by Blair Grey
Nodding, I agreed. My stomach twisted though as I thought about Strong hurting Nicki. “Okay. I’ll still cover the front door. He’s going to run when he sees you guys.”
“Okay. Keep it quiet. No loud outburst that will give him the head’s up.”
Putting my ear to the door, I could hear the sounds of grunts and smacks. Something made a loud cracking sound then a thudding sound. Mumbles in both of their voices were heard.
Sweat poured off my face and I had to keep wiping it away. It was taking so fucking long that I almost left my post to go see what the fuck was going on.
I have to trust them.
They would do the job as best they could. I knew I could trust the men who’d come to help me. Now, I just had to have faith that everything would work out for the best.
The ongoing fight inside told me one thing. Nicki was one tough woman who still held her own against a man three times her size.
Note to self – never get into a wrestling match with that girl – she’ll kick your ass.
The men had to be inside by now. Any minute this would all end. I would have Nicki in my arms shortly. We’d call the cops and send Strong off to jail.
All the bumping inside suddenly stopped and I heard the muffled sounds of the two of them talking. It sounded like they were having a rational conversation.
She’s getting information out of him.
With Nicki’s car being there, I knew she’d come to him. He hadn’t kidnapped her. But I was pretty damn sure he wasn’t letting her go. The woman had some sort of agenda and all of a sudden, I thought our intrusion might ruin what she was doing there.
Chewing on my lower lip, I contemplated calling the whole thing off. “What if I fuck everything up for her?”
Nicki had been adamant about not wanting my help. She’d ended things with us over that. So, she had to have strong feelings about doing this thing with Strong on her own.
What if she can’t do it all on her own?
Was I supposed to just stand there on the other side of the door and let him do whatever he wanted to her? Was I supposed to hang back and let her get raped again?
I am her hero.
Heroes don’t jump in a rescue people who don’t need it. But how was I to know if she truly needed my help when I could see a damn thing?
The window!
I could just take a little peek to see what was going on. That way I wouldn’t be guessing if she needed help or not. And she couldn’t get mad at me for fucking up whatever she’d planned on doing to the man.
As soon as I got around to the side of the building, the first thing I noticed was that the other men had already gotten inside the bedroom. “Fuck!”
Hunched down, I didn’t want Nicki nor Strong to see me. My time was severely limited with four Iron Cobras in the house. Easing up, I barely looked over the ledge of the window. The curtain was drawn, making so I couldn’t see shit.
This was a stupid idea.
As I moved around, I found a tiny peephole I could see through. “No! Shit!”
He’d strung Nicki up. She twisted and turned, trying to get loose but it wasn’t working.
Something shiny glistened, taking my attention away from her. Strong held a kitchen knife in one hand and rope in another.
She needs my help. She needs her hero!
Suddenly, Nicki was out of sight. Danny and Lyle came into the living room with their guns drawn and that’s when I heard the front door slamming open.
“Fuck!”
I’d left my fucking post. And as I ran around to the front, I saw Strong sprinting toward his car. He wasn’t looking back as Danny stood at the door, shouting, “Freeze, you son-of-a-bitch or I’ll shoot!”
Danny caught sight of me as I headed toward Strong. “I’ve got him. Get Nicki.”
With my words, Strong turned to look at me with surprise in his eyes. “Robertson! What the fuck are you doing here?”
Dropping to the ground, Strong rolled onto his front, then over onto his back, pointing a handgun at me. Two shots went off quickly. I dodged them – but just barely.
Lyle shouted from somewhere behind me, “It’s time, kid!”
“Is Nicki okay?” I had to know. If anything happened to me, I had to know that she was okay.
“He stabbed her in the stomach,” Lyle told me. “I’ve got an ambulance on the way.”
My legs turned to jelly, and I dropped to my knees. “No!” He’d done it. Strong had hurt her. “You’re dead, you sorry motherfucker!”
