The Grandmaster's Legacy (HOT Historical Suspense, Box Set)

by Taylor Lee

  “’Hold on a minute, boys. Before you jerk them cunt stretchers outa your pants, lemme’ tell you how we’re gonna do this. Clem, you come over ‘ere and hold ‘er up. And for God’s sake keep that knife up against ‘er throat, ‘cuz she’s gonna be strugglin,’ at least in the beginnin’. Me and Pete are gonna take her first. Hell, Clem, don’t look so disappointed. Damnit, man, you’ll git your turn. We all will. LOTS of ‘em.” He roared a hideous laugh. The others joined in.

  “Okay, she-bitch. Listen up. ‘Ere’s what we’re gonna do. Pete ‘ere is gonna fuck you in your cunt while I fuck you up your ass. While Clem is holdin’ your head he jest might dangle that big fat cock of his in your mouth. You ever had three men fuckin’ you at once? Well this ‘ere is your one and only chance, bitch. Then we’re gonna move around in a nice little circle. Kinda like them musical chairs, only it’ll be your holes, not chairs, we’ll be movin’ to, and your screams will be the music.”

  Pete ripped off her drawers. He spread her legs and stuck two fingers inside of her. Elena clenched down. Shocked at the invasion, she stifled a scream and retreated into herself further. Pete stepped back and looked at Jake, his face lit with wonder.

  “Whoopee! Hell, she’s dry as a bone. I can’t tell for sure ‘til I git in there but I think we might a got ourselves a little virgin cunt, Jake.”

  Jake threw his head back and roared like a crazed animal in heat.

  “Je-sus fuckin’ Christ! And who says God don’t love me?”

  ~~

  Chapter 2

  Wan Chang clipped the end of his cigar, taking his time to light it. He pushed the humidor and silver tiger-head clipper to Bai and Nianzu. Bai selected one of the slender Bolivian cigars he preferred, struck a match, and lit it. The heady aroma of sulfur and fine cigars filled the air. Puffing on his cigar until it was drawing steadily, Bai walked over to the liquor cabinet. Reaching among the well-stocked shelves, he selected a bottle of bourbon and poured two fingers of the amber liquid in each of three glasses. Handing one to Wan and one to Nianzu, he settled in a chair across from Wan. Bai needed to update Wan on the latest Tong violence, but first listened to the news at the compound. Bai was disappointed to hear they had missed Wyatt McManus. Like Bai, Wyatt was a kung fu grandmaster. He was a legend among kung fu warriors and Bai’s personal hero.

  Wyatt came to Wan Chang’s compound outside of San Francisco to drop off Elena, his daughter, and Wan’s adopted granddaughter. Elena was Wyatt’s daughter from his first marriage and not a blood relation to Wan, but he assumed the role of her grandfather when Wyatt and his daughter Lei married. It was well known among Wan’s men that the stern man Elena called Grandfather Wan loved her with a fierce passion.

  “Elena’s internship at the university isn’t due to start until September, but she begged her father and me to let her come to California early,” Wan said with a slight sigh. “Unfortunately, neither her father nor I are good at telling that young woman ‘no.’”

  Bai smiled at Wan’s obvious affection for his granddaughter. It wasn’t surprising that Elena, like any twenty-year-old girl who lived all her life sheltered on a Wyoming ranch, would be eager to test her wings in the golden state of California and the big city of San Francisco. When Wan first consulted him, Bai agreed the Sing Leon could provide the security force Elena needed when she went to the university. They both assumed she was as safe on Wan’s compound as she was in Wyoming. Of course, that was before the Tongs started getting restless.

