King of Morgan Park

by Karen D Bradley

  “Sure.” Daron wondered what she had actually seen that shook her. Because it definitely wasn’t Ralph.

  “Thanks for your help,” Ralph held open the closet door. “A lot of people like to help set up but not break down. That is, unless food is involved.”

  Daron placed the last table into the closet when he noticed a stocky man about five-nine with red hair and light blue eyes approach Alisha. He’d seen him earlier talking with Ralph as well.

  He walked over to collect the jacket he’d laid over one of the plastic chairs lining the hall. “You’re welcome.”

  His eyes were on Alisha and the man, who she seemed to be having a disagreement with. Alisha gave the man a withering look before reaching around him to grab her purse off the chair and leaving with the man trailing her.

  “Alisha’s a sweetheart. Always pitching in to help.” Ralph scanned the hallway, then he peeked into the gym. “Have you seen her? She didn’t say goodnight.”

  “She just left.”

  “That’s odd.” Ralph shrugged. “Oh well, I’ll catch up with her later to see how she thought it went.”

  “I’ll make sure to sign up for the next one.” Daron slid on the suit jacket and quickly headed out the door to make sure Alisha had made it to her car alright.

  When he entered the parking lot, the words ‘I’m in too deep’ caught his attention. A group of men congregated near the corner.

  Alisha snatched her arm away from the red-haired man and opened the door to an Infiniti Q50. “Don’t touch me.”

  “You know what I want.” He yanked her toward him.

  “Let me go.” Alisha struggled to get out of his hold.

  “Alisha is everything okay?” Daron called out as he approached.

  “No. I keep telling him I’m not interested.”

  “This does not concern you.” The linen suit snarled something at Alisha that Daron couldn’t hear as she tugged against him. The handle of his gun peeked out from under his waistband.

  “If she’s told you to leave her alone and you don’t, then it becomes my business.” Daron was hoping he’d walk away from getting into an altercation that could bring the police, which wasn’t ideal but he also couldn’t allow Alisha to be manhandled.

  “Stick to sitting behind the desk.” He released Alisha and stepped forward.

  Daron buttoned his jacket since he wasn’t sure the shirt Cameron gifted him had Kevlar in it. “Don’t let the suit fool you.”

  “Oh, you’re a corporate thug.” He chuckled, scanning the streets as though expecting backup. “Excuse me but I’ll serve your ass to you and have you begging to return to the safety of your little office.”

  “You intimidate women,” Daron said, as Alisha shifted closer to the champagne Infiniti. “And I’m supposed to be scared of you?”

  A thin, bearded fellow with dirty-brown hair and a serious snarl rushed their way.

  “This ain’t none of your business.” The red-haired man glared at Alisha, yanking her back to him. “This conversation isn’t over, Miss Thing.”

  The thin man made it to them, his eyes lasered on Alisha’s cleavage. “Bobby, I heard you were looking for me.”

  The red-haired guy stepped away from Alisha. “Are you a fool?”

  Daron noticed a car jutted off the side road, almost getting hit as the window lowered and a glint of light shimmered off the weapon.

  “Get down,” Daron yelled, yanking Alisha while reaching for the Beretta as he moved behind the black sedan to his left.

  The slim guy wasn’t quick enough. His body jerked as a bullet ripped through his shoulder and the blood splattered on Alisha. She screamed as the bullets hit her car. The red-haired man swiveled in the direction of the vehicle driving by, firing back as he moved toward a Lexus. He slid behind the wheel of the car, tires screeched as the vehicle peeled away.

  Daron moved toward the injured man, realizing he’d been hit twice, and applied pressure to his torso. He called to Alisha, who stood trembling near the car with dark stain splatters on her dress. “Were you hit?”

  She shook her head.

  “Call 911.”

  With shaky hands, Alisha retrieved her cell and made the call. The man on the ground moaned. His breathing was shallow as he touched the wound on his shoulder then stared at his bloody hand. “I shouldn’t have worked with ...”

  “The police and ambulance are on their way,” Alisha announced, kneeling to use her scarf to apply pressure to the shoulder wound.

  His eyes rolled back in his head and seconds later, he passed out.

  Ralph ran out of the center toward them.

  “Is he still alive?” Ralph shifted Alisha out the way as the sirens in the distance got closer.

  “Yes.” Hand in his pocket, Daron pressed the button for the device to prevent cell phones from recording the incident.

  Alisha pressed herself against the Infiniti, glued to the driver’s side.

  The emergency vehicle pulled up and a couple of EMTs rushed to them.

  Ralph and Daron stepped back to allow paramedics to take over.

  Daron turned to Alisha, who threw herself into his arms. “You okay?”

  “I am now.” She pressed her breasts into his chest as she wrapped her arms around him, then rested her head on his chest. She looked up, arms still wrapped around him. “Thank you.”

