Claiming Alexis (Ace Security Book 2)

by Susan Stoker

  She refused to think she wasn’t going to get out of this. Blake was trying to track her phone, and she was telling him where she was. She had to keep her mind on that rather than what was in store for her. Even if Blake and his brothers found her, what were they going to do against three gangbangers with guns? They’d kill the Andersons on sight.

  The stop-and-go continued for four more stops. As expected, when she reached the daily limit for withdrawals on one card, they just moved to another. Between stops, Alexis reported her location as best she could to Blake, but the areas they took her to grew increasingly unfamiliar, until she had no idea where they were anymore. When she pulled out the phone after the last stop she was dismayed to see she only had one bar of service.

  Alexis: one bar losing u

  Alexis: stopped again

  Alexis: dont know where we are

  Blake: You hang on, Lex. Hear me?

  Alexis: I love you

  Blake: Don’t do that. Don’t you give up.

  Blake: I mean it. I didn’t find you to lose you now.

  Blake: Logan is on his way. We’re getting through the red tape to track you and I’ve got the entire Denver PD looking for you.

  Blake: Lex?

  Alexis: ok

  Blake: Whatever happens, I love you. Nothing those assholes do matters to me. Stay strong.

  Blake: I’m coming for you, sweetheart.

  And that was it. Her phone moved out of range, and Alexis typed one last text, knowing it wouldn’t be sent until they went somewhere that had service again. But since it seemed they were heading up into the mountains, she had no idea when that would be.

  She once against shoved the phone deep into the side pocket, turned on her side, and tried to breathe deeply. Whatever Dominic and Chuck had in store for her wasn’t going to be good. She read between the lines of Blake’s text. He was saying that if she was raped, he wouldn’t care. But she would. If she was violated, she wouldn’t be the same person. The only thing she was thankful for was that Blake had shown her how beautiful making love could be. She wouldn’t have rape as her first sexual experience.

  When it came to that, though, she’d fight with everything she had. She wouldn’t let those assholes do whatever they wanted with her. She was stronger than that. They might still violate her, but she wouldn’t make it easy for them.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Blake swore as he combed the area where Lex had last said she’d been. It looked like they were taking her up into the mountains, as the second-to-last ATM had been in Golden. Alexis didn’t recognize the last bank, and therefore couldn’t tell him exactly where she was, which sucked. Blake drove around aimlessly, swearing when he couldn’t find even one black Cadillac.

  The thought of her being at the mercy of the Inca Boyz, especially Chuck, was eating at his soul. He could tell she was scared out of her mind, and Blake couldn’t blame her. But she was hanging in there. Being strong as ever.

  His phone rang, startling the shit out of him, but he clicked it on and heard Nathan’s voice through the speakers in the car.

  “Got her.”

  “Thank fuck,” Blake breathed. “Where?”

  “You’re right—they headed up the mountain. They went up Route Six, headed for Clear Creek Canyon Park. How close are you?”

  Blake swung a U-ey and went west so he could catch an exit. “How far?”

  “Thirty miles or so,” Nathan told him in a calm voice. “They’re stopped. The signal is stationary.”

  “Dammit,” Blake swore. “It’s gonna take me too long to get there. Where’s Logan?”

  “He’s about twenty minutes behind you, I think.”

  “The cops?” Blake asked more desperately.

  “I called Ross, and he’s getting a SWAT team together, but it could be more like an hour before they’re on their way.”

  “Nathan,” Blake choked out, clearing his throat and trying again. “Nathan, I can’t lose her.”

  “You won’t.”

  “They’ve got half an hour to torture her,” Blake ground out.

  “She knows you’re on your way,” Nathan said calmly. “She’ll hang tough for you, Blake. Look, I don’t pretend to understand what love is, but between Grace and now Alexis, I’ve gotten quite the education. I’ve had a front-row seat to your relationship for months now. She watches you under her lids as you work together, and anything you ask her to do she does. Not only because it’s her job but because it’s you who asks her. Because she loves you. Now that you’ve returned her affection? That woman is not going to give up now that she’s finally got you. She’s tough and I know she won’t give up, so don’t you give up on her. Don’t you write her off. Hear me?”

