by Kailin Gow
My mouth opened in shock, not believing how Xavier first known of me. He was part of that cyber ring that the stalker I had for years belonged to. So he knew of me and saw all those private and intimate photos of me. Some not even intimate but personal. I felt sick.
“Oh, you…” Brandi jumped on top of him again and began beating him with her fists.
He turned around annoyed, and pushed her off. Like an annoying gnat, she jumped onto his back and began hitting him again, making him so angry, he tried to throw her off.
While they were fighting, I got up and ran to the front door, unlocked it, and opened it, surprising the man who was about to break it open with a kick. It was Nat.
And behind him was Drew.
Chapter 9
Summer
Seeing both Nat and Drew dressed like combat fighters was a sight I’ve never imagined, but here they were, armed and dangerous, ready to break me out of this mansion themselves. They didn’t send someone else to do the job, but themselves…two guys who were wealthy enough to hire an entire army even.
Nat never looked so noble and strong as he did right now, charging into the mansion, guns bared, and sweeping the room with his eyes. Drew, looking handsome, and even handy with his gun, followed behind Nat, and made his way over to me. His face almost broke into relief as he looked me over. “Summer,” he said, holding me briefly and then shoving me behind him. “Stay behind me,” he said.
“Drop your weapons!” Nat shouted into the room.
Xavier knocked Brandi to the ground and grabbed pistols from I don’t know where, twirled around and faced Nat.
Nat and Xavier stared each other down, both armed and now pointing a gun at each other. The tension in the air was so thick, you could cut through it with a knife.
You could tell there was a long history between these two men, a history I had only had a glimpse of just recently.
“Get Summer out of here,” Nat said to Drew behind him, his eyes never once leaving Xavier’s eyes.
Xavier shifted one of his guns over to aim at Drew. “She’s stays with me.”
Brandi’s eyes widened, and she stood up from the ground, her hair wild and messy from being tossed. She looked over at Xavier and said, “Are you that crazy about her? Let her go!”
“Shut up, Brandi,” Xavier said to her, “You have nothing to do with this. Get out of here, now!”
Nat
I looked at the drama unfolding in front of me. So, the Dragon is this hunk of a man, who inspired this woman’s jealousy. I’ve trailed The Dragon for years and got close enough to take out many of his men. Now he was down to a few. And I had his servers and other contraband. He had been backed into a corner, fleeing from Hong Kong to California, and now housed here in Malibu near Summer’s beach Pad. I couldn’t believe this was the elusive Dragon, whom I had been chasing all these years. The one who seemed to be the most interested in my personal life, in my connection to Summer.
What was his game? What did he want with Summer, and why did he want her so badly?
“Hey,” the woman said, “You’re that guy…The Blue Room. I thought I got rid of you…”
I blinked. At first I didn’t recognize her. Then it hit me. She was the girl at the gentleman’s club, The Blue Room, whom I was investigating for a friend, and to find information on The Dragon’s whereabouts. This was the woman who I nearly fucked and then she fucked me, meaning, she bashed my head in, sent me to the hospital for dead.
“Oh you,” I said bitterly. “Couldn’t recognize you with your clothes on and without makeup.”
“How did you live? Why are you alive?” She looked confused.
“Um, magic?” I shrugged my shoulders. Then I nodded towards Summer. “See that beautiful lady? She is the reason why I’m alive. She saved me in more ways than one, and that’s why…” I turned to The Dragon, “I’m not leaving here without her.”
The Dragon looked over at Summer, and for a split second, I saw a look of affection in his eyes. Any man could recognize that look…the look of a man who was in love with a woman. How? Was it even possible?
I glanced at Summer quickly, taking in her breezy white summer dress that was almost sheer through the sunlight. My throat gulped. She wasn’t wearing anything under that sheer dress, and I could see her beautiful naked body perfectly as though she wasn’t wearing a dress at all, but was standing in front of me naked and so damn sexy. I could barely take my eyes off of her. From the side of my eyes, I could see Xavier admiring her beauty too.
