Guarding Presley (Black Spade #1)

by C. M. Allen

  Not liking where this is going I answer. "I'm not naïve I know that my father has had to do business with some unsavoury individuals, such as yourself but he's not that man anymore."

  Chuckling he says. "Then you are as naïve as you say you're not if you believe that. Why do you think your father made a deal with the FBI?" Not answering his question he finally continues, "to save his own ass from federal prison, that's why!" He yells at me like it's my fault somehow.

  "Jefe! Nosotros tener la situación!" Javier yells into the room as Pablo stands and yells more words in Spanish pointing to me.

  Javier stomps over towards me as Pablo runs out of the room and yanks me out of my chair before shoving me out of the dining room and into another room where he taps a button on the wall causing the book case to move away from it just like you see in the movies. As I struggle to pull out of his grip, not wanting to go into the dark hole in the wall, he finally gets frustrated and picks me up, throwing me over his shoulder and walks in hitting another button on the other side as I watch the door seal behind us. "No!"

  CHAPTER FORTY ONE HUDSON

  After we've all loaded up into our vehicles we make our way down the road towards Pablo’s compound. Reaching the area we pull the three SUV's off on to the side of the street about a quarter mile away from the mansion knowing he more than likely has cameras and look out men patrolling the property. Agent Larson yells out for everyone to gather around the hood of one of the SUV's to look at the blue prints of Pablo’s compound that he was able to obtain through one of his connections. "Okay, so here is our point of entry here,he says pointing to the surveillance photo he has from one of his agents that had been undercover in Pablo’s compound last year. "It's a small break in the cement wall on the back side of the house that we were able to locate, it's covered up by some brush, but we have cutters for that. When we're through the wall that's where the real shit storm will begin, getting inside that house is going to be as close to impossible as it gets unless we are able to time it just right and surprise them. So when the first guy gets in it will be his eyes we rely on, but this person also has the highest chance of getting shot."

  "I'll do it." I say interrupting him.

  Giving me a firm nod he continues. "Once you're through, this is where you will enter the house." He says pointing to a door on the blue print. "But it's all about timing do you know how to pick a lock?"

  "Like I was born to do it.” I answer firmly.

  "Great, the camera over that door does a full sweep of that side of the property, and when the area is clear of the camera you'll need to get that lock picked and the inside perimeter secured for us to enter and you'll only have about thirty seconds to get it done before that camera will be staring you in the face again.

  Brice grabs my arm. "Are you sure you don't want me to take the lead? You need to be there at the end of all this to get her back."

  Knowing I have to do this and won't be able to sit back and wait without going crazy thinking about getting to her and make sure she's safe. "No, I've got this, I won't be able to sit back and wait, I need to get to her as fast as I can, and if that means I take the most risk, then it's what I have to do."

  "I understand." Is all that he says knowing there's no talking me down right now.

  "Alright when you get inside Hudson, give us the all clear when you deem it to be, and we will all slip through one at a time until everyone is inside. Once inside these three rooms are most likely going to be the ones she will be in." He says pointing to a bedroom, living room and dining room. "Okay, let's saddle up, everyone, check your weapons and ammunition and make sure you all have your silencers on we want to attract as little attention as possible and my orders are shoot to kill." He says to his men knowing that was the only way that Carter, Brice, Porter and I planned on going in.

  As we make our way to the side of the property where the break in the wall around the perimeter is, the men go to work clearing the brush as quietly as possible while Carter sits in a tree nearby to alert us if anyone is near while they work to cut us a path. After having to stop a couple of times due to company, the area is finally clear and I move forward to my position. "Good luck brother.” Porter says in a low voice as he pats my shoulder.

