A Heart's War (The Broken Men Chronicles Book 5) (18 page)

I wish I could say that I went in guns blazing and rained bullets down on all of their asses, grabbed the damsel in distress, ropes and all, and made a dramatic escape in the nick of time before the whole building went up in smoke.  But that’s not how it happened.  That shit is better saved for books and movies.

Turning off the overhead light inside the truck and leaving my window partially lowered, I paused with my hand on the door handle.  “Give me twenty.”

Dalton nodded.  “Be safe, bro.”

“You too.”  I made to leave the vehicle, leaving the keys in the ignition in case we needed to make a quick getaway.

Dalton would have my six, but to what extent he’d be able to perform his protective duties was beyond me since this place was pretty much wide open.  Luckily, it was the middle of the night and there didn’t seem to be anyone around like Hussy had told us.

I was a few feet from the warehouse door when I was clubbed in the back of the head and everything went dark, my mind registering the gravel on which I made impact.

Bound to a chair and gagged, Morgan was the first thing I saw when I came to with a start, sitting on the concrete floor with my arms bound at the wrists, my torso secured to a steel pole, and Dalton talking in my ear telling me to give him a sign of life.  Bandini and Rick were hunched on either side of her.  The Italian had his hands all over her, a look of hunger in his eyes while Rick’s mouth was by her ear, whispering God knows what.  Whatever it was had her shaking like a leaf she was so petrified.

“Boss?” My head snapped to my right.  Shanks.

Both men looked up, Rick moving in behind Morgan.  “Looks like I’ll have one happy client since our dear Morgan gets to keep that fabulous tongue of hers,” he said, bringing about a nasally chuckle from Bandini.  “I thank you for that, Theo.  You saved me from ruining the merchandise.  It would have been a real shame to dispose of her so soon.  You see, Antonio here seems to think she’s perfect for him.”

The man he was referring to stuck his hand inside Morgan’s shirt and filled his palm with one of her breasts, licking her cheek.  “It’s a pleasure seeing you again, Mr. Lowell.”

“Get your fucking hands off of her!” I demanded, my body going rigid as I fought to free myself to no avail.

Morgan struggled against her bindings too.  The moment her eyes met mine, the dam broke and her tears streamed forth.  I mouthed an, “I love you” to which she simply nodded, her eyes begging me to do something.

“Isn’t this sweet!” Rick crooned, then looked at Shanks.  “You’ve checked him for weapons?”

“Uh…”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake!  Do you have any idea who the fuck you’re dealing with?”

“He’s not getting out of those ropes, Donnelly,” Bandini said.  “Shanks knows his way around ropes, among other things.  I’m sure you remember, Lowell?”

How could I forget?  I had a rather jagged souvenir left over from the beefy Middle Easterner right below my ribcage.

Rick snorted.  “You better hope you’re right.  This fucker’s been a pain in my ass for too fucking long.  It’s time he played dead for real.”

This set Morgan off.  The woman literally growled her fury, fighting her restraints with everything she had to the point that her wooden chair lifted from the concrete floor and slammed back down hard with a crack. The moment she realized that the chair wasn’t as solid as she initially thought hit her as soon as it did me.

Rick pushed down on her shoulders to stop any further movement, then whipped out the buck knife that had been sheathed in his belt with one hand, and held the tip not too far from her left eye, while fisting her hair with the other.  “Trust me, Morgan, you don’t want to know what this thing can do.  Now be a good girl and stop fussing, the fun is only beginning.”

My woman’s gaze met mine with sheer determination as soon as he released her.  I gave her a small nod of encouragement.  She’d do her part and I would do mine.  Since Shanks was as stupid as Shane had stated, all I had to figure was how I could get to the folding knife I had in my back pocket without anyone noticing. 
That’s if I can move enough.

  “Antonio, my apologies, but I wouldn’t be as successful as I’ve been if I wasn’t thorough.  I need to check on a few things, mainly make sure that our friend here hasn’t been followed before we get down to business.  In the meantime, feel free to enjoy the lady and make sure that she’ll satisfy you. But don’t mark her up beyond bruising.”  Rick turned and proceeded out of the warehouse, slamming the door in the process.  With him gone, all I had to do was figure out a way where Shanks would be away enough from me so he didn’t pick up on my intentions.

“What do you think of this little number, Shanks?” Bandini skimmed the back of his hand over Morgan’s cheek, ignoring me altogether.  Her eyes showed enough revulsion for the both of us.  “Rick recommends her highly.”

