The Precious Ruby (The Precious Trilogy Book 1)

by C Renee

  “Ohh, that blonde babe, yeah I remember her. I hope I get to take her to bed.” He chuckles next to me while I punch him in the arm that doesn’t have a weight in it.

  “You’re unbelievable man, so what do you say? Meet me at my place tonight and I’ll hopefully have information on where to find Lou.” I put the weight back down, slap Reece on the shoulder and head for the door.

  “See you then man,” Reece calls after me.

  I take off running back to my place, thinking of ways to either get my father talking or finding Lou on my own, knowing that the second option is fairly dangerous, especially on my own.

  I unlock my apartment door and go inside to locate my phone which was still on the charger. There are a few missed calls and a couple of text messages from girls I would rather forget. After I find Louise I’m going to change my number and focus all my attention on her. I must admit, it is going to be really hard not to flirt with multiple women in bars and not going to the regular strip club, but I will make it work for my precious.

  I pick up my phone and dial my father’s number, hoping he picks up so I can finally get some answers or to use his resources.

  “Hello this is Knight.” My father’s voice sounds tired but it still sounds powerful.

  “Its Alex, I just want to know if there is any update yet. It’s been a little over two weeks and I’m getting antsy.” I pace the kitchen, not wanting to sit down.

  “No, no news son. I have the best PI’s on this case and so far they have turned up empty handed. I’ll call you once I know something, but please son, don’t do anything stupid.” After that he hangs up on me. Well that was a pointless phone call I really didn’t need to have.

  I go over to the TV and turn it on to pass the time before Reece gets here. I probably should call Steph to let her know what I’m about to do. Just as I was about to turn it on by the remote my phone starts ringing.

  I connect the call on the second ring.

  “Hello Alex here.” I wait for the person to reply.

  “Alex, hey, it’s Steph just wanting to know if you heard anything because it’s been too long and I really, really need to know if you heard anything, because as the hours go by, I’m freaking out even more and I don’t know what to do.” She starts sobbing into the phone, I don’t want to be a prick and interrupt her but I need her to come over tonight to help sort out this mess.

  “Steph, listen to me please. You are a strong woman and you need to be strong for Lou. Can you do that for me?” I ask her after her breathing has calmed down.

  “Yeah, I can do that for her. I’m sorry, I’m such a mess right now and I’m surprised my boss hasn’t fired me yet. I’m like a zombie over there and am probably losing them money. The sooner Lou comes home the sooner things can go back to normal. I miss her.”

  “I miss her too, look I’m going to be taking things into my own hands now, why don’t you come over my place and help me sort out the finer details okay?” With that I give her my address and hang up. I’m too hyped up to watch TV now. I think going to have a shower after my run would be a better option.

  I head to the local store to buy food for when Reece and Steph arrive, it could turn into an all-nighter and I need all the edible snacks I can get.

  I get to the register and unload my basket of food. I noticed I will probably need to get alcohol, so I told the pretty check-out woman who is flirting with me I would be back. I walk down a couple of aisles before I found the liquor one. I run into someone when I round the corner. I look up to see who it is and it’s Jackie.

  What the fuck is she doing here?

  She looks tired, and when I look her up and down I notice a small bump at her stomach.

  Holy shit, Jackie is pregnant, or she’s gotten fat.

  “Jackie?” I ask, hoping it’s someone else and not her.

  She turns around and a little gasp escapes her lips. “Alex! Oh my god, what are you doing here?” She turns her full body around and I would say she would be about three or four months pregnant. I do the math quickly and curse. I don’t want to believe this is mine. I don’t have time to think when I blurt out “I hope that baby isn’t mine.”

  Jackie looks stunned. “No you asshole, this baby isn’t yours. Well I hope it isn’t, I haven’t done any DNA testing yet but now that you mention it… it could be yours.”

  I walk up to her and point a finger at her stomach. “You better pray that it isn’t mine because I don’t want anything to do with you. Get in touch with my lawyers to sort this shit out.” I turn on my heel, grab the nearest bottle of Vodka and walk back to the register.

  What a fucking day I’m already having. Can anything else go wrong?

  It’s seven o’clock when I hear two taps on my front door. I make my way over there and see Reece and Steph standing there. They look so awkward together. Reece is never awkward when it comes to women, so something must be up. I’ll have to ask him about it later when Steph isn’t around.

  “Come in you two, I have food in the oven and a bottle of vodka to wash it down. I can’t wait to tell you about the day I have just had.” They both walk in right behind me, Reece makes himself at home and Steph still looks awkward and out of place.

  “Steph, make yourself at home.” She just nods in my direction.

  I lead them over to the kitchen and we all sit down at the table.

  “What happened this time man? Did you forget the chick’s name?” Reece laughs when he takes the seat next to Steph.

  “No you fuck head, I ran into Jackie and she is pregnant. She doesn’t know if it’s mine or some other poor fella.”

  Steph’s face has the disapproving look, eh women.

  “Okay so please tell us how you are going to find Louise and you better make this work because I am stressed as it is.” Steph leans closer towards to the table. She doesn’t look pleased.

