by M. Malone
It was as if she was asking me where her papa was. Fuck, I didn’t speak baby. “Your mum and dad are coming, I promise. You just have to stay nice and calm for Uncle Matthias, okay? We had a little emergency.” I kept my voice calm and cooing, and it seemed to do the trick because the tears cleared quickly and she started to coo and giggle at me, clapping her hands and starting to point at things. She was just on the cusp of talking.
“Mata,” she babbled and patted me on the cheek then proceeded to babble a string of nonsensical words.
I could only imagine what that was going to be like in the future. She would probably go nonstop. Between the baby and JJ, I might need to find some earplugs. I found her little walking-stroller-type thing, the one with all the bells on top of it, settled her inside and strapped her in.
It looked like a stroller, but this one encouraged her to keep walking, which was just fine by me because I needed her occupied while I dealt with whoever the hell was trying to break into my systems. When I pushed her into the hallway, I called out. “Rafe? Are you here? I need you to watch Izzy.”
But there was no answer. I did a quick mental calculation on where everyone was supposed to be. Rafe was in the penthouse somewhere, which made it odd that he hadn’t come to investigate what was going on yet. Noah and Lucia were in the elevator. Ryan was on a gig. Dylan had his day off. Jonas and JJ were on their honeymoon. The new recruit was on a training op with some friend of Noah’s who ran a bodyguard agency, and Oskar was in the living room which was on lockdown. So everyone was accounted for. All I had to do was find Rafe and Diana. But as soon as I walked down the hall toward the living room and past the gym on the left, I froze.
Well, you found him.
Rafe stared at him from the other side of the glass in the gym, hands on his hips looking pissed the hell off. Diana was lifting weights, as if the blaring alarms and the power going out hadn’t impeded her desire for a workout.
Rafe motioned to the door, but I shook my head. With a series of pantomimes, I tried to explain to him that something had happened and our power was off … that I couldn’t open the doors until I got the system fixed. Rafe’s gaze slid down to where Izzy was happily playing with the balls in front of her, and his lips set into a firm line.
I scowled at him. Did the bastard really think I couldn’t look after the baby? The guy didn’t look pleased that I was the one that was left with her. “Yeah, well, not my choice either.” I cared about Isabella. She was innocent and deserved protection and love. I couldn’t offer love, but protection… That was in my wheelhouse. I’d die before I let anything happen to the baby.
Isabella looked up and waved one of her balls around, tossing it at me. I caught it then gently let it come back to her in its tether. She giggled then threw one to her uncle. When Rafe didn’t catch that one (because, hello, barrier), Izzy scrunched her face. I knew right away that there were going to be tears, and I bent down. “No, no, no, no. Listen to Uncle Matthias’s voice. You’re fine. Look, I got your ball for you. No need to cry.”
The last thing I wanted was a crying baby on top of all the noise and the alarm going off on my wrist again. God damn it. I needed to get back into the room. Well, Rafe wasn’t available, so Izzy would have to come with me. I just hoped she didn’t touch anything. The walker would only keep her occupied for so long.
I glanced back up at Rafe and tried a pantomime that I was going to take the baby and go back to my room to try and fix what was going on. Rafe frowned for a moment as if not understanding, then nodded. Isabella waved to her uncle and patted one of her chubby hands on the glass. Rafe bent down on his haunches and put his hand up too.
Rafe’s hand was huge, much larger than Izzy’s head even. She looked as if she was trying to measure her palm against his. Rafe seemed to say something to her, but no sound came out because the glass in the gym was soundproof. When Rafe stood, he nodded at me as if to say, ‘Go do your thing, kid.’
I took hold of the handle at the back of the walker. “Okay princess, I’m going to see if I can fix this mess and get your mummy and daddy out. Whoever is doing this are a bunch of meanies.”
Izzy answered by blowing a raspberry.
Her full cheeks and bright eyes had a smile tugging at the corner of my lips. “Yeah, sometimes I feel that way about people too.” Just as I turned to push her back toward the bedroom and my monitors, I saw a shadow behind me. Immediately, I whipped around and shoved Isabella’s walker so she rolled forward into the darker corner next to the gym.