This might be easier than I thought.
  Shanks left his post and went to inspect Morgan as if she was a new sports car he was tempted to buy.  Both men’s attention was solely on her.  If I was to make an attempt to get to my knife, it would have to be now.

“Aren’t you afraid you’ll break her?” Shanks asked, taking a long sniff of her hair.  “She’d make a delicious pet, regardless.”

“Rick said that she was a tough one.  Built to last, or some shit,” the man said as I shifted sideways enough to push the knife up and out of my back pocket and toward my hand.  “It doesn’t matter.  They all break eventually.”

This made Morgan squeak.  She struggled against the chair and the rope holding her in place, once more slamming the thing down and making it creak louder.  One of the support spindles came loose.

Shanks groaned, grabbing at his cock. “True.  Is this one for you, or you selling her?  She seems a little wild.  I wouldn’t mind a hand in training her.”

I’ll give it to the horny dumbass, he sure did know how to tie knots.  It took me a few tries, stilling myself whenever the men would glimpse my way, but I finally managed to get my knife firmly within my grasp.  Now if I could only get it open without stabbing myself in the back, I’d be one step closer.

“Fuck!”  Dalton’s voice came through my earpiece.  “He’s setting charges, T.  You better get the fuck out of there now!”

By then, my hands were a bloodied mess and I’d managed to loosen the ropes around my wrists, but not without jabbing myself in the side with my knife, which hurt like a sonofabitch, and my side felt sticky so I knew it was only a matter of time before one or both men noticed something if they came too close.

Bandini grumbled.  “What’s taking him so long?”

I was playing with a multitude of scenarios in my mind when the idea to get Shanks away from his boss struck.  It was a longshot, but if I could manage the feat, I might be able to free myself in enough time to take Bandini out and get Morgan out of here alive.  Then, I’d hunt down Rick and take him apart, limb from limb, like he threatened to do to the love of my life.

Morgan kicked at the loosened support spindle and it went flying across the floor.

“Stop that!”  Bandini grabbed Morgan around her neck.  She gasped through the gag in her mouth, a gurgling sound coming from her throat, her eyes bulging, chest heaving.

In an effort to take Bandini’s focus from Morgan, my mouth kicked into action.  “You know you’re getting fucked on this deal, right?”  Both men turned to me like I hoped. I felt the rope securing my torso give way a bit.  I nodded my head toward Morgan.  “You know he used to be a demolitions expert with the marines, right?  I bet you he’s got this place wired and ready.  How long do you think before the roof of this place gets blown sky high?”

Shanks seemed worried as his gaze flew between me and his boss, but Bandini maintained his composure, releasing his hold on Morgan as he chuckled.  “It’s one of the reasons why I sought him out, Lowell.  You remember London, don’t you?”  Oh boy, do I ever.  I’d seen the end result of that shipyard explosion.  As a matter of fact, it had actually reminded me of Donnelly’s work.  My eyes narrowed on him and his smirk grew into a grin.  “I see that you’re only now just discovering the truth.  As it is, Donnelly has something I want.  It’s that simple.  He’s proven himself quite savvy over the last few years, and as much as I’ve loved having him as a soldier, I have to say that having him as a business partner has been somewhat beneficial.”  The leer he threw Morgan’s way made me want to vomit.

“Cough once for one, twice for two, T,” Dalton’s voice comes through again.  “You want me to take Rick out or hold him for you?”  I coughed three times, hoping he’d get what I meant.  His chuckle was a low one.  “Got it.  He’s all yours, but if you’re not out in fifteen, I’m having my way with him.”  I coughed once to let him know I approved.  I may have wanted to be the one to take Rick out, but if I couldn’t, Dalton would have been my next best choice to do the deed.

“How long have you known him?” I asked.  “You said a few years-”

Both men grinned, but Bandini was the one to answer.  “About as long as I’ve known you, Mr. Lowell.”

“So why him?  Why not me, Antonio?  How much are you willing to bet that he’s not making off with your cash right now only to take you and Shanks here out of the game permanently?”

Shanks gave a confident laugh.  “He’d be crazy to-”

Bandini smirked.  “I highly doubt it.  He gets no money until I’m in a secure spot and make the call to have the funds wired.”  I’d say that was sound business practice for a guy in his line of work, but I’d be willing to bet my life on the little fact that their new partner had a few hidden talents that they had yet to know about.  “But to answer your first two questions, your friend out there broke within the first hour.  I needed a guy, he turned first, so I took him.  If you ask me, it was a little too easy.  You, on the other hand, is who I wanted.  You would have been good, but your refusal to break is what guaranteed you a death.  But, then again, we know this next part of the story, right?”

