“What are you talking about?”
“Xavier, he’s gonna lose his head and get us all killed. He won’t shut up about payback and vengeance. Nolan, I’m telling you man, if you can’t get him lassoed in, me and my guys are out. I won’t put my men in jeopardy because he can’t get his shit together.”
“I’ll handle it,” Ashley says from the bathroom doorway, startling both of us. She’s dressed, and her long blonde hair is up in a tight ponytail. She walks across the room and stands in front of Ace. “Don’t worry about Xavier, I will handle him and put a tight leash on him. He won’t do anything stupid.”
“How can you be so sure?” Ace asks, a look of doubt passes his face.
“Because I know how to handle guys like Xavier. I’m not just a pretty face, Ace. I’ll guarantee he won’t step out of line because if he does, I’ll be the one to dish out the consequence. Not you or Nolan or anyone else. I run a tight ship, and no one will double cross me. The last person who tried ended up dead.” Ashley tells Ace with a no bullshit attitude. “And that goes for you too, Ace. Don’t double cross me or anyone else here.” She crosses her arms over her chest and stands tall.
“I’m not planning on it. I have a daughter to think of and if we don’t stop these guys, she’ll never have a chance at a normal life.” He stands up quickly offering me a small nod and leaves the room.
“I don’t know what to say,” I turn toward Ashley.
“You don’t need to say anything, Nolan. I’ll keep Xavier in line. Don’t worry about him or me. You just go in and do your thing and I’ll do mine. We need to convince Mia to stay here though. She was determined to go with us tonight and I don’t want her there. I’m worried she’ll put herself in danger and what we come across tonight will change her. I can already see it in her eyes. She’s struggling and she hasn’t even left this hotel room.”
“How about we talk to her together with Christian?. You convinced her last time to come here, I’m sure the three of us together can get her to stay here.”
“Do you think we should have someone stay with her?”
“I can ask Ace to have one of his men stay. I need all of my men with me tonight for this to go down without any issues.”
“Let’s ask him first and then talk to Mia.”
I rise from the bed and pull Ashley into my arms. Kissing the top of her head, I feel her body relax against mine. “Thank you, Ash, for being my light in all of this.”
“I’m no angel Nolan, and you’ve got to stop treating me like one,” she mumbles into my chest. “I’ve done too many dark things to be considered an angel.”
“You’re my angel. It doesn’t matter about your past. What matters is how you will bend over backward for those you love.” I gaze into her eyes, “You have pulled me out of the darkness so many times already. That’s an angel to me.” My lips descend upon hers before she can rebuttal. We’re a frenzy of lips and tongues, battling to pull each other from the ledge. I pull back and release a deep sigh, her flavor still on my lips.
Together we leave the confinement of the bedroom and walk down the stairs. Marks, Ramirez, Harris, Ashton, Mia, and Christian are missing. Xavier is sleeping in the chair and his form is at peace for once. Ace is on the couch nodding off. Rush is standing at the window again, overlooking Central Park. There’s tension in his black eyes and he tries to mask his features as we walk over to him.
“Rush, what’s wrong?” Ashley asks.
“I’m worried about everything. What if we do stop these guys, but it’s not enough?”
“What do you mean?” Ashley gently asks.
“What if their reach is so big that even if we stop them, they have others that take their place and we still can’t escape them?”
“Are you worried about your doctor friend?”
“I’m worried about everyone,” he responds running his hands through his highlighted hair, blowing out a big breath. “I talked to Noah earlier and he told me Diablo is holding up his end and moved everyone to his place, but after everything, how do we know he isn’t setting us up?”
“We have no choice right now but to trust Diablo. He’s never wanted me dead, he just wanted Redline to stop sniffing around his girl.” Ashley responds.
Rush snorts, “His girl is all sorts of fucked up. She’ll spread her legs for anyone who shows her attention. I’m surprised she lasted as long as she did, and he put up with it. Thank God he got rid of her. She gives me the creeps.” He shudders at the thought. “She tried hitting on me once and I had to put her in her place. I told Noah to be careful if she does weasel her way back in, he’ll be her prime target.”
