by J. A. Owenby
Pride swelled inside me with his words concerning my dad. But more than that, Colbert recognized he needed help, which meant I should listen to what he had to say.
“Pick him up and take him in the hall,” I said. “I’ll be there in a minute.” Disgusted, I watched Sully and Jeffrey drag him away.
“Please. You’re my only hope!” Colbert struggled to find his footing as he was removed from the entryway.
My mind kicked into overdrive while I hurried to my office door, then flung it open.
“I have to go. I’m not sure when I’ll be back,” I said to Sutton and Redd. “Don’t let her out of your sight, not even here in the penthouse.” I kissed Sutton and hustled to join the others in the hall.
“Where’s a good place to take him?” I asked Jeffrey. Sully had a firm grip on Colbert’s arm, but even if he didn’t, I seriously doubted Colbert would attempt to make a run for it. This dude was a serious fucking pussy.
“Your father had a place …” Jeffrey started. “I can drive us there, but you should blindfold him once we’re in the car. Since the back windows of the Mercedes are blacked out, no one will see him anyway.”
Colbert’s eyes clouded with fear at the mention of temporarily losing his sight.
“You’ve done this before, obviously.”
“Only when necessary,” Jeffrey replied, his expression growing more intense.
I nodded. There would be plenty of time to ask questions later. The longer this sorry piece of shit was in front of me, the more I wanted to punch him and knock him out. It would look funny, though, if we carried a grown man through the parking garage and to the car.
“How did he know where I lived?” I mumbled to Jeffrey once we were in the elevator and headed out.
“It has your father’s name on the directory of residents. However, the building is going through staff changes, and apparently their key cards can be borrowed for enough money.”
“Let’s switch the name. If management fights us on it, I’ll pay them. I can’t have people popping up because they get a wild hair up their ass. Also, I’ll file a complaint and see if they need our services. I might be able to fill a few of those positions. I’m sure I’m not the only person that lives in this building who’s interested in tighter security.”
“I’ll call the building and have them take care of it right away. What would you like listed instead?”
“Leave it blank, that way it won’t stop any mail that’s still coming to Dad.”
The elevator whooshed open and we stepped out.
“Wait here,” Jeffrey said. The beep-beep of the car alarm echoed through the garage.
“Turn around and face the wall,” I ordered Colbert.
He did as he was asked without hesitation. He was broken, and I wanted him to feel every bit of it. I wanted him to experience first-hand what he’d put Sutton and her family through. Not to mention the other girls, especially the dead ones.
Jeffrey returned and tied a blindfold around Colbert’s eyes. “Where are you taking me?” he asked, his voice shaking.
“Somewhere we can talk in private.” I grabbed his arm and led him behind a van and out of eyesight. With my hand on his head, I guided him into the back seat.
“Sit in the front,” I said to Sully.
Once we were all settled, I checked to see if the blindfold was secure and threw a punch at Colbert’s face. My fist stopped millimeters from his nose. If he could see, he would have automatically flinched.
“Let’s go.” I reached into the back of my jeans and removed my pistol. I slid the chamber back near Colbert’s ear. “You know what that sound is right?”
“Yes.”
“Good. You better not be fucking with me, or this will be your last day on earth.”
He nodded so hard his scrawny little neck shook like a bobblehead. If the situation weren’t so serious, I’d have laughed my ass off.
I kept my gun and focus trained on him while Jeffrey drove.
We pulled up to a small building in a deserted parking lot located in the industrial district. The sky had shifted into a smoky blue and pink as the sun began its lazy descent, casting eerie shadows on the warehouse. The structure had seen better days and hadn’t aged well, but at this point if it provided a discreet place to question Colbert, I didn’t give a rat’s ass.
Jeffrey and Sully hopped out of the car, and I waited for the signal that everything was secure. Sully left the building and opened my door for me while Jeffrey grabbed Colbert.
“All clear,” Sully reported.