“I bet you were pissed about that, weren’t you?”

“Do you have any idea how many millions you’ve cost me?  First in-”

I cut him off with a humorless laugh.  “I don’t care about your lost millions.  You claim to be a prolific businessman, but just as you’ve failed with each and every time I’ve managed to infiltrate your little terrorist operations, you’ve failed yet again.”  Shanks and Bandini both graced me with confused gazes.  “How so, you may ask?  Well, let me enlighten you.  How close of an eye have you kept on your man Rick since he’s turned?”  As the big bad boss pondered this, Morgan was making an attempt to kick at the second and final support spindle to her chair.  “He’s a former US Marine which means he’s highly skilled in combat, not to mention he’s always been a genius to get himself out of certain situations.  But you know this already, we’ve established that.”

Bandini steps closer, his focus completely off of Morgan now.  “In my business, being able to weasel yourself out of getting caught is considered a necessity.”

“I agree.  It’s a huge asset.  Especially when your newest acquisition is perceived as dead.”  Then I turned to Shanks.  “I have to tell you, Atal, your skill with a knife is legendary.  I would know.  Even the locals are raving about it!”  I grinned when the Italian boss’ face flushed red with his rage.  “But back to Rick.  You’re dealing with a ghost, Bandini, and this one in particular knows the ins and outs of making people like you and me, not to mention, Morgan and Shanks over there, disappear, just like he knows how to make himself do the same.”  I wiggled within my ropes, feeling them give way after having sliced through another two coils.  “The only thing, though, is that if any of us four disappear, we’ll actually be dead, while he’s off God knows where, gallivanting the planet on some rich mob-boss wannabe’s dime – because between his capture and now, he’s acquired a few interesting talents.”

“What the fuck are you talking about,” he spat.

“Were you aware of his superior skills with a computer?”  The man blanched.  “Yeah, surprising right?  I was a little shocked myself when I discovered this earlier today.”

“You’re telling me he’s a hacker?”

I gave him a curt nod.  “I don’t have confirmation on that, but he’s got some basic knowledge if he can manage to infiltrate a former FBI agent’s system to discover he’s being tracked.”  And that seemed to do the trick.

Bandini turned to Shanks, which gave me enough time to undo the rest of my bindings.  “Find Donnelly and bring him back here.  It’s time he and I had a little chat.”

A lot happened in a short amount of time after Shanks left to hunt Rick down.  Morgan managed to kick the last support spindle from her chair.  All it took to send the thing crumbling was one last hard shove to lift the dilapidated wooden piece of furniture off the floor, slamming herself back down.  It wasn’t graceful, and it looked as if it didn’t come free of pain, but there wasn’t any time to worry about that.

Bandini’s mistake was turning his back on me to prevent Morgan from escaping.  Damn, but that tiny spitfire of mine made me proud.

Fighting the residual hold of the ropes, I managed to pull myself to my feet in time to lunge at the Italian as he wound up to hit her.  My hand wrapped around his wrist, wrenching his arm behind his back where I felt the pop in his shoulder. The man cried out like the pussy that he was.  Wielding my knife, my other arm rounded his body in a less than stellar grip thanks to the blood coating my hand, pressing the blade up against his jugular.

“You can’t hide behind your precious Shanks now, can you?” I spat into the man’s ear.  “I told you three years ago that you’d suffer if I saw you again.  I never saw you, but I sure took pleasure in shutting down some of those operations of yours. I guess you’re some masochist begging for more, huh?”  Morgan looked entranced yet terrified at the same time as she skittered backwards, away from the products of her confinement.  I wished she didn’t have to see this side of me at all, but it was inevitable if we wanted to live to see tomorrow.

“P-please!”