“Noah is smart. He won’t fall into her trap, but I see your concern. He’s an attractive young man and she’ll try to sink her claws into him just to hurt Diablo.” I watch as something passes through Ashley’s eyes. “Rush, can you call Doc and have her out here by tonight? I know it’s late notice, but I’d feel better if we had someone here when we get Izzy back.”
“Yeah, I can do that. I’m sure she’ll jump on the first plane.” He responds wiggling his eyebrows.
“Is there something on your mind?” I ask.
“I’d feel better if we had a doctor we trust to look her over.”
“I can send my jet and she’ll be here in eight hours. Will that work?”
“Would you?”
“Of course, anything to help ease your mind and there will be fewer questions if she’s on a private jet. How about we have Ace’s guy and Mia pick her up at the airport?”
“We need to ask him if he can spare someone first,” Ashley answers peering past my shoulder to watch Ace sleeping. “If he can do it then, that’s a clever idea.”
“Let’s find out right now.” I walk up and shake Ace gently on the shoulder. He sits up quickly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
“Bro don’t fucking do that. You’re lucky I’m a light sleeper and could hear your conversation. Having kids will do that to you.” He smirks.
“Then you know what I’m going to ask.”
“Yeah I do,” he looks over at Xavier sleeping in the chair. “He’s at peace right now, but I don’t doubt he’ll be rearing to go when he wakes up and if he knows he has a doc on hand when we get Izzy back, that’ll calm him down some. He keeps mumbling something about keeping them safe. I don’t know what that means, but I’ll call one of my guys and have him here in a few hours.”
“Thanks, man. I owe you.”
“Nah, just return the favor if I ever need it.” Ace gets up from the couch and walks into the kitchen, making the phone call. He comes back out a few minutes later. “My V.P. King will be here soon. Hey, I need to go see my kid for a little while. I’ll be back soon.”
“Do you want someone to go with you?” I ask.
“Nah, I’ve had eyes on this hotel since we got here last night. My guys are waiting and watching for any threat. I’ve got that covered and so far, they haven’t seen anyone coming or going. Once they see me leave, some will follow, the others will stay. I’ll be fine.” Ace walks out the door and now it’s just the three of us and Xavier still sleeping.
Chapter 28
Nolan
Time creeps by as we wait for night to fall. The rest of my team came back and we’re all milling around, going over the blueprints, watching the warehouse, checking and rechecking our weapons. We’re all on edge, as the time ticks by, ready for everything. Tension is high and tempers are on edge. Ashley’s had to talk Xavier off the ledge twice today. He’s so high strung, he thinks something will happen. I start to question if bringing him along is a good idea, but then he calms down and I know if I leave him behind, he’ll go off the deep end and hurt himself or get himself killed. I understand where he’s coming from and can sympathize with him.
Ace and King appeared a few hours ago and intimidating isn’t a strong enough word to describe King. He has said little, but his dark eyes watch everything. He’s massively built, like an enforcer and not a VP, and deta
iled tattoo’s cover his dark skin. I remember him from The Circle when Ashley was there to fight. He was one guy who blocked Switch from coming after us. After Ace passed out greetings, he stayed in the corner of the room and watched us get ready. He and Ace had a few conversations, and he warmed up to Mia. Unsure of how to handle Mia at first, she broke through his tough guy act and now they’re talking to each other. Mia does that to people though. He just hasn’t seen her side of crazy yet. That should be fun if she brings it out.
Christian approaches Ashley and me while watching Mia and King talk. His light brown eyes are pinning Mia to her spot. She’s watching him, watch her. There’s something different about him tonight. A side we don’t normally see. He shifts his eyes in our direction, “I don’t know about this,” he says concern etches in his voice.
“She’ll be fine, Christian. Mia knows how to handle herself and if it gets too weird, she’ll bring her crazy out.” Ashley says.
Christian snorts, “That’s what I’m worried about. If she gets too crazy, he won’t know what to do with her.”
