by S. E. Smith
“Yes,” Trey said, turning toward the vehicle he had been standing beside when they arrived. “I’ll explain on the way.”
Jacob held back a moment, keeping his arm tightly around Allie’s waist. Jonathan shot him a brief glance, before nodding his understanding… Jacob needed a moment alone with Allie.
“What is wrong with you?” Allie demanded as she gripped the arm around her waist.
“This could be dangerous,” he said, turning her to look at him. “I want you to stay behind Jonathan and me.”
Allie’s mouth tightened and her eyes flashed with anger. He could tell that she was trying to choose her words carefully. Still, it didn’t diminish the look of warning in her return stare.
“Indy is more of a sister to me than a friend,” Allie said in a quiet, firm tone. “I won’t do anything to endanger her, myself, or anyone else. You are not the only one who knows how to use a gun, Jacob Tucker.”
Jacob’s mouth tightened as he watched Allie turn on her heel and walk away. He knew very well that she knew how to use one. He had felt the hard metal and recognized the outline of the pistol she had slipped into the waistband of her jeans when he pulled her back against him. That, was what worried him.
*.*.*
Trey pulled out of the access to the airport and onto the road leading toward the freeway. He glanced at Jonathan, who was sitting next to him before he looked into the rearview mirror at his other two passengers. The tension in the back seat was enough to cut with a knife.
Trey released a quiet sigh of disappointment. He had waited too long to make his move on Allie from the look of it. That seemed to be the story of his life.
“Hayden Wild has Indiana at his penthouse downtown,” he explained as he entered the freeway. His eyes flashed to the mirror to make sure the lane was clear as he pressed the gas to get over to the center lane. “Hayden Wild told the police that Indiana was a recovering drug addict and had called because he refused to give her money for her next fix a few hours ago. We called them off as we knew something was going down. We needed to see what would happen next.”
“You are using her for bait?” Allie gasped in shock, sitting back. “What if something goes wrong and she gets hurt?”
A nerve pulsed in Trey’s jaw as he gripped the steering wheel. He could feel the animosity coming from not just Allie, but the men as well. He needed them to understand this was a much bigger case than Hayden kidnapping his sister. This was a major political fucking deal with some very, very powerful men involved. Powerful men who weren’t afraid to leave a few dead bodies behind if it suited them.
“What the hell does she mean you are using my wife as bait?” Jonathan snarled in a low, dangerous tone. “I’ll kill every one of you bastards if anything happens to her.”
Trey glanced at the man and bit back a low curse when he saw the icy stare focused on him. If looks could kill, he’d be dead right about now. Glancing in the mirror again, he changed lanes wishing he’d just given Sam a fucking excuse when he called. Making an executive decision, he decided he would tell them a watered-down version of the case.
“Hayden was expecting company, powerful company, from Washington, D.C. last night. I can't tell you much as it is an ongoing case, but I can tell you this man is dangerous. We suspect this man contacted Hayden Wild to help in Wild's bid for a seat in the U. S. Senate. This man has helped a number of other men get seats which he then controls through them. His corporation has received some questionable contracts both domestically and in our foreign venues. While the corporation is legitimate, some of his business practices he hides under its umbrella are not. We are hoping he will make a mistake with Wild so we can issue a search warrant,” Trey told them as he took the exit marking the downtown area.
*.*.*
Jacob listened as Trey explained that there was an agent working on the inside. The man would make sure he did everything he could to protect Indy. When Jonathan questioned Trey as to just how in the hell the man was going to do that, Trey just replied he would do it.
“Does Indy know about this man, your inside agent?” Allie asked, leaning forward in her seat.
“No, it would be too dangerous for our agent. The last one we had was compromised and we found her dead. The initial ruling was a car accident, but we have evidence that she was dead before the car went off the shoulder and down into the ravine,” Trey replied in a hard voice. “Listen, the only reason I was given permission to bring you in was because my bosses are hoping Ms. Wild’s sudden marriage will make Wild spill the beans on his benefactor. When Wild sees his plan isn’t going to work, he might agree to a plea deal in exchange for information. What we didn’t expect was for his benefactor to fly in so soon. Personally, I think it would’ve been better to have just left your asses at the airport, but Sam talked to my bosses who talked to me.”
