Vanguard Security

by S. J. Bishop

  “I did… but I guess the motorcycle is different.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “I don’t know. Our bodies are pressed together… I felt safer with my arms wrapped around you…”

  He smiled. “Well, if it's intimacy you want, it’s intimacy you’ll get.” He grinned, his hand sneaking higher up my thigh. “Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.”

  26

  Cruz

  My fingers danced along her skin in a slow and steady pace, getting closer and closer to her panties. She spread her legs for me, her body naturally obeying mine.

  I smirked to myself, tugging on the little bow on her thong.

  She moaned, lifting her hips off the seat, her body begging for my touch.

  Carefully, I snuck my hand under the small triangle of fabric, all while keeping my eyes on the road. At that moment, I was the master of multi-tasking.

  “Cruz…” she whispered, grabbing my wrist. “Should we really be doing this?”

  “Don’t worry, baby, nothing is going to happen,” I whispered, my voice soft and seductive. To persuade her even further, I ran my fingers along her slit.

  Instantly, her back arched in reaction. Her fingers tightened around the edge of her seat. In the short amount of time I had known her, I already knew how to play her body like a violin. I knew her sweet spots. How to touch her to make her moan. She was mine.

  Soon enough, however, we arrived at the casino. It looked like an abandoned warehouse building. All of the lights were off, and there wasn’t a car in sight.

  “Where are we supposed to go?” Amelia asked, fanning her face. She was flushed red from the little car ride. Subtly, she pulled down the hem of her skirt, pretending like nothing had happened.

  “Franklin told me there would be a parking garage. The casino is actually underground so that no one becomes suspicious of the sound.”

  “Is it that?” Amelia pointed to a small ramp lined with inlaid lighting.

  “Good eye.” I turned into it, following the ramp until it panned out into the first level of the parking garage. It was packed. Expensive cars of all makes and models were stowed away.

  “This is so strange…” Amelia was leaning toward the windshield, soaking up the sight. “I never would have guessed that London’s unground crime would legit be underground.”

  “Not very creative, are they?” I snickered, trying to make light of the situation even though I was starting to feel a bubbling of anxiety deep within my chest. This was quite possibly the most dangerous mission I had ever been on. Most of the time, I had backup, but this time, the only person by my side was Amelia, and she was more of a handicap than a crutch.

  But we would make it out of this alive. We had to.

  “Keep a look out for a parking spot,” I said as we climbed to the second level.

  She nodded, her face practically glued to the glass. “Do you really think all of these people are here for the casino?”

  “What else would they be doing here?”

  “I don’t know… it just seems so… odd.”

  I shrugged. “When you have so much money that you could practically throw it away, you start doing stupid stuff with it. That’s why I would never want to be rich.”

  “Oh?” She cocked her head in my direction. “I thought it was everyone’s dream to win the lottery.”

  “I’ve already won the lottery with you.”

  Her cheeks turned crimson. “Do you really mean that?”

  “Yes.” I took her hand and pulled it to my lips. “You are, hands down, the best thing that’s ever happened in my life. There’s just something about you that makes me feel so alive. I can’t quite explain it, but it’s here.” I dropped her hand to my chest, right over my heart. “I never want to lose you, and that’s why bringing you here was the stupidest thing I have ever done.”

  Her eyes locked with mine. “And did you really think that I would let you go on this suicide mission alone? If we go down, then we go down together, okay?”

  I frowned. I had hoped to convince her to stay behind, but I’d known she would never do that. She was much too stubborn. Maybe that was why I liked her so much. She was a lot like me.

  “Fine.”

  “Oh, and there’s a spot.” She pointed to a very tight space near a shattered window.

  “Good thing this car has a sunroof,” I said as I slid into place. The Bentley beside me wouldn’t be happy he couldn’t open his passenger door, but I didn’t really care.

  “Are we really going to climb out of the sunroof?”

