Target: A Circle of Justice Novel

by L. P. Dover

  Clenching my teeth, I shivered in disgust.

  He grabbed my head and forced me to look at the man who was currently enjoying his chance to tie up Trinity’s wrists. “His name is Dane Williamson. Ring any bells?”

  I shook my head. Other than the video, I hadn’t seen him before.

  He laughed again, only this time more sinister. “How about the name Dane Sanders then? Surely, you must know that one.”

  The second he said it, my blood ran cold. I remembered him now . . . in the court room, sitting with Keith Sanders’ parents. Dane was his younger brother, not much older than me. He’d changed over the years, and obviously removed the Sanders name, but the resemblance was still there.

  When I didn’t respond, Warren jerked me up by my hair. I refused to scream or show any pain. It was the first time I’d laid eyes on my niece’s ex-boyfriend. He had dark hair, almost black, with soulless brown eyes. He was a man with nothing to lose. Those were the most dangerous criminals. Hopefully, Josh was close by. As soon as he made his move, I’d fight.

  “Nothing to say?” he challenged, studying me. Whatever he saw appeared to fascinate him. “I do believe we’re going to have some fun with this one,” he said to Dane. “Should make for some great entertainment.” Dane slapped a piece of tape over Trinity’s mouth and threw the tape to Warren so he could do the same with me.

  Grabbing my arms, he hauled me toward the door and kicked it open. I searched around, looking for any sign of Josh. That was when I saw his limp body by the beach, his chest covered in blood. I heard Trinity screaming for Josh, and it brought me back to the night my dad was shot. Panic and rage soared through my veins, and I reacted. Twisting my body, I freed myself from Warren’s hold and elbowed him in the nose. I took off for Josh. I had to see if he was okay. But I never made it to him. Warren tackled me to the ground and the breath whooshed out of my lungs. My vision blurred and I struggled to breathe.

  “Josh,” I tried to scream, but couldn’t.

  Warren hauled me over his shoulders, making the dizziness worse. Dane already had Trinity in the trunk, legs bound. Her sobbing broke my heart, but I had to focus. He stabbed a needle into her arm and she cried no more, eyes flittering shut. Warren tossed me in next to her, and I felt the prick of the needle before he slammed the trunk, concealing us in darkness.

  Reality started to slip away, so I concentrated on the panic button of my watch. Wade might not be able to find us, but at least he’d know we were in trouble. The ties dug into my skin, and searing pain shot up my arm as I tried to maneuver my fingers toward the button. The second I felt it click into place, I closed my eyes and the darkness took over. I’d done what I could do.

  Wade

  The second I felt the vibration on my wrist, I stormed out of my meeting. I’d never panicked or acted irrationally in the past, but I pushed by everyone to get to the elevator. My name was shouted but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t stop. I had to get to Brina.

  “Wade,” another voice shouted.

  There was a lady and a man about to get on the elevator and as soon as they saw me approach, their eyes widened and they jumped to the side.

  “Wade!”

  Pulse pounding, I slammed my hand down on the ground floor button. It felt like a fucking eternity for the doors to close. They were almost shut when a set of hands stopped them and the doors opened. Rage consumed me and I almost grabbed the man by his neck. It was Preston Hale, the top killer in the Circle of Justice, who also worked for Chandler Enterprises.

  He grabbed my arm, eyes blazing. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

  “Brina’s in trouble. She’s hit the panic button on her watch. I have to get to her, now.”

  He held up his hands. “Okay, I’ll go with you.”

  Good. The more help, the better. If Brina and Josh needed help, that meant it was something they couldn’t handle. I didn’t want to take any chances.

  Once off the elevator, Preston and I took off for the parking garage. “Where are they?”

  We got in my car and I sped toward the lake house. “They were on the lake and ready to dock when I talked to her last. They were going to get ready to go to my dad’s for dinner. I don’t know if they’re still at the lake house, but that’s where I’m headed first.”

  “Hand me your phone,” he commanded, holding out his hand. I gave him my phone and he found Brina’s number. It rang and rang.

