“I had to file a flight plan,” War reasoned out. “Damn it. How fucking far is Jensen’s reach? This isn’t some two-bit bike junkie’s information. He had to pay well for that kind of leak.”
They weren’t running fast enough.
The automatic gate opened with the security card the twins had borrowed, but the car they were driving couldn’t move forward. A bike had swung in front of them, cutting them off.
Other members of Jensen’s gang parked right up to the doors, blocking them from exiting. They only left one back-passenger door enough space to be wrenched open.
War heard Tess screaming as one of the bikers reached into the open car door.
They were kidnapping her right in front of them!
Bastion bent over, still half running, scooping up some rocks as their pounding feet hit the gravel drive. He wasted no time pitching one at the biker struggling with Tess. If Bastion ever got bored playing Prince, he had a hell of an arm for pitching.
The guy howled and grabbed at his head like a pussy. His screech was even louder when Tess sank her teeth into his other hand and crawled back into the car through the open door.
War barely got a glimpse of her, but he had no doubt that was their hissing, sharp-clawed Kitten.
One of the twins kicked a foot out to nail the guy Tess had bitten. He went flying back enough with stumbled steps to give Kade a chance to reach out, grab the door and slam it shut, blue-tipped hair catching the light before he disappeared inside, locked up with Tess and Keir.
The bikers were pounding on the doors to no avail. “They’re locked!” one of them screamed.
Bastion nailed another idiot with a rock he pitched to the bikers’ backs while they were still unaware of their approach. Instead of uselessly yanking on the door handles to try to open the car, the bikers ought to pay more attention to the imminent threat behind them.
“Any cameras here?” War shouted out.
He was reluctant to ruin what was sure to be an exercise in punching out his anger for Bastion, but there still were poor odds of a half-dozen bikers to just the two of them.
The twins couldn’t risk leaving Tess alone to join the fight.
Bastion shot him a bewildered look that transformed into a knowing one. He didn’t look happy about it, but he shouted out a response to get the bikers to think twice about continuing their attack.
“Of course, there’s fucking cameras at the airport!” Bastion replied, playing along.
Bastion halted in front of a big, leather-clad guy that gave up twisting on one of the car’s window wipers—for who knows what purpose because the wiper was flimsy—as he glanced up to look for the cameras.
“Smile, asshole,” Bastion ground out, sucker-punching his first anger-management target.
War grabbed that guy’s buddy and threw him across the car’s hood.
Sirens sounded. It was likely the airport guards, not the police. Anybody with illegal doings interpreted ‘the cops are coming’ from any siren-like noise. That’s when the rest of the bikers decided retreat might be in order.
Bastion fisted his first target’s shirt, making sure he couldn’t run off before he got another fist to the gut. It was dirty and quickly coupled with an elbow to a flank that was bound to hit a kidney in a really-illegal move as the guy tried to twist away to escape.
“Let ‘em go, Bastard!” War shouted out as the bikes grumbled to life.
Some of the guys were leaving already, faithless to their gang member that was getting the shit punched out of him by Bastion.
With a disgusted huff, Bastion let him go.
The biker was barely standing on his feet. Bastion dusted then wiped his hands on the guy’s chest with a rough pat to finish off the insult.
“Go. Tell Jensen that the girl is ours.”
Bastion moved out of the way, tapping the car hood so that Keir could drive the car forward.
The biker War had tossed wasn’t hurt bad. He had been one of the first to ride off. Bastion’s punching bag had a hand on his guts, but he one-handed and shouldered his bike up to take off, Bastion’s warning ringing in his ears.
Hopefully, that sucker punch hadn't deafened him to the message Bastion wanted to send Jensen.
War knew Bastion would want Tess under their watch 24/7 after this, but he also knew she’d fight it. They all had learned a lot about her that day her father confronted her in front of them.
Each lie she spoke had been a revelation.
Tess would do anything to protect people she cared about and she didn’t care if it meant throwing herself in front of a gun, either.
War wasn’t going to let her play Russian Roulette in front of him again. Next time there was a gun involved, she’d better duck, like any other reasonable girl would do. She was going to learn that she didn’t have to fight alone.
The car stopped once it passed the gate. The high-pitched squeak of under-greased gears accompanied the sound of two car doors opening: the front and rear passenger sides.
“Come on, get in,” Keir hollered. “Tess is freaking out.”
“I’m not freaking out!” Tess yelled but it was softer.
She sounded like she was fighting off a girly faint. Hell yeah, something was wrong with her. Tess wasn’t a fainter.
“What happened to her?” Bastion asked, ducking into the rear door. War took the front passenger seat. “She looks pale,” Bastion noted.
“They tried to drug me with something. It smelled like strong alcohol but with sugar. I threw up,” Tess said, sounding guilty.
“We can change our clothes,” Kade said, exasperated.
It probably hadn’t been the first time he told Tess to stop worrying about getting sick. None of them would blame her when she had been drugged and nearly kidnapped under their protection!
