LOVE ABOVE LAW

by Alvarez, Sandy

  "I'm coming with you," he opens the passenger side getting in.

  Firing up the engine, I shift down putting the car in reverse. Spinning my tires, I fly out of there speeding toward the apartment hoping I'm wrong. The twenty-minute drive to our home feels like the longest of my life. I hear Kai next to me on the phone with Kurt telling him about my suspicions. Slamming the breaks, I leave my car parked on the sidewalk at the front entrance of the building.

  Running through the lobby, I blow pass a younger man getting off the elevator and punch the number to my floor.

  "Kurt called it in and has the local police on their way to the club. I gave Dare a heads up as well on what is going on. He's gathering whatever information the police might need—Dana's phone number, her address, tag number on her car," Kai paces the small space, and I look at him. "I told you he doesn't play around with his employees."

  As if in slow motion the doors slide open. Sprinting down the hallway, I reach our apartment door and fumble with the keys in my hand until the lock clicks and I swing the door open. "Leyna?" I call out, heading straight to the bedroom. I search the entire apartment finding no signs of her. In a panic, I fist my hair. "Fuck!" I roar at the top of my lungs feeling the burn in the back of my throat. In an instant I blank. I have no idea what to do next.

  "Give me your keys," Kai holds out his hand which I stare at. "Snap out of it," he snatches them from my grasp. "Let's get over to Rumors and see what we can find out."

  Refocusing, we find ourselves outside once more in my car rushing toward the club, which happens to be a few blocks over. By the time we pull up, police are already on scene. Flashing blue lights flicker, bouncing off the brick building outside. Kai pulls my car alongside one of them, and we rush out. The bouncer at the door quickly lets us pass. Business is as usual when we step through the door. My eyes scan up toward Dare's office on the second floor. Through the large window overlooking his club, I notice him talking with two uniformed officers and standing beside them is Kurt.

  Weaving through the crowd on the floor we climb the stairs. Putting manners aside I don't bother knocking on the door before entering Dare's office "What do we know?" I demand.

  "Lex," Dare extends his hand and I shake it. "I just gave the officers all the information I have on Dana. Like I told you on the phone, her and Leyna were supposed to be here tonight but never showed."

  One of the officers speaks. "I put an APB out on Miss Murphy's car and my partner, and I are about to head over to her address now to see what we can find," he informs me.

  "I'm ready. Let's go," I tell them.

  Kurt moves around the two officers to stand in front of me and puts his hand up. "Hold up. Let them do their job, Lex. Whatever they find out will be shared with us."

  Anger replaces my worry. "This is my woman we're talking about here. I can't stand around waiting for answers, Kurt," my hands fist at my sides at the thought of doing anything.

  "You know protocol, Lex. You have to take a step back because this case has shifted. It's personal now. We don't need you going off the rails. You need to stay focused."

  I harden my stare. "What the fuck? What the hell are you trying to say? You want me to sit here with my thumb up my ass and do nothing?" I step forward, and Kai grabs my arm.

  Kurt doesn't flinch. "Stand down, Taylor."

  "He's right, man," Kai removes his hold on me. "You need to step back and let the cops do their job. We only have so much authority here. Fucking think of Leyna—Dana too. We have two women missing."

  Tearing my eyes away from Kurt, I turn my back and walk away. Standing at the big window overlooking the club, I watch the men and women enjoying their night—oblivious to the world around them and the evil living in it. For a second time my woman's life could be in danger, and for the moment my hands are tied.

  The silence in the room is broken the moment one of the officer's two-way radios goes off saying they found the car registered to Dana in the parking lot of the outlet mall.

  "Please confirm tag number and description of the vehicle," he returns speaking into the receiver.

  "Adam, Charles, King, 1-1-2-3. Blue Toyota Camry." The officer looks at his notes then looks at Dare who nods confirming the description as well.

  Acting, I fling the office door open, and take off down the stairs, through the people dancing on the floor and burst out the heavy steel door stepping out into the frigid night air. Once I get to my car, I realize Kai has my keys. "Fuck."