Looking at Summer, it was possible for a man like The Dragon to succumb to her so quickly. Heck, after ten years of trying to forget her, of trying to stay away from her, I felt myself caving in to my deep down feelings of wanting her, of loving her. There was no way in hell I would let this man have her.
“She again?” Brandi let out a cry of exasperation. “She saved your ass?”
“Yes,” Summer said, “I did.” Her voice was low and cold as steel. “He was found and brought into the ER, where I performed surgery on him for hours. I didn’t even know who he was when I did it…his head was too bloody and bashed in for me to tell, but I did because it was what I do. I help hundreds of people when I can, and I always will regardless of who or what they are. A monster caused him to end up in the ER, and now that I could see who exactly did that to him, if you came into the ER requiring my help, I would let you die.”
“Oh no you didn’t say that, bitch,” Brandi said, walking towards Summer.
Summer stepped in front of Drew, although he tried to hold her back, and without a moment’s beat, she walked over to Brandi and slapped her face so hard, Brandi nearly fell over.
Brandi stumbled forward, regained her balance, and reached behind her, brandishing a knife that she pointed at Summer. Summer looked alarmed at first, but quickly covered it up with a look of confidence. “You think that knife scares me?” she asked. “I work with the sharpest knives everyday. I could carve an “L” on you in my sleep. “L” for ‘Loser’, “ Summer said, putting her hand to her hip and making an “L” with her fingers from her other hand.
I had to suppress a smile, seeing Summer act sassy in front of a crazy knife-wielding bitch like Brandi. It was a Summer I’ve never seen.
The Dragon had his eyes on Summer, too, but was also aware of my every movement.
Drew pointed his gun at Brandi, which was also in direct line to The Dragon. If he shoot, it would either hit Brandi or The Dragon. A good strategic move on Drew’s part, but Summer stepped in front of him, moving away from him and walking over towards The Dragon.
If I wasn’t so worried about Summer, I would think she had deliberately led Brandi away from Drew, in case she began brandishing her knife all over the place, and hitting Drew.
The Dragon was watching her every move, and for a moment, he had the same expression I had. Pride and amusement at watching Summer stand up to Brandi. It was their fight, and we men understood how important it was to get something like that off anyone’s chest.
Only Summer wasn’t armed with a sharp knife like Brandi was, and Brandi was already taking swipes at her. The first strike ripped Summer’s dress in front, knicking her skin below. A thin trickle of blood formed on Summer’s dress.
Drew, The Dragon, and I stepped forward.
Summer’s mouth opened in astonishment before she gritted her teeth. “Oh yeah? What were you aiming for? If you were a surgeon, you would get an “F” for fail.” She grabbed a large fancy silver tray that had silverware on it, and even silver salt and pepper shakers from the table next to her. In a move as quick as lightning, she emptied the salt shaker, and threw salt into Brandi’s eyes, while she took a few steps towards Brandi who was trying to wipe her eyes, and smash her hands with the tray, knocking Brandi’s knife to the ground.
Summer kicked the knife away from Brandi, and when Brandi looked up, she used the underside of her hand to push Brandi’s chin up, knocking Brandi back. “Fight fair,” Summer said to her.
A shot was fired, suddenly, and we all looked around. It came from upstairs, while two of The Dragon’s men came at us from the sides. I looked at The Dragon, and he was about to shoot me during the distraction, but Summer accidentally bumped into him from where she was trying to pick up Brandi’s knife, which was next to him. He shot, and it hit one of his men, wounding him in the chest.
Drew lounged at that man, punching him twice until he was knocked out completely, while I ducked, hearing another shot, and looked around for the other man.
He was near Summer, and was about to grab her when Drew pushed Summer out of the way. He grabbed the man’s arm, twisted his wrist to make him drop his gun, and elbowed him into the chest, before punching him in the face, sending him down.
