by L. R. Wright
Another man advanced toward her and she kicked him in the chest. Yanking her knife from its hiding place, she thrust it into his neck. As a third man charged her, she pulled the knife out and plunged it into that man’s leg. Before he could retaliate, she jerked her gun from its holster and shot him.
A groan pulled her attention back to the first man, who was struggling to his feet. She slapped him across the cheek with the butt of her gun. He slumped back to the ground.
She leaned down and peered at his face. “Who the hell sent you?”
Placing her gun beneath his chin, she waited.
“Who are you?” he croaked.
She pressed the gun harder into his skin. “You came after me. Shouldn’t you know who I am?”
“His name’s Steve,” the man confessed. “He and his father paid us to grab you and bring you back to him. Please,” he begged. “I have children. I only took this job to support them. Let me go. I’ll tell you anything you want to know. He also said he may have other jobs for us that have to do with you.”
“What types of jobs?”
The man took a deep breath. “He didn’t want a hair harmed on your head because he was going to use you as leverage against someone. He had plans for someone else too, but I didn’t catch a name. He told us he had been watching you for a long time.”
“Thanks,” she said and patted him on the shoulder.
As she started to rise, he slid a gun from his pocket, cocking it as his hand came up. Instinctively, her finger tightened on the trigger of her own gun, the bullet going straight through his heart.
Sirens roared in the distance as she hurried to the car. She said a quick prayer for Robert, slid into the driver’s seat, and sped off into the night.
Kendrick had said to come straight home, but Alexa decided to make a quick stop on the way. Kendrick wouldn’t like it, but that couldn’t be helped.
When she reached her destination, she immediately turned off her headlights and got out of the car. Taking a deep breath, she ran up to the house and knocked on the door.
A tall lanky man answered the door. Alexa smiled. “Hi. I’m looking for Steve.”
“Steve isn’t here. I’m the housekeeper. Is there something I can help you with?”
She beamed at him. “Thank God, you’re here. I had a study date with Steve today, and I accidentally let him walk away with my book and all my notes. Can I just go to his room and get it? I promise it won’t take long.”
She couldn’t tell if he believed her story or not, but he didn’t let her in. “How about I have Steve just call you when he gets in.”
“Please,” she pleaded. “I really need to study. I’m trying to get into MIT next year. This test can make or break my grade this semester.”
The man sighed. “I’ll go to his room and see if I can find it for you. Wait here.”
She nodded, and waited until he turned around. Spying a vase on a small table next to the door, she pushed it off the stand. When the housekeeper rushed over to the broken vase, she smashed him in the head with the butt of her gun. He slumped to the floor, unconscious.
Alexa dashed up the massive staircase and down a long hallway. Since she had been to Steve’s house one time, with Erik, she knew where his room was. She reached his door and cautiously pushed it open. Lying on Steve’s bed was his brother, Aaron. Even better. Aaron was too busy listening to his stereo to notice her enter the room until it was too late.
She placed the muzzle of her gun against his forehead. Aaron’s eyes popped open, widening with fear.
“Sit up,” she commanded. “I need to give your brother a little message.”
***
November 4, 2011, B5:
Alexa found Chase in the kitchen. “Hi,” she said, sliding into the seat next to him.
He ignored her.
“I know you’re mad,” she said. “I’m sorry.”
“No, you’re not,” he snapped. “I knew if there was ever a choice between me and Kendrick, you would choose him. That’s how it always is.”
“I don’t want you to think of it as me choosing him. Maybe I chose you.”
He glared at her out of the corner of his eye. “Don’t try to play me, Alexa.”
“I’m not.” She grabbed one of his hands and squeezed. “I trust you with my kids. I know you’ll protect them. Stop thinking of it as me choosing someone else over you.”
Alexa closed her eyes and sighed, but it didn’t ease the guilt. She knew Chase was in love with her. He’d been in love with her ever since they were kids. Everybody knew it since he wasn’t very good at hiding his feelings.
“What is it about Kendrick, Alexa?” he asked.
She patted his hand gently. “There’s nothing about Kendrick, Chase. I love both of you.”
“And I love you, too,” Kendrick said, strutting into the kitchen.
“Kendrick, this is a private conversation,” she said.
He opened the refrigerator and pulled out a beer. “Then go somewhere private.”
She rolled her eyes and looked at Chase, who was watching her closely. “Chase, I want you to go with Daddy. And I want you to go because I know you’ll take care of our family. It’s as simple as that.”
“But you want Kendrick to stay here, to be by your side. Never mind that his wife and kids are going to the safe house.”
“Okay, I do want Kendrick to stay with me,” she groaned, throwing up her hands in frustration. We always work well together. But I need you to stop making this into a competition.”
“Because you know Kendrick will always win,” Dro murmured as he entered the kitchen.
Alexa sighed. “Can I please talk to Chase alone?”
Dro took the beer Kendrick held out for him. “Why are you in the kitchen if you want privacy?”
Kendrick laughed and she glared at him. Choosing to ignore them both, she turned back to Chase. “As I said, this isn’t a competition.”
