Renegade Protector

by Nico Rosso

  Typing on his phone, he drifted from the kitchen and down a short hallway, which had a bathroom and, she presumed, the bedroom beyond. She followed, seeing more of his sister’s art on the wall, as well as what appeared to be family photos. There were three black-and-white pictures as well, one of them identical to the photo from her shop wall. Several people, men and women of a variety of races, standing on the ridge. Stern, determined faces. For the first time, she recognized the location. “This is the back hill on my property, on the eastern ridge.”

  Ty stepped back into the hallway to join her. “You see why we had to save that photo. Yours is the original.” She paid more attention to the people than she ever had. Eye to eye with the original Frontier Justice. Her ancestor was among them.

  No longer alone, Mariana stood with Ty. “Are there more than us and Stephanie and Vincent?”

  Ty’s warm gaze moved over her face. “You don’t know what it means to hear you say ‘us.’” He stood taller. “Makes me feel like we can really do this.”

  “But I’m not a cop or a fed, or connected like Stephanie.” Though she was willing to fight, Mariana couldn’t imagine she was an integral part of this team.

  “It doesn’t matter what your job is.” He put his hand out, palm up. She placed hers in it, capturing the heat between them. “You’re one of the strongest.” He urged her forward with his hand and they met for a kiss. Sudden need surprised her. Opening her mouth to Ty, feeling his lips against hers, was an antidote to the anger, confrontations, fear and danger around them. She hadn’t been stripped of her humanity.

  A buzzing in Ty’s pocket interrupted them. They pulled away from the kiss and he took a moment to compose himself before checking his phone. “Stephanie,” he said.

  “I’ll talk to her about her timing.” Mariana tried to hold on to the comfort she’d felt in the connection with Ty.

  He read his screen intently, his body flexing and ready. “She was able to connect the dots between Innes’s donations and the Seventh Syndicate. It all fits.” But how that helped them, Mariana couldn’t puzzle out. Ty continued, “Stephanie had a contact put a trace on Innes’s cell phone. It pinged a location here in the city. He’s at dinner.” Ty’s eyes shone, fierce. “Let’s get him.”

  Trepidation quickened her pulse. “I know we’re operating outside the law, but it still might be a bad idea to go into a restaurant with guns blazing.”

  “We’re not shooting,” he reassured her. “We’re going to start the same way they did with you. Fear.” His energy carried him down the hall into the bedroom. Most of the space was taken up by the simple wood bed and dresser, but there was a small chair and lamp in one corner to keep it from feeling too ascetic. She watched from the doorway as he opened the tidy closet and crouched to unlock a safe tucked into one corner.

  Her confusion grew when he unclipped his holster and put his sidearm in the safe. “But isn’t that going too far, considering they’ve already tried really hard to kill me?”

  He stood and closed the safe. In his hands were a different holstered pistol and loaded spare magazines. “It’s a clean gun. No serial numbers or ballistics on record.” He attached it to his belt, and his jacket quickly hid it. The magazines went into his pockets. His expression was grim. “There have been cops who use this kind of gun to make innocent people look guilty.”

  “A plant.”

  He frowned and nodded. “I’m using it to stay off the record. It’s another shadow we hide in.” The somber mood lifted as he snarled, “Now, let’s ruin someone’s night.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  The sun had long set and the city did not slow down. Ty had navigated again as Mariana drove the unknown streets into an upscale neighborhood. They did one pass of the restaurant, where she only glimpsed the warm glow within, then proceeded to circle farther and farther away in search of parking. Four blocks away, they found a spot she could wedge her truck into.

  She killed the engine and found she couldn’t move. The act of driving had been automatic, familiar. The next step was completely unknown. She began to clench her jaw, and her breath squeezed short.

  Ty placed a hand on her knee. His voice wrapped around her in the closed car. “The only reason we’re taking the guns is so no one steals them out of the truck. They are an absolute last resort.” He stared into her eyes carefully. She nodded her understanding. Continuing, he said calmly, “We’re going to light a fire under Innes, to lean on him so he’s scared enough to call in the Seventh Syndicate. Innes is paying for his muscle and can’t take a punch. It’s the syndicate we ultimately want to deal with.”