“Tess, I’m so sorry. That shouldn’t have happened to you,” War said, grabbing the seat’s headrest so that he could crank his body around to see her. “I never thought they would find out about the airport so fast. We were taking you out of here for a trip, so security wouldn’t be such a problem while we talk things over properly.”
Tess didn’t look reassured at all by his words. If anything, her panic just tightened her features further.
“What about the kids? I shouldn’t have left them behind. They don’t have any security—only Jacobson. You’re butler's what? Sixties if not older. He can’t take on an armed gang with a monocle and a walking stick.”
“Jacobson doesn’t have a monocle, and any walking-stick that old man has is a cudgel, trust me,” War said. “Your brother and sister will be fine with Jacobson. I’m going to call him right now to put them on lockdown. No leaving the premises until you get back. They’ll have plenty to occupy them at my house.”
War pulled out a cell that he hadn’t turned off yet for the flight and started dialling.
“His house is like Fort Knox. They’ll seriously be fine,” Bastion promised.
“We couldn’t take them with us,” Kade explained. “They’re still minors and any travel needs to go through their social worker. With everything that’s happened recently, I didn’t think you’d want the attention a request like that could get, especially if we were the ones making it.”
“Dad might be able to get the paperwor—”
Somebody rapped on the driver’s side door, interrupting Keir. They had just been crawling along in the car, so the stop wasn’t abrupt as Keir cutting off mid-sentence.
“Is there a problem?” Keir asked, although friendly enough, as he rolled his window down.
“We witnessed the altercation you were involved in, sir. Just coming to check that everyone is okay,” the guard said with a less friendly smile.
He peered in, getting a whiff of Tess’s vomit, then backed up a step.
“The security here is swift. Thank you!” War said, drawing attention to himself, across from Keir. “We have no idea who those guys were, but they seemed to be attempting a robbery. They didn’t
get anything though, scared off when we put up more of a fight than they were prepared to handle. Your sirens alarmed them.”
“Do you want the police called? Those men were trespassing?” the guard asked.
“We would rather not have any further delays to our trip. Jet fuel is literally burning money right now, waiting for us to taxi. Could we park the car and get out so you can check that all of us are okay, then let us go on our way?” War proposed.
The guard looked indecisive.
“Do you think we could call a valet out here to take our car in for detailing? Our friend was so scared that she threw up. We had no idea the lot entrance was unmanned and when those criminals showed up...? Our father’s a lawyer. He puts guys like that behind bars. Maybe we should request the video surveillance to see how those guys even got so close to a jet that is fuelled and on standby,” Kade said from the backseat.
The guard swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing nervously.
“I’m sure we can get the valet,” he answered. “No need to request the video surveillance right now. It will hold you up with the paperwork. Let’s get you all on your flight as efficiently as possible. I’ll follow you to the valet lot.”
The guards got back into their car, sirens off but the light still flashing. Keir pulled ahead, accepting their escort. War was glad that Kade had pulled out the ‘my dad’s a lawyer card’ when normally the twins were uncomfortable to do it.
Might seem like a rich-prat move but it had been effective.
Tess didn’t need any excuses or more time for second thoughts.
War was ready to throw her over his shoulder again if she got cold feet. Hell, he’d go a lot further to protect her. All of them would.
Tess was about to find out just how far they were willing to go.
5
Tess
No Place like Friends
Tess was scared. Her heart was pounding in her chest.
It might sound trite but that was exactly the right way to describe her fear. Her ribs couldn't contain the panicked race of her heart, ready to burst out of its cage, like an alien thing she wanted to deny.
Never show them your fear.
The saying that someone could smell fear was a lie, but the power of observation was much more sensitive at picking up emotions. There were so many tiny muscles in the face. It took a lot more of them to form a frown than a smile, a complexity in those primal emotions that might make a person look like a victim.
Biology knew enough to keep a stiff upper lip easier.
“I need a washroom to get cleaned up. I think some of the vomit got on my pants and shoes,” Tess said, trying to keep the fear in her tone covered-up with the embarrassment she also felt.
“There’s a washroom on the jet. More than one, actually. Do you have a change of clothes with you?” War asked.
“Yeah, we brought everything that I’d packed. It's basic but enough for a weekend trip. Where are we going? The twins didn't tell me anything, and then we showed up at the private airport. What jet? How are we going to go anywhere? I don't have a visa,” Tess said.
A bit of the panic she was feeling got through her voice despite her best efforts to muffle it.
Bastion wrapped his arms around her and pulled her onto his lap. He didn't seem worried about getting the stinky contents her stomach had expelled on his own clothes.
She felt awful, though.
He was about to make filthy-rich a truthful statement. His suit was clearly expensive, cut to fit him perfectly. He had slipped out of his jacket once inside the vehicle and pushed up his cuffs, platinum links winking at Tess as she grabbed hold of the arms capturing her.
“I’m a mess,” she protested. “You should keep your distance until I get changed.”
Bastion inhaled deeply against the back of her neck, nuzzling through her thick hair. “Are you okay? Do you feel like passing out? They tried to drug you with something to kidnap you!”
