IRISH (The Trident Series Book 4)

by Jaime Lewis

  Everyone scrambled to their cars and trucks and headed out.

  ◆◆◆

  Bailey blinked her eyes open, and she was greeted by Randy’s smugness. She moaned as her eyes closed again. Her head throbbed. She had hoped everything she was remembering had been just a bad dream.

  Randy reached over and grabbed the front of her shirt and dragged her off the seat on to the floor, in-between his legs. He licked his lips and looked over at his friend Todd. She had recognized Todd. He was another pompous asshole who hung out at the Country Club. She tried pulling away from Randy, but he held her in a bruising grip.

  “Oh no, you don’t. You’ve got a lot of making up to do, my little wife.”

  She jerked her head back and gave him a look that asked, was he stupid. “Your what?”

  He ran his finger down her cheek to her neck. Then he cupped her breast and squeezed before running his finger over her nipple. She pulled away, but Todd smacked her in the back of her head. She lost her balance and fell forward. Her face landed in Randy’s lap.

  Randy laughed. “See, baby. You want my dick so badly, don’t you? That military asshole turned you into a cock loving little whore. As soon as we say, I do, I’ll give you what you want. I mean hell, I’ve waited a lot of years to fuck that pussy of yours; I’m sure I can wait a little longer.” He kept his hand on the back of her head, forcing her face into his crotch as he gyrated his hips.

  She panicked. What did he mean by marriage? She wasn’t marrying him. Oh God, she hoped Sienna had found Irish and told him what was happening. That was her only hope of being found.

  Randy was still laughing when Bailey opened her mouth wide and bit down through his dress pants into his inner thigh. He screamed and pushed her off him. She tumbled to the floor of the car.

  The driver turned and spoke, “The pilot just phoned. The plane is ready.”

  Randy grabbed her arms and dragged her from the car. Her legs were still a little wobbly, but Randy held her around her waist. She looked around and saw they were outside of an airplane hangar.

  “You and I are taking a little trip out of the country,” Randy stated as he dragged her across the tarmac toward the hangar. She noticed he was holding a gun in his other hand.

  Suddenly, a helicopter appeared right above them, shining its bright spotlight on them. A voice came over the loudspeaker, “This is the Virginia State Police; put your weapon down. You are surrounded.”

  All hell broke loose as the entire area lit up with spotlights coming from every direction. She was blinded by the lights, as police and emergency vehicles swarmed the area. It was all chaotic as people were yelling from all different directions. She felt Randy loosen his grip. His focus was on something across the way. When her vision focused, she saw Irish, along with a couple of other guys, running across the tarmac. Randy raised his gun. He was going to shoot them. Without even thinking, she reacted and reached for the gun. She and Randy tussled and ended up on the ground. The gun was between them, and they both had their hands on it. The gun fired—the loud sound rang in her ears. She saw the stunned looked on Randy’s face before two police officers pulled him off of her.

  Suddenly, she got a numb feeling in her abdomen that quickly morphed into a burning pain. She placed her hand on her lower belly, and when she pulled it away, it was covered in blood. He shot me… Those were the last thoughts she had before people swarmed her.

  ◆◆◆

  “Look! There they are!” Irish pointed, as he, Ace, Potter, and Stitch arrived on the scene. They had been lying back until Randy made his move toward the plane.

  “Shit, he has a gun,” Potter stated. They were all armed as well. The plan was for them to circle around the plane as the police distracted Randy. As soon as Ace brought the truck to a stop, everyone jumped out and started running. Irish didn’t even look until he heard Bailey yell, “No.” When he looked over his shoulder, he froze in place as he watched Bailey grab for the gun. They both fell to the ground. He was already moving toward her with other officers when he heard the gun go off. Two officers pulled Randy off Bailey and cuffed him. A couple of other officers had another man on the ground, along with the driver of the limo. His eyes shifted to Bailey lying on the ground. When she lifted her hand from her stomach and he saw the blood coating her palm, his heart nearly stopped.

