Daring Summer

by Suzanne Steele

  His brain refused to accept the evidence of his eyes. The pitiful creature in the bed couldn’t be his Harley. The face was swollen and bruised beyond recognition. Her arm was in a sling and her wrist was in a brace. Everywhere there could be a tube, there was a tube, and the tubes were attached to machines that beeped and clicked. Were they keeping her alive with machines?

  “Stacy, what the fuck?!” he croaked. Clearing his throat, he asked, “What is all this?”

  “She’s in a medically-induced coma.”

  “The motherfucker put her in a coma?! He’s dead, he’s so dead, that fucker--”

  “King. King! Chill, okay? He didn’t put her in a coma, although it was damned close. No, the doctors put her in a medically induced coma, just to let her rest. She was in a lot of pain and, more importantly, there’s a risk of brain swelling. If that happens, they’ll need to operate. It…would be best not to, if possible. They don’t anticipate needing to maintain the coma for longer than maybe a day or two.”

  The room swallowed him up, and when he spoke he didn’t recognize his own voice. “What the hell did he do to her?”

  Stacy didn’t have to ask who he meant. “Somebody beat the shit out of her.”

  “Somebody? C’mon, you know it was him. I need to see where it happened.” He turned to her. “Show me.”

  “King, I don’t think that’s such a good idea. You need to fly under the radar on this one. The police are in the staff locker room now gathering evidence. Let them do their job…please.”

  He glared at her impatiently. “The police aren’t going to do what needs to be done here, trust me. There has to be surveillance footage. Somewhere there’s a camera that caught this guy entering or exiting.”

  “Not in the locker room.”

  “It doesn’t even fucking matter. I already know who did this.”

  “If you kill him, they’ll know it was you.” Her voice was barely above a whisper even though they were the only ones in the room. “If you’re determined to take care of this…problem, then you need to really take care of it. I mean, you’ve got to make sure he’s six feet under so he can never hurt another woman.” She nodded in Harley’s direction. “You’re going to have to be smart about how you pull this one off. Don’t you dare get caught! She loves you and that’s more than enough for me. If you need my help setting this bastard up, you’ve got it.”

  “Well, I love her too. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her.” They stood together by the bed, each lost in their own thoughts as the machines beeped and whirred. King slid his hand gently over Harley’s uninjured one and whispered, “Is she going to make it through this? Is she going to live?”

  “We’re going to think positive thoughts, King. I know this looks so bad, but you’ve got to remember that this coma is medically induced so she can rest and heal.”

  “Keep reminding me of that, will you?”

  “I will. Now, go do what you do best. Oh, here,” she said as she tucked a slip of paper into his hand. “This is the address of the shelter where his wife is hiding. He’s bound to find her and if she kills him you can bet your ass it will be in self-defense.”

  “My thoughts exactly. But she doesn’t need that kind of complication in her life – she’s been through enough. And I need to be the one to avenge what he did to my woman.”

  “It doesn’t matter who does it as long as he’s dead, King.”

  “Oh, it matters.”

  “King, don’t let your ego get in the way. The only thing that matters is you pulling this off without getting caught. They’re going to look at you first.”

  His neck flushed with color and he swallowed hard. “Tell my heart that. Tell my heart revenge doesn’t matter. Right now, I want to wrap my hands around his throat and squeeze the life out of him. I want to see the look in his eyes when he enters the gates of Hell.”

  Stacy knew he’d never be able to let it go. She just hoped he didn’t end up in prison by the time her best friend woke up. She knew Harley would never forgive herself if King went to prison because of her. Stacy straightened and laid her hand on King’s arm. “I’ve got a better idea. No one would suspect me. You get me a gun with no past and no serial numbers on it and I’ll make sure it gets into the right hands.”

  “I can do that, but if he’s not dead by the end of the week, he’ll be dealing with me.”

  “Understood. But, King, somebody’s gotta say it: don’t fuck this up by letting your emotions get in the way. You know that’s the first rule of business.”

  King turned red-rimmed eyes her way as a sad smile touched his lips. “When did you get so smart about cartel business?”

