Bryce: The Project (Indie Rebels Book 3)

by Miranda P. Charles

  Emma hung up, taking a deep breath. Wow. What a roller coaster of a day.

  Now she couldn’t wait to speak with Bryce. She didn’t know yet if she’d accept his further explanations, but she’d like to hear them. Perhaps Holly was right in that the whole situation was all about Bryce performing his duties for his client and nothing else. She wanted Holly to be right.

  She tapped her phone to call up Bryce’s number and was startled by a loud knocking.

  “Emma?” Kallan called out, banging hard.

  Kallan’s urgency had her wiping her face with her sleeves and running to the door.

  Kallan widened his eyes at her appearance. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes. What’s up?”

  “You need to come with me. You’re in danger.”

  “What?”

  “Now, Emma.”

  “I’m not ready—”

  “Now.” Kallan grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the elevators.

  “Kallan, what’s going on?” she asked in shock. Kallan was practically dragging her.

  “I’ll explain later. We have to hurry.”

  She heard one of the apartment doors behind them open and gasped as a strong arm clamped around her torso while a hand pressed against her mouth.

  She struggled, wanting to call out to Kallan, but only muffled moans came out of her.

  She felt a prick on her arm, and her vision started to darken…

  Emma heard a male voice near her ear. Was someone talking to her? She tried to move and realised she was lying on something hard. Where on earth was she?

  Her most recent memories flashed in her mind and she bolted to a sitting position. Her head spun, and she tried to keep down the nausea that rose up her throat.

  “Easy,” the guy said, kneeling down next to her.

  Oh, she’d been lying on the floor?

  “Don’t touch her,” another voice warned.

  Bryce! Her dizziness settled and Bryce’s face came into focus. Relief flooded her. Bryce was here. She’d be okay.

  A muffled moan made her turn towards the sound.

  Her eyes widened and her fear came crashing back. Kallan sat on a chair, bound and gagged. “Kallan!”

  “Get up,” the unknown man said, trying to pull her up by the hand.

  “I said don’t touch her.” Bryce warded off the guy and knelt beside her.

  “Bryce,” she whispered, gazing at his apprehensive face. “What’s going on?”

  “Come up and sit on the couch.” Bryce gently helped her to her feet and guided her to a sofa. “Ernie, water for Emma!”

  Emma’s eyes darted to the stranger. Bryce knew him? And why hadn’t Bryce helped Kallan?

  “Here.” The guy called Ernie shoved a glass of water in front of her.

  She looked at it dubiously.

  “Drink, sweetheart,” Bryce said, keeping her close in his embrace. “You and Kallan have been drugged.”

  “What?” She glanced at Kallan, who was glaring furiously at Bryce.

  “I’m an undercover cop,” Ernie said, flashing his badge for a second and putting it back in his pocket.

  Emma sagged against Bryce in relief. “Oh, thank God. What exactly happened? And why is Kallan tied up?”

  “Kallan’s with the Indie Rebels,” Ernie said.

  Emma gasped. What? Her bodyguard was an Indie Rebel?

  “He arranged for your kidnapping so they could use you to get to your father. He pretended to be kidnapped too so you’d continue to trust him.”

  She gaped at Kallan in disbelief. He was one of the bad guys? She shivered. “Is my dad okay?”

  “As far as we know, yes,” Ernie answered. “If it wasn’t for Bryce going to your place to try and beg for another chance, who knows where you’d be? He came at the right time, when you were being carried down the stairs. He called the police and we followed them, and we were able to rescue you.”

  Emma blinked. Wow. All that had happened when she was unconscious? “So where are we?”

  “We’re setting up a sting against the Indie Rebels. So you need to hide here for a while with that bastard.” He pointed his chin at Kallan. “But don’t worry. You’re perfectly safe.”

  Emma gazed at Bryce.

  “Don’t worry,” he murmured.

  Emma frowned. Bryce didn’t look so sure. But she supposed he was kind of scared too.

  “Were you really on your way to my place?” she asked. “I thought you were still in Manila.”

