She knew, logically, that he would tell her when he was ready, so she didn’t want to push. But Chase being clingy was new.
“Not worried,” Chase answered quietly before taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. He had to get his feelings under control. “Stressed. On edge.”
“It’s just another meeting, right? Nothing that you haven’t done before,” Summer stated. She knew the basics, but it was enough for her to think there was no danger to either of them. He wouldn’t have brought her along if she were in any danger at all here, at least that’s what Summer gathered.
“Yes,” Chase sighed, closing his eyes.
“Ready to go, Boss,” Carter asked, poking his head around the door, his eyes hard. “Everyone is waiting for you.”
“Okay,” Chase said before turning back to Summer. “I’ll have my phone on the entire time. Just please don’t leave the hotel.”
“I won’t Chase,” Summer said, laying her hand back on his cheek, her look full of love. “I’ll be right here. Promise.”
“I love you, Princess,” Chase said, standing up.
“I love you too,” she smiled up at him, staying put on the bed.
Chase hovered for a moment more before giving her one last small smile. Once he was out the door, Jackson came bouncing in, a smile on his face. He muttered something to Chase before the Prince disappeared down the hall, Carter following him.
“Hey you,” Jack said, taking a seat on the bed and causing it bounce with his weight.
“Hi,” Summer said, waiting. She hadn’t had time to be alone with this man and she didn’t know what to do about it.
“How are you doing?” he asked, watching Summer for any discomfort.
“Peachy,” she replied with a one shoulder shrug. She was worried about her husband, of course, but health wise she was good.
“I heard something about the spa?” he asked, not sure if he heard right.
“Yeah,” she nodded. “I think I’ll wait until Chase gets back. He seems jumpy.”
“Well, of course, he is,” Jack said with a sad look. “I would be too knowing what he’s walking into down there. I hate dealing with know it all wannabes. There’s another rat, but Chase will take care of it like he’s been doing it for years now.”
“This time is different, isn’t it,” Summer mused, looking down at the comforter and playing with the seam. Her forehead wrinkled as she thought of her husband’s mood.
“Yes,” Jack said, not lying to her. “He will be safe. Just as safe as you are here with me.”
“I’m not worried about myself,” Summer said with a shake of her head. “I’m worried about him.”
“He’ll be fine, Summer,” Jack said, gently laying a hand on her arm. “He will talk to you about his worries after it’s all cleared up.”
Summer knew he was right. It still didn’t help the gut feeling she had. Something wasn’t right. It hadn’t been since they arrived at the hotel. Nothing had made her feel like this since Chase had married her, but yet here she sat with a feeling an impending doom coming.
“So,” Jack began after a minute. “Pregnant yet?”
Summer burst out laughing. It was more of the fact that everyone kept asking, and always when she least expected it. She was also more than happy about the change of topic.
Jack looked at her funny, not sure why such a question would require such a reaction. He simply raised an eyebrow, waiting.
“Why does everyone have to ask me that?” she laughed. She felt safe with Jack, almost like when they were younger.
“Sorry?” he stated in a question, not getting the punch line as he leaned back on his arms.
“I swear, everyone expects me to have a baby,” Summer said, still half laughing. “I’m not pregnant. I’ll be sure to let everyone know when, and if, I am.”
“Okay,” Jack said, trying to sooth her in a way. He had learned to never argue with a woman. It was one of the reasons he tended to like males; they didn’t bitch about every little thing.
“Don’t you dare ask me when I plan to be, either,” Summer said with a glare his way.
“Okay,” he repeated with a nod of his head and a smirk. He was about to ask that.
After another minute of silence, the two not knowing what to say to one another, Jack took the plunge.
“What happened to you after Jason got you shipped off?” he asked, not wanting to think that his step-father actually sold the girl he viewed as a sister.
“Life happened,” Summer said, her happy mood instantly dying. “But you know most of it.”
“From my view, yes,” Jack said sadly. “I still feel horrible I wasn’t able to help you more.” He was determined to make up for it.
“Chase came in and saved the day, so all's fine,” Summer said, laughing without humor. “I survived. It was all I could do.”
“I won’t let it happen again,” Jack said with a deadly serious look. He meant that too. He’d give his life to save this girl if he had to.
“I’m as safe here as I was anywhere else,” Summer said, knowing it was true. “There will always be someone out there that wants me dead, or to pay for whatever reason they can think of. There is nothing I can do but live my life the best that I can.”
“But you have protection now,” he said, sitting back up straight.
“Yes, but that won’t stop someone if they want me, Jack,” Summer said, knowing how true that was, and her gut agreed with her. “That’s why Chase had to deal with things here, wasn’t it?”