  “Fuck,” I growled. “Try Josh.” It was the same thing . . . nothing.

  We pulled into the lake house driveway, beside Brina’s silver sports car. The front door of the house stood wide open and I ran toward it. “Brina!”

  I ran upstairs and searched around. Brina’s bag was on the bed in the bedroom, along with her swimsuit and phone. I grabbed it and ran back downstairs. The house was empty, the furniture in disarray. Trinity’s phone was on the floor, so I picked it up and put it in Brina’s bag.

  “Chandler, get out here!”

  Gut clenching, I rushed outside. It was at this point I felt something I had never felt before . . . fear. “Son of a bitch!”

  Josh was unconscious on the ground, his skin ghostly pale, his shirt covered in blood from a bullet wound to the chest. Preston held a T-shirt over the wound to staunch the blood flow. “I called for help already. Did you find anything inside the house?”

  “Brina’s bag and her phone, along with Trinity’s.”

  “Are you going to call the president?”

  Calling him would only cause more problems. “Not yet. If the media finds out, we’ll lose time. We have to stall as long as we can.” The ambulance sirens drew near.

  “Then go. You can’t be here. It’ll surely draw attention.”

  I didn’t want to leave. Josh was the only one who knew what was going on. “Ride with him to the hospital, and whatever you do, don’t give them his real name,” I added.

  He nodded. “On it. I know what to do. Go.”

  The sirens drew closer, so I jumped in my car and sped away. The thought of anything happening to Brina made me so goddamned furious. Calling the president was going to be bad, but calling my father would be worse. I had no choice, I needed his help.

  Pulling out my phone, I waited for him to pick up. “Hey. You on your way?”

  The ambulance passed me and I pressed on the gas. “Something’s happened. Brina and Trinity are gone, and Josh has been shot. I need your help.”

  “You can’t be serious. How the hell did this happen?”

  I grew more impatient by the second. “I don’t know. It happened at the lake house, and I wasn’t there. Preston’s waiting for the ambulance and will stay with Josh. I’m going home to load up my gear and find out where the fuck they are.”

  “What do you need me to do?”

  “Call Jason Avery at the PD and tell him to keep things quiet. We don’t need a media circus right now. If I can’t get Yuli’s help on tracking Brina, I’ll be calling him. Let him know to expect my call.” Avery was a former undercover cop and now our Chief of Police. We’d had to seek his assistance at times when making local kills. He was considering joining the Circle of Justice, and his hacking skills were phenomenal.

  “And Noah? Are you going to be the one to tell the president?” my father inquired.

  I could only imagine the shit I was bringing down on myself with not informing him right away. “No. We need to try and do this on our own. Whoever took Brina and Trinity will be watching the news. If they know people are after them, they’ll work fast. I need time.”

  “Work fast, son. You can only put off the president for so long,” he said, his voice relaying the pain I knew he felt. Losing Brina would be like losing a daughter for him. For me, I’d be losing everything.

  “I will. It has to be more than one person, otherwise Josh and Brina would’ve been able to take them down.” I pulled into my driveway. “Call me if you hear anything. I have to go.”

  It was time for war.

  I went straight to my s
ecret room, grabbing everything I needed, from my high-powered rifles, to my pistols. If my identity was going to be blown, I would go down by killing the bastards who took Brina. Scrolling through my phone, I found Yuli’s number and hit send.

  “Hello?”

  “Yuli, it’s Wade.”

  She gasped. “Hey, Wade. Long time no talk. How’s it going on your side of the country?”

  “Not good. I need your help.”

  “Uh-oh. What’s going on?”

  I looked down at my watch. “How far away are you from updating the tracking software on the watches? I need to find someone now.”

  “I’m still working on it,” she replied, panic seeping into her voice. “I can have it done in about a week.”

  Clenching the phone, I reined back my anger. Yuli was a gifted woman, and the last thing I wanted to do was put pressure on her. “That’ll be too late.”

  “Please tell me this isn’t a life or death situation.”

  I wasn’t going to lie. “It is, Yuli. I can’t stress how important this is.”