“I’m going to kill the son-of-a-bitch,” Jonathan hissed as he removed one of the pistols at his waist and checked it. “I suggest you don’t get in the way.”
The car jerked at the same time as Trey’s loud curse filled the SUV. His eyes flickered frantically back and forth between the road and Jonathan. His face paled as he watched the skill with which Jonathan checked the weapon. This wasn’t some novice. This was a man who knew how to handle the gun in his hand.
“Shit! What in the hell do you think you are doing? Put that damn thing away! What do you think this is, the Wild West or something?” Trey asked as he pulled into a No Parking space in front of a tall, steel and glass covered building.
“Where we come from if a man threatens what belongs to one of us, we kill the bastard,” Jonathan said coldly as he glanced at Trey with a hard expression.
“Yeah, right, and I guess you hang horse thieves and murderers too,” Trey muttered as he pushed open the door and slid out.
“If we don’t shoot them first,” Jacob replied as he stepped out of the back seat and waited for Allie.
Jacob winked at Allie as she rolled her eyes at him. He held out his hand to help her out of the back. Warmth spread through him when she grasped his hand tightly and let him pull her out.
He released her hand and pushed back his coat until they were out of his way before he pulled one of the pistols. He checked the grip and moved it easily back and forth between his hands before rotating it and sliding it back into the holster.
“Show off,” Allie muttered under her breath as she tried to act like she wasn’t impressed by his agility.
“You haven’t seen anything yet, Darlin’,” Jacob responded with a husky note of promise in his voice.
*.*.*
Allie followed Trey into the building. She was more than a little surprised that he had allowed her to come. She had a feeling it was more to keep Jonathan and Jacob in line, than anything else.
She nodded to the doorman who stood to the side with his eyes almost rounded in shock. She couldn’t blame him. They probably looked like the biggest odd couple on the planet. Either that or the doorman might think they were in the middle of making a movie.
Allie caught the image of the four of them in the reflective film on the glass panels. Trey walked ahead of them, looking every bit the polished modern professional man. She followed wearing her blue jean jacket, yellow top, low hung jeans, cowboy hat and boots. She looked like she was ready to start dancing on the top of a bar.
It was the two men walking confidently behind her that made her want to fan herself. They were both tall and reminded her of the old westerns where the men were just ‘bigger and meaner’ than they were today. Their long coats flared out behind them as they walked. Their faces were partially hidden by the Stetsons they were wearing and their boots snapped down at the same time as they walked. But it was the glimpse of the guns strapped to their waist that gave the impression that they were on their way to the OK Corral, instead of the twentieth floor of a downtown Los Angeles high rise.
Allie paused outside the elevators, turning slightly toward Jacob. She glanced under her la
shes at the three other people who had suddenly appeared to watch them in curiosity. Shaking her head, she glanced up at him with a scowl.
“Do you think you guys could have been a little less…,” she waved her hand at his long coat and hat. “I don’t know… Maybe less conspicuous?”
“You know you love me dressed like this,” Jacob teased down at her.
Allie’s face flushed and she shook her head as the doors opened. “Keep dreaming, cowboy. I’ve given up on love. It just hurts too damn much.”
The teasing grin on Jacob’s lips died, not so much because of Allie’s words, he knew he could change her mind. No, it died when she and Trey stepped into the large metal box and turned to look at him and Jonathan.
“What… Why are you in the box?” Jacob asked as a sense of unease suddenly gripped him. “Where are the stairs?”
“We can’t go up twenty flights of stairs,” Allie retorted in disbelief. “Come on.”
“It looks like a big silver coffin,” Jonathan muttered, shifting from one foot to the other. “We can take the stairs.”
“No, you can’t,” Allie replied with a roll of her eyes. “This isn’t much different than flying in the plane. It has almost as much room.”
