“Just something Trey and Ace thought about this whole fucked up situation. They are picking up Twitch right now. Marie was able to get him out of wherever the asshole was hiding him.”
“Oh my God. And he trusted her? Where did they go?”
“I’m not sure. Marie is always super secretive.”
“I’m on my way back, now. I was attacked in my hotel room a few minutes ago.”
“All right, hurry because we don’t know what is going on.”
“I’m already on my way.”
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
TREY
I never expected Marie to work that fast. She called me mid-afternoon that same day and gave me an address out in Malibu. Her team had gotten Twitch out, but needed us to get him. It was the last place I would have thought to look for him.
After telling the group what I’d discovered, Ace brought up a valid point. “Are we sure this isn’t a trap?” he asked as we were gearing up.
“Not at all, but how much choice do we have?” I asked the group.
As we neared the front door to the apartment Griffin responded, “There isn’t one, if we don’t go now, we may never get him back. We’re doing this.” Griffin, Mac, and the crew had all returned early that morning. Griffin had come up to my apartment as soon as he settled his family in. They’d all gone to take a nap to help readjust to the time difference.
I grabbed Griff’s arm, so he couldn’t go any further. “Not you, brother. This isn’t your fight anymore. You need to stay here and look after your family.”
“But…”
“Don’t worry, Griff. We got this.” Ace clapped him on the back and Buck nodded his head in reassurance.
“Fine,” he relented. “Let me know when you get him to the hospital, and we’ll all come down. Tasha is going to want to be there. The moment she wakes up and finds out you left without her, she’s going to be insane.”
“Yep, and you’re just the counselor to bring her down off the ledge,” I said with a laugh, glad things between us were back to normal.
We left then. Griff was right about Tasha, she needed the reassurance more than anybody. She hadn’t been the same since we rescued her from that farm house. At least that was what Mac and Griffin had been saying, since I’d been gone most of the time. I was praying that once we got Twitch back to her, she’d return to her old Trix—but I wasn’t so sure. The little I’d seen, she was in a bad place.
I let Ace do the long ass drive. I was too much in my head to be of any assistance there. As we got closer I studied the address and realized it was more of a slip number than an address. Turns out, we were meeting her on a boat. But in Malibu, it was probably more of a yacht.
“You realize this is going to be more dangerous than we originally planned, right?” I asked both men as I tapped my foot.
“Why?” Buck asked.
“We need to find the slip where the boat is and we can’t drive on the dock. And in case Marie has double crossed us or she has a mole she’s unaware of, and in this shit show we’ve been dealing with, I trust few—it will make us sitting ducks.”
“Shit. So, how do we tip the scales?” Ace asked thoughtfully.
“I wish I had a general idea where this boat is, but all the boats in Malibu are huge yachts. There’s no way to guess.”
“How about one of us gets out and asks? If I can find somewhere to perch myself with my rifle I can provide cover in case there’s an all-out gun battle,” Ace said quietly. He was scanning the area and I shook my head.
“I don’t think Barnes would risk it with this many people around. It’s a wide-open area, which would draw way too much attention.” The docks were crawling with people and I couldn’t help but respect Marie a little more for her choice in location. Even if Barnes had his goons following us, they wouldn’t dare open fire with this many people around. It would be an automatic prison term. Probably a life term.
“I think we’re safe until we actually board the boat. Then, we may have some problems. I’m just hoping Marie is here, and that we can get Twitch safely out.”
We all hopped out of the car and went around searching for slip numbers. I started to get uneasy when I noticed we were looking for the last slip at the very end of the doc. There were less people there and my hand was itching for my gun. I felt eyes on me but did my best to play it cool.
“Two, o’clock,” Ace whispered and I glanced with my eyes. I almost chuckled when I saw the man in the thousand-dollar suit staring at us. You don’t wear a suit to go boating or hang out at the beach. We had even gone out of our way to blend in wearing T-shirts and board shorts.
