Assassins the Florist Book One Part One

by Haley Langwood

  Byron looked at Marc for guidance because he didn’t know how much Marc had told Keith. Marc sighed because he knew that he had to tell Keith at least something. After all, he eventually had to give Keith a plausible explanation of how Byron had gotten the information about Bailey. Marc was indecisive, and that wasn’t like him. He always knew what to do and when to do it.

  Keith took the decision out of Marc’s hands when he said in a firm voice. “Look, Marc, this is about Bailey, and I love him like a brother. If anything happens to him, then I will never forgive myself.” Keith eyed Marc intently when he added, “Not if you know more and if that information helps us find Bailey in time, and you don’t share because you don’t trust me, or whatever. If you had to break the law to get information that can lead us to Bailey, then I’m game.”

  Byron and Marc eyed Keith intently, and Marc saw the worry and the sincerity in the man’s eyes. “Please. If you know something, anything that can lead us to Bailey, then say it.” Keith walked to the window, stared outside, and softly added, “I couldn’t keep Brendan safe, and I’ll be damned if I let something happen to Bailey. No way!”

  Byron looked at Marc, who nodded. Keith really was worried sick, and the man would do anything to find and rescue Bailey. “Alright,” Byron said and motioned for the two men to come closer as he fired up his computer. “I hacked the street cameras and, well, look for yourself,” he said as he played the footage that showed Bailey walking through the small town’s Main street.

  “What is he doing there?” Marc whispered. “He must have been upset because every time Bailey feels rattled, he goes for a walk. He must have been absent-minded to walk that far,” Keith said because he knew that Bailey always went for a walk when he felt lost or confused.

  “It gets better, watch this,” Byron hit a few keys, and they saw that Bailey was forced into the trunk of a car. “They must be the two scumbags that were after Bailey and who placed a bomb in his car,” Marc cursed. Keith growled, and Byron looked from one to the other. “I’m glad that you agreed to the law-breaking because otherwise, we would never have known this,” Byron pointed to the computer screen. “Could you see the license plate?” Keith questioned.

  Byron nodded and told Marc and Keith that it was from a rental. “We need to go to the spot where they grabbed Bailey because maybe we can find traces of where the car is heading. We need to get Bailey out of their claws as soon as possible because once the client has him, he will kill him,” Marc said. He sounded calm and collected, but he wasn’t. Marc was full of rage, and he wanted nothing more than to rescue Bailey and kill the scum that had taken the man.

  They took Marc’s car since Keith had left his car in front of the Flower Hut. Marc drove them to the very spot where Bailey was forced into the trunk of a car. Marc stopped the car, and they got out of the vehicle. Byron didn’t really know what to look for, so he stayed out of the way. Marc and Keith started to investigate the tire tracks, and both men cursed at the same time. “Let’s go,” Marc said.

  “We know in which direction they went, but damn, this dirt road ends about two miles ahead,” said Keith. They all know what that meant. When the dirt road chanced into a paved one, there was no way that they could tell in which direction the kidnappers had disappeared. Marc cursed again because the chances to find Bailey in time were dwindling every minute that passed.

  “We need to go home and work out a plan to find that car,” said Byron. Keith and Marc nodded in agreement. “I know that if it’s up to you, you would climb into the car and start the search. But.” “It wouldn’t be wise, I know. But damn, it’s hard. I want Bailey home, safe,” Keith interrupted. Marc could have said they would find Bailey alive and well, but that would be a lie. They didn’t even know if Bailey was still alive.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Bailey didn’t know how long he had been unconscious, but when he opened his eyes, it still was dark, or was it dark again? Had a new day passed, and had he been out of it for the rest of the night and the following day? Then, the pain came back, making Bailey scream in pain. If he only could manage to get back to the road again, then someone would see him.

  As it was, when Bailey tried to move his legs, pain, like nothing that he knew, shot through his whole body, and he cried out again. Was he going to die? Was this it? Bailey was in so much pain, and he didn’t know where he was; surely someone would miss him by now?

  Keith would miss him, of that Bailey was sure. Marc? Would the man miss him as well? Bailey didn’t think so because they weren’t that close. Would he ever get the chance to get to know Marc? Date the man? So much went through Bailey’s mind, and he didn’t even notice that he had closed his eyes again.

  ******

  Keith and Marc stood behind Byron; they were watching his every move. Byron was tapping hastily away on his keyboard, and image after image appeared. Byron cursed a few times before he finally, without turning, motioned for Marc and Keith to come closer. “I have the car on camera,” Byron said. Marc and Keith leaned over Byron’s shoulder, and then they to saw the black rental in which the two scumbags drove.

  “Where are they going? It looks like they are heading back to town again, which makes no sense,” Marc said. “Yes, right now they are back in Madison Valley, and I know where the car is parked,” Byron sounded smug, but the man wasn’t smiling.