I caught Rafe’s look of horror as I was turning, and then I saw that I hadn’t been imagining it. That was no shadow. Once again, the penthouse had been breached.
Gemma
Heat and adrenaline flooded my veins. This had to be him.
The target.
Jesus Christ, what was he doing with a child? No one had said anything about a kid. To my right, I saw a man and woman in the gym. The guy was tall. Huge really. And even through the glass, I could feel the fury directed at me. But he didn’t come for me, which meant he was locked in.
I’d been told that someone would take care of the security system and it looked like it had happened. So the Family had done their part. And now I had to do mine.
In the corner, the baby cried and tossed out a ball. Shit. I didn’t want to scare a baby. This didn’t fit what I’d been told. Get your head in the game. Otherwise you’re going to die.
I drew my baton and stepped forward. Never mind the fear or the sheer terror of facing off against this guy; I had a job to do. Problem was I had a distinct impression that this was my funeral and I just didn’t know it yet.
With a deep breath I sprang into action, wielding the baton over my head. He stopped that attack easily by reaching up and grabbing the baton, and then delivering a punch to the gut that winded me, but I was ready for him.
While he’d been busy blocking, I’d taken out my knife and sliced across his abdomen. A long time ago, Matt had taught me the importance of always having a knife on me. But instead of crying out like I expected, all he did was hiss. Almost as if the kiss of my knife was a caress.
Problem was, with a slice like that, I hadn’t cut deep enough. Because I wasn’t actually trying to kill him. He doesn’t know that.
He had my hand and he wrenched it just hard enough for me to drop my knife. And when I did, he hit me in the face.
I tasted blood… so much blood… and pain right behind my eyes. It wasn’t the first time I’d been hit in the face, and it wouldn’t be the last. I could survive it. It was more of the surprise than anything. When he lunged for me, I deftly blocked the next blow and got in one of my own. Open palm to the nose. That time, he did grunt. But his hands were up and we were trading elbows. From the way he fought, I could see he was remarkably well trained.
As well, if not better than I had been. The way he moved, I could see the Krav Maga training, the jujitsu, and the Muay Thai. And he used the full range of his movement.
As weapons of choice, I didn’t like elbows. It didn’t bode well for me. Even though I was tall, elbows required close combat. Up close and personal, and with this guy, the further away I stayed the better.
Why hadn’t the Family warned me?
But as much distance as I tried to put between us and still deliver effective punches and kicks, he tried to keep me close. As if he knew that elbows and knees would end this fight if he could just land one on my temple.
With a swift uppercut, I managed to stagger him just a couple of inches and then I went for the kill and pulled him in for a knee. With my hand on his shoulder digging into his skin, my forearm across his trachea, and my other free hand positioning his arm out of the way, I delivered another crippling knee blow. That time he did groan, but he recovered quickly enough and head-butted me.
The clunk of our heads together had me seeing stars and I staggered backward. The target, though, he didn’t stagger. He just kept coming for me, the menace and anger etched on his expressionless f
ace. His eyes were cold, calculated.
As he approached, I delivered a roundhouse to his midsection, and he caught it, upending me and tossing me in the air.
Motherfucker.
I knew how to land though, arms splayed out to disperse the force of my descent. I sprouted right back up into position and so it went. Fists, and jabs, and grunts, and kicks, and knees… so many knees.
At one point, he picked me up and tossed me on the ground and then climbed on top of me, and he frowned as if something was off, something was bothering him. He raised his fist to lay it into my face. I put all of my force and energy into raising my hips high and proud and bucked him off. When he fell forward, I wedged a knee between us, and with all my force kicked him off, and then we were grappling on the ground, twisting and turning, a mass of limbs, and elbows, knees and head-butts.
At one point, I had my arm across his trachea again, and then he dug his hands into the cap of my mask and tugged my head back. He tossed me aside as if I weighed nothing.
