Chapter 27
Kendrick
Love was a complex emotion.
It toyed with your mind, every nuance and expectation, every understanding that it could and should be life changing. It ebbed and flowed like any other feeling, whether anger or sadness.
But love was also defining. A relationship. A family. Even a friendship.
The four little letters in and of themselves meant little, but when put together, they were life altering.
For a man who’d not felt much of anything over the years, somehow the beautiful woman with a heart of gold had peeled away every layer, refusing to allow me to fall into the very darkness that I’d come close to appreciating.
Even wanting. I’d almost killed a man in cold blood and in truth, I wasn’t certain I’d done the right thing in calling John and letting him know there was some trash that needed to be taken to jail.
I still had visions of killing Franklin myself.
Maybe later I’d realize Reese had done me a favor, but right now, all I could think about was finding the women and eliminating everyone involved.
“You alright?” Maverick asked as he flanked my side. I’d found the port easily, making several phone calls after dropping Reese off at Hudson’s house where she’d remain under Valentina’s watchful eyes.
At least Hudson’s wife knew what to expect and how to handle Reese while I was gone.
And I planned on returning within the hour with Briana as my passenger, safe and sound.
Nothing would stop me from making that happen.
Not a single man or any thought of following the letter of the law.
I was past that moment in my life and in my profession.
Tonight, I was a vigilante. Maybe I was working with the good guys, but I certainly didn’t consider myself one of them.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine. We’ll get through this. Chase is on his way. The warehouse was all but cleaned out, but they were messy. Which means DNA.”
“Where’s your cavalry?” I barked out.
“Stop worrying,” Hudson growled.
“I can’t. We’re talking about young girls here.” God, I was hot.
Just then several vans pulled up. We crowded the shadows, waiting patiently.
“They’re here, Kendrick. All twenty-five of them.” Maverick grinned like this was merely a formality.
“Don’t put anything past them. We go in when we see the women.”
I wasn’t certain I’d heed my own advice. I was trigger happy and angry. A dangerous combination.
“Slow and easy,” Gabriel said from behind me.
Hearing his voice, I turned. He’d brought four of our other men with him, highly trained in the art of reconnaissance.
That we didn’t need as much as we did firepower and the ability to protect the poor victims.
There were events in a man’s life that changed him. Emily’s death had been one. Meeting Reese another. Now this.
The vans were parked, a group of men getting out and canvassing the area. A huge cargo ship was docked at the berth. From what I’d been told on the way over, filled in by Ruger, the ship was owned by an Arabian sheik, another member of the group.
As far as Steven Powell, his identity had also been finally discovered. Russian mafia. With crime syndicates usually at each other’s throats, the fact they’d found an alliance in the capture and auction of innocent women was beyond cruel and horrific.
But par for the course.
You couldn’t trust a criminal. They always found new methods of acting on their greed and fulfilling their twisted needs.
So here we were, waiting like good soldiers, determined to do the right thing.
No matter what happened, I was beginning to doubt in the justice part. Maybe what we were about to do was simply acting on our collective desires for revenge for all the cases we’d encountered and had been forced to watch crumble into dust.
And the strangest thing of all was that I’d preferred to do it this way. Vigilante style. Did that make me no better than a criminal? Maybe.
But I was okay with that.
For now.
The first sight of a girl being dragged from one of the vans was our cue to move in.
That’s exactly what we did. We swarmed the area, coming from every angle, every shadowed position.
Dozens of men and several women, a collective force of good versus evil.
One directive was to be followed.
Protect the women.
“Go. Go. Go,” Chase shouted from behind.
“It took you long enough to get here,” I threw out.
“Yeah, sue me. Traffic.” Chase bolted ahead of me, directing members of the DEA to surround the vans.
But there were others, the goons hired by Lucifer to ensure the offloading of the women went off without a hitch.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
Gunfire sounded off from every corner, men swarming the area.
Members of the Privileged rushed toward, determined to keep their property. The sea of people was daunting, making it difficult to tell the good guys from the monsters.
“Watch out,” Gabriel yelled, immediately turning his weapon on some asshole determined to put a bullet in my brain.
“I owe you, buddy,” I shouted back, throwing myself against the wall of the building. Just then another asshole came into view, preparing to fire. With a single shot, I put a bullet in his forehead.
As he dropped, another appeared, this time trying to end my friend’s life. Lunging forward, I tackled him to the ground. We wrestled, his weapon pointed at my chest.
Suddenly, the weight was lifted, Chase ending his life.
He was enjoying himself, grinning as we continued on our mission. We were making our way toward the ship.
As all criminals did when faced with possible demise, they were determined to protect themselves. At least a dozen were headed for the plank, trying to avoid getting caught.
I was having none of it, rushing forward, barely missing getting myself blown to bits not once but twice.
Pop! Pop!
Maverick was on my heels, easily clipping two bastards before they made it into the belly of the ship. Their bodies dropped into the water. Another two after that.
The bullets continued to fly.
A sudden blur caught my eye, one of the bastards trying to get away.
“Can you handle it from here?” I asked Maverick.
“Yeah. Be careful.”
Careful I had no intention of being. I rushed after the son of a bitch, hissing when he raced around the side of another warehouse.
While the gunfire had started to die off, there were shouts coming from every angle.
I threw myself against the side of the building, yanking out another magazine and slapping it in.
Remaining against the side of the building, I crept forward, darting my head around the side. Seeing nothing, I moved into the open.
The single shot caught me in the shoulder, the force enough I was pummeled into a set of crates. The pain was excruciating, but I struggled to my feet just as I felt a presence.
And the barrel of a gun pointed at my head.
All quiet seemed to settle in as I rose to my full height. In the overhead light, I was clearly able to see the man’s identity.