  “Do you have a better idea?” I asked her, already pulling myself through the overhead window. Once I was on the roof of the car, I thrust my hand back inside, ready to pull her up. She grabbed it, and in one smooth motion, she was in my arms as we slid down the back of the car, landing perfectly on our feet. “That went better than I’d expected.”

  “You didn’t do that on purpose?”

  “What? Of course I did.” I slicked my hair back and wrapped my arm around her waist. “Of course I did. Totally.”

  She chuckled, resting her head on my shoulder. The moonlight snuck through the window, illuminating her delicate features. Soft, pink lips. Button nose. Gorgeous eyes.

  God, she was perfect.

  I held her tighter. No matter what happened in there, I had to keep her safe. It was my number one priority.

  With this thought in mind, we headed for the elevator, her heels clicking against the asphalt, and her perfume wafting into the air.

  For a second, it was almost like we were going on a nice, romantic date. If only…

  27

  Amelia

  The inside of the casino looked normal. There were slot machines. Poker tables. Women wearing skimpy outfits as they handed out beverages.

  I held on tightly to Cruz’s arm.

  “We need to act natural. Come on, there’s a poker table in the back. We’ll play a hand or two so we can scope out our surroundings.”

  “Did you bring money to gamble?”

  “Not a lot, but it will have to do. I don’t intend to spend a lot of time here. The faster we leave, the better.”

  I nodded, following him to the table.

  There were a few gruff-looking characters seated there. One man had a fur pelt around his neck, looking like a member of a Viking Clan. Across from him, a woman held a long cigarette holder between her fingers, occasionally puffing out plumes of smoke to her left. Seated by herself was a slender black woman with purple lips and the biggest pile of chips.

  Cruz sat down beside her, pulling me onto his lap.

  I did my best to imitate the other women in the casino. Most of them were clinging to their men, teasing them with their bodies. Some people were even making out, hands sneaking to naughty places. I blushed at the thought of being so scandalous in public. Yes, I liked to tease and have fun, but in the right setting. Intimacy was best behind closed doors.

  The dealer took Cruz’s money and exchanged it for chips before dealing out the hand.

  I peered over Cruz’s shoulder and saw that he had a pair of Aces.

  Damn. Lucky start.

  Knowing he had no possibility of losing, I scanned the area, looking for anything suspicious. So far, I didn’t see hide nor tail of Rob. Maybe he wasn’t here after all.

  Just the thought of him made my skin crawl. Figures that I would meet him in London, the last place on Earth I’d expected to find him. Stranger still was that he was my boyfriend’s boss. The world really did work in mysterious ways.

  Suddenly, someone tapped me on my shoulder. I jumped and turned around.

  It was John. The cute guy I had met at the park.

  What was he doing here?

  Cruz tightened his arm around my arm possessively. “What do you want? Can’t you see that she’s with me?” he growled, his temperament flaring.

  “It’s okay,” I said, prying his fingers apart so that I could get down.

  John smiled a
dazzling smile, taking me by the hand. “May I have a dance, M’lady?” he asked in a charming, hard-to-resist fashion.

  Quickly, I glanced over at Cruz, who was locked into his hand.

  “It won’t be more than a few minutes, and I’ll bring you right back,” he assured before whisking me away to the dance floor.

  There, countless couples spun around in perfect sync.

  John’s hand rested on the small of my back as he stepped into the rhythm. “What is a beautiful woman such as yourself doing with a man like him? Surely, you could do better for yourself.” His hot breath caressed the side of my neck as he whispered into my ear.

  “Who I’m with is none of your concern,” I said, my hands on his shoulders as we continued to dance. “But why are you here?”

  “I work here.” He grinned. “For the owner, actually.”

  My eyes widened, and my heart nearly stopped when I made a critical realization. How had I been so stupid?

  Rob’s hired hand was John Gardner…

  The same man who was dancing with me…

  “What’s the matter?” he asked. “Did you really think all of this was coincidental? We’ve had our eyes on you for a while now. First, as a friend of Heidi’s, and second, when you decided it would be a good idea to fool around with her brother. Honestly, I can’t understand what you see in the man. He looks like a poodle in desperate need of a haircut.”