Drew stepped back and was catching his breath when a gunshot was heard coming from the top of the stairs. Drew’s face went blank as he fell over.
Summer screamed and rushed over to Drew.
My heart stopped seeing Drew lying prone on the ground. Please God, don’t let him be dead.
I aimed my gun at the shooter at the top of the stairs who was about to shoot Drew and Summer. Dammit, it was the kid. The Little Dragon…Jorge. He had been bandaged up, but he was carrying two guns in his hands. One trained at Drew, and the other trained at Summer. Drew was a sure target and an easy one, lying smack in the middle of the room, a pool of blood bleeding under him.
“Oh God, no!” Summer was crying. She was trying to see where he was shot, and the back of her head was in full view of Jorge’s gun.
He was going to shoot her. I had to stop him before he did.
I pointed my gun at him and shot.
He dropped his guns and slumped down. A bullet through his head.
It was a shot I didn’t want to take. I had deliberately let him live instead of gunning him down when I could at the Compound so he could perhaps live and maybe change? A part of me said he might be able to since he was younger, but a part of me said he wouldn’t, despite his age. He was a hardened criminal and if he wasn’t stopped, many innocent lives, including Drew’s and Summer’s would be taken.
The Dragon let out a roar, when he saw Jorge fall dead on the spot, and he looked over at me, his face transformed into pure anger and agony.
“You killed my brother!” he cried, pointing his gun at me.
But I was already pointing two of mine at him.
I looked over at Summer, who was already trying to help Drew.
“How is he?” I asked.
She shook her head, tears running down her cheeks. “Not good,” she said. “We have to get him to the hospital now.”
My heart dropped. I had a hard time focusing.
“I could work on him here, but I need…” Summer stopped talking, and my heart started thundering.
Brandi was behind Summer where she had put the tip of her knife blade under Summer’s chin. One push, and the blade would go clear through Summer’s head.
The look of anger vanished from The Dragon’s face, too, and a look of panic and fear came over him.
“Let’s see who the loser really is, Bitch,” Brandi said to Summer. “Let’s see who is really the most handy with a knife. Think you can waltz into Eddie’s life, make him replace me with you as his lover? Think again. I’m irreplaceable. I’m the best lover he’s ever had…and you will never see his face, or this man’s face…” she pointed at Drew, “or anyone’s face again, Bitch, because I am going to…” she stopped and fell backwards, as a gunshot was heard.
The gun in The Dragon’s hand was smoking, after shooting Brandi.
It was a clear shot, which if he had missed would’ve hit Summer.
As in slow motion, he put the gun back into his pockets, glanced at the windows, and before rushing out of the room, fixed his gaze on Summer. “Summer,” he said.
Summer looked up, as though she heard her name being called, and by the time she looked at where The Dragon had been standing, he was gone.
The front door was kicked in, and Hector in his Miami Vice brown suit and loafers barged in along with a few of my men.
He surveyed the room, taking in the casualties, and let out a long whistle. “Sorry, boss,” he said. “I tried to hurry but…”
“We need to clean this up,” I said. Technically, all of this was supposed to be under the radar. Us getting The Dragon and his men was secret work. I looked over at Brandi. She wasn’t supposed to be here, caught up in this lunacy. She was the only civilian here, besides Summer and Drew.
Drew…
“We need to take him to the hospital,” Summer said again.
“No, we can’t,” I said. “All of this…it’s highly confidential. We need to take him to a private medical facility.”
“You have one?” Summer asked.
“For guys like us, who operate under the radar, we do…”
“Hurry then, please,” she cried. “I can’t. I can’t lose Drew. Please.”
Epilogue
Summer
I followed Nat, who had hoisted Drew into his arms, to the van outside. My mind was on Drew, and everything else was a blur.
