Silver Shield Security Box Set

by Dee Bridgnorth

  Ace sized them up. He could easily take them down with a single shot, but the noise would alert others and they could not afford that. He took a quick glance at his watch. They only had a few more minutes to be out of there. Drew moved to the wall across from where Ace was hiding in the shadows. A few more steps and he would be visible to the men there. Ace lifted two fingers to let him know how many they were.

  Ace met Drew’s gaze and they nodded. Without making a single sound, they crossed over to the men. Ace went straight for the one closest to him. By the time the men saw them, it was too late to draw their guns. They tried to defend themselves, but Ace was too fast and too quick. He landed a blow to the man’s head. He grabbed his hand, spun around and landed a kick to the midsection. The man crumpled to the floor.

  He saw Drew land three quick chops in rapid succession and the other armed guard fell in a heap. Ace noticed a surveillance camera ahead. He looked at Drew and nodded towards it. Drew grinned and shrugged.

  They hurried along the corridor, walking quickly but not making a sound with their feet. They turned left, going further into the house and crept along until they got to the steps that led to the basement, where Sierra was being held. There was someone guarding the place. Drew turned his gun, using the barrel like a club. He snuck behind the guard and hit the man so hard he went out like a light.

  Their devices beeped. “Guys you have company at three O’clock.” Rusty was monitoring the situation from the HQ.

  Drew signaled Ace to go ahead and get Sierra. “I’ll handle the bastards. We’ll meet up at the van.”

  Ace nodded once and hurried down the steps that led to the basement. He knew there was a guard positioned there and he went ready to take him out. He got there and discovered the door was left unguarded. He sensed a trap. It seemed impossible because no one knew of their mission except those at HQ. Still, if it looked like a trap and smelled like one…

  “Okay, you shitheads, let the fun begin.”

  Ace pushed the door open and just as he suspected, it was a trap. He stood there looking at the business ends of six guns, all trained on him.

  He carefully dropped his gun on the floor and raised both hands up. His eyes scanned the room quickly. When he saw Sierra tied up in just her undies, looking bruised and beaten, he almost lost it. He deliberately took his eyes off her and eyed the men one after the other, waiting for an opening.

  Sierra watched Ace and her heart constricted. She felt tears rolling down her eyes as her pulse raced with terror. She had known he would come for her and he had. But instead of feeling relief, she was stiff with fear. They were going to kill him right there in front of her. She did not think she could bear it.

  “Alright then, what are you all waiting for?” she heard Ace ask in a voice that almost seemed amused.

  “We’re going to kill you and then we’ll kill her,” one of the men said.

  “Yeah, whatever,” Ace said in a bored voice. “You have exactly thirty seconds to do it.”

  “You shut the hell up!” another man snapped.

  Each time she thought about it, Sierra still could not relate exactly what happened next. One minute, Ace had both hands lifted up in the air, then the next minute two of the men went flying in the air. She watched in shocked fascination as Ace kicked, punched and took on six armed men. At some point, a gun went off and Sierra swallowed a scream when she saw that it was pointed at Ace. He dropped to the floor, picked his gun and fired two rapid shots at the person who had shot at him. The man crumbled. Next he used his gun like a club to take out two more guards. There was just one man standing now.

  “I’m going to kill you,” the man said with a growl.

  Ace barred his teeth in a feral grin. “I’d like to see you try, asshole.”

  With an angry growl, the man rushed at him. Ace neatly sidestepped him. He should have hit the wall on the other side of the room, but the man spun on one leg and managed to catch his balance. He folded his hands into fists and lunged, catching Ace on the side of his head. The pain was immediate. Ace gritted his teeth against the searing pain. Using the intensity of the pain to propel him, Ace drove his shoulders into the man’s chest, slamming him against the wall. He drew back and hit his head against the wall twice. The man went down.

  His device beeped. “All clear.” It was Drew.

  “Backup on the way. Be out in five.” That was Rusty.

  Ace brushed the back of his hand against his mouth and came away with blood. He shrugged and went to where Sierra was sitting. She looked down, refusing to look up at him.

  Ace squatted down so his face was level with hers. “Hey,” he said softly.

  “I knew you would come for me,” she whispered, still not looking at him.

  He touched her chin and lifted her face till she met his eyes. He frowned at the distress and pain he saw there.

  He opened his mouth to ask her what the problem was, then shut it. After a while he spoke again, “We need to get out of here now.”

  She nodded.

  He brought out his pocket knife and cut the ropes. Then he lifted her like she weighed no more than a child. “Okay, baby, you’re good.”

  He strode to the door and hurried up the steps. Drew was waiting for him there.

  “I’ll cover for you.”

  Ace nodded and kept going. He made to turn right, back the way they’d come earlier, but Rusty beeped through.

  “Turn left, there’s another exit. Third door on your right.”

  They found themselves in a walled garden. The party was holding by the pool area on the other side and this side was left unattended.

  “Guys, come on, let’s go,” Tamika whispered, gesturing to them.

  She led them through the side door of the garden. They hurried to the van and slipped to the back. Tamika had just shut them and was getting into the van herself when two guards rushed out.

