Forever Guarded

by Kathleen Brooks

  “This isn’t what you signed on for. You don’t have to do this,” Piper told him as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

  “I’m not doing this because of a job. I’m doing this because they’re your parents. I’m doing this for you. And I would do this to help anyone in need. It’s why I went into the profession I did. But this time I have you to come back to.”

  “You’d better come back to me,” Piper said, her throat tightening as she willed herself not to cry.

  “Nothing could keep me away. I have a first date to plan and a woman to make fall in love with me,” Aiden smiled down at her. He slowly leaned forward and kissed her. What scared her was this kiss felt like goodbye.

  As Piper watched him head off into the woods, she wished she’d told him she was already in love with him.

  “I could take your mind off him,” Draven called out from where he was leaning against the side of the car with his arms crossed and a cocky smile on his face. He winked and Piper laughed.

  * * *

  Aiden and Eddie ran silently through the woods. He might be retired from the British Army SAS, but you didn’t forget your training. He and Eddie both trained regularly with current members and kept up with the physical standards. But more than that, it was a mindset: how you moved, how you thought, how you processed your surroundings.

  He and Eddie fanned out. Though they were both coming from behind the house, they would be coming from two different directions. Aiden dropped silently to the ground and pulled out his gun. He was fifteen feet from the backyard, still in the shadow of the woods as he scoped his surroundings.

  “I have two men back here, walking back and forth across the back patio,” Aiden said into his coms.

  “Clear on the north side,” Lucas replied.

  “Clear on the south side,” Talon added.

  “Two men out front,” Dylan said. “Waiting for slowpoke Jackson.”

  “Bite me. You’re not running with a deadly chemical gun,” Jackson said over the coms, not even breathing hard. A mile was nothing to them. They trained under far more stressful and changing circumstances.

  “Try running in hip-deep snow with a polar bear chasing you,” Lucas said with a chuckle. “Fun times. Man, sometimes I miss home. Bertha is a real sweetie. She probably wouldn’t have killed me.”

  Aiden shook his head as he struggled not to laugh and blow his cover. While his training made it possible to easily fit in and work with similarly trained men, and despite the fact that he’d worked with some real characters in their own right, he’d never encountered a team like this before.

  “I’m in position and taking aim,” Jackson said as everyone got ready. Aiden attached the silencer, then flipped the safety off on his gun. His body relaxed as he got into position. His muscles twitched with anticipation, ready to react to whatever came next.

  “Ready. On your mark,” Lucas said more seriously than Aiden had ever heard him.

  The coms were quiet for a moment. No sounds were heard until the coms crackled. “Mark,” Jackson said and a second later a blinding light lit the night sky, but Aiden didn’t look. He kept his eyes on the two men out back.

  Tammy was walking out of the bathroom when a blinding light shone through the windows. There was yelling as Phobos ordered men to check it out. They turned their backs on her and Pierce and raced to the windows and the front door. Even the asshole in the kitchen ran past her, knocking her against the wall, dropping the pan he’d been using.

  Tammy glanced around before sneaking into the kitchen. She wrapped her hand around her favorite pan, a gift from Miss Violet, and then looked around and decided to grab a knife. It was awkward with her hands tied together, but she fumbled them into position and headed to save her husband, bless his heart.

  “What the hell is that?” Phobos yelled as men ran out of the house to investigate. “Watch for an ambush,” he warned before turning to Royce. “Check to see where the plane is.”

  The man was pulling something up on his phone as Tammy took a seat next to Pierce. She hid the pan under her leg and pulled the knife out and went to work on Pierce’s ropes. Keeping one eye on Phobos and Royce checking on Piper’s plane, she sawed through the bindings on Pierce’s ankles.

  “Hurry,” Pierce whispered as she moved to start cutting the bindings at Pierce’s wrists. Her heart pounded, her hands were sweaty, and she almost cheered out loud when the ropes gave way. Pierce grabbed the knife and started on her bindings when Royce began to turn.

  “Stop,” she whispered, but Pierce had already tucked his hands and the knife between his legs.

