The man’s feet were kicking and his muffled plea for assistance fell on deaf ears. Caleb was deadly. This was not the same man who had touched me with such care and love. This was a different breed, fashioned into a weapon that was born to take out the trash. I was impressed, but knew from personal experience that he was going to carry those demons with him.
The man struggled in vain to break Caleb’s grip. His eyes grew heavy until he was lying slack with his dead weight lowered to the cold and unforgiving roof. I thought for a moment he had killed him, but getting closer made it easier to recognize that his chest was rising and falling with each breath.
“I’m glad you don’t have to carry his death with you for the rest of your life. I know you wouldn’t normally show that kind of mercy, but I commend you for taking the high road. There’s no reason to always resort to the common denominator of killing your enemy.”
He put his finger to his lips to silence me from any further talking.
“I don’t know if this influence that you have over me is a good thing or bad thing. The truth is, I’m tired of killing and you have made me see there might be a better way. In other circumstances, I wouldn’t have even hesitated to break his neck to make sure that he was no longer a viable threat.” His voice softened but there was still an edge that would never go away.
The wind was pretty strong from the high altitude. It had to take somebody with military know how to take the shot from this distance with any degree of precision. My judgment was clouded, but something was becoming clear in the cold light of reality.
“We have one more until we can call it a day. I want you to circle around to the other side, but don’t get spotted. These guys know what they’re doing more so than those idiots who thought they were tough by carrying a gun,” he said with a hardened tone that was almost scary.
The mob enforcers had gunned for Jonathan to silence him for good regarding his part in the insider espionage.
They were hired muscle, given their marching orders by an unknown source that was working behind the scenes to undermine me.
“Whatever you are working on must be damn important for them to go to these extreme lengths. I’m guessing from the contract on your desk that this weapon is supposed to be for the betterment of mankind. We both know the road to the devil is paved with good intentions.”
Caleb was right. This wasn’t about me. Their campaign to kill me had too many flaws.
These threats against my life were meant to keep me occupied, not knowing what the other hand was doing behind my back. Somebody had gone to a lot of trouble to keep me from seeing what was written right in front of me. I was going to have to get back to company headquarters, but not before the last one was no longer going to be able to take shots at my friends and those that I considered family.
“It’s a god damn heist. I would have seen it sooner had I been able to conduct my own internal investigation. Jonathan was a small fish in a bigger pond of sharks. They used his greed and disgruntled nature to systematically destroy me. I thought this was personal, but I was mistaken. We can talk about this later,” I remarked with a sense of awe from how they had played me for a fool. I was nobody’s fool.
Caleb’s idea was to keep me out of it, but I was realizing my mistake.
They wanted something particular and they didn’t want me to muddy up their success in getting it. The one thing I couldn’t regret was making the acquaintance of these brothers.
They were above suspicion and I couldn’t even fathom the idea they could be a part of something like this. They didn’t strike me as being greedy for their piece of the pie. Money was never an issue, but they were struggling.
I came around the corner to see Caleb had already taken care of the problem. The man didn’t have a clue, and in that split second found out that Caleb was more than up to the challenge of bringing down three enemies.
“You really believe all of this has been to get you out of the way? Thinking about it logically does bring to mind some mastermind trying to manipulate the pieces to benefit him. Who stands to gain from making you look like a fool? The one that comes to mind is almost too easy.”
My eyes widened with alarm thinking about those times that the General had done his best to make sure that I was no longer standing in the way.
“I’ve always known that he was out to get me, but I thought we had an uneasy understanding. He probably didn’t like the way that I spoke to him and has been planning this for quite some time. The fact that he is in the middle of this is his way of having plausible deniability. I have to get back to the lab before he’s able to take what he thinks is his.”
Chapter twenty
Devon
I was racing through the streets narrowly missing pedestrians on the sidewalk. I hit a grocery cart and sent a year’s supply of recycling into the air scattering across the street.
Those guys were chasing me, and I could feel the gust of wind from the broken window in the back.
They were trying to shoot out my tires, but I was erratically turning the wheel from side to side.
I remembered how I had gotten back to the place where the man with no name was being interrogated. Somehow, he had convinced the two working for Caleb to let him go. The facts were quite clear. They wanted the money more than Caleb’s friendship. Evan and Nicholas were playing a dangerous game and they couldn’t afford to have their betrayal advertised to Caleb.
Overhearing about their greed was probably a mistake, but I had been in the right place at the wrong time. I chose to confront them thinking that I could handle it. I was wrong.
I got there a split second too late, but they realized that I was going to run my mouth the moment that I came in contact with Caleb.
I had the fleeting thought that Caleb might be caught in the middle of this. I didn’t want to believe it, but there was that moment where his name was on the tip of my tongue.
“Get out of my way.” I wasn’t slowing down, and my foot was practically to the floor barreling through a residential area where a school bus with yellow lights was blinking right in front of me.
