He came to, a short time later. He was lying on his side, his arms tied at his back and a gag over his mouth. He struggled to get up and pain shot threw his head, he moaned. The man he took down earlier grabbed him by the arm and yanked him to a sitting position, he looked at his surroundings. He was sitting on a pool table in the center of a huge entertainment room. There was a home theatre in the far corner, with large recliner type chairs and a plasma screen. A pinball machine was entertaining a few of Briggs’ men and Briggs was seated, smiling at a small bar with glasses hanging from its ceiling and several open bottles of liquor and glasses sitting on the bars surface.
“Sleeping beauty is awake,” Briggs said, pure evil seeping from his laughter like something toxic.
Landon glared and looked down to see his belt had been removed.
“Looking for this?” Briggs asked, holding up a beer stein with his belt submerged inside.
Landon looked away, while a sense of defeat washed over him.
“Who are you working for?” Briggs asked, as he walked over and stood between Landon’s knees. Briggs took a handful of Landon’s hair and tilted his head back. “Who sent you?”
Glaring, Landon shook his head from his grasp. Briggs had no idea so far that it was police related. Landon wanted to sigh with relief, instead he used his feet to try and trip up Briggs, which only caused him to stagger back. At least he wasn’t so close.
“You and me could have been good together. I would have treated you like gold, taken you on trips around the world and pampered you. You would have wanted for nothing.”
Briggs seemed sincerely wounded, there was almost a sadness reflected in his eyes and then with the snap of his fingers it was all replaced with reawakened malevolence.
“But I won’t stand for betrayal,” Briggs reached out and grasped his chin, digging his nails into his face. “You betrayed me just Landon, you have to pay for your disloyalty.”
This guy has flipped his lid, Landon thought. He wasn’t playing with a full deck. Landon panicked, attempting to kick him away and screamed around his gag. Briggs headed to the door with a smile of demented pleasure on his face.
He turned in the doorway. “Parting is such sweet sorrow,” he said dramatically.
Landon’s eyes caught the concerned stares of Briggs’ goons, who appeared to be just as confused by Briggs’ behavior as he was.
If Landon wasn’t scared shitless before, he sure as fuck was now.
His thoughts immediately turned to Carl, all the things he wanted to say and hadn’t. He vowed at that moment to tell him exactly how he felt, no holding back.
If he got out of this mess alive.
EIGHTEEN
“My name’s Vivian,” the pretty little blond standing at the end of the bar announced. “Is this where Landon works?”
“Yeah, but he’s not here right now,” Rex told her and turned away.
“Wait, he’s in trouble and I need to find Carl.”
“What kind of trouble?”
“I don’t know,” she said, wiping away a tear.
“Hang on,” Rex picked up the house phone and dialed. “Carl, there’s a chick here says Landon’s in trouble, you better come down.”
It took no more than a few minutes for Carl to come racing down the stairs. He spotted the slightly familiar face and joined her at the bar.
“Hi…?” he struggled to remember her name.
“Vivian…you have to come with me, I was sent to get you, Landon’s hurt I’m sure, those big guys were dragging him downstairs and they were being really rough, he was bleeding.”
“Slow down Vivian, you can tell me what happened on the way,” Carl said, grasping her by the elbow and escorting her to the back door. “My cars this way.”
As they drove to Briggs’ house, Vivian filled him in with what she knew. By chance she and her friend Molly were heading to the washroom when Briggs’ goons took Landon away, luckily they didn’t notice them. Molly told her where he worked and sent her to get him.
She and Carl sauntered past security, since she was a well featured part of Eliana’s life, no one questioned her. Once inside the house, Carl followed her to where she saw them take Landon and he told her to go back to the party and to act casual.
Carl took his cell phone from his pocket and dialed. “Johnson please, this is an emergency,” he whispered.
It took a few minutes for the operator to patch him through to Johnson.
“What?” he snapped.