We got to the slip at the end of the doc and I noticed the man tailed us the whole way. He could have been from Marie’s security team, but somehow I doubted it.
We got to the boat and were met by the big guy I had seen with Marie that morning. He nodded his head and we walked on. It was a giant yacht and I was a little intimidated by its opulence. I kept jumping at every shadow. The waves were crashing gently on the hull which made me even more jumpy.
Walking through the door to go below deck, I grabbed my gun from my waistband and headed down the stairs. There was a small hall and the walls were done in teak, leading to a bedroom. Seeing a very large bare foot on the bed, I peered into the room fully and saw Twitch lying unconscious on the bed. “It’s about time you got here,” Marie said from her spot in the chair next to the bed. I jumped a foot and pointed my gun. She looked at me with one eyebrow raised.
“How are we supposed to just walk out of here with him like this?” I said, lowering my gun and rushing over to place my hand against Twitch’s chest.
“Thankfully, Dylan wasn’t as damaged as I thought he’d be. Not that he’s in any type of shape to go dancing.” I just looked at her as if she was nuts. My brother was passed out on the bed, looking like hell had rained down on him, but she just continued, “I had my bodyguard clean him up and put fresh clothes on him. You could say he was in a bar fight and passed out drunk, and you’re taking him home. I doubt anyone will bother you though.”
“That’s it? We can just take him and go?” Ace asked, dumbfounded.
“He’s not unconscious, just passed out. And, my husband is a bit busy at the moment tracking down your girlfriend.” She looked at me pointedly and I froze.
“He’s gone after Kenzie? Why?”
“Some site has been posting all his dirty little secrets and had a million views the last time I looked. The name Thanatos ring any bells? He wants her to help him dismantle it.”
“Shit. We have to go. Help me get him,” I said to both guys and they ran to the bed and grabbed him.
Twitch woke up and started thrashing, probably thinking they were here to kill him.
“Twitch, Buddy.” I placed my hand back over him. “It’s me, Trey. We’re gonna get you the hospital.”
“Tash…”
“She’s safe. We got her first. Come on big guy we gotta go.” I cajoled him into allowing us to help him up. Thank God, he was semi-lucid. Ace and Buck grabbed him underneath his arms, helping him up, practically dragging him out of the room.
Before leaving, I stopped and turned. “Thank you, Marie.”
“You’re welcome. I’m so glad I could help. Now go get your girl before my husband gets her and makes her undo all your hard work.”
“You got it. Thanks again,” I said before sprinting down the hall to where the guys were carefully helping—more like pulling—Twitch up the stairs.
“We gotta move. They’re looking for Kenzie. That’s why they aren’t here to stop us.”
“Let’s get him to the car and we can call Griffin,” Buck said as he hefted Twitch a little higher. “This dude is heavy.”
“He looks as if he’s lost some weight. He doesn’t look good,” I said.
“Fuck you, Trey,” he slurred. “I was just tortured for I don’t even know how long. Give me a fucking break.”
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“Good to see you got your beauty sleep, princess. Can you walk? My guys are good but you’re a big fuckin’ dude.”
“I’m kicking your pansy ass as soon as I can move,” he groaned. It was clear he was unable to walk unassisted.
“Sure, Buddy. I just saved your ass. You’re welcome.”
We got a few odd looks as we got closer to the busier part of the docks but thankfully no one stopped us. We finally got back to the car and laid Twitch down into the rear seat and the rest of us climbed in. I breathed a sigh of relief and called my brother.
“What’s going on, Trey?” Griffin asked warily.
“Did you have any luck getting a hold of Kenzie?”
“Actually, she’s here waiting.”
“What? Thank fuck for that. Barnes is looking for her. He can’t dismantle the encryption on the site, and he wanted to use her to shut it down.”
“She figured it was something like that. Did you get Twitch?”