  Nathan’s reprimand was just what Blake needed. His voice now firm and in control once more, he said, “Yeah, I hear you. Are there any shortcuts to get to where her phone is pinging?”

  “No, but I’ll tell the Denver PD that if anyone tries to pull you over, they’ll have to chase you halfway up the mountain to do it.”

  “Thanks, Bro. I owe you.”

  “The fuck you do. Just keep me informed. Let me know when my future sister-in-law is safe.”

  Blake didn’t even blink at his brother’s words. He knew down to the marrow of his bones that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Alexis. No matter what those assholes might do to her at the top of the mountain. He wanted her to wear his ring, wanted her to be his wife. With newfound determination to find her, he said, “Will do,” before clicking off the phone and taking a deep breath. Then he concentrated on getting to Alexis. Nathan would take care of communicating with the cops and Logan. All he had to do was get to his woman.

  Twenty-four minutes later, and after driving like a bat out of hell, Blake turned off Route 6 onto a dirt road. His stomach was rolling, not liking the fact that he was literally in the middle of nowhere. Glancing at his phone, he saw that he had no service. He couldn’t even call Nathan and let him know he’d arrived.

  Knowing every second counted, Blake parked his car in the middle of the dirt road, hoping it would slow down the gang if they tried to drive their way out of there. He grabbed the Glock on the seat next to him, made sure it was loaded, grabbed the two extra clips of ammunition he’d brought with him, and eased out of the vehicle. He closed the door quietly, and quickly walked toward the area where Nathan had said Alexis’s phone last sent a signal.

  Eight minutes later, Blake looked through the trees. He didn’t want to chance getting too close to the group and alerting them to his presence. There were four people, Dominic, Damian, Chuck, and Kelly, staring at something on the ground.

  They were talking, but he couldn’t quite hear them. Blake frantically ran his eyes around the area, looking for Alexis. His heart nearly stopped when he didn’t see her. Was she still in the trunk? Had they killed her and stashed her body somewhere? That didn’t make sense, because why would they still be up in the mountains if they’d already killed her?

  He crept closer until he could make out what the gang members were saying. It sounded like they were taunting someone.

  “So you were trying to get information on the Inca Boyz to rat to the fucking Denver PD?” Damian scoffed. “That doesn’t make sense.”

  “They already knew Margaret Mason hired us to take those pictures of her daughter and your brother. Their evidence against Donovan was weak. That’s why he’s getting out soon,” Chuck added.

  Dominic knelt down and stared at the small, dark shape on the ground in front of them. He shifted, blocking Blake’s view of whatever was in front of him, and tipped the bottle he’d been holding in his hand for several seconds. “Keep drinking, slut,” he ordered. “The drunker you get, the more you’ll be willing to talk . . . at least if you know what’s good for you.

  “This is what happens to snitches, bitch,” he continued in a low, controlled voice, which was scarier because it was so calm. “You’ll sit out here and wish you were dead. I know Chuck here is dying t
o fuck you, but he’ll wait two days or so. By the time he comes back, you’ll beg to take his cock any way he wants to give it to you if he’ll only give you a drink of water. Then he’ll bury your fat ass again, and maybe, if you treat him real good, he’ll tell the others where you are so they can come up here and fuck your face too.”

  Damian got down on his hands and knees and bent down until his face was only inches away from the dark spot on the ground. “You’re nothing. Just a hole to fuck and a means to an end, just like every woman ever born. You’ll die out here, a slow painful death, and you’ll wish you never heard of the Inca Boyz.”

  Blake suddenly realized that the small dark blob on the ground was actually Alexis’s head. The four gang members had somehow managed to bury her in the dirt up to her neck. Damian had been forcing her to drink vodka straight from the bottle, by pinching her nose shut until she gasped for air and had no choice but to swallow the alcohol he was pouring down her throat. Blake saw red, and everything around him seemed to slow down. He had no idea what they’d done to Lex before they’d buried her, but they’d regret ever laying one finger on her.