“This is Carl Ward, Landon’s…I’m inside the house, something happened and Landon’s being held in a room downstairs.”
“That’s why we’re getting no reception,” Johnson said. “How did you get in, are you crazy? Get out.”
“I’m not going anywhere without Landon!” Carl whisper yelled.
“We’re coming in,” Johnson told him and the line went dead.
A rather large man the size of your average gorilla, started down the hall towards Carl. He had to think fast. With the phone to his ear, Carl feigned a drunken stupor and slurred into the phone.
“Don’t be mad baby…I’ll be home soon, if I can find a fucking bathroom in the house, I gotta piss like a race horse first…where’s the can, man?” Carl tittered and the ape pointed his huge finger to his left. “Thanks…see baby? I won’t be long…”
Carl watched as the ape walked past the door and turned down the adjoining hall, then he stood anxiously waiting for help to come, worrying the inside of his cheek until he tasted the metallic taste of blood.
The door handle twisted and Carl jumped, his heart racing as he looked left and right with nowhere to hide. Suddenly he was staring straight into the eyes of the devil himself, as Briggs came from the room with a strange smile on his face.
“Well, if it isn’t the bartender boyfriend coming to save the day,” he muttered, sarcastically, as the smile left his face. “Step inside bartender. I’m sure Landon is dying to see you.”
Briggs emphasis on the word dying made Carl worry what he’d find once inside the room.
Seated on the green felt surface of the pool table, with his arms tied behind him, a gag tied around his mouth and his legs dangling, Landon’s eyes sparked madly when he saw Carl. Carl started towards him, but was stopped in his tracks by a large hand that wrapped around his bicep yanking him back.
Briggs walked between them and laughed as he settled into a cozy position on the sofa, draping his arms across the back and crossing his legs.
“Care to tell me how you got into my home uninvited, bartender?”
“Walked,” Carl said, sarcastically, and was met with a fist to his ribs for his smart ass answer.
Landon tried to leap from his seat, yelling past his gag, but was held in place while he wrestled against his captors.
“Funny man,” Briggs said. “Just to teach you how funny I thought that was, once I find out who let you in, and I will, I’ll be sure to mention your name when I kill him.”
Carl held his hand to his ribs and panted, “You can’t get away with this.”
The door opened and the tear stained face of Molly staggered into the room, assisted aggressively by yet another one of Briggs’ goons.
“Hello Molly, my dear. You remember the boys,” Briggs said, leaning his elbows on his knees. “Maybe I can interest you in a deal, bartender.”
Carl narrowed his eyes and waited.
“You tell me what Landon has on me, since he refuses to speak and I’ll let Molly go.”
“Sure you will,” Carl said, and another fist smashed him in the ribs. He fell to the ground writhing in pain, gasping for air, his face red and glistening with beads of sweat.
“Molly, come sit,” Briggs patted the seat beside him and waited until she was seated.
She wrung her hands in her lap, nervously looking at each person in the room, her knee vibrating. Briggs gave her a sideways look and clamped her chin in his hand.
“Have I not treated you like one of my own, Molly?”
he asked. “I’ve always welcomed you into my home and taken care of you and this is how you repay me?”
“Mr. Briggs I…”
“No no, Molly,” he brushed her hair over her shoulder. “It’s up to these two, you see, if they tell me their little secret, I’ll let you go home. It’s that simple.”
Wide eyed and frightened her eyes pleaded with them as tears welled up in her eyes. Then out of the blue, she slapped him clean across the face.
“I always thought of you like a father, you were my hero,” she yelled in his face. “You were everything I wanted in a dad. You made me feel special and safe and loved…and now you sit here threatening me? You are an evil son-of-bitch and I hope you rot in hell.” She stood and a goon lifted her off the ground and heaved her onto the floor in the corner.
“Leave her alone or I’ll…”
“You’ll what?” Briggs stood, walking over to Carl and leaning over him, cocking his foot back, ready to kick him in the ribs.
