Blake handed him a glass as he entered the large living area and then clicked the side of it with hers. “Let’s celebrate? No more jobs, no more bad guys. Just the beech and the hot sand beneath our feet. Beautiful sunsets every evening and to wake up beside each other for eternity! What do you say?”
He took a sip of the bubbly and responded, “Sounds great… to me!”
Blake gave him a long passionate kiss on the lips which made his heart melt. And slowly made everything else begin to drift away just a little. “Thank you!”
“For what?” she asked.
“For just being here with me, and… for you… just being you!”
“Baby… it’s my pleasure,” she said as she stared into his eyes deeply.
Harry had finally drummed up the nerve to say he loved her, but just when he was about to open his mouth, the moment was interrupted with a knock on the door. Then seconds later there was a roaring sound of something just outside their balcony window.
A gush of wind blew in through the partially opened glass doors and knocked a vase of flowers over, smashing it onto the carpeted floor. The heavy drapes swung violently, hitting the nearby table and sent it flying across the room. A beam of light blazed in through the glass, intensely blinding his vision for a second, but knew it could only be one thing. A helicopter!
Blake gave Harry a fleeting look and then both jumped for cover when a spray of gun fire shattered the entire window, scattering splinters of glass toward them.
All Harry could hear was the hammering of the blades echoing from the Black Hawk, bearing extremely close to his ears as he crawled toward the bathroom door.
“Blake… you okay?” he shouted.
He turned to see her quickly scuttling toward him, “Yeah… you?”
Still with the sounds of world war three going off in the living room, Harry rapidly pulled on his clothes and boots that were left on the bathroom floor. “Have you still got any weapons on you?” he asked while searching under the wash basin for his stash.
Blake pulled the Glock out that was shoved in the back of her jeans and checked the chamber for ammo. “I’ve got a full round.”
Swiftly Harry yanked the Glock out of Blake’s hand and passed her a small sissy pistol with a smirk, “here… this is for you.”
“What’s this? What am I going to do with this pissy little thing?” she stated.
There was a loud thud and it sounded like someone had finally smashed their way through the front door to their suite. “Bugger…”
“Great… what’s the plan? You must have got yourself out of worse situations than this?” Blake asked with an alarmed tone.
He stood hard against the open door, waiting to jump his first opponent. “Not really! I’m just going to wing it!” he said just loud enough to be heard over the droning noise of the Black Hawk engine.
Instinctively he felt a large male approach the doorway where they were hiding behind and with the upper hand he decided to attack first.
The six foot dark male didn’t know what hit him when Harry struck him with an elbow strike directly into his windpipe, bringing him tumbling down to his knees.
He then raised his knee, snapped his heel toward him and hook kicked the huge target fair in the temple, rendering him unconscious.
His associate wasn’t far behind when he saw an angry empty soul deep in his eyes as he charged toward them.
With no time to muck around he squeezed the trigger and fired one bullet directly into his skull. He dropped instantaneously on top of his mate, leaving them a clear path to make a run for it.
“On the count of three we’re going to make a dash for the door,” he shouted.
“Lead the way—baby…” Blake responded with a grateful look on her face.
The spotlight from the helicopter flashed across the room from wall to wall, ready to catch them and gun them down as soon as they tried to escape, he anticipated.
Promptly Harry grabbed Blake’s hand and dragged her as fast as he could toward the exit, swerving and weaving attempting to dodge the shower of bullets trailing behind them.
At last he saw a safe passage just metres away, when a god almighty explosion threw them toward the open doorway and smashing their raggedy bodies toward the hotel hallway wall.
Smoke filled Harry’s burning lungs, but… he was still alive he thought.
He could still feel the warmth of Blake’s hand still clenched around his as they laid there in a heap of rubble, tangled between metal and splintered timber. He couldn’t tell if the blast had demolished the entire floor or building. It was too dark to see a thing and he was beginning to feel a deep sense of concern for Blake as she hadn’t moved her fingers at all.
Harry was wedged between all the wreckage, making it impossible to move. And no matter how invincible or strong he thought he was, he felt an immense emotion of defeat. “Blake…” he murmured, but once again he didn’t get a reply.
Slowly he felt the darkness begin to overwhelm him. With no sense of control and his heart now telling him to give up, he did. Consumed with guilt and heartache, Harry let the blackness swallow him whole into the abyss of hell.
CHAPTER TWENTY Five
The highway Hotel
A few hours had passed since their rescue and Harry still hadn’t stirred. After they were pulled from the rubble by the fire brigade Blake fled the scene and booked into a cheap motel on the other side of town. Thankfully the car park went unscathed and she was able to successfully escape without being noticed.
Blake watched as the small lines around his mouth curved as he began to wake. His soft plump perfect lips just begged to be kissed, but the woman inside her restrained herself from any further advances. His long dark eyelashes flickered before opening his beautiful hazel eyes to gaze back up at her with a glazed over look. “Hey sweet cheeks....”
“Hey!” he replied.
“How are you feeling?” Blake said as she stared deep into his eyes.