  “Got it.” She hoped her legs hadn’t stiffened up too much once it was time to get moving.

  Ty flashed her his wicked grin. “Are you ready to get mean?”

  “So damn ready.” Inspired, she swung out of the truck and started walking in the direction of the restaurant. With Ty, they made an immovable force down the sidewalk. Unlike in her town, people were still out after dark. These pedestrians walked around Mariana and Ty. The night city gathered in hard corners above her and around her. She grew edgy, unfamiliar with the shapes. But Ty was at her side, and she remembered what he’d said. These were their shadows.

  The closer they got to the restaurant, the more upscale the people on the street became. It was a cool night and the women wore shiny puffer coats. Shearling boots over expensive denim. Mariana’s jeans were for work, but she refused to be self-conscious. These women belonged here, and so did she. The men’s tailored blazers and bomber jackets drew clean lines around their slim physiques. Ty made his statement with a powerful presence, eyes blazing in the dark.

  They crossed to the opposite side of the street from the restaurant and slowed their pace. Ty eased into the shadows at the corner of a high wall and drew her in with him. From the hidden vantage she could see through the large glass wall that made the front of the clean, modern restaurant. Simple lettering stenciled on the glass announced the restaurant’s name: Sage. A door led to the warmly lit interior, where a young Asian woman stood as hostess.

  Only a couple of tables were occupied beyond the hostess. Exposed Edison bulbs illuminated the guests and their gleaming white plates and bowls. There was Innes. In another gray suit, yellow tie. A white woman around his age sat next to him, facing another couple of a white man and a woman.

  Ty’s voice was low and even in her ear. “There’s only one valet.” She scanned down the street to the small station with a kiosk and chair. “We’ll contact Innes when the valet goes to get his car. It’s secluded enough.”

  “Their glasses are empty. It shouldn’t be long.” And the woman from the other couple was already on her cell phone. “I’ll bet she’s calling for their ride.”

  Ty’s hand stroked down her forearm. “I couldn’t have asked for a better partner.”

  “Partner with benefits,” she whispered back, leaning into his body. They stayed close for countless minutes. Waiting, watching.

  The other couple stood from Innes’s table. He and his wife rose with them, all smiling genially and wobbling slightly with wine. Ty’s muscles tensed against Mariana when two more men got up from a table at the back of the restaurant. “Private security,” Ty hissed. “They don’t look like syndicate men, just regular jobbers.”

  Her heart started to pound. “Do we call it off?”

  Innes and his wife stepped onto the sidewalk and parted ways with the other couple, who walked up the block. As Innes approached the valet with his ticket, the two guards followed a few paces behind. They wore black suits. One of them was a white man with a slick undercut haircut and no facial hair. The other man appeared Hispanic, with close-cropped hair and a full beard. Their muscles strained the seams of their suits.

  “It’ll take more than that to stop us.” He strode out of the shadows just as the valet skipped off to retrieve the car. Mariana was immensely g
lad Ty was on her side, because the way he rolled his shoulders as he crossed the street revealed all the power of his body had bad intentions.

  Innes saw them coming and scraped a step backward. The woman Mariana assumed was his wife looked at him with concern and placed her hand on his arm. They exchanged terse words, then she saw Ty and Mariana coming. Mariana felt her own strength surge. For once, the people who’d attacked her were afraid.

  Innes made a not-so-subtle gesture with his hand. The two guards edged forward to cut off Ty’s progress.

  Ty maintained focus on Innes. “No more contributions to your charities.” Innes stumbled into his wife as he searched for an escape. Ty pressed, “You paid all that money and the Seventh Syndicate still can’t protect you.” Innes’s wife clutched his sleeve as they recoiled. The security guards were almost to Ty at the curb. Ty took one more step toward Innes. “You’ll never eat an apple again without choking.”

  The white security guard didn’t even start with a warning. His first move was to shove a forearm toward Ty. The violence produced cries of distress from Innes and his wife. Ty appeared undisturbed. He sidestepped the attack and jammed an elbow into the security guard’s ribs.