  The man looked at them briefly before turning back to Phobos. “It says they’re over the Atlantic. Their flight is scheduled to land in five hours.”

  “Can they verify who the passengers are?”

  “Yes, Piper Davies and Aiden Creed. Plus two pilots. That’s it, and my source is in the FAA. It’s solid.”

  Phobos turned to them and Tammy froze. “Do you know anything about this?”

  They both shook their heads. “Could it be one of your enemies?” Tammy asked. “I mean, if you’re good at your job, which it appears you are, you’ve probably made enemies. A rival group or something that might want to take you out?”

  Phobos turned around, no longer paying them any attention. The front door opened and one of the guards hurried inside. “There’s no one out there.”

  “Check again,” Phobos snapped, sending the man running back outside. “Could it be Zhao?” he asked quietly to Royce.

  “It could be, but why not attack? And how would they know we were here?”

  Pierce turned and began to quickly saw through her bindings. From outside they heard screaming, moaning, and even crying. Phobos was pressed against the window, gun in hand as he tried to see out front. Tammy’s ropes snapped when the front door opened and a man stumbled into the living room. His face was white, sweat poured from his brow, his walking was stiff as if his legs had cramped before he fell to the ground writhing in pain. “We’re all down,” he said through clenched teeth as he grabbed his stomach and howled in pain. He wrapped himself into a small ball of pain on the floor.

  Instinctively, Tammy covered her mouth with her hand, only realizing too late that she’d shown her hands to be untied. Her eyes clashed with Royce’s whose eyes widened. He lunged forward and Tammy screamed. She wrapped her arms around her unborn child and rolled from the man, giving him her back. Instead of the pain of his touch, she heard the sickening sound of a knife ripping through cloth and sinking into flesh.

  “Pierce!” Tammy shouted as she spun in horror.

  Only it wasn’t Pierce who was stabbed. It was the man who had threatened her child. Her husband’s face was set in stone as he slowly pulled the blade from the man’s chest and held out his other hand for his wife. “We’re leaving,” he said, grabbing her hand and squeezing it to so tightly Tammy thought he might break it.

  Tammy grabbed the pan in her left hand as Pierce pointed the knife at Phobos with his right. “And you’re not going to stop us,” her husband said to Phobos as he tried to walk them by him.

  “I don’t think so,” Phobos said with confidence. “Didn’t anyone tell you never to bring a knife to a gunfight?”

  Pierce whistled and Gus squawked before flying from his perch. Tammy didn’t stop to think as Phobos raised his gun. Gus stomped his claws on Phobos’s head, ripping hair and skin. Tammy swung just as Pierce whistled again. Gus flew up a second before Tammy backhanded the cast iron pan into the side of Phobos’s head.

  Aiden and Eddie held still as the men searched the area. When they reported the all clear, Aiden made his move. He ran from the shadows, and in less than a second, he’d shot both men dead. Eddie, on the other hand, shot him the finger for taking out his man. Aiden grinned at him as he vaulted the back railing and landed quietly on the porch.

  Both men flattened themselves against the back of the house on each side of the door. They counted dow
n and Aiden shoved the door open, rolling inside as Eddie took aim and would provide cover if necessary. Instead of having to take down men, Aiden found a very pregnant Tammy swinging an iron skillet as if it were a baseball bat.

  There was a thud and the man crumpled to the ground at the same time Tammy screamed. The skillet dropped from her hands as she grabbed her stomach a second before the sound of a water balloon popping was heard.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Davies,” Aiden said, lowering his weapon as he could hear Lucas, Talon, Jackson, and Dylan surrounding the house. “I was here to save you, but I think you did a good job on your own.”

  Aiden looked for the source of the water sound but didn’t see anything except a puddle under Tammy. ”Oh, bloody hell,” he muttered a second before Tammy grabbed her husband’s hand and squeezed so tightly Pierce went down to one knee.

  26

  Aiden rushed forward, pulling the needles from his jacket. “You have to have these.” Not bothering to explain, he pulled the top off with his teeth and jabbed the first needle into Tammy’s arm. Her eyes went wide, and she growled at him before he injected Pierce with the second needle full of the antidote.