Pain radiated through my back as I slammed on the ground, but I was on my feet again, going for him. You have the training. Fight for this.
His gaze slid to the baby in the corner who had started crying now, wailing. Screaming for someone called Baba. I didn’t dare glance over but I could feel the malevolence from the couple in the gym. They wanted out. I knew they couldn’t get out. Everything had been locked down. It was just the two of us. And I wished he would give up the fight already. But something told me that he was no ordinary man. No matter what, he would keep fighting.
He wasn’t giving up and neither the fuck was I. After all the training I’d gone through with ORUS, after everything I’d seen in the Family, I wouldn’t quit. One of us was going to die before I quit.
You can’t kill him though; you need him alive. ORUS wants him alive.
Fuck ORUS. I wasn’t going to die for them.
Yes, you will. You have your orders. And you are a soldier whether you like it or not.
I lost my footing and he caught me by the neck, his hands pressing in and squeezing tight, backing me up against the wall. I knew I only had mere seconds. As he pressed me into the wall, his eyes went flat and cold as he squeezed my neck. I raised my arm up above my head, twisted my body to the left and brought down my arm with all my might. When his hands came off my neck, I raised my elbow and delivered a sharp crack to his nose. He howled and I was on him.
I ran straight for him, lunged, and jumped, wrapping my legs around his waist and then digging my thumbs into his eye sockets and pressing hard. He yowled, flailing. I brought my hand back aiming to punch him in the throat, but then he managed to wrap a hand directly around my trachea and squeezed. I gasped and choked and loosened my legs. He planted me against the wall with that move.
Jesus Christ, he was going to rip my throat out. To counteract him, I delivered a front kick, at the same time twisting my body just in time to lever his arm off. The motion should have broken his hand, but he twisted away just in time. As if he’d been anticipating a move like that. But then, he twisted back, delivered a backhand, and then came at me with a right hook that rang my bell. And then he was on me, fists coming at me, blow after blow, after blow. Then he delivered an elbow to my ribs and couldn’t help it. I cried out. “Oh my God.”
Just before he would have landed a blow that would surely have knocked me out, his fist poised in the air to end the fight once and for all, he froze. “What? You’re a bleeding bird?”
For a moment, he stood frozen, as if unsure of what to do. Unsure of what had just happened. I didn’t waste any time. I leaned back, lifted my foot and delivered the perfect kick.
With enough force, a kick like that could sever the femoral artery. It might not be enough to put him out for good, but I needed to live to fight another day. His face went bright red, and I could see the fury coursing through his veins. He wanted to kill me.
Well, he wasn’t going to get that chance. Not today. I’d have to come back with reinforcements, because right now, if I stayed, I wasn’t going to live through the night.
When he finally sagged, I ran around him and he almost had me, his fingertips just grazing the edge of my foot as I ran past him down the hall. I fled back to the right, past the kitchen, and out the side door I’d come in through.
That had been close… too close. Who the hell had trained that guy? And why did the Family want him?
4
Matthias
Shock still ricocheting through me, I stumbled after the dark-clad figure. But by the time I reached the door leading to the stairwell, the echoing sound of footsteps on the metal stairs told me what I already knew.
I was too late.
“Fucking hell.” I fell back against the wall, gasping. My ribs would definitely tell the story by tomorrow. I expected to have some bruises. Even though the assailant had been no match for me, she’d still managed to get some licks in.
She. Guilt warred with practicality. I’d never hit a woman. Protecting women was at the core of Blake Security’s purpose. But that hadn’t been just any woman. I snorted. As fucked up as I was, it was no wonder that the thought of a woman kicking my ass turned me on. But she’d been good. Really good.
The way she’d handled herself spoke of someone who was used to fighting and knew how to work her smaller size and agility. No doubt, this wasn’t her first fight. I shook my head. Look at me; I clearly was hard up if the thought of encountering her again got me riled up. Maybe this was why they’d sent a woman, knowing that it would throw me off my game.
