Cherish Me (The Protected Love Series)

by Culbreth, Jennifer

  “Ha. Very funny.” Judy said in a dull voice.

  Abbi made her way over to Judy and placed both hands on her shoulders. “Listen, I know you’re worried; I am worried too. But you have to stop stressing. We have to think positive, there is nothing on the news and the guys haven’t heard anything yet. No news is good news right?”

  “Ok. I am going to be quiet now I promise.” Judy gave Abbi a weak smile before following her back over to the couch.

  She was trying, really she was, but Judy just couldn’t seem to shake the anxiety that something bad was going to happen. How do military wives do this day in and day out? There was no way she’d ever be strong enough to take on an endeavor like that. Yearlong deployments, not being able to talk to your loved one, she’d already experienced that with Mason and it was heartbreaking. Now she finally had him back and the thought that something might happen to him tonight had her stomach in knots.

  Just as she settled down onto the couch next to Abbi Judy heard the chime from her cell phone. Jumping nervously from the couch she raced over to her purse and dumped it onto the floor in search of her phone. Flinging pieces of the clutter across the floor she grabbed it and took in the strange number on the caller ID. For a moment she stared back at the screen trying to search her brain to remember the number.

  “Judy, are you going to answer it?” Abbi was now standing at her back.

  “I don’t know the number.” She said as the phone stopped ringing.

  “We’ll see if they leave a message.” Abbi said sitting down on the floor next to her.

  They waited anxiously for the familiar ring of the voicemail. Judy willed it to chime. Please let them be ok, please let them be ok. She could barely stand it anymore as the icon flashed onto her screen.

  One new voicemail…

  “I can’t listen to it. You listen to it.” Judy pushed her phone into Abbi’s hands.

  Slowly Abbi raised the phone to her ear. Judy couldn’t make out the person on the other end of the receiver. As Abbi’s eyes became wide with astonishment Judy’s heart began beating out of her chest. She felt as though at any moment it would give out and stop beating all together.

  “What Abbi? What does it say?” Judy reached for her phone as Abbi sat stunned in front of them. “Abbi! Answer me. Are you ok? Are they ok?”

  “It was Ashley.” Abbi’s eyes finally traveled to Judy. “They have Lexi’s son.”

  “What do mean they. Who has him?”

  “Ashley and Trent.”

  “Oh my God!” Judy turned back to the couch, “Josh.”

  “No Judy. No. You pulled that shit with Mark and there’s no fucking way I’m letting you talk me into it.” Josh stood putting his hand out in an effort to stop her attempt.

  “Josh! I will fire you myself!” Judy shouted up at him. She knew she had to get to that little boy before he was hurt.

  Chapter sixteen

  Jace turned the handle and swung the door open with a sharp crack. He watched as the group filled into the apartment.

  “Get down! Get the fuck down!” Aaron said pointing his pistol at Ashley.

  Jace rushed in searching the room for Trent. Followed by Mason he rushed towards the back of the apartment clearing rooms as they went. As they made their way towards the door at the end of the hallway they heard the sound of glass breaking.

  Jace looked at Mason who stood on the opposite side of the door from him. Jace motioned to him to get the door so that Jace could follow him in. In one swift motion Mason turned the handle swinging the door in as a bullet flew into the wall just past Jace’s head.

  “You mother fucker!” Jace threw down his gun and took off in a full sprint towards him.

  Everything happened too quickly for Trent to know what was happening, before he could turn to jump out of the window Jace had tackled him and took him down to the ground. Fighting to get the pistol from Trent’s hand another round left the chamber. Jace landed a hard blow onto the side of Trent’s face as his hand went limp and the gun fell from his hand.

  “Mason, come get this gun.” Jace called back to him.

  Silence transcended throughout the room.

  “Mason?” Jace’s heart stopped as he turned to take in Mason on the ground next to the door.

  Using what he could Jace snatched off his belt and tied Trent’s hands to the bed post.

  “You fucking move and I will kill you!” He screamed down at him. “Ryan!” Jace called out towards the front of the apartment.