  She shrugged. “Business is business. Whether it’s a legal business deal or not, the first rule is that you think with your head, not your heart. So you go do that, big fella, and keep in mind the sonofabitch is still dying by your hand either way.”

  “You don’t know whether she’s going to take that gun.”

  “King, please. There are children involved. A mother will do anything to protect her children. Hey, about that address I gave you -- don’t leave it lying around, okay? There are a lot of assholes around here who want to know where their families are hiding.”

  “Got it. Why don’t you give her the gun for protection but don’t outright tell her to kill him? If she goes there, she goes there, but she needs to get there on her own. I don’t want this shit coming back to haunt us.”

  “Believe me, if a woman knows how to do anything it’s to get a man to do what we want while making them think it was their idea. It works with women too.”

  King just grinned. He could see why Harley thought so highly of her friend. “Well, hell, Stacy, you got me there. Truer words were never spoken.” That elicited a laugh from both of them -- a much needed laugh.

  Chapter Thirty Five

  The woods and the inky darkness that can only be found away from city lights combined to provide all the cover Blue and Amber needed. They were crouched down at the edge of the woods watching the house that Daisy swore was the new pimp’s bondage lair, complete with a strung-out, full-service sex slave.

  “Are you sure this is the right place, Blue? This place is creepy as hell.” And that was putting it mildly. The house had an eerie ‘Psycho’ feeling about it with its old wooden frame and broken down concrete porch. Large pillars of decaying wood did little to support the sagging porch roof. The sidewalk had chunks of cement missing and weeds were growing up through the cracks. Wild ivy clung to the side of the house. It had all the makings of a haunted house at Halloween, but this wasn’t make-believe. This house of horrors was all too real, and Amber had a feeling they hadn’t seen anything yet.

  “You read my mind. But, yes, this is the right place,” Blue said confidently. “My girls know people who know people. Their intel is solid.”

  “Your girls. Hmmph,” Amber sniffed indignantly before she could think better of it.

  Blue swatted her behind and said sternly, “Focus. Save that jealousy for later when I’m free to respond to it properly.” Her voice dropped to a whisper and she grew still. “Well, would you looky there.”

  A lamp inside the house had just been turned off. Both women watched as a thin curtain was pulled to the side and someone peeped out from behind the fabric.

  Amber shuddered and lowered her voice to a barely audible whisper. “You don’t think he knows we’re out here, do you?”

  “No. I haven’t seen any signs of a dog and he seems to be in there alone. It’s 3 a.m. No one’s been coming or going for at least an hour now, so he must have shut down for the night.”

  “There were so many of them, Blue. I wish there had been a way for us to have gone in earlier. We could have spared her another night of misery.”

  “Me, too, baby. But that would have been too risky. The bastard had a small crowd there tonight. He was all alone in the front room after his ‘guests’ arrived, so that means they must have all been in the basement at the same ti
me.”

  “Oh, my God. And she was all alone down there, at their mercy. That poor woman.”

  “I know. There’s a special place in Hell for people like him. If we play this right, maybe we can help him get there. Waiting until everyone left was the right thing to do strategically. Less danger, less risk.”

  “I counted six men leaving together around midnight. Looked like a group of drunks from out of town, maybe on a business trip. And this is what they do for fun. Who does that?!”

  Amber was having trouble keeping her emotions in check, and Blue needed to get her back on track. “He’s probably feeling pretty paranoid if he still has Kat in there. Guilty people always look over their shoulder. So be careful.”

  “I’m worried about what will happen if you kill him, Blue. If you get caught, you’ll go to jail.” Amber didn’t want to be separated from Blue and the thought of pressing her hand up to a glass partition in a prison made her chest ache. Loving someone was always a gamble, but falling in love with Blue had blindsided her. Now there was no way out – not that she wanted out. When it came to Blue, she was here to stay.

  “I won’t get caught and I won’t go to prison. Trust me; Ricardo and Antonio Wayne wouldn’t allow it.”

  Amber sighed. “Let me guess: they know people too.”

  “She’s beautiful, sexy, and smart. It’s nice to know you care, though.”