  Daron extracted himself from her hold as the police in their dark-blue uniforms approached. Her chest moved rapidly, as if she had been holding her breath and just started to breathe. A blond stocky police officer requested that Daron move to one side as another one moved Alisha in the other direction. The officers weren’t slick. They were separating them to take their statements. People started gathering behind the caution tape with phones attempting to capture the aftermath. Daron quickly stood against the wall and out of most of the phones’ range then he hit the button to allow video recording. As the injured man was loaded into the ambulance; the police placed yellow numbered markers around the lot and took crime scene pictures.

  The process felt like it took hours. Ralph let them back into the gym to clean up a bit. Daron noticed as they exited the building that Alisha’s gaze focused on a point across the street.

  “Do you want me to give you a ride home?” Daron wondered how many bullets had hit her car, which was still trapped within the crime scene.

  She wrapped both arms around herself. “If you don’t mind.”

  Daron opened the door and she slid into the passenger seat, looking at him with a hint of desire in her eyes. She tugged on her skirt that had risen up her thigh and slowly licked her lips.

  “Not at all.” Daron closed the door, unable to shake the feeling that there was more to the situation than he was seeing.

  She gave him an address near Hyde Park. The first few minutes of the short journey were made in silence as he reflected on the evening. Were they actually shooting at the man harassing Alisha?

  Alisha had given him some kind of feeling when they first met but he wrote it off once he discovered she was attracted to him. Was Alisha in trouble?

  “This isn’t how I expected the night to end.” Alisha lifted her trembling hands as Daron held the Porsche door open.

  Alisha reached into her purse which emitted a tinkling sound as she retrieved her keys.

  Daron seized the keys from her unsteady hand and unlocked the door.

  “Let me at least get you some coffee,” Alisha implored as she accepted the keys back.

  “It’s been a long night.” Daron turned, heading to the Porsche.

  Alisha grabbed his bicep. “I insist. I have to-go cups. Come on. Let me at least do that for you.”

  Maybe he’d find out what happened between her and her assailant before he’d arrived. “Sure.”

  He stepped into her living room, an elegant space with contemporary upscale decor.

  Alisha immediately washed her hands and put on the coffee. “I’ll be right back.”

  Daron’s thou
ghts were on the incident, hoping Cameron’s brothers didn’t catch wind of it and connect it to him before he had a chance to make things right with their sister. The Stone brothers definitely didn’t want him with their sister and would surely tell her. The more he thought about what Cameron had been through because of him in recent weeks, he somewhat understood her walking away even though he had a huge issue with the swift execution.

  “Sorry I took so long,” Alisha said, as she returned to the kitchen wearing a black silk robe that was mere inches below her ass.

  If Daron wasn’t with Cameron, the night may have ended very differently. The only thing he wanted from Alisha was to find out what kind of trouble she had gotten herself into and see if he could assist in resolving her problem.

  CHAPTER 16

  “I don’t like this last-minute change to the meeting.” Daron located a satellite image of the new building, then forwarded it to their security team. He returned the tablet to the special pocket in his jacket. The group wanted to convince Calvin they could benefit greatly from the use of the device that made the wearer invisible to the naked eye, which they called The Emperor’s Suit, since Calvin hadn’t made the final decision who would gain the contract to use The Suit for at least a year, with the option to renew for another three years.

  “Umm, what’s with the fan?” Calvin asked, looking at the metal fan lying near Daron’s cell phone on the console. “It’s not very unisex.”

  “It’s a prototype shield designed for a woman.” Daron picked up two items, slipping his cell into his pocket. He opened the fan and made a complete circle. When the metal bars clicked together, the second layer of metal blades popped out to complete the shield. “I don’t know what made me grab it.”

  “Nice.” Calvin touched the metal of the shield. “I will have to take a closer look after the meeting.” He maneuvered a BMW X3 out of the parking lot of the original location where they were scheduled to talk with a special operations task force. “Once you come up with a more unisex design, I can add cloaking. It could be one of The Suit’s accessories.”

  “Unfortunately, men don’t carry as many items as women, so I’m still brainstorming items I can convert.” Daron pressed the buttons along the handle to retract the second layer, then closed the fan and put it in his pocket.

  “Thanks for the detail. While security is what Mia does, I hate the idea of her standing outside conference rooms and my lab when I’m working,” Calvin said, while he weaved through the slow traffic on the street as he made his way toward Museum of Science and Industry to get on to Lake Shore drive.

  “I told Mia not to worry. Your team will be all men, except when I’m present to make sure you don’t get in trouble.” Daron looked at Calvin as he stopped at the light and saw the man’s grimace. “We know what happened with the last female working a detail for you.”

  Mia had been hired to protect Calvin and his invention and she’d barely been able to keep him alive with so many people trying to kill him.

