Jobe: Alvarez Security Series (32 page)

“Well, look what we’ve found. We may have lost Tito’s woman, but we finally got the main bitch.”

Mackenna startled, her feet slipping again in the mud causing her to land on her ass. Twisting around to see who was speaking, she could barely make out a man, dressed in black, stepping slightly from the shadows coming from the faint light pole near the courts.
How did he find me?

As though he could read her thoughts, he held up a small electronic box in his hand. “You think that badass boyfriend of yours is the only one with shit? You’ve got a tracer on your shirt.”

The cold was penetrating as she continued to shiver, desperately trying to make sense of his words.
Tracer?

“Come on out, girl,” he ordered.

Mackenna’s brow crinkled in confusion and then in shock as a young woman stepped into the faint light. She gasped, both in surprise and hurt. “Paulina. What have you done?”

“I had no choice, please believe me. You can’t know what it’s like. What they do to you. But once you’re in, you gotta stay.”

Chest heaving, Mackenna stared the young woman in the eyes. “We all have a choice, Paulina. We all can choose.”

The young girl’s face fell as tears joined the raindrops on her cheeks. Looking back at the man still standing nearby, Mackenna licked her lips wondering where Jobe was.

His hand lifted, a gun pointing right at Mackenna as he said, “Yeah, bitch. And Paulina here made her choice. She stuck a tracer on the back of your collar and made sure your goons were out.”

The memory of Paulina hugging her earlier, bolted back into Mackenna’s mind. Her gaze stayed on the gun as her body shook with a combination of fear and cold.

Tank’s gun! It must have dropped when I fell.
Hoping it was too dark for him to see what she was doing clearly, she tried to drop her gaze to the ground but was unable to see anything. Her fingers still clasped the racket. She was afraid to drop it for fear he would shoot at any movement.

Suddenly the pounding of feet could be heard and for an instance Mackenna imagined Jobe rushing to the scene to save her. Instead, another man, all dressed in dark clothing, came into view.

“Jazzie, Jazzie! Where the fuck are you?”

Jazzie turned, his face angry at the intrusion from Waldo. “What’re you doin’ here? You’re supposed to be after Tito’s bitch.”

“She’s gone. I saw Tank drive off with her on his bike.”

“Tank?”

Mackenna could not see the man called Jazzie’s face, but realized that they had no idea that Tank was undercover.
Oh, Please God. Let him get her to safety.

“You think he’s taking her to Tito?”

“Don’t know. When I came running here, there’d been firing at the front of that bitch’s place. Cops may have gotten him.”

“Motherfuckers! This is going to shit, man. Tank wasn’t supposed to be in this. He takes that bitch back to Tito and we’re no better off.”

Jazzie turned his angry visage back to Mackenna, still on the ground.

*

Jobe and his
friends moved swiftly through the trees, the slippery ground and dim light not impeding them at all.

Hearing voices in the distance, they separated silently and began to circle the area. Vinny moved in front of Jobe, just long enough for him to make eye contact. Even through the goggles, Jobe knew what Vinny was looking for.
Needs to see I’m not losing my shit.
Understanding the action of squad members keeping a pulse on each other, he gave a curt nod. His heart pounded and he knew he was not in control. And for the first time in his life, he understood that that was okay. Another nod and Vinny shifted to his right.

Tony radioed, “Visual. Two females. Two males.”

As they crept closer, they could hear the male voices raised in anger. Continuing to circle, they each signaled to the others when they were in place. Vinny, as the most accurate sharpshooter, moved to a position where he could take a shot when needed. As a civilian, he knew he had to wait, unable to just fire because the suspect was a killer asshole. He gritted his teeth, wanting to go ahead and take the shot he knew he had.

Jobe moved between two trees, still in the dark shadows, but able to see Mackenna on the ground with the other three standing nearby. The other female was looking down while the two males faced each other, one with a gun in his hand still pointed at Mackenna. Jobe nodded once toward Vinny, both understanding the silent code. Blinking his eyes once, he fixed his eyes on the target, slowing his breathing.
Come on fucker, make a move and you’re mine.

*

Mackenna watched as
Jazzie turned back to her, and could see the desperation in his eyes even in the dim light. Adrenaline still pumping, she felt her muscles quivering, unable to stop the shaking.

A flash of movement to the side had her gaze jerking over in a panic, as Paulina dropped to the ground. Before she could understand what was happening, she saw the young woman kneeling with a gun in her hand.
Tanks’ gun! Fuck!
But Paulina was not pointing the weapon at her…she held it in front of her…pointed straight toward the man with the gun.

Jazzie’s fury was evident as he growled, “You better use that bitch, ’cause you ain’t worth my spit now.”

With his focus on Paulina, Mackenna roared while swinging the tennis racket toward his gun hand, which had lowered in his anger. The gun fired, sending a blast of light in the dark night, as Jazzie screamed in pain. Another shot rang out, he dropped to the ground and Mackenna tried to scramble away.