  “Why are you doing all this?” I asked, thinking that if I kept him talking, it would give Cruz enough time to save me. I tried to spot him, but John had skillfully pulled me to the other side of the dancefloor, where it was impossible to see the poker tables.

  “Don’t bother with him. He’s not going to save you now. No one is.” His grip tightened as his lips twitched into a devious smile. “You should have stayed away when he told you he was no good for you.”

  “How did you know that…?” I asked, feeling a shiver running through my spine. Had this man been watching us? For how long? Did they know all about our plan?

  “Oh, that’s what they all say. Watch any movie, and you’ll see the same thing. Only, in the movies, the good guy always wins, but I can’t say the same for real life.” He dipped me back until my hair touched the ground. My leg lifted into the air, and when he pulled me back up, I witnessed Cruz being dragged by a couple of security guards, his head hung low like he was unconscious.

  “What have you done to him?!” I screamed, lunging forward, but John held me back.

  “Nothing… for now… but don’t worry, I made sure to get you front row seats to the show. And then, when it’s all over, you can come home with me for the after party.”

  “You can’t do this!”

  “Really? Because I think I already am.” His smirk deepened as he pushed me forward. I was about to protest when I felt the cold tip of a gun pressing into my back. “If you want to leave this place with your life, I suggest you be a good little girl and follow your boyfriend.” He jabbed the gun into my spine, causing a ripple of pain to shoot through my body.

  Hesitantly, I followed the guards.

  28

  Cruz

  This was a risky move. A very risky move. But it was the only move I had.

  I kept my head low and my breathing shallow. I needed them to believe I was unconscious – that I wasn’t a threat. Only then would they bring me to that coward.

  Behind me, I could hear Amelia’s protests. A part of me wanted to screw the whole plan, take her into my arms, and run far, far away. But, now that I was in the lion’s den, I wouldn’t leave without his pelt.

  The guards plopped me into a hard, wooden chair. Seconds later, they were tying my wrists behind my back. Luckily, they were sloppy about it. It would be a cinch to get out of them. They didn’t even bother to tie down my ankles. I nearly grinned at their incompetence. The good thing about fighting bad guys is that they were always too smug to be cautious.

  “Bring her over here.” Rob’s voice broke the silence.

  “Don’t touch me!”

  My fingers clenched into fists. The thought of his hands all over her nearly made me sick.

  “Wake him.”

  I held my breath and steeled my abdomen, preparing myself for a blow. It came in the form of a slap. My cheek burned, and my neck cracked. Someone slapped me again, and again, and again. I could already taste blood in my mouth.

  “Stop it! You’re hurting him!” Amelia shouted.

  Thud.

  My eyes flew open to see Amelia sprawled across his desk, holding her cheek.

  “I knew he was faking it.” Rob walked up to me and grabbed me by the hair, pulling my head back so that I was forced to look up at him. “Did you take me for a fool?”

  “Yes.” I couldn’t help myself.

  His eyes darkened. “Do you really think you’re going to make it out of this alive?” He circled around me like a predator about to pounce on his prey. “I have you trapped. Not only are there guards at every exit, but I have the world’s best hitman working for me.”

  “You’re a coward, you know that? If you were a real man, you’d take care of me yourself. Instead, you hide behind hired men,” I snarled. “Because you know that if it was just the two of us, I’d make quick work of you. If it weren’t for Amelia’s kindness, you’d have a broken arm right about now. And that hitman of yours, mind telling me why he missed twice?”

  The man who had taken Amelia to dance, walked up to me, a revolver in his hand. It sparkled in the overhead light, the silencer making the barrel longer and more intimidating. He pressed it against my temple, his hand on the trigger. “Do you think I would miss now?” he whispered. “All I need is the word, and your brains will be splattered all over these walls.”

  “You’re even more of a coward than he is. Can’t think for yourself, so you live on orders.”

  He growled, slamming the butt of his gun into the side of my head.