“Doc will know. She’ll be arriving soon and can handle Mia’s crazy. Trust me. If I thought this was a bad idea I’d stay here with her. We need to stay focused on the main goal.” Ashley says as she chambers a round in the .45 Colt and holsters it to her side. Holy shit, that’s hot. I shake my head and try to get rid of the dirty thoughts passing through my mind. She gives me a wink as she picks up a .38 Smith and Wesson, checks the rounds and chambers one, strapping it to her ankle. “Now boss,” Ashley whispers getting my attention, “You can unstrap me later.”
My cock notices the teasing in her tone and I must will myself to calm down. I shake my head and stand behind her, pulling her back to my front so she can feel what she does to me every second of the day and whisper in her ear. “You can’t say these things to me. I’ll be sporting a hard-on for the rest of the night if you do.” I nip at her neck and she releases a soft moan.
“Nolan,” Harris call my attention. “Switch and Wrath just left the warehouse. It’s go time.”
My mind immediately snaps out of the lust crave and into attack mode. I release Ashley and finish strapping my weapons to my body. King and Mia watch our every move.
“Please bring her back safe,” Mia pleads. “I’ll be here waiting once we get doc from the airport.” I offer her a nod and move quickly as we file out the door and into the elevator. Adrenaline fills the small space as we reach the lobby and walk through. Heads turn in our direction and people move out of our way quickly. I’m in the lead with Ashley and Ace on each side. Ashton, Christian, Xavier, and Rush are behind us followed by Harris, Marks, and Ramirez. We walk out into the night air and a shiver passes over my body creating goosebumps on my exposed skin.
The three cars we borrowed from Ace earlier are idling at the curb. Ashley climbs into the driver’s side of the Shelby GT 500. Harris, Xavier and I follow. Ashton, Rush, Christian, and Marks get into the Dodge Viper and Ace and Ramirez climb into the Dodge Charger Hellcat. Ashley peels out onto the street and the other two cars follow, hot on her tail. She’s dodging and weaving like a woman on a mission.
Ashton’s voice comes into my head through my earpiece. We each have one for communication. “Let’s go over the plan one more time.”
“We’re going to park down the street on the east side of the building. Ace’s men will be watching the south, north and west side exits. Ace and Rush will have the three exits covered on the east side with the cars. The rest of us will use the fire escape on the south side of the building and enter from the roof. Stay away from the skylights. Once we’re inside, we’ll do a sweep of the office spaces on the catwalk, sticking to the shadows. When those are clear, Marks, Ramirez, and Harris will set up on the catwalk and watch for hostiles. Ashton, Ashley, Xavier, and I will go down to the ground level, extract Izzy and Redline and meet you all at the cars.”
“What if Austin is there?” Ashley asks.
Dread fills my mind thinking about what could happen. He’s been protecting Izzy, but will he come with us? “If he wants to come with us, he can. But I can’t guarantee he will. We’ll deal with that when the time comes. For now, let’s focus on getting Izzy out.”
Ashley’s grip tightens on the steering wheel and her jaw is set. “Fine.” She barks out through clenched teeth. “He’s still my brother, Nolan. If any one of you hurt him, you’ll answer to me,” she growls.
“You all hear that? Do not do anything to Austin. He’s been protecting Izzy by his own choice.”
Copy that fills my head and I look over at Ashley. She’s pissed. I rest my hand on her knee and she shifts slightly. It’s a subtle move and I understand it. She doesn’t bat my hand away as I gently grip her knee, but I can see the conflict passing on her face. “Ashley, I get it, he’s your brother. You’ve got to focus on the job at hand and not what he’s doing.”
Her eyes cut to mine as she speeds up and passes cars in her way. The glare from the oncoming cars light up her face. “You don’t get it, Nolan. He’s here for a reason and it’s not just to protect Izzy. They have something on him. I can feel it.”
“Or, he has something on them. He did say that there’s something bigger than what we know when you were in that hunting cabin. Maybe this is what he meant and he’s trying to keep you out of danger.” Her body relaxes, and she releases a small sigh.
“Maybe he knows how to take these fuckers down. We need a line of communication with him if he doesn’t want to come with us.”
“Good idea. Marks get a burner phone and give it to Ashley when we reach our destination.”
“Copy that,” Marks replies.
“My guys are following now,” Ace says into the earpiece.
“Roger that. ETA five minutes out. Lock and load boys. Focus on the target. Quick and easy.”