Nat placed Drew’s body on a cot at the back of the van, and sat next to me in the back as we took off. He reached over and squeezed my hand. “Don’t worry, Summer. He’ll pull through. He always does.”
I could only nod. I felt numb.
“We’re taking him to one of our best private facilities. The most high-tech equipments, even those not yet approved by the government because they were far too expensive for regular hospitals to have or was too advance.”
I could only nod. I felt so helpless. “Dammit, Nat,” I said. “I’m a doctor. I can work on him. I just need my tools, my equipment.”
I went to check his pulse. It was faint, and barely there.
“We need to get his heart going. We need to shock him,” I said. “He was hit in the heart,” I cried. How ironic. “I’ve never operated on a heart before, and…”
It was a miracle he wasn’t dead…that he had lived this long.
“I know,” Nat said. “I saw the wound. I know the anatomy, seen enough corpses to know where everything is.”
I flinched. Nat was not the young teenager who only had to worry about Donovan Dynamics and going to college anymore. He had grown up, the hard way, and my heart ached to reach out for him.
I grabbed his hand and squeezed it tight. “We’ll pull through, Nat. I know you’re very worried about Drew, too. We Donovans always pull through.”
“We Donovans?” Nat smiled at me.
“I’m practically a Donovan,” I said.
“I know, Summer,” Nat said.
“And you’re what, maybe a Jones?” I hated bringing up the possibility he could’ve been Aunt Sookie’s abandoned son, but ever since we found Aunt Sookie’s gift to Nat at his parents’ home in San Francisco, there were doubts in his and everyone’s mind whether he was a Donovan or a Jones.
Nat looked deeply into my eyes, and held my hands. “I’ve been wondering about that for a while, Summer, but it still didn’t affect the way I had and will always feel about you.”
My stomach jumped. I knew Nat still loved me, despite whether or not we were blood-related. But it had been a strong reason why he left me to go to Afghanistan on the mission that changed everything.
“I looked into it a few years ago,” Nat said.
I held my breath. He could be my cousin, which would be so strange after all these years, yet, in some crazy way, cousins in Shakespeare’s Days, and in the past got together…only…but I was with Drew, and…
“Summer,” Nat said, “As much as I wanted to be Aunt Sookie’s child because I loved her so much like a mother, I’m not.”
“Aunt Sookie’s child died before the Donovans could take him home. Caught a bad cold and died. The Donovans were devastated, thought they were going to have a baby boy at last after so many years of trying for a child so they adopted me from an orphanage right away, a baby who happened to h
ave had Aunt Sookie’s coloring.” Nat hesitated and said softly, “So you see, I was adopted by the Donovans, legally and binding. I was not the little boy Aunt Sookie gave birth to, although she grieved heavily over his death yet still loved me as though I was him.”
“You’re not my cousin; we’re not blood-related,” I said.
“No,” Nat said, taking my hand and twining his fingers through them, sending warmth through me. “I held back from being with you because I thought I was, Summer. I went to Afghanistan because I thought I was. But I found out after a blood test and some investigation Lamar helped me with, that I wasn’t.”
“How long ago was that?” I asked.
“Almost as soon as I left everyone and had to go into hiding. The crime ring was on my trail soon after the theater incident and with your stalker. I had to leave right away. No time for explanations. No time for good-byes,” Nat said, looking deep into my eyes.
“You could’ve told me,” I said. “About everything, later, right?”
“I wanted to, but you and Drew were already together, and you made your choice, Summer. I had to respect that. As I do now.”
He searched my face for a second, and said, “I don’t know what the future holds for either one of us, but I do know, I’m trying to live my life to the fullest, Summer. As Aunt Sookie wanted us to. I have, and I think you and Drew have too. Rachel, too.”
Drew. My heart sank, and I looked over at him. We had planned so much, to get married finally, to maybe start a family…
Drew…
I went to take his hand, and jumped back. My heart sunk. His hand was cold.