Landon lurched forward just as the door burst open and a barrage of police officers came in with guns drawn and handcuffs readied. Johnson grabbed Briggs by the scruff of the neck and shoved a warrant into his chest.
“You’re under arrest Briggs.”
He heaved him over the pool table edge beside Landon, he stood and Landon head butted him in the face. A stream of blood trickled from his nose onto the felt table, he raised a hand to retaliate when Johnson grabbed his wrist.
“You have nothing on me!” Briggs screamed, as an officer cuffed him and threw him on the couch.
“Let’s see,” Johnson took a notebook from his breast pocket and fanned through. “One, two, three counts of kidnapping and forcible confinement…fraud, twenty counts of grand theft auto…oh yeah and drug possession and trafficking.”
Johnson turned and smiled. “Did I miss anything, Molly?”
She scowled at Briggs and stood at Johnson’s side. “Probably, but we’ll figure it out later at the station, I’ll show you where I found the drugs.”
“You fucking bitch!”
“You better believe it!” she said, pulling a gun from her purse and pointing it in Briggs face. “You’re lucky I didn’t fucking shoot you months ago.”
Carl smiled at the sweet little redhead, as she transformed into Dirty Harry before his eyes.
“I’m sorry you got hurt Carl and for using you, but when we lost surveillance it was the only thing I could come up with. I knew if you appeared Briggs would get jealous and his ego would give us enough time to move in. I also knew you’d call Johnson. I hope you understand. It’s just been so long trying to get something solid that I had to take the chance.”
Landon sat holding his head. From the hit he took to the head earlier, there was a trail of blood from his hairline to his nose that had since dried, it looked far worse than it was. Still, it felt like an army tank had been dropped on his head.
“I knew you were a cop, I didn’t know you were part of the investigation until now though.” Landon said. “I’d have you as my partner any day. You’re one kiss ass chick.”
“Yeah, call me chick again and you’ll find out how kick ass I can be.”
Landon saluted and they laughed as he jumped from the pool table and stood still for a minute while he got his footing.
When she had directed him to the living room earlier, he noted the way she surveyed her surroundings, the way she checked out the goons standing by the doorway and it came to him where he had seen her before the night at the strippers. She was sitting at a desk in the precinct with her head down, she looked up briefly, but the fire red hair was what he remembered most.
“I was supposed to make sure you got into the house,” she told Landon.
“Well officer Molly, I owe you for saving my life,” Landon said, shaking her hand.
“No thanks necessary, it was Carl that saved you.” Molly moved aside, allowing Carl to stand with Landon. “You two take care of yourselves. Maybe I’ll see you sometime.”
Molly left the room with Johnson. Landon rubbed his wrists and cricked his neck from side to side.
“I’m sorry you got dragged into this.”
Scrubbing his hands over his face and forcing in a deep breath, Carl looked sadly to Landon. Landon pulled Carl into his arms, burying his face in his neck.
“I could have lost you tonight, you were probably this close,” Carl held up two pinched finger, “to being ripped from my heart. Don’t ever fuck with my heart again.”
Carl’s mood was definitely sobering, Landon had to stop himself before he started using the L word, this was not the time nor was it the place, and he’d only end up full of regrets.
“Take it easy, Babes, everything worked out, and no one got seriously hurt.”
“I’d say that crack over the head didn’t do you much good, you should probably go to the hospital and have that looked at.”
“No hospital, I’ll be fine,” Landon assured him. “What about you, how’s your side.”
“Sore.”
“Do you need to go to the hospital?”
“I need Jack and a hot bath,” Carl snarled.
“Agreed, let’s go home.”
A small scale precinct of sorts had been set up in the living room, where guests were being treated to a barrage of questioning and paperwork was piling high. Landon was handed a cold pack and held it to his head while he finished up his report and signed it. When he handed it off to Johnson he noticed Alexandra Briggs sitting on the countertop in the kitchen.
