by Taylor Lee
Lexie could only imagine Patrick’s reaction when three huge muscular men burst into his upscale bar. Dressed in black leather, metal studded boots and guns visible under their leather jackets, Patrick must have been terrified. Jake had terrified her when he leapt off his bike and headed toward her. And she knew who and what he was.
As if reading her mind, Jake harrumphed. “Yeah there’s some truth to that old saying that it ‘scared the piss out of him.’ That poor bartender won’t need to pee for a week. I’ll bet he’s as dry as a witch’s tit in a July desert. Hell, hotter than a billy goat’s ass in a pepper patch. There can’t be a drop of piss left in him.”
Jake’s attempt to lighten the mood dried up when he described their frantic attempts to drag what information they could out of the terrified taxicab dispatcher.
“What was frustrating was that everyone in the vicinity remembered you two. How could they not? Several people remembered seeing you get into a cab. But it took precious minutes for the dispatcher to radio all of his cabs to find the one that picked you up.” He snorted. “It probably didn’t help that I had him in a choke hold. Guess I thought he’d work faster if I shook him up a little.”
Peter huffed. “A little? Damn, Jake, that poor guy will have nightmares for the rest of his life. I wonder how long it took him to get up off the sidewalk when you pitched him against the cab stand. Thank God, the poor guy finally got hold of the driver that had picked up the girls and let us know he’d dropped you off at the Center.”
Jake shook his head, a frown creasing his brow. “You’re right, Peter. I owe Patrick and a few dozen other people an apology. Christ, I’ll even have to apologize to Tom Roberts and Craig Spellman.”
“Just a question, Jake. Have you actually dismembered a guy? Your threats sounded realistic, as if the process is one you use often.” Peter’s grin was telling. Like Jake, he seemed to be trying to lighten the tension.
Jake gave him a wry grin in response.
“Not unless it was by ‘accident.’ You know how your knife can ‘slip’ when you’re up against two or three fuckers at a time. Hell, I might have nipped off a package or two. But cold-blooded neutering a guy? Nope. That I haven’t done.” His eyes narrowed. “But I can tell you if I ever decided to chop off someone’s dick, Craig Spellman would be my victim of choice. Fuck, if he told me one more time to ‘settle’ down’ I might have figured out a way to reach through the ether and drag his tongue out of his ass.”
Lexie knew this was the way men in combat situations talked. Using crude language to describe violent, hideous acts. Things they were going to do or would like to do to men they despised. Anthony had often regaled her with some of his military buddies’ colorful expressions. She hadn’t met Jake then but Anthony’s favorite expressions came from his commander, the man they all called the ‘Big Guy.’ What Lexie heard behind Jake’s outrageous words and attempts at gallows humor was the fear, make that the terror, that Jake and Brady and Peter and Master Wan must have been feeling. She put her arms around him and held him close.
“Oh God, Jake. I’m sorry. You all must have been so scared!”
“What? You’re sorry? For what, Darlin’? All you and Tiffany did was to have a couple of drinks with two stuck up women and then came home like good little girls.”
When she glared at his description of two good little girls, Jake laughed. The sound made her realize how hard she been holding on to her fear. Hearing his infectious laugh almost made her smile.
Jake was now on a roll. “By the way, how many drinks did you have? According to Tom and Craig their chauffeur had to accompany their wives into their homes. Good thing both of those women get off on the emaciated look. At least Ji-Hun didn’t break his back carrying a lot of dead weight.”
Lexie tried to stay with the lighter mood but it was a challenge. While she and Tiffany had laughed most of the way home, it was hard now to remember what had been funny. She caught Tiffany’s troubled expression and knew that her friend must be wondering the same thing.
Making a valiant effort, Lexie struggled for lightness.
“Well, let me tell you, those two skinny chicks may not eat much but they could drink any of you guys under the table. Which is doubly amusing because when Tiffany and I arrived they were daintily sipping two ladylike glasses of white wine.”
Lexie grinned at Brady. “I can see why you fell in love with her, Brady. Tiffany knocked those two high class babes on their butts when she ordered Talisker’s single malt straight-up.”
