by Laurie Roma
Dante beeped back, then picked up his glass to take a sip. He spit it back with a groan. “Jesus, this tastes like warm piss. I’m going to get us a new round.”
“Not that we’ll drink it,” Jessup pointed out. “Can you make mine an iced tea?”
After the other men agreed, Dante picked up the glasses and made his way to the bar. When he got there, he leaned one arm on the bar. “Hey, angel. Can I get a refill?”
Zoe looked down and saw the almost full glasses. “You wasting my beer, caveman?”
Dante grinned. “Yeah, I guess I am. Can you set us up with some iced tea instead?”
“Sure thing.” She took the glasses and poured out the beer before setting the glasses in the washer, then got to work filling the new order. “You boys having fun over there?”
“Barrels. How are things over here?”
“Just peachy.” Her eyes sparkled with amusement. “I got an offer to run off to Aruba with someone about twenty minutes ago.”
That got Dante’s back up. “What son of a—”
“Mr. Brennigan asked, quite nicely I might add,” she said with a grin.
Dante relaxed as he looked down the bar toward an old man sitting on a stool. Mr. Brennigan was in his eighties, and looked like he could even be a century past that. “Maybe I need to have a little chat with him and warn him not to try and steal my girl.”
Zoe laughed. “That would probably make his night. I noticed your dad isn’t back yet. Maybe Ellie talked him into that nap after all.”
Dante grumbled for a second before saying, “He texted a little while ago. He’s taking Ellie and Sarah out to dinner, but said he’d be here before closing.”
She set the new glasses on a tray for him, and he couldn’t help but lean in to grab a quick kiss before he took them back to the table. Dante was just setting the glasses down when he heard a long beep come over the radio. All the men at the table froze, and the rest of the bar employees stopped what they were doing.
“Hey, boss? We’ve got trouble moving in,” Jimbo said over the link. “It’s Zoe’s dad. He just pulled up in a fancy rental with two bodyguards. I think the guards might be packing. What do you want me to do?”
Dante looked up at met Zoe’s gaze. She was still frozen in place even though the rest of the staff had started to move again. “Zoe?”
“Let him in,” she ordered softly.
“Wyatt here,” Sheriff Storm Wyatt’s voice sounded out through the link. “We’ve just got word that a suspicious SUV has been sighted circling around Zoe’s apartment building. It’s got tinted windows, so we can’t see inside. I’ll check it out and get back to you.”
“Fine,” Dante said. Without looking away from Zoe, he spoke through the link. “Start clearing everyone out. We’re shutting down. It’s going down tonight.”
He started forward as he heard the chairs moving. He didn’t need to look back to see that his friends were doing what he asked. Dante looked over toward the entrance and saw an older man in an expensive suit walk in, followed by two other Asian men dressed all in black.
Subtle, Dante thought.
Zoe’s father was looking around the room with a blank expression as Dante joined Zoe at the bar. Her hands were braced on the counter, and he reached out to grip one, only to find that it was ice cold. He heard the protests of some of the customers as GT told them to get gone, but he didn’t care. His sole focus was Zoe. She looked so pale and scared that it made him want to toss her father back outside on his ass.
Pride swelled as he saw her gather herself. Her shoulders went back and she stood tall as she looked over at her father, waiting for him to see her. To the rest of the world, she looked cool and composed, but Dante could still feel her hand shaking in his.
“I’m right here with you, baby.”
Zoe squeezed his hand, but she couldn’t look away from her father. It had been so long since she’d seen him. Emotions warred inside her. He looked good to her. Older and tired, but good. It made her happy to see him again in person, but the reason for his presence made her nerves jitter. Still, no matter how screwed up things were between them, she still loved him.
But that didn’t mean she forgave him for everything he’d done.
She saw the instant he recognized her. Jin Tao’s eyes widened, then his face relaxed, once again becoming expressionless. He started forward, and Zoe saw people move out of his path. He’d always had that sort of control over people. He wasn’t a very tall man, only about five eight, but he commanded attention simply by breathing. It was as if people could sense the power he wielded that had nothing to do the expensive suit he wore.