  He slid to his knees by her side, along with the others. Stitch was already lifting her shirt as Ace was calling for the paramedics. But all Irish saw was red. Bailey’s red blood was soaking through her clothing and pooling around her. He looked at Stitch as he worked on her. Irish knew from the look in Stitch’s eyes when he glanced up that the situation was dire. For the first time in his career, hell, in his life, he didn’t know what to do. He grabbed hold of Bailey’s hand.

  Her face was already so pale. “Come on, sweetness,” He whispered next into her ear. The paramedics had arrived and were working to stabilize her. Her eyes opened.

  “S--Sienna?” She whispered and tried squeezing his hand, but it was weak.

  “She’s fine, baby. She did what you told her to do. She found us and told us what happened. We got here as soon as we knew where you were.”

  “I’m so cold.” Someone handed him a blanket, and he covered her legs. “I’m so tired,” she said and started to close her eyes.

  “No, Bailey. You need to stay with me.”

  “Randy?”

  “The police got him.”

  He saw a tidal wave of tears in her eyes. “He was going to shoot you guys.” She hiccupped and winced from the pain. “I couldn’t let him.”

  He kissed her forehead. “You did good, baby.”

  He heard Stitch mumble something about needing to get her to the hospital. Within in minutes the EMTs had her on a stretcher and moving her toward the ambulance. Irish walked right behind them and watched as they worked frantically on her. He heard her call out his name, and he ran over to her side and took her hand. She looked up at him. She seemed to be losing focus as if she was going in and out of consciousness, and the tears hit his eyes.

  She started to close her eyes. “Keep those eyes open. Focus on me, Bailey.”

  “Sir, we need to move her now. She’s losing a lot of blood, and her blood pressure is dangerously low.”

  He leaned down and kissed her forehead. “You hang in there, baby. You hear me.”

  She looked up at him, and her normal bright blue eyes were dull. Irish had seen that look before. Out in the field and most of the time, it turned out to be a tragic situation. “I love you, Ky. I always will. Take care of our girl, okay?”

  Did she think she was going to die? No, no way was she going to die. He watched as her eyes started to close, and her head fell to the side.

  “Bailey, look at me…You fight, baby. I love you.”

  “So tired….” She said as her eyes rolled up into her head. The paramedics pushed Irish out of the way and loaded her into the ambulance and took off.

  Irish was left standing there, watching the ambulance as it drove away with a part of his heart and soul in the back of it. Had he just lost her? He bent over, feeling like he was going to be sick. His body shook violently as he covered his face with his hands.

  He felt the multiple hands on his back and knew it was his team. They were there and giving him the strength and support he needed. He needed to be strong, not only for himself but for Bailey as well.

  He stood up straight and took a deep breath while he wiped the tears from his eyes. Ace and Potter were standing directly in front of him.

  Ace stepped forward and gripped the back of Irish’s neck. His team leader had a fierce look on his face. Ace leaned forward and spoke calmly but sternly, “You think nothing but positive thoughts, you hear me?” Irish just nodded his head. He couldn’t speak. Not right now when his emotions were on overload. The only thing that mattered right now was making sure Bailey, the woman he loved, lived.

  “Come on, man. Let’s get you to the hospital,” Potter said,
opening the passenger door to his truck. Irish looked down at his hands and clothes. He was covered in blood. Bailey’s blood. Diego handed him a towel. He tried wiping off what he could. “Don’t worry about it, man. Just get in the truck,” Potter told him. He slid into the seat while Ace and Diego got into the back seat. The others loaded up in Frost’s Tahoe.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Beep…beep…beep….

  It was the sound Irish had been listening to around the clock. He’d been at Bailey’s bedside since she was moved into the ICU after making it through surgery. That was four days ago. They usually don’t allow visitors to stay overnight in the ICU. Tenley was able to pull some strings with the hospital board, and they relaxed their policies. His teammates and Bailey’s friends stopped in every day to get an update. In the days after the shooting, Bailey had been labeled a hero. If it wasn’t for her quick actions, Randy could have shot and killed any one of them that day. She never hesitated when she threw herself into the path of that bullet.

