"Question Allen. Go from there."
They stood in silence for several minutes until orderlies and a nurse wheeled Allen back into the room. The NYPD officers took up residence, one inside the room, one outside.
"Can we question him?" Nic asked the nurse while the men who wheeled in the bed locked the wheels into place and positioned the IV onto the stand next to the bed. The old man's skin color didn't look good. He was extremely pale with a bluish tint. Even though he was propped up, his breathing sounded harsh: a wet, rattle-like, noise before the exhale and then a wheeze before the laborious inhale started again.
The nurse detached the portable oxygen and reattached the system to the one in the room. He situated the man's nasal cannula before he checked the drip on the IV. It was only after his patient was settled that he turned his attention to Nic and Jade. "He is sedated right now. The doctor will make her way down to talk with you after she gets a look at the pictures we took." The nurse opened a screen on the computer and started logging information.
Nic nodded at the NYPD that had settled in the one and only chair in the room. The cop had angled it so he could keep an eye on the patient, the door, and his partner.
Jade tipped her head toward the hallway. Nic followed her out and across the hall to a small waiting area. "Jewell wants us to call in."
Nic grabbed the ear bud Jade proffered him. He recalled the last time they'd shared her earphones for a call. God, it seemed like months ago, and yet only a handful of hours had passed. He didn't feel like the same man.
"Alright sweets, we are here," Jade said as soon as Jewell picked up.
"Okay, so I'm supposed to update you and give you instructions. Update first. The NYPD has rounded up every known member of the Triad they could find. As a matter of fact, they have brought in all known associates and family members, too. So far nobody is saying squat, at least according to Lieutenant Flowers. He also had a few not so kind words to say about the way you ding-dong-ditched the two cops who were assigned to you."
"Figures, but I guarantee I won't lose any sleep over it." Jade shrugged as she spoke.
"Yeah, we didn't figure you would. Jason shut him down. Hard. Anyway, the C4 is part of a shipment scheduled for disposal. It was last logged in at Fort Meyer's EOD range. The Army is doing its thing. I'm monitoring the status, but I don't see the Army being forthcoming on how they lost a couple hundred pounds of major league boom-boom."
"No kidding." Nic could imagine the shit rolling downhill at that army base.
Jewell continued, "We are still looking into Allen's past and association with the Triad. Zack is running it to ground."
"Let me know as soon as you are ready to brief. What about the clinic?" Nic rubbed his eyes. Once again, all the sand of the Sahara seemed to have lodged itself between his eyelids and dry, itchy eyeballs.
"No movement or action. We have overlapping cameras, pressure sensors at all entrances, motion detectors and redundancies in place, but as of right now, no one has made an attempt to get into the facility. I see Allen's status is listed as stable but guarded. What did the doctor say?"
"Allen just got back from radiology. Not sure what's up yet. The doctor hasn't come down to speak with us yet."
"Correction. The doctor is here." A female voice across from them brought Nic's eyes up and a smile to his face. He pulled out the ear bud and stood before walking to the petite woman standing in the doorway. He wrapped her in a hug that she returned. She rubbed his shoulders. "I heard about your mom, and I called the hospital, but they said she was transferred?"
Nic pulled out of the hug. "Yeah, Guardian is taking care of… everything." Nic reached back to Jade and held out his hand to her. She arched an eyebrow at him but lifted out of the chair and came over. "Donna, this is Jade. Jade, my second cousin Donna Corzolli."
Jade extended her hand. "Pleased to meet you. Are you Mr. Allen's doctor?"
Nic drew a breath, thankful Jade had taken control of the conversation. He didn't want Donna to start asking questions about his mom that he couldn't answer.
"Yes, I am."
"When can we talk to him?" Jade peered up at Nic.
"He's heavily sedated right now. I don't know when he'll be cognizant enough to talk with you and as his physician, I can honestly say I don't recommend any discussion that would prove strenuous."
"Why?" Nic folded his arms and leveled his gaze across the hall at the officer standing outside the door.