  She blew out a shaky breath. “Okay, I’ll work on it now. I promise I’ll do everything I can.”

  “That’s all I ask. In the meantime, I’ll see what else I can do on my end.” We hung up and I grabbed my guns and loaded them into the car, along with a fuck-ton of ammo—enough to kill off an army. It’d already been two hours since Brina sent the alert, and as much as I tried to control the rage flowing through me, it was becoming unbearable.

  “Dammit!” I shouted, slamming my fist down onto the roof of my car. I needed to find her.

  My phone rang and I jerked it out of my pocket. “What’s going on?” I answered.

  Preston sighed. “It’s not looking good over here. Josh is in surgery, but they don’t think he’ll make it. If he doesn’t, you’ll have to call the president.”

  “I know.” Dread settled into the pit of my gut. How was I going to save Brina and Trinity, then turn around and tell them Josh might not survive? “I have Yuli working on the watch software as we speak. But it’s looking like I need to go with plan B.”

  “Which is?”

  Heart racing, I hurried into the house and up to the guest room Trinity and Josh shared. I’d seen Josh’s computer when we were in Malibu, and I knew he had it here. I found it on the desk, along with Trinity’s light blue one. A new sense of hope renewed my spirit. “We’re going to hack into Josh’s computer. And I know just the right person for the job.”

  If Josh was anything like me, he would’ve found a way to keep track of Trinity. Jason Avery was the man I needed.

  “All right, I’ll grab a ride there,” Preston said. “I have Josh’s phone.”

  We hung up and I called Jason’s number. “I had a feeling you’d be calling me,” he announced. “What can I do for you?”

  “I need your computer skills. Can you come to my house?”

  In the background, the sound of his car engine roared to life. “On my way.”

  Preston sat on the kitchen counter, while Jason was at the table, his fingers typing away on Josh’s computer.

  “So, what exactly is your plan when we find them?” Preston asked.

  I tossed him a set of dark clothes and strapped on my bulletproof vest. “Depends on where they are. If she’s still wearing her watch, it’ll vibrate when I’m near.” Grabbing my Remington 1911, I popped in a magazine and holstered it at my side. “Brina’s smart. If she knows I’m near, she’ll help us.”

  Preston’s brows lifted incredulously. “Sorry, but how is she going to do that?”

  Sighing, I snuck a glance at Avery who was too busy with the computer to hear. “She’s a lot like you and me,” I said low. “Take it for what it’s worth.”

  His eyes widened. “No fucking way. Seriously?”

  All I did was shrug and walk away back over to Jason. “Find anything yet?”

  He nodded. “Getting there.”

  Another hour had passed, and all I could do was pace the floor. Time was of the essence, and the longer Brina was gone, the more harm she could be in. Jason slammed his hands on the table and slid his chair back. “Found them!”

  I marched over, and so did Preston.

  Jason pointed at the screen. “You’re right. Josh did have Trinity tracked. Looks like they’re only forty minutes away from here.” He handed me Josh’s phone. “The tracker’s connected to his phone. You can use it to find them. Until then, I’ll fire up my laptop and be ready in case you need me.”

  The flashing light on the phone screen beckoned me. It was time to do some damage.

  Brina

  I could handle almost anything life threw at me, whether that included being kidnapped or beaten. What I couldn’t handle was seeing it happen to Trinity. My whole adult life, I’d prepared myself to fight, to keep those I loved safe. My failure hit me hard. I didn’t like seeing Trinity chained to a chair and crying her eyes out in fear. I was supposed to keep her safe. I wanted to tell her it’d be all right, but couldn’t force the words out. I didn’t know how this would end.

  The tape across my lips tore at my skin every time I moved my mouth. The dark, musty basement reeked of mold and it made me gag. If I threw up, I’d have to swallow it down. The thought made me even sicker.

  A dull light came from an old lamp in the corner, revealing a set of blankets on the floor. What I didn’t like was the large pot and toilet paper on one side of the room, or the video camera on the other, pointing straight at us with the red light flashing on the side of it. We were being filmed.