She caught a hint of the youthful innocent spark in which he so desperately tried to hide she detected. She knew that one day she’d bring that exterior wall tumbling down. To reveal the real loving man she knew was hiding inside. “I thought I was going to lose you,” she said with tears beginning to well in her eyes.
Harry placed his hand on her cheek tenderly. “Sorry… this guys too tough to bring down that easy,” he responded noticeably attempting to lighten the conversation.
“It was a close call. I think we need to be more careful in the future. Next time you might not be so lucky.”
“Just kiss me will you!” Harry demanded and pulled Blake into his waiting lips. “I thought I’d lost you and there was no hope in hell of getting out of there. I guess… I wanted to give up if I couldn’t have you by my side,” he added.
“Dido… my sweet, now… let’s get you well enough first and then we figure out what the next move is from here. But… saying that I don’t think we should hang out here for too much longer,” Blake responded.
Harry sat up with a sudden look of apprehension, “are you sure we weren’t followed? They seem to have ears and eyes everywhere. And how did you get me here?”
“Well… I guess nothings really certain. So if you’re feeling up to it we might make tracks. Its six A.M now, the front desk should be open so I’ll go and pay the bill while you go and have a quick shower if you like. We’ll discuss everything else in the car.”
“I suppose you didn’t manage to rescue some of my clothes by any chance did you,” Harry asked with a glint of cheekiness.
Blake shook her head and smiled as she opened the door. She watched his face light up and thought what a lucky girl I am, before shutting it behind her.
** *
Harry towelled his hair as he stepped out of the shower. He dried off quickly and got dressed back into his dirty clothes that he’d been wearing for the last horrific twenty four hours. While checking the clock again, “I wonder what could be taking Blake so long to pay th
e bill.”
Hesitantly he picked up the phone handset and dialled 0 for the desk. “Hello… my partner went to checkout about ten minutes ago from room…” Shit… I had no idea what room we were in. Harry franticly searched the room, when he noticed the room number was printed on top the phone. Idiot…! He told himself.
“Um… 202. Can you tell me if she’s left yet?” he asked the woman anxiously.
“Sorry sir… no one’s been to reception yet to check out,” the woman responded.
Harry’s heart dropped.
“Will that be all sir?” the woman asked with a concerned tone in her voice.
“Uh… yes… thanks, I’ll be there shortly to pay the bill. She must have just gone to a teller machine to withdrawal the cash. You know how funny some women can get with these things…” he said attempting to sound convincing.
Harry detected a short pause on the other end of the phone so he hung up abruptly.
Only a couple of seconds later his heart skipped another beat when his mobile phone rang breaking the tense silence in the air. He pulled the phone from his pocket and hoped to god it was Blake, but— freaked when the caller id come up as Smith. He hesitantly pressed the button and said, “hello!”
“You have been a very naughty boy, haven’t you?”
“I could pretend that I don’t know what you’re talking about, but we both know that’s not true. Where is she?”
“Oh… I haven’t got your girl, but I do know who has and he’s… not real happy with you either after shooting up his place and leaving an awful mess. You didn’t really think you were going to get away with it, did you? If you want her that bad… then I can exchange your life for hers, I think that’s a pretty good trade off don’t you?”
“Where and when?”
“I… have to say, you’ve got some balls boy. I was told you were the best, but until now I didn’t know how well. But everyone slips up in the end. I must say I will be quite disappointed to see you go. I probably could have had someone like you on my team, but we’ll never know now will we? So the only other choice is to beat the audacity out of you. You will wish you’d never messed with me I assure you! And… the first sight of trouble... then your girl’s going to wish she’d never betrayed me either.”
“I wouldn’t think of it! And I guaranty you that if you have harmed her in any way, then you’re going to wish that you were never born.” Harry snapped the phone down and searched his brain for ideas.
They couldn’t know where I am. Otherwise they would have grabbed us both. Blake must have gone somewhere else before going to the front desk.
He approached the window and pulled the curtain across just enough to peak out. He detected a small shopping centre across the highway and figured that that’s where they must have nabbed her. Shit—that means they’re close.
Up and down the highway was a row of motels he detected and assumed they must have been checking every single one until they found them.
With no time to waste Harry scurried outside to the car. Glanced quickly underneath for wires, then jumped in the driver’s seat and drove off.
The only place they could be keeping her is at Deak’s’s and that place is going to be a fortress to break into. They obviously know what I look like, and I’m pretty certain I’m not going to have the element of surprise this time.
CHAPTER TWENTY six
Blake sat quietly in the backseat of the black Rolls, gagged and her wrists bound with rope in between two very large muscle men who worked for Smith.
Smith sat in the front passenger seat and furiously glanced back at her every minute or so.
Blake could sense the uneasy tension as all men sat quietly. The closer they got to the warehouse that Deak’s owned, the faster her heart began to pound. Knowing that her meaningless life could be snuffed out at any moment she ponded. Maybe I could cause a diversion somehow. She considered as the car pulled up to the garage door.