When he stood in front of her on the other side of the bar, he came to a stop. They stared at each other in silence for long seconds. Finally, he spoke. “Angelica.”
“Father.”
Jin Tao’s eyes drifted down to where she was still gripping Dante’s hand in hers. It was a knee-jerk reaction to try to pull away from him, but Dante’s grip tightened on hers. She held on because she needed the connection, needed something to keep her stable when she felt like she was going to shatter into pieces at any moment.
Jin Tao looked back at Zoe, dismissing Dante. “I’ve come to take you home.”
Zoe felt the jerk of Dante’s hand in hers, and his slight show of nerves helped settle her a little. “I am home.”
Jin Tao’s lips tightened in displeasure. “This town?” He looked around the bar in disapproval. “Surely you can’t mean that. And you work in this…”
“Now, you don’t want to insult our bar,” Dante drawled out in warning. “We’re pretty proud of this place, aren’t we, sweetheart?”
“We are,” Zoe confirmed.
“Everyone is clear,” Jimbo called out as he locked the front door. “Bar’s closed.”
“Good. Jimbo, I want all the staff out. That means you, too,” Dante ordered.
“No can do, boss. Wait staff is out safely, but I’m sticking,” Jimbo drawled out. “So is Reggie, Cole, Rick and the rest of the guys.”
Dante turned toward GT, and she just shook her head. “Don’t even.”
He was about to argue, but Jin Tao interrupted when he said, “You can’t keep hiding here. You need to come home so I can protect you.”
“Protect me?” Zoe felt her temper spark. “You weren’t around when I needed you the first time, so why the interest now?”
Jin Tao’s cheeks flushed with anger or what could have been shame. “I was dealing with a difficult situation overseas. The Chinese government had tried to put a block on our manufacturing plants, and had charged me with several crimes they couldn’t substantiate, but it all took time to sort out. I didn’t receive your message until I was released after being questioned. If you would have just had a little patience and hadn’t run away—”
She let out a sharp laugh. “You wanted me to wait around for you? After Paul Wei tried to kill me? Are you fucking kidding me?”
Dante didn’t understand the rapid stream of Chinese that Jin Tao let out, nor could he decipher the response Zoe shot back with. The bar staff that remained gathered together as Father and daughter argued back and forth. Out of patience, Dante didn’t like the harsh tone of Zoe’s father as he spoke to her enough to put a stop to the exchange.
“English,” Dante barked out. “I don’t know what the hell you just said to her, but you don’t get to speak to her like that. I don’t give a shit who you are. You understand me?”
Jin Tao frowned. “You are a very rude young man.”
Dante snorted in derision. “You thought that was rude? You ain’t seen nothing yet.”
Zoe reached out and placed her hand on his arm. He lifted her hand and kissed the back of it, all the while never taking his eyes off Zoe’s father. Dante could see that Jin Tao didn’t like seeing his daughter with a man like him, but he really didn’t give a damn.
Zoe belonged to him, and it was better to let her father see it.
“Who is this m
an, Angelica?” Jin Tao demanded.
“This is Dante Fox, my fiancé.” Before her father could speak, she gave him a warning. “Be very careful what you say. I won’t tolerate you disparaging the man I love. You lost the right to interfere with my life when you stopped being a part of it.”
“I am your father!”
“You stopped being my father when mother died,” she countered. “You just sent me away so you didn’t have to bother with me anymore, and after that, you tried to pawn me off to a monster. You know what he did to me. I know you were shown the reports.”
Jin Tao winced, and for the first time, real sadness filled his dark eyes. “I didn’t know that Paul was so…evil. He hid it from everyone. He came from a good family and—”
“A good family? Jesus, dad. Wake up! His family is just as guilty as he is!”
“Is it just me, or does one of the men in black look a little twitchy?” Hunter asked softly.
“I agree.” Hammer shifted a little to get a better view. “We’ll keep an eye on him.”
“I didn’t come here to argue with you,” Jin Tao announced on a sigh. “I’ve been looking for you since you disappeared from New York. When I heard about what happened in Portland…Angelica, you should have contacted me.”