Chase pushed the stool away and stood. “Look, don’t even bother, Alexa. I’m good. You want me to go and Kendrick to stay. No big deal. I’m used to it.” He turned to Dro. “I looked into Naomi’s background a little further. She was hired right out of college. Before that, there was nothing—no high school records, birth certificate, or anything. Also, I’m almost finished with that project you asked me to do. Want to check it out?”
Alexa watched Chase leave the kitchen without saying another word to her. Dro shook his head then followed after him. Kendrick pulled another beer out of the refrigerator. He held it out for her. She grabbed it and took a swig.
Setting it on the counter, she rubbed the side of her face. “I don’t know what his problem is.”
“Yes, you do. It’s same one he’s had since you were kids.”
She smacked his shoulder. “I’m talking about Dro, dummy.”
“You know what his problem is too.”
“You?” she offered.
“More like you needing me. “Taking another swig of her beer, she raked her free hand through her hair, trying to ignore the pain in her heart. “Go spend some time with your wife and kids before they leave.”
CHAPTER 16
April 12, 1998:
Kendrick paced the foyer at Pop’s house, waiting on Alexa to arrive. He glanced at his watch for the fiftieth time in the last half hour. She had called hours ago. She was supposed to be on her way home, but she hadn’t made it yet. Someone had attacked her guard, and she was out on the town. What the hell was she thinking?
He heard keys in the door and whirled around as Alexa slipped in. Not wanting to alert the whole house to her presence before he had sufficient time to scold her, he grabbed her arm, dragged her into the sitting room, and softly closed the door.
“Where the hell have you been?” he hissed.
“I—”
“What the hell is your problem? When I talked to you, I assumed you were on your way here. Now here it is an hour later, and you’re just strolling through the door? But hey
, I guess that’s what I get for assuming because you keep making an ass out of me!”
“Kendrick, I’m sorry. I had to make a stop.”
“A stop?” He pinched the bridge of his nose, certain his head would burst from the pressure building behind his eyes. “In whose reality could you possibly think that was okay? Shit, Lex, what the hell were you thinking? Everyone has been worried sick about you. Dro is livid—practically insane—and you made a stop?”
“Calm down so I can explain myself, damn it.”
He took a deep breath, shoving his hands into his pockets to keep from strangling her. But his attempt to calm his nerves didn’t work. “Where were you?”
She twisted her fingers together and he groaned out loud. This can’t be good. When she looked up at him with puppy dog eyes, he braced himself.
“I went to Steve’s house,” she whispered.
And just like that, this whole situation got worse. If he was a lesser man, he would’ve fallen on the ground in frustration and had a full blown temper tantrum like a two-year-old kid. “You what?”
“I went to Steve’s house.”
“You—” He took a deep breath, willing himself to take it down a notch. The house was crawling with people and he didn’t want to draw attention to them. “You went to Steve’s house? What on earth would possess you to do that?”
“I wanted to leave him a message—let him know I could get to him just as easily as he thinks he can get to me.”
“A message?”
“Yes. I went to his house, tied his brother up—after I made him strip—and left him there. I didn’t hurt him.”
Kendrick couldn’t help it. Unable to control his temper, he hurled his brand new cell phone into the wall. It shattered. “Shit!”
He hated losing his temper, but when dealing with Alexa it seemed unavoidable. The girl might be his best friend, but at times, she drove him mad. And now he’d ruined his brand new cellphone. That sucked. He’d really liked that phone.
He paced the room, feeling like a caged animal, as the same word rolled through his mind over and over. Shit!
“Kendrick, can you please stop pacing back and forth. You’re making me nervous.”
He whirled, glaring at her. She has the gall to say that to me? “Do you really think I give a damn? You’re unbelievable. You went to Steve’s house—after Robert was killed and you left three dead men in the alley behind Victoria’s Secret—and you think I give a damn how you feel?”
She closed her eyes and her lips trembled. “Robert’s dead?”
She’d better not cry. Damn it, now he felt like an ass. He was never strong when faced with her tears, and he couldn’t help but soften. “He was dead by the time we got there.”
“He was alive when I left him. I wanted to stay with him, but he told me to get out of there. I tried to walk away, Kendrick. When I jumped out the window, I headed straight for the car, but I was cornered.”
“You do realize you didn’t need to go over there and leave any kind of message?” he asked, his voice rising in octave with each word. “The message was clear when you killed three of their men by yourself.”
“Alexa?” Dro called from the doorway. He stormed into the room, slamming the door behind him. “Where the hell have you been?”
“Dro,” she breathed.
“Where were you?” Dro’s voice was calm, but Kendrick knew it wouldn’t last long once he found out where she’d been.
“I—” She cleared her throat. “I made a stop.”
Dro stood silent, his arms folded across his chest. Kendrick assumed Alexa would continue, but she stood mute as well. He hoped she wasn’t going to leave it at that. Then he would be forced to explain the situation.
“Um,” she began again. “I know you’re probably upset I didn’t come straight here. I know you were worried—”
“Stop,” he said, slicing a hand through the air. “I don’t need you to try to explain yourself. Just tell me where you were.”