  “I got back a few hours ago. It’s a long story, but I’ll explain everything later, okay?” Bryce ran his thumb against her cheek.

  She smiled at him. Staring at his handsome face, all she could see was tender concern.

  She breathed in sharply. Bryce couldn’t be looking at her like this—with such love in his eyes—if it was all a lie. “I’m sorry I jumped to conclusions. I still want to know why you didn’t tell me the truth. I’m happy to listen to what you have to say.”

  Bryce’s lips tugged up. He cupped her face and kissed her softly in the mouth. Then he sat beside her and held her.

  And she felt safe in his arms.

  Ernie cleared his throat. “Can I talk to you, Bryce?”

  Emma felt Bryce’s arms tighten around her before he let her go and walked to Ernie. She watched the two men whisper, with Ernie gesticulating impatiently while Bryce simply stood, almost glaring at his companion.

  She wondered what was involved in the sting. She prayed it was successful. Perhaps this could also help in her Uncle Edgar’s case.

  “Ummphh!” Kallan moaned.

  She turned her attention to the man she’d thought was her friend. “How could you?”

  Kallan shook his head, his eyes pleading as if to say he wasn’t guilty.

  Sadness mixed with her anger. To think she’d trusted this guy.

  Bryce came back to sit beside her. “Babe, do you know about the Fixers? They’re a crime syndicate.”

  “I remember Sharryn mentioning them—their name is similar to the nickname of our fathers’ business.”

  “Well, the police think that you have in your possession a key that can help put them away.”

  Her jaw dropped. “Really? A key for what?”

  “A safe deposit box. They think your mother had tons of information about the Fixers—including evidence—and had kept it in a secure storage facility. The police want to get to it before the Fixers do.”

  “Why would she have had them?”

  “I don’t know,” Bryce murmured, his face full of sympathy.

  Something dawned on Emma. “That could be the reason why Dad wants me to have a bodyguard! Because he thinks I’m in danger from the Fixers!” She looked at Kallan. “Are the Indie Rebels after the key too?”

  “It looks like it,” Ernie said rather cheerfully. “Those bastards would also love to bring down the Fixers.”

  “But I don’t know of any key.”

  “I think I might know where it is,” Bryce said.

  Her brows lifted. “You do?”

  Bryce took her hand and caressed it. “It could be in that little blue box your mum gave you the day before she passed away—the one she told you to guard with your life.”

  Emma stared at Bryce. What the hell was he talking about? “I don’t—”

  “You said there’s not much space on the inside of that box while it looked big on the outside.”

  She shook her head, utterly confused.

  “Trust me, babe,” Bryce said, squeezing her hand tight. “I think it’s there. Just trust me.”

  Emma blinked. Bryce was telling her something.

  She gulped. She had no idea what was going on right now, but Bryce clearly wanted her to take his lead.

  And she did trust him.

  “Yes, you could be right,” she said. “I’ve always wondered why that little box was so important to Mum. I thought it just held sentimental value.”

  Bryce’s chest heaved, his eyes misting as he smiled
at her.

  She smiled back and she knew. She knew that even if the words were never said, their connection was deep and beautiful and special. It had been like that from the beginning. She’d always felt it in her bones. And she could swear the air around them constantly sizzled with it.

  “Great!” Ernie said. “We should go check out that box immediately.”

  “You brought it with you, right?” Bryce said to Emma.

  “Yes.”

  “Is it at your place in the city?” Ernie asked.

  “Yes,” she said hesitantly.

  “Good. We should go there as soon as possible—if you don’t mind.” Ernie said the last phrase almost as an afterthought.

  “If it’s really important,” she murmured.

  “It’s very important,” Ernie said gravely.

  “Are you hungry?” Bryce suddenly asked Emma.

  Emma opened her mouth to say no, but something told her Bryce wanted her to say yes. “Yeah, I’m hungry.”

  “Could you get her some food?” Bryce asked Ernie. “If we’re going to leave them here while we retrieve the box, I don’t want Emma to starve.”

  Emma’s eyes grew round. “Don’t leave me here!”