  “The car is parked at Madison House,” Byron informed the two men behind him. “Why are they back? It doesn’t make sense. Why would they kidnap Bailey and then bring him to Madison House?” a frowning Keith said. “Well, Madison House has cameras too. Look,” Byron hit a few keys, and footage of the Madison House lobby appeared.

  “There,” Keith said as two men entered the lobby and went to the desk. “Are they checking in, but why?” Keith said. “I don’t see Bailey. That means that they are hiding him in the car,” Keith was confused. Byron tapped away on the keyboard again, and this time, footage from the parking lot appeared. They saw that the car was parked in front of a room. Two men got out and entered the room, but the question remained of where in the hell Bailey was?

  “Where are you, Bailey,” Marc whispered as all three men kept staring at the footage. Byron had outdone himself by hacking every important camera in the neighborhood after seeing that the rental and the two men had turned the car and were heading back to Madison Valley.

  The men had been watching the live footage for a long time, and after a while, Marc cursed because they still hadn’t seen Bailey. “It’s time that we check the car,” Marc said sharply. “I’d thought that you’d never asked,” said Keith.

  Marc parked the car around the corner from Madison House, and they slowly moved toward the back of the bed and breakfast. It was where the two thugs had their room. They were in luck because the curtains were closed, and the room appeared dark. Keith felt Marc’s hand on his arm when he was about to move toward the rental.

  Marc shook his head and motioned for Keith to follow him. “Why did you stop me?” Keith snapped in a whisper. They had to keep their voices low, so no one would know they were there. “We need to be sure that they are sleeping. That the lights are out doesn’t mean anything. They could be watching their surroundings right this moment,” whispered Marc in a calm tone. “You’re right, sorry,” Keith said. “I know that you want Bailey home; I do too. We need to keep our cool, otherwise, we will make fatal mistakes, which doesn’t help us, or Bailey,” Marc explained quietly. Keith nodded because he knew that Marc was right.

  They walked toward Byron again. Marc looked at his brother in question. Byron shook his head, which meant that there weren’t any changes. The two men were still inside, and no sign that Bailey was with them. They waited for a long while before Marc felt that it was safe enough to check the car.

  Byron crept to the room’s window where the two men were, and he smiled when he heard both men snore. Byron gave his brother the all-clear sign, and Marc started to work on the car’s lock. He didn’t want to, but he needed to kn
ow what was in the trunk of that damned vehicle.

  Images of a bloody Alec hanging in the basement appeared in his mind again. “Oh, God, not now,” he whispered to himself. Keith eyed him with curiosity, but the man didn’t say anything. It seemed to take forever before Marc heard the soft click that indicated that the trunk was unlocked.

  Marc hesitated, and he saw that Keith wasn’t keen either to take a look into the trunk. Marc finally glanced inside and sighed in relief when it was empty. Keith blew out a breath and said a silent prayer. Both men were grateful that Bailey hadn’t been in the trunk of the car. “Why did it take you so long to pick the lock?” Byron asked because he knew that Marc was a master when it came to picking locks.

  Marc didn’t reply, but he pointed at the lock and motioned for Byron to take a closer look. “I’ll be damned,” said Byron after he recognized what he was looking at. Keith came closer as well. “See the inside of the trunk?” Marc Keith. Then he said, “Bailey was in there, and I guess that he tried to escape by forcing the lock.” “That’s why those two thugs came back to town. To look for Bailey, again,” a grim-looking Keith said. Marc nodded and smiled because this would mean that he had managed to escape, which was good. However, where was the man? Why hadn’t he called Marc or Keith, for that matter?

  Then Marc’s smiled disappeared because what if Bailey couldn’t call any of them because he was killed in an effort to escape? No, he wouldn’t go there; he just wouldn’t. Maybe the man had hit the ground hard when he fell out of the trunk? God, they really needed to find Bailey, Marc’s gut feeling told him that time was running out. “We need to watch the footage of the street cameras again because we now know what to look for,” Byron suggested.

  Marc parked the car in front of the mansion, and the three men got inside. Keith followed Marc and Byron to Byron’s study, where the man immediately fired up his computer.

  They watched the footage over and over. Byron started tapping on his keyboard again and did things that neither Marc nor Keith understood. Then the man froze a few images and turned his head to face Marc and Keith; he said, “I can pinpoint how far they drove before they turned around and headed back to town. “Look at how slow they are driving. It’s as if they are looking for something.” “Or someone,” said Marc.

  “We need to go back to that dirt road and investigate the ditch because if Bailey escaped from a moving car?” “Then he is hurt,” Keith softly said. “Exactly,” Byron replied in a low voice. Neither of the three wanted to think about the possibility that Bailey could be dead.

  “Look, come here and look,” Byron yelled. Keith and Marc hurried over to where Byron stood. “Sweet Jesus,” Keith whispered. “Dear God,” Marc whispered when he saw the damaged bushes alongside the road. Marc shone with his flashlight and cursed again because if Bailey had escaped at this point, he would have fallen deep. One couldn’t see it right away because of the trees and bushes, but it went down steeply here.

