King of Morgan Park

by Karen D Bradley

  “Boss, go,” Linc commanded.

  “Crystal, location?” Daron refused to leave Linc in this by himself.

  “We just made it to the front of the building,” she replied, the sound of a vehicle coming to a screeching halt echoed in the background. “You should see us soon.”

  Daron pulled out the fan, opened the shield, then stepped in the passageway firing shots as Linc reloaded the clip. One man was hit in the leg as the other three advanced. Daron clipped another one in the arm. Several bullets hit the shield before he was forced to take cover. Crystal, with two others, ran toward the action.

  “Linc,” Daron slid the shield to him. “Take cover behind the desk,” he instructed, snatching open the nearest door then flattening himself against the wall. He nodded for Bryson to do the same. “Crystal. Fire.”

  Three assailants stepped in front of the reception desk moments before bullets penetrated the glass behind it, sending shards in all directions. Two men scattered, one returned fire, hitting one of Daron’s people. Linc slammed the shield on the back of the shooter’s head. They tussled but it didn’t take long for Linc to subdue him. Crystal and Bryson raced after the two attackers. Daron checked on the drone feed and the other two men were lifting a panel in a floor down the other hall seconds before his team reached them.

  “Crystal don’t follow. Just secure the area.” Daron didn’t know what would be waiting for them in those tunnels. He walked over to the injured man leaning against the wall. “How bad is it?”

  “Just a graze,” the man grimaced, holding the bloody wound.

  The front entrance flew open. Daron swung his gun up at three men, two of whom looked like they were military.

  “I see we’re late to the party,” the one with a dark-blue suit and crew cut said.

  They were the men Calvin and he were actually supposed to meet. They received the meeting notification but had the time pegged for thirty-minutes later.

  Sirens filled the parking lot. A few police officers entered the building, swept the space then secured it as a crowd gathered outside. The remaining officers began questioning Daron’s team on what occurred. Calvin had been taken somewhere safe by Anita and had only returned to give his statement. Bryson rode to the hospital with the injured team member.

  “I’m glad no one died today,” Calvin declared as they headed to the BMW. following Anita who slid behind the wheel.

  A man who appeared to be homeless lingering among the onlookers caught Daron’s eye. His gaze was too focused on the three of them. Before Daron could approach him, the man disappeared into the crowd. “Get in the car now.”

  The homeless man reappeared in the distance behind two police officers as they opened the truck’s doors. Daron went for the gun but hesitated.

  The cops would take him out, not realizing he was aiming for the man between them. Daron reached for the fan to create a shield but realized Linc still had it. He pushed Calvin against the BMW as the homeless guy pointed a gun at Daron, firing off four shots.

  “No,” Calvin yelled as Daron’s body slammed against the door’s inner paneling.

  Screams filled the air.

  The officers swiveled around, bolting after the shooter and fighting to make their way through the chaos of scattering onlookers.

  Daron’s chest, abs, and shoulder felt as if he’d been hit with a sledgehammer and it took him a moment to catch his breath.

  “What the hell?” Calvin patted Daron’s upper body. His eyes were wide with horror.

  “A gift from Cam,” Daron muttered, touching the bullet still lodged in the center of his chest.

  Calvin pulled Daron upright. “Tell her I’m going to need her tailor’s name until I figure out how to make my own device bulletproof.”

  Linc jogged over. “Sorry man. Saw him but he was a professional. He aligned himself so I couldn’t take the shot.”

  Daron slowly slid into the passenger seat. “At this point, I just want to know who has some painkillers.”

  * * *

  Marquise came way too close.

  The Porsche stopped at the red light and Daron peered down his shirt at the bruise. Linc insisted on following him since Daron refused to let anyone drive him once he returned to the car. Daron was a few minutes away from home when a call came through. At first. he thought it was the doctor who he’d asked to meet him at the house. The screen displayed Reese’s name, instead.

  “Levi and his men are scouring the streets gunning for Cedric.” Reese’s voice sounded muffled.

  “Get somewhere safe and I’ll find him before they do,” Daron said, changing directions.

  As Daron reached the corner of the block with the kickback house, two muscular men in suits were moving about with guns boldly in their hands. He sped off, heading toward Cedric’s uncle’s house first with Linc on his tail. He’d be smart enough not to go home.

  Linc’s number appeared on the screen. Daron grimaced as he tapped the display to answer.

  “Boss, what’s going on?”

  “Levi’s looking for one of my boys,” Daron replied, whipping onto Cedric’s block.

  As Daron neared his house, he saw Cedric sprinting up the stairs with Levi and two thugs on his tail. The front door closed behind Cedric but Levi slammed a foot into the wood and flung it open.

  “Dammit.” Daron hopped out of the car and pain shot through him, causing him to cringe. He caught a glimpse of Cedric bolting out the backyard into the alley.