  Irish held Bailey’s hand as he looked her over. Her skin was starting to gain back some of its coloring. When she had come out of surgery, he almost hadn’t recognized her. With all of the tubes connected to her and how ashen her skin tone was, he didn’t want to believe that the person lying in bed was the woman who held his heart. Sienna had wanted to see her, but he knew Bailey would kick his ass if he allowed Sienna to see her in this state. Thankfully, his mom and dad arrived the day after and had been staying at his house with Sienna.

  The doctors had informed him that if it weren’t for Stitch stepping in and stopping the bleeding before the paramedics arrived, Bailey would have most likely bled out before they got her to the hospital. Stitch had poured Celox into the wound. Celox is a coagulating agent poured into a wound to stop bleeding quickly. It is used quite often in the military, and by the grace of god, Stitch had some in his medic bag that he always kept in his Jeep.

  The door to the room opened, and he smiled, seeing his mom standing there with coffee and a bag of food. His stomach rumbled. He hadn’t eaten much in the last few days. Alex had brought him a change of clothes, and the hospital had let him shower there. He hadn’t wanted to leave in case there was a change in Bailey’s condition. His nerves were taking a toll on him because she hadn’t shown any signs of waking anytime soon. Her doctors, on the other hand, weren’t as concerned. Their main concern was keeping the wound clear of infection. They also informed him that due to the extensive damage to her reproductive organs, there was a high probability she could never have children.

  His mom approached and set the bag and coffees on the table. She leaned down and hugged him.

  “How’s our girl doing today?” She asked as she straightened out the blankets covering Bailey. Though his parents hadn’t officially met Bailey, they already loved her like a daughter and thought of her as part of the family.

  He sat back in the chair, never letting go of Bailey’s hand. “No change. Her vitals look good, but they aren’t sure why she isn’t waking up. They say that it could be a good thing that she is asleep because it gives her body more time to heal without her trying to move around.”

  His mom ran her fingers through his hair, and he could tell she was worried as well. “You need some sleep, honey.”

  “I’m fine, Mom. I get a few winks here and there. My body is trained for that.”

  “I understand that honey, but when this little lady decides to wake up, she’s going to need you by her side. And you won’t be a bit of help if you’re falling on your face from lack of sleep.”

  “I just can’t. I feel somewhat responsible for why she’s lying here.”

  “What on heavens earth are you talking about? How were you or anyone for that matter supposed to know that bastard was waiting for her outside the door? The other guy was impersonating a police officer. Anyone would have thought he was with the event. So, don’t sit here and blame yourself for something you had no control over.”

  Irish looked down at Bailey and all of the wires and tubes connected to her. He felt numb and lost. He honestly didn’t know what he would do if she didn’t wake up. He glanced up at his mom, and for the first time in a long time, she was who he needed.

  “I’m scared, Mom. I’m scared she isn’t going to wake up. I am scared that Sienna might lose another mom. What has me the most scared is having to live the rest of my life alone because I can never love another woman again. She’s my everything. I can’t lose her. I can’t.”

  “Don’t you worry. This lady is a fighter. She just needs some time to rest and heal. Your friends are all out in the waiting room. They got here right before me. Why don’t you take a minute and stretch your legs, go for a walk and talk with them?”

  “I don’t want to leave her.”

  “If anything changes, I will come and get you. You’ll just be down the hall.”

  “Okay.” He stood and stretched, feeling how good it felt to stand. He leaned down and pressed his lips to Bailey’s forehead and whispered to her. “I love you, sweetness. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  He gave his mom a hug and kiss on the cheek, and he left the room.

  As he made his way toward the waiting area on the floor, he could hear several of the guys talking. Skittles was talking to someone. Was that Jonathan, Bailey’s cousin?

