The Badass Protector

COLT

HALFWAY TO the stream, a dark smoke soared through the sky. If my calculation was correct, it came from the campers.

And I was damn right as we reached closer.

“They’re gone. Burned the tents down to clear their trail,” Frost declared.

“Let’s cross. We might find something to help us locate Cora.”

We crossed the path of the water, just ankle-deep. Gael might be right-they were recruiting members. Based on the fire, it lit up pretty recently. If we were just quick enough to get here, we could still catch Cora.

“Son of a-!”

I turned to Frost. He was standing in front of a dead body. The corpse rested against the tree with a bullet hole on the forehead. I walked closer with my heart hammering in my chest, praying it wasn’t Cora’s.

“Jesus.” Dread recoiled in my stomach. When I looked at Frost, we both felt the same. And my prayer wasn’t heard.

Cora is dead.

I blinked the image off that started to replay in my head.

Gael was covering me as I ran toward the Humvee the moment those men were down. Blood spattered all over the windshield. Bullet holes were everywhere, but I was aiming for the machine gun.

Gunfire continued. A loud crash shook the ground. The fire erupted in a distant truck, and the smell of charred metal and burning tires assaulted my nose. Smoke soared in the air pretty fast.

Keeping low, I quickly ducked to its side and succeeded in jumping up at the back.

Automatic M16 fired against them, and I watched them fall to the ground. And so as the woman.

“Colt! Colt, are you okay?”

“Yeah. I’m good.” I wiped off the sweat on my forehead.

Cora may be cruel to Iris and betrayed us, but she didn’t deserve to die like this. I felt terrible that they betrayed her even though she had proven something.

“What did they want from her?” Frost asked.

“I’ve no idea. We need to bury her.”

“How? And they might come back for us.”

“We can’t leave her here, or do you want to carry her back to the camp?”

“Shit. Honestly, I feel bad. I’m afraid she might have shared some information with them.”

After burying Cora, we left right away.

“I hope she kept her mouth shut and thought about what Gael had done for her. If we only followed her the moment she ran away, we might be able to save her life.”

Frost gripped my shoulder. “Don’t beat yourself up, Colt. This is not your fault. She chose an easy way out, not expecting this kind of outcome, though. But she’d been betraying us, and we were protecting our group while she was busy with her business.”

***

We failed.

I failed to save Cora.

I FAILED Gael. And I was still trying to sink in the fact that she was dead. She may make a terrible decision by choosing to trust those people, but she could still be alive if she just had a little patience with us.

Bad for us, we didn’t catch the people who did this to her.

That could be a message, or she might have done something that forced them to kill her. Or she might have failed them. Whatever it was, Cora was still gone, and nothing could bring her back.

“Did you find her?” Lois met me halfway to the armory.

“No,” I answered shortly. I didn’t want to tell her until I informed Gael and let him break the bad news to others.

“She might have gone far already before you arrived there.”

I shrugged.

“It’s alright, Colt. None of these is your fault. Gotta go.”

“Hey.” I stopped her.

“Yeah.”

“Where’s Iris?”

Her face lit up. “She’s with Darick. It’s been a while since I saw your eyes lit up.”

I smiled. “Glad you two get along.”

She laughed softly. She didn’t like Cora and some girls back in our old camp. But with Iris, I felt their instant connection.

“She’s genuinely kind. I warned her not to break your heart.” She poked my chest. “And if you’re planning on breaking hers, you better stop it now, Colt Danger Snow, because I will stab you in your sleep.”

“Is that so? I think I can handle you just right.” I ruffled her dark brown hair, causing her to punch me on my abdomen. “Even I’m in deep slumber.” I taught her some basic self-defense months ago, and she gave up, saying she had no chance.

“I know, silly. And she likes you too.”

“And I like her a lot.” I laughed and shook my head. I couldn’t believe I had just voiced my feelings toward Iris to her roommate.

“Not so obvious, lover boy,” she sang. “Anyway, you better go. See you around, big bad wolf.”

I felt my heart thumping when I reached Darick and Frost’s cabin. The door was ajar, and I peeped through it.

Iris was on her yoga pants and an oversized shirt that she tied a knot at the back. I could see the round of her ass, and it was hard not to ogle when I already imagined how it felt on my palm as she wrapped her legs around me.

I pushed the thought off in my head. Damn it, Frost! You’re such a bad influence when it comes to women. He plagued my brain with dirty images of Iris.

“Keep on your stance, Iris. Remember to balance your weight; otherwise, your opponent will easily knock you down through your foot. And focus. Let Snow out of your mind for a while.” Darick kicked her left leg to test if her body weight was balanced.

Huh. Seriously, Takaga?

“What makes you think I’m thinking of him?” she asked, annoyed and seemingly embarrassed.

“You’re smitten, and I can see it written all over your face.”

Pretty much we’re the same, twig.

I didn’t even realize I was already grinning.

Shit. I had it bad. Pretty bad.

I badly needed a distraction; somehow, it was working, and I forgot what had happened earlier.

Iris groaned stubbornly.

“Okay, remember to protect your head, especially your face, all the time. It’s a semi-crouch.” Darick fixed her fists vertically at her eye level and at least six inches away from her face.

Iris was wearing old gloves that Darick had leaned her. “Okay, like this?”

“Yeah. Keep your chin tucked into your chest. Don’t ever get distracted. Once you do, your opponent gets a chance to punch that pretty face, and you’re done. Remember, you can’t say wait, hold up, break, or surrender. When you defend yourself from the opponent, treat them as a monster, a murderer who wanted to end your life.”

Iris nodded. “Noted. Monsters, kidnappers, murderers.”

“This world is full of bad people, Iris. Protect yourself, be sharp, and stay focused all the time. At least you know how to fight back when I and Colt or Frost are not around.”

“Got it.”

“Okay. Now lower your head, arms up, and don’t forget your stance.”

Iris did as he said-left foot forward and right at her back.

“Now, jab. Punch me,” Darick ordered.

“What?” She looked at him.

“Punch me,” he repeated. Darick was a few inches shorter than me, but he was strong and knocked down a few guys.

Iris did a straight punch with uncertainty.

“Hit my face as if you mean it, Iris! Remember, I am the monster who wanted to take advantage of you! He wanted to hurt you, the people you care about, who had Colt’s head, and Lois’ hair in his grip-”

Iris punched him stronger than the first one. I didn’t see that coming.

I chuckled inwardly. She only needed a little motivation, but Darick was fast and able to block her blow.

Good start, twig.

I heard a gasp from Iris when she hit Darick’s palm instead of his face.

He was fast. I gave him that.

“Yeah, just like that, but stronger, Iris. Give me your best shot. Remember, you can’t run to me, wear gloves, or wrap your knuckles to protect them. Keep your thumb out, and don’t bend your wrist otherwise. You will end up with a sprain or, worse, broken bones.”

“Again!” She did it again. “Again!” She did it faster and more powerfully until Darick was satisfied with the outcome.

My heart swelled with pride.

“I didn’t expect that looking after my girlfriend would teach her how to punch.”