“Yeah, he’s pretty bad but he’s semi-conscious and just as much of a smart ass as ever.” I chuckled when I saw his middle finger pointed at me through the rearview mirror. “We’re headed to the hospital right now.”
“No hospital. I’m fine.”
“Like fuck you are.”
“I need to see Tasha. I just got some bruises and I need a fuckin’ cheeseburger.”
“That’s fine, I’ll let your woman drag your dumb ass to the hospital.” I chuckled. “I guess we are on our way home. It won’t do any good to take him if he’s gonna be a stubborn ass and refuse treatment.”
“All right, see you in a bit,” he said and hung up the phone.
When we got to the building everyone was in the underground parking garage and I noticed Tasha pushing a wheelchair with a stern glare and I couldn’t help but bust up laughing. “You’re in trouble now, asshole.”
“Shut the fuck up,” he growled. We’d stopped as soon as we got out of the Marina and picked him up some food and water. After drinking down two bottles of water and eating half a sandwich, he promptly fell asleep, which clearly restored his cheery disposition.
The back door flew open and there was Tasha. “Look at you, you stubborn idiot. You need to go to the hospital.”
“What the fuck happened to your arm? Look at your face. Holy shit, is your leg broken? I’m gonna kill that sonofabitch.” Twitch’s voice was barely above a whisper, but the intensity of his promise was palpable. He rested his hand so softly on Tasha’s cheek, we all turned away to give them their moment.
I walked briskly over to where Kenzie was hiding behind Mac and Marcy. Mac stepped in my way and put a hand on my arm giving me a look of warning. Ah how times have changed. The idiot is now protecting her.
I shook my head and clapped his shoulder in silent acknowledgement before stepping around him and scooping her up in my arms. Nuzzling her neck, I breathed in deeply and sighed. “Don’t ever fucking leave me again.”
It only took a second before she melted into the embrace and then her lips were on mine. It was a hungry desperate kiss and it would have gone on forever had a throat not cleared behind me.
“How about we take this little party upstairs?” Griffin chuckled and patted me on the back.
“Great because I could use a fucking drink,” Twitch said and I turned around slowly to look at him. He was completely serious.
“You’re lucky you’re injured or I would smack the shit out of you right now,” Tasha growled at him. “You can’t drink in your condition, you moron. You’re lucky that I don’t turn this damn chair around, hop in that car, and drive you to the hospital myself.”
“Trix, baby. I’m all right. It’s nothing a burger and another gallon of water won’t fix.” He laughed then because he knew we were thinking his crazy ass wanted alcohol.
In that moment, I would have been happy to give him the booze. The fact that he was still alive, reunited with Tasha, was a damn good day.
We got back up to the apartment we were using for headquarters pretty much because of the massive playroom. We could keep the kids close which was a necessity with the three older ones.
“All that’s left is to wait,” I said after we all settled in. “Everyone is safe and we have everything we need to bury him.”
“Are we putting everything out slowly until the night of the party?” Griffin asked.
“Yeah, there is gonna be a sweet little surprise for him that night. I can’t wait to watch everything blow up in his face.” Kenzie smiled evilly.
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
KENZIE
Everything was ready. I had this spectacular beaded mask that I was wearing with a strapless floor length Oscar DeLaRenta gown. All the information had been uploaded by Thanatos on the site, and we had ten million more hits a day since we started leaking this stuff. News outlets were contacting the page trying to figure out who our sources were and if they were reliable. It had been a whirlwind of phone calls and e-mails. We only called the authorities though, no intention of doing interviews with the press.
“You ready?” Trey asked and I turned around. My mouth went dry. Trey in his geeky T-shirts and jeans was scrumptious. Trey all decked out in a tux with a green mask that was the male version of mine, well you get the idea H O T hot. I may have fanned myself a bit because he grinned and did a little spin for me. Damn his ass looks amazing in those pants too. He could drive a girl to distraction. It would almost be worth it to sit at home, but Barnes had been dodging all the allegations and there was no way I would miss the final nail getting driven into that coffin.