“That’s what we’re afraid of,” Jacob muttered.
“Well, Trey and I are going after Indy,” Allie declared, releasing the button holding the doors opened. “We’ll see you when the shootout is over.”
A low curse escaped Jacob as the doors started to close. Stepping forward, he quickly entered the elevator. Jonathan’s low curse echoed as he turned sideways and squeezed inside.
“Are you kidding me?” Trey asked Allie under his breath as both men leaned forward, bowing their heads and placing their hands on their knees as the elevator started to rise.
“I don’t think they’ve ever been on one before,” Allie whispered back with a choked laugh as Jacob mumbled another prayer under his breath.
“Please, don’t let this open at Heaven’s Gate,” Jonathan breathed out. “I’m not ready to go yet.”
“Wow!” Trey whistled. “I loved the damn things when I was a kid. They must lead a very sheltered life.”
Chapter 11
Jacob straightened as the box they were in started to slow. He continued to draw in long, deep breaths as his stomach settled back to where it was supposed to be. Every fucking time he thought there wasn’t anything else that could scare the shit out of him, something would pop its damn head up to mock him.
Jacob agreed with his brother. The thing did look like a big coffin. Well, except for the fancy tile and the lights. He straightened and wrapped his hands around the comforting feel of the butt of his guns.
He swallowed as a soft ping sounded and the doors started to open. He was slightly behind Jonathan, who was ready to bolt the moment the door opened far enough for him to get out.
Jonathan stumbled in front of him, his arms reaching out as a familiar figure came running toward the elevator at them. Jacob followed his brother as he rushed for Indy. Her large, frightened eyes and pale, bruised face were imprinted in his mind as a strangled cry escaped her as she lost her balance and slid on the smooth, tiled surface.
“Indy!” Allie’s startled cry echoed behind him.
Jacob pulled his gun to cover Jonathan and Indy at the same time as he pushed Allie into a narrow, recessed area in the wall where a large planter was as she tried to move around him.
“Stay there,” he ordered as he moved forward.
Jonathan rushed forward, lifting Indy into his arms while Jacob pulled his gun with one hand at the same time as he pushed Allie into a nearby alcove to protect her. Jonathan vaguely recognized that Jacob stood protectively in front of all of them, making sure his body was between them and any threat that might come at them.
He could hear Indy’s gasping plea to his brother. Trey had also drawn his gun and had moved in front of Jonathan and Indy. A low curse exploded from him when a man stepped out of the door further down the corridor with his hands up.
Jacob raised his gun at the figure. His arm jerked up toward the ceiling when Trey suddenly stepped in front of him. He wanted to throw the bastard out of the way, but Trey had his arms spread wide.
“For crying out loud, don’t shoot! Rodgers, what the fuck is going on?” Trey called out to the man standing stiffly by the opened door.
“We have him,” the man replied in a voice devoid of emotion as he slowly lowered his hands. “He confessed to killing Evelyn.”
“Shit!” Trey cursed. “Did you get it on tape?”
“Yes,” the man replied as his eyes moved to where Indy was partially hidden behind the huge man with a gun pointed at him.
Jacob pulled the hammer back on the pistol in his hand and stepped to the side so he had a clear shot when the man took a step forward. His jaw tightened and his eyes narrowed on his target. He’d be damned if he’d let anyone near Indy. The man must have understood that he wouldn’t hesitate to put a bullet between his eyes as he raised his hands and took a step back.
“Is she alright? I tried to do what I could to protect her. She doesn’t make it easy, you know,” Rodgers commented with a small smile.
Jacob’s eyes narrowed and he glanced briefly at Trey. Trey gave him a brief nod as he slipped his gun back into the holster under his suit jacket. Jacob’s eyes swiveled back to the man watching him. The bastard gazed back at him as if almost daring him to take the shot.
Jacob glared a warning for the man to not push his luck. Personally, he didn’t give a damn who the man was or who he worked for. As far as Jacob was concerned, he had done a piss poor job of protecting Indy if her terror and the bruises on her face were any indication of his attempt.