  Turning to look at him, I nod then face back towards the house and begin to slip through the wall as I listen for Carter’s voice in my ear telling me if anyone is approaching my location, staying in the shadows once through, I wait for the camera to swing by allowing me to get to the door and pick the lock. Giving the sign that I'm all good, I pull my tools out of my pocket and make quick work of getting the door open a fraction of a second before the camera would have shown my face. Entering the basement I raise my weapon and move through every dimly lit section to make sure we are all clear. Not seeing anyone in what looks to be a storage area for old furniture I stick my hand out the door with the all clear signal. After the eighth man makes it into the room Brice begins to proceed with caution up the stairs to listen at the door for any sounds while we wait for the rest of the team to enter. Coming back down the stairs he gives the hand signal that all is clear on the other side of the door. Heading back up the stairs with our guns drawn and ready to shoot, I slowly open the door revealing a kitchen area. Poking my head through the door I hear a woman let out a gasp. Looking in the direction it came from I find an older short round woman entering the kitchen shaking with fear as she watches for what I'm going to do next. Pointing my gun at her I motion for her to walk towards me and place my finger over my lips to signal her to be quiet when she does. When she gets closer I pull her through the door quickly securing her with the others. Looking back I give a count of five then Porter, Brice and I all three file out of the door quickly pointing ourselves and our weapons in different directions to cover the area and clear it. After we all three give the signal that we're clear we suddenly hear the voices of two men approaching us. Giving the others the signal we have some unfriendly’s making their way toward us, they shut the door while the three of us do our best to crouch down and stay out of sight. But it doesn't work.

  "What the fuck?" I hear a guy yell behind me two seconds before Brice puts a bullet between his eyes.

  "Roberto?" One of the men we heard earlier says poking his head cautiously around the corner to look. Porter takes the shot and I hear the guy slump to the ground right before I hear the other one take off through the house yelling. "Hacer sonar la alarma!" And knowing Spanish I know he's just told someone to sound the alarm, so much for a sneak attack. Shit!

  CHAPTER FORTY TWO PRESLEY

  As Javier drags me down the dark stairwell kicking and screaming, he finally drops me down onto an old dirty mattress that's on the ground and I begin scurrying away from him. Chuckling he says. "I'm not going to rape you if that's what you're thinking you stupid bitch, not yet anyway. Now get your ass up and get in that room!" He yells pointing to what looks like a jail cell.

  "No! Just let me go!" I yell back at him. Stomping over to me he picks me up like I weigh nothing at all and pins me against the wall. "You will get in that fucking cell, or I will force you in."

  Knowing if I'm in that cell Hudson will never be able to find me I try to pull out of his grip. "Your choice.” He says moments before I feel the back of his hand across my face, and my vision to go black.

  I don't know how long I lay unconscious but the next thing I know I'm waking to a woman's voice. "Are you okay?" Looking around in the dimly lit room I don't see anyone, making me think I must be hallucinating from all the hits to my head I've taken today, until I hear her again. "Hello, can you hear me?"

  "W..who are you?" Looking around I ask. "Where are you?"

  "I'm Keira Watson, and I'm in the cell next to you."

  Getting off the floor I try to shake the fuzziness from my head and begin to think about her last name and how familiar it sounds to me as I walk over and try to see out of my cell to get a glimpse of her. Not being able to, I ask. "Why does your name sound so fami
liar to me?

  “My father is Senator Joseph Watson."

  "Oh my God, how did you get here?" I ask in a hushed voice.

  "Same way as you probably, I was kidnapped when I was walking out of a nightclub with my friend w...who they shot and I have no idea if he's even alive right now.” She says through sniffles.

  Knowing the pain I went through when I didn't know if Hudson was dead or alive I tell her "I'm so sorry, I know how you feel. They shot someone very close to me and I didn't know if he was dead or not. But he is very much alive thank God, and I think he's the reason they are panicking upstairs."

  "Who is he, a cop?"

  "No, he's my bodyguard and his name is Hudson Drake, he's with Black Spade Securities."

  "Oh! I think I know of him, he rescued that girl from a sex trafficking ring down here a few years back right?"

  "Yes, that's him."

  "Do you think he's really going to be able to rescue us?"

  "If there's anyone who can do it, it's Hudson. He would never leave here without me."

  "Sounds like he's more than just a bodyguard to you?"