The red stop sign emerged from the driver’s side and I breezed right through with one child turning completely white from almost being run down in the middle of the street.
The man who had taken the first shot at Rachel was in the wind. These two didn’t want Caleb finding out how they were easily bought and paid for.
There was a traffic jam up ahead, but I couldn’t afford to stop without getting one in the back of my head. I jumped the curb, smashing into an empty table in front of a small bistro, feeling lucky that nobody was sitting down at the time enjoying an afternoon caffeine fix.
My mirror exploded; an errant bullet had turned it into a mangled piece of metal and broken glass. I wasn’t going to be able to keep up this pace without fighting fire with fire. I knew calling her was a mistake, but I was in her neighborhood.
“You have some nerve calling me, Devon. I remember taking the walk of shame in the morning after you had your way with me. I know you told me there was nothing between us. I thought mistakenly that I could change your mind.” Her words were clipped and cold.
I was grabbing the wheel with both hands with the phone perched against my ear and shoulder. It was awkward and made it hard to concentrate.
“I’m a nomad and I barely stay in one place for too long. You reminded me that I make huge errors in judgment when it comes to women. I’m sorry if you felt slighted, but it wasn’t my intention to leave you in the middle of the night without any explanation. I wasn't sure you would understand that my past mistakes woke me up to the reality of what I was doing.” The phone almost slipped from its position and I breathed deeply to steady myself.
Stephanie was my best friend and she was the one to convince me to join the military.
“I know you better than anybody and there’s no way that you would come back to apologize. Tell me what you want and don’t tell me that you called out of the b
lue for no reason.” She was frustrated and didn’t have any problem showing the way she felt by raising her voice.
I was going to depend on a jilted lover to bring the pain to these guys that were putting a lot of people in danger.
“I’ve gotten into a little trouble and I could use your help. It’s only a matter of time before these two injure an innocent bystander. I can’t shoot and drive at the same time. Get your gun out of mothballs and I will be at your doorstep in less than a minute.” I heard her breathing on the other end of the phone.
It was a 50-50 shot that she was going to come to my aid.
“I should have my head examined, but I’ve never been able to say no to you. I told you it wasn’t a good idea to mix our friendship with sex. We said nothing would change, but the awkward silence after the deed was done was a sure sign that things were going to become difficult between us. I will do this one thing for you.” I turned the corner, going down a one-way street with a chorus of honking horns in disapproval.
“The car in question is a black sedan with no plates.” I saw her apartment building and she was standing in a black leather jacket down to her knees.
Stephanie had the bluest eyes, and on her shoulder was a surface to air missile. She had it calibrated and was using an old-style method of zeroing in on her target. She had her finger in the air to judge the wind velocity.
The streaking formation of the projectile flew past my window leaving a trail of exhaust in its wake.
The car behind me was propelled into the air. It landed on its back with the wheels still spinning. She could have easily turned it into a twisted wreckage of metal and discarded limbs, but her restraint was due to the close proximity to the police station.
I pressed down on the brakes, skating to a stop with a trail of black burnt rubber behind me. Getting out, I produced a gun and trained it on those that were supposed to be our allies. I could smell the fresh tar in the air. It was strange how money could turn friend against friend and enemy against enemy.
Stephanie had dropped the weapon, got down on her knees and put her hands over her head.
The sirens were loud and getting louder by the second. We were going to have some explaining to do.
Stephanie was looking at me, and was probably regretting getting involved. I had heard through the grapevine of the military that her talents were being utilized in clandestine operations for the CIA. I was banking on them intervening on her behalf, and hoping that I would be a part of that magnanimous gesture. I was going to make it worth their while by serving up two men that were probably wanted for multiple crimes.
I had information and there was no time to lose.
The next words to come out of her mouth were full of regret.
“Devon, we will always be friends and that’s never going to change. I wish you all the happiness in the world, but what happened between us was a mistake. I thought you were better than some of the other guys I went out with. I guess I should have known better.” Stephanie was sad, and I could see that in the way her eyes glazed over.
“I understand how I messed things up, but I think that we can move forward. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that I have a woman in my life. I’m not sure what the future holds, but nobody can ever predict that.” I tried to reach for her, but she leaned away from me.
I considered where my heart belonged as the police surrounded us, and we were taken to the station down the street for intense questioning.
They made sure to separate us so that we couldn’t get our stories straight. I was well aware of their good cop bad cop routine. One was standing at the door glaring at me, and the other one was trying to personalize his approach by empathizing.
“You have to see it from our point of view. Keeping quiet is only going to leave us to fill in the blanks. Let me tell you that I have seen them all. Everybody sitting in the very same spot that you’re in right now thinks that they are the tough guy. Your friend is already telling us everything we need to know. This is your chance to get ahead of it.” He was good, and trying to pit us against each other was a tried and true method of getting to the bottom of things.
