Graham, Jan - Finding Angel [Wylde Shore] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More)

by Graham, Jan

  “Let’s get this over with.” Steve was straight to the point.

  “Here’s the ledger,” Angel said, throwing it onto the floor just in front of Markham. “Can we take Kathy and go now please?

  “You really are a waste of space that should have been drowned at birth, aren’t you?”

  Steve saw Angel freeze as she heard the voice coming from the kitchen. When she turned toward the kitchen door, Steve thought for a moment she was about to pass out at the sight of the man who stood before her.

  “Hello, Jarrod.” Angel greeted her brother nervously. “Is it just your face I’ll have to look at today, or is Justin lurking around somewhere waiting to jump out and surprise me?”

  Jarrod Wylde looked at his sister with malice, stalking over to her and glaring at her with hate as he spoke.

  “He’s around here somewhere. You know how Justin likes to climb trees and hunt defenceless little animals…Want to go and play out in the backyard and see how long it takes him to target you with his rifle?”

  Angel shuddered. “So he’s progressed from hiding in a tree or behind the shrubbery waiting for me to wander into the yard so he can shoot me with his slug gun. Today’s weapon sounds much more deadly.”

  Steve saw Jarrod sneer with satisfaction as his sister tried to remain composed in the face of the threat he had just levelled at her. If it wasn’t for the vulnerability of the situation they were all in, Steve would have knocked Jarrod Wylde out where he stood.

  “Don’t send her out there just yet. I want to play with her in here first. Let me see if I can get her to come like Hastings did.” Markham laughed as he pushed Kathy down onto the floor and moved forward to pick up the ledger.

  Steve stepped in front of Angel as Markham eyed her up and down. His eyes moved toward Kathy, and he gave her a reassuring smile. Steve was relieved that Kathy didn’t appear injured. He remembered the blood on the bed sheets at the house and the broken bed lamp, but Kathy showed no sign of any injuries that he could see. Markham, however, appeared to have a gash on the side of his head.

  “So why are we all here?” Steve asked calmly.

  “A means to an end.” Jarrod laughed.

  “Mind if I take your sister somewhere private while you two chat?” Markham asked Jarrod, already reaching for Angel as he spoke.

  “I mind.” Steve spat out the words.

  He grabbed Markham by the shirt and began to move him back away from Angel, only to have Jarrod swiftly point a handgun at Steve’s temple.

  “Let’s play nice, Mr. Jax. I’m sure you’ve had your fill of her over the last few weeks. Let someone else have a go.” Jarrod motioned for Steve to move toward the sofa and Kathy, who remained seated on the floor. Jarrod directed his next comment to Markham

  “Do whatever you like with the little slut, just make sure she stays quiet.”

  Steve looked on helplessly as Markham proceeded to drag Angel kicking and screaming toward the back of the house. He knew from experience that Angel had the ability to do some damage, particularly if she could get a good knee shot in. He sat down on the couch near Kathy and gently stroked a reassuring hand down her cheek, maintaining eye contact with Jarrod Wylde as he did. Hastings had been right when he’d referred to the Wylde men as despicable.

  “So back to your question, Mr. Jax. You see it appears that Mr. Hastings isn’t quite the leader he once was, so my brother and I have decided to usurp him. We need the ledger to do so. In order to get the ledger, we needed Angel to hand it over. To assure that Angel would comply, we needed to threaten someone she held dear to her heart. I realised we couldn’t get to you and thereby threaten the man she loves, but we could get to your wife…Blah, blah, blah and you’re all here.”

  “Now, in order to keep your two lovely women safe you are going to tell me exactly what evidence the police have on the organisation I’m about to head, and then we might do a deal. Unfortunately, if we can’t come to some sort of happy arrangement or deal, then you and Angel, along with your very pretty wife, will have to become the first members of the collateral damage club under the new regime.”