  Daron jumped back in and shot off up the block and around the corner, cutting down the alley. He hit the horn to keep Cedric from sprinting through to another house then lowered the window. Linc hit the brakes behind him. “Cedric!”

  Cedric glanced back, changed course, raced to the passenger side and jumped in. Daron peeled off with Linc pausing at the alley, probably to ensure Levi couldn’t get a shot off.

  It looks like I’ll be switching cars again.

  Daron glanced in the rearview to see Levi standing just beyond Linc’s vehicle. He slammed his fist into the guy next to him.

  “Mr. Dee when I say I’m glad to see you …” Cedric buckled up, then rested his head on the seat. His breathing was heavy in the silence.

  Daron maneuvered toward a safe house in Beverly. “Why was Levi chasing you?”

  “He wanted to use my computer skills to track down your real address.” Cedric lifted his arms, showing the bruising where he’d been restrained. “I was able to get away.”

  CHAPTER 17

  Cameron couldn’t believe Daron had been shot yesterday. Then again, she could. When she found out, the first thing she did was to place an expedited order for an item that would increase his chances of surviving another incident of that nature. She passed the package to Steve, when he arrived at the gym, to deliver to Daron.

  “Are you and Daron okay?” Kathleen’s voice switched from her earpiece to the car as Cameron started the engine.

  She checked her surroundings then pulled out of the parking spacing. “Why do you ask?”

  “I was handling some business near Hyde Park and saw him escorting a woman into a house,” Kathleen explained.

  Alisha. Cameron knew immediately before her chime came with a picture text from Kathleen. I guess I’m the only one struggling with the separation. She pulled over to the side to check the message. “Who in the hell is following me?”

  She noticed a Mitsubishi Eclipse that had taken every turn with her the moment she left her self-defense class parked several feet behind her. “I’m going to have to holler at you later. It seems I have more pressing issues to deal with.”

  “Text me when the problem is handled,” Kathleen said before disconnecting the line.

  No way Cameron was leading them back to her house. She drove down Longwood toward 115th, tempted to go into the police station. Yet there was no guarantee they wouldn’t wait for her to come out. She opted for handling the problem instead.

  Cameron drove to the Morgan Park High School’s track
parking on the side street. She retrieved a shoulder holster out of the glove compartment and slid it over her arms then secured a weapon in each slot. Next, she grabbed her jacket, sliding it on and tucking her gold wand in one pocket.

  Stepping out of the Charger, she walked directly to the car and rapped her knuckles on the window.

  It slowly lowered.

  “I don’t appreciate being trailed.”

  “We don’t appreciate your man recruiting our boys.” The driver casually rested his arm on the window. “They have business they need to handle.”

  Cameron’s gaze went to the light-brown, stocky man who stepped out of the passenger side. “Dude, stay in the car,” she warned.

  “I have no problem sending a message to him through you,” he replied, tugging at his sagging grey pants.

  “I’d like to see you try.” She pulled out the wand and released the blade in the driver’s neck. “You weren’t man enough to take your issue to Daron, so you were coming for me?”

  “Mark. Take her down,” the driver screeched, struggling to move as his partner rounded the bumper.

  Cameron jammed metal into the man’s shoulder. “Nobody told you to move.”

  “Oh, so you are that girl. Ms. Self-Defense.” Mark snickered, pulling out a knife of his own.

  “No, I’m that woman.” She yanked the blade out, slammed the wand against the driver’s neck leaving him gasping for air.

  In a swift move, she extended the wand to full staff and smashed it over Mark’s arm as he approached, then jammed it into the side of his face. His eyes widen with disbelief, surprised by the sudden assault. Cameron caught movement behind her.

  A pale man, who looked like he had swallowed two refrigerators whole, left a car several feet away and rushed toward her.

  Cameron turned away, kicked the man in the chest and hit what felt like a brick wall. He caught her ankle before her foot made contact with the ground.

  “You got moves.” He yanked her toward him.

  She bounced up kicking him in the side of the head. “Yep,” she sneered, following up with two whacks from the wand, which forced him to release her leg. He threw a hard punch into her abs, sending her stumbling.

  Mark leaned back on the hood watching as she fought the newcomer. The giant ducked under one of her swings, grabbing Cameron by the waist and squeezing.

  Her guns bit into her sides, so she struck him several times across the back but it was getting harder to breathe. She retracted the wand, snatched a bead off her bracelet and stuck him in the back, then repeated her action, knowing it would take too long for the drug to kick in.

  She stabbed the blade in his shoulder.

  He screamed, loosening his grip but still didn’t release her. The giant swayed.

  Cameron kneed him in the groin.

  The drug finally kicked in and he dropped to the ground.

  Mark hopped up off the car as she turned her focus on him.

  Cameron punched him in the face and slammed his body against the hood. She slid the wand into her waistband and whipped out the gun, jamming it against his temple. “Do you want to die today?”