Brady managed a laugh as did the other men, releasing some of the tension in the room.
Lexie hesitated then decided to keep up the inane chatter. Sharing a quick glance with Tiffany, she saw that the intuitive woman knew what she was doing and gave her permission to forge ahead.
“Of course Cynthia and Margaret made it clear that was déclassé. How did Margaret put it, Tiff?” Lexie pursed her lips in a telling mimic of Margaret Spellman’s disapproving air. ‘We don’t drink anything but wine before 4 o’clock.’ But that was before Cynthia began antagonizing your woman, Brady. Making some rather indiscreet comments about you. Which if Cynthia knew Tiffany, she would’ve known was a mistake.”
Brady frowned and tensed. “What do you mean, hotshot? What did she say?”
“Well among other things, that you are an adorable tease and that you like women, lots of them.”
Brady growled.
“Oh don’t worry, Brady. As Cynthia always does, she went too far. She asked Tiffany in that syrupy, cyanide-laced voice of hers if Tiffany was dumb enough to have fallen for you. She asked if you and Tiffany were ‘involved.’ The way she said it implied that she felt sorry for Tiffany if she actually thought anyone could capture the Golden Boy.”
At that Brady sat up straight, his hands clutching the arms of the chair. Lexie laughed.
“C’mon, Brady. You know Tiffany better than anyone. Do you really think she would let some society chick insult her or you? Nope, your woman just gave her the snake eye and said in a voice that wouldn’t melt butter, ‘If having Brady fuck my brains out on a daily and nightly basis counts, I guess you could say that we are involved.’”
All four men started in surprise, then as a group burst out laughing.
Brady’s eyes teared up again, but this time with a mix of laughter and relief. He hugged Tiffany and spoke for all of them.
“Dammit, you little wildcat. If anyone could put a jealous woman in her place it’s you. Thank you for defending me. And for giving both of those uptight women a taste of what they are missing.”
Tiffany flushed in pleasure. “Well, I wasn’t the only one who did that. After Cynthia apologized and confessed that Lexie and I make her nervous because we are beautiful—and how did she describe us, Lexie? Oh yeah, that we are so sexual, Lexie put them both in their place. She called them out as the sexually frustrated biddies that they are. And she still came away with a half million dollar pledge to the Center.”
They all laughed and the men congratulated them for their wit. But after Peter refilled their glasses, their humor escaped like air whooshing out of a popped balloon. Silence stole over the room. As a group they stared at the hideous pictures spread across the tabletop. Jake ran his hand over one outrageous image than the next. With his fingertips he traced circles around the Kkangpae miscreants who were torturing the women in the photographs. He pressed against the throat of each one angling for the Kung Fu hotspot that would bring a man to his knees. The special pressure point that would ensure the fucker never got up.
Chapter 13
Lexie slid to the floor and settled by Jake’s knee. She needed to give him room. He gave her a grateful nod and leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. Lexie wrapped her arms around her knees and pulled them up against her chest. She peeked up at Jake startled by the changes coming over him. His easy grin had disappeared. In its place, the lines around his mouth were tight, the groove between his dark eyebrows was deep. But it was his eyes that h
eralded what was to come. They were icy hard, a frozen glacial lake, making the dark blue color even more startling.
Jake was always an imposing figure. His tall lean body rippling with hard muscle shouted ‘trained warrior.’ It didn’t matter if they were in a coffee shop sipping lattes or in a conference room filled with powerful men, Jake commanded the space around him. His easy confidence could be dismissed as arrogance but the fact that he’d clearly earned the approbation of the group, added depth to his presence.
In the current setting Lexie saw that every member of the team was looking to Jake for leadership. The fact that he hadn’t spoken made their attention more remarkable. His presence galvanized them. As they prepared to go into battle the unspoken message was that with the mighty Jake Gardner at the helm they couldn’t fail.
Without taking his gaze from the group, Jake wrapped one big hand around the back of Lexie’s neck. Almost absentmindedly, he stroked her neck. It was a reminder that he would never let her go, that she was his and he was hers. Lexie gave in to his seductive power and with a sigh, she leaned against his thigh.
