9. Zaire
Zaire
A fter Wraith left, the silence was heavy and oppressive. I had stood by the window and watched him leave on his bike, doing my best to convince myself everything was fine. He didn’t even look back at me, but I got it. Even if he came off as a hard man, I saw a different side to him. His guards came down just for a moment and I saw glimpses of the hidden man underneath. Still, that kiss. My fingers gently touched my lips as I remembered being in his arms, his mouth on mine. He had way better control than I did because I was ready to give up the goods right then and there.
But stepping away from the window and looking around, I didn’t feel comfortable in my own home. Think that was a first. Something about the quiet unnerved me. Made my skin crawl. This was my home and I should’ve felt secure, but all I could think about was that attack from earlier. Maybe Wraith had a point. If they knew where I worked, then they had to know where I lived. Yeah, I talked a big game telling him I would be fine, but this was a big house. I wasn’t fine at all. I tried calling Nadia and Malik again, but they weren’t answering. This late at night, they were probably extending their date time.
Rounding up my cat and grabbing my purse and phone, I had called my father. It took me a few moments to get to the real reason why I called, but he knew me better than anyone and I had to spill. He wasn’t happy at all. Honestly, he was right to be angry at the situation and me for not listening to him like he had already warned me about. After fussing at me, without hesitation, he told me he would be here tomorrow after some meetings, but that wasn’t going to do anything about tonight. I did another run through the house, making sure all the windows and doors were locked, then me and Ms. Beowtch made our way upstairs. There was a safe room hidden in my bedroom. If anything went down, we could go there and would be safe.
It was close to one a.m. and I didn’t realize I had fallen asleep. Guess the hot shower did some good. My eyes shot open as I laid there in bed. Everything was silent but I could have sworn I heard something. I rolled over and grabbed my phone off the nightstand and saw I had a few missed calls. One was from the one person I didn’t have a chance to call yet.
I called the number back and prayed she wasn’t asleep. After the third ring, she picked up.
“Bitch… why didn’t you answer when I called you earlier?”
“I was asleep, Mac. I’m up now.”
“Good. You at home?”
“Yes,” I said, wondering why she was asking me all the questions. “Why the third degree, Mac?”
“I’m not far from your house?”
Her words woke me all the way up. I sat up in the bed and scooted back against my headboard. “What do you mean, you’re not far from my house? Aren’t you in Seattle?”
There was the sound of a turn signal in the background and then it went off. “No, had to make a trip down south. Some shit is about to pop off.”
She didn’t have to tell me what, I knew the type of work she was into. Well, used to be before she gave up that life when she found the love of her life, Bash. We still didn’t talk much about what she really did but she trusted me enough to tell me some things considering who my family were. Honestly, I was glad to know she was in town. I’ve been missing her and I knew if anyone could keep me safe, besides that grumpy man, Wraith. It would be her.
“Well, I’m glad you’re in town, but you still didn’t say exactly what is about to pop off-” I said when a sudden, loud crash shattered the quiet of my home.
“Zai, what was that?” Mac asked through the phone speaker. Her voice was sharp with concern. I didn’t respond. “Zai, what the fuck was that? Shit… somebody’s in her house.”
My blood had turned to ice and Ms. Beowtch who was beside me had started to growl. Fuck, someone had just broken into my house. She was right and had no idea who the hell she was talking to. I didn’t care at the moment. I scooped up the cat, and ran to my bedroom closet. Behind some clothes, I placed my left hand on the wall, and the biometric reader came to life, reading my palm. The soft hissing of air and the door sliding to unlock was like music to my ears. I hurried inside with my cat and pressed the button to close it. There was no need to worry about being found because the door only revealed itself with the proper bio key.
Mac was still shouting into the phone because let’s be real, I had forgotten just that fast she was still on the line. “I’m here, Mac, I’m here.”
“Good, I’m just a few blocks away. I got your back, friend. Don’t leave that room okay. I’m gonna call for some backup. I have a connection here in the city. In fact, they don’t live far from here.”
Wraith popped into my head and I remembered his warning to call him if anything went wrong. “Alright,” I told her.
“Don’t you leave that room, Zai, and I fucking mean it.”
“Alright Mac. I hear you loud and clear.”
“Good,” she said before disconnecting.
The security cameras within my safe room had come to life soon as I secured myself inside. I watched as three men came in through my front door. Another three through the back door. The three from the back were beefy men, but the three up front was more slender. One of them wore a cowboy hat like he didn’t give a damn about being recognizable. It dawned on me who it was. The man who had tried to snatch me earlier from work with the Texan accent.
I hurried and dialed Wraith’s number and he picked up on the first ring.
“What’s wrong?” was the first words that came out of his mouth.
“Someone broke into my house,” I told him.
“I’m on my way. Are you somewhere safe?”
“Yeah,” I whispered even though I knew the room was soundproof and the intruder’s wouldn’t be able to hear me. “I have a safe room. That’s where I’m at.”