  “You’ll be safe,” Ernie said. “Remember you have to stay here for the sting. Police have surrounded this place and are keeping an eye on it. You don’t need to be scared.”

  “You’ll be all right, babe.” Bryce kissed her hair. “Trust me.”

  Despite her fear, she nodded. Bryce was the security expert. He had to know what was going on, right?

  “Grab her some food, Ernie. Do you want coffee?” Bryce asked Emma.

  Emma nodded. “Coffee would be nice.”

  Ernie glared at Bryce. “Why don’t you make it for her? She’s your girlfriend.”

  “Okay.” Bryce stood and walked towards the door at the far wall.

  The next few seconds were a blur to Emma. Things happened so fast that she hadn’t been able to follow. All she knew was that Ernie was now on the ground, and Bryce was kneeling on top of him to prevent him from getting up.

  “You bastard!” Ernie hissed.

  “Emma,” Bryce said, “untie Kallan. There’s a knife in the kitchen you can use.”

  “What?” she asked in surprise.

  “This guy here is the criminal, not Kallan. Hurry, babe, there’s no time. More of them are coming soon.”

  Emma felt frozen in place. What the hell was going on?

  Bryce fished something from Ernie’s pocket and threw it towards Emma. “That’s the fake badge he showed you earlier. Look at it. You can tell it’s plastic and not real.”

  Gingerly, Emma picked up the item. She’d never seen a real badge before, but this clearly wasn’t one. In close proximity, it looked like a toy.

  Her shock wore off and she got into action. She ran to the kitchen and hurriedly opened drawers. It wasn’t that she’d doubted Bryce, she just hadn’t expected what had happened. There was a criminal in their midst, and Bryce had overpowered him!

  She found a knife and hastened back to the main room. She pushed down Kallan’s gag first before proceeding to cut the ties that bound his hands.

  “This man is a Fixers member—the current right-hand guy of the boss,” Bryce said, holding down a still-trashing Ernie.

  “Fuck you!” Ernie yelled.

  Emma jumped when Bryce punched Ernie in the face. Ernie seemed to have gone unconscious. He couldn’t be dead from just that punch.

  Wow. Her boyfriend was really strong.

  She freed Kallan’s hands and gave him the knife so he could free his own feet. Then she turned to Bryce. “Where can I find something to tie that guy up with?”

  “I think they keep the rope and duct tape over there.” Bryce indicated a low cabinet.

  She opened the first drawer and immediately found the duct tape. The rope and a pair of scissors were in the next drawer. Gosh, how often did these Fixers kidnap people? She ran to Bryce and gave him the items, mesmerised at how quickly and efficiently her boyfriend secured his captive.

  When Bryce finished with Ernie, he stood up and held her tightly. “Thank you.”

  She nodded, glad she could be of some help.

  “You two go and call the police as soon as you can. Tell them everything.”

  She frowned at him. “What about you? I’m not leaving you.”

  “You have to, babe. There’s no time. You have to hurry.”

  “No! Why do you have to stay?”

  “They think I’m working with them to get that key off you. They threatened to kill all my loved ones if I don’t comply. So I have to stay and pretend that something went wrong with the kidnapping. I’ll buy you guys time until you’re able to call the police. Better yet, call the Indie Rebels.”

  “What?” both Emma and Kallan said.

  “We’re not calling another criminal gang to help with this,” Kallan said with a scowl.

  Emma nodded. How could Bryce even think of calling those bastards who’d put her uncle in jail?

  “Okay, I get you,” Bryce said. “That was just a thought since these people are obviously at war with the Indie Rebels.”

  “They took our phones,” Kallan said. “Do you know where they are?”

  “No. Ernie has a phone on him, but it’ll have a tracker. You can’t take it. And you have to go now.”

  “You can still come with us,” Kallan urged Bryce. “We’ll figure something out.”

  Bryce shook his head.

  Emma clung to him. How could she make him go with them? “I’m not leaving without you,” she declared.