Jake’s quiet voice filled the room.
“We learned a lot tonight. Intentionally or not, our adversaries revealed themselves, more than they may realize. Let’s review where we are. We know the Jopok is funding the operation. The Kkangpae warriors are their strike force. It’s helpful that the Kkangpae are as arrogant as they are. Their tats are in plain view, and are meant to terrify. For fighters like us who do not fear them, their audacious identifying marks are helpful.”
Jake pressed his lips in a firm line and continued.
“We will fight the Kkangpae—but they are not our target. Our target is their leader or leaders. Not Young-soo. While he is no doubt calling the shots, he is in Korea. Ultimately our stealth warriors across the globe will take down that despicable bastard.”
Jake’s eyes narrowed. “No, our target is here, right in front of us. He is so close, I can smell him. He is the cowardly bastard who is hiding behind the vicious front put up by the Kkangpae fighters. He is the local mastermind, Young-soo’s emissary in San Francisco. He is the coward in charge of bringing innocent young women to our city and selling their bodies to degenerate men. Men who see them as nothing more than disposable receptacles for their lust.”
Lexie closed her eyes to block out the memories of the girls she’d met on the streets. They numbered in the hundreds. But Lexie knew that they were only the top layer of the hideous operation. The girls she’d met were the more visible ones. Behind them was an enterprise so vast, they couldn’t hope to take it down.
As if reading her thoughts, Jake continued.
“We are fighting a world-wide scourge. We can never annihilate it. But one by one we can take down the building blocks that are girding it. Until someday, some way, we or warriors like us will take down the keystones, the blocks that are holding it in place. When they do, the whole evil enterprise will crumble to the ground.”
Jake was silent letting them envision a worthy but far off goal.
“In the meantime we will do our part. We will take down the bastard who is running the Korean Sex Trade in San Francisco. We will crush him, crucify him. He is close. So close that I can taste him. And, ladies and gentlemen, to be clear—he is one of us.”
Meeting their startled gazes, Jake shook his head and explained. His voice was tense with an undercurrent of excitement.
“He is not one of us in this room… but he is like us. I do not believe that he is part of the Korean mafia. No, he is white. He runs in select circles. He is well connected, wealthy. He is in a prominent position. And we all know him in some capacity or another.”
He raked his gaze around the room meeting each of their eyes as if charging them to agree, to understand.
Brady broke the silence.
“Do you know who he is, Jake?”
Jake smiled, but hatred, not mirth, underlay his grin.
“Not yet. But I will soon, and so will you.”
~~~
Jake was grateful for his friends’ attention. On each of their faces he saw the fierce determination he knew was stamped on his own. He did his best to project calm. It was a gift he’d acquired through years of meditation. Even in the most dire circumstances, he was able to slow his breathing, quiet his mind and focus on the task ahead. But the events of the day had tested him to the limit. His heartbeat was back to its slow steady athletic beat, but his mind was anything but quiet. He wasn’t sure when, if ever, he would forget the terror he felt seeing the photographs. At some hideous primal level he’d grappled with the possibility that Lexie was dead. That she’d been brutally raped and killed.
Glancing at Brady, the grim expression on his friend’s face confirmed what Jake already knew. Like himself, Brady had been shattered by the possibility that Tiffany was dead. Jake huffed a sigh. For better or worse, he and Brady had another shared experience to add to their lifetime of hideous encounters. While he was delighted that Brady had fallen deeply in love with Tiffany, Jake knew that Brady was now as vulnerable as he was to life-draining pain. Realizing that he had tightened his grip on Lexie’s neck, he leaned down and kissed her. He hoped she saw his strength, not his fear. But he realized with a jolt that she likely saw both. Another gift from the woman he loved more than anything in the world.
“Let’s do a recap. What did we learn today?”
Lexie answered first.
“They knew where we were going after we left you.”
Jake nodded approvingly.
“Exactly.”
Peter interjected. “And just to make sure we understood that, they included a view from the front of Lexie and Tiffany entering the restaurant.”
