Page 50 of Guarding Grace (Hawk Security #2)

Grace

“Don’t disturb me until I tell you,” Marku barked. He stood near the door.

I gulped and stepped back.

“Don’t take too long. I want my chance.” Goron laughed from outside.

I heard the lock snap shut, which meant getting around Marku and making a run for it was out.

Marku just watched me.

“Get away.” Marci’s scream pulled my eyes to the door.

Faster than I expected, Marku leaped forward and grabbed the front of my shirt.

When I spun away, it ripped open, but at least he didn’t have his hands on me. I was prepared to give him one hell of a fight.

Marci screamed again.

I had to help her. I had to find a way.

It seemed Marku could read that on my face.

“You want to help your friend?” he asked. “If you make this easy, you might have time for that.”

That was a choice I didn’t expect.

“What will it be? Do you want to help your friend? Submit, and I will tell Goron to stop.” He shook his head. “On second thought, maybe I enjoy the fight. ”

“Okay.” Relaxing my stance, I started to unbutton what was left of my shirt. Saving Marci was the only choice available.

“Good choice.” He pulled his own shirt over his head.

With a sigh, I slid my shirt off my shoulders and dropped it to the side.

His lecherous eyes stayed glued to me.

Bile rose in my throat. My skirt was next. After lowering the zipper, I slipped it down my legs, stepped out of it, and kicked it away. I was down to my lacy bra, black thong, and boots. “Hurry up and call him off.”

I could hear Marci sobbing now.

I controlled the reflex to vomit and refused to show him the fear I was sure he craved. He is going down.

He released his belt and unzipped his pants, laughing to himself. “I bet you fuck as good as you look.”

Sickened, I reached behind me to grip the clasp on my bra.

He lowered his pants.

I launched myself at him. Terry had said to never go quietly, to fight with whatever I had at hand. I knew in my gut that with sick fucks like this, submitting wouldn’t save either of us.

With his pants down around his ankles, he couldn’t avoid my kick.

His scream of pain when my boot connected with his groin was music to my ears. I’d put all my strength into it, and my aim had been true.

Marku doubled over in agony.

Quickly, I jumped behind him and got him in the chokehold Pete had drilled into me.

“Hey, asshole.” I heard Terry’s voice outside. He’d come for me.

My eyes went damp with emotion. Straining to hold Marku, I couldn’t pull a breath into my lungs, and my call to Terry came out a weak squeak. “In here.”

Marku clawed at my arms, trying to break my grip.

“Feel lucky?” More words from my man outside, followed by the sounds of a struggle.

My muscles burned as I gripped the monster with all my strength. What if Goron had surprised Terry?

More indistinct words came through the door.

Marku’s nails tore skin from my arm.

I closed my eyes and pulled with all my strength, concentrating on the form Pete had taught me. It shouldn’t be taking this long.

“Where’s Grace?” I heard Terry yell.

Marku let go of my arm, pulled at his pant leg, and out of nowhere, he had a gun in his hand. He fumbled with it, then pointed it back at me.

It was let him go or die .

Bang .

The shot was incredibly loud, but it missed my forehead as I fell back against the floor.

The door shuddered under some kind of assault.

Coughing, Marku yanked me up by my hair.

I cried out, my scalp burning from the assault as I tried to elbow and kick him. It was no use.

He jammed the gun against my ear. “Stay still, or I’ll shoot.” He struggled to his feet and yanked me up between him and the door.

With a loud crunch, the door gave way.

Terry stepped in, looking madder than I’d ever seen him. His gun was raised. “Let her go.” His voice boomed in the small space.

Marku pressed the gun barrel harder against me. “Drop it, or I kill her.” I heard the click as Marku cocked the hammer. “You have ten seconds to drop your gun and let me walk out of here, or she dies.”

Terry raised his gun to point at the ceiling. “Settle down.”

“Nine… eight… seven,” Marku counted down.

“Don’t,” I warned Terry. If he put his gun down, I was sure Marku would shoot him. I couldn’t let that happen. I couldn’t let Terry sacrifice himself. “Don’t do it.”

“Six… five,” Marku continued.

“I have to. I don’t have a clear shot,” Terry said.

What I had to do was clear—fight with whatever I had, give him space to shoot, and save my man.

Terry’s words made Marku lose count. “Five… four.” He had me by the hair instead of an arm around my throat. “Three, two.”

I raised my right foot and slammed the heel of my boot against his foot just as I lifted the left foot and became a dead weight he couldn’t hold up.

Bang, bang .

Something wet splattered my cheek as Terry’s bullets slammed into Marku. As I fell to the floor, my scalp felt like I’d lost half my hair.

Terry

With wide eyes, Grace looked at me and smiled as I kept my SIG trained on the asshole, in case he needed another round. It was a smile that warmed my soul. My woman was safe .

The asshole moaned, cradling his useless arm. “You shot me,” he whined.

“Don’t move.” Zane came in just behind me and kicked the asshole’s weapon to the side.

Just then, Grace looked down at the bloody mess that used to be his arm.

Dropping my weapon, I rushed forward, grabbing her just before she went limp. And this time kept her from hitting her head.

“I need a doctor,” the asshole whined.

“You need to shut up.” Zane kicked him. “Did she get clipped?”

“She fainted. It’s the blood.” I cradled Grace to me. “I got you, Kitten.”