  Wincing, the man stumbled to the side. The Hispanic security man charged toward Ty. Mariana shoved the valet’s chair into his path, slowing him. While he was disentangling himself from the chair, she kicked the toe of her boot into his calf. He hissed through bared teeth and dropped to a knee, clutching his leg.

  The other guard recovered and swung out hard at Ty with a backhand. Deathly calm, Ty leaned away from the blow, then struck quickly. The side of his hand caught the guard in the throat, making him sputter. When the man’s hands went up to hold the injury, Ty lashed out with a punch right to the man’s solar plexus. The guard fell, gasping for breath at Innes’s feet.

  The Hispanic guard rallied, using the chair to stand. He was more intent on Ty than Mariana, but that changed quickly when she pulled out her hawkbill knife and snapped it open. The dim light on the street glinted on the worn steel. The blade was steady in her hand. She’d used it thousands of times on branches, and hoped she wouldn’t have to use it on a man. She warned him in Spanish, “Innes isn’t worth getting your handsome face ruined.” His gaze flicked to the knife and he froze.

  The other security guard caught a wheezing breath and hauled himself to his feet. Rather than attacking, he took a fighter’s stance, hands raised and ready. Ty moved on him smoothly. His fists flew in a blur, the first missing, the second catching the man in the face.

  The guard on the other end of her knife leaned toward joining that fight. She slid to block him, hissing in Spanish, “All of Innes’s money won’t keep you from bleeding.” Instead of looking at her blade, the man looked at Innes, who tried to back through a solid wall to get away.

  Ty’s fight wasn’t over. The white security guard scowled, slick hair mussed. He grunted with anger and threw a combination of punches that didn’t reach Ty, but sent him on the retreat. Out of nowhere, the guard swung a blur of a kick toward Ty’s head. Ty put up his forearms to block it, keeping the man’s shin from slamming into his face. The force, though, knocked Ty to the side and into the valet kiosk. Her heart jumped into her throat. She was barely holding back one guard, but was ready to jump at the other if Ty was hurt.

  The white security guard leaped at his advantage. He flashed a swift punch at Ty. Before it could contact him, Ty dropped to the ground. The man’s fist crashed into the edge of the kiosk. From the crunching sound, either the wood or his fingers broke. His cry of pain was cut off by Ty rising up to shove his shoulder in the man’s gut. Pushing with his legs, Ty took the man off his feet and drove him backward a few steps and crashing into Innes. Innes yelped and the guard groaned as they tangled to the ground.

  Though her heart was pounding, she tried to maintain an impervious front before the other security guard. He rocked side to side, hands curled, conflicted. “Be smart, friend,” she told him in Spanish.

  Innes’s wife scuttled sideways on high heels. Ty aimed his hard stare at her. “Ask your husband about the Seventh Syndicate.” He leaned over the fallen Innes, who held up a palm as if that could defend him. “You paid the syndicate,” Ty growled. “You think they can stop me?” Ragged breaths hurried from Innes. Pure terror shone in his eyes.

  Ty stood and stepped backward. Mariana slid to his side, the knife still out and ready. The other security guard didn’t move to pursue. And he didn’t move to help Innes or the white security guard, who rolled on the ground, groaning.

  With a tip of his head, Ty showed her it was time to go. They slipped quickly into the deeper shadows at the end of the block. It had all happened before the valet had arrived with Innes’s car. Ty turned and started walking briskly up an alley in the opposite direction from her truck. He whispered, “We’ll double back.”

  She realized the knife was still gripped in her fist. Urging her fingers to release the handle, she closed and pocketed it. The two of them continued hurrying through streets and alleys. She was barely able to figure out where they’d been. It would’ve been impossible for anyone to follow. After a few blocks, they emerged onto a street a few yards away from her truck.

  Ty put his fist out toward her. “Thanks for having my back.”

  She bumped it. “You were...” Ferocious. Terrifying. Sexy “...amazing.”

  “That knife of yours is an argument ender.” He looked at her with admiration. “You did a great job deescalating.”

