Hearts and Aces (Kelsey's Burden Series Book 7) by Kaylie Hunter (great books for teens txt) 📗

had bought me, a sports bra, a loose tank top, and a pair of comfortable running shoes. Stepping onto the back deck, I motioned to Tyler that I—pointing to myself—would be at Headquarters, pointing across the highway. Tyler gestured a thumbs up before his eyes flickered back to the kids and their surroundings.

Heading outside, I met the girls who had also changed into workout clothes.

“Okay, Tweedle,” Katie said, handing her a jump rope. “Your first task is to jump rope while we run a lap in the woodlands. Focus on the timing the jumps, not how fast you can jump.”

Tweedle took the jump rope but looked a little nervous.

“Best if you practice in the grass,” I said, pointing to the side yard. “Don’t worry about damaging the lawn. I’d rather lose some grass than find you bleeding when we get back.”

Ryan laughed from the front porch.

“Go play poker!” Tweedle yelled at him, fake glaring as she scowled.

“Yes, ma’am,” Ryan said, trying to restrain his laugh as he sauntered back inside.

I nodded to the guard in the front yard to keep his eyes on Tweedle. He was one of the Devil’s Players. He nodded back, scanning the area as he stood in parade rest position.

Beth, Katie, Bridget, and I crossed the side street and started jogging down the trail. By the time we looped back to the house, none of us were breathing heavy, including Beth. Tweedle was still struggling to complete two consecutive jumps and her guard was silently laughing. I led our group back into the woods to make another loop. They groaned but followed.

After the second loop, we escorted Tweedle toward the highway. She tripped twice in the road, but with Bridget on one side and me on the other, we got her safely across without being hit by a car.

“That was interesting,” Beth said, chuckling. “How can you be so coordinated with your hands and so out of touch with your feet?” she asked Tweedle.

“I was born this way,” Tweedle said on a long sigh.

Beth turned, her back to Headquarters as she jogged in place. “Maybe we should get a soccer ball.”

Tweedle tripped over an invisible object and landed on all fours in the grass.

“Better invest in safety pads first,” Bridget laughed, helping Tweedle up.

“That reminds me,” I said, turning to Beth. “Carl wants to learn skateboarding—”

Beth’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped as she looked at something behind us. I turned, reaching for my gun, but my hand grasped air as three men jumped out of a van and pounced. Another batch of men leapt out after them.

“Run!” I yelled as I attacked the first man. I punched him in the throat, taking him down as another man grabbed me from behind. Reaching up and behind me, I locked his head with my arm as I squatted and pulled him forward. He landed hard but was already rolling out of range when I stomped my foot forward. Bridget was closest to me, kicking her assailant like her life depended on it. I could hear Katie grunting somewhere behind me as a third man leapt toward me. A sidekick to his family jewels, followed by a knee to the face, had him falling into the grass.

A gun being discharged caused both sides to freeze and look toward the van. A man stood holding Tweedle tightly with one hand while he used the other to point a gun at her head.

We slowly raised our hands in surrender. The men grabbed us by the biceps and shoved us toward the van.

“You were supposed to run,” I said to Beth as I was pushed inside.

“Sorry. Fight or flight never kicked in. I sort of got stuck in the frozen phase,” she said as she waited her turn to be loaded.

“We’ll have to work on that,” Katie said as she laughed at Beth.

The guard holding Katie roughly shoved her inside. She stumbled knees first onto the floor next to me.

“Careful, asshole,” I yelled at him.

“It’s fine, Kel,” Katie said, adjusting her legs under her and placing her back against the van’s inside wall. “I can handle it.”

The man holding Tweedle moved into the van next, still holding a gun to her head. At least he was being gentle and not abrasive with her. Bridget was shoved in next, followed by her captor climbing inside.

The last man placed his foot on the van floor as he dragged Beth behind him.

In what appeared to be a mirage, Storm came out of nowhere, snarling and leaping on top of the man who held Beth. Beth fell backward into the grass as Storm dug his fangs into the man’s shoulder. Storm and the man struggled, rolling several feet away from the van.

“Run! Get Tyler!” I yelled at Beth as the van door closed, leaving her behind.

~*~*~

The van sped down the highway for only a minute or two, moving toward the west, before it turned north, then east. I knew I wasn’t the only one in the van tracking the turns and how long we traveled. By the time we stopped, I was guessing we were in the mostly deserted industrial area north of downtown. The aging, oversized buildings were no longer cost effective for manufacturing companies. A few closer to downtown were converted to lofts or offices, but the ones farther to the north were left to decay, surrounded by weed-filled, crumbling parking lots. Near twenty or thirty buildings, varying in sizes, occupied a five-block stretch. Taxpayers had wanted the buildings torn down but were unwilling to allocate their tax dollars toward the endeavor.

“No funny business,” the man holding a gun to Tweedle said as the van door slid open.

“Whatever,” Bridget said, stepping out of the van.

I carefully followed after Bridget. During our trip, they’d handcuffed our hands behind our