"Can't release that information to you. HIPPA laws." Donna shook her head. "I'd like to, but I can't."
Jade nodded. "Okay, I get that. If you were to guess, when would he be coming out of the sedation?"
"Not until morning. Not until visiting hours, I would guess." Donna glanced up at him. "Nico, does this man have something to do with what happened to Zia Bettina?"
Nic fixed his gaze on Jade and then nodded. Once.
Donna sighed and motioned them further into the room. She lowered her voice before she spoke, "He is terminal. End stage Emphysema. There isn't much left of his lungs. He won't be with us long. Come back tomorrow morning at ten. I'll stay after my shift to make sure he's comfortable when you talk to him, but Nico, I could lose my license for telling you this and for helping you talk to him."
"Don't worry, Donna. I promise we will protect you and the information. Thank you." Nic pulled her into a hug again.
"Tell Zia Bettina that I love her, would you? I'll be over to see her as soon as she's released."
Nic swallowed the emotion that boiled up. He nodded. It was the only response he could manage.
"It was nice to meet you, and we'll see you soon." Jade shook Donna's hand again and watched her as she walked out of the small waiting area.
Jade dropped her head onto Nic's shoulder. "So how weird was it that I kinda wanted to rip her hair out? At least until you pulled out the cousin card."
Nic put his arm around Jade and pulled her into an embrace. He planted his chin on top of her head. "Really weird."
"I know right? I mean, me? Jealous? What the actual fuck?"
Jade sounded so incredulous, he smiled despite himself. "One would almost assume we were in a relationship or something."
"I know, right?"
Nic felt her phone vibrate and sighed when she pulled away. He flashed a glance at the clock. They had five hours to wait until they could question Allen.
"Sooo… Jewell might have an idea we are seeing each other."
"No shit? What do you think gave her the first clue?" Nic blinked down at her, trying for sincerity, but there was no way he managed it.
"Ummm, I don't know. Could have been any number of things. But the fact remains she got us one room in the hotel across the street." She lifted the phone for him, and he read the text.
"God, I think I love your sister." Nic needed another shower, a bed and several hours of sleep, preferably with Jade tucked up next to him.
"Great, now I have to pull out Jewell's hair. This could get old, quick."
Chapter Twenty-Six
Jade pushed Nic through the doorway. She could tell he was shutting down-physically, mentally, and emotionally. The stress he'd been under for the last twenty-four hours was enough to break the strongest people she knew, and she counted Nic among them. She dropped his bundle of clothes on the bedside table taking the time to remove his weapons, cell phone, credentials, wallet, and shield before she dropped the soiled mess into the garbage can.
Nic stood in the middle of the room, staring at the bathroom door. Jade walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist.
"Come on, big boy. Shower time."
She pushed him forward and maneuvered them into the bathroom. She watched him strip out of the hospital scrubs she'd liberated for him as she adjusted the water temperature. He walked into the shower as if he were in a trance. Jade laid her weapons on the vanity a
nd quickly stripped out of her clothes.
The warm water rained down on them, and the white noise buffered them from the outside world. She picked up a bar of soap, ripped the protective cover off and lathered up Nic's back. She worked her fingers over his tense knotted muscles. He groaned and braced himself on the wall of the shower, dropping his head forward allowing the shower to sluice the suds down his back. Jade lowered and worked the tight muscles of his hamstrings and calves before standing and turning him to face her.
She put her hands on his shoulders and kneaded them with strong, sure pressure until the knots dissolved and his shoulders lowered. She washed his chest and abs and then dropped to her knees. His cock lay plump against his thigh, interested but not demanding. Jade washed his thighs and shins before placing the soap out of the way on the edge of the tile. She lifted her face into the shower stream and pushed her wet hair back away from her face. Nic's hand cupped her cheek. Jade opened her eyes and saw the need in his. She leaned forward and licked the swollen head of his cock, taking her time to roll her tongue around it before suckling it into her mouth. The muscles in Nic's thighs jumped when she pulled him in, and his legs trembled under her touch. Jade felt him thread his fingers through her wet hair.
