Lucy Kelly

by HeVans to Becky

  “They came back to town, stopping in DeKalb to visit her sister, Aditya Perez. It turns out the younger sister is also getting married. The wedding is scheduled for Sunday afternoon. Then they are moving to Greece. She’s already sold the family farm. The new owners are moving in a week later.

  “Grace and Aditya were raised by their grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. MacTavish. Mr. MacTavish is deceased. Mrs. MacTavish has a bungalow at a retirement home in DeKalb,” he paused in his recitation.

  Giving Mr. Kadyrov a thin smile, he said, “I’m afraid the new owners will be disappointed with the condition of the property when they move in. None of the Perez family or their in-laws-to-be will be able to attend the ceremony. We’ve set up a welcoming committee for them this very night.

  “You will be dining at your own table very soon, my friend.”

  Mr. Kadyrov leaned forward, “This has been a very productive visit. I look forward to having you to dine with me when this is over.”

  He frowned. “I’m afraid we’ll have to move operations to another city. Even with the evidence thrown out, our methods are now too well known to the police. I dislike the fact that I’m being forced to move. What of the Police Captain, Udaka? I believe this started with him.”

  “We have made arrangements for him as well. He will also have a visitor tonight. He’s sent his family away, and we haven’t been able to locate them yet. His visitor has instructions to find out. Your message will be sent, loud and clear,” said Edward.

  “Good. I would appreciate it if you would come back tomorrow to let me know what news you’ve discovered. You have control over the last of our funds, so keep them hidden. When the time is right, those last three accounts, along with the contents of a couple of other stashes, will put us back in business. For now, it’s time you left. Forgive me for not seeing you out,” he said with a smile.

  “Soon, Vasily - soon. I’m sorry we were unable to name the other officers in the case. Udaka is protecting them and keeping the reports out of the file room, so we can’t get to them,” said Edward.

  He got up and put away the papers he’d been showing to Mr. Kadyrov. What they said wasn’t important. However, it gave the guards something to watch.

  Fifteen minutes later, he was driving away from the jail, and Vasily Kadyrov was back in his cell.

  Chapter Three

  Kevin Udaka did his usual rounds of the house, checking windows and doors, turning off the lights as he went. It was another late night for him. On top of his day-to-day business, he was still pushing for more evidence and more arrests in the extended criminal activities related to the Kadyrov crime family.

  Unfortunately, because of Olga Kadyrov’s indictment, her work as an Assistant State’s Attorney was now under suspicion and many of her convictions were coming up for review. Moreover, many of those she helped convict were appealing their verdicts. He was working to keep those felons in prison; there was a power vacuum between the crime syndicates in the city now. He wanted to keep it that way.

  Crime in Chicago had been at an all-time low for the past two months. Working through Olga Kadyrov, they had gotten rid of the competition by supplying tips and evidence. Now with their organization broken, the rats were all scrambling for hiding places, many of them leaving a city that had grown too hot for them. Nearly a billion dollars in assets had been confiscated or frozen pending results of over a thousand separate indictments.

  Low crime stats meant the City Council didn’t think he needed more officers on the streets. So he was lobbying to keep his work force intact while he was still digging around quietly to stop leaks and keep evidence from disappearing.

  He was glad he’d set up a temporary property room at the Records Building and put Fareed Singh in charge. Now that Fareed was no longer needed undercover to operate a cab, he was watching over their most precious items - the evidence that would put the Kadyrovs away for good.

  He reached his bedroom and debated taking a shower or just falling into bed. He decided the shower would help relax him, so he could sleep. He really missed his wife and kids, but there was no way he was going to have them around until he knew it was safe for them.

  He was well aware of Kadyrov’s reputation. He’d spoken to everyone who worked this case. Since Grace was exposed already, either he or she signed every single report. Someone would have to dig to find out the other officers involved. He would make sure they were all recognized after the fact.