  “I really didn’t want to get into that fight.” Adrenaline still charged her muscles.

  “Well, that guard didn’t know it.” They arrived at the truck. “Mind if I drive? Easier than giving directions.” She tossed him the keys and went through the foreign motions of getting into the passenger side of her own vehicle. A second later Ty pulled onto the street. The night’s activity continued around them, forcing Ty to swerve around a ride service car dropping off its fare. He drove as they’d walked, leaving no trail.

  Ty slowed as he climbed a street next to a dark park. On the opposite corner, two police cars sped down, lights flashing and sirens chirping. True to his word, the shadows made the truck invisible.

  “I would’ve, though,” she said, her body finally calming.

  “Would’ve what?” He tilted his head with the question, but kept his eyes on the road.

  “I would’ve got into that fight if you’d needed me.” The memory of his getting knocked down still made her teeth grind.

  He drove to the top of the hill and double-parked far from any streetlights. She could barely see his face, but could hear the emotion shaking deep in his words. “I did need you, and you were right there.”

  She reached out and gently stroked down the side of his cheek, knowing he’d taken a blow there. “Did you get hurt? Are you okay?”

  “Fine.” A small smile lightened his face. “As long as I’m with you.” His shining eyes scanned past her for a second, then he leaned forward and stole a kiss. It was brief, but electric. A hum still moved through his body the way it did hers, aftermath from the conflict. “I’m hungry.” He put the car in gear and pulled onto the street. “I’m starving.”

  At the mention, she found her own blood sugar dropping fast. “I don’t think the last restaurant we were at will seat us.”

  “I know a place.”

  It was a good thing he was driving. Her head started to spin. The tension and conflict of the day had depleted her. Buildings and cars blurred by. “Is that it? Innes and the Hanley Group will back off?” Fatigue weighed heavy. How long had she been burning, surviving? Weeks, months?

  “Not yet. This was just the setup.” Ty shot her a glance, looking as energized as ever. “We’re not done.”

  Her plan for a meal and seventeen hours of sleep dissolved. The city came into clearer focus as she rallied. “The Seventh Syndicate.”


  “Exactly.” Passing streetlights flashed against his face. “Innes paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to his ‘charities’ with no return. He didn’t get your land, and now here we are, jacking up a perfectly nice dinner date. We touched him, brushed off his rental security. He’ll want real protection. The Seventh Syndicate will be at his house tonight.”

  “We get to send them a message.” The fear on Innes’s face was small payback for all the agony he’d given her. Charlie Dennis’s condescending smirk as he left the police station was still burned into her memory.

  “After tacos.”

  “Tacos?”

  “I told you I know a place.”

  “You’re speaking my love language.” It was easy to banter with Ty now, but saying this had strayed into more serious territory than she’d expected.

  He was quiet a moment before responding, “I’m learning it.”

  “Tacos are a good start.” She reached across and slid her hand over his shoulder, resting it on the back of his neck. His skin was warm, his muscles firm, but not tense. A quieter calm took him over as he drove. Neighborhoods came and went, some crowded with tall buildings, some low, clutching to steep hills.

  Ty slowed the truck. “Keep an eye out for parking.” They found a spot and she followed him toward a bright glow on the night sidewalk. A sign above the tall windows read Taqueria de la Amapola #2. Inside, customers sat at the simple orange-and-yellow tables and booths. Ty opened the door for her and she was hit with the aromas of charred meats and frying tortilla chips. Her stomach growled.

  “Magnífico,” she sighed, stepping into the restaurant. Above the front counter was a huge handwritten menu, complete with photos of some of the combo plates.

  “Hey, Esme.” Ty approached the Latina woman at the cash register. She was a little older than Mariana, with long black hair in a ponytail, high cheekbones and a stately stance. “This is Mariana.”

  “Hola, Mariana.” Esme extended a hand. Fine gold rings encircled most of her fingers. Mariana shook her hand, greeting her back. Esme’s dark eyes shifted back to Ty and she dropped her voice a little. “Javier hasn’t been here tonight.”