Read Online Out of the Shadows (Falcon) by Geri Foster - Free Book Online Page B

and get back the woman. Chavez can wait until another day.”
    “I doubt he will release either as long as he breathes.”
    “Then I guess he’s going to stop breathing, because I’m not going home empty handed.”
    “You may not go home at all.”
    “Then I will have tried.”
    Father Ayaaya leaned forward, his intense eyes bright with curiosity. “Why do men like you fight?”
    “It’s not about why we fight. I t’s what we’re fighting for.”
    “And what is that?”
    “Freedom, honor, and justice.”
    “Those words mean a lot t o you?
    “They’re all a man like me has .”
    “I think I can help you a little. But for now, get some rest , and let’s see what tomorrow brings.”
    Brody finished the wine and walked f rom the church. The young boy from Alana’s house stood beside his bag under the lean-to. “Don’t think about taking anything.”
    The kid’s head came up and his dark eyes smoldered. “I am not trying to steal from you.”
    “No? Then what do you want?”
    “I want to go with you.”
    “That’s too dangerous. Besides, if Chavez catches you he can make it tough for your family.”
    “He already has. He can’t hurt us anymore.”
    “What’s your name?”
    “ Manny.”
    “I’m Brody. I’d like to take you with me, but it’s doubtful I’ll make it out of there alive.”
    “Then we die fighting.”
    The kid couldn’t be more than fifteen and as he moved about, Brody noticed he dragged his left foot. Brody put his hand on the kid’s shoulder. “Look, I understand. I imagine Chavez runs this village and those close by. And I know he’s mean. But I can’t take you away. Your family needs you here.”
    Manny jerked back. “My family does not need me. No one does. I am a useless cripple. I can do nothing. My life is nothing.”
    Manny moved into the darkness. A burning hole tightened Brody’s chest. He knew that useless feeling and how it felt to be so helpless. Hell, he’d felt that way since A.J.’s capture. They were both prisoners in their own skin. They couldn’t do anything to help the person they cared for.
    Brody moved his bag and lay down in the straw , exhausted. Dawn would come quickly. He’d be lucky to get a few hours of sleep before going out to find A.J. and Kate.
    Inside , his heart physically ached knowing Chavez held two people he cared about and he could do nothing to help them until morning. Not knowing the situation drove him crazy.
    Having failed Kate shredded his confidence to the point recover y appeared doubtful. Not for the first time he questioned his actions with Kate’s life. He had no right to take her against her will. He’d been wrong...dead wrong.
    If anyth ing happened to her he knew where to lay the blame, and who would suffer most. Images of her face crept into his mind. Her beauty seared his eyes.
    For the first time, he questioned w hat he’d believed in all his life. His ethics humbled him to the point of uncertainty. He had no choice. For redemption he’d find Kate and A.J. and get them back home safely. No matter what the cost. 
    He reached in his pocket and took out his smartphone. It’d been off since he left Frank’s office earlier that day. As he swiped his finger across the bottom of the screen, all the apps blinked to life.
    The status message showed three missed call, all from Frank. Brody turned the cell phone off to conserve the batteries, and then he lay down. Yeah, he had a real ass chewing coming.
    But to save Kate and A.J., Brody would take a verbal slap down. In Kate’s case, he’d be lucky to get away with Frank just going ballistic. If when this all ended, he still had his job, Brody would believe all that karma and positive thinking crap Zoe, their secretary, preached and lived by.
    Odds were he’d be looking for employment by the end of the week.
    As Brody slipped a handful of straw beneath his head , he wondered what his mother and two older sisters would think about him kidnapping an innocent woman.