This is what she knew he needed. Nic needed to feel some semblance of control, if only for a short time. His world had been shattered, and the elements of the disaster had beaten the man down, but he was strong, and he would endure. What she offered him tonight was a solace, a way to take back a modicum of normality. She grabbed the back of his thighs and pulled him to her, taking his cock to the back of her throat. When Nic pulled away, her eyes popped open and locked with his. She urged him forward again.
"Are you sure? I'm not strong enough to stop tonight. I need…"
Jade urged him forward again and hummed around his cock as it slid to the back of her throat. Nic grasped her hair and tipped her head back a bit further before he thrust forward again. Controlled and measured, he found his rhythm. Jade sucked and swirled her tongue, encouraging him to take what he needed. One of his hands cupped her cheek, and she opened her eyes gazing at the man above her.
She couldn't say what the sensation was, but a feeling swept over her, and at that moment in time she could swear Nic felt it, too. A connection so deep and pure she could feel his emotions as if they were her own. He pulled away and lifted her up. His mouth lowered and took hers in a kiss that was tender, soft and giving. Jade trembled when her palms smoothed over his pecs. Nic turned off the shower and drew a towel around her. Jade made a cursory attempt to dry off. Neither of them managed to do much more than drop the towels at the side of the bed. Nic grabbed a condom from his wallet before he dropped into bed beside her.
"Thank you." His eyes echoed the words and forced her to swallow hard.
She had no experience to fall back on. She didn't know how to understand the way she was feeling, and her uncertainty terrified her... her fear born of saying something or doing something that would make this precious… emotion… they shared break apart and fall away as if it had never been. Jade's hand trembled as she lifted it to his lips. He closed his eyes and kissed her palm as if the intensity of the moment was too strong for him, too.
"What is this?" She whispered the question to herself. Nic's eyes opened. He moved to settle between her legs, his torso over hers, and held himself up on his elbows as his eyes examined her face with the same intensity that she searched his.
"This is us." Nic bent down and softly caressed her lips with his before he slid his cheek against hers and kissed her jaw, her neck, and then her shoulder.
The contact sent rivulets of sensation through her. The connection they shared tonight was just as corporal as the touch of his body against hers. Jade outlined the hills and valleys of his muscles with her fingertips as he held himself over her. He lifted to his knees and took the condom out of the package. Jade watched the muscles in his arms and chest roll with the movement. She followed his hand to his cock and literally licked her lips. He worked the condom down his shaft while staring at her. As he lowered, Jade ran her hands from his abdomen to his pecs, mapping the thick plates of muscle as they moved.
"Look at me." Nic's voice deepened. Her eyes rose from his chest where her hands explored. "I couldn't have made it through the day without you." His hips thrust forward filling her.
Jade lifted her hips encouraging him. Their eyes locked. "Tell me you feel this, too." This boiling tempest of emotion, the intensity of her feelings couldn't be one sided. God, she prayed it wasn't. She ran her hands up his shoulders and tangled them in his dark brown hair.
"My world has shattered into a million pieces. I can't explain how empty… how hollow I felt." Nic blinked, pushing back the emotion he refused to allow to fall. "Until you." He dropped his forehead to hers and whispered, "You're my sanity, my solace, and my beacon in the night." A single tear dropped from his eyes to her cheek. "God, yes, I feel it."
Jade choked back her own tears. He pulled her tight into his shoulder and stroked deep inside her. She embraced him as tightly as he held her. Jade came apart in his arms and held him as he shattered in hers. He rolled off her and disposed of the condom before he pulled her into him. Jade felt him drop into slumber mere minutes later and carefully pulled away going into the bathroom to gather her things. She placed her weapons beside the bed and set the alarm on her phone after checking for any messages.
