“She’s not leaving,” he stated calmly. “She’s taking the semester off and staying here… with me.”
She stared into the blue eyes that matched her own, waiting for the punch line. When it didn’t come, she moved to the table and took a seat. “This is going to be dangerous, Danny.”
“You just said my friends weren’t in any danger, make up your damn mind. Is it or isn’t it?” he sat up straighter in his chair, challenging her to an extent, sharing the glare with her mate.
Stella placed her plate in front of her, and Tori began to pick at her food. “It’s different. Not the danger,” she could feel the urge to cry sneaking up on her, “The way I feel about it. I don’t want anything to happen to you. It petrifies me.” He could see the redness of her nose when she looked up.
His mouth opened, his argument hanging in his throat, “Come on sis, we’re gonna be fine.”
“Will you be fine afterwards? After you’ve watched what I’m gonna do to those bastards when they get here?” she clenched her jaw, a tear slipping, rolling to drip unchecked.
“Alright, that’s enough,” Michael intervened, unable to hold his say any longer. “You and I have talked about this,” his hand wafted between his brother-in-law and himself. “I told you about the world she came from, and what she’s capable of.”
Tori stared at her mate, mouth hanging open, “What I’m capable of?” Her laugh sounded off key, “I’m going to kill them, that’s what I’m capable of. I’m going to use my knife, and a gun, and whatever it takes to spill their blood and stop their hearts forever.” Her teeth were bare as she spoke; her lips drawn back into a snarl, her brow furrowed, “I’m going to destroy them, Danny; are you ready to watch?”
Brian stared at the woman before him, unsure what he should say, or could say for that matter. His jaw clenched, he rapped loudly on the table with a knuckle; his mind turned memories of all that had happened. He recalled all that he had learned since the first time she set foot in his house, and he had spoken down to her in that very room.
“No, baby girl,” his mouth moved as if his words took great effort to form, “I’m not gonna watch.” He swallowed, his Adam’s apple moving up and down, a single tear finding its way over the stubble of his cheek, “I’m gonna help.”
He could see the look of horror on her face, and he lurched towards her, stabbing the surface between them, voice rising. “They didn’t do this to just you!” he screamed, his poked heaving, “All the things that you lost, I lost!” He stabbed himself in the chest with the digit, then pointed it at her, “If you think… that you are the only one that has suffered… the only one in pain… that you’re the only one who want’s revenge…” his final pause became long, “You’re wrong.”
Sitting back in his seat, he wiped his face, his hand moving over his mouth. “I’m sorry if that bothers you,” his voice returned to normal, and he scooted his chair away from the table, standing and leaving the room.
“What do I do?” she whispered, looking over at her mate with desperation in her eyes.
“We make a plan,” he breathed noisily. “And we include him. I have an idea for sparing the others, and we can get Lins out of the way.”
“Ok,” she nodded, “Then we need to move, put things in order.”
“You didn’t eat your lunch,” he indicated the plate of chicken and vegetables before her. “You need your strength, love.” Taking a few bites, she complied while he explained how he intended to get the party guests off the property almost as soon as they arrived.
“Anyone watching the house will be unlikely to know, and we will position ourselves to take out the men once they have arrived,” he stated calmly. “I spoke to Brett, and there will be twelve men, the typical formation of a crew. Their leader is named Robert Stroud, but he’s the only one he knows by name,” he drew on his palm with a finger, as if it were a tally sheet. “So we will be outnumbered, but I think we will have the advantage.”
“I like this plan,” she half smiled, “I mean, if we don’t want to just hide them in the servant’s quarters.”
“I thought about that,” he agreed, “But I’m afraid they would be found.”
“Ok,” she nodded. “Then we get them out of here.”
His nose wrinkled with his laugh, “Ok, let’s get to work and be ready.” Together, they explained to the others what would take place, and when night fell, they were able to put things in motion.