  Bryce sighed harshly. “Emma, the major players are coming. I have to stay here and make sure they don’t disappear. They have to be caught or you’ll end up…”

  She frowned. “I’ll end up what?”

  “They want you for what they think you have. I can’t let them get you.”

  Emma’s eyes filled with tears, her heart expanding and constricting at the same time. He was staying for her.

  “They’ll probably kill you as soon as they notice Ernie here,” Kallan said bluntly.

  Bryce looked around. “Let’s hide him quickly. Then I’ll make something up about his disappearance. There should be enough time for the police to come and save me if you guys leave now.”

  Kallan nodded. “Looks like behind the couch there is the best spot. It’s not much of a hiding space, but there’s nowhere else.”

  Emma shook her head as Bryce and Kallan carried Ernie to the back of the couch. Was Bryce crazy? She couldn’t let him take stupid risks for her.

  “I got this,” Bryce said after Ernie was in place. “You guys go now, before they arrive.”

  “Bryce,” Emma said tearfully.

  “I’ll be fine, babe. I’ll see you again soon.”

  But she didn’t see confidence in his eyes.

  No. She couldn’t let anything happen to him because of her. “Baby, please.”

  “Kallan,” Bryce said in a low voice. “Make her leave now. Make sure you keep her safe. And whatever you do, don’t go back into your homes.”

  “Got it,” Kallan said. “Good luck.”

  Emma resisted as Kallan tried to pull her away. But Kallan carried her and hurried to the exit.

  She burst into tears. “You better come back to me, Bryce Green. I have something to tell you.”

  Bryce smiled. “I have something to tell you too.”

  She sobbed, wanting to say the words out loud. But not yet.

  She had to see him again first—alive and well.

  Chapter 21

  Bryce let out a relieved breath as Emma and Kallan disappeared behind the front door. Much as he wished he could have gone with them, he couldn’t. Both Addison and Kerrod were down in the basement, hiding—and probably admiring the rows of drug parcels that were now there. He didn’t want to take the risk of those two escaping and disappearing from the IRs again.

  They’d be coming up at any t
ime, since Addison had only given Bryce thirty minutes to convince Emma to reveal the location of the key.

  He looked around for things he could move on top of the trap door to prevent it from opening. But whoever made the decision to bolt all the heavy furniture to the floor had been smart—or perfectly paranoid. There was nothing around that would be weighty enough to imprison Addison and Kerrod in the basement.

  What would have been Emma’s reaction if she’d found out that her father was down there, masterminding this whole thing? And how would Kallan have handled it if he’d discovered his twin brother was working with a crime syndicate?

  That was why Bryce had chosen not to tell them about Addison and Kerrod being in the basement. He needed Emma and Kallan gone and safe and calling for help instead of demanding answers or proof.

  Fortunately, there were no cameras in this warehouse—a decision by Addison to ensure that none of the Fixers’ activities were ever captured on video. That worked in Bryce’s favour today. The guys down below would have had no idea of what had transpired up here. The basement was soundproof.

  Unfortunately, Addison had discovered Bryce’s sour relationship with the Flowers. The man had spoken to Rebo, who’d reached out to him from jail. Addison had decided to utter the Five Fingers code to Rebo, and Rebo had answered correctly. Rebo had also told Addison about Bryce’s lack of cooperation with the rest of the Flowers, including his own father.

  But Bryce had managed to convince Addison that Rebo had merely been badmouthing him out of jealousy. Bryce had asked for a chance to prove himself again, and Addison had given him this task: get the key from Emma that would open a safe deposit box where Emma’s mother had kept incriminating evidence against the Fixers. How Addison had come to know that Emma’s mum held such important information, he wasn’t sure. But if Bryce hadn’t been able to get any results in half an hour, Addison himself would force it out of his daughter.

  Where were Emma and Kallan now? Bryce hated letting her out of his sight, but it was necessary. He could only hope the police would get here in time.

  He sighed. How could he call the IR? He couldn’t possibly use Ernie’s phone for that. It’d be too risky.

  The heavy trap door opened and Bryce held his breath.

  Addison came out first. “What the fuck is going on? Where are they?”