“He’s our inside man,” Trey responded in a low voice. “Agent Spencer Rodgers, FBI.”
Jacob listened as Rodgers explained where the men responsible for Indy’s kidnapping were and what had happened. He still didn’t trust the bastard. He knew his brother was taking care of Indy and needed him to cover his back while he was distracted.
He stepped between them and Rodgers when the man tried to step around him. The warning was clear in his eyes; stay away or die. They had done what they had come for, now it was time to get Indy the hell out of here.
“I won’t hurt her,” Rodgers murmured, staring intently back into Jacob’s eyes.
“You were one of the bastards who took Indy in the first place,” Jacob sneered as he stared back at Rodgers with a cold look of challenge. “Do you really think I would believe you?”
Rodgers drew in a deep breath as his eyes moved to where Jonathan was cradling Indy. “This was personal. Hammond killed my sister. I did what needed to be done to get the bastard. I wouldn’t have let him harm Mrs. Tucker.”
“Even if it meant losing the man who killed your sister?” Jacob asked in a low voice filled with skepticism.
A muscle ticked in Rodgers’ cheek before he turned back to stare at Jacob with cold eyes filled with brutal, barely suppressed rage. Jacob could feel the icy determination in the man. Something told him that Rodgers was a modern man who lived by the code of the past.
“I would never have lost him,” Rodgers replied.
Jacob waited several seconds before he bowed his head in acknowledgement. Sliding his pistol back into the holster at his side, he turned to let Rodgers pass by him. His eyes followed the man as he walked to the elevator as it opened and half a dozen men and women poured out and rushed by them.
His eyes lit on Allie as she stepped out of the small alcove he had pushed her into. A small smile tugged at his lips at the fierce, furious expression on her face. She walked up to him and smacked him hard in the chest. The amusement glittering in his eyes faded to desire when she suddenly reached up and framed his cheeks with her hands.
A low moan escaped him as she pressed her lips against his in a fierce kiss that left him wanting more. He stumbled backwards when she suddenly pushed him away. He stared down at her
in surprise when he saw the angry glitter of moisture in her eyes before she blinked them away.
“If you ever - and I mean ever – do a stupid stunt like pushing me out of the way and putting yourself in danger again, I’ll bust you in the gut,” she snapped before turning on her heel and walking over to where Jonathan was cradling an unconscious Indy in his arms.
“You know, she’ll do it too. I once saw her break a chair over a guy who thought he could beat his girlfriend at the local bar. She beat the shit out of the guy with it,” Trey commented nonchalantly.
Jacob knew he was grinning like an idiot, but he couldn’t help it. There was a lot more in that kiss than Allie knew. She might not have realized it yet, but she was beginning to have feelings for him, strong feelings. Her eyes had held more than a little fear with the anger and her kiss had been filled with a desperate passion.
He stared at where Allie was kneeling next to his brother and Indy. She was talking quietly to him as she brushed her fingers over Indy’s face. Her dark hair swung back and forth as she nodded and smiled tenderly down at Indy.
Soon, Allie, Jacob thought as he watched them. We’ve got what we came for and when we go back, you’ll be coming with us.
Chapter 12
The next few days flew by, literally. Allie had been ready to strangle Jacob once they were back downstairs. He had paced back and forth the whole time, glaring at anyone who got too close to his brother, Indy, or her. He’d been in pure protective mode as the street filled with flashing lights.
Jonathan had held Indy the whole time. One look at his face and the paramedic knew that Jonathan wasn’t about to release Indy from his protective embrace. Allie couldn’t keep from giggling as the female paramedic rolled her eyes at him when he snarled that Indy wasn’t going anywhere, but home. She was just thankful that neither Jonathan nor Jacob had drawn their guns, especially considering how many law enforcement agents were running around. Trey had finally pulled two of the local police officers over and told them to watch the two bass-ackward cowboys while he dealt with removing Hammond, Wild, and the bodyguards.