  “Hey, did you see two men come out just now?”

  She made her voice shake. “Oh y-yes. They had, you know…g-guns? And I was so scared.”

  “Which way did they go?” one of them snapped.

  She pointed towards the woods and they went off.

  Tamika blessed her small stature and the oversized sweatshirt she wore over her jeans, making her look like a teenage girl. Jumping into the van, she started it and slowly rolled out of the grounds, careful not to draw any unwanted attention.

  At the gate, the guard was on the phone sounding worried. He waved her on and went back to his conversation.

  “How long before they notice the coincidence and come after us?” Drew’s voice came through the device.

  “In a few minutes, I’d guess,” she replied.

  Just as she turned a corner, she looked through her rearview mirror and saw three vehicles leave the senator’s house in hot pursuit.

  “Right on time,” she said out loud. “What happened in there?”

  There was silence then, “We were betrayed,” she heard Ace say.

  Tamika was not sure she’d heard right. “What?”

  “They were expecting us.”

  “How is that even possible?” She could not believe anyone of the operatives would betray them and Ryan was every bit as eager to get Sierra back as they all were.

  “That’s what we intend to find out,” Drew said quietly.

  Tamika pressed on the gas, knowing she could not outrun the other cars in the van, but not particularly worried. She turned sharply to the right, then turned left again. She turned several times until she shook them off her tail, at least temporarily. Then she turned around and drove towards the senator’s house again. She went past it to another street and drove the van into an open garage.

  She jumped out of the vehicle and hurried to pull down the garage door then ran to the back. She pulled it open and the two men came out, with Ace holding onto Sierra.

  “Hey, Sierra,” Tamika said.

  The other woman smiled but did not meet her eyes. When she moved closer, Tamika u
nderstood. The acrid stench of urine stung her eyes and burned her nose. She had to exert major control not to react. She hurried to the car that was parked beside the van and took out a change of clothes, which she handed to Sierra.

  Sierra lifted grateful eyes to Tamika and got dressed as quickly as she could, which was not very fast because her wrists hurt.

  Sierra was conscious of Ace’s eyes on her, but she could not look at him. When she was decently covered, she turned and discovered that the others had gotten rid of their clothes and were dressed casually. Tamika was now in jeans and a tank top. She had also gotten rid of the wig and baseball hat and had her dread locks piled high on her head. Satisfied, they piled into the car. Drew waited to pull up the garage door just a few inches. He slipped outside. Satisfied that there was no immediate danger, he lifted it fully and shut it after the car had pulled out.

  He got in and they went straight back to Silver Shield office. They had to smoke out a rat.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Sierra stood beneath the shower and let the hot water wash over her. She leaned against the wall, physically and emotionally exhausted. She felt so drained that she could barely hold herself up. She should be hungry, but all she wanted to do was sleep. Sleeping while tied to a chair was almost impossible.

  She sighed and wrapped her arms around herself. Eyes shut tight, she lifted her head and took the force of the water on her face. It felt good to be clean. She hadn’t had a shower in only God knew how long. She had not been allowed to leave the room for anything, not even for the bathroom. When she had asked to use the toilet, they had laughed in her face.

  “Where you’re sitting is good enough,” one of the guards had said and she’d had no choice but to pee all over herself.

  The humiliation had been almost unbearable, which was why she had adamantly refused to eat anything. She could not imagine having a bowel movement right there, on herself. The thought had made her shudder. She would rather starve, which was exactly what she’d done.

  There was a light tap on the bathroom door. “Sierra, are you okay in there?”

  Sierra’s eyes popped open when she heard Ace’s voice. She was in a room in another wing of the Silver Shield headquarters. She was asked if she wanted another bodyguard and Tamika had volunteered, but she’d decided to stick with Ace. She could not even think about having another bodyguard.

  Another knock on the door, this time louder and more insistent. “Sierra?”

  She opened her mouth to answer him, but she was just too weak. “I’m okay, Ace,” she said, but her voice came out as a hoarse whisper, weakened by hunger and lack of sleep.

  Sierra shut her eyes again and began to drift. The feeling of water gently hitting her skin and the white noise provided by the shower was soothing. She felt her muscles slowly begin to relax. She sighed and adjusted her position so that the water was now hitting her back. The feeling was sheer bliss.

  Suddenly the water stopped. Sierra knew she should open her eyes. She needed to check what happened with the water, and she would, soon. Very soon. She felt something soft and warm around her body and realized that someone was wrapping a towel around her. Before she could say a word, she was lifted out of the bath tub.

  Sierra blinked and found herself staring into Ace’s eyes. He was so close; she could actually see her reflection in his eyes.

  “Ace?” Her voice sounded sluggish even to her ears.

  “You were falling asleep in there.”

  Sierra frowned. His voice was gruff. Was he angry about something?

  “Ace, you angry…?” she muttered before a yawn swallowed up her words.

  His eyes became soft and she glimpsed emotions she was too tired to decode. With another yawn, she rested her head against his chest and closed her eyes.

  “I’m not angry, Sie.”