“Police!” Shane roared. “Drop your weapons,” he ordered to Paulina. She shook in fear, but slowly knelt, placing the gun on the ground.

“Hands on your head,” he ordered next as the others stepped into the dim light, showing themselves. Paulina immediately obeyed, as she stayed on her knees.

Waldo looked around as the detectives moved forward, then back to the area where Jazzie lay dead in the grass. He knew his life was worth nothing now. He had gone against the leader. He was dead if he went back…dead if he went to jail. Pulling his gun out of his pants, he aimed at the bitch still sitting on the ground. The last thing he heard on this earth was a shot being fired. Right before he dropped to the mud next to his brother.

Mackenna flung herself down as she instinctively covered her head. Vinny stepped from the trees, his weapon still in position as Shane pulled a handcuffed Paulina to her feet.

Jobe, throwing off his goggles, raced to Mackenna still huddled on the ground. Scooping her up in his arms, he pulled her into his embrace as he sat on the wet dirt. “Are you hurt?” he cried, trying to see if she were injured, but her wet, muddy clothes made that task impossible.

“No, no,” she answered, her voice shaky as she twisted around to see his ravaged face. Lifting her hands, she cupped his jaw pulling him in close. “I’m fine. Honest, Jobe. I’m fine.”

He lifted her up in his arms, but she insisted on standing. He placed her feet reluctantly on the slippery ground but held her tightly against his side. Her hand wrapped around his waist, thick with the Kevlar vest, glad for the protection but wishing she could feel him instead.

The area quickly filled with others as the police closed in, some with heavy lights to illuminate the crime scene. Jazzie and Waldo’s bodies lay twisted on the ground as they had fallen and Matt ascertained that they were both dead.

Paulina stood, staring down at the two bodies, her hands behind her back in cuffs. Her shocked gaze lifted to Mackenna’s, a tear sliding down her cheek. “I…I’m sorry,” she whispered. Shaking her head slowly, she looked over at Shane standing next to her. “I’ll tell you anything. Anything.”

A policewoman stepped over and, taking Paulina by the arm, led her away. Mackenna watched her silently as the sight of Paulina disappeared into the night. Suddenly, her legs gave out as the adrenaline no longer pumped, leaving her weak.

Jobe’s body took her weight as she slumped against him before he scooped her up once more. Stalking over to the EMTs that had appeared on the scene, he gently laid her down on the stretcher.

“I’m all right, honey. Just tired,” she said, her hands still holding tightly to his arms, unwilling or unable to let go.

He turned to the EMTs, barking, “She’s pregnant.”

They immediately began assessing, against her protestations. Jobe leaned down, his face directly in hers and said, “Not taking a chance, doll. Please,” he begged, as his voice broke.

Nodding, she lay back still clasping his arm. Not letting go.
Never letting go.

*

Swish, swish, swish.
The baby’s heart monitor gave off the clear signals that it was alive and well, bringing both Mackenna and Jobe to tears as she continued to cling to him.

With her high blood pressure, the ER doctor admitted her for overnight observation. Once settled into the hospital room, she slept fitfully as Jobe kept watch, his hand still holding hers and his gaze moving between the monitor and her face.

A slight movement at the door had him swinging his head around, nerves instantly on alert. He relaxed as he saw Shane and another man enter. His eyes appraised the second man, his large frame filling the doorway as he hung back from the others. Dark hair, with an expression of hardness on his Hispanic features.

“Tank?” came Mackenna’s soft voice.

Jobe’s head jerked around, seeing her eyes open and a quizzical expression on her face.

“Yeah,” the large man said, walking over to join the others. Looking down at Jobe, he extended his hand. Jobe glanced at it momentarily before taking it. “Real name is Cam,” he said to Jobe, but his eyes shifted over to the woman in the bed. “Glad you’re okay.”

Jobe, wanting an explanation of who the man was, looked at Shane. “Undercover with the Sixers,” came the short answer. “He got Gabby out of the park and gave his weapon to Mackenna.”

Jobe stood, not used to looking up at anyone, but found himself directing his glare upwards several inches to Tank. “She didn’t know how to use the gun.”

Tank nodded but said, “She’s smart. She’d done all right. And it was better than nothing.” His gaze dropped back to Mackenna as he said, “But I hear that a tennis racket is almost as good as a baseball bat.”

She blushed as the others tried to hide their smiles, while Jobe sat heavily in his chair again. “Fuck,” he said, the fight leaving him as the thought of the danger she had faced sunk in once more.

After a moment, she stared past Jobe at the men in the room. Licking her lips, she asked, “How’s Gabby?”

Receiving assurances of the young woman’s health, she looked back up at the large man who had shifted to the other side of her bed. “What happens now? Now that your cover’s gone?”

“I’ll be okay. Got options. Anyway, just wanted to check on you.” He gave a head jerk to Jobe and with a last smile down at Mackenna, turned to walk out of the room. Pausing next to Shane, he stopped. As the two men held each other’s eyes, silent communication between them, he just nodded again before stepping into the corridor.

*