Broken Hero

by Wright, Aubrey

  “And then?”

  “And then, you’re going to be the lawyer that I always wanted you to be for me.”

  “Why the hell would I do that?”

  “Because of that kid right there,” he said, pointing to my belly. “Because that kid’s not going to know a day’s peace unless you give me what I want. You’re the best fucking lawyer in this town, Nat, and I’d be an idiot not to make you work for me. Now, I gave you the chance to do it of your own volition, but you’re making me take some desperate fucking measures here.” He hopped off the desk, grabbed the knife, shot it out, and slowly, menacingly, moved over to me. “Because if you don’t work for me, or if I get the impression that you’re thinking about going to the cops again, well, let’s just say motherhood might be a very, very temporary condition for you.”

  He tapped the tip of the blade against my belly.

  I’d never wanted to kill someone more in my life.

  “So,” he said, removing the knife and backing off, “not like you have any choice in the matter, but do we have a deal?”

  I took a deep breath, my body shaking.

  I had to say yes—what else could I do? If it was just me, that would be one thing. But I had someone else to worry about now, someone whose life depended on me.

  And that right there was scariest of all. It wasn’t about me anymore. I had to make a decision that would affect not just me, but someone who wasn’t even born yet.

  I knew my answer, however. I knew without a doubt that I wasn’t going to spend my life working for a criminal. Despite the danger, I had to do the right thing.

  “No.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “No?” he asked. Then he cupped his hand behind his ear. “Just want to make sure I heard that right. You said no?”

  “I said no,” I repeated.

  He scoffed, shaking his head. “Stupid, stupid girl,” he said. “But lucky for me—and especially for you—I’ve got ways of making people change their minds. Guys who are very good at, let’s say, getting people to see the light. And you’re going to get extremely acquainted with them.”

  “Fu—”

  A deafening bang sounded out through the warehouse before I could open my mouth. There were crashes and clatters and the sounds of men and women shouting.

  “What the fuck?” asked Joey as he rushed to the windows overlooking the warehouse floor.

  A banging sounded at the office door, and Joey turned, ran over, and opened it. It was Stan, his normally steely face in an expression of panic.

  “What’s going on down there?” demanded Joey.

  “It’s the cops!” shouted Stan. “They’re here!”

  I turned and looked down at the uniformed men and women filling the space to see a sight I couldn’t believe.

  Among the rescue squad was none other than Garrett Shaw.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  GARRETT

  I raised my gun and took a quick shot at the thug closest to me, a hard-looking man with a shaved head and a mean scowl. The first shot hit him right in the shoulder, the second square in the knee. The two shots did what I’d intended—the thug let out a cry of pain as the gun fell from his hand and he dropped to the floor in a heap. He’d be walking funny for the rest of the year, but he’d live.

  The cops had been hesitant to let me tag along for this mission, but Walker Barnes, in particular, was impressed enough with my background that he wanted me in. He’d been military too, and for some reason, he was willing to vouch for me. And with what Joey had put me and Natalie and Ellie through, there was no way I was going to sit this one out.

  It’d been a while since I’d been in a firefight like this, and my instincts carried me through. I was in the zone as the team of officers and I moved through the narrow hallways formed by shipping containers in the massive warehouse floor and dropping one thug after another with well-placed shots.

  As I did, there was only one thing on my mind—one woman, to be specific.

  Natalie.

  I flicked my eyes from here to there, keeping myself on high alert as I moved through the shipping containers. I knew at any moment I could spot her, and I wanted to be ready when I did. Getting her back was all I cared about, and I was like a machine moving with expert precision and calibration.

  My gun held up in front of me, I stepped slowly down a long lane formed by shipping containers made of red steel. Shots popped in the air and echoed through the open, high-roofed space, the smell of gunpowder in the air.

  “Psst!”I glanced in the direction of the sound to see Barnes form up beside me.

  “Any sign of the target?” he asked, his voice low.

  “No,” I said. “Doubt she’s on the warehouse floor.”

  He nodded, his gun pointed ahead. “Floor plans shows we’ve got two levels to this place,” he said.

  “Then that means we need to get upstairs as fast as humanly possible,” I said back.

  “Sounds like a plan,” he said. “We get Natalie, and make sure that fuck Joey doesn’t leave here without a pair of cuffs on him.”

  “Perfect,” I growled.

  I could picture Joey easily in my mind, imagine him right in my crosshairs as I squeezed the trigger and sent him to the ground in a howling heap. The fucker was mine—I was going to make him pay for what he’d done. Not just to me, but to Natalie and Ellie.

  Barnes and I stepped slowly down the long corridor. At around the halfway point a figure stepped out from around the corner, a black submachine gun in his hands.

  “There!” shouted Barnes.

  The thug at the end of the hall let out a war cry as he raised his gun. But before he could pull the trigger, Barnes and I opened fire, taking him down with a few well-placed shots. He fell to the concrete floor in a heap, his shots going wide and hitting the steel around us with hard pangs. His war cry was replaced with pained moans, and Barnes and I nodded to one another to keep moving.