  "He is.” I say just before we both here loud cracking noises erupt above us, and I know they're gunshots. "Please be okay and find us.” I say to myself.

  Hearing the door I came through open and then footsteps, I hold my breath waiting to see who's coming down the stairs for us. "Get up, we need to go!" Javier yells at us both before unlocking my cell and grabbing a hold of my wrists to wrap a rope around them and then yanking me out only to shove me into Keira's cell while he does the same to her. When his back is turned I look around her cell for something, anything to knock him out with, seeing a loose pipe by the sink, I look back to make sure he is still tying the knot around her wrists and catch her eye. Motioning to the sink I move my hands in a struggling motion to try and tell her to struggle with him and give me more time to see if I can remove the pipe. Nodding her head, she begins to yank and pull at his grip. Crouching down I try to loosen the pipe as quickly as possible while listening to what’s going on behind me when suddenly I hear Javier yell, "you stupid bitch!" making me snap my head around just in time to see him slap Keira, causing me to work faster so she won't have to endure anymore abuse. Wiggling the pipe free, I know it's not big enough to do a lot of damage but I'm hoping my swing is. Raising the pipe above my head I slam it down onto the back of Javier’s head; causing him to stumble forward. Not going down he grunts and grabs the back of his head before he spins around to come at me. "You fucking bitch, I'm going to make you pay for that!" Swinging the pipe again he blocks it and with my hands bound together tightly I lose my grip on it as it clatters against the floor. Wrapping his hands around my neck he slams me back against the cement wall and begins to choke me. Just as my vision starts to wobble with spots popping up before my eyes, his grip loosens and he slumps onto me, sliding down against me until he falls to the ground.

  Rubbing my neck and trying to catch my breath, I look up to see Keira with a large wooden stick. "Dumb asshole should know better than to turn his back on a pissed off woman." She says looking down at his slumped form before looking up at me and dropping the stick. "Are you okay?" She asks pulling me towards her.

  Coughing I answer. "Yeah I think so, now let's find something to cut these ropes with and get the hell out of here so we can find Hudson. Seeing a piece of glass and a towel with what looks like dried blood on it, I wrap the piece of glass and go to work on freeing Keira. After she's free she cuts the ropes off of me and we both make our way back up the stairs quietly and listen for any sounds before we try to find the button I saw Javier use earlier. "I think this is it." I say pushing a button. Moments later the wall pops open and we can hear gunfire throughout the house. Turning back to her I tell her. "Stay low and follow me, okay?" Nodding her head I grab a hold of her hand and lead us out of the darkness and into the battle zone.

  CHAPTER FORTY THREE HUDSON

  The whole team files out of the door and we all go our separate ways, with two men per team to clear the house. Making my way through the living room I have Brice at my six making sure we aren't taken down from the back. Slowly we make our way upstairs to the bedroom that Larson had pointed out as a possible location for where they might be keeping Presley, when suddenly we fall under fire from a guy that comes down the hallway. Both of us drop to the ground; the stairs digging into my ribs from the hard impact doesn't faze me but for a mere second before I roll out of the way while Brice takes the head shot dropping the guy where he stands. Waiting a few moments we both keep our eyes and ears open as we watch both upstairs and down for any other unfriendly’s to show up, not seeing any I give Brice the signal to continue our way up the stairs, after finding the bedroom we're looking for I poke my head in and scan the area. Finding it all clear we both move inside sealing the door behind us as we do a quick search. Going into the bathroom my heart squeezes like a death grip inside of my chest when I see Presley’s torn clothes laying on the floor. Picking them up I hold them to my nose just to smell her strawberry scent and feel her near me again. "Is that her clothing?" Nodding my head as my only answer I feel Brice’s hand squeeze my shoulder "We're going to find her man, don't you worry."

  Turning to look at him I tell him. "If anyone of those fuckers even touched a hair on her head I'm going to make their death as slow and as painful as possible, mark my words. Now let's go get her back." I say as I march for the door with a new level of anger ravaging my body. As we reach the bottom of the stairs, Porter and Carter come into view. "Have you found any trace of her?" I ask Porter.