  “Funny Kincaid. Real funny.” Calvin chuckled, then his facial expression became serious as the light turned green. He turned his attention to the road. “Why didn’t you have Cam protect me?”

  “She’s not on my payroll.” Between the Katara-Tracy situation and his suddenly having a busy schedule, his relationship with Cameron had been as bi-polar as Chicago’s seasons. One minute they were in the middle of a polar vortex and the next in a heatwave. He wondered if Cameron mentioned to Mia that they weren’t together at the moment.

  “How is the search going for a director to head your youth program?” Calvin asked as the BMW inched forward in the thick traffic as they passed by the Shedd Aquarium.

  “We’ve narrowed the list to two.” Daron wanted to have an idea who the individuals were before he even approached them with the proposal. He gazed out of the window, watching as one of the two security vehicles accompanying them zoomed ahead.

  Calvin honked at a yellow cab and barely missed hitting the BMW as it squeezed in front of him.

  The cool summer air blew into the truck as Daron watched to make sure his team was the only people following them.

  “How’s it going, you being a part of The Castle?” Calvin asked, something he did regularly.

  “Keeping me busy. But don’t worry, we’ll get the trackers in all The Suits,” Daron answered as Calvin finally pulled into the parking lot of the new location. He had Nicco beta testing The Suits with trackers to transport Khalil from The Castle.

  A few seconds later, Linc pulled in beside him. Linc, who was six foot seven, bearded with a muscular form, was naturally intimidating to most. “Crystal’s heading the B team and will check the back entrance. Anita and Bryson will stay with you and Calvin,” Linc ordered, walking toward the door. “Roc you’re with me.”

  “Send the drone in first,” Daron instructed as Anita Roseboro stood watching the parking lot entrance and Bryson scanned the ground. Linc, along with the remaining man on the team, entered the building.

  Daron launched another drone to check the rooftop.

  “Man, if it wasn’t for my previous experience with people chasing Mia and me down for The Suits, I probably would’ve thought this was overkill.” Calvin shifted the gold bracelet on his wrist.

  “At least there’s no snipers.” Daron waited for Linc and Crystal to give the all-clear.

  “Heading to the conference room. We checked the lobby, so you can come in now,” Linc said.

  Daron adjusted the device in his ear as Bryson moved toward the door. “We’re going in.”

  Calvin followed Daron as Anita brought up the rear.

  Crystal Baltimore came on the com line. “The back is secure. No cars, and rear doors are locked. Doubling back your way.”

  Daron made a mental note to ask after the meeting if she was related to Tony. They entered the building through two sets of doors and crept down a long hall to a large waiting area set up with a leather couch and two matching seats. Light rock played through the speaker system. The place gave off eerie vibes.

  Linc could be seen at the end of the hallway with Roc, a waif of a woman wearing a beige dress that looked two sizes too big. “The conference room has been swept but I think you should reschedule.”

  “Sorry Calvin,” Daron said. He had a bad feeling about this too, and didn’t need to hear Linc’s reason for the decision. He noticed both men already had their hands hovering over their weapons as if they were expecting trouble at any moment.

  “I trust your team.” Calvin retrieved the BMW keys from his pocket. “Did you tell the people in the conference?”

  “No one was there,” Linc replied, with a hand close to his weapon.

  Daron immediately tapped Anita on the shoulder. “You drive Calvin. I’ll ride with Linc.”

  Linc was just beyond two steel doors that were propped open when Crystal called out. “Get out now. Several additional heat signatures are rising from the floor.”

  Bryson drew his weapon as Linc shot down the hallway at the men.

  “They’re coming up a hidden tunnel in the floor.” Linc grabbed the young lady as he and Roc crossed the threshold. Linc pushed the door closed seconds before men with automatic weapons entered off the side hallway.

  Daron stepped out firing, between Linc and Roc as the door opened. Anita drew her weapon as she moved Calvin back toward the front entrance.

  “I’m only a temp. I didn’t sign up for this.” The terrified assistant scrambled toward the wooden desk. Linc and Roc took cover behind the wall near the reception area.

  Daron shot a look at Calvin, “Turn on your suit.”

  “That doesn’t do the rest of you any good,” Calvin countered.

  “You’re the only client here.” Daron pulled out a pair of glasses from his inner pocket and handed it to Anita, so that she could see Calvin when the cloaking property was activated. “Make sure he doesn’t get shot.”

  They raced down the long hallway to the outer door as gunfire fille
d the area behind Daron. Across the way, Linc had taken off his jacket and pulled out the compact automatic weapon.

  “Go,” Linc yelled as he fired so Roc and the young lady raced toward Daron.

  “Get her to safety,” Daron ordered as Roc paused near him, releasing the woman. “Tell her to ditch the heels.”

  Daron maneuvered the drone into the hall. Four men with bulletproof vests were tucked behind the steel doors leading to the conference room.