“I went to Steve’s house,” she muttered, under her breath.
The room was silent—so silent it was deafening. Kendrick could tell Dro’s infamous control dangling by a very fine thread.
“Three men cornered me in the alley,” she continued, sitting on the edge of one of the couches. “One of them told me Steve and his father set the whole thing up. So I decided to go to Steve’s and leave a message”
“What the hell is your problem?” Dro stopped and took a few deep breaths.
Kendrick wanted to tell him that shit didn’t work, but he figured silence was his best option.
“You have no idea how much I want to choke you right now. Why would you go off halfcocked to Steve’s house—on his territory—by yourself—to leave an unnecessary message? What the hell kind of message did you leave?”
Alexa peered at Kendrick, swallowing visibly then turned back to Dro. “I figured Steve and his father wouldn’t be there because they would be waiting for the men to bring me to them. My plan was to just go there and leave them something, letting them know I was there. His brother was there. I didn’t hurt him. I just scared him. I made him strip and tied him to the bed. What?”
Dro rolled his eyes. “Don’t say anything else, just listen. What you did will serve no purpose other than to rile them up and force them to step up their game. Did you even think about what would’ve happened if Steve and his father had hired the men to bring you to their house? You could have been ambushed when you stepped foot on the property. There could have been hidden guards anywhere. So, again, what were you thinking?” He threw his hands in the air then fisted them on his hips. “Not only that, you knew you were supposed to bring your ass back here as soon as possible. You didn’t give a damn about that, though. All you were worried about is proving yourself yet again. And how many times do I have to tell you there’s nothing to prove?”
She opened her mouth to speak, but he held up his hand. “I just don’t know what goes on in your head when you make a decision like this,” he roared. “You can’t even follow simple instructions. You just want to do your own thing. Maybe I should suggest that Pop send you away.”
She gasped. “You wouldn’t.”
“I would. Don’t ever underestimate me.”
She walked closer to Dro. “Listen to me.”
“Don’t,” he said, stepping away from her. “You pissed me the fuck off. I don’t even want to look at you right now. Do you realize how worried we were about you? Do you even care? Kendrick told you to bring your ass straight home!
“And you couldn’t even do that. Robert is dead, Alexa. There were three dead men in the alley. We didn’t know what the hell happened to you. And you went to Steve’s?”
She placed a hand on his arm. “Dro—”
Kendrick tensed, suddenly feeling very protective, when Dro batted her hands away. Of course, he knew Dro would never hit her, but he’d also never seen him this angry before.
“Stop touching me,” he growled. “Just leave me the hell alone. There’s no explanation good enough. Don’t you get it? I don’t want to hear how sorry you are ‘cause I don’t give a damn.”
“Alexa, just let him calm down,” Kendrick said softly. “Let him go. I don’t want to have to beat Dro’s ass for talking to you like he’s crazy.”
“You couldn’t beat my ass in your best dream.” Dro stalked out of the room and Alexa ran after him.
“Dro,” she called as she chased him through the foyer to the spiral staircase.
Kendrick had never seen her behave like this—so desperate. It shocked the hell out of him.
“Please,” she begged as Dro headed up the stairs. “I’m sorry.”
Pop and Lei entered the foyer.
“Ladybug, where the hell were you?” Pop bellowed. He turned to Dro. “Hold on, Son.”
Alexa’s shoulder slumped and peered at Kendrick with red eyes. He was willing to go up against Dro, but Pop was a different story.
“Ladybug?” Pop re
peated loudly. “Do you realize how worried we were for you?”
“Yes Daddy,” she whispered, bowing her head. “I’m sorry.”
Pop sighed. “I’m glad you’re safe, ladybug. Lei call Chase and tell him she’s home. We’ll talk about this soon as you get cleaned up.” Pop eyed Dro. “Since Enrique is out of town, I want you and Ari to stay here. It would make me feel better.”
Dro nodded. “I’m going to bed.” His eyes flashed to Alexa before he continued his trek up the stairs.
***
November 4, 2011, B5:
After another discussion in the security room it was decided that Canada was the best place for Pop and Chase to take the family. It was close enough for them to get back if necessary, or for one of the others to come there.
Kendrick stayed with Alexa while Dro and Lei took Pop and the family to the airport.
“You made Chase mad,” he told her, wiping a bit of sweat off her brow.
She smacked his hand. “I know. I didn’t mean to.”
He wrapped an arm around her and tugged her closer. “You never mean to, but it always seems to happen.”
“Please, let’s just not talk.” She punched his shoulder. “Harder.”
He shook his head. “Not until you talk to me.”
As he loomed over her, she averted her eyes from his gaze and punched him again. “Kendrick, I need you to go harder.”
“I said no. Not until you talk to me.”
“Let’s just get down to it.”
He encircled a hand around her neck. “Alexa,” he whispered. “Sometimes you can’t have it your way.”
She rolled her eyes. “Listen, I told you.” She pushed at him at again. “Go harder. I need to do this.”