Something whizzed past me. I heard that but nothing else as I watched Strong stand up as I collapsed on the ground. Pain ripped through me as I pulled my arm up to aim my gun at him as he came to stand over me. “Who’s dead?” He laughed as he pulled his foot back to kick the gun out of my shaking hand.
This is it. I’m done. He’s going to kill me.
An eerie calmness came over me as I knew this would be the end of me. It wasn’t bad at all. I didn’t feel a thing. No pain. No fear. Nothing but acceptance.
Ready to accept my fate, I closed my eyes as I heard another blast and felt my body jerk. My finger was still on the trigger of my gun. Opening my eyes, I saw Strong had his head turned, he was yelling at someone.
His temple pulsed as blood streamed down his face from a gash on his forehead. A thin slash of red ran along his cheek. My girl had done some damage – I had to give her that.
Pulling the trigger, I watched the bullet leave my gun, travel through the air then disappear right into Strong’s temple. His head jerked back at an odd angle, then his eyes came to mine. Disbelief filled his eyes as he stumbled backward.
Our eyes held until he fell to the ground. “You’re dead, Dean Strong. That’s who’s dead,” I couldn’t even hear myself say the words, they came out so quietly. “You’re dead.”
I might be dead too. But you’re really dead, you piece of shit.
The sound of sirens met my ears as I closed my eyes. Clyde’s voice came from beside me. “Hang on, Garrett. Help’s on the way.”
The darkness was taking me away. But I pushed it back a little. “How is she?”
“She’s unconscious right now. She’s lost a lot of blood,” he said. “But I think she’ll make it. She told me to tell her hero that she’s sorry she pissed him off.”
“I’m sorry that she did that too.” More darkness moved in as I tried to take a breath, but my lungs wouldn’t seem to work. “How many bullets?” I had no idea how many bullets I’d taken.
Lyle’s gravelly voice came, “Two bullets, kid. One in the shoulder and one in the chest. You just rest now. The ambulance is here. You got your man, kid. You got him. You made the fast track. Now, hang on and don’t give up the fight. I’ve got a real good feeling that you’re gonna get that patch and you might just get the girl too, you lucky son-of-a-bitch.”
“Nicki,” I whispered then felt something welling up in my throat. “Tell them to get her first.”
Hands moved along my arms and my legs. Four sets of hands moved over me as I heard the men, who soon would be my brothers and who’d come to help me and Nicki, pray together, “Lord, be with our brother in his time of need. We will be waiting patiently for you to return him to us. Amen.”
Their hands left my body and then I heard Lyle say, “There’s a woman inside on the floor. He wants you to take her first.”
Now, that is a brother.
Another siren came along as I heard the first team go inside to help Nicki. A smile pulled my lips up. Things were going the way they were supposed to.
Whatever happens now, it’s no longer in my hands. It’s no longer in Nicki’s hands. And thank you, Lord - it’s no longer in Dean Strong’s hands. You alone, hold us now, Lord. Do with us what you will. I will accept your will.
“I’ve got a pulse,” I heard a woman say as people rushed by me.
“Hero?” I heard the soft cry. “Where’s my hero?” Nicki’s voice trailed off.
“I’m here,” I manag
ed to get to come out of my mouth.
For how long, I don’t know. But for now, I’m still here.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Nicki
The sounds of a steady beat pulled me out of my sleep. A sterile scent told me I was in the hospital. I remembered being taken out of Dean’s place on a stretcher. A couple of paramedics had put me into the back of an ambulance. One of them had told me that the man I’d asked about, my hero, was in the ambulance right behind us.
What the man who sat next to me, setting me up with an I.V. and fluids, had said bothered me then and it still did, “You can’t worry about him right now, miss. You’ve got your own injuries to deal with. I need you to rest and relax. You’ll be going into surgery for the stab wound to your abdomen as soon as we get to the hospital. Once you wake up, you can ask your nurse about your hero.”
The next thing I knew I opened my eyes. The stark whiteness of the room I’d been put in was seen through blurry vision that made it seem as if waves moved through the air. Blinking, I was able to make out the call button on the bed and pressed it.
