by Brook Wilder
Then Jace spied something on the ground by Roberts’ body. Leaning the sledgehammer against the table, he went over to Roberts and scooped up the cell phone. He held it up to Luke as he unlocked it.
“Maybe we’ll get something through this.”
The silly doctor didn’t even have a pin number to unlock; it went straight to the home screen. Jace opened the text messages and scrolled through them. A lot of them were mundane, but then he saw messages from Jorge Gutierrez. They were describing Maddie in great detail, Roberts telling Gutierrez what he wanted done to Maddie and even saying what kind of car she drove.
So, Roberts had been the one who had sent Gutierrez after Maddie. Jace felt sick. If he hadn’t been there…
“What are you looking for?”
Luke had moved to his side. Jace forced himself to look through the other messages. There had to be something between Archer and Roberts. They would have had to have communicated somewhere, even if it was through calls, texts or emails. It would be all on Roberts’ cell phone.
And then he found it. The final text Roberts had sent to Archer. Jace showed Luke.
“That. Roberts told Archer to use his house to keep Maddie in as a temporary hold until they could move her.”
“They knew we would be looking in the usual places,” Luke said grimly. “Nobody would think to look there. They could have moved her by now.”
“I doubt it. It’s only been a short time.”
Jace didn’t need to ask. Luke stepped back and nodded.
“Take some of the Hounds and get over there. I’ll deal with this slime ball.”
Jace didn’t need to be told twice. Roberts’ cell phone in his hand, he practically sprinted to his bike.
Chapter Nineteen
Jace led the squad of bikes into Roberts’ neighborhood. His blood was making his body tingle with the adrenaline and his heartbeat had picked up so fast he felt dizzy. They were going into a fight and Jace was ready for it.
He wanted Maddie back, no question. If Maddie had been harmed in any way, he was going to make sure the house was burnt to the ground.
There were a dozen bikes in the wide driveway and Jace signaled for his group to line their bikes up at the entrance, blocking everyone in. Then they dismounted and ran up to the front door. Jace withdrew his gun and signaled for Kyle, one of the other enforcers, to take half of their posse around the back.
Kyle and his group disappeared. Jace signaled for the door to be kicked down and Vince, a newer member and built like a brickhouse, did the honors. He charged in first and Jace followed close behind. Several of the Wild Leopards tried to hold firmly onto the first floor, but they were outnumbered. Jace saw two of them fall before he was distracted by gunfire above his head. Someone was up on the next floor and had a perfect view of all of them.
Jace took to the stairs. Two Broken Hounds followed him onto the landing and went ahead. Three Wild Leopards were at the far end of the hallway. They all fired at the same time. Jace and one Broken Hounds ducked as the bullets whistled over their heads, but the second Broken Hounds jerked when he was shot in the neck. He went down, and his partner went to him, Jace darting past them and firing back. Two of the Wild Leopards fell and the third disappeared into a bedroom, firing as he went.
Jace ran to the bedroom just as another burst of gunfire came around the doorframe. Jace ducked and rolled, coming up in front of the open door. The guy with the gun was trying to reload, but his hands were shaking, his eyes wild and breathing heavily. Jace could even see the white line of powder below his nose.
He looked up as Jace came into view and Jace shot him. His shots hit the Wild Leopard in the chest and knocked him off his feet. He hit the ground and didn’t get back up again.
His adrenaline sending him into overdrive, Jace searched the upstairs rooms. Maddie wasn’t there. He hurried back to the stairs and shouted down to Vince.
“Where’s Maddie?”
“Not seen her!” came the reply.
That meant only one place Jace could think of. The basement. Hurrying down the stairs, he signaled for Vince to cover him as they went to the basement door. Jace opened it and came face to face with Archer, who was standing on the other side. A gun was trained on Jace’s chest. He grinned as his finger tightened on the trigger.
“I told her you’d be dead.”
Jace didn’t hesitate. He launched himself at Archer and collided with him. Their guns were knocked away and they tumbled down the concrete steps. Jace felt the edge of the stairs jab into his back and sides but held on to Archer. They hit the wall at the bottom and Jace heard a sickening crack. Archer felt like a dead weight on him.
Jace managed to pull himself out from the tangle of limbs and checked himself over. Nothing seemed broken, just sore. Then he saw Archer. From the way his neck was sticking out, it was clear that he was dead. His eyes were still open, a look of shock on his face.
“Jace!”
Forcing himself to look away, Jace turned. Then he saw Maddie sitting against the wall, huddled against herself. She was pale and trembling.
Jace had never been so relieved to see her. He scrambled across the floor and met Maddie halfway, pulling her into his arms. Maddie burst into tears and clutched onto him, burying her face into his neck. Jace didn’t know if he was trembling or if it was Maddie.
He pulled back and cupped her face in his hands, wiping away the tears with his thumbs.
