Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Paige
I went into the bathroom, sat on the edge of the bathtub, and called Gabriel.
“I tried calling you earlier,” he answered.
“Sorry. I was a bit busy fighting off the men who were trying to kill Parker Hamilton.”
“Shit. They already got to him?” he asked.
“They tried. He’s going to be a problem, Gabriel.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because he saw my back and now he’s asking questions.”
“He didn’t see the scars when you slept with him last night?”
“I made sure the lights stayed off like I always do. I have a feeling he’s not going to let it go.”
“Perhaps he won’t, but you don’t have time to deal with his questions.
You need to stop Elias. The next shipment is scheduled to arrive in Los Angeles in three days.
Jason Jewell. He works for Elias. He’s a weak link, and if you use your special set of skills on him, I’m sure he’ll talk. I’m sending you his address.”
“I’ll pay him a visit tomorrow after I drop Parker off at work.”
“Sleep tight, Paige.”
“You too.” I ended the call.
Reaching into my bag, I took out two silencers and attached them to my guns. Grabbing a blanket and pillow, I went downstairs. As I was about to lie on the couch, I heard a noise outside, the whispers of two men.
“I’m tired, boys,” I whispered to myself.
I stood on the other side of the door, both guns pointed straight at it, as I listened to the metal scraping and clicking of their tools while they jimmied the lock. The last click was heard, and in two seconds, the door would open, and I would fire.
“Hello, boys.” I smiled, firing both guns at the same time, hitting each of them in the head. They fell back onto the porch, blood spilling everywhere. Walking over, I kicked the one man’s legs out of the way and shut the door. Grabbing my phone, I made a call.
“Smitty’s Restoration Services.”
“I have a flood in my basement,” I said.
“Address?”
I rattled off Parker’s address.
“The cleaners are on their way. May I ask the amount of stuff that was damaged?”
“So far, only two things. I set them on the porch to be disposed of.”
“Got it. Have a good night.”
“You too.” I ended the call.
The following morning, I was up early, showered, and dressed before Parker woke up. I went into the kitchen, and after the coffee was done brewing, I stepped onto the porch to make sure there was no trace of dead bodies here last night.
The door opened, and when I turned around, I saw Parker standing there.
“There you are. I thought you left.”
“No such luck,” I said, stepping back into the house.
“What were you doing on the porch?” he asked.
“Just checking things out.” I walked into the kitchen.
“I’m going to make a cup of coffee, and then we’re going to talk before we head to the office,” he said.
“Do you have to be in court today?” I asked, sitting on the stool at the island.
“No. I don’t have any meetings outside the office.”
“Good. Call one of your brothers and ask if they can drive you. I have an errand to run, and then I’ll be by the office.”
“What errand?” he asked.
“It isn’t any of your concern.”
“Jesus Christ, Paige.” He shouted. “I have the right to know who you are and what is going on? This is my life we’re talking about.”
“I know that, Parker. The less you know, the safer you’ll be.”
The front door opened, and I reached for my gun.
“Stop. It’s only Julian,” Parker said, shaking his head.
“Morning, bro. Paige.” Julian nodded. “How are you?”
“How do you think?” Parker sighed.
“Julian, can you drive him into the office? I have an errand to run.”
“Yeah, of course.”
Parker grabbed his briefcase and looked at me. “We’re having family dinner tonight with our moms. I suppose you’ll have to come.”
“I guess so.” I tipped the coffee cup to my lips with an arch in my brow.
“By the way. I keep forgetting to ask you. Where’s your motorcycle?”
“At the place where I’m staying.”
“And where is that?” His brow arched.
“It’s a secret.” I winked.
He shook his head and walked out the door. Grabbing my keys, I climbed into my car and drove to the address Gabriel sent me last night. Taking my gun from my back, I pointed it at the door and knocked.
“Well, shit. Who the fuck are you?” The man I presumed was Jason Jewell opened the door.
“Hands up and step back.”
I stepped inside, holding the gun steady as it pointed at his head.
“Who are you?” he asked.
“Your worst nightmare unless you tell me where I can find Elias.”
“I don’t know where he is. He’s in hiding underground somewhere.”
“Bullshit. Where is he?”
“I swear I don’t know. The only person who knows is his right-hand man, Jared.”
Sweat beaded along his hairline as his eyes kept diverting to the stairs. It wasn’t the barrel of my gun staring him in the face that had him rattled. It was something else. Then I heard it. A sound from upstairs, high-pitched and desperate.
I glanced at the stairs momentarily, just long enough for him to grab his gun.
I fired and hit him in the middle of his forehead.
He went down, and I ran up the stairs and checked the bedrooms. When I approached the last room at the end of the hall, I opened the door and found a young woman, barely clothed, handcuffed to the bed.
She was beaten and bruised. I ran down the stairs and checked his pockets for the key.
As soon as I found it, I rushed to the bedroom.
Pulling out my phone, I snapped a picture of her first, removed the handcuffs, and she collapsed in my arms and sobbed.
“He can’t hurt you anymore.” I helped the woman to my car and dropped her off at the hospital.
“You never saw me. I didn’t help you. You were able to escape when you heard someone enter the house and fire a shot, and you hitched a ride here. Understand?”
She slowly nodded her head. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”
“I’m sorry he did those awful things to you.”
As soon as she got out of the car, I took off and called Gabriel.
“Did you talk to him?” he answered.
“I did a little more than that. He pulled his gun on me. I had no choice. He claimed he didn’t know where Elias was hiding. He also had a young woman handcuffed to the bed upstairs. She was beaten and bruised.”
“Did you at least get his phone before you left?” Gabriel asked.
“Yeah. I’m going through it once I get to The Hamilton Group. Maybe there’s something in there that will lead us to Elias.”
“There’s been a lot of chatter, Paige.”
“What kind of chatter?”
“The FBI assigned a task force to apprehend the Judicator. They know it’s a woman. So, I need you to be very careful.”
“Aren’t I always, Gabriel?”
“Well, this time, I need you to be extra careful.”
“I have to go. I just pulled up to The Hamilton Group.” I ended the call.
I pulled into a parking spot, climbed out, and took the elevator up to Parker’s office.
“May I help you?” his secretary asked.
“Is Parker in his office?” I asked.
“No. He’s in a meeting with a client in the conference room. Do you have an appointment?”
“No. I’m a friend.”
“She’s not a friend, Amanda.” I heard Parker’s voice.
I narrowed my eyes at him as he strutted down the hall in his black designer suit, with one hand tucked into his pants pocket.
“Amanda, meet Paige. She’s the woman who saved my life last night, and the woman who will be protecting me until this Elias asshole is caught. But friends? No.” He shook his head, walking into his office.
I rolled my eyes and followed him inside. He turned and looked at me.
“Do you need something? You can’t sit in here while I have clients.”
“I know that. Attorney/client privilege.”
His eyes narrowed as he stepped closer to me. He wrapped his hand around my wrist and lifted my arm.
“Is that blood?” he asked, examining the sleeve of my shirt.
“I guess so.” I jerked out of his grip.
“Was that the errand you had to run? You had to go and kill someone?”
“I didn’t plan on it. He pulled a gun on me, and I had no choice.”
“What the fuck, Paige? Is that all you do? You go around killing people?”
“He was a very bad man, Parker. He had an innocent girl handcuffed to one of the beds upstairs. She was severely beaten.”
“What did you do to her?” His head cocked.
“What do you mean? I dropped her off at the emergency room.” My brows furrowed.
“I’m surprised you didn’t kill her.”
“I’m not a fucking monster, Hamilton.”
“Well, from what I’ve seen, I tend to disagree.” He sat down behind his desk.