012-08-27T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 2

Rook

Location: Cave in the Congo Region of Africa

Rook waited and watched from the shadows of the cave. He watched the professor, his remaining students, and several tattered gun-for-hire security guards. Group dynamics were always so fascinating, but never so much as when the group was confronted with not just the impossible, but after the impossible just kicked everyone’s ass.

The professor was—clearly—badly injured. His shoulder was swathed in bloody bandages. The rest of the group didn’t look like it had fared much better. Corpses were piled to the side. With the heavy fighting outside in the jungle, there was no way to dispose of the bodies there. Certainly, the group was far too afraid to move them to the rear chamber.

Reports were sketchy, but it seemed that all the action happened there.

Now, though, everyone was crowded around the young man on the ground. Presumably, the vice president’s nephew.

Perhaps it was time for Rook to make his introductions.

He struck a match. “Boo.”

The group jumped to their feet. The guards raised guns with shaking arms. Rook stepped into the room, but Beauty downright sauntered in—still in those six-inch stilettos.

“Oh, this is nasty,” she stated, picking up one foot and inspecting the bright red sole, and then the other.

Rook crossed over to Chad. “So, what have we got here?”

The stunned group, though, did not answer, so Rook looked at Beauty. “Is this our mark, or what?”

But Beauty slipped on the blood-slicked floor. “These are…” She scraped some brain matter off the sides of her shoes. “These were Guccis.”

Finally, one of the students snapped out of her shock and put a protective arm over Chad. “Who are you?”

Rook stood up. “Why, I thought it was obvious.” When the looks upon the group’s faces did not register the “obvious,” Rook continued, “We are the cavalry.”

Pointing behind him to the dark, tribal men entering the cave, Rook clarified. “Well, actually, they are the cavalry. I’m more the general.”

Each of the men wore tight loincloths stained red with the blood of a lion. Bright feathers lined the waistbands. Beyond that, the men were naked. So as much as Beauty was grumbling about her shoes, she was also getting her fill of eye candy.

Without hesitation, the tribesmen began dragging the dead bodies out of the cave.

“What are they doing?” the student pressed, worry crimping otherwise attractive features.

“Taking payment for services rendered,” Rook answered.

“What?” she asked.

But Rook grinned, amused by the growing horror on her face. “Come on. You look like a bright girl.” Perhaps she was bright, but not altogether quick. “A little snack for the road?”

The girl studied the tribesmen, then the corpses, and then Rook. “Cannibals?” she spat out. “You employed cannibals?”

“Um, who else was going to get us past the Apocalypse Now scenario you’ve got going on out there?”

Still horrified, Kadie rose to her feet. “You can’t expect us to let them take our friends and… and…”

Beauty stepped over a rather large piece of torso and squeezed the young woman’s shoulder. “It’s best not to dwell on details like that, sweetie.

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