“Chloroform?” Kade guessed from her other side. His blue eyes looked positively stormy. “Thanks for the interference, Bastard.”
“Any excuse to show off for our girl. Did I look Transporter sexy playing bodyguard with those thugs, Kitten?”
Fuck. Yes, he did.
Tess scoffed instead of admitting that out loud.
“You probably wrecked your suit. What were you thinking? You guys should have called 9-1-1.”
Her heart was barely slowing down. Being in Bastion’s arms wasn't really helping.
“We’re going to a private island my father owns. You don’t need a visa. I’ve already gotten the flight plan approved with our family jet. My father is there on business and we’re going there to discuss getting help for you and ourselves. We’re going to talk during the flight,” War said, finally answering some of her questions when the others kept avoiding them.
The answers were overwhelming.
“A private island? Your family jet? Holy fuckballs. Are you serious?” Tess muttered, then she quickly added to her shocked mumbling. “Of course, you’re serious. All of the rest of them lie, but you just omit information, like talking about your wealth. So, if you’re saying it, then it has to be true.”
“No more secrets,” Keir said, sounding pretty firm for a guy that was usually mild humoured. He parked their car. “Come on, Tess. Let’s get you onto that jet. I won’t feel you’re safe until we’re in the air. That’s when we’ll share life stories and our astrology signs.”
The twins had kept their mouths shut about anything important last night. It had all been a sexy distraction from her asking questions.
Tess made sure she shot Keir and Kade both looks that said she was mad at them for hiding the details of this trip.
War opened the door on Bastion’s side.
Tess was carried out of the car in Bastion’s arms. He held her firmly, only reluctantly letting her down on her feet once they were outside the car and she demanded it.
Twice.
“Don’t want to get mixed up with your kidnappers,” Bastion told her. “Go ahead and walk. Follow War. Nice to see you too, by the way.”
Tess rolled her eyes deliberately in front of him.
“This is practically kidnapping, you know. At least, I wasn’t driven here in the trunk, but Jacobson insisted on acting like a chauffeur. Do you know that he fussed over our motel room being in shambles, cleaning it up before he would rest? He also said he was trained by War’s father himself to use the shotgun he kept in the trunk. He stores weapons there instead of kidnapped girls, like me.”
Her voice had raised by the time she got to the end of her little tirade. Surprisingly, it had done a lot of good for her nerves. Her heart wasn’t galloping as hard any longer. She was expending all of her energy shouting instead of keeping her fear tight in her chest.
“That’s not kidnapping. It’s an armed escort,” War casually explained.
“If I need guards just to go around town, then what about the kids? What about my Mom? I can’t leave for some island somewhere while they’re all here and in danger from Jensen!”
War turned around and shouldered her off her feet. He then pivoted, with her being carried, and kept on proceeding to the loudly purring jet.
“Keep your mouth shut until we’re in the air,” War said, coming up next to them. “Already our plans got leaked for those bikers to ambush you at the airport gates. Trust us. We have security in place for everyone you care about while we go together to arrange the rest of the plan. That stunt you pulled going to Daniels has messed up everything. You owe us some peace and quiet until we all get strapped in for what I’m sure will be a noisy flight.”
War’s little lecture was accompanied by a pavement-eating gait. Tess got an upside-down view of his traditional-looking kilt and muscular calves encased in wool socks.
Her priorities shifted.
The guys were asking for her trust and they had already given her a lot of their own trust first. She had messed up by going to the bar, pullin
g the lid off a jar of worms without knowing exactly what she was fishing for at Daniels.
Her catch could have swallowed her whole.
Now the guys were ready to share with her more than she was sure they let anyone else know in a long time.
War’s kilt revealed a side she never thought she would get to see. There were questions buzzing around in her ever-busy mind.
Did the wool socks itch?
Was he naked under his kilt?
“Promise me everything is going to be okay. And don’t lie,” Tess said, ignoring her unspoken, inappropriate questions.
She was going to need coffee to keep her mind focused on the important things.
“I promise everything is going to be okay,” War repeated back. “You wouldn’t accept anything less, right, Tess-girl?”
Her own voice felt caught in her throat at his endearment, his accent riding the words heavily. War had to be fighting the emotion of the moment too, realizing the kind of trust that she was giving all of them.
Bastion sighed and came closer.
“I told your Mom we’re taking you on a special group-date for the weekend. She knows, Tess. Not about everything, but that you’re going to be okay and the kids, too. That’s what she asked. You two are peas-in-a-pod when it comes to worrying over those kids.”
“The kettle and the pot,” Keir teased.
“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” Kade said, adding his own saying to amuse her quirky humour.
“A chip off the old block,” War said.
“No two snowflakes are the same,” Tess rejoined. “But in this instance, I believe you are right. Thanks for talking to my Mom, Bastion.”
“I was volunteering to spend some time bringing cheer to the old folks in the geriatric wing if anybody asks,” Bastion dismissed.
He must mean if his stepmother asked since she had been the one to have him dragged back home and grounded. It was a good excuse.
Duplicity (Victory Lap Book 2) Page 8