Zoe’s chin went up. “After what happened to Ashley, I didn’t know who I could trust.”
The radio signaled again, distracting Zoe so she didn’t even hear what her father said in response. Instead, she heard Sheriff Wyatt’s voice boom out over the link.
“Shots fired. I repeat. Shots fired. Four men inside the SUV started firing when we tried to approach. We are currently in pursuit. Be on guard, they wanted into Zoe’s apartment. They’re looking for her,” Storm warned.
“We’ve got incoming!” Jessup called out as he slammed the door shut that led out to the garden patio. He began barricading the doorway, and a few of the other men rushed forward to help him. With his phone in his hand, he said, “Malcolm was on his way back and a car just drove through the patio fence outside. He and a few others are exchanging fire. One deputy is down, and the medics are on the way.”
“What is going on?” Jin Tao raised his voice over the disarray, his expression was tight with confusion. “Angelica, what in the devil is happening?”
“Paul Wei followed you here,” she told him, and watched his eyes widen in disbelief.
“I’m done fucking around. You two,” Dante growled at the bodyguards as he pulled out his gun and aimed it at them. “Take your weapons out and put them down on the bar top. Now.”
“Ru, Fai, do as he says,” Jin Tao ordered softly.
The shots outside were muffled inside the soundproof bar, but they were hearing the updates through the radio link loud and clear. Dante watched as both bodyguards unfastened their suit jackets and slowly pulled their guns from their shoulder holsters and put them on the bar top.
“Two more SUVs just pulled up. One in the back, covering the side exit, and one in the front,” Brix said over the radio. He was up on the roof with his sniper rifle. He paused, then came back on the line. “I could use some help up here. These guys are starting to piss me off. Can I kill these fuckers, boss?”
Storm cursed viciously over the link. “You can’t just kill everyone, Brix!”
“Have at it,” Dante whispered, countering Storm’s order. In a louder voice, he said, “Hunter, help Brix out?”
“With pleasure.”
Storm’s voice rang out through the link. “Confirmed sighting of Paul Wei in the SUV in front of the bar. They’re packing a fucking arsenal. I’ve got the streets blocked off around the bar, but damn it to hell, they are shooting up the entire area.”
Someone shot out the front windows, shattering glass everywhere. Hammer, Dare and a few other men rushed forward, taking cover against the walls surrounding the windows as the sound of gunfire and sirens filled the room. They returned fire toward the men in front, while Jessup, Reggie, Jimbo and the others guarded the side and back windows. Zoe and GT screamed as a stray bullet hit the shelves of liquor bottles behind them, distracting Dante for a moment.
Damn it, he should have never turned away!
In the matter of seconds, the twitchy bodyguard, Fai, grabbed for his gun on the bar top, lifting it to fire at the other bodyguard when he tried to lunge forward, dropping him to the floor. He jerked Jin Tao in front of him, using him as a shield before Dante could get a shot off.
Everyone inside the bar froze while chaos continued to reign outside.
With his gun pressed against Jin Tao’s temple, Fai said, “Everybody drop your weapons.”
Chapter Fourteen
“What madness is this? Fai, what the hell are you doing?”
“Shut the hell up, old man!” Fai ordered as he cuffed Jai Tao hard on the temple with the butt of his gun. “I’m so fucking tired of taking orders from you, and for what? Measly pay while you make billions? Fuck that. Paul pays me much better than you. I said put your weapons down!”
The men in the center of the room ducked as glass rained down from one of the skylights overhead as someone outside shot through the window. Fai pulled Zoe’s father back into the corner, moving away from the falling glass and protecting his back against the wall.
Behind the bar, Zoe reached down and pressed the button on her radio link, sliding the button forward to keep the line open so everyone could hear. There was a moment of disorientation as the loud sounds of gunfire and shouts echoed through the radio link and in real time, but none of the others in the room even blinked. She saw Dante’s eyes flicker toward her, then he gave an imperceptible nod to assure her she’d done the right thing.