  Two armed men entered the room and walked toward Angel’s bedroom door. They quietly began to speak with the man who had initially opened the door. Steve didn’t like the fact that they carried handguns. He also didn’t like the fact that since Angel had been dragged out of the room he hadn’t heard any noise coming from the back of the house. Jarrod Wylde continued to ramble about the power he would hold as head of the organisation, until he was interrupted by a commotion of voices out the back. Angel walked back into the lounge room. Her dress had blood on it, but apart from that she appeared unharmed. She glanced at Steve and began to move slowly toward the couch he was sitting on. To Steve’s surprise, Adrian Hastings followed her, accompanied by a man with a sniper rifle. The barrel of the rifle rested under Hastings’s chin.

  “What the fuck?” Jarrod didn’t hide his shock.

  Justin Wylde released Adrian, who walked over to Angel, manoeuvring her closer to Steve and the couch. Adrian smiled at Steve and winked. He placed Angel on the sofa between himself and Steve before relaxing back on the couch as if he didn’t have a care in the world. Steve didn’t know from the assured look on Hastings’s face whether he was happy everything was going to plan or whether he was putting on a brave face even though everything had just gone to hell.

  “Why the fuck are you all in here? We now have no outside scouts because of you idiots,” Justin yelled at the men congregating at the end of the room.

  He then proceeded to scream insanely at his brother, telling him what had happened. Steve tried not to laugh as Justin had his minitantrum in front of everyone. Justin had been toppled from the tree he had positioned himself in. The other man on watch was dead. Hastings had entered the house, and after fighting off another of Adrian’s men, Justin had no choice but to enter the house to capture Hastings. Steve could feel Angel fidgeting next to him. Hastings had obviously offered her his suit jacket, and she was adjusting the coat to neatly fit around her, or so Steve thought. Something hard slipped under his thigh between the couch and him as Angel continued to fidget.

  Where the fuck had she found a gun?

  “Well, at least you didn’t come inside to save our sister’s virtue.” Jarrod stared at his furious brother who had just thrown the rifle against the lounge room wall.

  “No, that would be me,” Adrian replied, patting Angel on the leg.

  “Where’s Markham?” Jarrod snapped, ignoring Adrian and directing the question to his brother. The look of surprise on Jarrod’s face was priceless as Adrian Hastings answered the question posed.

  “Yes, I must apologise for that. I think he’s out the back with something lodged in his throat,” Adrian stated, then directed his next comment to Steve. “Remind me to get that knife back before we leave, will you, Steve? I use it for hunting stray pigs, you know.”

  “Well, Markham is one stray pig no one will miss where I’m from.” Steve smiled back, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

  “Now why don’t we all have a nice cup of tea and see if we can come to some arrangement about how to sort this out. Why don’t you make one of your goons over there useful and send him into the kitchen to make us all a cup of something.” Adrian once again directed his statement to Jarrod.

  “I’d prefer scotch if you can find any.” Jarrod waved the handgun at the doorman who slowly walked toward the kitchen.

  “Alcohol, that’s perfect. I’m glad you gentleman aren’t going to be uncivilised about this.” Adrian smiled. “Now tell me, I believe I heard something about not doing my job as well as I should. Forgive me. I was a bit distracted. It’s hard to hear over that gurgle noise people make as you slit their throat.”

  Steve noticed Angel adjust the dinner jacket once again. She appeared to position the hem and pockets of the jacket so they spread close to both his thigh and Adrian’s. He leant forward and asked if she was all right. Angel kissed his
cheek and whispered, “Adrian says to get ready to dance.” Steve ran his hand down the side of his thigh and underneath the jacket. He repositioned the weapon under his thigh and grinned.

  “No discussion, it’s simple. You’re out, and we’re in. You no longer run this organisation, Adrian. We do. And apart from getting caught trying to be some kind of hero today, all you’ve accomplished is making it easier for us to kill you.” Jarrod smiled at Adrian.

