Young Guns Box Set

by Kane, Remington

  Having had enough, the carjacker made it to his hands and knees, then stood and ran away. Emma saw him look over his shoulder once. There was blood showing at the slit in the mask where his mouth was, and his gait seemed unsteady.

  The biker removed her helmet to reveal a mane of honey-blonde hair. Emma had known it was a woman already, leather-clad or not, the woman had curves that couldn’t be disguised.

  “Are you all right? He didn’t hurt you, did he?” the woman asked. Emma recognized the accent as being Australian.

  Emma stepped out of her car to greet her newest hero. “I’m fantastic, thanks to you. The bastard was after my car.”

  “I don’t blame him; that’s a nice ride. I’ve always liked Mercedes.”

  Emma introduced herself and the woman reached out her hand. She had a pair of light-blue eyes to go along with the dark-blonde hair.

  “I’m Vivian Richards, and I’ve seen you on the news. My but you attract trouble.”

  “Only lately,” Emma said. “And I want to thank you again for helping me.”

  “I saw you open your car door. Why did you do that?”

  “I thought he was someone else.”

  “Dressed in a ski mask and holding a knife?”

  “It’s a long story.”

  “You fancy a drink, Emma? I do. If you buy me one, I’ll consider us even. There’s a pub on the corner three blocks away, what say we have a drink to calm our nerves?”

  Emma hesitated, then nodded. “All right, yes, I’ll meet you there.”

  Vivian smiled. “It’s nice to make new friends.”

  * * *

  Cody had been driving back from May Ling’s hotel when he’d received Kay’s call. After getting off the line with her, he phoned Romeo and filled him in.

  “Damn, Cody, one of those assholes from Green Wrath must be after her again.”

  “Maybe, or it could be something else. If someone wanted her dead, I don’t know why they would bother to have her make phone calls.”

  “You’re thinking she’s a hostage?”

  “It’s a possibility. How soon can you meet me there?”

  “I’m about as close as you are, so we’ll join up, then break in.”

  “Kay’s apartment is on the eighth floor, so we won’t be going in through any windows.”

  “A frontal assault through the front door will work, but we’ll have to be damn quiet about entering.”

  “I’d also like to take them without drawing the neighbors’ attention. Although, whoever is in there might have a gun.”

  “I’m twelve minutes away. See you soon.”

  * * *

  Kay had been afraid she might be raped; however, Livingston was just taking pleasure in instilling fear in her. After telling her to take off her coat, he made comments about how good she looked.

  Kay was wearing a blue wool skirt along with a cream-colored blouse. The skirt revealed her legs while the blouse showed a hint of cleavage. Livingston made her sit in the middle of the bed while he sat on a stool near her vanity.

  Kay decided that if he tried to rape her, she would fight back. She’d rather be dead than have scum like Livingston touch her.

  Kay had glanced at her bedside clock once and Livingston looked at her with suspicion. Since then, she’d fought the urge to check the time.

  “You say you’re not having sex with your editor, but you must be shagging someone.”

  “You killed the only man I had an interest in.”

  “I did?”

  “Grant Peters.”

  “Who the bloody hell is Grant Peters?”

  Kay’s eyes fluttered in shock. Her fiancé’s death had a huge impact on her life and had shaped its present course. To hear the man responsible for his murder claim ignorance of his existence was too much to endure. Kay screamed at Livingston from a face scarlet with anger.

  “Grant Peters was one of the men you killed with that pipeline explosion. We were to be married.”

  “Oh, he was one of those engineers. Too bad for him, but I’ve never personally killed anyone.” Livingston leaned forward and added, “Yet.”

  A loud, wet, hissing sound came from the front of the apartment. It continued for several seconds before fading away. Livingston jumped to his feet and aimed the gun at the hallway outside the bedroom doorway.

  “What the hell was that noise?”

  “I don’t know,” Kay said, and she didn’t, although she hoped that it was connected with help having arrived. A quick glance at her bedside clock told her it was just after eight-thirty.

  “Get over here,” Livingston told her. When she’d gotten off the bed, he took Kay by the arm and guided her into the short hallway.

  Livingston kept her in front of him as they eased along the hall. His eyes were searching for movement as his ears strained to hear any odd sounds.

  As they emerged into the living room, they both saw what had made the noise they’d heard. Among the groceries that had spilled onto the floor when Kay was attacked was a bottle of soda. The carbonated liquid had built up pressure and forced its way out past its damaged plastic cap.

  Livingston relaxed and let the gun drop to his side.

  “A bottle of fizzy drink, but why did it take so long to overflow?”

  It wouldn’t, not unless it had been made to do so. Livingston realized that when Romeo sprang from a closet while Cody rose from behind the sofa.

  Cody flung a knife at Livingston as Romeo grabbed Kay away from him. The knife struck Livingston in the back and went in over an inch deep.

  The shock of the boys sudden appearance along with the pain of the blade entering his back disoriented Livingston. By the time he brought the gun up, Cody had a lock on his wrist and was putting pressure on a nerve cluster. The gun fell to the floor and Cody gripped the handle of the knife and drove the blade deeper into Livingston.