“Stay there. Don’t leave that room for anything or anyone. Not until you see me on the camera standing in front of the door. You hear me?”
“I hear you.”
“Good girl,” he said, then disconnected the call.
I knew I was in a world of trouble, but him saying “ good girl” did something to me that had my insides flittering around and me squeezing my thighs tight. That was something we may have to explore when people weren’t trying to kill or kidnap me first. I went back to watching the cameras. Minutes dragged by like they were hours. I was so on edge, and the reinforced walls made it impossible to hear what was going on.
Glancing at the camera for the back door, all of a sudden, two of the men went down instantly. A slim figure came in the door and I had never been happier. Mac looked pissed and focused. Armed with a gun fitted with a silencer, she closed in on the third man, but instead of using it, she expertly subdued him by delivering a series of lightning-fast punches and a painful kick to his groin. He went down and that’s when she put a bullet in between his eyes.
She took three men out in a matter of minutes. I couldn’t believe it. I had an idea of what she did, but I had never seen it in action. She was beyond lethal and deadly. A few more minutes had gone by, and a tall, imposing figure had come through my front door. How did he get there so fast? Something wasn’t adding up. Dressed in all black, he blended with the shadows and moved with a deadly grace that I was surprised a man as big as him could. One minute he was on the monitor screen, the next he was gone, but a lifeless body was left in his place.
Tex was the last man standing and both Wraith and Mac had reached him at the same time. The way they moved was so smooth and effortless, like they've been through this many times before, while they fought the man. Tex wasn’t some pushover and gave them hell while he fought them back. He moved just as deadly as my friends did, but it wasn’t enough. I thought Wraith or Mac may have spared him to get some information, but no, I watched as they both put a bullet in his head. Execution style.
“Damn,” I whispered, with a flinch. At least I hoped it was over for now.
Actually listening instead of doing my own thing, I didn’t leave the safe room. I didn’t remember how long I waited, but it had seemed like forever before Wraith found me. He stood inside my closet, but couldn’t find the hidden entrance. His lips were moving, saying something, but I couldn’t hear what it was. After a few frustrated moments of him trying to find the panel, he spread his arms and yelled my name. I was able to read his lips.
“Open the door, Zaire,” he had mouthed.
There was no hesitation in entering the code into the panel on the wall. With a swift whoosh, the door slid open, and he eagerly stepped inside, wrapping his arms around me. I felt more at home in his arms then I was in my own home. It was in that moment, when his arms enclosed around me, that I became aware of the tension I had been carrying. A wave of relief washed over me. I felt safe once more.
My head rested on his chest, inhaling the leather of his vest. The scent of him that was giving me comfort.
“You alright? You’re not hurt, are you?”
His deep voice vibrated against my face. “No, I’m good now.”
Wraith placed a finger underneath my chin and lifted my face to his. His eyes scanned over me before he leaned into me and our lips met in a kiss I was learning to crave more and more. Lost in him I didn’t hear Mac come into the closet.
“Well, talk about an introduction. I take it you two know each other,” Mac had said, from the doorway with a grin on her face.
We broke apart, but Wraith wouldn’t let me go. He glanced over his shoulder at Mac. “That’s what I want to know. How do you know her?”
Mac’s brows rose. “Oh, Zai didn’t tell you?”
He frowned. “Tell me what.”
“This is the lovely best friend I was telling you about. No wonder you got here so quick when I gave you her address. You hung up on me mid-sentence. You already knew where it was.”
“Yeah, something like that,” he said.
“Wait… how do you two know each other?” I asked.
Still grinning, Mac laughed before answering me. “I’ve known Wraith for years now, Zai. He was my mentor. You know, for the work I couldn’t tell you about.”
Everything was starting to make sense. “Well, damn.”
Still looking at Mac, he nodded to the cameras. “Yeah. We’ll discuss it later. You have cleanup duty. I’m taking her to safety.”
Mac couldn’t stop cheesing as she looked from Wraith to me. “Whatever you say, boss.”
“Wait, I thought you said you were a chef while in Miami,” I said to Wraith.
“I can answer that,” Mac said. “He’s a damn good cook. Boss, you haven’t cooked for your woman yet?”
“Not now, Mac,” Wraith said, voice filled with frustration.
“I’m never going to hear the end of this aren’t I?” They shook their heads.
“Nope. If I would’ve known, he was watching over you, then I wouldn’t have been so worried about you. Anyway, I gotta clean up. We’ll talk later. He really should get you to safety.”
My best friend rushed over to where we stood and pushed Wraith out of the way, and gave me a huge hug. It was perfect and much needed.
“We’ll get caught up after all this shit is put to rest. I promise. It’s been too long.”
Wraith helped me get some clothes together and help get Ms. Beowtch’s carrier and stuff together to go with us. There was no way in hell I was leaving her there by herself. We stepped outside and Wraith gave Mac a slight nod before he motioned me to follow him to the large black SUV parked in front of the house. I didn’t know what if it was fear, shock, or something else that had me trembling as I got into his truck. But I knew one thing, I was safe with him.