  He had just turned on the water when he felt, more than heard, the door open behind him. The displacement of air and familiarity with this old house made him know someone was there.

  “Turn around slowly and keep your hands where I can see them, Udaka,” said the intruder.

  He was dressed all in black, including gloves. However, he hadn’t bothered to cover his face, so Udaka knew his getting out alive was not in the cards. The man walked backwards, motioning for the Captain to follow. He was very careful to stay out of reach, with his weapon rock steady on the Captain’s chest.

  When he was in the middle of the room, he motioned with the gun, “Sit in the chair, if you try anything, the first bullet goes in your knee.

  “I’ve got some questions you’re going to answer. Answer them right away and you’ll get a bullet in the head, nice and quick. Don’t answer, and we’ll be in for a long night.”

  He grinned, “It was nice of you to strip down to your boxers, makes my job easier.”

  Just then the lights went out, and the Captain dove to the floor beside the bed as the intruder fired his gun. He reached underneath for the weapon he’d tucked under the frame. The intruder would be rounding the bed at any second.

  Udaka’s heart was racing inside his ribcage, and he was trying to hold his breath so he could listen for the steps. He brought his gun up and fired just as the lights came on, and the door to the bedroom slammed open.

  His Protection Detail shouted out as the intruder turned at the sound and fired again. His eyes adjusting to the dark, Captain Udaka was able to see better, and he fired a second time, aiming for center mass. A shot from the door came at the same time. Then all was silent.

  “You all right, Captain?” shouted out Sam from his Protection Detail.

  The Captain took a moment to assess his condition. “Pretty much okay, I’m probably going to need a few stitches. The bullet grazed me as I dove. Is he dead?”

  “Yeah, he’s toast. I think your wife is gonna want to redecorate this room, Cap,” said Sam as he kicked the perp’s weapon away and checked the body for a pulse.

  He knew the guy was dead but it was procedure and more than one cop had paid the price for making assumptions.

  “You want to tell me how he got past you?” the Captain asked as he heard more men running up the stairs.

  “I’ll be checking on that, you can be sure. For now, let me look at that graze,” said Sam, stepping around the body to approach the Captain, who was still lying on the floor.

  “Cute boxers, gift from the kids? The little witches and jack-o-lanterns add a nice touch,” he said, as he bent over to inspect the wound on the Captains thigh, trying to lighten the mood and lower their adrenaline now that the action was over.

  “I haven’t had time to do laundry. It either was these or go commando. Under the circumstances, I’m glad I chose the former. Anyway, Halloween is only a couple of weeks away,” he said, happy now that it was over and he was still alive after all.

  The other officers had secured the scene and called for paramedics. Sam agreed with the Captain; he was going to need stitches. Sam straightened up and went into the bathroom to grab a towel and apply pressure to the wound.

  Kevin Udaka leaned back. Then a thought rushed into his brain, “Sam! Get on the horn and check on Grace. I want updates on all our people ASAP!”

  ***

  Jalen, Justyn, Jett, and Grace had all realized that it wasn’t feasible for three men ranging in height from seven-foot-one to seven-foot-two to sleep comfortably in a bed wi
th their woman, even with a king-sized bed. They made the necessary adjustments.

  Grace also preferred to have one-on-one time with each of them. Triple orgasms were phenomenal but she also wanted to be able to show how much she loved each of them as separate husbands and not just as her Ankida.

  They agreed the time each of them spent alone with her was very special. Now she slept with each of them once a week and two of them together for another three days and all of them together once a week. Each of them had four nights a week with her. So far, it was working out. Tonight, Jalen and Jett we’re giving Justyn his night alone with Grace, and they were taking turns sleeping in the guest room and keeping watch.

  They’d been on alert ever since Valerie’s vision earlier in the day. Jett had set up additional motion sensors and micro cameras around the perimeter.

  Grace didn’t even complain that they were going over the top. When she found out about the triplets, she was as determined as they were to give those babies a complete family, with all their parents.