“How are you so smart?” he asked with a small smile. He didn’t want to lie, but also didn’t want to tell her the truth.
She just shrugged. She had no idea when she became so smart, at least smart enough to know how the world worked. It sucked, but it was just part of life.
“I really am sorry for everything I caused. Maybe if I didn’t try to make you move so much, you wouldn’t have had such a hard life,” Jack said, looking anywhere but at Summer.
“I would have suffered the same either way, Jack,” she said softly. “That doesn’t change how I view you. You were my protector from Jason when you were able to be; you are my protector now. You are like a brother, and hopefully, we can have more time together after all this.”
“I’d love that,” Jack said, moved by her words.
Just then, Jack’s phone made a noise, so he dug it out of his pocket. His expression turned dark, and he was instantly on alert as he stiffened his spine. Faster than Summer expected, he was across the door, locking the chain, and double checking the door, before taking out his gun from his holster.
“What is it?” she asked, scared to move from her spot. Her heart beat widely in her chest.
“Someone in the guard isn’t who he says he is,” Jack answered hotly. “Chase said to make sure you stay safe.”
Summer didn’t say anything, instead of moving towards the corner by the window, feeling like she should be farther from the door. Not that she could really hide anywhere in here. Her body shook with a fight or flight response, and she wasn’t sure how to handle it as questions flew through her mind.
Who was it? What did they want? Were they after her, or Chase?
A knock sounded on the door, causing Summer to jump in fright. Jack quickly looked through the peephole before unlocking the door and letting the man in.
It was a man that Summer hadn’t seen before, but she gathered that Jack knew him well enough to let him into the hotel room before re-locking the door completely. Jack knew that the guard had worked for Chase for a number of years, and there was nothing to be concerned about.
The man was a few inches shorter than Jack but no less frightening at first glance. His dark blond hair was longer, almost in his deep brown eyes. His diamond face and long nose left little to the appeal of him as he was dressed from head to toe.
“Sean,” Jack said, knowing Chase would send someone to help guard the Princess. His was relieved to not have to watch the Princess on his own.<
br />
“Anyone else come this way?” he asked with a Russian accent, which made his words slightly hard to understand. He took a stand between Summer and Jack, although he seemed to not notice her in the corner.
“No. You are the first,” Jack replied, looking back through the peephole.
“Too bad,” Sean sighed before withdrawing his gun, shooting Jack in the leg, the bang echoing through the room.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Summer stood frozen, helpless, as Jack attempted to shoot back at the man, cussing him out and missing.
“Mothering fucking bitch,” Jack hissed, shooting his gun once more, grazing the man’s shoulder.
Sean simply laughed before aiming the gun at Jack’s chest, shooting him right in his heart.
Bang!
Blood instantly began to seep out as Jack’s body fell to the floor, his life gone. There was no chance to fight off the man, even though he was shorter.
Summer clasped her hands over her mouth, hoping that she would be unseen. She wasn’t sure what to think, what to do. She had no training to kill the man who just killed her brother. Her heart stalled, before picking up speed, almost beating out of her chest. She paid no attention to the tears that fell from her eyes.
Sean sighed sadly, pocketing his gun, and turned around to face the frightened girl.
“Now, girl,” he said slowly, looking her up and down. “I have commands to not harm you, which really is a shame. But I can’t have you screaming the entire way either. Chase will only be held up for so long, we must hurry.”
He took fast, measured steps toward her as he produced a syringe filled with clear liquid.
Summer couldn’t help but whimper in fear, trying to push herself back towards the corner as much as possible. She knew there was nowhere to go, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t fight.
And fight she did.
Once Sean was close enough, she kicked out, using the wall behind her for leverage. Her left foot hit the man right in the groin, making him lean forward to catch his breath and drop the syringe. It didn’t break as the carpet cushioned its fall.
That gave her enough time to run past him and towards the door. She refused to look at Jack’s body on her way, knowing she’d lose what little was in her stomach if she did. With shaky hands, she unhooked the chain and then unlocked the door before swinging it opened. It bounced against Jack’s body.
She went running out the door, but was stopped as another body stood in front of the path, and Sean’s thrilled laugh filled the room as he stuck the needle into her arm. Summer’s eyes widened as her body turned sluggish as darkness instantly took over. She vaguely heard Jack’s phone ringing before everything seemed like a distant memory.
Chapter 25
Chase didn’t want to leave his wife, but the sooner he got this meeting over with, the sooner he could get back to her. He had plans to take her to bed, saying fuck it to shopping down Sixth-teeth Street.