“Lucifer. Or would you prefer I call you by your criminal name of Dante Rinaldi?”
He laughed. “Since we’re playing the name game, Drake.
Why don’t I call you by the name you used when convicting me.
The famous Kendrick Stark. I wanted to see just how far you’d go.
I quite enjoyed playing the game with you.
I simply had no idea you had so many friends.
It’s too bad I won’t stick around to meet them as I have other places to be. ”
“Your world is crumbling, your members about to be arrested.”
“Maybe, but I’ve taken special precautions to ensure I would simply vanish. It’s too bad I can’t stick around to see the fireworks, but I am a busy man.” He nodded toward the water where I could see an awaiting speedboat.
The bastard couldn’t care less about the men he’d hired. He believed the money was in his account waiting for him. “Leaving your members holding the bag? You got what you wanted, money.”
“Money does buy happiness.”
I laughed. “Only there is no money. You see, your buddy Franklin betrayed you. He was the mole and he was stupid enough to underestimate the man who was the real architect of that security software you’ve been using.
You’ll be happy to know the money is going to a good cause.
Various abuse centers all across the world.
The money will go a long way it helping to protect women from vultures like you while also giving them the assistance they need in putting their lives back together. ”
“You’re lying.”
“Am I? Check your bank account.”
I’ll be damned if he didn’t pull out his phone, hurriedly moving his fingers across the screen. Seconds later, he roared, pitching the phone to the pavement. I’d made him angry. Aww. What a shame.
The man was on edge and I knew what that meant. He was prepared to do something crazy.
My father had taught me as a boy how to shoot. He’d also provided me with the understanding of when to attack and when to stand firm. This would be one of those times I should wait until the opportune moment to allow Dante to make his move.
Only I wasn’t that man any longer.
So I did the unthinkable.
I lunged forward.
Pop! Pop!
Reese
“Where is he?” I asked for the fifth time in the last thirty minutes. I was grateful that I wasn’t waiting alone; Valentina was a lovely companion but I was sick to my stomach.
“Relax. They know what they’re doing,” Valentina said, her voice and actions full of patience, trying to comfort me when that wasn’t possible.
“He’s been gone for a long time.”
“Don’t underestimate what they can do. They’re an amazing team.”
“How do you stand it? When Hudson goes out on some crazy mission like this, how can you tolerate the wait? The worry?”
“It’s called having faith. Besides, what makes Hudson such an amazing man is what he’s doing right now. I wouldn’t be here today with my little girl safe and sound if I hadn’t placed my trust in him and he hadn’t formed Raven Intel. They are an amazing team.”
“You love him.”
Her face lit up. “Absolutely. Hudson is my knight in shining armor. Like I suspect you feel about Kendrick.”
She was right. I couldn’t ignore the way I felt about him any longer. While he’d said nothing about my admittance, I’d seen the look in his eyes, the kind that I couldn’t read. But he’d heard me. The three words that could change everything between us.
“I do.”
“Tell me about the way you feel.” She moved toward the coffee table, grabbing the bottle of wine. The two glasses had done nothing to take the edge off.
Sighing, I thought about him while she refilled my glass. “He’s very opinionated. He’d also hardheaded as hell, a little grumpy around the edges. But he’s so amazing with everything he touches. Did you know he plays the electric guitar?”
She grinned. “Now I do. What else?”
“He never backs down with anything and walks right into danger. He’s perhaps the most honorable man I’ve ever met in my life and my father is right up there with him.”
“So you do love him.”
“Is it that obvious?” I asked, almost sheepishly.
She laughed. “If you think you’re hiding it from anyone, you’re wrong. Very wrong.”
“Ugh. I don’t know how he feels about it.”
After returning the bottle, she cocked her head then walked to the window. “Well, here’s the thing. You’re going to get the opportunity to find out.”
“What?” I threw her a look.
Nodding toward the window, she smiled. “Headlights.”
I barely managed to place the glass on the coffee table without knocking it over. A bundle of nerves, I rushed toward the door.
“Have faith,” Valentina reminded me.
She was right. Kendrick had asked me to place my faith in him and I’d questioned it more than once.
Now wasn’t the time. He was my hero whether he wanted to believe that or not.
As I opened the door, I held my breath. No matter the conclusion, he’d awakened my heart and my soul while giving me back a portion of my life I’d thought had disappeared forever.
As soon as he stepped out, I slapped my hands over my mouth. His look of relief must match mine.
Hudson was with him, another car pulling up behind, the other three men of Raven Intel climbing out.
With careful steps, I walked closer while he pulled the driver’s seat forward, easing someone onto the driveway.
As soon as he moved away, the girl he had his arm around lifted her head. In the security light highlighting the entire driveway, I was able to see her face. Her eyes.
And the recognition in them.
“Briana,” I whispered, a wretched sob erupting from deep inside.
“Reese,” she managed and somewhere in the next few seconds, we tumbled toward each other. As I gathered her into my arms, pressing her so tightly against me I was fearful she couldn’t breathe, I allowed my gaze to fall on the man I loved, whispering my words of thanks.
In the next several minutes, we were led inside and I was finally able to let her go.
Without hesitation, I wrapped my arms around Kendrick, instantly realizing he was injured.
“You’re hurt,” I managed, touching his arm when he winced.
“I’m fine. I would have walked through fire if that’s what it took.”
“Is it over?”
“It’s over, baby. It’s over.”
There was nothing like the feel of his lips on mine or the rush of my heartbeat echoing in my ears. My little family was safe. As he captured my mouth, another moment of being lightheaded rushed in, this time replacing the angst and the worry, the fear and the denial.
In those few seconds, I knew what it was like to have my own guardian angel.
In a big, strong, strapping man who’d fought for justice.
And won.