  Jace could hear his footsteps racing down the hallway towards him. “Shit! What the hell happened?” Ryan leaned down taking in the gunshot wound to Mason’s side. “He’s bleeding badly. We gotta get him out of here.”

  “Ricochet bullet. Is he breathing?” Jace asked holding Trent’s mouth as he struggled beneath him.

  Ryan called out for Aaron as he removed the bandana from around Mason’s face helping him to breath. “Yeah, it’s shallow. I gotta wrap this wound.” Ryan reached for a shirt lying on the floor next to them and pushed down hard onto Mason’s side.

  “Fuck!” Mason choked out as Ryan intensified the pressure.

  “Hey buddy, welcome back. You gotta sit still. We are gonna get you out of here.” Ryan held the bloody shirt to Mason’s side.

  “Ryan you and Aaron take Mason back to the truck and get him to the hospital.” Jace said as Ryan attempted to help Mason up.

  “Mark, You and I have some business to finish.” Jace said slamming another blow down onto Trent’s head.

  As Ryan and Aaron helped Mason from the apartment and raced him across the courtyard the room fell silent.

  “Where’s Ashley?” Jace asked.

  “Sleeping soundly in the front room.” Mark smirked over at him. “I gave her a little help. Better she not see any of this.”

  “Hey fucker, wake up.” Jace smacked the side of Trent’s face causing his eyes to blink open.

  Trent scanned around the room and took in his surroundings before spitting up into Jace’s face. “Fuck you! Kill me. I don’t care anymore.” Jace took the dirty sock lying beside them on the floor and shoved it into Trent’s mouth.

  “Oh no we aren’t letting you off that easy, Asshole.” Mark chimed from the bathroom just outside of room. Jace could hear the water in the sink running as flashbacks from his military training came flooding into his mind.

  “Do you know what it feels like to drown Trent?” Jace watched as his eyes became wide with fear. “You see, when we went through our special ops training, we got to experience the joys of waterboarding.”

  Jace watched as Trent struggled to free his hands, snatching and jerking them with no success, knowing what was about to come. Mark stepped back in through the door with an old towel and a pitcher of water.

  “Now Trent I will take it easy on you if you play nice. But we have some questions first.” Mark knelt down next to Trent. “If I take this sock out of your mouth you better not make a fucking sound.”

  He was quiet as they removed the gag from his mouth. “Were you the one who hurt Alexis?” Mark asked. Trent stared blankly up at them without answering.

  Mark placed the towel over Trent’s face as Jace struggled to hold him still. Holding his head still Mark began slowly pouring the water onto the towel over Trent’s nose and mouth. Trent gasped for breath only to suck mouthfuls of the water in. Jace could hear Trent choking and gagging as the flow of water didn’t let up. Drowning, it felt exactly like drowning. A slow painful death. It caused everything in the room around you to go in and out of darkness. All you wanted was to take in a breath but you couldn’t. They had used this technique many times during interrogations. Water flew in every direction, pooling around them as Mark slowed to a stop.

  “I asked you if you hurt Alexis, you didn’t answer me so I will ask you again.” Mark slammed his fist down into Trent’s stomach causing his body to rise into a convulsion. “Did you hurt Alexis?”

  He was met again with silence as Trent refused to
answer. Mark picked the towel up again to place over Trent’s face as he sputtered out. “Ok! I will talk. Yes I hurt Alexis!”

  “Why?” The anger in Jace’s voice resounded off the wall.

  “Because she was a piece of shit! She was going to go back to you and tell you where I was and what I was doing. I fucking hated her! I wanted her to suffer like she’d made me do.”

  “What did she do to you?” Jace snapped out.

  “She was trying to take Sebastian.” Trent choked out.

  “Who is Sebastian?” Jace asked. He knew the answer before Trent even spoke.

  “Our son. She was trying to take our son!” Tears mixed with blood pooled in the corner of Trent’s eyes.

  They could hear footsteps coming down the hallway. Jace readied his pistol as Antonio came through the door.

  “Damn, Ese. You really know how to throw a party. You Army assholes are pretty handy. You looking for a job.” Antonio smiled back towards the two gang members behind him. “Time’s up. Boss wants him.”