“Thanks.” After all this blew over, I needed to spend some time getting to know Sully, but right now he was my bodyguard and my employee. It would have to wait. If Dad trusted him, I’d have to as well. So far, Dad hadn’t led me astray, but he had several secrets I never knew about. Like this building.
I followed Jeffrey and Colbert inside, and Sully closed the ranks behind me. The click of the lock echoed through the nearly empty room. I scanned the remains of the heavy machinery repair shop as Jeffrey led Colbert to an old blue barstool and sat him down. Dust kicked up from the concrete floor with every step we took. It was obvious Dad hadn’t been here in a while.
“Take off the blindfold, please.” I sat on the edge of a rickety wooden desk that faced our visitor. Jeffrey stood by the exit, and Sully positioned himself next to me, his pistol in hand. I laid mine next to me. If Colbert lunged, he’d be shot before he could ever touch me. But shooting him wasn’t my goal. I wanted information.
“Start from the beginning, and don’t even think about keeping information from me, or I’ll let your family rot wherever they are.” Little did he know I’d never let harm come to his wife and kids, if I had anything to say about it. Him on the other hand? I wouldn’t think twice about it.
“My name’s Don. Call me Don.” He wrung his long, bony fingers together.
“Sure,” I said like I gave a fuck. I motioned for him to continue. I wanted to find out where Claire was. It was the only thing that mattered.
“A man approached me one day while I was walking across campus. I’d just finished teaching my last history class of the afternoon and was headed to my car.” He gulped visibly. “He pulled on my arm and tugged me over to a large oak tree. I thought he was a student, so I smiled and set my satchel down. I’m always open to talking to someone in my classes if they have questions.”
“Yeah, you seem the real helpful type, especially down the Shanghai Tunnels,” I said, my tone accusatory.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” he whimpered.
How had this guy ever gotten mixed up in this? He was a fucking wimp.
“Sorry doesn’t fix it. My girlfriend’s sister was in the group you smuggled out. So now …” I stood and strolled over to him. Even if he’d been standing, I dwarfed Don, which was perfect because I wanted to put the fear of the devil himself inside him. His actions were despicable. “This is personal.” I seethed, glaring down at him.
Don flinched and nodded. My patience was running out faster than a canoe on the lake with a large hole in it.
“He never gave me a name, but he had a jacket, and there was a cobra on the back of it.”
I kept my poker face in place.
“He offered a hundred grand if I delivered three female college students to the tunnels at midnight. I told him no. Although he didn’t go into a lot of detail, it was obvious they could get hurt. I don’t know why, but he specifically requested Claire Forrester.” He paused, swallowed hard, and massaged his chest as though he could erase the pain of his betrayal. “He told me that if I didn’t bring the women to them, my family would be harmed.” Don shook his head, tears flowing down his cheeks. “I did what they said, but they took my wife and children anyway. I don’t understand. Please. You have to help me get them back.”
“What day did you take the ladies there and how did you do it? Claire is very intelligent. No way would she have fallen for some bullshit.” I studied him as he continued.<
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“I told them they were my top three students, and since I’d worked during the summer as a tour guide for the tunnels, they’d been selected to go on an in-depth tour the public wasn’t allowed access to.”
“I could see how that would be intriguing.” I put my hands on my waist and paced back and forth in front of him.
“I met a man in the tunnels on October thirteenth a little after midnight. I told the ladies the tour was late because they were opening additional tunnels the public wasn’t allowed to see. Plus, that’s when the shifts rotate, so it’s easy to travel around without raising suspicion. I guided the girls to the meeting place, and the moment we showed up three huge guys jumped out of nowhere, joining the first dude. They told me to leave, and I took off. The last thing I heard was the girl’s screams.”
“So, you’re telling me when this guy pulled you aside on campus and told you to steer three young women into danger … you were on board?”
He shook his head, vehemently. “No. It wasn’t like that. I swear. I didn’t want anyone to get hurt, but they threatened my family.”