  We stepped past the downed thug, and I kicked the gun away from him as I did. I shot a glance up to the second floor, now able to see an office through the large factory windows that overlooked the warehouse floor.

  “This is taking too long,” I said.

  “Yeah,” said Barnes. “He sure as shit knows we’re here, and no doubt he’s trying to figure out a way to fly the coop—probably with the girl.”

  It was the last thing I wanted. We had the place surrounded, so there was no chance he’d be able to flee on foot or in a car. But Joey was a canny fucker—no doubt he had some backup plan in place.

  And if he got out of here with Natalie…

  I shook my head, not even wanting to think about it.

  As the two of us moved closer to the center of the warehouse floor, I heard frantic chatter in the air. I spotted a half-circle mirror on the wall and pointed it out to Barnes. Reflected in it was a group of men huddled together—it was Joey’s thugs, all of them preparing for a last stand.

  Barnes nodded as he pressed down on his speaker.

  “Clear?” he asked.

  “East side clear,” came the voice through the device.

  “Good,” he said. “Last of them are in the middle. Let’s drop them hard and fast on my mark.”

  “Copy that.”

  Then he turned to me. “We’ve got a dozen officers moving in,” he said to me. “One more gun isn’t going to make a difference.”

  I was confused. “What are you talking about?” I asked.

  He pointed over my shoulder to a door, the sign next to it indicating it led to the stairs.

  “Get up and finish the job,” he said. “We’ll take it from here.”

  I gave a quick nod of acknowledgement.

  “Good luck,” he said.

  “You too,” I replied.

  Pure focus driving me, I hurried over to the door, opened it, and stepped into the stairwell. I moved as quietly as I could, not wanting to give any sign that I was coming.

  A bullet panging off the wall next to me showed
that my stealth was for nothing—someone knew I was coming. I took cover before peeking up to see Stan at the top of the stairs.

  “That you, Garrett?” he called out. “You should’ve stayed away from this shit!”

  I wasn’t in the mood for conversation. A fast scan of the area showed a slanting steel surface that connected the wall to the ceiling.

  Another shot fired out, this one going wide. Stan was never that great of a shot.

  “You can still get the fuck out of here!” he yelled.

  I pointed my gun at the steel slat, aiming it just right.

  Then I pulled the trigger and fired. The pop of the gun echoed through the tight space, followed by the sharp ping of the bullet hitting the steel at an angle, followed by Stan crying out in pain. Just like I’d hoped, the bullet had ricocheted off the steel slat at an angle and went right where I wanted it.

  Stan down, I hurried up the stairs to see him standing there, one hand on his arm where the bullet had hit, the other on the railing for support. His eyes went wide as I approached.

  “Boss,” he said, his voice panicked. “I didn’t mean to—”

  I brought the bottom of my gun down hard onto his face. He staggered backward, his now-broken nose bloody.

  “Fuck!” he shouted, covering his face.

  I reached forward, grabbed his collar, and pulled him toward me.

  “Where are they?” I roared.

  “D-don’t kill me,” he said, his voice wavering. “Don’t—”

  I raised the underside of the gun again, letting him know in clear terms what was in store if he didn’t start talking, and fast.

  “They’re on the roof,” he said. “Kate’s coming with a helicopter. Now please, don’t ki—”

  I shoved him to the side, his head smacking against the wall and knocking him right out. Just as good—I didn’t want to waste any more time on trash like him.

  I strode down the second-floor hallway, finding an office that seemed to have been recently occupied. I stepped in and looked down through the window to see that Barnes and the rest had the remainder of Joey’s crew on their knees, their hands behind their heads.

  All that was left was Joey and Natalie. And I’d already wasted too much time.

  Gun in hand, I followed the hall to the next stairs, this one leading to the roof. I moved slowly, knowing that Joey could be waiting for me behind any corner. I hadn’t come this far only to lose.

  I ascended the stairs and was soon at the door leading to the roof. Through it I could hear the low howl of the wind. And muffled screaming.

  Natalie was right on the other side of the door.

  It was now or never.

  I turned the handle and pushed it open, the wind rushing in to greet me.

  The roof was flat concrete—perfect for a helicopter landing space. And down at the end was Joey, his forearm pressed on Natalie’s neck as he used her as a human shield, a gun pressed to her temple.

  “There’s the man himself!” Joey called out over the wind. “The stupid fuck who threw away a good thing!”

  Natalie’s eyes were wide, and she struggled against Joey’s grasp.

  “You’re done, Joey,” I called out. “Your men surrendered, and the only question is whether or not you’re going to make me end this the easy way or the hard way.”

  “Stubborn and stupid to the last,” said Joey, his hair whipping around his face. “You think you’re calling the shots here?”

  He pressed the gun hard against Natalie’s head, another scream sounding. My stomach tightened. Seeing her like this, seeing her threatened, made me want to kill. Rage threatened to take hold of me.

  “Think about this,” he said. “It’s not just the girl I’ve got—it’s your kid, too!”

  I was confused. “What?” I asked.

  Joey’s eyebrows rose. “You mean, you don’t know?” He let out a peal of laughter. “He doesn’t know!”

  He couldn’t mean…

  But Natalie’s nod put aside any doubt.

