“One way or another, I’ll look forward to seeing you at the end, Mr. McCall.”
The phone went dead. Allister drew his strength from the very fact that Seth Parkinson had made a critical error, a mistake that would work out in their favor. He’d underestimated his opponents and had gone against his normal routine, which meant he could be stopped because he wasn’t following what must’ve previously been his normal formula for success.
Focusing on his family and friends, Allister said, “All right then. If the only thing that matters is the ending, what do you say we make it a happy one? Let’s go find this guy and put him out of his misery.”
Chapter Ten
“Oh shit!” The stoner from the airport turned to run as soon as he spotted Markie. He bumped right into Allister and Mac. “Oh fuck me!”
“That would be a proposition for me, doll,” Markie drawled, strutting toward the young man.
Allister blocked his path. “Running from me or them?” He pointed at Draegan and Harley, now on Markie’s heels.
“Dude, I told ya these guys were trouble!” Stoner’s sidekick was jittery as hell.
Allister lifted the punk off the floor, gripping him by his collar. “We’re not here to hurt you. We need your help.”
“Why…couldn’t you just ask for it at the airport?” The punk’s legs dangled.
“We didn’t need it then, sugar,” Markie explained, standing next to Allister.
“How’d ya find me?”
Markie tapped his temple. “Good memory.”
The bartender observed but she didn’t make a move. The kid shook his head at her and Allister slowly released him, piecing together possible scenarios. “We need to see the man in charge.”
“Why?” He was visibly more shaken with each passing second.
Allister sort of felt sorry for the guy. He couldn’t have been a day over twenty-two. “Look, Markie said you were cool at the airport.”
The fellow stood a little taller. “Yeah, and?”
“Said you mentioned this place. We need your help. We need to talk to the owner.”
“You want to talk to my dad?” He balked at that. “That’s not a good idea, man.”
“Your father owns this place?”
“Yeah, but he’ll knock me out of the state if he finds out I hooked up with you guys in an airport and you followed me here.”
“He already knows.” A buff guy in his early to mid fifties stepped out of the shadows. He tapped the bar in passing. “Thanks, Chelle.”
The bartender smiled sweetly. “Don’t mention it.”
“What can I do for you boys?” He swung his gaze at his son and the young man’s friend. “Get in the back. Wait on me there.”
Allister extended his arm. “I’m Allister McCall. This here is—”
“I don’t care about names,” the fellow interrupted him. “Don’t plan on giving you mine either. Why are you here?”
Markie clucked. “See, I ran into your—”
“We ran into your boy,” Mac said, interrupting Markie, given the fact he’d stepped into his twink persona, the one he’d practiced and perfected for the last man he’d dated. “He didn’t say anything he shouldn’t. He’s a good kid. Recommended your bar, more or less, and we happened to remember it.”
“If you came here for a drink then pull up a seat,” the man said, narrowing his eyes. “But you ain’t here for a cold one. Are ya?”
“Our women were abducted at the airport,” Harley said. “We believe you may be able to help us.”
“Women?” He scanned the crowd behind Allister. “How many?”
“Four.” Allister found it rather odd that he would ask for a number first.
Mac and Harley flinched at that response, too. Did he know where they could find their ladies?
“How come you came here instead of calling the cops?” He propped up his elbow on his forearm and stroked his chin. “What’d they do?”
“It’s not what they did, it’s who has them and why.”
“Who has ’em?”
“A guy named Seth Parkinson.”
The blood drained from the fellow’s face. “Parkinson?” He frowned. “Never heard of him.”
Allister lost his cool and probably would’ve attacked the man for lying then if Harley hadn’t pushed him back and stepped forward with reason. “Look, dude. It’s written all over your face. You know who he is. You know what he’s capable of.” Harley shoved his hand in his pocket and retrieved his phone. He flashed a picture of Ellie and Sable.
The man said, “Look like women to me, but they aren’t ordinary women. Are they?”
“Actually, no,” Draegan replied. “We’re from Trouble, Tennessee. This guy has four of our residents. All four of them were violently abused before they came to our gates. We think this guy has them because he’s a hired gun and—”
“All right,” the man said, thrusting his hand up in the air. “I’ve heard enough. Fewer details you give me, the better. I know Seth. He and his boys have a little place a few streets over.”
Allister could’ve hugged the man. “A few streets over?”
“Yeah. Right in behind our bar here.”
Bane had been right. They needed a stroke of luck. Who would’ve thought they would’ve found it in the Back of the House?
Chapter Eleven
Ryan didn’t trust the bar owner. “What do you know about this guy, mate?” He tried to pretend that he did.
“Seth Parkinson owns this part of Miami.”
“You mean The Back of the House’s owner isn’t the go-to person in this neck of the woods?”
He laughed. “I have shady characters in my circle of influence. Seth? He has killers, quacks who get off on blood and guts.”
“Comforting,” Ryan muttered, walking ahead of the club’s owner.
“You never said where you’re from, mate.”
Ryan slowly turned. At first, he started to be a smartass. This thug was clearly in a position of power because he’d used kids, gangs and their affiliations, to run his drugs. Given the new Mercedes he approached, it was apparently a profitable business.