  Just after two in the morning, Jett’s cell phone vibrated, he had a text from his alarm system. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket as he stepped down the hall from the kitchen to the guest room to wake up Jalen.

  The map on the phone showed the possible breach was coming from outside the apartment, in the stairwells. The stairwell doors had opened, and someone was climbing them. At this time of the night, it was unlikely to be a resident.

  He quickly woke Jalen and then he activated his body shield and put on the glasses he’d altered. He’d embedded a small screen in the corner of the left lens. The Nephilim had technology that read the electrical impulses of their brains and transmitted those impulses to specific computers and other tech. The result was a faster response time in all situations.

  They no longer needed to key in commands if they didn’t want to. They could steer a vessel and run multiple tasks with their thoughts. Many Nephilim chose to have their reader implanted. Jett and his brothers preferred to wear theirs. Jett was always improving upon their BEIPs, Brain Electrical Impulse Projectors, with his tinkering. As a result, theirs could now transmit to devices up to a hundred yards away.

  He was grateful for that now as he was able to activate the pinhole cameras he had placed in strategic locations around the building.

  “Jalen, wake up,” he said. “We have visitors in the stairwells, two on the North and three on the South end of the hallway. They’re armed. We don’t want them to reach this level.”

  Jalen woke up and pulled on the clothes he had ready by the bed. Jett was already moving out to head them off. Jalen put on his modified mind-link and the glasses Jett had fashioned for him. They were goggle-shaped and instantly responded to any change in lighting.

  Jalen ran down the hall and woke Justyn, “They’re here. Get Grace to safety,” he whispered before heading back out again.

  Leaving the front door, he headed to the South stairwell; he could see Jett in his lens at the top of the North stairs. He sent a text message to Jett when he reached the door and stepped inside. “Confirm. Three intruders are coming fast.”

  He started to run soundlessly down as they were coming up. As Jalen hit the second flight, Jett sent him another text, “Two females in evening wear coming up in elevator two.”

  Jalen acknowledged the information and continued down; they would not allow innocents to be hurt. When there was one flight between them, he sent a signal to Jett, “Light’s off…now.”

  He swung around the end of the stairs, went down two steps, leaned over to where the intruders had begun to climb that flight. He aimed his stun stick and quickly stunned the intruders before they were aware of what was happening. He and Jett were disarming them and securing their limbs when from above they heard gunfire.

  His heart in his throat, Jalen rushed back up the stairs four treads at a time. He heard shouts and glass breaking. Jett was entering the open door of the condo and sending him information as he opened the door from the stairwell.

  Grace woke up from a sound sleep when Justyn shook her shoulder. “Grace, you need to be quiet. There are intruders entering the house, come with me,” he whispered in her ear.

  She scooted over to the side of the bed and got her gun from the nightstand, automatically checking that it was loaded and the safety was off.

  “Where are Jalen and Jett?” she whispered back as she hugged the wall, even while holding her weapon out.

  Justyn was seven-foot-two to her five-foot-eight, so he had to bend down a little to speak so not to be overheard, “Jett set up silent alarms along the perimeter of the condo and other areas of the building. He and Jalen are investigating a breach.”

  “They don’t have guns. What if the intruders are armed?” she asked in a whisper.

  She started to move quietly towards the door. She knew better than to burst into an unknown situation. Suddenly, she heard gunfire coming from outside the room and breaking glass. She was about to make a dash for the door when Justyn grabbed her from behind and pulled her to him. He had seen a flash of red from the corner of his eye, a laser sight, and acted automatically.

  “Justyn, let me go. Jett and Jalen may need me,” she said, as he picked her up.

  Shots rang out and the window at the side of the room exploded in a shower of glass. He held her so close she could feel the impact of the bullets as they hit him. He didn’t feel the bullets entering his body. All his attention was on moving Grace out of harm’s way.

  He was so concerned with getting Grace to safety; he had not activated his body shield. He used his momentum to carry her into the bathroom and out of the line of sight from the window. He used his BEIP to send a message to Jalen and Jett.