“I’m going to do you a favor.  Actually, it’s not really for you, it’s for a buddy of mine, you see?”  I dug the knife in a bit more, Morgan’s eyes widened at what I pretty much could gather was the sight of Bandini’s blood.  “If it were up to me, I’d slide this blade through your throat and watch you bleed out.  I’d take great pleasure in it, make no mistake about that.  But aside from the fact that I’ve got somewhere to be right now, I’m going to show you mercy where you showed me none.  I’ll let Jacksonville’s finest handle you, then…when you’re locked up, I’ll let the rest of the men who you’ve stolen from, framed, and wronged in every other way, take care of you.  I’m sure you’ll enjoy getting fucked in the ass.  After all, isn’t rape one of your favorite pastimes, because I sure as fuck know that those girls you’ve been shipping all over the globe sure as fuck never agreed to your views on slavery.”

“I-I-”

I didn’t let him finish.  Tightening my grip and twisting his bum arm further, I stuck him in his side like the pig that he was, then knocked him over the head with the butt of my knife.  I proceeded to drag him to where I’d been restrained, searched him for weapons or anything that could possibly be used to free himself or alert others to come to his rescue, then secured his feet first, then his arms, around the pole at his back by his wrists.

As I got up from my haunches, I turned to face Morgan.  Just when I thought she’d be terrified, maybe even repulsed by my actions, she proved to me just what kind of woman she was.  With a running leap into my arms, she wrapped her legs around my torso, no care that I was covered in my own and Bandini’s blood, or that we were both filthy.  Her lips met mine in a hard and all-too-brief kiss.  Her body shook with what I was sure was an adrenaline drop.

“I’ve got you, baby, and I’m never letting you go,” I swore.

“What about Rick and Shanks?”  She dropped her legs from my waist and I eased her down to her feet.

“T, it would be great if you could join the party here,” Dalton shouted in my ear.  “Fuck!”  I heard a groan and some rustling.

“Dalt?”

“Who are you talking to?” Morgan asked.

I pointed to my ear, tilting my head sideways to show her I had an earpiece, making her eyes widen.  “Dalton!”  I called again only to be met with more grunts and groans.  “I have to get out there.  Dalton, where are you?”

“East side…of building.”  He paused.  “Docks.  Shanks.”

“On my way, bro, but let me get Morgan somewhere safe first.”  I grabbed Morgan’s hand and pulled her toward the door as Dalton grunted his assent.  “I want you to get behind the wheel of the truck and get the hell out of here.  Get to my brother’s.  I don’t know what I’m going to see when I get to Dalton, but I need to finish this.”  Opening the driver’s side door, I pushed her into the seat.  Grabbing her by the back of the neck, I fused my lips to hers in a brief kiss.  “I love you, now get out of here.”

“I love you too, Theo.  Please come back to me.”

“You know I will.”  I forced a smile, releasing her from my grasp.  “We have years left together.  Now, go!”  I slammed the door and ran toward Dalton’s location.

As I rounded the south east corner to Warehouse 10, Shanks was proving his namesake by branding a Ka-Bar.

“Shane, you better set the cavalry in motion.  Morgan’s heading toward you.  Send one of our guys to intercept her,” I said.

“Already done.  Cade and Brycen are on their way to her now,” he said as I heard a door slam.  “I’m right behind them.  SITREP?”

“Bandini is incapacitated and tied up.  I’m about to jump in and save Dalton’s hide with Shanks.”  Apparently Dalton didn’t appreciate this and seemed to put up more of a fight, as though he was determined to be the one to take the big lug down.  For a medically retired Army Ranger, his skill with hand-to-hand was still top notch.  Then again, he did own his own security firm, and by that simple fact alone, I doubted he’d let himself off of his former training regime.  Hell, he probably demanded that his employees be able to match him just in order to stay employed.  “Haven’t seen Donnelly since he left the warehouse, but I know he’s around here somewhere.”

“Hold tight,” Shane said.  “You’ll still have Hussy if you need anything else.  Hussy, you still there?”

“I’m your girl, Mr. T.  Just let me know what you need.”

Chuckling, I pulled my trusty knife out and flicked it open before proceeding slowly toward the scuffling duo.  “I’ve already got one of those, but take your pick of the rest of my guys.  They could use someone like you to keep them on the straight and narrow.”

As Dalton grunted, sending a kick into Shanks’ stomach, making the guy rear back and drop his knife, he said, “Remind me to get busy the next time you’re trying to take a guy twice your size down.”  For a massive lump of muscle, the sonofabitch was quick as he lunged at Dalton’s legs, one of them bending at an unnatural angle.

“Dalton, fuck!”  I rushed the two scrambling men.

Shane and Hussy both chimed in my ear with, “What?”