  Footsteps pounded on the floor above, then a door slammed open behind me. My body was too weak to even turn my head to look at the man coming down what had to be a set of stairs. “I see you’re both awake now,” Warren teased. “I’ve been waiting.”

  His dark hair was wet as if he’d taken a shower and he had on a fresh T-shirt and shorts. He walked over to Trinity and ripped the tape off her mouth. She shrieked, her lips red and swollen. “Why?” she sobbed, tears running down her face.

  Warren stared at her, his unrelenting gaze regarding her with such contempt. “That’s the question of the day, now isn’t it?” Setting his sights on me, I knew it was my turn next. He stormed over and ripped the tape off as hard as he could. My eyes burned when I refused to give into the pain. He stared curiously at me, almost fascinated. “I must say I’m surprised, Ms. Carmichael. Didn’t figure you for the stubborn type.”

  Clenching my teeth, I sucked in a much-needed breath. “You don’t know me.”

  His evil grin widened. “Either way, I’m going to have fun breaking you.”

  “And how do you plan on doing that?” A million things ran through my mind, none of them a pleasure to think about.

  The dangerous gleam in his eye made me tremble. It killed me to admit, but a spark of fear sent ice shards through my veins. Kneeling to my level, he placed his hands on my upper thighs, his thumbs rubbing circles between my legs. “You see that camera over there?” he said, never taking his eyes off mine.

  I nodded.

  “Everything I do to you will be recorded and sent straight to the president. I want him and the world to see how I brought the Carmichael family to their knees. Serves him right for thinking he’s better than me.”

  “He’s not like that,” I hissed.

  “Oh, yeah? Then why did he bribe me to leave his daughter alone?” Trinity’s mouth gaped. I was just as shocked as she was. As much as I wanted to kick Noah’s ass for interfering in Trinity’s life, I had to admit he was right in doing so.

  Warren continued, “He said I wasn’t good enough for her. Little did he know, it was my mission from the beginning to get close to her so I could get to him. Fucking her in the process was just icing on the cake.”

  “You make me sick,” I snarled.

  His eyes darkened and he got to his feet, turning his attention to Trinity. He stalked over to her, the tension in the room building. “It all worked out perfectly. At least, until y
ou started fucking your bodyguard. Thanks, by the way, for telling me everything I needed to know.”

  Chuckling, he glanced at me over his shoulder, but there was no humor on his face. “You see, it was because of her I was able to shoot the president. She even let me know where you were in Charlotte. All we had to do was wait for the right time to strike.”

  My breath hitched and I froze. It all began to fall into place. Instead of a traitor inside the White House, it was Trinity putting trust in her boyfriend.

  Trinity gasped, her wide-eyed gaze glaring straight at him. “I trusted you.”

  He reared back and slapped her hard across the cheek, the sound echoing in the room. She cried out and he grabbed her around the neck, cutting off her air. “That trust didn’t stop you from hopping on your bodyguard’s cock though, did it? For that, you’re going to suffer big time. I don’t like being made a fool of.”

  Growling, I fought against my restraints, the ties slicing into my arms. “Let her go! Must make you feel like a man to hit a woman when she’s down. You’re nothing but a pussy-ass bitch.”

  Eyes blazing, he let her go and stormed over.

  Trinity sucked in a breath and coughed. “Brina, no! I can handle it.” Trinity was strong, but she’d break a whole lot faster than me. I had to get the attention away from her.

  Before Warren struck me, his attention focused on the stairs.

  “Having fun without me?” Dane teased, coming down.

  Warren snarled. “Just teaching these whores a lesson about respect. What’s up?”

  Dane came into view, still dressed in the same clothes from earlier. With a predatory stare, he glared at both me and Trinity. “There’s nothing on the news about them being abducted. Doesn’t look like anyone’s figured it out yet.”

  Warren’s brows lifted. “Interesting. I thought for sure they’d be out searching by now.”

  Dane chuckled, and the sound of it sent chills down my spine. “Looks like we have more time than we thought. When do you want to start?” His beady eyes settled on my body.