Ashley slows down, parks next to the curb and quickly shuts the car off. We wait for the others to follow and silence fills the air. Once everyone is present, we watch the abandoned building for any signs of movement for several minutes.
“My men are posted in their spots. Everything is clear on their end,” Ace relays into our earpieces.
“Roger that, let’s move,” I respond.
Quickly and quietly, we all climb out of our cars. Rush and Ace pass us and disappear into the shadows. I grab the fire escape ladder and pull myself up onto the rungs. Hanging onto the ladder, I reach back down to help Ashley. She isn’t tall enough to get it on her own. I lift her with one arm and Harris stays below, helping. She grabs the rungs and climbs up the ladder and we all quickly follow.
Once she reaches the top and disappears over the ledge, my heart pounds in my chest and my hands become sweaty. Fuck, what if someone guarded the roof and they just took her? I climb quicker, with desperation, when she pops her head back into my sight and gives me a nod. The moonlight casting a soft glow around her face and my breathing evens out. She’s going to give me a heart attack one day.
I reach the top and lift myself over the ledge, landing quietly on my feet. I brush my hand across Ashley’s shoulders and she stares into my eyes. No words are necessary, she knows she worried me. With a slight nod, she brings my attention to the corner of the building where a dark figure is slumped in the corner. Ashley holds in a giggle, proud of herself for disarming and taking down a big guy. I’ve got to stop doubting her, she’s very efficient.
I quietly walk over to the corner with Ashley on my heels as we wait for everyone else to make the climb. The man is wearing all black like we are, and he’s unconscious, bound and gagged. He’s twice her size and has a good six inches on her. Shocked, I try to speak, but no words will form. Ashley closes my mouth, gives me a wink and walks back to the guys now on the roof.
I pass them and quietly make my way to the maintenance entrance. I try the handle, but it’s locked. I snap my fingers and Ramirez appears. He picks the lock and backs away. Drawing my gun, everyone else does the same as I count down.
“O
n the count of three,” I whisper into the mic. Ashton sets up on the one side of the door and puts his hand on the latch.
“One,” everyone breaks off onto either side of the door.
“Two,” I whisper again. We all get on the balls of our feet, ready to bounce.
“Three,” Ashton pulls the door open and I enter first. Sweeping the room, I wait with my gun drawn, at the next door leading onto the catwalk for everyone else to get here.
“Again,” I whisper.
Everyone sets up like last time in the small space and I countdown.
“One,” guns are drawn, fingers on the trigger.
“Two,” I brace myself, ready for anything.
“Three,” Ashton opens the door and I walk out onto the catwalk and turn right, keeping my back flush against the wall. Ashley, Ashton. and Xavier follow me. Harris, Marks, Christian, and Ramirez turn the opposite direction. Signaling with my hands, I direct the four to take that side and clear the rooms. I set up next to the first door with Xavier next to me, Ashley passes me and sets up at the next door, Ashton goes to the door after hers. I try the knob and it’s unlocked. Sweeping the room quickly, not making a sound, Xavier follows me in. There’s nothing in here but dust, dirt, and a metal desk.
“Clear room one,” I whisper into my mic. Turning toward Xavier I turn off my mic and whisper, “Look I know you’re itching to go, but you need to stay with me. Don’t leave my sight.”
“I’m in way over my head like last time,” Xavier confesses. “You won’t get any arguments from me. If push comes to shove, I want you to trust me, please.”
“Deal. We need to finish sweeping these rooms. Come on, let’s go.” I turn my mic back on.
“Clear room two,” Ashley whispers in my ear.
“Clear room three,” Ashton says next.
After we sweep and clear each room, we meet in the middle of the catwalk and regroup. I point to Marks to set up at the south end of the catwalk. He disappears into the shadows. Then I point to Ramirez to set up on the east side and he too disappears. Pointing to Harris, he also hides into the shadows to set up on the west side. That leaves, Ashton, Ashley, Christian, Xavier, and I at the top of the metal stairs. I point two fingers to my eyes and back at each. They all nod and we descend the stairs quietly.
Savage Chaos (Racing Dirty Series Book 3) Page 20