  Whatever they’d done hadn’t been easy. Damian had blood oozing out of his nose, Dominic was limping, and Chuck’s lip was split. His Alexis had given them hell. She’d obviously fought back, and he was proud as he could be of her. She hadn’t waited to be rescued and fought tooth and nail, against three men no less. He wouldn’t let her down now.

  Logan and the cops were coming, but they were too far away to be any help to Alexis and him, so Blake did what he had to do. He carefully took aim at Dominic’s right leg and pulled the trigger. The shot hit true, and the man fell over with a yelp, holding his thigh.

  “Motherfucker!” Chuck yelled, spinning in the direction the shot had come from and shooting wildly into the trees.

  Using the techniques he’d learned in the army, Blake quickly and quietly moved twenty feet to his left and let another bullet fly, this time hitting Chuck in the shoulder, effectively cutting off his wild shots.

  Damian, not being dumb, grabbed his brother off the ground and helped him to stand, then immediately made his way toward the Cadillac.

  Chuck ran after the two men, holding his arm, swearing at the top of his lungs.

  Kelly, apparently not as smart as the others, crouched down next to Alexis instead of trying to get away. She pulled a knife out and held it to Alexis’s throat, looking around wildly for whoever had been shooting at them.

  “Who’s out there?” she yelled. “I’ll fucking kill her if you don’t get out here right this second.”

  “Come on, get your ass in the car, bitch,” Chuck yelled to Kelly.

  She ignored him, and Blake heard Dominic say, “Fuck her. She wants to stay up here, let her. Go.”

  The Cadillac’s engine started up and within seconds was disappearing down the dirt road, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake. Blake didn’t even flinch, but simply used the dust in the air to switch position among the trees, getting closer to Alexis and Kelly without breaking cover.

  He had no concern about the men getting away. Nathan would track the car, because Alexis’s phone was likely still inside where she’d hidden it, and his brother would let Logan and the cops know exactly where the gang members were. They wouldn’t get far . . . not with two of them bleeding heavily from his bullets and not with his vehicle blocking the entrance to the highway. Both would at least slow them down.

  All of his attention was focused on Kelly and Alexis right now.

  Kelly grabbed a handful of Alexis’s hair and yanked her head back, her knife pressed against her very vulnerable throat. Alexis was as defenseless as a newborn babe. Blake inched closer as Kelly ranted.

  “I’ll do it. I’ll cut her from ear to fucking ear. Don’t think I won’t. Show your ass, whoever you are. You think you can get her out of this? I don’t fucking think so. She’s nothing. She’s nobody. Just another rich bitch who thinks she can buy her way out of everything. Not this time. Not. This. Time! Dominic and Damian will get their brother out of jail, and then he’ll find fucking Bailey. No one leaves him. Not even her. If she thinks she can get out of the gang that easily, she’s delusional.”

  Blake had no idea what Kelly was ranting about, but he didn’t really care either. All he cared about was Alexis. She was the only thing that mattered right now. He took careful aim and let out a deep breath, centering himself.

  Kelly pressed the knife deeper into Alexis’s skin until a trickle of blood fell from where the blade was cutting into her throat. Blake could barely see the blood with the mud caked on her body the way it was. “The Inca Boyz will rule Denver. Rich bitch and ex-girlfriends won’t screw that up. No way, no how. We won’t let them. We’ll—”

  Whatever she was going to say was lost forever as the .45-caliber bullet from Blake’s pistol entered her forehead and came out the other side, splattering her brain matter across the dirt behind her. She fell backward with the force of the bullet, the arm holding the knife limp at her side, the blade safely away from Alexis’s throat.

  Blake was on the move before the echo had dissipated in the air around them. He fell on his knees beside Alexis’s head and frantically started digging with his bare hands. It was a surreal experience to be able to see only her head . . . sitting on the ground as if it weren’t attached to the rest of her body.

  She blinked up at him as if she wasn’t sure who he was.

  “I’ll have you out of there in just a minute, sweetheart. Hang in there.”

  “Blake?”