“I was born ready for this.” I smiled and he offered me his arm.
“Let’s go take down a psychopath, shall we?”
Abso-fucking-lutely.” I grinned at him and we walked out of the bedroom. There were a couple of catcalls and some whistles. I may have actually blushed at one point, but I will never admit that out loud.
“You got the camera so we can watch from the van?” Mac asked. Trey reached for the pin on his lapel and nodded.
Mac, Marcy, Buck, and Bubba left with us. There were four tickets in Marie’s package for the party. The guys were decked out in tux’s and simple blue and red masks. Mac and Marcy had to stay behind in the van because Barnes might recognize them, but they were more than happy to watch the festivities from there.
We pulled up to The Beverly Hills Hotel and parked just far enough away that no one noticed the police van. Keller had completely investigated all of our information for validity and called his buddy at the FBI. The only stipulation was that they had to wait for our signal to swoop in and grab him.
I smiled at Trey as he hopped out of the van and offered me his hand. I felt naked without some kind of weapon, but I knew Trey was hiding one in an ankle holster. Both Buck and Bubba had ankle holsters as well that they were going to switch to their waistbands as soon as they got through security. My gown was too tight and the clutch I was carrying wouldn’t have been big enough to hold a gun. I knew that made Trey uneasy. He had told me a hundred times to stick by him.
We walked into the infamous Polo Club and I almost choked on the opulence. They had gone all out for this party. All the women were in gowns that cost more an economy car. The men were dressed in perfectly tailored tuxedos and drinking champagne like it was going out of style. A waiter came by and offered me a glass but I declined. Nothing was more important than being sharp. There would be time for that when this was all over and we could go back to the apartment and celebrate.
An hour into the party, I was headed to the ladies room when I felt a hand on my arm. It took a second before I realized who the hand belonged to and I flinched.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, more than a little suspicious.
“I’m stopping you before you ruin everything,” Kim growled.
“It’s a bit late for that,” I said on a chuckle. “He’s going down and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it.”
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br /> “Come on, Kenzie. You need to dismantle that site before everything goes to hell.” She pulled my arm roughly and I recoiled from her touch.
Her grip was strong, but she didn’t realize that I had been taking martial arts my whole life and I could easily maneuver out of her hold. I didn’t though because this was the opportunity I had been waiting for. We hadn’t been able to get a glimpse of Barnes all evening and I had a feeling Kim was about to take me right to him.
“How is it that you’re even here? Where is his wife? Does she know you’re parading around his campaign fundraiser?”
“Marie has been dealt with.” She smiled smugly and I almost choked. As she pulled me towards the main table, I looked carefully but couldn’t see Trey. That was okay though since Buck was watching me. I nodded to him as he started moving to the other side of the room. Looking over my shoulder I saw where he was headed. Bubba and Trey were talking quietly seemingly unaware of what was happening. Buck made it there and our eyes met briefly before Kim yanked at my arm.
“Your boyfriend and his friends can’t save you now Kenzie. You should have stayed out of it like I told you.”
“And let that psycho run the free world? Yeah, not happening,” I growled at her. But then panicked when she started to walk towards a door that led off to the side of the large ballroom. I used evasive maneuvers to release my arm from her bruising grip, and when she grabbed for me again, I punched her in the throat before I remembered where I was and flinched. A collective gasp sounded around me and everyone backed up a couple steps in shock.
I didn’t have time to curse myself for the spectacle I just made because Trey and the guys pushed their way through the crowd that was growing around us. I was in his arms in a second before he calmly slid me behind his large body.
Barnes walked through the door Kim had just attempted to drag me through and looked down at Kim gasping on the marble floor.
“What is the meaning of this?” he yelled as he helped her up. I smiled smugly at them, no longer caring. They were going down and we had him exactly where we wanted him.
Beautiful Surrender (Pride and Honor Book 4) Page 20