I understood the primal instinct to ensure the safety of the people you loved. I’d end someone in a heartbeat to protect Sutton and my men, but something was sick and sleazy about the entire arrangement. It wasn’t settling right inside my gut.
“There’s more, so keep it coming.” I folded my arms across my chest. “They took your family even after you gave them what they wanted?”
“S-s-something went wrong,” he stammered.
He had my attention. The police had already located one of the victims dead from an overdose.
“I’m not sure what happened, but everything went sideways. From what I was able to learn, the shipment never left the state.”
“How do you know?” I asked, hope rising inside me. Had I heard him correctly?
“Because when two huge guys broke into my house and took my family, they tied me to a kitchen chair and made me watch. They said the operation had been botched, and now I had to pay. The darker haired man mentioned the girls hadn’t left yet.”
“When did this happen?” I focused on my posture and tone. No matter what floated out of this asshole’s mouth, I had to remain calm. No change in my voice or expression.
“A few hours ago,” he stated.
Son of a bitch. If Don wasn’t lying, Claire was still in Oregon.
“I heard you had hauled ass out of town with your wife and kids, where did you go?”
Visibly shaken, Don inhaled deeply, and his leg bounced up and down while he collected his next words. “I rented a cabin near Mount Hood under a fictitious name and paid cash.”
“And you ditched the SIM cards in your cell phones?” I asked. “If not, you might as well have shot a flare gun in the air and alerted them of your location.”
The color drained from Don’s cheeks. “Dammit. No.”
I stared him down. A heavy silence filled the room, and beads of sweat rolled down the side of his forehead. The fucker deserved every shitty thing that happened to him, but his instinct to protect his family was admirable. I almost felt bad for him. He was in a no-win situation.
“I’ll do what I can to find them.”
“Thank you,” he said, sinking wearily into his chair.
I grabbed my gun off the desk and pulled my phone out of my pocket. “I’ve gotta make a call. Blindfold him, then put him in the car, please.”
I flipped the lock open and stepped outside where the clouds had darkened, and a light sprinkle had begun to fall. Tapping the screen, I located the number and touched the green call symbol. The phone rang three times before he picked up.
“Hey, Pierce,” Brian answered. “You got something?”
“Or someone.”
“What’s going on?”
“I have the history professor for you. Can you meet me at The Doug Fir Lounge on Burnside? There’s an alley in the back so we shouldn’t run into anyone.”
“Seriously? How in the hell did you find him?”
“I'd rather update you in person. Does half an hour work?”
“I’ll be there. Good job, Pierce.”
“Don’t say that yet. You’ve not heard the details.”
I ended the call and joined the others inside the car. Once Don was dropped off, I needed to figure out how much to share with Sutton. I was afraid to get her hopes up concerning Claire, but she was my girlfriend and my client, not to mention she now worked for me. Didn’t I owe her the truth? My training kicked in gear. My job was to protect her, and that included any false information until I could verify everything that Don had just spilled.
My phone lit up with a text from Redd. Sutton was going stir crazy, and he was taking her to her house for a while. At least he could help her pack clothes and show activity at her place.
I texted my thanks.
I’d arrive back at the penthouse before she did, and I’d even have a bit of time to collect my thoughts after Don dropped by. But first, I needed to meet with Brian.
Jeffrey pulled into the parking lot behind the lounge and I stepped out of the car. I hurried to the other side, opened Don’s door, and removed his blindfold.
“The FBI is on the way, and I highly recommend you cooperate with them.”
He nodded, his eyes wide with terror. If it hadn’t sunk into his thick skull he’d fucked up, it was about to. He’d make someone a good prison bitch.
A black Escalade pulled into the parking lot, and Brian got out of the car.
“Hey, Pierce,” he said, approaching me. His attention scanned the back seat of the Mercedes.