  Shaking his head he says. "No, you?"

  "No. Just her torn clothes in the bathroom upstairs."

  Getting that same look of disgust on his face that I feel in my gut he asks. "Do you think?"

  "I don't know but we need to find her and right now."

  "Roger that." Moving through the house, we come in contact with a few of the other team members but it seems as if all of Pablo’s men have fled leaving me to ask Larson. "Don't you think we should have guys outside monitoring if anyone is escaping?"

  "My guys are on it. Already took out five of Pablo’s men, don't worry I don't want them escaping any more than you do."

  Nodding my head I move off towards the living room to check for more of Pablo’s men when I hear what sounds like a gasp come from somewhere near, not seeing anyone I crouch down and begin to move slowly around the couch and give Brice the signal to watch above my head. Hearing movement I alert Brice to the direction in which I hear it coming from so he'll keep his gun pointed in that area. Moving slowly around the corner I see what looks to be someone's hair peeking around the wall. Quickly moving into position up against the other side of it I keep watch and wave Brice over to where I stand. Both of us count to three then swing around the corner with our guns pointed at our marks only to find Presley and another woman at the end of our gun barrels, "Oh my God! Presley, you're okay."

  As I lunge for her she practically jumps into my arms. "I knew you'd come for me, I knew it."

  Placing my finger over my lips I set her down and lead her and the other woman to the exit point in the kitchen, then after texting Larson that we have the package and will be taking it back to where the cars are located, we get both of the women through the door and down the stairs. Peeking my head out the side door we came through, I see no signs of any of Pablo’s men anywhere. Looking back to Presley I tell her. "See that break in the wall?" Looking to where I'm pointing she nods her head, "that's where we will escape." Watching for anyone coming I count to three. "Okay one, two, three," on my count we all make a run for the wall slipping through it quickly. Not stopping there I guide us all back to the safety of the SUV's before pulling Presley into my arms and squeezing her so tightly a whimper escapes her lips drawing my attention to them, and I kiss her like a man starved. "I was so worried about you. Are you sure that you're okay?" I ask between showering her with kisses and hugs.

  "Yes I'm okay,
just a few scrapes and bruises." Turning to look for the other woman we found with her she pulls her closer. "This is Keira Watson, her father is__."

  "Senator Joseph Watson.” I say filling in the Senator’s name that I know very well. As I shake her hand, Brice asks. "When did they take you?"

  "T...two days ago I think, I'm not sure. They knocked me out when they took me as I walked out of a night club, and then I woke up here. Do you have a phone so I can call my father and let him know that I'm okay and check on my friend Jake? He was shot when they took me."

  "Of course,” Brice tells her handing his phone to her as I go back to looking Presley over for any serious wounds. "I contacted your father also Presley, and he's expecting a call from you first thing tomorrow morning." He tells her.

  "Thank you Brice." Turning her attention back to me she says. "I knew you would find me," cupping my face before kissing me lightly on the lips, and I just savour the feel of them together once again.

  "Okay I have to ask.” Brice says walking back over to interrupt us. "How in the hell did they get you off that plane? What did they just drop you out with a parachute attached to you or something?" He asks with a chuckle like that would never happen.

  Nodding her head she says. "That's exactly what they did." Both Brice and I exchange looks of surprise. "They forced me to do a tandem jump with the giant guy that was dragging me from car to car. He was the one who took me from the bar to Pablo’s awaiting car. Anyway, we jumped out of the plane and then after we landed in some forest somewhere, he was dragging me behind him and I couldn't keep up with him so he slung me over his shoulder, and I guess I passed out from exhaustion because the next time I woke up I was at that house."

  Growling at her being so man handled I pull her in needing to feel her against me; alive and breathing. I kiss the top of her head before pulling her aside. "Can you give us just a minute Brice?" I ask giving him a knowing look that I'm going to ask that question I'm not sure I want the answer to.