The Heart

by Iris Bolling

  “Something doesn’t feel right.”

  “I’m fully loaded back here.”

  “Good.” Al stepped out of the vehicle and scanned the area. He walked around and took the passenger seat. “The open park was on our left and a row of houses on the right. If a car pulled out in front of us from the corner ahead and another from the corner behind, the only area for escape would be the open park. We’re sitting ducks here. We need to move.”

  Ryan looked around accessing the situation. He was right. They could be blocked from the front and behind. She spoke into her earpiece, “Boss, lead us home.”

  “Is Day with you?” Brian asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Is he carrying?”

  “He is now.”

  “Good. Something doesn’t feel right.”

  “We have the same sentiment back here,” She replied.

  “We’ll take the secondary route. We might have to fight our way home.”

  Al raised his phone, “Tuck, my brother, take the lead. Clear the way if you have too.”

  Tucker took the lead, Magna and Brian followed with Ryan and Al taking the rear. The concern for all involved wasn’t driving through town. It was once they reached the outskirts of the city, precisely the single lane off of New Market Road that led to the Brooks’ Estates.

  As they approached Charles City Road, Al did what he always did. He made the plan his own. What would he do? After a few moments, he pulled out his cell. “Tucker, have Melissa Sue meet us at Varina High School football field.”

  Ryan looked over at Al with a startled expression. “I didn’t know Melisa Sue was still around.”

  “We use her every now and then. Tell Thompson to follow Tucker.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “You don’t know the boss real well do you?”

  “What’s the problem?”

  “He doesn’t take orders.”

  “Dealing with Thompson’s ego is not on the top of my agenda at the moment. Just call him.”

  Not liking the way the order came out, Ryan turned away. “Apparently you don’t know me real well either.” She touched the device in her ear. “Boss, we have a change in plans. Lay back and follow Tucker.”

  “Why?”

  “We’re going to take them in a different way.”

  “There’s only one road going in. There is no other way.”

  “Boss, trust me on this one.”

  The line was silent for a moment. “You better know what you’re doing, Ryan.”

  The entourage made a quick right, then a left and pulled into the parking lot of the football field.

  “Why the change Ryan?” Brian asked as he stepped out the vehicle with Magna in tow.

  “We have another form of transportation.” Ryan replied.

  “Where?” Brian asked concerned with his protectee’ safety.

  “Right behind you.”

  Brian turned to see a chopper approach. He could fell the breeze from the propellers as it landed. He watched as Al approached the pilot. The pilot threw her arms around Al’s neck and planted a kiss on his lips. They spoke for a moment then Al walked back to them.

  “She can carry Tracy, the children and one other person. The rest of us will have to take the road.”

  “I’m taking the road.” Ryan and Magna said simultaneously.

  Brian stared at them. Hell, he wanted to take the road, too.

  “You have a family now, Boss,” Magna stated. “Too much to lose. We’ll handle them.”

  Brian hesitated, then conceded. This was his place now. “Let’s get the children.”

  These security situations were now a normal part of Tracy’s life. There was and would always be an element of danger for them. She knew the calmer she was, the better the children would react. The team surrounded Tracy and the children the moment they stepped from the vehicle. She spoke to Al. “Don’t get caught with that gun. I need you out here for this very reason.”

  “I’m good, Sis. My friend Melissa Sue is going to take you and the children home,” he replied.

  “Everything is set.” Brian said trying to comfort Tracy. “We’ll have you home in five minutes.”

  “Where are you going?” She asked Al.

  They reached the chopper and had the children in before he answered. He smiled, “We’re going to get the bad guys.” Tracy frowned while JC gave his Uncle Turk a pound.

  “Do what you do.” JC smiled at his uncle.

  Al laughed. “See you in a bit, little man.”

  The chopper took off as Ryan, Magna, Tucker and Al watched. “How do you want to roll in?” Tucker asked.

  “They are only expecting two cars. I’ll take the lead.” He pointed at Magna and Ryan, “You two take the middle. Tucker you’re loaded, you hang back. You’ll know when to hit.”

  “I think we should take the lead.” Ryan protested. “We’re legit, you’re not.”

  “We protect our women,” Al replied as he began walking away.

  “Oh Lord,” Magna sighed as she turned away, “Wrong thing to say.”

  Tucker and Magna leaned against one of the SUVs and waited for the argument that was sure to pursue.

  “We are not some little women that need the big strong man to protect us.” Ryan explained in a rather hostile manner. “In fact, we could easily take you down.”

  Al walked towards the other SUV. “You have a problem with men being protectors.” Al questioned over his shoulder as he continued walking. “It’s in our nature to want to protect the weaker species.”

  “What in the hell makes you think I’m weaker than you?” Ryan asked walking behind him toward the vehicles.

  Al stopped suddenly and turned to her. She walked right into the stone wall of his chest. He reached out, catching her around the waist before she fell backwards. He would have laughed at the irony if he had the time, but he didn’t. “Because you are,” he said as he pulled her to him.