His name was Detective Bauer, and I immediately thought about the iconic TV show 24. I didn’t mean to make light of a serious situation by smirking. The guy by the door didn’t take it kindly. His name was Detective Vance, and he sported a crew cut hairstyle and a physique that was indicative of somebody that knew what it was like to be physically fit.
“I’m getting a little sick and tired of this performance. Eyewitnesses confirm that you were driving the lead vehicle and those two guys were chasing you. The woman who seemingly came to your rescue with a god damn air to surface missile was something you don’t see every day. We don’t need your statement. We have enough to charge you on multiple counts.” He was obviously bluffing. Then came the all too familiar knock on the door.
“Don’t get me wrong, I know that you have a job to do, but I’m afraid this is where we part company.” I said smugly.
I was happy to throw it back in their face after being treated like a criminal.
Detective Vance was getting hot under the collar.
The door opened and the person outside motioned for the both of them to go out into the hallway.
“I can assure you that you’re not going anywhere until we hear something that makes sense. It’s going to be my pleasure to wipe that smug smile off of your face.” They removed themselves from the room and I didn’t think twice about putting my feet up on the desk with the chains around my wrists mocking my idea of freedom.
I started to whistle a happy tune from my childhood, remembering my mother dancing around the kitchen to the sounds of the old-style country playing in the background. This was before I had any idea that I had two brothers from another mother.
The room I was in was sparse, holding just a long metal table and chairs to match. There was no discernible smell but anybody that was fearful of authority would be sweating bullets.
I was cool as a cucumber, even though they had turned up the heat to make me beg for something to drink. I didn’t want to be in that room and I suspected that Rachel and my brothers needed me more than ever. Cooling my heels waiting for my release made me crazy, but I wasn’t going to show any kind of discomfort in front of the detectives.
The two-way mirror had me waving to them, which probably infuriated Detective Vance to no end. It wouldn’t have surprised me in the very least to have him come in with his face red and ready to lay hands on me.
Neither detective returned to the room, but I could hear their loud voices down the hallway arguing with their commanding officer.
“You can’t be serious. Both of them are going to walk out of here without answering for what happened? They are very lucky nobody was killed. I don’t know what kind of influence they have, but I’m not going to stand here and take it.” Detective Vance was allowing his anger to supersede his good judgment without knowing all the facts.
“It doesn’t matter what you want, Detective Vance. It’s out of my hands. The word came down from the top, and we have no choice but to release them. The CIA is sending agents as we speak to take them off of our hands. The two found in the car have no fingerprints and we are definitely out of our element here. Stand down and don’t concern yourself with this case any longer.” I heard the footsteps and the loud sigh of resignation when the commanding officer came through the door.
I was already on my feet with my arms outstretched looking at him to release me from incarceration.
“I don’t have to like this, but I do have to follow orders like everybody else. Get out and don’t let me see you back in here again. The next time will be different. I don’t know what you got yourself into, but I hope I don’t have to clean up your mess.” His black blazer looked like it had been well worn over the years of his employment with the city.
He was constantly moving his hands over his hair, a little self-conscious about his receding hairline. I
could tell that he was born to play politics, unlike some hotheaded detectives that were never going to make it past early retirement.
They had to hold back Detective Vance and I could see the seething anger underneath his eyes glaring daggers in my direction. There were two very staid young men looking important standing with Stephanie.
“My name is Agent Homes and it appears that we are in your debt. Those two have been a thorn in our side for years. I can’t go into details, but getting them off the street has been our number one priority. Whenever we get close, they disappear without a trace to turn up out of nowhere on the other side of the world. Stephanie has informed us of your current predicament, and we would like to offer our assistance to help in any way we can.”
Stephanie was shaking her head, most likely upset that I had turned a bad situation into something that I could use to my advantage.
“Since you have broached the topic, I would like the three of you to accompany me. I suspect that your resources can benefit me.” They weren’t very happy about getting involved, but they felt obligated after I dropped into their lap public enemies number one and two.
Chapter twenty-one
Caleb
Bryce and his loyal followers had Commander Connolly and his team cornered. There was no way out unless, of course, they wanted to plunge from a 10-story window.
“It appears that we have come to a stalemate where nobody is able to go forward or back. This could take hours or days and I say that we stop this madness. Tell me who gave you your orders. I already know, but I would like a little clarification.” Rachel was performing the task of a mediator to make sure there wasn’t any more bloodshed.
“I would rather die right here in a blaze of glory than to betray my brother and mentor. You have a decision to make. Is this prototype worth fighting us until the last one is standing? I’m going to give the order and we’re going to come out firing everything that we have.” Whatever debt of honor he owed to General Roberts was influencing his decision.
Triple Threat_An MFMM Reverse Harem Romance Page 11