  Amber gave her a quick kiss on her cheek. “I do care. I care very much.”

  “You picked one hell of a moment to get emotional on me. I fell for you the moment I first laid eyes on you.” Blue’s look was direct and matter of fact, as if falling in love was the most natural thing anyone could do. “Love at first sight, baby doll.”

  Amber’s face grew hot at the endearment. Blue had made it clear how much she liked Amber’s nasty baby talk when they were fucking. She couldn’t help it; the words just came tumbling out of her mouth when Blue was working her over.

  “Shhh, the front door’s opening,” Blue whispered. The women watched as the man dressed in a janitorial uniform leaned out of the door and looked first one way and then the other. It was as if he was expecting someone to jump out from behind one of the columns or pop out from around a corner.

  Seeming satisfied that all was well, he reached back inside the house and worked the wall switch to turn the light off. Then he turned it back on. Then he turned it off again. Weird. Was he signaling someone?

  “Why would he turn the light off twice? Wasn’t once enough?” Amber’s voice was so low that Blue almost couldn’t hear her. “You know, people with nothing to hide don’t need to look over their shoulder. Guilty people do that. Do you ever feel that way? You’ve killed for the cartel before, and you got rid of Huggy.” At Blue’s sharp glance she shrugged. “Yeah, I figured that out. But you never seem paranoid or guilty.”

  “Because I’m not. The people I’ve killed had it coming.”

  “Is that why you’re expanding your escort service, to get out of the cartel life? Are we gonna follow this guy?”

  “Whoa, slow down girl. I never said I wanted out of the cartel. I want out of men’s beds – and I want men out of me. And I want you out of men’s beds. No, we’re not following him; not tonight anyway. We’re going in and rescuing Kat. But I have every intention of dealing with him sooner rather than later.”

  “If she’s still in there.”

  “Oh, she’s in there. The only question is whether she’s dead or alive.”

  The small red car sputtered to life and took off down the driveway. When it was out of sight, Blue stepped out from behind the trees and gestured for Amber to follow her. As they closed in on the house, Blue touched the Glock she had tucked in the back of her pants. Whether she would kill Kat’s tormentor today was questionable. The reality of the guy meeting his maker sooner rather than later? That was a sure thing.

  Chapter Thirty Six

  Stacy fingered the gun King had given her. It had taken him less than an hour to make it back with the 9-millimeter Ruger. Instead of fearing King’s criminal past, now she embraced it. He understood how this sort of thing worked so she knew he had given her exactly what was needed. The rest was up to her…and Lonny.

  The black and silver gun felt good in her hands. She was comfortable with guns, having been taught how to shoot by a former boyfriend who was a cop. She found herself wishing she could keep this one for herself. Maybe she’d get one of her own after this. A girl couldn’t be too safe, but for now it was more important that she put this gun in Lonny’s hands. That bastard needed to die for putting Harley in the hospital and for every act of violence he had ever committed against his wife, but Stacy didn’t want King to kill him. Lonny needed to be the one. No one would question it being anything but self-defense, and the woman could definitely use a little closure.

  She wondered if Lonny would be able to handle the gun and hit the target when the time came. Would she even accept the gun? Would she understand why Stacy was giving it to her? Maybe if she just handed it to her without any specific instructions, that would be enough and wouldn’t be deemed suspicious later. Just a woman helping another woman. The problem would be whether the woman could keep her mouth shut about where she’d gotten the gun.

  She contemplated the two-story home that served as a secret shelter for victims of abuse and their children. The yellow house with the red door had a cheery, innocuous look about it. The lawn was manicured with perfectly trimmed bushes that lined the sidewalk leading up to the door. Everything about it was neat and clean. Homey, even. Its appearance conjured thoughts of hope and new beginnings. Kids rode their bikes up and down the safe suburban street and their laughter rang through the air, making Stacy feel safer about the covert operation she was getting ready to do. Everything here was so normal.

  She stuffed the handgun down in her oversized hobo bag and got out of her car before she could change her mind. She approached the door with her back straight and purpose in her stride. She couldn’t believe she was going to such trouble to protect King, but he was a good man and Harley loved him. That was good enough for her.