“Sydney, Australia.” Ryan didn’t mind rubbing shoulders with the locals as long as they were trying to help.
“Long way from home.” He stared down at Ryan’s booted feet. “Let me guess. The cattle market is better here in the States?”
“Actually, I grew up in the livestock business and it was far more profitable in Australia.”
“What brought you to the US?”
“I’ve been an American for more than half my life now.”
“I see,” the fellow drawled. “And you helped these boys with Trouble, I take it?”
“He’s one of the founding fathers,” Allister interjected, jabbing his thumb over his shoulder at the neighborhood behind the bar. “Is that where we’re going?”
The fellow narrowed his gaze on Allister before studying each man independently. After grumbling something under his breath, he said, “Let me guess. None of you are packing?”
“No.” Allister spoke for all of them. “We don’t need guns.”
“If you say so.” He sat down in his car but left the door open while he adjusted the steering wheel and seat position. “If you want to stand by that assumption, just wait here. If you think you might have a cause for a weapon or two, follow me to the shed around back. I highly recommend you follow me. Seth isn’t an amateur, fellows. More importantly, there’s a specific reason he chose this neighborhood. These streets are some of the roughest in Miami. The boys guarding them are among the toughest. And they’re armed.”
“You mean we won’t find lemonade stands on every corner?”
The man grinned. “You won’t get a cool drink for a quarter in these parts. And the only thing you might find working the corners here are hookers.”
“Good thing we aren’t looking for those,” Ryan said.
A few minutes later, they collected weapons and ammuni
tion. Afterward, they slowly pulled out of the parking lot, tailing the club’s owner.
“I don’t like it,” Derek said. “These guns are hot. We could be holding murder weapons for all we know.”
“That’s probably a given.” Ryan refused to think about where those guns had been. “At least we’re going in armed.”
“For all we know this fucker is working for Seth,” Derek said.
“I don’t think so.” Ryan paid attention to the people on the streets. The evidence of poverty was everywhere. Rundown homes lined the streets. Scantily clad women worked their respective corners. Gang colors were everywhere as well. “I think this guy wants Seth Parkinson out of here.”
“Even if we help him accomplish that, he’ll still face the blowback from it,” Derek pointed out.
“That’s not our problem,” Gabe said.
“He’s right,” Ryan agreed, feeling no remorse. “He could’ve said no when we approached him for help but instead he offered his assistance.”
“And he gave us guns to boot,” Gabe added.
“That’s what bothers me the most,” Derek said.
“It doesn’t disturb me in the least.” Ryan parked on the street, pulling to a stop right behind the sleek Mercedes. “All I care about is saving Ellie, Sable, Serena, and Heather. After they’re safe, the whole place can burn for all I care.”
“There are children here,” Bradley reminded him.
Gabe said, “And look at this place. These children don’t stand a chance. Maybe with Seth out of the way, the police can reclaim this neighborhood and make it a better place for everyone.”
“With guys like our new friend, I don’t see that happening,” Ryan said.
Gabe opened his door. “Well, it’s not our problem. Our new pal chose his life. He has hot guns and he’s placing them in our hands and he doesn’t know us. That should tell you what kind of guy he is.”
“Personally, I don’t care what kind of man he is. I’ll be forever grateful if his help allows us to save the women we love. If it does, we’ll owe him.”
Gabe balked at that. “Don’t worry. Men like him always call in their favors.”
As much as Ryan hated to admit it, Gabe was right.
* * * *
“You need to try and get some sleep,” Heather said, lying on her side.
Ellie moved the sheer drapes out of her way and peered outside. “They’re like vultures out there. They’ve been circling this place all night, waiting on a chance to strike.”
“Or maybe the news that Seth did?” Heather suggested, sitting up with her back against the wall. “How long did I sleep?”
Ellie shrugged. “Maybe an hour.”
“Any movement around the limo?”
“No. Sable and Serena are either in the car or they’re—” She couldn’t say it. She couldn’t even let herself think it.
“Don’t, Ellie. So far this guy has done everything he told you he would do. We have to believe they’re still alive.”
“For how long?” Ellie asked.
Heather didn’t answer her. Instead, she moved straight to another point and said, “We need to talk.”
“I know what you’re going to say,” Ellie whispered.
“A forced marriage can be annulled,” Heather told her. “My brother would want you safe. He’d want you to do whatever you had to do to stay alive until he could find you.”
“And what makes you think any of us will ever be found if this guy lets us live?”
“I think he’s at odds with himself,” Heather said. “He was hired to do a job and perhaps might have done it well, but he saw you and instantly found himself drawn to you.”
Ellie agreed with that much. There had been an undeniable spark in his eyes when he’d first spotted her at the airport.
“I can’t sleep with him, Heather,” she said. “Not even if it will save my life or yours.”
“I understand,” Heather whispered.
Ellie didn’t think she did but then again, Heather’s story was very different from her own. Heather hadn’t lived with repetitive abuse. She hadn’t been struck like an animal, beaten down like a rabid whore. That’s how Denny Marshall, her former husband, had treated her.