  “Where is the kid Trent? This is the last chance to do something decent for someone else. I don’t know what these guys are going to do with you but I have a good idea…” Mark’s words were less violent than before.

  “He’s in the closet in the next room.” Trent whispered.

  *****

  “Judy, it’s not happening! I won’t think twice about tying you up and putting you in a closet. Might piss of Jace but at least you will be safe!” Josh met her stance staring down at her. She’d never seen his face look so serious before.

  “Stop it! Both of you!” Abbi yelled from the other side of the room. “Mason’s hurt.”

  “What the hell is going on in here?” Gabe came in the front door. “Jesus, I leave to do a perimeter check for five minutes and you two are about to have smack down in the living room.” He paused as he took in the confused looks on their faces.

  “What do you mean Mason’s hurt? Is he going to be ok? Where is he?” Judy ran over to Abbi.

  “What?” Gabe asked. “I haven’t gotten a call.”

  “Ryan just called my cell phone. He and Aaron are taking Mason to Cedars-Sinai right now. He got shot.” Abbi’s voice was almost a whisper.

  “Oh my god!” Judy collapsed to the ground.

  “Judy, Ryan said he’s conscious and talking but he is going to have to have surgery to get the bullet removed. We will go to him right now.” Abbi placed her hand onto Judy’s shoulder.

  Everything was happening so fast. One second there’s a message about Lexi’s little boy, the next Mason is shot. What the fuck else can happen? Judy panted trying to catch her breath as the new information flooded into her head.

  “Come on Judy. We need to go.” Abbi helped her up off the floor.

  Judy grabbed her bag from the floor not even worrying to scoop any of the loose items back into it. She followed Josh and Gabe as they led the girls to the elevators. They met Johnson, Martinez, and Lucas in the lobby all making their way out to the parking garage.

  “Jace just called. I have to go pick him and Mark up.” Lucas called out as he ran the other direction from them.

  Jace just called. Judy let out a breath she’d been sure she was holding since they had left this afternoon. Jace was ok, he wasn’t hurt. Now she just needed to make sure that Mason would be ok as well. As they approached the hospital Judy’s stomach twisted. She didn’t want to go back into this hospital. She didn’t want to get the news again that someone she loved so much was no longer with them.

  As Gabe made his way over to open Judy’s door Abbi grabbed her hand. “It’s going to be ok. I know this is going to be tough but we have to believe that he is going to be ok.”

  Judy stared up into Abbi’s eyes; she could feel the encouragement and love in them. Judy and Abbi had been through so much together in such a short time. There would never be anyone in this world that she’d take for granted again. She would make sure she took every chance she got to show them how much she loved them.

  “It’s going to be ok.” Judy agreed. She sent up a silent prayer as she jumped from the SUV. Please Lord let him be ok.

  They raced through the hospital that had become all too familiar to them finding Ryan standing just outside of the door to the waiting area. He’d changed his clothes from the black tactical attire that he’d been in earlier. Judy watched as Abbi ran to him wrapping her arms around him. He motioned his arm open to Judy as she walked to them and taking both him and Abbi into an embrace.

  “Judy, Mason’s going to be ok. They have him back in surgery now and should be finishing up any minute. They will let us know when he is awake and in recovery.” Ryan’s deep voice vibrated through his body.

  “Thank you for taking care of him Ryan.” Judy said holding back the tears. Mason would be ok. Jace and the guys were all ok. An overwhelming feeling of gratitude washed over her body.

  “That’s what brothers are for right.” He looked down at her. “Listen, there is a police officer downstairs that I need to go speak with. I want you two to stay right here with Aaron and the guys ok?”

  “Ok, Babe.” Abbi leaned up and kissed him before he walked down toward the elevator.

  “Why are there cops, Aaron?” Judy’s eyes filled with concern. “Are they going to get in trouble?”

  “I would rather you not know but in case you are questioned I guess it’s best. Come in here and we can talk.” He motioned to the door of the waiting room.