I didn’t bother to answer, too busy in joining the scuffle by jumping on Shanks’ back and arching his neck back in a chokehold.  This bullshit was ending now.  “It’s time to pay the piper asshole,” I said as I sliced threw his carotid, the air rushing out of his lungs through his severed windpipe.  The man struggled against my hold, as I rolled us over and off of Dalton for a few more seconds, his body twitching before he went limp, the arterial spray ceasing almost immediately.

Rolling Shanks’ body off of me, I got to my knees and crawled over to Dalton.  The man was sitting there, clutching at his gimp leg as he pulled his jeans up.

“You okay?”

“Not sure.”  He pulled at his calf holster, grasping his gun only for a gunshot to ring out, the bullet zipping past my ear to snap it out of his hand, bringing forth a pained cry from him.

Several things happened over the next few seconds.  I registered Rick holding a smoking gun, a set of headlights, Hussy was yelling in my earpiece along with Shane, and then the crunching of metal against bone, against more metal.  And then it was as if time stood still.

It was the incessant blaring of the vehicle’s horn that brought me out of my stupor.  The blaring horn of Paxton’s truck to be exact.  And if Paxton’s truck was here, that meant-

“Morgan!”  I shot up to my feet, an injured Dalton forgotten.  Hussy forgotten.  The fact that Rick lay sprawled, most of his entrails strewn across the hood of the Dodge Ram…forgotten.  The only thing that mattered was getting Morgan away from the wreckage that could possibly cause those charges Rick had lain to blow.  I was ten feet from her when her door opened and she tumbled onto the gravel, coughing and grabbing at her midsection.

I grabbed for her arm, rushing to get her to her feet so we could get away from the wreck and most certain doom when she cried out.

“Shit, Morg!”  I changed my tactic, picking her up bridal style, rushing us past Dalton toward the docks and set her down on the wooden planks.  “I’ll be right back, baby.  Lay still, I’m going to get Dalton.”

The moment I reached him, shoving his arm over my shoulder to help him to his good foot, he chuckled.  “Your woman’s fucking crazy.”

I couldn’t help the grin on my face as we hobbled over to where Morgan was.  “Brother, her brand of crazy works for me.  And it saved our asses.  You okay?”  I set him down, taking the time to inspect his injuries.

“That’s my fucking shooting hand, bro, and the bullet’s lodged in my leg.”  Judging by Dalton’s expression, he’d heard the girly gasp through our com units.  “I’m fine, guys,” he said then nodded his head toward Morgan.  “Go tend to your woman.”

Getting to my knees, I turned toward her, disliking the sheen of sweat that now coated her face.  It wasn’t exactly that warm out tonight.  “Baby, what hurts?”

She reached out an arm and I helped her sit up as she clutched her side with the other.  “Shit!  Fuck!”

“Baby, tell me what hurts and I’ll make it better.”

“My ribs.  I think I might have busted something when I hit the steering wheel,” she explained.

“I’ve got an ambulance on the way,” Hussy said before I had to ask.  “Dalton, are you sure you’re-?”

“You’re going to want to send in a bomb squad and fire crew too, if this place goes up,” I told her.

“Uh…okay.  On it.”

“And Huss?”  I could feel my emotions getting the better of me now that the worst was over.  Careful not to jostle Morgan too much, I sat close to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.  She settled her head against my chest.

“Yeah?”

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I croaked a, “Thank you.”  Those two words were far from enough, but they were all I had right now.

I guess emotions were running high for everyone as her voice came out at a whisper.  “You’re welcome, Mr. T.”

Dalton spoke next.  “Huss?”

“Yeah?”

“I’ll be fine.”  His voice was gravelly.  “But I am going to need your name, honey.” 

A real voice came through, breathless and definitely that of a woman’s.  “Kip…”

Dalton sucked back surprised air.  “I want to know-”

“Don’t.”  She sounded exhausted, beaten even.  Not that she wasn’t before, but without the voice distorter, she became real to me, and I think Dalton felt it too, if not more.  “Let’s just leave it at this.  I only did what needed to be done.  It’s what I do.”

Dalton’s eyes met mine.  “Okay, Huss,” he whispered.  “If you ever need anything-”

“I won’t.”  The line went silent for a moment.  “But tell you what, I’ll be in touch if something ever comes up.”

“Okay.”

“I’m going to sign off now.”

“Huss?”  Dalton called out, his voice holding a subtle note of desperation.  Nothing came through but static.  Hussy was gone.  And the cavalry had arrived.