Page 31 of Daddy’s Pursuit (The Daddy Guard #1)

Chapter Thirty-One

Jack breached the warehouse’s front door at exactly the same time Ryan, Jordan, and Kendrick breached the back.

He knew because they’d been in constant communication over their phones, syncing their assaults.

Behind him, Ace and Matteo fanned out, their guns drawn as they swept the room.

What they saw stopped them dead in their tracks.

Three men were sprawled out on the floor. Two were out cold, but the other was groaning and rubbing his head, as if trying to alleviate some sort of pain.

“Police!” Jack yelled. “Don’t move!” He kept his gun trained on the writhing man, even though it appeared as if the guy wasn’t much of a threat.

Ace and Matteo kept covered the two unconscious guys. It never hurt to be careful. It could all be a ruse. Though it certainly didn’t seem to be.

“What the hell happened here?” Jack barked.

“Don’t… s-shoot,” the conscious man pleaded. “We… give… up.”

Jack kept his gun out while Ace and Matteo got busy cuffing the three.

“Just tell me what happened,” he demanded.

The man’s reply came out labored as he was rolled onto his stomach and cuffed with his hands behind his back. “One of our guys… turned on… us.”

“A double-cross?” Jack asked, talking more to himself than the man.

A reply came anyway. “No. That… girl… got to him. Turned Darren.”

“Huh?” Jack said.

Just then, another man flew into the room, screaming as he landed on his side hard atop the concrete slab floor. A loud snap told Jack the guy’s arm was probably busted.

Ouch!

Thankfully, it wasn’t one of the guys from Precinct 17. Someone was coming down a hallway to the left, having just launched the man from that direction. Jack leveled his gun just in case it was an enemy. But there was no need.

Trevon appeared.

“I see you had no problem getting in that side window,” Jack said.

A glare told Jack what Trevon was thinking before he even said it. “You have the big man go through the window rather than the door? That shit wasn’t funny.”

Jack just grinned.

Trevon looked at the cuffed guys. “Damn. Your handiwork?”

“Nope. Apparently one of their own betrayed them. And I think he’s the one who has Iris. Let’s spread out and find them!”

“I’m right here, Daddy!” Iris called.

Jack’s heart warmed as he spun around to see Iris standing beside a wide man. He had some flab on him, but there was plenty of muscle, too.

“Meet my new friend Darren. He helped me!”

Jack ran to her and scooped her into his arms, knowing the other Daddies from the precinct and Trevon had his back.

He spun her around, showering her with kisses. “Oh, babygirl. Are you hurt? Did anyone touch you?”

“Nope,” she said. “I’m fine. Thanks to Darren.”

The big guy nodded. “What can I say? She won my heart. Oh, and she told me if I helped out and then surrendered I could probably get some kind of immunity deal.” He smiled proudly. “That’s what I want. Immunity.”

Jack grinned at Iris. “So now you’re promising people immunity?”

She shrugged. “I didn’t promise. I just said it’s a possibility.”

“It’s up to the DA,” Jack told her. “But I’m sure we can put in a good word for him. Anything for the one who helped my babygirl.”

“I want promises,” Darren said. “And I have something else to give you. If I get a guarantee.”

The police officers were very interested now. They inched closer.

“First of all,” Jack said, “how many more guys do we have here?”

“None. The others left with Frank.”

For a moment he thought that it might be a trick. But that made sense. He hadn’t heard any shooting, shouting, or fighting from the back. Isaiah, who’d been posted outside to make sure no one escaped, hadn’t radioed anything in.

It appeared as if the building was secure.

“So what can you give us?” Jack asked.

Darren grinned. “Frank. I know where he’s going and where the big deal is happening tomorrow morning. But first, I want that immunity.”

Iris giggled. “And you want to do the right thing, right, Darren?”

The hardened man smiled at Iris. “I do, sweetie. You talked me into it.”

She giggled again, clearly proud of herself.

Jack grinned. “All right. Let’s get the DA on the phone. It’s time to finish this.”

The sun rose over Los Angeles, casting an enchanting glow and reminding Jack that anything was possible.

After years on the force and being a detective where he saw the worst of humanity, he still hadn’t lost his sense of optimism. Each day held limitless potential. The rising sun always helped him see that, for some reason. Those golden rays just had a way of working their magic on his soul.

And today was going to be an even better day than normal.

Because Frank Holloway was going down.

Frank had called his men at the warehouse to check the status of Iris. Jack knew because he’d been right beside Darren when he’d taken the call. The reformed thug had played his part to perfection.

Once the DA had scrambled to put together a late-night offer of immunity if he’d agree in writing to testify against Frank and the others, that is.

Jack smiled thinking about that. It had all been his sweetie’s doing. Little Iris was pretty damn sharp.

Everything had gone off without a hitch.

Iris was at the nursery safe and sound. Frank knew where it was, obviously, since he’d been there numerous times.

But Trevon was there, along with Jordan and Ryan.

No one would get inside, though part of Jack wanted Frank to try.

Trevon would throw him into the next block.

But that wasn’t going to happen.

As far as Frank knew, Iris was still being held at that warehouse by his men. And he was about to close the deal of a lifetime.

That’s why he was smiling so big as he stepped out of a black SUV and started walking toward the old ranch house.

They were in Semi Valley, just off Santa Susana Pass, west of Los Angeles.

The sprawling property had been the filming location of dozens of old Western movies and TV shows, and a few of the ancient set buildings still stood.

The place had, at one time, also been an actual working ranch before the owners realized they could make more money renting the land out than actually raising cattle. But their old house was a perfect place to hole up and wait for Frank, who thought he was coming to meet his buyers.

The buyers—an organized crime group from Eastern Europe—had come early, as bad guys are wont to do. They figured they’d set up positions around the mountains, just in case the deal went south, and they needed to shoot their way out.

All they found were a bunch of cops, FBI agents, and even a few Homeland Security guys waiting for them.

With this being a big-time bust, Jack had called in the Feds.

Now, with the gangsters whisked away, the lawmen were all that was left. But Frank didn’t know that yet, Jack thought with a grin.

“Look at the cocky bastard,” Jack said, eyeing the incoming arms dealer through a dirty window. “He thinks he owns the world.”

“I’d feel that way too if I thought I was about to score twenty-six million dollars,” Ace replied.

“He ain’t going to be happy when he finds out it’s not happening,” Jack said. “Get ready, everyone. He’s almost to the porch. Four men with him. Two staying by the SUV. Frank’s at the door now.”

There was a knock just before it swung open. Frank stepped inside, took off his sunglasses, and grinned. “I’m?—”

Jack loved the look on the criminal’s face as his smile morphed into an expression of complete dread.

“Hiya, Frank,” Jack said. “Good to see you.”

“Oh shit,” Frank said just before he passed out.

And with that, the excitement was over.