The doors opened slowly and Blake’s stomach began to heave.
Smith gazed at her sternly and said, “Don’t try anything or your boyfriend’s next.”
The two guys sitting next to her pulled out their Smith & Wesson’s, cocked the hammer and prepared to exit the car as soon as it stopped.
“Davison I want you to keep an eye on her and if she moves a muscle, shoot her,” Smith said to the driver.
“Yes sir.”
“You two check the perimeter. I don’t want to come across any little surprises, got it!” Smith ordered.
They both answered, “Got it!”
Davison entered the large plastics warehouse and pulled up next the office inside. The guys in the backseat jumped out and ran in opposite directions. Smith took one more glance at Blake and then stepped out of the vehicle.
Davison turned off the ignition and spun around in his seat, reached back and ripped the tape off Blake’s mouth, then gave her a smartass remark. “You idiot, you could have been set. Then you go and shack up with the guy that was paid to do you in. So what did you offer him? Well… I bet he couldn’t keep his hands off that ass. You women are all the same. Tart, once the boss is finished with you and then it’s my turn? Your boyfriend’s not going to save you this time.”
Blake knew she was just baiting him. She wiped her bruised lips with the back of her hand, winked and said, “That man has got bigger balls than you four put together. He’s going to kick your ass and then he’s going to mop up the floor with you.”
“Huh... yeah right!” he spat out and turned back in his seat, facing the front once more.
Smith and another unknown man were discussing something in the office doorway, but Blake couldn’t work out what they were saying. She could only imagine that it must have had something to do with her. Smith still didn’t have the chip and she wasn’t going to give up the whereabouts that easily.
Blake looked down at her trembling hands and thought if she was going to do something; it would have to be now.
She clenched her teeth, brought her bound hands up quickly over the drivers head and began to choke him, holding the rope firmly against his throat.
When the gagging sound stopped from her opponent and there wasn’t a hint of movement from the dead driver, she quickly glanced in the direction of the office door located on the other side of the car a few metres away and stepped out quietly.
The warehouse was pretty noisy with all the machines running at one time, and Blake hoped it would be to her advantage.
With haste Blake slid the knife under the rope and sliced it from her wrists she found strapped to the dead driver’s ankle. She peered around the back of the car and watched as Smith was in some kind of heated argument.
This is a better time than any, while everyone’s distracted! She thought.
She opened the driver’s side of the car and yanked the dead man out, leaving him to spill out onto the concreted floor. Blake then jumped in, turned the ignition on and put the gear stick into reverse.
The gangster was still in an in-depth conversation with the other man, Blake could see, so she knew that this was her one and only chance to escape.
Slowly she backed the car up a few metres to get a good run up and lined up Smith in her view. She then flipped the gear stick into drive and floored it, smoking the wheels and veered the car toward the gangster.
All Blake saw was the whites of Smith’s eyeballs widen as she smashed the car directly into his legs. She heard the loud thud as his broken body tumbled underneath the car and out the other side.
The other man that Smith was talking too had disappeared out of sight, but for some reason Blake didn’t feel threatened by the guy and believed the coast had to be clear.
Quickly she jumped out and found the bloody body of Smith entangled underneath the rear wheel. She let out a sigh of relief, but still suspected the other two thugs had to be close by and running around somewhere. She knew she urgently needed to get the hell out of this place and fast.
Blake observed the
front end of the vehicle. It was smashed in pretty bad, but thought it had to be still driveable; it was the only way she was going to escape.
She jumped back in and headed toward the closed garage doors and all the while looking anxiously for Smiths hit men.
She heard shots fired and the sound of metal being torn apart as the bullets hit the car she was driving. The back window was hit next, shattering the glass and scattering it airborne as she floored it toward her only exit.
Smoke and steam poured out from under the bonnet and the motor it seemed was just about to seize up. “Come on— you can do it,” Blake yelled as she side swiped a fence from the driver’s side door, ripping it apart and sent it flying off the hinges.
The motor tapped violently under the hood and sprayed boiling water up onto the front windscreen, blocking Blake’s view.
She quickly flicked the wipers on and they still worked thankfully, she thought as she raced away and finally fled from her enemies. Don’t look around, just keep going…
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
FBI headquarters
Eagerly Agent Hall knocked on Assistant Director Clarkson’s glass door and noticed his head buried in a heap of paperwork on his desk.
“Come in,” he muffled after he glanced quickly at the door before he continued what he was doing.
“What is it Hall? I’m very busy as you can see!”
Agent Hall closed the door and moved closer toward the Directors desk. “Um… yes sir. I believe I’ve found a connection between the mob boss Willy Smith, John Daniel’s and the recent attacks at the following venues sir,” Agent Hall revealed and passed a file over the desk to the Director.
“I would like to have your permission to pursue this further sir. I believe an assassin that goes by the name of King is involved and I’m quite certain he was the one that did the hit on the dancer at the Roxy Bar last night. And I’m also quite certain there’s going to be an all-out war between Anthony Deak’s and this man.”
The Eternal Defiance Page 7