  “Yeah, Lex. It’s me.”

  “You’re finally here?” It was more of a question than a statement.

  Blake paused a moment in his frantic digging to run his dirty hand over her head and kiss her on the forehead. Both her eyes were almost swollen shut, and she had bruises on her face as well. There was a hunk of her hair lying next to where she was held captive in the ground, and there was a trickle of blood oozing down her neck from where Kelly had held the knife to her throat. He’d never been happier to see anyone in all his life. “Yeah, love, I’m finally here, and you’re safe.”

  Her eyes closed—at least he thought they did—then they opened into slits again. “It’s about time,” she joked in a hoarse tone.

  “Jesus, Lex,” Blake breathed. “I love you so much. Only you would make a joke at a moment like this.”

  “I think I’m drunk again,” she commented dryly. “Although this time I didn’t do it to myself.”

  “Are you in pain?” Blake asked her, then said, “Shit, don’t answer that, of course you are. Look at you.”

  “Surprisingly, I’m not really. Damian did me a favor. The vodka helped it not hurt as much when they hit me.” Her words were extremely slurred, and Blake was worried the alcohol was masking more serious pains than he could see. “But I got in a few licks too. I did what you and Blake taught me. Went for their eyes and joints. I tried to run, but Chuck, that asshole, grabbed me before I could get too far.”

  Her head turned from side to side as if looking for someone. “Where’s Kelly? You got her, right? She’s dead? She’s not faking it?” Alexis asked, not letting him comment on her previous statement.

  “Kelly? Fuck yeah. She’s dead.”

  “Good. Bitch. She totally sucked up to me. Made me feel sorry for her. And I stupidly fell for it.”

  Blake resumed his digging without comment. At that moment, he wanted to free her more than he wanted to get all the facts about what had happened to her. “Are you standing? Lying down? How far down do I need to dig? Can you move at all? Help me get you out?”

  She audibly swallowed, then informed him, “I’m sitting. They handcuffed my wrists to my ankles so I wouldn’t be able to dig myself out after they left. After I fought back, they weren’t going to take any chances I’d be able to escape.”

  “Fuckers,” Blake murmured under his breath in a hate-filled tone. “I should’ve shot them all in the head when I had a chance.”
r />   “Where’d you shoot them?” Alexis asked in a conversational tone, as if she was asking him what he wanted for breakfast or what time it was.

  “Leg and shoulder. I didn’t have time to get Damian, though.” Blake grunted with exertion as he tried to move as much dirt as possible at a time. It flew behind him in clumps as he said, “Fucker ran like the coward he was.”

  “Are they getting away?” Alexis asked curiously, turning her head to look down the dirt road where the Cadillac had disappeared.

  “No.”

  “It looks like they are to me. There’s only one of you and there were four of them.”

  Blake stopped digging for a moment and looked Alexis in the eyes. “First, you were and will always be my first concern. I don’t give a flying fuck about anything or anyone else. Second, I would do everything in my power to make sure those assholes go down so they couldn’t ever hurt you again. And I’m not just talking a few years in the slammer for assault and kidnapping. Third, I told you we were tracking your phone, and it led me straight here. Nathan knows where they are because you left your phone in their car. Not only that, but Logan was right behind me, along with Denver PD SWAT. They’ll be on those assholes before they can get five miles from here.”

  “Okay then,” Alexis said calmly.

  “Any other questions, or can I continue?” Blake asked, allowing a bit of humor to leak into his voice for the first time. He definitely wasn’t happy with anything about this situation, but if Alexis needed him to lighten up, then he would. He’d follow her lead. Whatever she needed, she’d get. But first, he had to get her out of his damn hole so he could make sure she was in one piece.

  “By all means, please continue,” Alexis told him as if she was the Queen of England granting him a much-favored boon.

  So he did. Digging for all he was worth, ignoring the dirt that caked under his fingernails and covered his clothes and not even feeling the twinges of discomfort in his arms as he worked. Just as Blake had removed enough dirt to reach her waist, he heard a car coming extremely fast down the dirt road behind him.