  "Forget something?" Kai jogs up and throws my keys to me as he rounds the hood of my car.

  Skillfully weaving in and out of traffic, being mindful of others on the road, we make it to the scene. Several officers are holding people at bay as they secure the site. Rushing past, I come up on Dana's car, the trunk open. Ignoring commands from officers, I walk to the back end of the car and peer in. Shopping bags, two purses, one of them belonging to Leyna are sitting on the floorboard in the trunk. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice a blue blinking light. It's Leyna's cellphone. Without thinking, I pick it up.

  "Sir, you can't touch the evidence," a young officer steps beside me.

  My thumb swipes the screen. Six missed calls; one from me, two from Alba; her brother's wife and three from Gabriel himself. That's when it hits me. My woman is missing but so is his sister. As much as I dislike the man, this is something I would never keep from him or the rest of her family. Without hesitation, I tap my finger on his number and put the phone to my ear.

  "Leyna, don't you know how to—"

  I cut him off. "Martinez."

  "The fuck? Put my sister on the phone, Taylor."

  A heavy breath leaves me. "You're sister is missing." The words taste bitter on my tongue as I say them.

  "Motherfucker, what did you just say—where the hell is my sister?" Gabriel roars, his voice loud enough for the officers standing around to take notice.

  At this point, I realize we may not get anywhere in our conversation. Cursing and what sounds like glass breaking is all I hear on the other end of the line before hearing another familiar voice.

  "Agent Taylor," Jake Delane, President of the Kings, communicates with me.

  "Jake." More dread settles in my gut as my thoughts shift to what Leyna and Dana must be going through.

  "Tell me what you need," he says.

  "Manpower," I tell him.

  "Done."

  24

  Leyna

  The ride has been silent. I keep looking at Dana in the back seat and seeing the silent tears running down her face, guts me. I will never forgive myself for getting my friend into this. We left the city a while ago and have been driving through nothing but dense woods for the past fifteen minutes. Hugo has taken so many twists and turns I can no longer keep up with where we are going—not that I would know anyway. I also haven't seen another house in at least five miles.

  Hugo's phone rings. Pulling it from the front pocket of his shirt, he answers it. "What?" I watch his face go red with anger at whatever is being said on the other end of the line. "I told you to wait for my call." Hugo listens some more then snaps. "I know what the hell I said. But I told you I had something I needed to take care of before we left. Your only job is to get my merchandise loaded onto those shipping containers, not question my orders. Santino is dead. You answer to me now, so quit calling me with your bullshit questions and do as your fucking told. Tell Ricky to meet me at the house in the morning and tell him to bring the van. I'm leaving the car behind. I have some extra cargo I'm bringing along." He gives his last orders while looking at me.

  Hugo's plans involve taking Dana and me with him. And from the sounds of his conversation, he has taken over Santino's role, which gives me a pretty good idea what is in store for us.

  Ending his call, Hugo tucks his phone away and turns his attention to me. With his left hand on the steering wheel, he reaches his right hand in my direction and runs his palm up my thigh. "I'm going to have my fun with you before I turn you over." H
is action causes me to recoil. I slap his hand away and scoot further into the door. "Keep your filthy hands off me, asshole."

  "Do you remember what I told you when we first met, Leyna? I like it when they fight," Hugo says, palming his crotch. "Don't worry, sweetheart, I plan to break you in good. Then maybe when I'm through with you, I'll have a little fun with red back there," he gestures toward the back seat.

  "You won't be touching anyone once I rip your dick off and shove it down your throat, asshole." I'll die before I let him touch Dana. If this bastard thinks I'm going to allow him to lay one finger on my friend without a fight, he is sorely mistaken. Hugo reaches into his jacket, pulls out his gun and points it directly at my head.

  "I'd like to see you try, bitch."

