Touched by Death Chapter 12
“Ready?” Jensen questioned, voice steely. Jared nodded curtly, glancing down to see that Jensen’s hands were trembling, despite his calm demeanor. He enfolded Jensen’s hand in his larger one and gave a reassuring squeeze.
“Ready.” A tight smile graced Jensen’s lips before he tugged his hand free and opened the driver side door. He stepped out of the car and tugged his gun from its holster while Jared did the same. They looked to each other, their eyes saying more than their mouths ever could. This was it. This was finally going to be over. They both began walking towards the house; the chain link fence groaned on its hinges and Jensen cringed at the sound as he scraped it across the concrete sidewalk until the bulk of both Jared and himself could slip through. They moved deliberately across the lawn and cataloged the scene.
The house was falling apart: Paint chipped, support beams bowing, windows dirty with grit, It wasn’t much to look at, a simple one story shack. The windows seemed sealed off which meant the only visible exit was the front door. Good. Jared placed a hand on the knob and stood to the side of the entrance while Jensen trained his gun forward. They met eyes and Jensen pressed his lips together, preparing himself, before tapping his finger on the barrel and giving Jared the signal to swing the door open.
Jared tugged open the door and Jensen entered quickly, gun swiveling from side to side. He looked over his shoulder to Jared and nodded toward the room off to the left. There was no way too tell what the room was meant to be due to the lack of furniture. The lone piece was a dusty chair in the far corner, silver duct tape hanging limply from the armrest. Jensen tore his eyes away and went right. He checked over the room, moving the paisley green curtains with his barrel to check behind them. “Clear.”
“Clear.” He heard Jared’s clear voice from the other room. He continued forward, head on a constant swivel. Sweat was beginning to bead on his forehead and dripped down the back of his neck. He gulped down his nerves and kept his eyes darting as he moved throughout the kitchen. The room appeared untouched, dust painting every surface, except the refrigerator. It was humming ominously, light slipping from the crack in the door and spilling over the tile. Carefully Jensen removed a hand from his pistol and gripped the handle. He cracked it open, peaking inside. Bile rose in his throat as the smell hit him full force. The coppery tang of blood. He tucked his shirt sleeve under his nose and squinted against the bare bulb that hung in the fridge to look at the bloody tools that Morgan used to murder. Blood dripped from a couple and pooled on the bottom shelf, his eyes tracked the trail as it congealed and painted the bottom red. He swung the door closed. That wasn’t what he was here for. “Well we got the right place.” He muttered.
“Clear.” Jared called. Jensen poked his head around the next wall and saw that Jared had already entered the back room. The back wall was almost completely made of windows and light glistened off the dust which flitted through the air. Jensen couldn’t help but stare at Jared for a moment. The tense muscles of his shoulders and back were bunched under his suit jacket, and the concentrated look on his face was one that he wore so well. The sun showed a glistening line of perspiration that was dripping down his temple from his shaggy bangs. He looked good like this, on the job, part of the reason Jensen loved him.
“Found something in the kitchen. Call it in and I’m checking the basement.” His voice was gruff with resignation. He wasn’t here. Jensen just hoped that fridge would provide more than just fuel for his nightmares.
“Are you sure you should go down there alone?” Jared questioned, tone light and gentle but his eyes bright with concern. He stepped closer to Jensen and the kitchen.
“I’m not a child Jared,” He spat back tersely, one look at Jared’s kicked puppy expression though and his face and voice softened. “I’ll be fine.”
Jensen moved past Jared towards the hallway and the door to the basement. Jared settled a heavy hand on his shoulder and squeezed briefly. Jensen’s head snapped back but Jared wasn’t looking at him. “We will find him.”
Jensen didn’t answer. He just continued to the basement door, only pausing to look back once he got to the door. He glanced back but Jared had already disappeared into the kitchen. He swung the door open, flicking on his flashlight and pointing it down into the darkness. He took the stairs slowly and deliberately, checking the wall for a light switch. He reached the bottom step and swung his flashlight around. It was one open space as far as he could see. No walls or furniture to hide behind. With a sigh he released some of the tension in his shoulders and moved the beam of his flashlight along the wall. A switch was there, just a few steps away. Jensen shuffled towards it and flicked it on. As soon as light burst forth an arm snaked around from behind him and pressed against his throat. Jensen jerked, dropping the flashlight with a clatter to the floor.
“Jare…” He gasped airlessly, but he doubted his weak call could even make it to the stairs. He was on his own. Jensen swung his elbow back hard into the attacker’s ribs. A sense of satisfaction washed over him as he felt bones break under the swing and the attacker lost his grip. Jensen wriggled out of his grasp and turned around gun swinging up, but the attacker had regained his barring and kicked the gun free of Jensen’s hands. It landed with a thud and skidded a few feet away. Jensen made the mistake of tracking it with his eyes and paid with a blow to the gut. The air escaped his lungs and his knees went weak for a moment and he stared up to see who he was fighting.
Broad shoulders, lean waist- it was guy. A Ski mask covered his face, how convenient. Jensen kicked out and caught the guy’s legs, causing him to fall back, and taking Jensen with him. Jensen rolled off the guy and searched frantically for his gun. It was only about two feet away. Jensen scrambled forward with fingers scrabbling and he spared a look over his shoulder and saw the man had collected himself. He stretched forward, shoulder groaning n its socket and nails scraping the metal of his gun right as an iron grip wrapped around his ankle. His fingers lost purchase on his gun as he was yanked backward, knees banging uncomfortably across the concrete. Air was trapped in his chest as a heavy body came down hard on his back and a tanned forearm slithered across the front of his trachea and closed off his oxygen supply. Hot breath bushed across the shell of his ear, stubble scrapping at the tender spot behind his ear. “I tried to warn you Jenny boy.”
Jensen jerked lazily, eyes rolling in their sockets and vision fading around the edges. His parched lips gaped open and closed, his lungs burning and heaving against his suddenly tight ribcage. He blinked slowly, eyelashes bushing across his cheekbones, his vision pinpointing more and more with each languid flicker of his eyelids. The band across his air passage slipped away but Jensen was too far gone to do much more than take in a hiccupped breath. He felt himself being rolled onto his back, blood pumping across his brain and thumping into his temples. He blinked. Vision a mere dot of color in a sea of black. A shadowy figure swam into the pinpoint.
Blink.
A hand brushed over his jaw and teased at the soft blonde hairs at the nap of his neck.
Blink.
Hot breath rolled over his flushed face.
Blink.
A dry press of lips to his forehead.
Blink.
“I hope you said goodbye to your boyfriend the last time you saw him.” A whiskey rough voice chuckled.
Blink.
Nothing.