Slowly, she pulled the gun out of the holster located at the small of her back and placed it on the shelf in front of her so it wouldn’t be seen. She saw movement out of the corner of her eye, and realized that GT had mimicked her, placing her own gun in front of her further down the bar so they were both ready.
“Why would we do that?” Dante asked conversationally. He had his gun trained on Fai, but still didn’t have a shot. Neither did the other men in the room. Still, Dante would bluster his way through it until he did. “I could shoot you through him. I’ve thought about shooting him, you know. After all that he did to Zoe when she was growing up? Yeah, I’ve thought about it a lot.”
Alarm flickered in both Jai and Fai’s eyes for a moment, but then Fai sneered. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. One of our men put a bomb downstairs the other night. A little insurance to make sure you listen. In fact, we should be getting a little preview any second now to prove that Mr. Wei is serious.”
“Fuck,” Brix breathed in the radio link. “I’m heading down to the storage area now to see if I can disarm it. Can he see down the hallway?”
“Negative,” Hammer murmured.
“I’m staying topside,” Hunter announced. “Moving toward the skylight for a better position.”
A few seconds later, an explosion outside rocked the building. Jessup peeked out back window. “Christ, Dante. They blew up your motorcycle.”
Fai pressed the gun harder against Jai Tao’s head. “I told you we were serious. Now, put your guns down on the ground. Cell phones, too. Everyone but you,” he said to Dante. “Call your men outside and tell them to back off. Paul just wants to have a little chat with your bitch. Tell everyone to stop shooting, damn it!”
The shock was enormous. Dante’s gaze met Zoe’s, and he saw the stark fear on her face. The first sliver of panic raced down his spine. It never occurred to any of them that they would put a bomb in the building. This was his place, and his woman and their friends were inside.
Fuck, he couldn’t lose them.
Dante lowered to the floor to place his gun down. He felt helpless. Storm must have heard what was said over the radio link, but he still pulled out his cell phone and made the call as the other men put their guns down. A few seconds later, the shooting outside stopped.
Fai’s gaze flicker
ed toward GT, but he dismissed her as soon as he saw she was a woman. He looked away before he saw her expression turn as hard as stone. Pulling out his own cell phone, he made a call. “They’re disarmed. You can come in now.”
Brix voice sounded on the radio again. “Bomb located. It will do damage, but isn’t very sophisticated. I should be able to disarm in a few minutes. Buy me some time.”
“Copy that,” Dare murmured. Raising his voice, he gestured toward the bodyguard bleeding on the floor and said, “Can I take a look at his wound? I’m a doctor.”
Fai shot a look toward his partner, hesitating briefly before he agreed. “Fine.”
Dare hurried toward the fallen man and started assessing him after casting a quick glance over at Fai. From their position on the floor near the bar, Fai couldn’t see them very clearly. Using the injured guard’s body as cover, Dare slipped another gun from his ankle holster. Dante saw what he was doing and bent down, acting like he was helping as Dare transferred the gun to him. He shoved it into the back his jeans and announced, “It doesn’t look good.”
“If I can slow the bleeding, he has a chance.”
“Hey!” Fai yelled. “Step away from them. I mean it. Move over there.”
Dante stood again as the front door opened and four men walked in. Paul Wei was a handsome man, whose good looks hid his black soul. He was dressed in a flashy light-gray suit that had a slight sheen to it, with a pale-pink dress shirt underneath. The three men with him looked like rejects from a bad mob movie, with black suits, white shirts and thin black ties, and they all carried weapons in with them.
Paul strutted forward, taking his sunglasses off as he looked around the room with smug satisfaction. He put the designer sunglasses on the top of his head, and when his gaze met Zoe’s his lips curved up. “Well, hello there, Angelica. Or should I call you Zoe now?”
Zoe’s blood froze as Paul looked at her. Seeing him, hearing his voice again made her knees weak with fear. She flinched as she remembered how his fists felt against her flesh, how much it hurt when he’d left her there, tied up in bed praying to die. She saw the quick flash of glee in his dark eyes when he noticed her fear, and for some reason, it helped her regain a part of herself.
