Protect Me (34 page)

Terror tingling up her spine at the image of Judy in the arm of a tall dark Hispanic man, the end of a pistol held to her head. Bile rose in Abbi’s throat as every muscle in her body locked refusing to move. She had no idea what was happening, but she knew it had something to do with Trent. The look in Judy’s eyes tore through Abbi’s soul. Helplessness, fright, sheer terror gripping her friend and there was nothing that she could do for her. Abbi stepped the rest of the way out of the bathroom to find Mr. Hernandez and one other large Hispanic man standing next to Judy and her attacker both holding pistols of their own.

“Listen, I don’t know where Trent is, but I promise you whatever you want it has nothing to do with us.” Abbi pleaded.

“Oh, Ms. Hastings, how I wish I could believe you, but your boyfriend has pushed my patience to the point that I really don’t give a damn if it has anything to do with you or not.”

“He is not my boyfriend! I am engaged to someone else, damnit!” She held up her hand for them to see her ring.

He walked towards her, she tried backing up but there was no point. Two steps backwards and she was up against the wall.

“Do you think I am playing a game?” He screamed pointing the barrel of the pistol up to her head. “Don’t try to play stupid with me bitch! Trent has told me all about your relationship!”

A scream escaped from Judy’s lips before her captor clasped a hand over her mouth.

Sobs came flooding out of Abbi, tears pouring down her face.

“Where is Trent?”

“I don’t know!”

“Then you two will come with us and we will see how important you are to your little lover boy.” He reached up grabbing Abbi by her hair and dragging her towards the exit.

Her scalp burned with pain as it shot down her neck. Her stomach turned, she had no idea what was about to happen, but she needed to try and get away from these people. As he pulled her upright she glanced over at Judy. Judy’s face was blank, no emotion. Slowly she mouthed the words “I’ll get help” as Abbi looked over at her confused. The man was bringing his hand back up to her mouth in an effort to keep them from communicating. It was then that she knew what was about to happen. Judy opened her mouth as wide as she could and bit down hard on the man’s hand, blood seeping down his fingers.

“Son of a bitch!” He shouted letting go of his grasp, which gave Judy a chance to run straight towards the door.

It all happened too fast for it to process, one second Judy was running and the next she was lying just outside the door face down on the ground. Blood began to pool underneath her body. The ringing in Abbi’s ears came into focus, the gunshot was so loud she couldn’t hear anything else around her. A guttural sound escaped her lips before she let out a scream so loud she was sure it could be heard over the music downstairs.

“No!” She gasped for breath, her lungs refusing to work. She felt like she was drowning as they drug her from the room.

She tried reaching out for Judy but she couldn’t escape from their grip. Quickly they ran towards the back door. The large man was holding her over his shoulder as she kicked and screamed, beating him as hard as she could with her fist. As he made it to the door the one on the opposite end of the hall opened and in stepped Gabe.

“Girls you… Holy shit, Abbi!” He ran towards her jumping over Judy’s lifeless body trying with all his might to make it to the door.

Abbi reached out for him. “Gabe!” She screamed in response as the door slammed shut and the man whisked her down the back stairwell and into the back of a black van.

The large man jumped in with her slamming the door behind him. “Go, ese, go!”

He grabbed Abbi by her wrists as she tried to struggle out of his grip. Out of nowhere a hard hit came down upon her face. He hit her so hard she began seeing double. Spots blurred into her vision as her head snapped back from the blow. A slight whimper escaped her lips as she tried to hold herself together. After securing her hands together, her mouth and her ankles next, she noticed something in his hand; a black piece of fabric that he brought up to her head. She squirmed and fought against him, but one last blow was all it took. A straight shot to her jaw.

Abbi could hear the snapping from inside her head as his fist connected. Her body went numb, she began to feel warm and fuzzy all over as the darkness surrounded her. She slumped down into the back as the man finished wrapping the black bag around her head. She tried to hold on as long as she could. She thought of Ryan and how stupid she had been for going back to that bar. This was going to be her last night. She had intended on quitting once Trent came in. Ryan would blame all of this on himself; he hadn’t wanted her to go in to work in the first place. Images of his smile, his laugh, the way he looked as he held her while they slow danced flooded into her mind. She willed out towards him, knowing it was hopeless. Her body went cold as her eyes closed and darkness faded in around her.