Well after dark, the cars that carried their guests pulled up out front, and the party fell in full swing; at least it appeared to be. As soon as the two bands and entourage entered, however, it became obvious that everything was not what it seemed.
“We’ve had a threat,” Brian explained, leading the two groups through the hallway, to the kitchen in the back. “And we don’t want it to be public, so we’re going to sneak you out of here.”
From there, Collin would lead the guests and their girls through the darkness of the back yard, into the garage that housed their limo and its driver. “You guys’ll have to squeeze in. I know the car wasn’t designed for this many people, but it’s to get you out of here, so nothing happens to you.”
“Is this another publicity stunt?” a male voice spoke up, “Or just an elaborate way of pissing us off?” A wave of agreement swept through the small crowd, followed by a louder rumbling of discontent.
“No, this isn’t,” Cody tried to clarify. “And what happened in LA wasn’t either. We really need to get out of here. All of us!”
“Yeah, right. I came here for a party, man,” the guest sauntered over towards the door to the hallway. “And I hear one back the way we came,” he left the kitchen, a few of the girls trailing after him.
“Holy shit!” Cody swore loudly, “Do you people not understand what we’re saying?”
“Well,” Collin spread his arms wide, “We’re leaving. We suggest you do the same,” he reached for Lindsey’s hand to take her with them.
“We can’t go and leave them here!” Cody grit his teeth, “Where’s Tori?” He began calling her name as the guests began to separate, making themselves at home in the massive structure.
Climbing the back stairs, Cody continued to search for the girl, who had gone down the front stairs at the exact same time. Turning into the front room, she intended to make rounds through the house, not sure when their party crashers would arrive. Instead she found herself face to face with the lead singer from one of the other two bands from the tour.
“What the fuck are you guys doing here?” she called out loudly, in an effort to be heard over the music.
Laughing, another one of them moved to stand in front of her, “I knew this was a hoax. As bad as your hangover during the shoot.”
“Hey, I was sick during the photo shoot, and this is serious shit! Danny!” she screamed her brother’s name, exiting the room and running into Cody, who was coming down the front stairs.
“There you are,” he held his hand out to her, “We have a problem.”
“Yeah, no shit,” she replied angrily. “What the hell are they still doing here?” she pointed at the living area with a stiff hand, indicating the two bands and their groupies.
“They refused to leave,” he said with a shrug. “They think this’s a publicity stunt.”
“No fucking way,” she spun on her heel, making her way over to the stereo system and pulling the plug, causing an abrupt silence. “Listen up!” she bellowed, “This is not a game! This is not a stunt! This is -” she caught her breath, seeing a flash of light through the front glass, “Oh shit!” she finished to herself, breathing heavily.
“Listen to me, do what they say! Do exactly what they say!” she commanded, darting for the door and back up the stairs.
“What the hell?” Cody watched her go, hands on his hips.
Before he could move to follow her, the front door came crashing in next to him, the men coming through it waving various sized weapons and shouting, “GET ON YOUR KNEES! GET ON YOUR KN
EES!” The Spiders, brandishing their weapons, grabbed anyone who refused to listen and forced them to comply, pushing them to kneel and zip tying their hands behind their backs.
One of the guests laughed, “Hey this is pretty good! I may have to do this at my next party.” A moment later, he lay on the floor, blood pouring out of his mouth and nose.
“Shoot him?” his assailant called loudly, holding a pistol to the back of his head.
“Negative,” came the voice of Robert Stroud, in an authoritative reply. “First we find the girl. Check these bitches; you know she’s gotta be here somewhere.”
Handling the women roughly, they continued to search, talking to one another on their handheld devices as they spread out to go through the remainder of the house. Fifteen minutes later, they had rounded up everyone they could locate in the structure, and had them gathered on the floor in the front room, including the servants and head of security.
“Where the fuck is she?” Robert called out loudly, “Somebody answer me!” Recognizing Cody, he pulled out a 9 mm pistol and held it to his head, “Where’s the girl?”