  Ace felt her relax against him and was overcome with feelings he could not put words to. He felt protective of her and then there was the feeling of tenderness. His arms tightened around her. He knew without a doubt that he wanted to keep holding this woman this way, for the rest of his life.

  The realization shook him.

  He strode into the adjourning room, careful not to wake her up, and gently placed her on the bed. He stood back and watched her sleep. She turned to her side and brought her knees up, almost to her chest.

  Ace sat beside Sierra on the bed, and covered her with the duvet on the bed. When he was sure that she was warm, he sat there and looked at her. Really looked. He saw the dark smudges under her eyes. She looked so tired. He gently brushed back her hair from her face. It was still damp from the shower. Her hair was so soft and curly. Ace did not know what was happening to him, but as he sat there and watched Sierra sleep, he knew that he would do anything and go to any length for this woman.

  You are mine.

  He did not say it aloud, but it was there in his head. He repeated the words to himself and felt the sense of rightness. He did not know if this was love, but he did know that he was going to keep her safe no matter what.

  Just then, Sierra’s eyes flickered open. She gazed into his eyes and he was surprised by how clear hers were.

  She lifted her hand to his face. Very lightly, she touched the side of his head, where he had taken a hit. He’d gotten it stitched earlier. Her fingers on the stitches were light, soft as a butterfly.

  “You’re hurt,” she whispered.

  “It’s just a scratch,” he said with a shrug.

  Her eyes came back to his and he saw tears in them. That shook Ace more than anything. He had never seen Sierra cry. Not even after her car had exploded right before their eyes.

  “Don’t cry, Sie.” He took her hand and brought it to his mouth.

  Sierra shook her head. “I thought…” she took a deep breath and let it out. “I thought you were shot.”

  There was a moment of confusion before he remembered when one of the men had fired a shot at him. He smiled. “We were in full gear,” he explained. They had worn their full body armor complete with carriers and body armor plates.

  She shut her eyes. “I won’t be able to live if anything happens to you.”

  Everything within Ace stilled. Then his pulse began to race. He thought his heart would explode as he sat there, trying hard to take in the implication of what she’d just said.

  “Sierra?” He called her name gently, but from her even breathing and the peaceful look on her face, he could tell that she had gone back to sleep.

  Ace had no idea how long he sat there just watching her sleep. There were so many confusing thoughts running through his head, but underlying all those, was the peace he felt, just sitting there.

  You are mine, Sierra.

  This time, it was a conviction deep inside his heart.

  He stood up and left the room. It was time to put an end to Senator James Hugh Coleman’s reign of terror.

  **

  “We have our people in position. You’re good to go.”

  “Roger.”

  Ace cut the connection with Emily and stepped out of the car. He scanned the area, looking for anything out of place. His face still hurt from the day before. It was getting dark outside and even though Ace had no idea where they were, he knew that Silver Shield had a few snipers in place.

  He turned up the collar of his leather jacket and walked into El Torero, the Spanish restaurant in Avondale.

  The interior of the restaurant was dimly lit; the way some restaurants sometimes were. According to the intel they had, Slim Johnny Natale would be in a booth further inside the restaurant. Emily had called in a few of their part-time operatives, who were already seated in the restaurant. He recognized a couple of faces, but did not take the time to see if there were more people he could recognize.

  Even though his body was relaxed and he projected a lazy confidence, he was tense and alert. He had just walked into enemy territory and there was every possibility that he might not walk out alive, although he fully intended to do so.<
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  He moved with a sure stride and did not stop till he was standing in front of the head of the crime family. As soon as the men seated around the man saw Ace, they immediately stood and drew their guns, pointing the muzzle at him. Unmoved, Ace kept his eyes trained on the only man seated. He could tell that they knew who he was. He raised an eyebrow and cocked his head in inquiry.

  Through the corner of his eyes, he saw one of the men gesture with his gun. Ace shrugged and unhurriedly, with exaggerated slowness, he took out his weapon and laid it on the table before them. Then he opened his jacket wide to show them that he was not hiding anything. All the while, he kept his gaze fixed on the man. The men relaxed their stance, but did not lower their guns.

  “Ace Moreno, nice of you to drop by,” Slim said, his voice pleasant and friendly.

  Ace smiled. “It’s a social call,” he said lazily.

  “Well, in that case, please do have a seat.”

  “Don’t mind if I do.”

  With a cocky smile at the others, Ace settled himself on one of the seats around the booth. He leaned back against the seat. He knew the picture he presented; one which said that he was comfortable and in charge. He turned to look at the others, his glance mocking. Next he directed his gaze to Slim.

  The man was as good looking and as charismatic as he looked in his pictures. Average height, about five feet, ten or eleven inches, he also looked fit without an ounce of spare fat. The information they had on him said he was in his early fifties, but he looked ten years younger.

  Ace looked into his eyes and saw that this was a man full of contrasts. His expression said he was simply curious about Ace’s presence in his domain and he had the look of a man who could be reasoned with, but behind all that, Ace could see the ruthless streak that was several miles wide.

  “You are either very courageous or extremely stupid,” the man said at last, looking at Ace with a slight smile. He glanced at the drink in his glass then back at Ace. “You don’t strike me as a stupid man. So what brings you here?”