  She was carrying my baby.

  Right then, a helicopter appeared on the horizon, growing closer with each passing second, the sound of the blades filling the air.

  “That’s my ride!” he said. “Our ride, that is. If you don’t want to be putting Mommy in a body bag tonight, you might want to let me go in peace, buddy!”

  The door behind me opened, and officers led by Barnes swarmed out and formed up at my flanks, guns drawn and raised.

  “Shit,” hissed Barnes.

  I tried to put aside the news as best I could. I made eye contact with Natalie, trying to indicate without saying out loud that we were going to need to work together. I flicked my gaze at his belly, and she nodded. Then I mouthed the word “three.”

  Another nod.

  She got it.

  The helicopter landed, and I spotted Kate at the controls.

  “One,” I mouthed.

  “There we go!” said Joey, backing toward the helicopter.

  “Two.”

  “Be smart!” said Joey.

  “Three.”

  Natalie gave me one last nod before pulling her arm forward and diving her elbow back into Joey’s stomach. He let out a grunt as his grip loosened, and she wriggled free.

  Now was my chance. I pulled the trigger, and the shot hit home, right in the chest. Joey’s gun dropped with a clatter and Natalie quickly went for it, picking it up and pointing it at him.

  “You bitch!” he called out as he withdrew a knife and lunged toward her.

  I was prepared to pull the trigger and finish him off, but Natalie beat me to it. I watched as she slowed her breath, squeezed gently, and fired.

  Just like I’d taught her.

  The shot connected, and Joey was down.

  The cops went into action, swarming Joey and the helicopter, Kate raising her hands as soon as she realized it was over.

  I shoved my gun into my waistband and ran over to Natalie, taking her in my arms. I knew there was bad blood between us, and I knew she hated me.

  But at that moment, all I could think about was my happiness at knowing she was safe.

  “You came,” she said over the commotion of the cops. “I knew you would. I don’t know how, but I did.”

  She gazed up at me with those gorgeous hazel eyes, and despite everything, I couldn’t resist.

  I never could when it came to Natalie.

  I kissed her hard, and she kissed me right back.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  NATALIE

  “You sure you want me here?” asked Garrett.

  “I’m sure,” I said.

  I couldn’t tell if it was my nerves or the stress from the day or what, but all I wanted was for Garrett to be there with me. We’d been at the station for hours, and I was worn out from all of the statements we’d been asked to give.

  I sat down on the couch in my living room, Garrett taking a seat next to me. There was distance between us, and I could sense that he wasn’t entirely sure how to act around me.

  The feeling was more than mutual.

  “This damned apartment,” I said, looking around. “All that security, and for nothing.”

  I allowed myself a smirk at the idea of having the fanciest security system in the city and it doing me not a damn bit of good when I needed it to.

  “If it’s any consolation,” said Garrett, “anyone who had the ability to get into it is in the hospital right now with gunshot wounds. And I could easily reconfigure it to make sure that no one has access other than you from here on out.”

  “Maybe later,” I said. “Right now I just want to enjoy the fact that I don’t need to use it.”

  “Good call,” he said.

  Silence hung in the air for several long moments, the issue of our relationship being the elephant in the room to end all elephants in the room.

  “How’s Joey?” I asked.

  “Bad, but he’s going to make it,” he said. “You really did the job with that shot of you
rs. Got him right where you needed to. He’s going to be using a bedpan for the next few months.”

  “Least that fucker deserves,” I said.

  “True,” he said. “But this way he’s going to get justice. Not a chance that asshole sees the outside of a prison cell for the rest of his life. Between our testimonies and what he pulled today, he’s done.”

  I was confused.

  “Our testimonies?” I asked.

  He nodded.

  “That’s why I came back here,” he said. “I went to Barnes and told him that I wanted to do anything I could to help bring that asshole down.”

  “But you worked with him,” I said. “Doesn’t that mean you’d be going down with him? Walker just… forgave you? Gave you a pass?”

  “Didn’t matter to me,” he said. “I didn’t know if I’d get immunity, but even if they took me in, coming clean, helping put Joey away was the least I could do after what I’d done.”

  I’d almost forgotten. Garrett had betrayed me. Yet here he was. Why? It didn’t add up.

  “I don’t get it,” I said. “You fucked me over then had a guilty conscience about it?” I went on. “And for what? Money? Never thought a man like you would care about getting paid at the cost of his honor. I thought you were better than that.”

  “It wasn’t about money,” he said.

  “Then what was it?” I asked. “Why did you do it?”

  He took a long, slow breath, as if not sure where to begin. Finally, he took out his phone and opened up his pictures. He flicked through them until he landed on a selfie of him with a pretty college-aged blonde.

  “Oh no,” I said. “Please don’t tell me you’re dating some college girl and she talked some sense into you or something.”

  “Gross,” he said with a smirk. “No, that’s my kid sister Ellie.”

  “Whoa, whoa,” I said, waving my hands in front of me. “Kid sister?”

  “She lives out in Santa Cruz,” he said. “And she’s the reason I did everything I did.”

  “You need to do some explaining,” I said.