  The leader of Green Wrath managed to release the beginning of a howl before Cody clamped a hand over his mouth. Then, Cody spoke to the man.

  “If I jerk the knife to the right, I’ll sever your spine. If I shove it any deeper, it’ll rip open your intestines. You might want to stay very still.”

  Livingston’s face had been set in a rictus of pain. Upon hearing Cody speak, a look of despair came over him.

  “You’re the two Americans who killed my people.”

  “That’s right,” Romeo said. He had walked over with Kay, who had an arm wrapped around one of his. Kay was smiling at Livingston, enjoying the look of terror in his eyes.

  “How does it feel to be on the other end? What you’re feeling right now doesn’t even come close to the horror you put your kidnap victims through.”

  “Like Emma Hart,” Romeo said. He was also holding a knife; he had to stop himself from burying it into Livingston’s chest.

  Cody gestured at the floor by tilting his head. Livingston’s wound was bleeding and blood marred the white Persian rug beneath him. “Sorry about the mess, Kay, but at least we’ll be removing this filth from your place.”

  Kay looked down at the rug. “He’ll drip blood along the hallway and the stairs.”

  “Does he have a jacket?” Romeo asked.

  “Yes, he took off a coat,” Kay said. She disappeared into her bedroom and returned with the black Chesterfield coat Livingston arrived in. It was made of cashmere.

  “I’ll need a towel too,” Cody said.

  When Kay brought him one, Cody wrapped it around the blade protruding from Livingston’s back. The white towel began absorbing the trickle of blood flowing from the wound. With the coat draped over him, and with Cody seemingly helping him along, Livingston looked like an invalid or a drunk who needed assistance.

  “The pain is unbearable,” Livingston said, as Cody applied pressure on the blade to propel him forward.

  “No one cares,” Cody said, as they moved toward the door, which Romeo had opened.

  “Xavier, Romeo,” Kay said, and when they turned their heads to look at her, t
hey saw a wicked little smile on her lips. “Make that bastard suffer.”

  “Romeo will see to that,” Cody said, before guiding Livingston from the flat, like a puppet on a string.

  105

  Breakup

  NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, JANUARY 2019

  After leaving Tanner, Flash returned to his townhouse. Although he had lived there for almost a year the place never felt like home.

  For one thing, he didn’t own it, Randolph Grey did. Also, Letty had decorated it and picked out the furniture. It always made Flash feel like he was visiting a stranger’s home.

  The place did have a balcony in the rear. Flash was sitting out there sucking down a beer when Letty used her key to enter.

  “Ryan?” Letty called, using Flash’s real name. She was the only one who had called him by that name in over two decades, that is, if you didn’t count the law and the court system.

  “I’m out here on the balcony.”

  Letty walked out onto the small space, as usual, she was breathtaking. She was a tall and statuesque natural redhead with huge green eyes. Flash had fallen in love with her the first time he’d seen her. The fact that it had been mutual surprised him, although, Letty had been in the process of changing him ever since.

  That shit is over, Flash thought. He’d also come to the conclusion that the love he’d felt for her had diminished the longer he’d known her. He still cared about her, and always would, but spending the rest of his life with Letty wasn’t as appealing as it once had seemed. He’d been sensing the same was true for her, and the arguments they had were becoming more frequent.

  Letty placed her hands on her hips and glared at Flash.

  “I just came from home. Why the hell did you beat up Daddy?”

  “He put his hands on me. He won’t be doing that again.”

  “His face needed stitches, Ryan.”

  “Did he talk to the police?”

  “He told them he had been assaulted in a failed carjacking.”

  Flash smiled. “At least he was smart enough not to make things worse.”

  “You’re not even sorry that you hurt him, are you?”

  “No, Letty, and I’d do the same thing all over again. I don’t take shit from anyone.”

  Letty yanked her engagement ring from her finger and tossed it at Flash.

  “I’m not marrying a man who hurts my father.”

  Flash picked up the ring and stared at it. It was over three carats in size. He had paid for it by robbing drug couriers in Mexico. Gator had helped him and never asked for a dime of the money, knowing that Flash needed it for an engagement ring.

  “We’ll call it my wedding gift to you,” Gator had told him.

  A lump formed in Flash’s throat as he realized he’d never again see his oldest friend. Sunrise couldn’t arrive soon enough for Flash. Tanner had to pay for killing Gator.

  Flash stood and walked over to Letty. “Let’s go inside.”

  They entered the townhouse and Flash grabbed another beer from the refrigerator. When he offered Letty one, she frowned.

  “You know I don’t drink beer.”

  “Right, that’s too common a drink for you, just like I’m too common a man. You never really wanted me, Letty. You’ve been trying to turn me into someone I’m not since we met.”

  “I was trying to help you better yourself, but you’ve proven that you’re just a product of the streets. I think Daddy should have pressed charges against you.”

  “I do come from the streets, and I’m going back there.”

  “What’s that mean?”

  “I’ll resurrect the Dixie Devils and make the club bigger than it’s ever been.”

  “You want to go back to being a criminal?”

  “I’m an outlaw at heart,” Flash gestured around at the townhouse. “This place is something a businessman would live in.”