He knew that his mafia family was in deep in all places, in all fields of work. That alone was what tipped him off about the change of time. He wasn’t thrilled about it, but there wasn’t anything he could do, either.
One of the men he wanted to watch with his own eyes made up an excuse about the later time, which resulted in the change and police involvement. Chase wasn’t thrilled that the police were working against him, once again.
Another part of Saul Rodrigo’s plan, no doubt.
Chase knew he should just go and take him out without questioning him, but he needed to make sure who was giving out commands on his enemy’s side. He knew without a doubt that there was someone that was in charge of it all, and Chase would bring them down.
He knew for a fact that the roomful of men that were waiting for him were not under his paid associates, and wouldn’t be alive much longer.
“Nathan hasn’t shown up yet,” Jack whispered to Chase as he stepped into the room, keeping his voice down so it wouldn’t carry, as Chase prepared to leave to head downstairs. “Stay on your toes.”
“Keep her safe,” Chase said before glancing at his wife once more, seeing her still on the bed, her knees pulled up to her chest.
It reminded him of how she looked just months ago. How she was frightened of everything, including her own shadow. But now, she was stronger, braver. She was his Princess, and he’d do anything to keep her that way.
Once in the hallway, Chase heard Jack lock the door, feeling only slightly better that she was safely hidden away once more. He was tempted to hide her in a tower from the entire world, knowing that would be the only place Summer would ever truly be safe.
Chase wasn’t heartless. He wanted Summer to explore the world in every way possible. A tower wouldn’t allow her to do that.
Carter followed Chase through the halls, staying invisible but nearby if needed. His hands were clasped behind his back in submission, shoulders broad and tall.
Right before he walked into the open room just a few floors down from where the booked room was, Chase took a deep breath, squared his shoulders, and put his game face on. He wanted to get this done over as quickly as he could.
He knew he had to deal with this, and his wife was safe upstairs, for the time being.
He made sure his gun was easily seen before opening the door non-to-gently, Carter right behind him.
“Gentlemen,” Chase greeted, voice cold as he looked at the few men that sat at the table who instantly stopped talking when he opened the door. He did notice that there was one missing person that Chase had specifically demanded to be here today.
Nahuel. He was a thorn in Chase’s side for many reasons, but knowing that the small low life was working with Saul didn’t help one bit.
Carter kicked the door shut behind him quietly before taking a stand a little way back from Chase.
He took a seat at the head of the table, discreetly texting a number of his guards and his closest men he worked with, about who they needed to keep eyes opened for, and to kill if they could get a clear shot.
Chase refused to let Nahuel have more run than he was allowed. It didn’t take much to figure out who was paying this group of men.
“Shall we get this over with?” Chase asked out loud, then signaled for Carter to grab the pre-filled glasses with water on the marble table top under the counter under the large window.
Carter did as was commanded, knowing how this was going to play out before they ever arrived here today. He kept his mouth shut, quickly walked to where the glasses sat waiting. Before picking up the silver tray, he slipped in a white powder that instantly dissolved into all but one cup.
The powder was tasteless, and no one would know what hit them once it took full effect. It was all part of the plan, and used a number of times through the years when shooting a roomful of people would draw too much attention.
Once setting the tray down on the table, he picked one up, testing a sip of water, just enough to prove that he didn’t do anything to any of them, before setting it in front of Chase. He then handed out the rest of the glasses before stepping back, crossing his hands in front of him and looking at the wall across the room.
“So,” Chase began, folding his hands on top of the table. His white shirtsleeves were folded up to just below his elbows today, giving off his ‘don’t fuck with me look’ perfectly. “Why did I get a call suggesting I have another rat on my team? I do not tolerate this kind of behavior, and there will be a life to be paid for wasting my time, yet again.”
“He made us,” spoke up a man that Chase couldn’t remember the name of. He was another low life, only working with a few other men that Chase had hired to keep this town safe. His voice shook, visibly frightened of the man that sat here, demanding attention and respect.
“Explain,” Chase barked out, causing the man to jump in fright.
Looking at the man dressed in a second, or possibly third, hand me down style and with a shaved head gave Chase the impression that he really had nothing left. He was a drug
addict, and most likely owed his men money. If someone can’t pay up, then they either die, or they work until the debt it paid off, then die.
“Rodrigo said he’d kill us all if we didn’t work for him. He said if we did what he wanted, he’d pay off our uncollected loans owed to you,” the man spoke softly, but quickly. His hands wringing in his lap, showing he needed a hit of meth. And soon. Of course, he was frightened of the man that demanded attention.
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