  Bai spent the next two hours updating Wan. The Tong violence in New York and Chicago was spreading. Relationships among the California-based Tongs were tense.

  ~~~

  When they finished, Bai went out to the garden, looking for Elena. He last saw her twelve years ago when she was only eight years old. He was eager to see her again. He always liked the spunky, pretty little girl with the red hair and sapphire blue eyes. He grinned remembering how she chased after him, eager to show off her latest kung fu move.

  He called out to Francine, the French maid, who was trimming the azalea bushes by the back fence. “Mademoiselle, have you seen Miss Elena?” he asked in fluent French.

  Francine blushed and lowered her eyes, curtsying shyly when she saw Bai.

  “Oh, yes, Mr. Bai. The pretty miss was here a while ago. She wanted to know where she could go to swim. I told her the waterfall was the only place on the compound that I knew of to swim.”

  “She didn’t go there, did she?” Bai asked, his voice rising.

  “I…I don’t think so. I told her it was far away, too far for a young girl to go. I didn’t think Mr. Wan wanted her that far from the Villa. But she is an impétueux fille, Mr. Bai. She told me she was tired of being in the Villa. I saw her go to the stables. She said she was going for a ride.”

  “Who was with her, Francine?” Bai asked with heightened concern.

  “No one, Mr. Bai. She said she likes to ride by herself.”

  Bai shook his head, annoyed. Wan told him he was clear with Elena. She wasn’t to go anywhere on the compound without a Sing Leon guard. He went to the stables spying Mansu, one of the stable boys.

  Exchanging a bow with the young boy, Bai asked, “Mansu, have you seen Miss Elena?” His voice was stern, commanding.

  “Yes, sir. She took her sorrel for a ride about an hour ago.”

  “Did she say where she was going?”

  “No, but she asked for directions to the waterfall.”

  “Who was with her? Which guards?”

  Mansu flushed, seeing the concern on Bai’s face. “She went by herself, like she always does.” He stammered, “I’m...I’m sorry, Mr. Bai. She told me she doesn’t like guards. She likes to ride by herself. She said she was sure Mr. Wan wouldn’t mind.”

  Bai’s jaw clenched. What the hell was wrong with Elena? She knew she wasn’t supposed to go off by herself. He and Nianzu had run into several outlaw gangs on their way to the compound. Although they were not as dangerous as the Tongs, they could cause a lot of trouble for a young girl alone. He went to the stable and saddled his stallion, Noire. Heading out of the barn, he called back to an anxious looking Mansu. “Mansu, please go to the big house and tell Mr. Wan that I went to find Miss Elena. We should be back within the hour. Go, now.” Bai’s tone was sharp.

  Mansu rushed to obey. Bai saw Mansu’s concern at his abrupt order. Bai enjoyed a respectful relationship with the servants, but he expected obedience and never hesitated to make his displeasure known. The result was that most of the servants feared him, or at least were careful to do what he asked quickly and without question.

  Urging Noire to a swift pace, Bai galloped toward the waterfall, a good thirty minutes from the villa. Wan’s sprawling compound was nestled in the California high desert. Scrub covered mesas, rocky canyons, and breathtaking views of the distant Sierras never failed to stoke Bai’s spirit. But, concerned about Elena, he was blind to the call of the desert. Even the brilliant blue skies and wide open spaces didn’t distract from his mission.

  The longer he rode, the more annoyed Bai was with Elena. Goddamn, he hoped Wan had done the right thing bringing her to the compound. In Wyoming, he knew a cadre of Caballeros, Wyatt’s security force, was assigned to guard Elena. She lived all her life protected by guards. Merde. She must know she needed them here. Now, three days after she arrived at the compound, she left by herself, against her grandfather’s direct orders. Bai shook his head and grimaced. Wan may not have impressed upon her the importance of obeying his orders, but Bai sure as hell would.

  As he neared the waterfall, a gunshot rang out, then men’s voices hollering. Seconds later, he heard a volley of shots, followed by terrified screams. Bai’s stomach heaved.

  Damn. They were the kind of screams that young girls in trouble make.

  ~~~

  Bai got as close as he dared on horseback then signaled to Noire to stay. Climbing through the brush to the top of the ridge, he gazed at the horrific scene below.

  Bai saw
Elena run for her horse. A trio of men chased after her, firing wild shots. They just missed her and hit the mare. A fourth man lay on the ground, shrieking in pain, clutching his bloody shoulder. Bai watched Elena struggle to mount her horse then fall to the ground when the mare stumbled to a stop. Assessing the scene, he saw that three of the men were wounded, but all four still brandished guns. Bai was well armed, but the desperados surrounding Elena prevented him from getting a clean shot without hitting her. He watched in admiration as Elena took on two of the men with kung fu strikes, shaking his head when they overpowered her. He despaired that, like too many untried kung fu warriors who had done all their fighting in regulated sparring matches, Elena hadn’t been taught that some men don’t fight fair. Instead of graceful, powerful aerial kicks, cowards pull guns.