“Merry Christmas.” I flashed him an ornery grin. “He won’t be difficult to manage. Hell, I didn’t even handcuff him.”
Brian chuckled. “With your big ass men around, you didn’t need to.”
I filled Brian in on everything Don had shared and turned him over to the FBI. At least part of this was wrapped up. Don would see the inside of a jail cell for many years to come. He wouldn’t be delivering any more girls to Jaci.
“I’ll be in touch,” Brian said while he tucked Don into the Escalade.
I nodded and slipped into my car. My phone buzzed and beeped at me simultaneously.
“Dammit.” I pulled it out of my back pocket and noted the security alert. Something had tripped a sensor. I tapped the screen for the live camera feed while Jeffrey peeled out of the parking lot. My heart rate sped into overdrive. This couldn’t be happening. “Sutton’s house, now!”
A wide spray of shattered glass covered the living room floor. Redd lay on top of Sutton while his arm wrapped around the top of his head.
I nodded at Sully. “Pull up the recording for me on your phone. I need to see what broke the window.”
He tapped his screen and located the app. Leaning over, I watched the footage. Panic spread through my chest as I stared helplessly as the chaos unfolded. What if she’d been hit? I couldn’t lose her. She was my everything and I’d just gotten her back. Swallowing down my fear, I tried to compartmentalize my emotions. I’d not be any good to her or anyone else if I didn’t pull my shit together.
“Hurry,” I said to Jeffrey, “Someone’s shooting at them.” Fuck, what the hell was going on? “Stay down, stay down, guys.”
Sully turned in the seat toward me. “We’re only a few minutes away, and the system immediately notified the police and ambulance.”
I nodded. I knew this already, but he was simply reminding me. This wasn’t just a client. It was Sutton. My attention returned to my screen where I continued to witness the live feed, my heart skipping with every second that ticked by.
“Are you okay?” Redd asked, not moving off her.
“I think so.” Sutton’s voice shook with her response. “What the fuck happened?”
“I don’t know, but I guarantee Pierce got the alert. Someone knew you were here, though. I’m going to slink across the floor to see if we still have company.” Redd rolled off Sutton.
&nb
sp; “Yeah, I’m on my way, stay down,” I muttered under my breath. “Stay safe, baby.”
Sutton reached out and grabbed his arm. “No, wait for Pierce. If you crawl on the floor, you’re going to get cut up.”
“It’s my job, Sutton. You’re my top priority.” Redd reached his hand up and took a pillow off the couch. “I’ll brush as much out of the way as I can with this.”
She nodded and released him.
Redd swept the glass out of his path the best he could and crawled toward what was left of the window. Sutton’s blackout curtains had been open, so whoever it was had a clear view of her in the living room. Redd slowly stood behind the curtain and checked outside, his gun poised and ready in his hands.
He crouched back down, pulled his phone out of his pocket, and tossed it over to Sutton. “Check the cameras.”
After a long pause. “Nothing. I don’t see anyone on the sides, front, or back, Vaughn,” she whisper-yelled to him.
Sirens filled the air as the blue and red flashing lights cut through the darkness outside.
“They’re here. Stay down until they can verify who we are,” Redd ordered.
Good. He’d handled it well. I’d give him a raise just for crawling through glass for Sutton.
The front door burst open, and two armed officers stormed in with their weapons trained on them.
“Officers, I’m going to lay my gun down. My name is Vaughn Reddington, and I’m Ms. Forrester’s bodyguard. I work for Westbrook Security Firm.” Redd held his weapon in the air and slowly laid it down and kicked it toward them. “Ms. Forrester is laying on the floor covered in glass. She’ll need medical attention, and so will I.”
One of the officers aimed his gun directly at her while he cautiously moved in Sutton’s direction, his shoes crunching on the broken pieces of her window.
“Ma’am?” he asked.
“My driver’s license is in my purse on the coffee table next to you. You can verify I’m the owner of the home and who I am.”