  As soon as they entered the bathroom, she yelled at him to put her down. “Damn it, Justyn, you’re hit! Let me look at your wounds,” she said, turning around.

  “I’m not leaving you, Grace; I just found you,” he said as he started to slump over.

  “Here, let me help you down,” she said, and it was none too soon, for a second later he was on the floor. She grabbed some towels to apply pressure and stop the bleeding. He had two bullet wounds in his back.

  “Stay with me, Justyn, just stay with me,” she said to him as she pressed down with the towels.

  She didn’t hear any additional gunfire coming from outside the bedroom. She was worried about Jalen and Jett. She heard someone coming down the hall.

  “Jalen? Jett?” she called out.

  She didn’t hear any answer; she stopped applying pressure and picked up her gun. Keeping her eyes on the door, she brought her gun around and moved to cover Justyn’s body. He was going in and out of consciousness.

  She wasn’t prepared for the beautiful woman in a cocktail dress who came through the door, but she didn’t hesitate. Grace raised her gun and fired at the same time as the assailant. She continued to fire until the woman fell backwards. A second woman appeared in a crouch, but before she could fire, she grunted and fell forward.

  “Grace!” called out Jett.

  “In here. Call an ambulance, Justyn’s been shot,” she said, as she watched Jett lean down to bind the woman he had stunned.

  The first woman was dead. He stepped over her prone form and entered the bathroom.

  “Careful, they have snipers. They shot through the windows facing the park. They must be up high in a boat or something to get an angle into the room,” Grace said, as she scrambled back to tend Justyn.

  “We need an ambulance. He has two bullet wounds in his back,” she cried, as tears streamed down her face.

  She couldn’t understand why her left arm wasn’t working. She needed to resume pressure on the wounds.

  She looked down at herself. She saw the bullet hole in her shoulder, and that’s when it began to hurt. It hurt a lot and she just stared at it.

  I’m going into shock; she thought and keeled over on top of Justyn.

  “Grace!” yelled Jett, and just then Jalen came
running down the hall.

  “Jalen! Justyn and Grace are both hurt. Contact the Protection Detail. If they don’t know it already, there are snipers in the park, they shot out the windows,” Jett said, scrambling to assess Grace and Justyn’s injuries.

  Jalen pulled out his cell and phoned for an ambulance first. He was phoning the Protection Detail just as Grace regained consciousness.

  Where in hell had they been while all this was happening? he thought.

  Grace was down on the floor beside Justyn looking up into Jalen’s face. He seemed upset. She tried to reach up and touch his face to let him know she was okay but her arms weren’t working right, and she was tired.

  “Jalen,” she said, “call Addie. Tell her to send the Docs, they need to take care of Justyn,” she stopped to take in a shallow breath. “I’m going to be okay, nothing important got hit. You have to take care of Justyn,” she said. She was speaking so softly Jalen could barely hear her.

  “Lie still, Grace, the ambulance is coming,” he said. He didn’t mention they had tried to reach the house, and no one was answering the phone there.

  Jalen had also sent a text to Arjun’s eyeglass lens, and it hadn’t been answered. And the head of Grace’s Protection Detail wasn’t answering either. He was worried about Grace and their Queen. He was about to make another call when his phone vibrated.

  “Hello?” said Jalen.

  “Jalen, this is Sergeant Cooper. Captain Udaka’s been attacked. He’s on his way to the hospital with a small graze. He asked me to call and check on you guys. I was only able to raise one man on your Protection Detail. I’m sending over some backup,” he said.

  “Sergeant,” answered Jalen, “we’ve already been attacked. We have six restrained and one dead assailant inside the building and an unknown number outside. Justyn’s been shot twice in the back and is in and out of consciousness. Grace has also been shot in the shoulder. We’ve called for an ambulance but until we know the sniper’s been caught, we’re sitting ducks if we try to leave the condo.”