Kindred Spirit - Noah Harris Page 0,58

was, it had Levi growing even redder, and he wasn’t even managing words as he sputtered and spat.

Laura wasn’t done, though. “Not that I blame you! I mean, I’m a little fluttery watching it. You sure you don’t want to give ladies a try just this once, Jacob?”

“And this is the part where I remind you that we’re currently dealing with a bunch of people trying to kill us,” Jacob pointed out hastily.

Levi rallied, turning to Laura. “We mean it. Stay out of harm’s way, and make sure everyone else knows that too.”

“I heard ya, I heard ya. What’re you two gonna do?”

Jacob edged toward the back door. “Draw them away from the store, and if we’re lucky, away from town. If we can convince them to go into the woods with us, we might have a fighting chance, and everyone will be safe.”

“Sounds like a whole lot of maybe to me,” Laura said.

“Sometimes the best plan is the one where you wing it.”

“And that just sounds like a whole lot of bullshit.”

“Language,” Levi muttered irritably.

Jacob pointed. “Go, Levi and I will draw them away.”

He waited until she marched out of the hallway and into the front, muttering under her breath the whole way before he opened the back door. Levi was quick on his heels as they stepped out onto the grass. He had no sooner taken a step before a shot rang out, the bullet hitting the doorway and exploding in shards of wood.

“Ah, back!” Jacob barked, shoving Levi back into the store.

“Jesus,” Levi hissed, backpedaling.

“Fuck it, out the front, at least then we can’t be ambushed as easily. Move!”

They thundered past the door and into the storefront. Laura had frozen halfway down one of the aisles, and Levi shouted at her to get down. They burst through the front door, with Jacob grabbing Levi and yanking him to the side as he spotted the handful of men on the other side of the street. He swore loudly as gunshots rang out around them, shattering the store’s windows and pinging off the truck he’d yanked Levi behind.

“Oh, Laura is gonna be so pissed,” Levi groaned as he pressed against the side of the truck.

“Well, if there was ever a reason for everyone to stay inside, these assholes just gave them a reason,” Jacob grunted.

Pulling the pistol from his pants out, he checked beneath the truck. Half a dozen people were advancing on them, and swiftly. They would have seconds before they were surrounded and either gunned down in the street or dragged off and gunned down. There was no way he could possibly hope to take on all of them at once, not with their numbers, formation, and the wide-open space of the street.

“Uh,” Jacob said hopefully. “Lou? You mind smacking them around a little bit? Cover our escape?”

Levi went taut in surprise. “What?”

There was a moment, and then the street erupted in sudden chaos. A man cried out, and Jacob’s head jerked as a limp body landed on the sidewalk. Another man gave a yelp, and Jacob watched him lift up over the truck and slam onto the hood. After that, there were grunts and one cry of panic. The whole time, Levi stared at him, eyes huge, even as the last of the shouts stopped.

Jacob stood up slowly, looking around. All six men lay sprawled around the street, with only a couple of them making a few feeble movements. To his mild surprise, Lou had apparently listened and gone non-lethal. As far as Jacob could tell, none of the men had been fatally wounded. They sure as hell were going to feel their wounds when they woke up, but the most blood Jacob could see was from one of their broken noses.

“Huh, thanks, Lou,” Jacob said, stopping short when he caught Levi staring at him. “What?”

“He’s...never listened to anyone but me before,” Levi said.

“Oh. Well, then double thank yous are in order,” Jacob replied, feeling almost buoyant.

Levi continued to stare. “What the hell is going on?”

Movement down the street caught Jacob’s attention, and he snapped his head around to find more 2218 men coming. They were still dressed to look like federal agents. They weren’t holding sidearms anymore, though, and Jacob’s stomach clenched at the sight of the automatics and rifles.

“Us getting the hell out of here is what’s going on,” Jacob said.

He still had no idea how many 2218 were left, but they needed to move and move fast. Maybe they could make it to