  “We need rope. Do you have rope in your car?” Byron said. Marc frowned because he honestly wouldn’t know. He went to his car, opened the trunk, and cursed when he didn’t see a rope. Well, who the hell would have a rope in their car? “No rope, but I’ll go and get some; we have a rope in the garage,” Mark informed his brother and Keith.

  They watched Marc drive away. “I’ll try to climb down; there are enough branches where I can find grip,” said Byron. Before Keith could protest, Byron disappeared into the bushes. Keith cursed because Marc would have his head if Byron got hurt. Well, there was not much that he could do now.

  “Are you alright?” Keith yelled when he heard Byron curse. “I’m okay,” a panting Byron replied. Keith sighed in relief; the man was alright, thank God. “Byron?” Keith yelled when he heard branches break. “Byron? Please answer me. Are you okay? Byron? Talk to me, please?” Keith kept yelling. He turned when he heard a car approaching; it was Marc. Shit.

  “What’s wrong?” Marc questioned when he didn’t see Byron but saw the panic in Keith’s eyes. “Byron didn’t want to wait until you came back with the rope. He said that he wanted to try to climb down to see if he could find Bailey,” Keith informed the hitman. Marc shook his head. “That’s typical, Byron. Never the patience to wait,” he said, surprising the hell out of Keith. “You thought that I would be angry because Byron went down there?” Marc chuckled.

  A shouting from beneath had both men look at the bushes. “I found Bailey,” Byron yelled; the voice came from far, which made Marc wonder just how far down his brother was. Marc started to bind the rope around a sturdy-looking tree. “Call nine-one-one,” he said to Keith, then grabbed the rope and started his way down.

  Marc felt the sharp branches tear his clothes and skin, but he didn’t care. All Marc wanted was to find Byron and Bailey alive. It took more than fifteen minutes before Marc reached the spot where Byron was holding Bailey in his arms.

  “Are you alright?” Marc questioned because Byron was a bloody mess. “Yeah, those branches are a bitch,” Byron answered; he looked at Marc and said in a low voice, “Bailey is severely wounded; he needs help, and fast.” Marc looked at the man that was lying motionless in Byron’s arms. “Keith has called for help; the paramedics should be here any minute now,” Marc said, and a second later, they heard someone calling their names.

  Marc yelled that Bailey was wounded and that the man needed medical care immediately. The person communicating with Marc let him know that rescue workers were on their way down right that moment. Marc’s blood was boiling when he saw in which condition Bailey was. The man’s skin on his arms, legs, and even his face was partly gone. Marc was glad that Bailey was unconscious because if not, he would have screamed in pain.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “Look at him,” Marc said as he watched a bandaged Bailey lying in the hospital bed. “He looks so small and fragile,” Keith softly replied. “The doctor said that a fall like that should have killed him, but it didn’t. So he’s not that fragile,” Marc spoke in a low voice. Keith smiled. “No, it didn’t kill him. You’re right; Bailey isn’t fragile; if anything, he’s very strong. He’s been through so much, and now this. Those two thugs better leave Bailey alone,” Keith’s soft voice had changed into one full of anger.

  Marc raised his eyebrows; the man wasn’t angry; no, he was full of rage, he knew rage when he heard it, and this was definitely rage, no doubt about that. Marc eyed Keith for a moment, then he said, “You do know that those two won’t stop until they have him again, right?” “I know, and I won’t let that happen,” Keith said through gritted teeth.

  “We won’t let that happen,” said Byron, making both men turn. “I like the guy, and my brother, well, he likes Bailey even more,” Byron said. Keith wasn’t surprised because he had seen the look in Marc’s eyes every time the man had eyed Bailey. Keith opened his mouth, but then he closed it again.

  “There’s something that you need to know because if you’re participating in protecting Bailey, then the both of you should know what you’re up against,” Keith said, then he motioned for Byron and Marc to follow him. They went to the park, where they had more privacy because the small park that belonged to the hospital was almost void of people.

  Marc and Byron sat down on one of the benches, and both men looked expectantly at Keith. Then Keith told them about how Bailey and Brendan had landed in the witness protection program.

  Marc and Byron weren’t surprised, and it showed, and Keith didn’t miss that either. “Neither of you looks surprised,” Keith said, looking from Marc to Byron and finally let his gaze rest on Marc. Yep, the man was perceptive; Marc had underestimated that, and that wasn’t like him.

  “You knew already, right?” Keith whispered; he didn’t want to get loud because even though it appeared that they were alone in the small park, one could never know. Byron looked at Marc, and the man’s expression said it all; lying wouldn’t do them any good because this was about Bailey’s safety.

  “Well, sort of,” Marc finally
admitted. Keith didn’t look amused, and Marc couldn’t blame him. “I don’t understand. How did you get that information? What was the reason to get background information about Bailey?” Keith fired question after question. “I swear if you’re here to harm him.” “Calm down, Keith. My brother and I aren’t going to harm Bailey. However, we will harm the ones who are after him,” Marc promised. He would kill them for sure, but he didn’t tell Keith that.