  Judy walked into the stark white room, memories of the last time she was here haunting her. Sitting on the far end of the room, Josh and Martinez stood just inside of the door.

  “What happened, Aaron?” Judy asked.

  “I can’t tell you specifics. But any time someone comes into a hospital with a GSW the police have to investigate it.” He spoke quietly to them both.

  “GSW?” Abbi looked over at him confused.

  “Gunshot wound.” Aaron answered.

  “So what do we need to know?” Judy whispered.

  “Ryan and Mason were going to meet with a client about an ongoing security detail when an armed man approached the vehicle at a red light and Mason was shot.” Aaron told them as if he believed it himself.

  “Ok.” Abbi said looking down at her hands.

  “Listen, I don’t want this shit over your heads. I am sure that Ryan will take care of the police and he will talk to Mason once he comes to. But just in case…” Aaron looked at them apologetically.

  They sat in silence for a moment. Judy knew that neither Abbi nor her wanted the guys to get in trouble so this would be there little secret. Just as she sat back into her chair she saw the door to the waiting room fly open and Jace came through the door. She jumped up as his eyes searched the room until falling on her. Her heart clenched as she took off running towards him jumping up into his arms as his arms wrapped tightly around her waist.

  “Oh, Babe you’re finally here. Are you ok?” She sat back in his arms.

  “I am fine, Baby. I am so sorry you had to go through that.” She watched as a smile crept across his face.

  “What are you smiling about?” She grinned back at him.

  “I have someone I want you to meet.” He spoke softly as he set her back down onto the ground.

  Chapter seventeen

  “You gotta be shitting me.” Mark’s voice was exasperated. “You kept a fucking kid in this shit Williams?” He paced back and forth across the room; Jace could see the irritation growing back through his eyes.

  “Antonio, get over here and get him.” Jace untied the belt from the bed leaving Trent’s hands bound together and handed it over to Antonio.

  “Please, Jace. Please don’t let them take me.” Trent pleaded.

  “It’s out of my control now. You made your bed, now it’s time to sleep in it.” Jace let out a breath. “What are you going to do with the girl?”

  “Take her back to the boss.” Antonio answered.

  “I will give you each fifty thous
and if you take her safely and drop her off at the rehab center downtown.” Jace looked over at the three gang members. The dim light flickered through their stunned eyes.

  “Deal, Ese. We can work out the details later.” Antonio reached out and shook his hand.

  “Get them out of here. Now.” Jace snapped. “Mark, call Lucas and tell him to get here with a car. Tell him to be inconspicuous.”

  “Ten four, Boss man.” Mark pulled his cell out and walked from the room.

  Jace took a deep breath as he looked around the dimly lit room. A small battery powered lantern sat on the make shift end table. It was dirty and the smell of mold seeped from the walls. How could anyone keep a kid in this environment? No electricity, no running water. The place was a shit hole. No wonder Alexis wanted to get her child away from here. Quietly Jace made his way to the bedroom door just outside of the room. Another lantern flickered in the corner of the room casting light across the sparse room. A few tattered toys lay scattered across the floor.

  He made his way past the pallet of blankets on the floor. Slowly he made his way over to the closet. He wasn’t sure what to expect as he slowly slid the door to the closet open. From the corner of the closet a pair of scared green eyes stared up at him. He sat down on the ground crossing his legs in front of him.

  “Hi, Sebastian.” He said trying to calm the little boys fear.

  “Hi.” Sebastian whispered.

  “Are you ok?” Jace asked him.

  “Are you gonna hurt me?” The fear in those green eyes cut down to his core.

  “I promise you I will never hurt you. I am here to help. I need to know if you’re ok though.”

  “Daddy hurt me.” Sebastian shivered.

  “I promise you he won’t hurt you again.” Jace placed his hand on Sebastian’s. “Do you want to come out of there?” His voice was soft as he tried coaxing the little boy from the closet.

  “Ok.” Sebastian took Jace’s hand and walked out into the room.

  Jace took a moment to look him up and down. His caramel skin and vibrant green eyes reflected Alexis. His hair was short but you could still see the curls.