  “Is that what you think is happening, Jarrod?” Adrian said the words compassionately, but his cold, hard smile reflected anything but.

  Suddenly there was a loud roar accompanied by a scream from the man in the kitchen. The kitchen had erupted into flames. The Wylde brothers and their companions spun around in surprise, turning toward the flames, distracted at what had just happened.

  “Let’s dance,” Adrian called out to Steve as he drew a weapon from under his leg.

  Steve joined in the same action as he pushed Kathy onto the floor.

  Angel was already on the ground and grabbed Kathy’s arm as smoke began to fill the room. At the first sound of gunfire, Angel heard the large window shatter, Adrian had told her he would shoot it out and all Angel needed to do was to get Kathy outside. She covered Kathy in Adrian’s jacket and began to crawl with her toward the window. She dragged the curtain open and started to usher Kathy through the large opening. Kathy appeared to trip as she climbed over the broken glass, pushing Angel against the shard-filled frame of the window. Angel righted herself but felt the wetness of her blood begin to spill from her side. Adrenaline kicked in as she dragged Kathy into the yard. Angel suddenly realised Kathy had been shot, her back now slippery with blood as Angel tried to support her and keep the two of them moving away from the house, which was quickly becoming engulfed in flames.

  The gunfire had ceased, and Angel glanced back to see two men emerge through the window. A group of men were running across the road toward them with weapons drawn as Angel collapsed in the driveway with Kathy. She could feel the heat from the fire and noticed the shrubs at the side of the house withering. Angel felt herself begin to fade in and out of whatever reality she was now in. She heard someone say “hold fire, they’re ours.” She knew that voice. It was Christian. He sounded so far away. Angel slumped next to Kathy and tried to shake the unconscious woman awake. She thought she heard a siren, and then everything went black.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Christian and his team had only just reached the house and were working on moving into position as the house erupted in flames and shots began to ring out through the evening sky. They had heard the whole drama unfolding as they sped from the inner city out to the western suburbs. They’d made the ninety-minute trip in just forty, but still it was barely fast enough.

  As the gunfire started, Christian thought his worse nightmare was about to become reality. Then he saw the two female figures struggling through the shattered window. His team was already moving across the road and down toward the house. His lead detective was calling for fire and ambulance services to get to the scene ASAP. Not long after the women had emerged, Angel half carrying Kathy across the lawn toward the driveway, two males came through the front window. Christian recognised Steve immediately, and he called out “they’re ours” to alert his men not to fire. It took a moment to register that the man with Steve was Adrian Hastings.

  As Christian picked up Angel, other officers collected Kathy and assisted the two women to get a safe distance away from the house before attending to any injuries. The front of Angel’s dress had been torn, and the side of it was no longer the white floral design. It was bright red with blood. Christian had to get her back on the ground and stop the bleeding. She hadn’t said a word since he had scooped her into his arms, and he watched as she became paler by the minute. Christian laid Angel on a grass embankment a safe distance from the fire. She had a deep cut on her side. Christian had seen Angel fall against the window frame but assumed when she picked up Kathy and kept moving that she must have been okay. He checked to see if the wound had any glass in it before removing his T-shirt, making a ball out of it, and pressing it firmly over the wound. He prayed to whatever God might be listening to keep Angel alive.

  Christian heard Steve bitching about the officers looking after Kathy. He glanced over to see two officers, one each applying pressure to bullet wounds. It appeared the wound in her shoulder was a straight-through shot. The one in her back was more worrying.

  “Steve, shut the fuck up and let them help,” Christian snapped at his slightly dazed and bloodied friend. Steve’s arm was bleeding, and he had a few blisters on his face from the impact of the fireball that had engulfed the house, but apart from that he was alive and well.

  Steve looked at the carnage and then back at Christian. The sound of the rescue helicopter thumped overhead before landing in the middle of the road. Adrian Hastings made his way to sit near Christian and Angel. He was holding his shirt against his stomach, blood covering it.