  Ryan’s body slid down his until her feet touched the ground. The sensation of being held by him stunned her momentarily. The moment her mind cleared, she pushed away. “You caught me off guard.” She said composing herself. “I can still take you out.”

  It was a second or two before Al said anything. He liked the way she felt in his arms way too much, and that bothered him. “We’re wasting time here. He calmly replied. “Get in the car, let’s move.”

  “I’m going, but it’s not because you ordered me to.”

  “It wasn’t an order, it was a request.”

  Magna and Tucker looked at each other. “I give it six months before they will be doing the wild thing.” Magna snickered.

  Tucker laughed as he walked towards his vehicle. “I have a grand that says it will be six weeks—tops.”

  “I don’t have a grand, but I’ll take that bet. My girl is not going out like that.” Magna climbed into the driver’s side of the vehicle as Ryan entered on the other side. “Do me a favor?”

  “What’s that,” Ryan asked still bothered by the feel of Al’s body next to hers.

  “There’s two weeks left in June. Four weeks in July.” She nodded her head satisfied with the calculation. “Hold out on Day until August and I’ll give you $500.00.”

  Ryan turned and frowned at Magna then declared. “I don’t plan on giving him any—ever.”

  “Good,” Magna laughed as she pulled off. This was the first time she had seen a man affect her partner this way. She liked seeing Ryan rattled. “Just as long as ever doesn’t end until August, we’re good.”

  As Al predicted the attack took place about a mile before the entrance into the estates. Ryan had just received the call indicating Tracy and the children were safely inside the house, when she saw the back window of the SUV Al was driving shattered. “They’re using silencers pull it over!”

  Magna slammed on the brakes and swung the vehicle to an angle. “What direction did it come from?” Magna called out.

  “Every direction,” Ryan replied as they both hit the fl
oor of the vehicle. Crawling to the back, they looked at each other, counted to three, then kicked the back door open and hit the ground crawling under the vehicle.

  Al’s vehicle was under heavy fire. He was on the floor trying to determine where the shots were coming from. It was hard to figure because of the silencers they were using. One thing was certain. There were more than two shooters on each side.

  He crawled to the back of the SUV, kicked the door open and hit the ground. Looking back he spotted Magna and Ryan under the other SUV. He motioned to them he was rolling left, into the wooded area and they were to go right.

  “Tracy is going to have our ass if anything happens to him.” Magna hissed.

  “Why are men so damn controlling?” Ryan exhaled.

  “That’s a conversation for another day,” Magna stated as she checked her ammunition.

  Ryan did the same. “Once he rolls, we’re following.

  “Got you covered,” Magna replied.

  As soon as Al made his move, the women rolled right and came up shooting over his head. They both slid into the ditch, feet first as if they were tagging home plate to beat the throw. Under cover of the woods, they made their way to where Al should have landed. They split up to search for him. Magna was the first to come across a body. She smiled, “One down,” she said into the earpiece.

  “I have two over here,” Ryan replied as she crept through the woods alert.

  “I have another. That’s four,” Magna relayed.

  Ryan did not have a chance to reply. A body fell on her from the tree above causing her to hit the ground hard and her weapon to drop. She reached behind her back, pulled out another weapon and placed it in the gut of the man on top of her.

  “You pull that trigger and your man goes down.”

  She looked up to see the attacker’s laser pointed right at the back of Al’s head. “Where’s the boy?”

  “What boy,” Ryan stalled hoping Al would sense the danger.

  “Don’t play with me. Where is Harrison’s son?”

  “Safe and secure at home,” she sneered.

  There was a momentary look of disbelief in the man’s eyes. It disappeared. The look in his eyes now almost made Ryan wish it would return. He angrily knocked the second weapon from her hand. That was the split second she needed to react. Bringing her knee up full force she connected with his jewels causing him to pause for a moment. The man apparently had a high tolerance for pain. The kick would usually give her a good minute to counter act, but this man had it together in half that time. And he was not happy. He raised the butt of his gun to hit her but she never felt the impact.

  Al cursed when he ducked after seeing the laser reflection on the tree bark in front of him. From the ground, he looked behind him to find the target. The sight of a man on top of Ryan with a gun made him curse. He was normally a quiet, laid back kind of man. Soft spoken, some would say, but certainly capable of protecting himself and those that he loved. There were only a few things that caused him to lose his cool. This stubborn woman seemed to be one of them. Another, he determined was seeing her in danger.

  Al exhaled, then doubled back behind the man, the whole time muttering to himself, The woman apparently doesn’t know her left from her right. Without thinking twice, Al reached down, yanked the man from Ryan and slammed him against the tree trunk. The man kicked his feet from under him and Al landed on his back. He quickly jumped back to his feet swinging the butt of his gun against the man’s jawbone, knocking him out cold.

