The Belial Stone (The Belial Series #1)(83)

CHAPTER 79



Laney jolted awake, trying to figure out what had pulled her from her sleep. Tom was sitting up next to her.

“Tom, what’s going on?”

“I don’t know. There was a loud noise and then the place just went dark.”

Gunfire rang out and an arc of light shot through the sky. The guard tower nearest them exploded. Scrambling to her feet, Laney turned to Tom. “It’s Jake!”

Tom had jumped to his feet at the sound of the gunfire. He pulled Laney and Seeley to the side, just as a group of inmates charged for the gate.

Above the yelling, Laney thought she heard a voice calling her name. She looked around, but couldn’t see anyone amongst the mass of bodies rushing to the exit. Then she saw a man pushing against the tide, fighting to get into the enclosure. “Uncle Patrick!”

Patrick’s eyes looked up and caught Laney’s. He fought through the swarm of bodies and reached her, pulling her into a tight hug.

“Laney,” he breathed.

Tears rolled down her cheeks.

Patrick pulled back and took the shotgun from across his back, loaded it, and handed it to her. “We need to get going.”

She nodded and reached out to grab Tom’s hand. “Where’s Jake?”

“He’s in the enclosure.” Patrick gestured beyond the gate as he handed a handgun to Tom. “You must be Tom.”

Tom nodded., holding onto Seeley’s waist to keep him upright. “And this is Seeley,”

Patrick looked at the injured man, his face expressionless, but Laney saw the sympathy dart across his eyes. “Let’s get out of here.”

Following Patrick, they headed to the gate. A noise behind her caused her to glance back. Two guards were coming up on the back side of the enclosure.

“Look out!” Tom threw himself on top of Laney as the guards opened fire on the cage.

Gunfire whistled through the air above them. Tom rolled off Laney. She and Patrick grabbed onto Seeley’s arms. They pulled him along the ground to the gate as Tom crawled behind them. Suddenly, the gunfire stopped. Laney turned and saw a group of inmates had jumped the guards. They began to kick and stomp on the guards in a mad frenzy.

She turned away and scrambled to her feet.

Patrick pulled Seeley to his feet and carried him out of the cage with a fireman’s lift. Laney and Tom ran behind him and over to the open storage truck used to transport the men.

Crouching low, Laney checked her shotgun. “What’s the plan?”

Patrick lay Seeley gently on the ground. “Henry and Jordan’s assault groups are keeping any additional guards at bay, while Yoni and Jake enter the enclosure with an additional assault team and clear it. I’m supposed to get you clear.”

An explosion from inside the enclosure rocked the walls. A chorus of screams rolled over them.

Laney looked at Tom and he nodded. “Sorry, Uncle Patrick. But we’re not leaving this fight.”

Laney could tell Patrick wanted to argue with her. She cut in before he had the chance to speak. “Can you get Seeley to safety?”

Patrick looked at the man on the ground and a group of Kensington’s men’s heading for one of the Suburban’s to escape. “I’ll take him to some of the men, and have them get him out of here. I’ll find you in the enclosure.”

With a nod, she and Tom turned to leave when Patrick’s words stopped her.

“Delaney McPhearson.” She turned to face him. “Don’t make me come save you again.”

“You got it, Uncle,” she said with a smile. And then with a deep breath, she and Tom sprinted for the enclosure gate.





CHAPTER 80



Henry crouched low to the ground, using some debris from one of the destroyed towers as a barrier. He’d helped clear the area of guards and was going in for one last sweep. Almost a hundred yards away, he saw a group of Kensington’s guards pulling away in a Suburban. They were too far away to reach.

He quickly made his way to his ammunition stash, hidden to the left of the enclosure entrance. He pulled out the surface to air launcher and lined the truck up in his sights as it sped from the enclosure. Pulling the trigger, he watched the plume of smoke trail the missile as it zeroed in on the truck.

The impact flipped the truck, sending it flying twenty feet into the air. It crashed down to earth in a ball of fire, just like the other surface-to-air missile had done to the Jeep at the Chandler headquarters.

“That’s for my men,” he whispered.

Dropping the empty canister, he reached for his gun. A man collapsed onto his back with a shriek. From the smell, he could tell the man was a captive, not a guard.

“Bring him over here,” another man yelled. Henry looked up to see two more inmates a few feet to his left.

Henry let the man pull him over to the other two. “Look, I’m not one of the guys who put you here. I’m one of the guys who set you free.”

“Well, right now, I don’t really care.” The man’s face had been horribly scarred from burns that looked recent. “I’m owed payback and it looks like you’re going to give it to me.”

Henry was about to reply when he was distracted by the sight of a car pulling up in front of the enclosure. The glow of the fires around the enclosure and the breaking dawn provided enough light for Henry to identify the man getting out of the car.