  Letty crossed her arms over her chest while hugging her purse.

  “And what’s wrong with being a businessman? My father is a businessman.”

  “I’m a biker, baby, I was never going to turn into your father.”

  The doorbell rang. Letty was closest to the entrance and looked through the peephole.

  “It’s Daddy.”

  Once he was inside, Grey began pleading with Flash.

  “I didn’t send Letty here, Flash, and I told her that she shouldn’t end your engagement. That was not my idea.”

  Grey looked horrible. The gash on his right cheek had been closed by several stitches and the rest of his face was either bruised or swollen. His eyes betrayed the fear he was feeling. Flash wondered why he had ever considered the older man to be someone to respect.

  Randolph Grey hired people to do his dirty work but never carried it out himself. A simple beating had reduced him to a quivering coward. He was ready to let his only daughter marry the man who had harmed him. All Grey cared about was avoiding more pain.

  Then, Flash’s gaze fell on Letty. He had been right when he’d said that she never really wanted him. Instead, she had desired to mold him into someone better, someone finer, someone else.

  Flash walked past the two of them and opened the door.

  “Leave, both of you. I’ve had enough bullshit today. Hell, I’ve had enough of your bullshit to last me a lifetime. Get out!”

  “I just wanted you to know that your breakup wasn’t my idea,” Grey said.

  “Out, Randolph, now.”

  Grey left without saying another word and Letty followed. After taking a few steps, she turned to give Flash some choice parting words but found the door slamming in her face.

  With his uninvited guests making their departure, Flash walked into the bedroom and went to the closet. His leather vest was there, the red one he wore while he was the leader of the Dixie Devils.

  Flash put on the vest, then strapped a holstered gun onto his belt. Looking in the mirror, he drew the weapon as fast as he could. If anyone had been watching, his speed would have astounded them.

  Flash stared into the mirror and imagined the future. Once he killed Tanner and gained the reputation that act would bring, recruiting new members for the club would be easy. Hell, people would be leaving other clubs to become a Dixie Devil.

  Flash drew his gun again, holstered it, then drew it once more. The three movements took him far less than a single second.

  He smiled at his reflection. Tanner was going to die, and the Dixie Devils would rise once more.

  106

  Yes Or No?

  LONDON, ENGLAND, OCTOBER 2003

  Romeo, wearing a new suit, stepped into the lobby of the 5-star hotel Emma was staying at. It had been three days since he and Cody had rescued her. In that time, he had debated with himself the wisdom of attempting to reconnect with Emma again.

  She had dumped him two years earlier in Indonesia while making it clear that she found his vocation appalling and unacceptable, that he was unacceptable. It had taken him months to get over her and to go a day without thinking of her. Even so, he still thought of her more days than not.

  If anything, his love for Emma had grown, as had the ache of not being able to be with her. To risk rejection once again was just foolhardy.

  The lobby was bustling with rich tourists and their offspring in October. Romeo thought that the place must be a zoo at the height of the season. The extensive and beautifully decorated lobby had a massive chandelier at its center that must contain over a thousand lights. Marble columns supported the wide ceiling and a piano player tickled ivories in a corner.

  Romeo stood there admiring the grandeur, then realized that he was just procrastinating. He had watched Emma’s return to the hotel from across the avenue and knew that she was in her suite.

  Bracing himself, Romeo walked up to the front desk. The young black woman on duty gave him a smile that had more wattage to it than was warranted by simple professionalism.

  “Yes, sir, how may I help you today?”

  “I’d like a note delivered t
o one of your guests.”

  * * *

  Emma opened her door and smiled at the bellboy. She had taken off her shoes upon returning to her suite and had been lying on the sofa reading. After the bellboy handed her Romeo’s note, she told him to wait and retrieved money from her purse. The boy thanked her for her generosity and left.

  After closing the door, Emma opened the envelope and read Romeo’s note.

  Meet me in the lobby if you want to reconnect. If you don’t come, I’ll understand.

  —Romeo

  Romeo had watched the bellboy take off with the note and figured it would only take him two minutes to reach Emma’s suite on the fourth floor. He revised that assessment when he saw how long the kid had to wait for the elevator. Nonetheless, even with the delay, Emma should have received the note. And yet, eight minutes had passed, and she hadn’t appeared.

  It’s the elevators, Romeo told himself. They’re crowded and moving too damn slow.

  And it was true, the elevators were lethargic in their operation, while the traffic on them was heavy, still, his heart began to sink. He was afraid that Emma’s continued absence meant that he was getting the answer he dreaded. Emma still wanted nothing to do with him.

  When the elevator finally made it down to the lobby, Romeo searched among its occupants for the face of the woman he loved. She was not there, Emma was not there, and a soft moan escaped Romeo’s lips.

  Movement caught Romeo’s attention as a door across the lobby flung open. Emma stepped out, her eyes feverishly scanning the people in front of her. When she spotted Romeo, she erupted in laughter and ran toward him. She was still in her stocking feet, having left her suite without a moment’s hesitation. When she’d seen the crowd huddled together in front of the elevators on her floor, she had sprinted past them and into the stairwell.