  He turned the corner and was shocked to see all the guys and even Derek there, huddled together. Jonathan was there, and he was standing next to Ace and Derek. Skittles was sitting in one of the chairs, typing on his laptop. Irish had always been amazed at how fast Skittles could access shit on the computer.

  Frost was the first one to see him.

  “Hey, man,” he said, giving him a back slap. “How’s Bailey doing?”

  Irish tried to smile. “Still no change.”

  “She’ll come around.”

  “What’s going on?”

  Irish saw how Skittles glanced over to Jonathan, and Jonathan nodded his head. Instead of Skittles answering, Derek did.

  “Irish, Jonathan’s associates uncovered some things that warrant some looking into.”

  “What kind of things?”

  “There is a possibility that Bailey’s parents have been lying to her since the death of her grandfather.”

  Jonathan followed up Derek’s sentence, “Long story short, Irish. If your friend Skittles here verifies it, everything belonging to the Anderson’s is Bailey’s. Her grandfather left everything to her.”

  “That is a lot of shit to cover up. How would they be able to hide something like that?”

  “Simple. For the right price, anyone can get what they want. It’s believed that Bailey’s parents buried shit deep within corporations. I know for a fact there is a second server that only Bailey’s father uses. That is what Skittles is trying to tap into.”

  “Do you think you’ll be able to get in?” Irish asked Skittles as he took the seat next to him.

  Skittles just snorted, which to Irish meant he had asked a stupid question. There had never been a time that Skittles wasn’t able to get the job done.

  After a couple of minutes, Skittles did a fist pump. “Bingo!”

  Everyone gathered around as they all watched information appear on the screen.

  “Son of a bitch!” Jonathan stated.

  “Jesus Christ. Bailey isn’t just a millionaire; she’s fucking close to a billionaire when you take into account what all of the family businesses are worth,” Skittles said as he continued to skim through documents.

  “It all makes sense now, why her parents and Randy were in it together. If Bailey married Randy, then he would be entitled to at least half of the fortune legally. He was probably promised a nice piece of the pie.

  “Or, they planned on killing her, and then everything would go to them.”

  Irish bit the inside of his cheek. The more he heard, the more he wanted to go to the county jail and beat the crap out of that piece of shit. Bailey was fighting for her life all because of gre
ed. Hell, if she knew the family fortune was solely hers, she probably would have just given it to them because that wasn’t her life. She liked simple and traditional.

  “Let’s not forget the numerous federal laws that were broken. With this information, her parents are looking at serious jail time.”

  “What do we do now,” Irish asked, not wanting to waste any more time. The quicker her parents were behind bars, the better. “I mean, who do we turn this information over to?”

  “I’ll make a call to the Sheriff in Birmingham. He has been looking for an excuse to throw Bentley Anderson in jail for years,” Jonathan said, then stepped to the side, pulling his cell phone out to make the call.

  Irish took a deep breath as he processed everything. This was good news. Once her parents were behind bars, she would be free and without any worry that anyone would come looking for her and do any harm.

  “You okay, man?” Ace asked, looking concerned.

  “Yeah, just a lot to take in. But this is good news.”

  “It sure is.” Ace went to say something else, but an alarm of some sort coming from down the hall started blaring. When Irish looked, he saw the medical staff and a security guard rushing into Bailey’s room.

  “Fuck!” He took off running with the team following.

  ◆◆◆

  Bailey felt someone stroking her hair. It was calming, and whoever it was hummed a soothing tune.

  “Come on, sweet girl. You need to wake up. You’ve got everyone who loves and cares for you worried sick.”

  She recognized the voice. It was Irish’s mom. She’d never met her in person but had spoken to her over the phone. Her sweet voice and gentle touch was motherly. Something she had yearned for since she knew the type of people her parents were. The soft hands left her head, and she wanted to protest, but something was in her throat. She tried lifting her hand but wasn’t sure if she succeeded or not until she heard Irish’s mom’s voice again and then felt a soft hand take her hand and squeeze.