Cradling her head in my lap, I whipped my jacket off, placing it over Grace. Marci followed Constance into the room. Her hands went to her face. “Oh my God.”

“She’s all right,” Zane assured her. “She fainted.”

Constance pulled her weapon and trained it on the blubbering asshole. “I got him.”

Zane quickly toed off the running shoes he wore, removed his pants, pulled off Grace’s boots, and tugged the pants up her legs.

I nodded. “Thanks.”

Constance laughed. “Puppies? Really?”

Zane’s boxers had cute little puppies on them. “Give me a break. They were a joke gift from my cousin.”

She pulled out her phone.

“Don’t you dare,” Zane warned.

She took the picture anyway.

Zane rushed her.

She stuffed the phone down her shirt and got in a fighting stance.

Zane backed off. “I’m going to get you for this.”

Constance smirked.

“Call me an ambulance,” the asshole complained.

Constance kicked his leg. “You pointed a gun at my friend. One more word out of your useless mouth and I’ll be calling the morgue instead of an ambulance.”

Asshole only whimpered.

Lucas finally arrived with Duke. “The other five are down.” He shook his head at the sight. “Marku, you’re a piece of shit.” He nodded at Constance. “I got him.” He looked back at me. “And Grace?”

“She fainted,” Zane explained.

“He had a gun to Grace’s head,” I explained. “I didn’t have a choice.”

“I was right behind him,” Zane said. “It was a righteous shot. ”

Lucas nodded, then noticed Zane’s attire. “What? Are you six?”

Zane was smart enough to not answer.

Lucas glanced at my gun on the floor. “Is that yours?”

I nodded.

“Leave it right where it is for Wellbourne.”

Duke tended to Marku’s wounds while Zane called for an ambulance and Lucas called Lieutenant Wellbourne.

I adjusted my position and tried to make Grace comfortable. I had my woman in my arms. She was safe, and the nightmare was over. This Marku asshole and his goons were going down for kidnapping at a minimum.

“Ambulance is on the way, but he’s losing a lot of blood,” Zane said. “I need better light. Help me get him on the table in the other room.”

Zane, Duke, and Lucas hefted Marku out the door, while Zane kept pressure on his shoulder wound.

Grace shifted in my arms. “Marci?” Her eyes struggled open.

“She’s okay,” Constance told her.

Grace moved to sit up. “I need to get to her.”

I held her back. “In a minute. How do you feel?”

“Like shit, but that’s normal. This isn’t my first time, you know.”

“How many have there been?”

“I don’t know.”

“This is no way to live. The doctor said you could do training to keep this from happening again, and you’re going to start on that today.”

Constance cocked a brow.

“Aren’t you bossy?” Grace complained. “I need to check on Marci.”

“Someone has to make you deal with this. You insist on looking after others, but refuse to take care of yourself. That stops today.”

“You’re wrong,” she scoffed. “I’m fine.”

Constance knelt beside us and touched Grace’s shoulder. “What if you’d fainted today when Marci needed you?”

I closed my eyes. Those were the words I should have been smart enough to use.

Grace stopped resisting as her eyes flicked from me to Constance and back again. Then her drive to take care of her people overpowered her independent streak. “We don’t even know if it will work, but okay. I’ll try the training. Now, will you let me up to see Marci?”

I stood and pulled her to her feet. “There’s blood out there.”

“I’ll close my eyes until you tell me it’s okay.” She took two steps and then had to hitch up her pants. “What is this? ”

“Zane thought it would help preserve your modesty, so he donated his pants,” Constance explained.

“That was nice of him.” Then she too caught sight of Zane. “Aren’t you cute?”

“Don’t you dare tell anyone.”

I was pretty sure he was only referring to one particular employee of Grace’s.

Sirens sounded in the distance.

I took Grace’s hand before we reached the door. “Close your eyes.” I guided her out. In the far corner, Winston had his arm protectively around Marci. We walked around the bloody table where a pantsless Zane was still working on keeping the moaning Marku alive.

“What the hell is in that case that’s so valuable?” Duke asked.

“My money is still on missile tech,” Winston said.

“I like diamonds,” Duke answered.

“He—” Grace threw a thumb in Marku’s direction. “—promised the buyer that nobody would ever know.”

Lucas turned quickly. “Who’s the buyer?”

Grace didn’t turn around. “His name was Kim. That’s all I heard.”

Two quick shots rang out to our right.

Grace gasped as her head swiveled toward the noise.

Without my weapon, all I could do was pull her down into a crouch with me.

An Asian man disappeared down an aisle of junk. He’d shot at Marku and Zane.

“I got him,” Constance yelled as she sprinted to follow the guy.

“No,” Lucas yelled. “Not alone.”

Constance stopped, looking unhappy with Lucas’s order.

Marku made a gurgling sound and then went silent.

Zane stood back from the table. “He’s gone. Why the hell did that dude shoot him?”

I guided Grace to Marci and told her she could open her eyes. The two women hugged.

“I was sure we restrained all of his soldiers on the way in,” Duke said.

“That was Kim,” Marci said, without turning to face the group gathered around Marku. “The buyer.”

“Police!” The yell came down the hallway that led in from outside.

We all raised our hands and stood still. You never knew when a nervous rookie cop would be the first on scene.

With a dead body, I resigned myself to a long interrogation. But my woman was safe, and nothing else mattered.