“Damn, you’re right, Peter,” Brady exclaimed. “They had to be inside the bar or above it with a long distance lens. Doesn’t matter which. They knew the girls were coming.”
Tiffany nodded. “And they knew that I was with Lexie. Damn, I just arrived yesterday. No one in Seoul knew where I was going except my commanding officer. And Marty Martinson would never reveal my location. He’s the biggest RA fan of Jake and Brady that I know. He practically shoved me out the door. Told me to go get ‘that man’ or I would regret it for the rest of my life.”
A genuine grin crossed Brady’s face. “Guess that promise of a monthly case of Maker’s Mark for the rest of Marty’s life worked!”
Tiffany shook her head. “Hush, Brady. You know how much he loves and respects you. You’d never have to bribe him. Although he does like his Maker’s Mark…”
Brady smiled. “Yeah, you’re right, Tiff. Marty is a righteous guy. And he proved it big time. I know it pained him to see you go. You were his superstar. And now thank God, along with Lexie, you are ours.”
Brady’s grimace underscored what it meant to be a superstar in an enterprise as dangerous as the one they were involved in.
Jake latched on to Tiffany’s observation.
“Tiff, your point is important. Until yesterday, only a few people knew that you were coming to San Francisco. And fewer yet knew you were joining our company. Most important, until we left the Government Center, no one knew that you were going to the meeting with Lexie.”
A thoughtful silence settled over the room.
Lexie broke it.
“But remember Jake, only Cynthia Roberts and Margaret Spellman knew that I was coming to meet with them. Moreover I was planning to go to their office but Cynthia texted me and told me to meet them at the Pickled Parrot instead. And both Cynthia and Margaret seemed surprised that Tiffany was with me.”
Tiffany frowned. “So… you’re saying it was an accident that I just happened to be with you?”
Peter huffed. “A fortunate accident. It would be hard enough to capture one Warrior Princess off the streets in broad daylight, especially one with Lexie’s well-known expertise. Two renowned martial artists? That’s another story. The fact that there were two of you may have saved your lives.”
; “Right again, Peter.” Jake concurred. I also think it was a fortunate accident that Cynthia changed the meeting location. At least from our point of view.”
Brady frowned. “I’m not following you, Jake. What does the location being changed tell us?”
“It tells us that whoever planned this had to change their plans when it was clear Tiffany was going with Lexie. Peter is right. One of these women could be taken—especially if they were ready for her. But two of them? In broad daylight? The chances of one or both turning on the captors was too great a risk.”
Brady’s frown deepened. “So someone at our meeting called ahead and suggested to Cynthia that they go to a restaurant instead.”
“Good God, Jake. Are you saying that Cynthia is involved?”
Jake shook his head. “No, Darlin’, I’m not saying that she is. At least not intentionally. But it is important that we find out how and why she changed the location.”
Brady said, “Okay, Jake. Correct me if I’m off track. What you seem to be saying is that one of the people in our high level strategic session is the culprit. Jesus, man. Possibly is Mr. E.?”
Jake pressed his lips in a straight line and raised a brow.
“Seems to me it’s a hell of a good place to start. And, yes, not to be coy, I do think someone in that meeting is involved. If he isn’t Mr. E., then he is working with him.”
At that moment, Jake’s phone buzzed. He glanced at the caller ID. Putting his hand over the mouthpiece, he said to the group, “This is Dan. I need to take this.”
He stood and began pacing across the room.
“Yeah, Dan. Listen, man, we’re in the middle of a discussion. I’ll call you back in a few. Just wanted to let you know that we’ve filled in Lexie and Tiffany on what happened.”
He nodded. “Yeah, as much as I hated to, we showed them the photographs. They took them like the pros that they are. In fact a hell of a lot better than all of us did. By the way, thanks for your help. And Dan, thanks for understanding why I’m going deep for support. You know that we trust you, but let’s face it, man, like every other police department in the country, the SFPD is a sieve. We can’t take a chance. I promise you, I will keep you informed as much as I can.”