*****

Ryan looked down at his phone. It was shortly after midnight and he hadn’t had a response back from Abbi. It must be damn busy tonight because she usually responded back immediately. As he went to drop his phone back into his pocket he could feel it begin to vibrate. It took him a second to comprehend Jace’s name on his caller ID.

“Dixon.” He froze as he took in the words coming from the receiver. “She’s been what?” The words roared from his mouth as Ryan gripped his phone to his ear. Panic settling into his chest.

“She’s been kidnapped, Ryan. Listen, we gotta get our shit together and find her.” Jace’s voice was calm and instinctive over the sounds of the revving RPM’s in the background, just like a man leading a mission. “Listen, Gabe is at the club waiting for us. He already placed a call into the Sherriff’s department; I will be to you in five minutes. We have to meet the cops at the bar.”

Ryan hung up the phone and raced out of the club he was standing in. He ran out of the back of the club as he yelled into his ear piece.

“Johnson, I have an emergency. Call Michaelson for backup.” Ryan snatched the earpiece out and disconnected it from the pack on his waist band.

He got to the back of his truck and opened the back door depositing his jacket and dress shirt. He reached into his gym bag and grabbed a PT shirt pulling it over his Kevlar. He kicked off his shoes before lacing up a pair of black combat boots over the top of his black jeans. Quickly he made his way to his front console to get his pistol. Looking up he grabbed the picture of the two of them that he kept in his dash. He almost lost it then. He could feel the lump forming in his throat. Fear was not an emotion that he was familiar with, but right now he was scared. He was scared that someone had hurt her, or was hurting her. He tried to push the thoughts from his head. He had to keep his mind clear and focused on what he needed to do and that was to find Abbi and bring her home safely.

He kissed the picture of Abbi before placing it back onto his dash and grabbing the two Beretta M9’s that were safely tucked into his console. The same pistols he had been issued while serving in the Army. He stuck one in the back of his pants as the other sat in a holster that went around his shoulders. He grabbed another holster and wrapped it around his ankle before filling it with his SIG 9mm. He grabbed his jacket and filled the pockets with extra clips full of ammo.

As he slammed the doors shut, Jace’s car came pulling up behind his truck. He climbed in and the two sped off towards the club. They ignored the angry horns blaring towards them as they flew down the road; cutting people off and running red lights. At one point Jace had driven tanks in the Army before changing his M.O.S. Ryan knew he could maneuver just about any kind of vehicle in any kind of situation and for that he was thankful. As they took a hard turn to the left, Ryan grabbed his phone from his pocket and dialed his Dad’s number.

“Hey, son. Is everything ok?” His dad’s voice was filled with concern, Ryan never called this late.

“I need you to call in that favor they owe you at the Pentagon if you still can.” Ryan didn’t hide the pleading in his voice.

They pulled abruptly into the back lot of the nightclub. Flashing lights from the cop cars spun around, illuminating every surface they touched. Ryan jumped from the car before Jace had even stopped.

The parking lot and surrounding area were taped off and two officers stood just outside of the barricade. Looking over he saw a man whose vest said Captain L.H. Stevens. Ryan ducked under the tape and made his way over to him.

“Sir, you can’t come back here. Sir.” The female office who had been standing guard rushed over towards him.

“It’s ok, Greene.” The Captain held his hand up towards the pursuing officer. “You must be Mr. Dixon. My superior called me on my way down and told me that you and your partner would be very valuable to our team tonight.”

“Sir, I need you to tell me everything that happened.” Ryan’s gut turned as he took in the scene before him.

“Well, it looks like our boy Trent Williams has been working with a Jose Hernandez, he is a pretty well known drug dealer in this area. We have been trying for years to pin his ass, but the FBI has him under surveillance. Seems as though he is more valuable alive than he is dead. Makes me damn sick knowing they are just letting him deal shit out to my citizens and not do a thing about it.” Ryan could see anger flaring in the Captain’s eyes. Anger was good. “Besides that, it looks like from what your bodyguard said, the two girls had an altercation with a young lady named Isabelle, who is now being brought in for questioning though we believe she has no part in this. They then went upstairs to change clothing that had been covered in an unwanted cocktail and it wasn’t until your agent, Gabe, realized they had been gone longer than he had expected them to be that he went up to check on them.”