  She then pointed the gun at the driver, who tried to open the door. “I’m not afraid to pull the trigger.”

  He slid back into the seat, holding his hands up.

  “Miss, are these guys harassing you?” An older, buff male raced up the sidewalk.

  Cameron slid her gun into the holster. “I got it handled.”

  She released Mark, who quickly maneuvered to the giant. Seconds later. he struggled to lift the big guy into the back seat.

  “Just a misunderstanding,” Mark grunted, pushed the guy in, then rushed around to the passenger seat.

  Cameron moved back after properly thanking her good Samaritan, who made sure she made it safely to the Charger. She lowered the window, prepared for them to try something. The Eclipse slowed as it inched up alongside her. Mark extended his middle finger. She lifted the Ruger, shot at the perfect angle taking the digit out. The bullet lodged in the dashboard.

  He let out a string of unintelligible words, staring in disbelief at his bloody hand. Then he screamed, “You bitch, I—”

  This time she aimed the Ruger toward his head. The Eclipse shot off down the street. She pulled out, driving back toward 115th. What blew her mind was that she left a dangerous business only to get attacked more now than she had been in all the years she worked for Bishop. What did they mean Daron was recruiting their boys? Was he really using the program as a way to find a new staff?

  Unbelievable. But to be honest, it would be a perfect front. She could see Bishop doing something like that. She hadn’t thought Daron was the type, but since she was certain he was hiding something, maybe this was that “thing”.

  You’re not seeing each other anymore. Remember?

  Once the self-defense sessions ended, she’d stay out of the Morgan Park area for a while. Daron was bringing the kind of heat that could get her burned.

  Her cell rang interrupting her pondering. She pressed the answer button on the steering wheel.

  “Hey, baby girl,” Trenton’s voice boomed through the vehicle.

  “What’s up?” Cameron pulled off, but scanned the streets for trouble.

  “Why is your dad visiting all these doctors? Now he’s in a hospital parking lot this time.” Trenton’s voice went to a whisper as if he was standing near Jake. “Something’s up.”

  “Why are you talking so softly?” Cameron said, chuckling.

  “The way your father is looking around the parking lot, I’m scared to be too loud. That man has supersonic hearing.”

  “Before we get my mom worried, I need you to cross-reference these doctors he’s with to any latest news in the media and go back a couple of years.” Cameron drove by Daron’s house searching for suspicious vehicles or for the crew that attacked her.

  “If there isn’t a link, then what are you going to say to your mom?”

  She slowed to a crawl but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. “The truth. We know he’s visiting doctors but we can’t confirm the reason he’s tracking these people down.”

  “Do you want me to stay with him?”

  “Where are you?” she asked as she turned and drove down the hill before maneuvering onto Longwood Avenue.

  “Little Company of Mary.”

  “I’m not too far from there. I’m heading your way.” Cameron did another check in the mirror since she hadn’t seen the giant’s vehicle following earlier.

  “Hey, before you parted ways, did Daron mention The Castle membership Bishop left him?” Trenton asked, still in a low tone.

  She filtered through their past conversations. “No.”

  Trenton gave her more information on The Castle. While she was hurt that Daron hadn’t told her, she wasn’t surprised. She was trying to give him a little time with everything that was going on. Now the idea that this Castle was filled with mob bosses, thieves, and dirty politicians was more important to him than their relationship, didn’t sit well with her. What also pissed her off was that she’d told Trenton to hold off on digging into Daron’s sudden secretiveness.

  Maybe things are working out as they should.

  Cameron dropped her guard a little more every time she and Daron were together. The separation would have been twenty times harder if she continued getting to know him.

  “Let’s focus on Jake,” Cameron said, trying not to think about Daron or this new Castle business.

  “I decided to put these physicians’ names into the database to see if it would connect the dots that were missing. The system gave me a notice about The Castle. I also discovered that while I was out of the country, it was sending information to someone.”

  “What do you mean someone?” She drove straight down to 99th cutting across California Avenue to avoid most of the traffic jam on 95th Street.

  “That’s exactly my question. I’ll have to hack the system to find out.”

  �
��Didn’t you create that database?”

  “This is Bishop we’re talking about,” he huffed. “I don’t expect it will be easy.”

  “Send me what you have on Daron’s membership and I’ll see you soon.” Cameron needed to focus on following Jake. Her mother’s instinct might be valid. She probably needed to make another visit to her mother to sneak into Jake’s home office and do another search.

  She nodded at Trenton as he drove off, then shot Kathleen a quick text.

  Jake stepped out of his sedan but swiftly got back inside. Whoever he was looking for must have come out. A tall, green-eyed man with a white lab coat and a shorter stocky man with dark hair, wearing a light brown suit, stood to one side of the doors talking until a black sedan pulled up and the shorter man got in.