The top part of my bed moved, so I stopped pushing that button, knowing I’d gotten it wrong. Blinking rapidly, I managed to get more clarity before I went for the next button. This time I heard a beep outside my room.
Footsteps came to stop next to my bed as I couldn’t keep my eyes open to see who it was. “I’m Nurse Peterson, Miss Johansson. Are you aware of why you’re in the hospital?”
“I am.” The memory was slightly marred, but I recalled enough. “I was stabbed in the stomach. But enough about me. How is Garrett Robertson – my hero?”
“Oh, I thought you’d like to know that you had a laceration of the stomach wall and it was repaired and a full recovery is expected within six weeks.” Her hand ran over my forehead. “You’re going to be fine, Agent Johansson.”
“I’m sure I will be fine. What about Garrett? I don’t even know what happened to him.” My hand fisted and the beeping sound that had been nice and steady turned fast and unstable.
“Calm down,” the nurse cautioned me. “He’s just been brought into the ICU room next door to yours. You’re still in Intensive Care, but your condition is stable. I’m not sure about your hero’s. Let me check with his nurse once she’s seen to him.”
“He’s alive,” I whispered. My fists relaxed and my heart slowed down. Opening my eyes, I wanted the woman to see the desperation in them. “Okay. That’s what I needed to know. Do you know what happened to him? Please tell me.”
“I don’t know everything.” She looked over her shoulder, I assumed, to make sure no one overheard her telling me things others might’ve thought I didn’t need to know while I was still in fairly poor condition to receive bad news. “He was shot twice. Once in the shoulder.”
“He’s got great biceps, he’ll be okay.” I breathed a sigh of relief. But she’d said twice, not once. “The other shot got him where?”
“See, that one I don’t know exactly. I’m afraid you’ll get upset when I tell you.”
The sound of my heart rate going up again showed her that not knowing would upset me more. “Please.”
“Okay, okay, calm down.” Her dark eyes drooped as she put her hand on my shoulder to try to comfort me. “He took a shot to the chest. I don’t know where exactly and that makes a lot of difference.”
Breathing in slowly, I closed my eyes again. Please, Lord, don’t take him away from me too.
I had to know more. Looking at her again, I asked, “Can you go find out everything you can about how he’s doing? I have to know.”
“Sure.” She checked my monitors and smiled. “You’re going to be better very soon. Your numbers are excellent. I’ll be back shortly.”
One more thing popped into my mind. I couldn’t believe I’d almost forgotten about the man. “Also, do you know anything about Dean Strong?”
“I don’t know anything about anyone with that name. Sorry.” She left me alone, going back out through the glass door. I scanned the length of the room, finding the entire wall was glass. I could see everything at the nurse’s station and the few people who walked in the space between us.
A man wearing a black leather jacket came walking by. His hands were stuffed into the pockets of the jacket and his head hung low. His lack of hair and long, dark beard reminded me of a man I saw at Dean’s before I’d passed out. “Hey,” I called out.
His head turned and brilliant blue eyes looked at me. He came to the door, leaning on the metal frame as he smiled. “Hey there,” came his gravelly, deep voice. “Glad to see you awake, Agent Johansson. You had us worried there for a bit. You feeling okay?”
“I’m feeling no pain right now. I suppose once the anesthesia wears off completely that will be a different story. I don’t know if you told me your name or not. But I don’t recall it.”
“Lyle Franklin.” He nodded. “Enforcer for the Iron Cobras MC, at your service. I think you and I have spoken over the phone before. You called me from Robertson’s phone. You need anything at all, you let us know. Anyone wearing our patch will help you out.”
“That’s very nice of you all. I don’t suppose there’s anyone in the waiting room from DEA for me.”
“Oh, yeah. Agent Smith is waiting. Should I go get him for you?” He looked over his shoulder. “Or, maybe your nurse doesn’t want him to bother you yet. I’ll ask her first before I do that.”