  “One man is dead, the other is just unconscious,” Eddie reported before stopping to stand in front of the man crying out in pain as his muscles cramped. “Do we save them or shoot them?”

  “Babe,” Aiden said calmly into his coms. “How much antidote do you have?”

  “Two more needles from the ones you have. Jackson has them. Why?”

  “I’m thinking we should probably save the few that are left. There’s one inside and”—Dylan and Jackson walked in—“how many still alive out front?”

  “All of them. We didn’t have to shoot anyone,” Dylan said with a frown.

  “Five,” Jackson answered shaking his head at his cousin.

  “Six infected men. Possibly seven, but your mother took him out with a pan. Speaking of your mother, can you call an ambulance? She’s in labor,” Aiden said as Piper screamed on the other end of the coms and Dylan went white.

  “You’re having the baby?” Dylan asked his mother who looked exactly like a woman having a baby. “You can’t have the baby now.”

  “Too old,” Gus squawked.

  “Someone give me the gun. I’m making parrot stew as soon as I have this baby,” Tammy said as she narrowed her eyes at the bird.

  “Aww, who’s a good bird?” replied Gus.

  Aiden blinked at the battle of wills between the pregnant woman and the parrot. “Get everyone detained,” Aiden ordered as Eddie went to help Lucas and Talon tie everyone up. “As soon as everyone is detained, question them and then call it in. Or I can since you all shouldn’t even be here.”

  Dylan stripped out of his vest and ran upstairs. A minute later he was in street clothes. “I’m just here to meet my new brother or sister.”

  The sound of a car busting through a fence had Aiden armed and at the window. Through it he saw Piper driving madly toward the back of the house with Draven clinging for dear life in the front seat. “Oh good. Piper’s here.”

  “Hospital. I need a hospital,” Tammy said as she reached for Aiden. “Pierce, get my bag. You,” she said, digging her fingers into his arm. “This is Phobos. Question him or kill him. I don’t care. Pierce got blood on the rug when he killed that man so I have to get a new one anyway. Do whatever, just do it on this rug.”

  “This is Phobos? You took down Phobos?” Aiden asked.

  “You don’t mess with my family. Now get me to the damn hospital.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Aiden said, pulling out his phone and calling Nash. “Tammy’s in labor, and she knocked Phobos unconscious.”

  “What the hell?” Everyone in the room heard Nash yell.

  “Long story, but Phobos was holding Mr. and Mrs. Davies hostage. All’s well now except the baby is on the way. Phobos and his men are apprehended. Royce is dead and two others in the back.” Aiden hung up after Nash said some choice words. “Um, everyone will be here in a couple of minutes.”

  Piper burst into the room through the back door and scanned it, making sure everyone she loved was safe. “Mom! Dad! Did Aiden give you the antidote?”

  “I don’t know, he jabbed me in the arm with something.” Tammy paused and took a deep breath. “Pierce, get my bag. Piper, drive me to the hospital before I have this baby right here.”

  “Thank goodness. You and the baby will be all right. The chemicals have dissipated, but still, let’s go out the back,” Piper said.

  “Chemicals?” Pierce asked, taking his wife’s other arm. “Ah, the men writhing in pain. That was you?”

  Piper nodded. “It made it easier for everyone to get to you.”

  Aiden followed her to the car as Dudley was looking toward the front of the house where the howls of pain were coming from. Draven was still sitting in the front seat playing on his phone as if he were completely bored. “Is that King Draven?” Tammy asked, and Piper nodded as she was already running everything that needed to be done through her head.

  “Dudley! Can you make four more doses of the antidote? Do it just like I showed you. In fact, just make as many as you can in the next thirty minutes. There’re supplies in my old workroom and ingredients in the trunk,” Piper said, pointing to the shed out back.

  “So, now that everyone is safe, I’m hungry. Can we go to the café?” Draven complained. Tammy reached through the window and grabbed him by his shirt collar as another contraction hit. She let out a low groan as she grasped Draven.