  “I haven’t exactly figured out all the minor details of this but I think if you, Steph, can run back through your memory to when Louise was living with Matt and see if she ever mentioned an address, then maybe we can start there. Maybe this Matt guy hasn’t moved and we can go knocking on their door or kicking down the door. Reece and I will bash heads in if we have to, to get Louise to safety.”

  Reece and Steph exchange a look and Reece answers me.

  “Dude that is the most fucked up plan I have ever heard! Why on earth would you go into biker territory and bash heads in? Do we have a death wish or something?” Reece shakes his head at me.

  “I don’t see you coming up with anything better?” I have the TV on in the background when Steph jumps out her seat and races to get the remote. She turns the TV up when the news reporter starts speaking.

  “This is Tracey Dent reporting Live from Paradise night club here in San Diego. Last night there had been reports of gunfire and there are several dead bodies yet to be identified. There have been reports of twenty people severally injured or in critical condition in hospital. It is yet unclear of what exactly happened here but we do know that the owner, Matt Wheeler, won’t give a statement.”

  An image of Matt comes up on the TV and I turn around just as Steph falls to the ground crying. Reece is over to her in a split second, rocking her and saying soft words to calm her down.

  Just as I am about to turn the TV off, my phone rings, “Hello Alex here,” I recognize that number, it’s my fathers.

  “Son, we have located Louise and I have a team already in motion. I assume you have seen the news. It was exactly what we were waiting for. Be at my office in four hours, we will be leaving tonight.” He hangs up and I walk over to where Reece and Steph are on the floor and let them know the details my father has just told me.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Alex

  I ARRIVE AT MY father’s office an hour after his phone call to me. I wasn’t sure what the protocol was on what to wear so I went with black jeans and a black t-shirt. I have to be camouflaged in the dark.

  I don’t even bother to knock
on the door to his office when I hear several voices coming from behind the door. I push it open and spot about six people dressed in about the same clothes as I am, but the four tall men standing around my father’s desk pointing to a map of some kind are armed with two guns each.

  I close the door behind me and head over to the table with the rest of the men.

  “Father, thank you for doing this,” I say as I shake his hand and look at the map on the table. It’s a satellite imagine of a house in a small suburb, nothing looks out of the ordinary.

  “This is Matt’s house, we have been watching this place for two years now but we haven’t had any proof to go in and take the target out.” The man standing closest to me says. He is tall, probably about six foot three, dark brown hair with military cut, and he has a scar running down his cheek that looks like if it went a centimeter higher it would have taken his eye out. His dark beard is long and passes his neck. Who are these people?

  “What do you mean when you said you have been waiting to take the target out? Louise has only been missing for two weeks.” I look over at other maps laid out on the table, pictures of Matt and his gang unloading trucks of what looks like drugs and weapons, and pictures of the night club I saw on TV with the hookers standing all around the streets.

  “If given the chance, we will take the leader, Matt, out. Then we move in to make an official arrest.” The leader of the group steps up and shakes my hand.

  “I’m Captain James Briggs. I run these types of operations and I am 95% successful. My team, standing in this room, is here from the CIA, Special Ops and a Military Base. We make up the secret operation called Sharp Shooters. These are the best men in their field and we are here to help take Matt, his men out and rescue Louise. It’s a shame that she had to be caught up in this but if she wasn’t, then we wouldn’t have this opportunity to step in.” The captain is probably in his late 50’s, and short with a bit of a beer gut. His graying hair is cut short and his eyes are scanning the surroundings at all times.

  “Well what are we waiting for? Can we get a move on? I’m not sure how much longer I can wait.”

  “Easy there tiger, we have a helicopter on route here, so we better make our way to the roof. The journey will be about three to four hours, so on the way, we will go over the task at hand and what everyone’s rolls are. Understood?” The captain walks towards the door. I start to follow after him when my father puts his hand on my shoulder to stop me.

  “Son, please be careful tonight and listen to their orders. I got the best so you can bring your girl home.” I turn around and give him a hug, after all the heartache I have put him through he is always there for me.

  “Thanks dad.” With that I walk out the door and head into the elevator.

  Once the helicopter has taken off and everyone is in their seats, the Captain speaks into the headphones every one of us is wearing and he begins explaining the procedure we are going to take.

  “Now men, most of us have been on missions before and just like tonight, it could be suicide, but our main focus is to make sure Louise gets out safe and alive. There are eight of us including Alex and I need each and every one of you to be 100% spot on with this task. Something can always go wrong so rely on your gut instinct and stay alive.” He hands over folders to one person in each pair and they over look what it says. I get handed a folder but I’m not paired with anyone.

  In the folder it says to stay behind and wait for the signal of when they extract Louise from the house. I over look the other men’s folders, and the guy next to me has the mission of taking out anyone in their way. The other mans’ folder has instructions on arresting Matt and bringing him in for questioning, but if he remains uncooperative, then the target will need to be dealt with.