  Refusing to back down, I lean in his direction. "You may as well shoot me. I'd rather die than have your repulsive body anywhere near mine. You're nothing without that gun," I seethe. I know I'm being stupid right now for taunting him, but I plan to keep his attention entirely on me. Without warning, Hugo clocks me right in the cheek with the butt of his gun and a throbbing burn radiates through the whole right side of my cheek. Feeling blood trickle down my cheek, I reach up and cradle my face. Through blurry eyes, I reward Hugo with a smirk, and hold back the tears threatening to escape. I refuse to show him weakness.

  Several intense minutes later, we pull up outside an old dilapidated house. It looks abandoned. It's a single-story beige house. It has a small attached porch with several broken steps. The two front windows are also boarded up. Great. We're in the middle of nowhere. How is anyone going to find us out here?

  Opening his door, Hugo motions for me to climb out on his side. I barely get one foot out the door when he grabs my arm and roughly drags me out. I cry out in pain when the gravel below me digs into my knees, the same time I feel a booted foot on my back, kicking me. Hugo's attention is diverted away from me when Dana screams and bangs on the car window, begging for him to stop his assault. Stepping over me, Hugo opens the back door to the car, revealing a terrified Dana.

  "Out," he grunts, and Dana shakes her head. With a frustrated swift move, he draws his gun once again and points it at her. "Don't make me repeat myself, red."

  Climbing to my feet, I push passed Hugo, placing myself between him and Dana. "Come on," I whisper to her, my eyes pleading with her to cooperate. I watch as Dana closes her eyes, swallows, and then summons enough courage to take my hand. Dana and I continue to cling to each other as Hugo forces us to walk in front of him up the gravel driveway, up the broken steps of the porch and through the front door of the house.

  "Keep going," Hugo nudges me in the back the same time he flicks the lights on. I'm surprised the place has electricity. I look around; the interior doesn't look any better than the outside. The only furniture I see is a tattered sofa and a small round table with two chairs. The wallpaper is peeling from the walls, and the place smells of mold along with the distinct smell of piss. Continuing down the hallway we come upon an open door. Peering inside I scrunch my nose at the smell. The room is dark, musky and in no better condition than the rest of the house.

  Still clutching Dana's hand, we step into the room. "You two be good now," Hugo says with a sinister smile. "But don't worry, Ms. Martinez," he licks his lips. "I'll be back for you later." Hugo closing the door along with the sound of a lock engaging from the outside, takes me back to the similar position I was in months ago.

  "We're going to die, aren't we?" Dana says her fearful voice breaking through the darkness. Facing my friend, I pull her into me.

  "No, we are not going to die. Lex will find us. I'm sure by now he knows something is up. Neither one of us showed at Rumors for work, and that would have had someone on alert. Plus, Lex knows we're together. I promise you, Dana, he will come for us." She nods, but I can tell she's not too sure of my words.

  "How does this guy even know you, Leyna?"

  Stepping away from her, I sigh. "It's a long story; one I'll tell you later. Let's say this is not the first time I've been in a situation like this," I tell her as I begin looking around the room. It's so dark in here I can barely see three feet in front of my face. I faintly make out a window. But it's boarded up just like all the others I saw on the house when we arrived.

  "It's freezing in here," Dana remarks.

  It is—It's almost too cold, and I swear I can feel a breeze coming from somewhere. Striding to the other end of the room, I walk along the wall to try and see where the air is coming from. I stop when I feel the cold breeze hit my leg. Crouching down, I run my hands down the wall and stop when I come across a small hole. Laying down on the dirty floor, I put my face to the hole and look through a space about ten inches wide; I can feel the cool night air on my face and see a hint of moonlight from outside. Bingo.

  Using my fingers, I begin to pick at the sheetrock around the opening and to my utter relief, it starts crumbling to the floor. With an idea forming in my head, I sit up and slip off one of my boots. I've never been so thankful for heels in all my life. Using the heel of my boot, I begin hammering into the wall. To my surprise, it works and large clumps of sheetrock crumple to the floor.

  "What are you doing, Leyna?" Dana whispers.