“I-I-I don’t know what girl,” he lied flatly, while on his knees and struggling to hold his balance with his bound appendages, causing the women in the room to squeal and cry loudly at his movements.
“Don’t fuck with me, I’ll shoot you right here! I know you’re in a band with her – where is she?”
“Upstairs,” he stammered, “She ran upstairs.”
“Carl,” Robert called into his hand held, “Go sweep upstairs. That’s where she went.”
Labyrinth of Lies
Tori clung to the trellis, her heart pounding in her ears. She had climbed out the window before, only a few weeks ago, and didn’t relish the idea of doing it again. However, since their house had been overrun by hoodlums, as her old friend Marge would have called them, she didn’t really have a choice.
Leaning into the dried shrubs, she wished there were green leaves on them so that she would have more cover. Surveying the ground below her, she focused on her breathing and could see only one man left outside. The rest were presumably inside turning the place upside down and looking for her. I’m glad I pulled the plug on the music; she praised herself wryly. At least now I’ll be able to hear the shots when they start killing my friends.
Looking up, she could see the window that she had closed behind her, wondering if they would think to check outside of it. Deciding she needed to move, she began to make her way down as quietly as she could, until her feet were on the ground. I better check the back; she ticked off her checklist. I’m certain they have it covered.
Sure enough, she could see the glossy leather glinting under the light of the moon, the man posted at the kitchen entrance pacing back and forth. Pausing, his back turned to her when he moved to light a cigarette, she silently made her way towards him, until the pop of her blade before it cut his throat. Gripping him firmly, she dragged him away from the area, dropping his body in the shadows on the side of the house.
Quietly, she made her way around to the front, approaching from the side of the opposite living area, keeping low. Pushing herself up, she peered in and could view the empty room, with movement across the foyer. Good, they haven’t moved them.
Seeing that the front door had been kicked in, she studied the man standing with his back to it for a moment. Can’t attack him there; I would be seen. Sliding back, she moved away from the house, taking a position next to a large tree and began tapping on the bark with the butt of her knife. TAP-TAP-TAP, followed by silence. TAP-TAP-TAP, again followed by silence.
Breathing deeply, she kept her heart rate under control, noticing her target had heard the sound, and had begun moving through the shrubs to investigate. Remaining in the shadow of the tree, she waited patiently until he came into position, then she leapt out at him, catching him in the head and knocking him to the ground. Their struggle brief, it ended with a loud pop before her weapon of choice found the line of his jaw, where it met his neck.
Wiping the blood from the blade onto his shirt, the girl turned, moving back to the house and climbing the trellis to her room. The light from the hallway gave the space an eerie glow, and she could see that it remained unoccupied. Forcing the window to slide, she wiggled back inside; moving over next to her bed, she lay still and listened. She could hear loud voices from outside, and presumed that they continued to search for her.
Standing, she glided over to the door, noting the crackle of a voice giving commands, becoming aware they were using a radio of some kind. Hovering in the doorframe, she waited, listening to the footsteps on the carpet go into the room across from hers; one man, she breathed to herself, easy money.
Leaving her room, she stood next to the wall. Waiting for him to exit, she slowly pulled her pistol. The man stepped past her, eager to move to the room she had just exited. She caught him with the bottom of the handle, knocking him to the floor, shoving her knee in his back and holding the gun at the base of his skull, “Don’t move!” she hissed.
Listening for a moment, she could still hear the commotion downstairs, and the voice called out over his handheld again, “Carl… Carl!”
The man shifted slightly beneath her, and she dug the tip of her weapon in deeper. “I said don’t move!” at the same time putting the nine in her left hand and retrieving her knife with the right.
When he heard the catch spring on the blade, he rolled to knock her off of himself, but too late to prevent the motion. She took out the third with a small grin, cleaning the blade once more and catching his foot to drag him the rest of the way into the bedroom, leaving his body hidden by the bed.