“No.” I didn’t care to start answering questions just yet. “Don’t get him. I’d really like to know what happened to Dean Strong. Do you know if he got away or not? I really have to know that before I see anyone from my agency.”
His eyes moved to the floor as he shifted his weight. “Well, he’s no longer with us.”
“He’s dead?” I had to be sure that’s what he meant.
“He is.” He nodded then jerked his head to the right. “The kid shot him. After he’d taken two hits, Robertson managed to shoot Strong right in the temple. It was a miraculous shot. Spot on. Quick and clean. He impressed us all.” He clamped his mouth shut tight as if he felt he’d said too much.
“Good. I’m glad he’s the one who took that son-of-a-bitch out.” Closing my eyes, I felt warm all over. “He really is my hero.”
“Yeah, you’re right to think of him that way,” Lyle agreed. “He gave me the call to come help in the rescue mission he planned for you. It seemed you were holding your own there for a bit, but then you lost your lead and – well, you know the rest.”
“I was strung up and Dean stabbed me when you guys pulled the bedroom door I was hanging from open.” I didn’t want him to feel bad about that. “I’m pretty sure he was going to cut me anyway. And more than once. He’d said some weird shit before you guys rushed in. So, Garrett orchestrated that, did he?”
“He did call the shots.”
“He’d told me about wanting to become a member of your elite MC.” I hoped Garrett would get in now that he’d proven himself. “Is there a patch in his future?”
“That’s not up to me, Agent Johansson.” He nodded though, telling me he wasn’t at liberty to say anything about Garrett’s acceptance into their MC.
Happiness spurred the warmth inside me to grow a bit more. “Are you going to see him now?”
“I am.”
“Even if he’s not conscious, can you tell him that Nicki can’t wait to see him again and that I’m right here, only one wall is separating us?”
“Will do.” He nodded once more, then walked away to go see Garrett.
I’d just closed my eyes again when I heard a man clearing his throat. “The nurse just told me that you’re awake, Agent Johansson.”
I recognized Agent Smith’s deep voice. I wasn’t ready to answer any questions yet. But I opened my eyes to look at him anyway. “I’ve been awake for a few minutes. But I’m not coherent enough to give you a statement.”
“No. I wasn’t going to ask you to. Not yet anyway.” He came to the side of the bed, then stu
ffed his hands into the pockets of his beige Dockers. “Are you feeling okay?”
“Nope.” I didn’t want him to think I was doing well at all. I wanted to be sure no one who’d helped me would get into any trouble at all. “Dean Strong was a bad man. A very bad man. And he was going to do far worse to me than this one stab wound.”
“Yeah, I know. The president of the MC, the Iron Cobras is the one who called our agency,” he said, surprising me. “He turned over all the surveillance equipment his council members found in Strong’s apartment.”
“There’re cameras that I’m sure Strong put up in my apartment too.” I wanted every little piece of evidence there was to use against Dean Strong – dead or not. I wasn’t going to let him die with a good name.
“And why did you have an apartment in Baltimore?” he asked.
“I was sent here on a case. But I think it was some sort of a setup.” I felt positive that it was all just something Dean had concocted to get me where he wanted me.
His confused expression revealed how much he didn’t know about Dean’s lengthy reach within our agency. “Our records show that you were taking vacation time. Two weeks of vacation, to be exact. So, why are you telling me that you were sent here on a case?”
“Because I was. My supervisor is the one I talked to and got the paperwork for this case. And I was also put in contact with a female police officer from the Baltimore Police Department. The whole case was phony. A set up to get me here.” My brain began to swim and one of my machines started making one, long beep.
My nurse rushed in. “Sir, I need you to leave.”
Smith was quick to step out as blackness came into the sides of my vision. “What’s wrong with me?”
“It’s okay. Relax,” the nurse told me. But the beep just kept going. Going to a table near all the monitors, she took out a syringe. “Your blood pressure has spiked. This will bring it down.” She plunged it into the IV that was hooked up to me. Her eyes never left the monitor that blinked with high numbers.