“You okay?”
“I’ll live.” Maddie gave him a shaky smile. “Just get me out of here.”
“With pleasure.”
Jace kissed her and felt her kissing him back. He pulled away before he gave in to the urge to rip her clothes off and helped Maddie to her feet.
“Hold on to me and keep behind me.”
Maddie nodded, clutching on to his jacket. They stepped over Archer’s body and went up the stairs. Vince was still at the top of the stairs. He made a signal to stay put, then he indicated they needed to move and fast.
Holding tight onto Maddie, Jace hurried her into the hallway and across to the door. They were just getting onto the threshold when Jace felt a sudden wave of heat hit him in the pain, knocking him onto his hands and knees.
“Jace!”
Chapter Twenty
Jace’s back and shoulder were on fire. The bullet had gone straight through him and now it felt like his left side was spasming.
If it hadn’t been for Maddie, he would have been bleeding to death on Martin Roberts’ driveway. The woman was stubborn as a mule and refused to leave him. With their fellow members giving cover, Maddie and Vince had managed to get Jace to his bike and loaded him on. Then Maddie had surprised Jace by sitting up the front and kicking it into gear. He hadn’t even realized she could drive a Harley.
But, then again, considering her family, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise. Jace was ordered to hold on just half a second before Maddie pulled away.
The next few hours were a little fuzzy as Jace fought not to pass out. He knew Maddie had got them to the hospital and that they had been split as Maddie had started bleeding again. Jace wanted to go with Maddie but he was in no fit state to do anything. The doctors refused to let him leave his room as well.
It felt like forever while they stitched him up and put a bandage on tightly enough to cut the blood loss. He was ordered not to use his arm and had it put into a sling. Jace kept saying he wanted to get back to Maddie but the doctors refused. In the end, once he had been doped up enough that the pain was now a dull, burning ache, they allowed him to go and wait for updates on Maddie. He was ordered, however, not to upset any other patients and to wait.
Jace didn’t want to wait. But Maddie’s health was more important than what he wanted.
So, it was another hour of pacing around the waiting room, trying to figure out what was going on. Surely Maddie was going to be okay? She had to be okay. She had had a bleed before and things were fine. The wait was agony.
Jace didn’t know how he would have cop
ed if he had been there the last time. This wait was killing him.
“Jace?”
Jace turned. Beth was hurrying across the room towards him. Jace hugged her with his good arm, keeping his bad side away. Beth was trembling, and she looked like she had been crying.
“What are you doing here?”
“Luke called me. I was waiting for Dave to come out of surgery.”
Of course, Beth would have been waiting for Schuman. Jace wasn’t stupid; he knew Beth was in love with Schuman and the feeling was mutual. If the situation had been reversed, Schuman would be the one pacing around waiting.
“How is he?”
“They’ve put him in ICU and under sedation, but he’s going to live.” Beth wiped at her eyes with her sleeve. “He was incredibly lucky.”
That was something. Jace urged Beth over to the chairs and made her sit. Then he collapsed into the chair beside her.
“His sister lives in Denver.”
“I’ve already called Lisa. She and their mother are on their way already.” Beth sniffed and squeezed Jace’s hand. “I came over as soon as I heard about Maddie. How is she?”
“I don’t know. They won’t let me see her yet.”
Beth stared at him.
“But you’re the father of her baby!”
“But I’m not her husband.” Jace indicated his shoulder. “Anyway, I was being dealt with myself.”
“With that and what Luke told me had happened, I’m amazed you’re up and walking around.”
“Well, the doctors have told me I should be lying down and not in here.” Jace glanced towards the closed doors again. “But Maddie is my priority right now.”
And once Maddie was released from the hospital, Jace was going to make a point of letting her know. Even if it meant not working so he could be with her, he would do it. Maddie and their child were more important.
From Beth’s expression, that met with her approval. She sat forward and rested her elbows on her knees with a heavy sigh.
“Tell me your side. And I mean everything.”
Jace did. He didn’t leave anything out, not even the part where he let loose on Roberts with a sledgehammer. He watched as many emotions went across Beth’s face, not quite able to figure out how she was supposed to react.
She was silent when Jace had finished.
“Martin helped with all of that? I can’t believe it.”
“He did.” Jace thought back to the phone call he had just received from Luke. “Luke called me a short while ago. He’s been having a go at Roberts to see what else he could get.”
“How? I didn’t think Luke could hurt a fly.”
“I don’t know, and I don’t think I want to know.” Jace didn’t want to see Luke’s mean streak. “But what he said was that Robert’s pretty much admitted all of his involvement. He knew about the intention of snatching away Broken Hounds territory and getting his hands on Maddie. Initially, it was meant to be him helping Archer get Broken Hounds’ territory and getting Maddie in return.”