  The woman who answered the door had a pleasant yet wary look in her eyes, no doubt from years of protecting the women who came to her for help. The multi-colored lanyard she wore around her neck with numerous keys suggested that she was a staff member and maybe even in charge. She seemed friendly enough, but there was a grim quality to her demeanor that made it clear she was fully prepared to do whatever was necessary to protect the women and children in the house. Perhaps she, too, had been a victim of abuse at one time. The lines on her face suggested that she had seen her share of the ugliness the world could dish out.

  She gave the woman her name and waited expectantly, but the woman didn’t say a word, only looked at her blankly. Stacy frowned and continued, hoping a few more details would help. “I’m here to see Lonny Brooks. I brought her a few things.” Stacy held up a bag. “She should have me on her visitor’s list. I’m the nurse who referred her here.”

  The knowledge of her being the one who had referred Lonny to safety seemed to put the woman at ease. The hospital referred a lot of people for these support services, so it made sense that she would be comfortable around a nurse.

  “Wait here,” the woman said, walking away with a bit of a limp. There was a story there, that was for sure.

  Stacy looked around. The walls were painted yellow, a lighter version of the building’s exterior color. The sparse furnishings were comfortable but durable.

  She shuffled back and forth as she waited for Lonny, thinking about what she would say. She could hear the shuffling of feet and a slight metallic jingle of keys, then Lonny appeared around the corner with her young daughter. The house mother nodded and walked away to give the women some privacy.

  Stacy looked down at the little girl. She was holding a doll in one hand and twirling a strand of her hair with the other. She looked up at Stacy with big inquisitive eyes. Stacy felt her heart ache for the d
isplaced child. It was never easy for a child’s world to be turned upside down. Hopefully, her life would be back on track very soon.

  “I need to talk to you alone.” Stacy discreetly nodded in the little girl’s direction.

  Lonny gave the child a reassuring smile. “Go into the playroom with the other kids and Mommy will come get you in a minute.”

  “Okay, Mommy.”

  “Let’s go in here,” Lonny said as she walked toward a small library room off to the side of the foyer. Stacy sat on a couch and watched as Lonny pulled a sliding door shut and then joined her.

  “I brought you a few things.” Stacy held the bag out to her.

  “That’s so kind of you, thanks. They provide the basics here, but a few indulgences will be nice. It’s good to see you again.” She leaned in and gave Stacy a hug, which was returned warmly. After all Lonny had been through, Stacy was glad to see that she was still capable of a personal connection.

  “Well, I wish I could say it’s just a goodwill visit, but I’m afraid I have some bad news. There’s no easy way to say this. Your husband came to the hospital and attacked Harley. She’s in a coma.”

  Lonny cringed at the words ‘your husband’, then covered her face with her hands. “Oh, my God.” Lonny straightened and covered her mouth with trembling fingers “This is all my fault.”

  “No, no, it isn’t. This is his fault.”

  “No, I let it go on. I didn’t know what else to do. If I’d just done something to stop him…”

  Bingo. “Lonny, I have reason to believe he’s going to come after you and your children. He’ll hurt you, or worse. It’s only a matter of time. Once he finds you, it’s inevitable. You’re not safe.”

  “He won’t stop until I’m dead -- or until he’s dead.”

  It was now or never. “Have you thought about getting some kind of protection?”

  Lonny leaned in and whispered, “Oh, yes. I bought a gun before I came here. A 357 magnum. If the bastard comes after me or my kids again, I’m going to shoot him right in the chest. Just like my daddy taught me. He always said to go for the chest because it’s the biggest target. Of course, they don’t know I have it here. They’d kick me out if they knew.” She held up a reassuring hand. “I have it locked up, so no one can get to it but me. I’m so tired of running, so tired of worrying about what he’ll do next. But he put your friend in the hospital. She’s been nothing but good to me. It’s not right. He’s got to be stopped before this gets any worse.” She took a deep breath and nodded. “I’ll be waiting for him. I plan on being the last face that man sees before he meets his maker.”