“I’ll be right back,” he told Carl.
“Mrs. Briggs?” he asked.
“Oh God, call me Ally, I haven’t used that last name in years, it actually makes my skin crawl.”
“Are you okay?” Landon asked.
Alexandra placed a cigarette between her lips and searched in her clutch, pulling out a book of matches. He took it from her hand, tore a match free and struck it across the score and held the flame while she lit her cigarette and blew it out. She blew a cloud of smoke into the air and tittered.
“Mikey would have a fucking stroke if he knew I was smoking in the house, it was one of the many things that drove him crazy. I think the only thing I ever did right was having Eliana. Now her big day has been ruined and I know he’ll find a way to blame me.”
“I’m sorry.”
Turning to face him, she smiled. “Are you really gay, or was that a ruse to get closer to him?”
“I’m gay.”
“Too bad,” she said.
“I don’t think so,” Landon told her, with a hint of a laugh.
When people told the fat girl she’d be so pretty if she just lost weight and she cried, it was a moment like that, the too bad he was gay moment. As if being straight would somehow make him a different more acceptable person. Landon didn’t know whether to be insulted or not. He shook his head, because people were generally ignorant. Ally, was just making conversation he deduced.
“You didn’t sleep with Mikey did you?” she asked, studying his eyes. “Did he…? The man was always an animal and not in a good way, I hope he didn’t scar you too badly.”
Landon felt for the woman seated beside him, she bore the scars of a marriage with the devil, what she must have suffered far outweighed anything Briggs had done to him.
They sat side by side like victors from the ultimate storm. Beaten and battered, nevertheless ready to move on. They sat proud and tall, stronger from the fight.
“We all live with scars, Ally, some run deeper than others, it’s how you live with them that matters. You can choose to put them out there and learn how to deal with them, or hide them away while they slowly fester under the surface and eventually eat you alive.”
“You sound like a very smart man,”
“Not really, I simply live with my scars.”
A throat clearing directed Landon and Alexandra to the sight of Carl standing at the door.
“Sorry to interrupt. We’re free to go whenever you’re read
y,” Carl said.
“I hope everything turns out well for you, Ally,” Landon said, slipping off the counter and throwing the cold pack into the sink.
“I’ve survived worse than this,” she smiled, sadly. “It was nice meeting you, Landon.”
Landon walked over to Carl and embraced him, whispering in his ear. “We need to talk, let’s go home.”
***
The ride home was uncomfortably silent, but not for a moment of it did Landon release Carl’s hand. It was as if letting go meant he’d never get him back again, the risk was too great to take. Carl kept turning to look at Landon as if he had something to say, he would rethink it and then look away.
Landon had so much to say and had no idea where to start. Tonight was an eye opener for him, he learned more about himself and what he wanted in this one night, than he had in the last six months. However the idea of sharing this information with Carl was worrying, what if he told him and it was too much for Carl to handle? He’d already thrown more at the man over the past months than was fair, and wasn’t sure just how much more Carl could take.
They came in the back way, escaping an inevitable interrogation from Rex, and walked up the back stairs hand in hand instead of using the elevator. Not bothering to question whose place they would go to, Landon followed Carl into his apartment.
“Do you want something to drink,” Carl hesitated in the kitchen. “Will I make us tea?”
“No, can we get into bed?” Landon asked. “I want to cuddle with you.”
The tension in the air was thick, heavy like a woolen blanket on a hot summer night with no breeze and all you wanted was to tear it off so you could feel the cool air on your skin.
“I’d like that,” Carl whispered on a sigh and led Landon to his room.
At the end of the bed their hands finally broke apart and each walked to their respective sides of the bed. They never took their eyes off of each other as they undressed in unison, shirts first, pants, socks and underwear last. Climbing beneath the covers, Landon’s hand searched out Carl’s and he breathed a sigh when their connection was re-created.
Landon's Desire (Book Three of The Pulse Series 3) Page 21