She pulled up the covers and slipped into bed again. Nic didn't even flinch at the movement. What was keeping her awake right now was the revelation that she cared for Nic with a depth and an emotional attachment she couldn't comprehend. The intensity and urgency she felt was confusing and yet, breathtaking. A sigh eased from her lips and the tension in her body relaxed and allowed her to start to drift into sleep. The four-letter word that used to scare the shit out of her swirled around her mind. She was in love.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Nic held the hospital door for Jade. Four hours of solid sleep had refreshed him, but the weight of the past few days still felt oppressive and unyielding. When Jade's alarm went off this morning, there had been no time to do the 'morning after' shuffle. Breakfast and a fresh set of clothing for each of them arrived at the same time. Jade said she assumed the wardrobe change was a present from Jewell, but knowing Jared the way he did, Nic wouldn't put it past his best friend to be watching out for them. Whoever sent the clothes, he appreciated it. They got dressed, ignored the food, and grabbed two cups of coffee before heading out.
Nic watched the stunning woman walking beside him. They'd both agreed last night that something special had happened, yet it appeared neither one of them wanted to address it in the light of day. Nic sure as fuck didn't have the desire to pull out a fuck-ton of emotions and examine them, and knowing Jade, that was the last thing she would want either.
They rode up in a packed elevator and made their way to Allen's room. After flashing their badges and credentials, they entered the darkened room. Donna was present, and Allen was awake. Nic nodded at his cousin but addressed her patient.
"Mr. Montgomery Allen, I'm Nicolas DeMarco. This is Jade King. We're with Guardian Security, and we need to ask you some questions. Before I do that, I need to read you your rights."
The man nodded and lifted his finger beckoning them closer. "I wave my right to an attorney, and I talk to you because I choose to of my own free will. The doctor will be my witness. Come closer."
Nic rounded the foot of the bed and Jade went to the other side. "What can you tell me about who hired you to make the devices that brought down the courthouse?"
"I didn't make them. Johnnie, the man you found next to me last night, he made them." The wheezing rasp of breath morphed into a vicious wet cough. Allen coughed up a plug of blood and phlegm. He buried it in a Kleenex. It took several minutes for his breathing to return to normal.
Nic sought out Donna. She shook her head. "I spoke with him before you came. He agreed to talk to you. He knows he doesn't have much time."
"I know I'm dying. They can't hurt me any longer, but you have to promise me you'll take care of my granddaughter. They know where she lives. They said they would…" The coughing started up again, and Nic waited until the man stopped.
"We will protect your granddaughter. His eyes caught Donna's. "Do you have her name and address?"
"Let me check his records." She opened the computer on the nightstand and started working. "Yeah, she's listed as next of kin." Donna scribbled the address down on a prescription pad and tore it off.
Jade reached out and snagged it from her. She pulled out her cell and started texting, coordinating the protection effort and informing D.C. what was going on.
Allen dropped his head back and drew another wheezing breath. "Four more devices. I built them. Johnnie's failed. He didn't ensure the contacts were secure. The bomb beneath the north side of the courthouse didn't blow. Johnnie died for his failure."
"Who was forcing you to make the triggers? The Triad?"
Allen nodded. "They wanted Xie Jun to die in the explosion."
"Who wanted him dead? The Triad?" Nic was trying to follow.
Allen nodded. "If he is dead, the case goes away."
"Wait? They weren't targeting the judge?" Jade's eyes popped up and met Nic's when he asked the question.
"No. Xie Jun was the target. Orders came straight from China."
Jade stopped her furious texting and blinked up at Nic. "But that doesn't make sense. The undercover cop, Jia something or other, told the GTF that your mom was the target."
"Jia Ru? She sits at the right hand of Yi Bao, the serpent's head. She is his niece. She feeds the NYPD the information he wants them to have. They have many people in influential places."
"Where are they taking the detonation devices?" Nic's mind raced to keep up. If they weren't after his mom… what were they going to do with the explosives? Where was Xie Jun being held? Ryker's Island?
Jade (The Kings of Guardian Book 9) Page 23