“Maddie would have killed him once she found out.”
“I thought that, too.” Jace rubbed at his eyes. When was it he last slept? “Then, when he discovered Maddie was pregnant, he started leaning towards getting rid of her for looking at someone other than him.”
“But how did he know about the Wild Leopards and who to talk to?” Beth asked.
Jace didn’t like this next part. It had completely slipped the net, and nobody had known. That was how smart they had been. And he was angry for letting it get to the point that someone he loved had almost been killed.
“Dane Archer was his stepbrother.”
Beth’s mouth dropped open, her eyes almost bulging out of their sockets.
“You’re kidding? Seriously?”
“Roberts’ mom married Archer’s dad. They kept in touch after their parents divorced five years later.” Jace shrugged. “Luke said it slipped through the net because it was when they had been teens and Roberts had a different name. No one was any the wiser.”
Roberts hadn’t said a thing, and for good reason. He was in Broken Hounds territory and he would have made everyone at the surgery a target. Jeremy wouldn’t have been discriminating.
“Jesus.” Beth rubbed her hands over her face. “This is a mess. He would rather kill Maddie because she was pregnant with someone else’s kid than be with her at all?”
“Yep.” Jace resisted the urge to rub his bad shoulder. “I promised Maddie I’d protect her. I couldn’t protect her from this.”
“Don’t beat yourself up about it, Jace.” Beth sat back and placed a hand on his back. “Nobody saw this coming.”
Jace knew that. But it wasn’t going to help his conscience right now.
“Mr. Howard?”
A nurse wearing scrubs had entered the waiting room, her pale blonde hair done up in a bun and a clipboard in her hands. She looked like she was about to drop with exhaustion, but she managed a smile in his direction.
This had to be about Maddie. Jace stood, holding Beth’s hand as she stood beside him.
“How is she?”
“She’s resting right now.” The nurse looked at Beth. “Miss Erikson?”
“Yes?”
“Miss Lyman’s been asking after both of you. Would you like to go ahead and see her?”
Beth glanced at Jace, who nudged her towards the doors.
“Go. I need a few words.”
Beth nodded and left the room. Then Jace turned back to the nurse, who was trying to stifle a yawn.
“Is she okay?”
“Her blood pressure was high when she came in, but it’s now at a manageable level.” The nurse shook her head. “I wouldn’t recommend that she goes on bikes until after she’s given birth.”
“Or be in the middle of a gunfight,” Jace muttered.
The nurse raised her eyebrows.
“She did mention that but I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear it.”
Jace grunted.
“And the baby? Is the baby okay?”
“For now, he’s fine. Heartbeat is strong and he’s kicking away happily. No harm seems to have been done.”
“He?” Jace stared. “The baby’s a boy?”
The nurse smiled.
“We were able to check, and Miss Lyman requested to know.”
A boy. Jace was having a son. He was amazed he was still standing after a statement like that. They were having a son. And he was okay.
“She’s also asked if she can have the cysts removed while she’s here.” The nurse went on. “She’ll be having the surgery tomorrow morning, so we’ll keep her in overnight. But she must be on strict bed rest afterwards.”
“Is that normal after that sort of surgery?”
“Occasionally, but this has to be strict. With her high-blood pressure, swollen ankles and drinking water like it’s drying up, the doctors suspect she has pre-eclampsia.”
“Pre-eclampsia?” Jace had heard of it. A few of his acquaintances had been mothers and they had spoken about it. “That’s bad for the baby, isn’t it?”
“It makes the pregnancy high-risk, yes. But, providing it’s monitored and she doesn’t overdo it, it’ll be fine.”
“Would that explain the cramps and the bleeding?”
“It would. Stress also adds to that, so she has to be kept away from it.”
That was easier said than done after what had happened to Maddie, but Jace was prepared to do whatever he could to make sure Maddie was safe. He had nearly lost both her and their son already; he wasn’t about to lose them again.
Chapter Twenty-One
Maddie was feeling numb. Now the adrenaline had worn off, she didn’t know whether to hysterically laugh or cry. It was a frightening sensation.
Jeremy was dead. Archer was dead. And she was alive. Why did that not feel right?
At least her baby was going to be okay. He was causing her a lot of health problems, but he was alive and happily kicking away in her b
elly. Maddie felt the ripples across her tummy and even saw herself changing shape as the baby pushed out from its cocoon. It was surreal, but it meant he was alive and kicking.
Maddie wondered where Jace was. She had no idea if he was alive or dead. The man had been very nearly unconscious when they had arrived at the hospital. They had been split up so Jace could be seen to and Maddie could be taken to maternity. Now she was hooked up to machines, had had blood taken from her several times, and she had no idea what was wrong with Jace. She had asked several times, but the nurses had urged her to focus on her baby for now and, once she was rested and the tests had been done, they would find Jace for her.