  “Never mind. Not hungry anymore,” Draven gasped as he tried to pull Tammy’s fingers from his shirt.

  When the contraction passed, Aiden helped her into the back of the car, and Piper leapt into the driver’s seat.

  “I’ll meet you at the hospital after everything is wrapped up,” Aiden said, leaning through the window and kissing her. “I love you.”

  Piper kissed him back and then took off with Tammy screaming, Pierce looking ready to pass out from the pain of a broken hand, and Draven asking if the baby could be named after him.

  “You love her, huh?” Aiden turned to see Dylan grinning.

  “I do,” Aiden replied.

  “Good. I like you. I was afraid she’d wind up with some lab geek like Dudley. And then what kind of fun could we have together? You, on the other hand,” Dylan said, looking around, “you I can have fun with.”

  “I second that,” Jackson said, joining them. “We’re going to be cousins after all, and cousins in this family have something called a cousin special. It’s when we get a boon and no one can ask what for. I have a feeling we’ll get some help from you on that front.”

  “Help, how?”

  “Invading armies.” Dylan shrugged.

  “Weekend trips overthrowing countries,” Jackson added. “And even harder, keeping secrets from nosy parents.”

  “And don’t forget trying to get the inside scoop on the bets. Speaking of which,” Dylan pulled his phone from his vest, “when are you thinking of proposing to my sister?”

  “I have to get her to fall in love with me first,” Aiden muttered, but it wasn’t soft enough. The two men heard him.

  “She’s already in love with you,” Dylan said with surety.

  “Definitely,” Jackson said. “Plus you saved her parents. Total bonus points there.”

  “Here comes everyone,” Dylan said, looking out the driveway as Eddie joined them. “Did you learn anything?”

  Jackson nodded. “Got all their names and the names of all their associates not here.”

  “I got a list of locations of storage containers and warehouses with everything from drugs to weapons,” Eddie added.

  “Good job,” Dylan told them. “Jackson, take Eddie and the guys to the car. We’ll meet at the café.”

  Jackson put his fingers to his lips and whistled. Lucas and Talon trotted toward them. “Ready to go?” Talon asked.

  “I can’t wait to get back to the café. Have you been the
re, Eddie? There’s these two sisters,” Lucas began explaining to Eddie as they walked into the woods.

  Dylan waved at Nash, then at the unmarked FBI cruiser, and finally at the two sheriff cars pulling into the house. Nash, Nabi, Ryan, Matt, and Cody got out of their cars and looked at the six tied-up men screaming in pain. Nash simply raised an eyebrow as he looked at Dylan and Aiden.

  “They must have caught something,” Aiden shrugged.

  “Luckily we have a doctor here looking out for them,” Dylan said loud enough for his cousin Ryan Parker to hear.

  “What are you both doing here?” Ryan asked as he joined them. “Is this something I need to leave for a little while and then come back to?”

  “Nah, we’re good,” Dylan said, patting his cousin’s shoulder. “How’s Sienna?”

  “About to pop, but she’s still three weeks from her due date. It’s horrifying. She’s so calm. It’s freaky.”

  “Speaking of popping, I’m officially here to welcome my new brother or sister into the world. Just arrived and the timing couldn’t be more perfect. Mom went into labor so I’d better get going. Aiden’s joining me since Piper, his girlfriend, is driving Mom and Dad to the hospital.”

  “Wait, what?” everyone asked at once.

  “And you’re okay with this?” Nash asked.

  “Sure am,” Dylan said, grinning at Aiden. “Of course, he knows I would hunt him down and slowly tear him limb to limb if he hurts my sister.”

  “I’d start with the nails first. Very effective torture technique,” Aiden told him.

  “Oh,” Ryan, Matt, and Cody said together again as if they all got it at once.

  “This makes sense,” Ryan added.

  “Yup,” Matt agreed. “Welcome to the family.”

  “Not so fast. Lover boy here has to get my sister to fall in love with him.” Dylan looked as if he were having way too much fun with this.

  “Have you gotten naked? Works for me every time my wife gets naked,” Ryan advised.