I couldn’t allow my ingrained chivalry to get me killed. After all, a bullet from a woman would kill just as easily as one from a man.
Although she hadn’t seemed too intent on killing me. Strange, that. If anything, she’d seemed just as shocked to see me.
In the background, Izzy’s cry reached stratospheric levels. Doubling back, I ran for where I’d left her.
Izzy rocked back and forth in her walker, her face scrunched up. When she spotted me, she only cried harder. No doubt with the lights off, she couldn’t tell who it was. I pulled out my cell phone and activated the flashlight, putting it on the floor so my hands were free.
“It’s okay, little love. It’s fine,” I crooned to the baby as softly as possible, hoping to calm her a little.
Not that it worked. Little Izzy was just as pissed off about this situation as I was.
Suddenly all of the lights blazed on with a surge of power. Izzy stopped crying then, blinking at the light. I scooped her up and hugged her close. If the lights were back on, hopefully that meant whoever was messing around in the system had made a mistake and triggered one of my fail safes.
A moment later, I heard Lucia’s voice. “Matthias!”
“Back here. I’ve got Izzy.”
She burst into the room and let out a sigh of relief when she saw me holding the baby. After her daughter had been kidnapped recently, we were all on high alert for possible security risks or threats. Tonight had basically been Lucia’s worst nightmare come to life.
My worst nightmare come to life.
“She’s fine. No one got near Izzy.”
Lucia took the baby from me carefully, rocking her daughter in her arms when she started fussing. “Are you okay? Why does this keep happening?”
“That’s the million dollar question, isn’t it?” Noah’s deep voice interrupted. He gave me a look. “Rafe is in the air ducts. He sent me a text that he’s stuck.”
“Jesus. What a mess.” Oskar’s voice came from behind Noah. “I was fucking locked in the living room and couldn’t see shit.”
Noah thrust his hands through his hair in frustration. “We need to regroup and assess the damage.”
The earlier guilt started gnawing at my stomach again. “I don’t know what happened, boss. But someone got into the system. I need to go see how bad it is.”
Noah clapped me on the back. “Go. Do what you can. Do you need medical attention?”
> I was already shaking my head before I even finished the sentence. “I’m fine. She was good. But not good enough.”
“She?” He frowned. “They sent in a woman?” Noah’s brow furrowed. “Interesting. I wonder if they thought she’d have an easier time getting Izzy to go with her quietly. Just like last time.”
I considered it. The last kidnapping attempt, the culprit had initially used a woman to gain access to Isabella also. But this felt different. I thought back to how the woman moved. I’d bet money that she’d been ORUS trained. “It wasn’t a civilian this time. She was ORUS, I’m sure of it. There’s no mistaking the fighting style.”
ORUS employed a unique blend of Krav Maga and Brazilian jujitsu when training to ensure their agents were not only strong and brutal but agile.
“Fuck. We need to get a handle on this situation. If Ian has authorized a mission to attack us, then we need to be prepared.”
Oskar looked between us. “What does that mean? I thought Ian was on our side.”
Noah laughed bitterly. “There’s only one side when it comes to ORUS: the side that proves most advantageous. Which means—”
“That Ian has found something he needs more than our cooperation,” I finished. “I don’t think this is going to end well.”
Noah let out a disgusted sigh. “When does it ever? Okay let’s get our shit together and meet in the conference room. And somebody help Rafe out of the damn air duct!”
Gemma
Getting back to the motel was going to be a bitch.
Hell, getting down all those stairs to the ground floor had been a bitch. The stairwell had been dark most of the way down but suddenly all the lights had come on just before I reached the ground floor, and I knew I was out of time. Whatever they’d done to get me access to the building must have worn off.
My time was up.
I shivered as I struggled to walk normally, looking left and right, hoping to see a cab. Who knew cabs were so rare when you actually needed them? I walked for two blocks and then paused on the corner to wait. It was agony standing there, trying to look as though I wasn’t in pain the whole time. Luckily, I didn’t think I had too many bruises on my face.