  Al turned to Ryan, who was now on her feet with her weapon drawn. He took one deep breath to calm himself before he spoke. He had learned early in life that anger works against good judgment. With his organization, he always handled his people with patience and tolerance. When they made a mistake, he did not take them out and shoot them. He would sit down and explain what they did incorrectly, then show them the correct way.

  He exhaled again and spoke softly. “The signal I gave was to go left. You rolled to the right, which put you in a dangerous situation. Let’s try to avoid that in the future. .”

  Ryan stood there for a moment, not sure how to respond to the man. He was speaking to her as if she were a new recruit that did not know her way around a fight. Normally she would be offended, but he said it in such a sincere manner that it threw her off—for a minute. That’s when the first blast sounded.

  Al smiled. “Sounds like Tucker’s having fun without us.” They followed the sound.

  “The good guys are here,” Magna said through the earpiece.

  Ryan relaxed then turned to Al. “Give me the gun.” He handed her the weapon as they began walking back out to the road. “I didn’t need your help back there. I had that situation under control.”

  Al followed behind her shaking his head trying to weaken the effect of her hips swaying in front of him. “You’re welcome,” he said as he reached the conclusion it was time for Ryan ‘the warrior princess’ to become his.

  Tucker had gathered, five attackers, while Magna had another four on the ground. “There’s another one about twenty feet in.” Al stated.

  “This was a professional team. That doesn’t give me a warm fuzzy feeling” Ryan added. The thought put an uneasy feeling in Al’s gut.

  Tucker was the only person that could read Al. What showed on his friends face concerned him. “You ladies have this covered?” he asked.

  “We’re good,” Magna replied as she secured one of the assailants.”

  Tucker looked at Al, “Let’s roll out.”

  Al nodded as he pulled off the band that held his locs back. “You’re going to be okay?” He said as he walked by Ryan.

  “I’m fine,” Ryan replied agitated that he asked the question.

  Al turned to her and smiled. “That you are Morgan Ryan Williams—that you are.”

  The impact of his full blown smile on her was indescribable. This was the first time in her life that a man had affected her in this way. What in the hell was she going to do about it, she wondered as Al and Tucker pulled off.

  Magna looked at Ryan watching the fleeting vehicle. “August is all I’m asking for—hold out until August.”

  Chapter 3

  A few days after the incident, Al was sitting at his home in the influential area of Richmond called Chamberlayne Farms. The homes ran from a modest three hundred thousand to a cool million or more. He loved the area because some portions of it were considered secluded, although it was located in the city. Al liked the city life. He liked having neighbors nearby, hearing the traffic in the distance, seeing children playing together. Gated communities like the one Tracy and Tucker lived were nice to visit, but he didn’t want to live there. The city was just fine to him.

  To the outside world the home resembled a modest four bedroom two story rancher, surrounded by a beautifully manicured landscape and circular drive way. But, once you stepped inside, you knew it was a luxury home. The foyer provided a spectacular view into the great room and beyond through the floor to ceiling windows surrounding a fireplace. A sixty-inch flat screen was anchored above presenting a welcoming area to relax. To the left was a library with books on shelves as tall as the windows in the great room. To the right was what appeared to be the living room with a dining room on the far side. Walking towards the great room a portion of the kitchen came into view. A marble island separated the kitchen and the great room. The furniture was placed in a circular pattern, with a huge round table in the center. A spiral staircase led to the second level, which housed two bedroom suites, with walk in closets and bathrooms fit for a queen. The hallway to the right was the master suite that spread the entire length of the right side of the house. The double doors opened to a sitting area with tray ceilings, a fireplace, comfortable seating and another library with books from floor to ceiling. Turning left was the archway that led to three steps. The platform had a king size sleigh bed anchored with a rich leather headboard. Once inside the room, to the right was a walk in closet. One wall of the close
t had shelves filled with shoes. The walk, straight ahead had shirts arranged by color at the top and suits at the bottom. The wall to the right had shelves filled with tee shirts, sweaters, sweats and hats. In the center was a chest with drawers on each side. On top was an assortment of watches, rings, bracelets, and chains. Next to the closet was the bathroom or spa would be a better description. The bathroom was the size of a small house. The walk-through shower literally encircled the spa tube on one side of the room. One vanity sink was at the entrance from the closet, the other was across the room from the bedroom entrance. The commode was enclosed in its own room.

  Walking back into the bedroom, there was another door, but it was not apparent to the naked eye. It was only accessible by reading the iris of your eye. A picture of a couple in an embrace was the single item on the wall. Looking closely at the picture you will see the man is wearing a ring. The right eye standing in front of the picture, looking into that ring will activate the opening. Once activated, the wall literally slides open. Five seconds after the sensor reads a body walking through, the doors close and lights activate. Inside the sound proof room, was the most sophisticated surveillance system in existence. After the incident with Tracy, The CIA would be impressed and would have to be trained to use it. On the monitors mounted throughout the room, the exterior of JD, Tucker, and Al’s homes were displayed. There were two entrances to the room, one from the bedroom and the other from the utility room connected to the kitchen. Only two people had access, Al and Tucker.