  He crouched in the bushes and watched in revulsion as they tied her hands behind her back. Seeing the pain and fear on her face, a cold surge of anger flooded every muscle of his body and tightened every nerve. Like the master warrior and leader of men that he was, he made his plans carefully, strategically, refusing to be rushed. He slid on his belly, silent as a cobra readying to strike. The bastard who had his knife to her throat had already drawn blood. Bai needed to kill at least two of them immediately. Two to one odds were a hell of a lot better than four to one. Merde, he thought with a disgusted grimace, given his expertise and their stupidity, no matter how many there were, he had the advantage.

  Bai’s jaw tightened when the men dropped their pants and tore off her riding britches. He shuddered when they stripped her, except for her drawers, and her torn camisole plastered against her breasts. Listening to the shit they were saying, he didn’t know if in his lifetime he would forget the terror he saw in Elena’s eyes as they prepared to rape her. As depraved as it was, their lascivious focus on her nearly naked body saved her life. It gave him the opening he needed.

  When the pervert ripped her drawers and spread her legs, Bai sucked in a deep breath and held it. Through the din of fury thundering in his ears, Bai heard the shameless bastard crow, “Whoopee! Hell, she is dry as a bone. I can’t tell til I git in there, but I think we might a got ourselves a little virgin cunt, Jake.”

  Jake threw his head back, roaring like the vile despicable beast he was.