  I overheard the Captain say we have forty-five minutes to execute this mission or things will go badly in a matter of seconds.

  My palms are starting to get very sweaty when we have about ten minutes before landing at an empty runway strip about fifteen minutes away from where Louise is being kept.

  The helicopter lands on a small runway strip ten blocks away from where Louise is being held.

  My adrenaline kicks in and I’m antsy to get into a car and go get my girl. We all deplane and head into three black Mercedes’. We speed away into the night towards this house of horrors.

  We pull up about two houses down from the house Louise is being kept and we spot about six motorcycles in the driveway and on the front lawn, just what we needed, more people to get involved, why can’t anything go smoothly for me these days.

  The Captain leads the group towards the house and stops in the driveway, and then motions for the two men with full body armor to head to the back door and another two men, also in full armor, to the front door. It doesn’t look like anyone is home with no lights on or any movement in the windows. The motorcycles tell us a different story.

  The other two men in the group decide to wait back near the front door until it’s clear to enter.

  The first two men, I think their names were Rodger and Spike, lead the mission and they kick the front door open. Once the door is wide open they threw a gas can inside. They are waiting to see how many people are inside, and whether they would come out the front or towards the back door. We have men surrounding this property, so no one is going to escape.

  I start to hear yelling and following that was a loud scream. A female scream and I’m about to run into the house to follow the scream when the Captain holds me back.

  “No, you can’t go in after her. It’s too dangerous for you. Let my men sort out the area and do a body count before it’s safe to enter.” The Captain gives me a hard stare and releases his hold.

  “Fine, but if she comes out dead, that is on you.” I walk back to where I was standing and start to pace. Five minutes pass and I’ve heard nothing except more yelling.

  “Why aren’t those guys doing anything yet? Why haven’t they all entered the house and gotten it over with? I am sick of waiting out here. Fucking do something.” I turn around; fists clenched and ready to punch the Captain.

  “Can you just relax? It will be all over soon. Once I am given the all clear then we both can enter the house, but until then we remain back here, out of their way.”

  Ten minutes have passed and we have finally been given the all clear, the yelling and screaming has calmed down. The six men enter the house to check if anyone else is lingering behind and that’s when everything happened so fast.

  I hear gunshots being fired, followed by more yelling and screaming.

  I run towards the front door, I push my way through, and stop in my tracks. The Captain’s men are standing to the side of me, waiting for a response or a command when everything happens in slow motion. It feels like I’m watching it from an out of body experience.

  I spot Matt near the kitchen table, with six men standing behind him, guns raised towards us and the looks on their faces tell me they are planning to kill every last one of us and are going to enjoy it too. I take my eyes off them and look all over the kitchen and living room. When finally I look down at Matt’s feet, I spot Louise. Oh my precious, what is he doing to you?

  I start to step towards her when Captain speaks and halts me in my place.

  “Give us the girl and we won’t kill anyone tonight.” He sounds firm and demanding.

  “No can do Captain, this little whore is going to pay and I am more than happy to do it now with an audience.” Matt’s laugh rings out in the silent room. No one moves to do anything. When Matt’s eyes lock with mine, he knows who I am and looks down at Lou with a smirk on his face. “Well, well, haven’t you been the little slut, fucking other men when you ran off, getting them to fall in love with you and for them to come and save you. You are a pathetic bitch. I think I’m going to enjoy killing you.” He pulls Louise up off the floor by her hair.

  I can see the ghostly look on her bruised face. She has been crying. What a brave soul she is.

  “Tel
l your men to lower their weapons and I will too, no one will get hurt if you play by my rules,” Matt says as he looks over to the Captain when he gives the nod for his men to lower his weapons.

  “Very good, just so you know Captain, I know who you are and what you do. You go on suicide missions to take out guys like me. Well tonight you will be letting me escape. I know you have been watching me over the years. I have an inside man in your agency. Too bad you won’t be alive to start the investigation.” The Captain has just heard about enough when he gives orders to take out Matt’s men, but before anyone can do anything I step forward, ready to do my duty as a man and protector of this woman and to get my chance at saving my girl.

  “Hold it right there fucker, you take another step and this girl gets it and you shouldn’t tempt me because she’s due for a real beating after the show she pulled last night at my club. Thanks for that by the way, you fucking mutt.” He looks at Louise, spits in her face and punches her in the gut.

  She doubles over and starts crying again.

  Before I can do anything, Matt has his gun raised and is pointing it at Louise.

  “This is for my troubles bitch. I hope you rot in hell.”

  I run over to them, and push Matt to the ground just as he pulls the trigger, and Louise screams.

  Oh shit, what have I done? I hope he missed her.

  Matt rolls over and sits on top of me. He is throwing punches to my face, it fucking hurts but I have to protect my precious. I clock him back straight to the jaw and knock him off me. I get to my feet and notice what is going on around me. The Captain is shooting at one man behind the couch, and the other four men from his team have hid behind the table and the kitchen counter when I duck down and see one of Matt’s men fall to the ground. He was shot square in the head and another man has fallen with a gunshot wound to the stomach.