  Stars circled my vision as the room blurred into a swirl of colors. My chair rocked on its back legs before tilting forward. The chair collided with the ground, breaking into pieces. I took my chance.

  With a jagged piece of wood in my hand, I got to my feet and swung as hard as I could, clipping John off his feet. He fell with a thud, his gun skittering across the room.

  Rob ran for it, but I was quicker, tackling him to the ground and hitting him right in the face.

  He rammed his knee into my gut, throwing me off his body.

  I landed on a glass table that shattered underneath my weight. Rob was on top of me, driving the shards of glass into my back. I groaned in pain, rolling us over, my hands around his neck, squeezing hard.

  Two of the guards grabbed me by the shirt, picking me off my feet.

  I struggled as hard as I could until my shirt ripped right off my body. I whipped around, prepared to fight the duo, but they were twice my size. I was now surrounded on all four sides.

  The guards charged forward like a couple of bulls.

  In the nick of time, I ducked to the left, grabbing Rob by the waist and swinging him in the direction of the giants. They skidded to a halt, but it was too late. Their feet slid against the marble floor, unable to find traction. In perfect unison, their heads slammed into the solid oak desk.

  They crumbled to the ground.

  Two down, two to go.

  But when I turned around, John had Amelia in his arms, his gun pressed against the side of her neck. “Give yourself up, or I’ll shoot her. She’ll choke on her own blood, and it’ll be a slow and painful death, I’ll promise you that. Almost as painful as your sister’s. Her eyes were bugging out of her head as she clawed at her throat, trying to breathe. I enjoyed the sight of her struggling, her little boy sound asleep in his bedroom.” He grinned like a madman.

  “Don’t touch her,” Rob snapped. “You kill her, and I won’t pay you a dime.”

  “You think that’s what I’m after?” His eyes had a deranged look to them.

  I knew I was working with
a ticking time bomb.

  Suddenly, Amelia bit down on his wrist as hard as she could.

  John flinched, his gun going off. The bullet tore through the curtains.

  I flew forward, ramming into him and colliding with the wall. He dropped his gun for the second time.

  “Not so strong now, are you?” I taunted before I smashed my head against his.

  He blinked, disoriented.

  I grabbed his hair and slammed him into the wall over and over again, my rage consuming me. How dare he threaten the woman I love?!

  When my rage finally subsided, I let go, watching his body slide to the ground. I didn’t know whether or not he was dead, and frankly, I didn’t care.

  I straightened out, prepared to face Mr. Robison when I felt the cold barrel of a gun on the back of my head.

  29

  Amelia

  If you so much as move an inch, you’re dead.” Rob pressed the gun even harder against Cruz’s head.

  My heart froze, seeing his finger tighten on the trigger.

  “On your knees!” he shouted.

  Cruz complied, getting down on the ground.

  Why wasn’t he fighting back? “Why did you do it?” he asked, his eyes closed like he had just given up.

  “What? Kill your sister?”

  “Everything.”

  Rob chuckled. “I suppose I owe you an explanation as a last dying wish. It would only be fair, especially since I get to keep your girl and do whatever the hell I want with her.”

  I couldn’t stand to watch this any longer. As silently as I could, I stepped out of my heels, holding one of them like a weapon. First, this man had ruined my life five years ago, and now, when things were finally piecing themselves back together again, he wanted to just walk right in and shatter everything. Not this time.

  “Your sister was a good cop. One of the best. She could weasel her way into any situation. Charm her way to the top. She tried the same shit with me. I nearly killed her the night I found out she was working under cover. You see, the police have been trying to take down my ring for years. Half the ODs in the city are due to me. But, hey, it’s not my fault if people can’t handle their urges. I’m just giving the Londoners what Americans have had for decades. The hard stuff. The good stuff.” He smirked, circling around me. “I tried to offer her money. I could’ve used a girl like her on my team, but she refused. Her pride got in the way. Pity really. There was a raid scheduled on the casino the day after I had her killed. No one dared to show their faces. Funny how fear is the ultimate controller of men.”