  “What kind of call to action is let’s dance?” Christian asked.

  “As good as any I could think of at short notice.” Adrian laughed despite the sadness evident in his eyes as he looked down at Angel.

  Christian was glad when Angel moaned in pain indicating she was starting to regain consciousness.

  “Ouch,” Angel said weakly as Christian readjusted his hand over her wound.

  “Ouch indeed, my love.” Christian smiled down at her. “Rest easy, you’re safe now.”

  Angel closed her eyes again and began to mumble more words.

  “You know, when she is recovered, I expect that you will never let her come into harm’s way again,” Adrian said firmly.

  “You have my word on that, Mr. Hastings. I assume that I have your word that neither you nor your men will be causing trouble for her again,” Christian stated in return.

  He saw Adrian look at the bullet wound in his guts. From the amount of blood oozing through Adrian’s fingers Christian wondered whether he would be around to cause anyone trouble in the future.

  “You have my word,” he stated definitively.

  “Thank you for helping rescue her here today. I would say I owe you, but that’s probably not a good thing to say to the head of an organisation like yours.”

  Christian watched as Adrian laughed. The man sat in front of him, bleeding like a stuck pig, and it seemed to have no impact on him. He wasn’t even flinching in pain. Christian wondered if the man was made of steel. The medics surrounded them, and Christian heard Adrian demand he be left alone until the girls were taken care of, stating he was only suffering from a flesh wound. The medics bundled Angel and Kathy into the helicopter and lifted off within minutes of having landed. Steve and Adrian were bundled into an ambulance and sent by road, both Christian and Steve demanding they be taken to the same hospital the women were being flown to. As Christian looked around at the carnage his lead detective approached him.

  “I’m releasing Malcolm to drive you back to the hospital. I’ve got this covered, and you need to be with your woman.” Christian didn’t need to be told twice as he headed toward one of the squad cars with Malcolm.

  Christian called and spoke to Daniel as he headed toward the hospital. He was glad to hear that his brother was about to prep for surgery and would oversee Kathy’s operation. Daniel informed him that it appeared one bullet had lodged near her heart, but they had stabilised her en route to the hospital. The news his brother relayed about Angel was a different matter. According to Daniel, the reports from the medics in the air stated she needed blood urgently, and quantities of her type across the state were dangerously low. The hospital had put out an urgent call across the medical field for people to make immediate donations of B negative, but it was one of the rarer blood types, so the response wasn’t going well. Daniel reminded Christian that first they needed to find and stop the internal bleeding or no amount of blood would help.

  Christian spoke to his father next. He realised his fat
her would want to know about Angel’s condition, but Christian also wanted to keep himself occupied as Malcolm drove like a maniac through the traffic, sirens blaring into the evening sky. His father insisted on coming to the hospital, which Christian chose not to argue with. In fact, he found it a comfort. Angel wasn’t out of the woods yet, and Christian knew his father’s support would be needed, particularly if things went badly. As they came up behind Steve’s ambulance, Christian radioed the driver to pull in behind their car and stay close. He just hoped the driver could keep up.

  Steve heard the police siren and smiled as he felt the ambulance increase its pace. Adrian had either passed out or had been given a sedative because he now lay motionless on the trolley next to Steve. Steve wondered if the gunshot wound to his abdomen had been more serious than everyone first realised. The medic in the ambulance assured Steve that his “friend” was fine and stable, but Steve wasn’t convinced. He heard the ambulance driver ask what blood type the other medic was. When Steve quizzed him, he explained they were looking for B negative blood for an accident victim. Steve was B negative. He knew it was rare, but he never donated blood. He wasn’t that keen on needles. Much to Steve’s surprise, when he arrived at the hospital he was ushered into a small room, asked a barrage of questions, and was donating blood before he even had a chance to say “I’d love to.” Not that he minded, all he’d be doing otherwise would be pacing the corridor waiting on news about Kathy and Angel, who were both now in surgery.