  "I'm getting us the hell out of here," I grunt. "Here," I say sliding off my other boot, handing it to her. "We're going to make this hole big enough to climb out of." Dropping to her knees across from me, Dana starts to help.

  "You're a genius, Leyna."

  My heart pounds in my chest with every minute that ticks by. We have no way of knowing when Hugo will return. I hear his murmured voice from somewhere in the house, and my best guess is he is on the phone. Hopefully, his business keeps him away a little longer.

  "Shit!" Dana says grabbing my attention.

  "What is it?"

  "The damn heel broke off. Fuck, I'm sorry Leyna."

  "It's okay. Look!" I point to the wall. Tossing my boot to the side, I look at Dana. "I think we can squeeze through." Looking through the hole in the wall I notice a board partially covering the outside. It seems as if the wood siding on the outside is rotting. Sitting on my butt, I put my foot through the hole and kick the siding off the house.

  It falls to the ground with two kicks. Backing away, I turn to Dana. "Come on, you first." Without wasting any time Dana pushes through the hole head first. Once she has cleared the wall, she turns back to me.

  "Come on, Leyna."

  Just as I am about to put my boots back on, a broken heel and all, I hear booted footfalls coming down the hall. Forgetting about my footwear, I shove my arms through the hole in the wall. Dana stands and grabs my hands and pulls me through, speeding up the process. The moment I climb to my feet, I hear the bedroom door open, slamming against the wall.

  "You fucking bitch!" Hugo roars.

  Dana and I don't hesitate. We take off running into the woods behind the house. It's pitch black outside, and we have no idea what direction we are heading. At this point, it doesn't matter. All that matters is getting as far away from Hugo as possible.

  With my socks being the only barrier between me and the ground, I feel a stabbing sensation with every step I take. I feel each time a pebble or twig slices through my skin, but I refuse to let it slow me down. We run for what feels like forever. Chancing a glance, I look over my shoulder to see a beam of a light in the distance. Dana and I continue to zig-zag through the trees for at least another mile until we come upon a large oak tree that has fallen on the forest floor. Suddenly an idea comes to mind. "Stop!" I whisper hiss. Rounding the trunk of the tree, I motion for Dana. "Come here. I want you to lay down on the ground against this tree. I'm going to cover you with leaves; then I'm going to lead Hugo in the opposite direction."

  Dana shakes her head. "No—we stay together."

  "Dana, get over here now. This is our best bet. You stay here until you can't hear us. Then you're going to run back in the direction of the house and back to the road. Follow it until you find another house or
a town—anything. As soon as that happens you call the police." With tears running down her face, Dana does as I say by laying down on the ground. Shoving my coat off, I place it over the top of her head for protection. "No matter what, don't leave this spot until the coast is clear. No matter what, Dana. Promise me."

  "I promise, Leyna," she sobs.

  "You're going to make it, Dana, just do as I say." With a final nod, I begin shoveling leaves over her body. When I look over the large tree, I notice the light shining brighter in our direction as Hugo gets closer. Standing, I waste no time darting in the opposite direction of Dana.

  My plan works as intended because a while later Hugo's flashlight shines directly on me. I run up a hill and pass numerous trees before the leaves crunching behind me become louder with every step he makes.

  "Give it up, bitch, you have nowhere to go," Hugo yells, his steps getting closer.

  By this point, I no longer feel my toes and the elements are starting to slow me down. Looking down at my feet my white socks are covered in dirt and soaked with blood. Suddenly, I trip over a tree branch and fall to my knees. But before I'm able to climb back to my feet again, a bright light is shone in my face. Standing ten feet in front of me, red faced and heaving, is Hugo.

  25

  Lex

  Almost three hours have passed since finding out Leyna, and her friend went missing and nearly two since I spoke with her brother and Jake Delane. Since then our entire team along with local law enforcement have been brought up to speed on connecting the two cases we are working on and all the facts leading me to believe Hugo is behind my woman's disappearance. The problem with that is it's only a hunch—a theory we have no way of proving is correct.