She couldn’t stomach the idea of becoming another madman’s obsession. She’d rather die first. And she’d rather die than have Allister or any of her boyfriends suffer through the knowledge that she’d landed in the clutches of abuse once more.
“Why don’t you let me watch for a bit? Just take a nap, Ellie.”
“I can’t sleep,” she said, studying movement on the street. “It’s busy outside again.”
“Cars or foot traffic?”
A few dark forms shot around one car and then another, hunkering down low. Ellie gasped. No. It couldn’t have been. “Wait. Come here.” She tried to keep her voice low and devoid of enthusiasm.
“What is it?” Heather asked, rushing the window.
Another couple of bodies crouched near the bushes. Ellie strained to see who might have been out there. It wasn’t a SWAT team but she wasn’t entirely sure the team approaching was there to save them. The gangs had gathered there earlier, and while they seemingly supported Seth, Ellie didn’t believe they liked him. They probably didn’t even want him there.
Apparently, he was tolerated because he could pay for tolerance.
“Ellie, look!” Heather pointed at the street light closest to the house.
Markie sprinted across the road on his tiptoes, dropped and rolled under a car, and then continued to the yard. Ellie released all her burdens and grief in one abrupt sigh.
“They came for us,” she whispered, gripping Heather’s hand.
“Did you ever have any doubts?” Heather grinned. “My brother would never forgive himself if he lost you.”
“Curt and Gabe would never be able to live without you either.” Ellie glanced around the room, considering how she might be able to buy the guys some time. “Hurry, help me move the furniture in front of the door. Make some racket so Seth doesn’t pay attention to what’s going on outside.”
They pushed the first twin bed against the doorframe. Then, they placed their backs against a heavy pine dresser and threw their weight against the furniture to move it behind the bed.
About that time, Seth knocked. “Ellie? Heather. Open this door.” He jiggled the doorknob.
“If you want in, break in. You’ve made sure your thugs guard the outside of this house. We’re going to guard ourselves from those who are already inside this prison with us.”
“Prison?” He laughed at that. “You have no idea what a prison is, Ellie.”
“Being held anywhere against a person’s will is imprisonment.”
“I’ve told you how to earn your freedom.” He jiggled the doorknob once more. “Open the door.”
“No.”
“I said, ‘open the door’ and did not ask!” he bellowed.
“You want in, get in,” Heather said, definitely defiant.
Ellie rushed the window again. Her heart soared. Draegan, Mac, and Harley were at the limousine. Sable and Serena were stepping away from the car.
“Heather,” she whispered, motioning for her.
About that time an axe fell against the upper panels. With brutal force, Seth struck the door. Wood splintered. The racket resonated in the room. He chopped and chopped.
“I do not have a desire to tear down these walls!” he bellowed.
“Then don’t.” Allister’s voice was loud and clear. The undeniable click of a cocked gun resounded. “Step away, Parkinson. Or die right here. I don’t give a damn which you choose but you’ve got two seconds to do it and I just used one of them.”
* * * *
Their reunion had seemed so simple and yet Ellie realized it was much more complicated than it seemed. As she leapt into Allister’s arms, she bracketed her legs around his hips, appreciating the singular fact that hugging him was possible. Still holding him close when Bradley,
Derek, and Ryan approached, she reached for the others then embraced each man with one arm while dishing a dozen kisses or more.
“Hey now,” Allister crooned, cupping her bottom with both hands. “I didn’t get that kind of greeting.”
“Oh yes you did,” she said, tilting his chin to hers and smothering his mouth with a more intimate kiss.
Draegan and Serena walked up then. Their arms were entwined and Serena rested her face against his chest. She had a glow about her and Draegan was practically beaming, too.
“Tell me you didn’t,” Allister said, shaking his head.
Draegan winked at Serena and nodded at the limousine. “Seemed a shame not to take advantage of the privacy when most of you were tied up answering questions.”
The cops had arrived on the scene a few minutes after Trouble’s men secured the place. Ellie had a feeling that part had been planned to a fault. They didn’t trust anyone to break them out of this place. They had handled their rescue themselves and likely called the local police only after they were sure everyone was safe.
“Unbelievable,” Allister grumbled, draping his arm around her shoulder.
“Tell me you wouldn’t have done the same if we hadn’t been detained for questioning,” Ellie said.
About that time, Heather broke free of the detectives who had been interviewing her inside the small cottage. “Gabe! Curt!” Trembling all over, she jumped off the porch and sprinted across the lawn.
Gabe picked her up and swung her around. Curt waited but he didn’t do so without caressing her. He was probably running his hands all over her just to ensure she wasn’t harmed.
“She’s okay, Bradley,” Ellie said, smiling. “You would’ve been proud of her.”
“I’m proud of you both,” he said, squeezing her hand and going to check on his sister.
Serena said, “I told Draegan what I said to Heather. I want to apologize.”
“You owe her one,” Ellie said. “But she’ll understand.” They embraced and then Serena made a beeline for Heather.
Trouble in Miami [Trouble, Tennessee 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 9