  “Je-sus fuckin’ Christ! And who says God don’t love me?”

  ~~~

  “I do, for one.”

  Jake looked up to see a tall young Chinese man dressed in black standing four feet away from them. He had a pistol in one hand, a cigarette in the other. Two shots rang out. To his horror, Jake saw Pete drop to the ground, a bullet between his eyes. Sam hit the ground a second later.

  Jake stared in shock at the man who was practically standing next to him. Jesus, how the fuck could someone get this close and neither he nor Clem saw him or heard him? The fucker snuck up like an animal stalking his prey. Except that he had a goddamned gun, pointed at Jake’s face.

  The Chinese man studied Clem then said in a clipped, cultured voice, “Put the knife down.”

  Clem tightened his grip on the girl. His voice quaked, a shaky squeak. “I’ll kill ‘er if you make a move.”

  “And if you do, I will kill your friend.”

  Jake was shaking so hard he could barely speak. There was somethin’ about the man’s eyes, narrow slits with a yellow glint that made him think of a wolf. Somethin’ else hit him. From the terror on Clem’s face, he knew Clem heard it too.

  It was his goddamn voice. Jake prayed to God he was wrong. Christ, all of the Sing Leon were fierce, but the one they feared the most was Wan Chang’s lieutenant. The one they called the Frenchman.

  He was part Chink and part French. Jake wasn’t sure how. But one thing he did know was that the Frenchman was the most cunning, savage son of a bitch coming or going. He could throw a knife and hit a moving target forty feet away. Hell, he could shoot a guy dead before the fucker got his hand to his holster. Worse, he was one of them Chink fighters. Christ, just last week he kicked Seth Majors to death, after he chopped off Seth’s dick because the poor bastard raped some little Chink whore. The tales of what the Frenchman had done, the viciousness of his kills, made a man’s blood curdle. Looking at his gleaming amber eyes, Jake knew his worst nightmare was standing in front of him -- smokin’ a goddamn cigarette, for Christ’s sake!

  Clem tried to hide his fear behind bravado and answered in a too loud voice, “I’m tellin’ you, she’ll fuckin’ be dead if you move.”

  The Chinese man took a drag off his cigarette. “You kill her and I will kill him.” he added pointing to Jake. “One for one.”

  He paused, gazing at Clem, his voice soft, ominous. “And after they are both dead, I will kill you. Piece by piece, starting with that shriveled up prick cowering in your pants.”

  The man took another drag off his cigarette. He glanced from Clem’s horrified face back to Jake.

  “She dies, then you die, and then Clem dies. One, Two, Three. My only regret is that she will die in the process.”

  He glanced back at Clem. Ignoring the terrified eyes of the girl Clem held prisoner with his knife against her throat, he added, “Or…you drop the knife. And we negotiate.”

  “Goddamn you, Clem, you son of a bitch. It’s the fuckin’ Frenchman. Drop the fuckin’ knife or no tellin’ how he’ll kill us,” Jake shrieked. “Hell, we’ll make a trade. We’ll give ‘im the cunt if he’ll let us go.”

  “You heard your friend, Clem. That’s your choice. Drop the knife, we’ll negotiate. OR -- one, two, three – Bang -- all three of you are dead.”

  He took another careless drag on his cigarette, then said, “One… two… three...”

  Clem dropped the knife.

  Bai shouted, “Down, Elena!” then shot Jake between the eyes.

  As Jake crumpled to the ground, Clem, his face white with shock, stared at Bai. “You…you said you’d negotiate.”

  “I did. This is how I negotiate with cowards.”

  Raising his gun, he shot Clem in the face.

  ~~

  Chapter 3

  Within seconds of the last gunshot, Elena dropped to the ground when Bai yelled her name. Her arms tied tight behind her back, she smashed the side of her head against the ground. Bai rushed to her side, cutting the rope around her wrists with a knife that came from nowhere. She cried out in pain when he rubbed her arms and wrists to get the feeling back. He kicked Clem’s body out of the way, picked her up, then held her close. He whistled softly. In seconds, Noire, was beside them.

  “It is okay, Elena. You are safe, cherie. It is me, Bai. Do you remember me, petite fille? You are safe now.”

  He grabbed the extra blanket from behind Noire’s saddle and wrapped it around her. She was shaking, her body a slender trembling reed. Her face was so pale he thought she might faint.

  “Can you stand?”

  She nodded, her face ragged with fear.

  “We have to leave, immediately, mon ami. There may be more of their asshole buddies who heard the shots. Here, petite fille, I will give you my shirt. This blanket isn’t enough to keep you covered.”

  He took off his shirt and put it on her mostly naked body, leaving the torn camisole that barely covered her breasts. He buttoned the shirt, and pulled it down to her knees.

  He grinned. “We’ll start a new fashion with this, cherie. Lei will be impressed, oui?”

  Elena stared at him, blankly trying to focus on what he was saying. When she first heard him speak, she knew his voice from her childhood. She remembered the young man who rode with her grandfather, the man her father called a hero. She loved his voice then. It sounded soft, foreign, like he was from another country.

  He started to lift her up on his horse, but she jerked out of his arms.

  “No, don’t,” she cried out, her voice shaking. “Stop. I have to get my horse.”

  “Elena, your mare was shot. She is badly injured. You cannot ride her. You need to get on my horse. Now. We must leave. We are still
in danger, cherie.”

  He reached out to pick her up, but she twisted away, darting to her horse. Magic stood in the puddle of blood dripping from the wounds in her chest and leg. Shallow breaths strained against her chest. Shocked at the pain in Magic’s eyes, Elena reached out to touch her, comfort her.

  She turned to see Bai coming after her leading his horse, a determined look on his face. She shook her head, backing away from him.

  “Please, please! You don’t understand. I can help her. I’m sure I can help her.” She was frantic. She had to make him understand. She couldn’t leave Magic.

  Bai’s voice was firm, unyielding. “We will send someone for her, Elena. Listen to me, cherie. We need to leave here. Now!”

  “NO! I won’t leave her. I won’t!” She screamed at him, her face wracked with grief.

  Bai stepped forward. He gripped the sorrel’s head between his hands murmuring soft words under his breath. He stroked the mare’s forelock, then gliding his hand over her heaving chest, he shook his head. Seeing the verdict in his eyes, Elena shoved him furiously aside. Sobbing in anguish, she threw her arms around Magic’s neck and clutched her tight.

  Bai muttered a curse under his breath. His eyes flashed. Before Elena could stop him, he grabbed her and threw her up on his horse. He climbed up behind her, constraining her easily with one strong arm. He jerked Noire’s reins with the other hand, signaling him to go. As he came up beside the sorrel, Bai pulled his pistol and shot her three times between the eyes. Magic stumbled back. With a loud wheeze, the air left her body. She fell to the ground with a frightening crash.

  Elena shrieked at the hideous sound. She twisted up against Bai, fighting him as fiercely as she had fought the outlaws.