Back in the hall, she traveled to the far end, where she caught her fourth man coming up the stairs, she presumed to investigate what happened to Carl. In the end, it didn’t matter; she left his body on the landing and continued down the stairs and into the kitchen. Peeking into the wide room, she wasn’t able to see anyone, and knew that it would be a long journey to the front of the house.
Darting silently, she made her way around the corner, pausing in the hallway for a moment, pressed against the wall, when she heard the distinct sound of her husband, calling her name. It sounded faint, and definitely coming from the front of the house.
Her steps slow and silent, she hugged the wall; pistol in her hands, she continued towards the living area. The voices were becoming clearer as she got closer.
“Call her again!” a male voice commanded, followed by silence; she could hear him being struck before he cried her name.
“Tori!” her mate’s voice rang out, followed by semi quiet. The sound of shrieks from some of the women in the room, muffled and faint, filtered down the hall.
“This’s bullshit, man! I’m telling you; she ran off. She left these guys here, and took the fuck off!” the speaker had been unfamiliar.
“Carl!” the voice called again, and she could tell he was keying a mic. “Stan!” the man waited about ten seconds, then repeated, “Stan!”
Tori had reached the edge of the doorway and remained pressed against the wall. On the far wall above the staircase hung a portrait of the band. Using the reflection on the glass, she could see into the room, or at least partially into the room. Her husband knelt on the floor, his hands behind his back, center or close to the door. Next to him stood a Spider, who angrily spoke into his phone.
“Stan!” he called again, and Tori could see his boots, next to the threshold, realizing he stood almost near enough to touch.
Swift, controlled movement, she swung into the room, placing the tip of her nine inches from the speaker’s head, “That’s enough!”
Inhaling deeply, the man raised his hands slowly.
“Was Stan the skinny bastard in the back? Or the fat fuck in the front?” she taunted him.
The leader stood frozen, holding his hands up in front of his chest, still gripping the device, “Well, well, well… if it ain’t Tori Farrell. Been lookin’ forward to this.”
“I bet you have,” she replied in a deeper voice than normal, keeping her gaze fixed on her target while flicking her eyes quickly to assessed the remainder of the room. “You’re running low on men, you know that?” she teased.
“Am I?” he shot back, looking over at his second, “You’re still outnumbered, bitch.”
“Yup,” she agreed, meeting Michael’s gaze for a brief moment, noticing that Cody knelt on the floor next to him, about a yard away. “Hey listen, Robert,” she called softly, “It is Robert, isn’t it?” Mason and Eli were among the captured, why aren’t they dead? What the fuck are these guys up to?
“Yeah,” he grinned, turning slightly, “In fact it is.”
“I thought so,” she smiled as well. “Robert, I think we need to make a deal, you and I.”
“I’m listening,” his voice remained calm.
“I won’t kill any more of your men,” she continued to glance around, aware that Enrique and Brett were the only two not among the captives, “And I’ll even go with you, if you’ll leave these people alone.” For emphasis, she nodded towards the musicians and their girls. “Leave them here, alive and unharmed, and I’ll go with you, wherever you wanna go. My life… for theirs.”
“Oh, you know that’s against the rules,” he breathed in an airy fashion.
“Yeah, but who’s gonna care?” she turned on the charm. “All the reps are gone, babe. It’s just you an’ me, now,” her voice grew quieter. “Let these guys go, an’ let’s get outta here.”
“And then what?” he demanded quietly.
“Whatever you like,” she tilted her head, smiling. “I used to be quite talented, you know. I was Eddie’s prize. I mean, we’ve never met, but maybe you’ve heard of me.”
“Oh, I’ve heard o’ you all right. A murderin’ whore, tha’s what you are,” he sneered, turning to point a finger at her brother. “Does he know? Has he heard what you’re good for?” his laughter low, he pushed at her to make a move; she didn’t budge.
A New Life Series - Finisher Set Page 62