At that time Gabe came rushing over to Ryan, fear running through his face as his hands shook. “Ryan, I am so sorry man. I am so sorry.” Gabe gasped for breath. “I should have gone up there with them but they asked me to oversee the bar. I figured it would be alright since Abbi wasn’t alone...”

“Man, you didn’t do anything wrong.” Jace came up grasping Gabe’s shoulder.  

“Bullshit! You should have been there with them. Screw that bar! Who gives a shit if some drunken asshole didn’t get a speedy service! You should have been there. Your job was to protect her!” Ryan screamed out at him.

“I know, Ryan, I know! Damnit! I tried to call you but couldn’t get through!” Gabe screamed back at him. The two locked eyes before the Captain stepped in between them.

“Listen, you two out here cock fighting isn’t going to help us find your fiancé, Mr. Dixon. One girl has already been shot tonight. Let’s try and keep that number from going up. I only have so many rounds in my gun and I would hate to use two bullets just to shut you two up.”

“Shot? Who was shot?” Jace looked at the Captain.

“A young lady by the name of Judith Adams. Chest wound. She was taken to Cedars-Sinai approximately fifteen minutes ago. Alive, but in critical condition.”

“Oh my God.” Jace bent over clutching at his chest.

“Listen man, it’s like the desert. We gotta get our head in the game man. For the girls, we gotta figure this shit out.” Ryan knelt down taking Jace by the head, reassuring him that they would get the bastards who did this to Abbi and Judy.

“We need a plan of action, sir.” Jace stood upright trying his best to stay composed.

“Well, our best guess is that he may be holding her in an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city. He has been known to run drugs in and out of there and we are pretty sure he is storing a rather large supply there. The place will be heavily armed, gentleman. Listen, I don’t know who you two know, or who you had to screw to get this, but I have clearance from the State Department to allow you two to come along, but I cannot be responsible for what happens when we get there.”

“Sir, with all due respect, we both fought on the front lines in Afghanistan. I think we can handle it.” Ryan stepped up to the Captain, thanking his father in his head.

“Good. Pack your balls, boys, because we are going in hot on this one. SWAT is already suited up and ready to pull out at any time.” The Captain then directed them over to a black van, the windows tinted so dark you couldn’t see through them. He introduced Ryan and Jace to the team. “These boys will be working with us tonight. Both have tactical military training and are cleared from high up to join us. Treat them as a part of our team.”

Within minutes they were then both dressed in full tactical gear, different to what they used on the job but similar to what they wore in the Army. Consisting of weapons in holsters placed strategically on their body along with plated Kevlar vests, black masks, and helmets. An assault rifle with a night vision scope strapped to their chests. They made their way into the van as Jace held his dog tags up, bringing them to his lips and then tucking them into his shirt. Ryan closed his eyes, flashbacks from every deployment overseas flooded into his head. It felt so real he could almost hear the distant ringing of the gun shots as they headed toward the fire fight.

“Alright. Listen up, men. We will be coming into the warehouse in the Southeastern entrance. We expect to have armed guards outside the warehouse as well as inside the main floor and throughout the building.” The lieutenant stood at the head of the van speaking out to the group. “They will be on foot patrol. When approaching the building we will have one sniper that will be taking out targets outside the building, allowing us to have an unknown entrance. Once inside, use your silencers, this mission will be undercover for as long as we can keep it. Our surveillance suggests that she is being held on the second floor in the most Northeastern corner of the building. If you acquire the target, please confirm that with me through the radio system.” Holding his headset up. “We are channel 57. I repeat. Channel 57. We will be on radio silence from here on out. Let’s get in there. Be swift. Be silent. Get this shit done. Take no prisoners, men.”  

Ryan looked over at Jace, his face was blank. Emotionless. Ryan’s body felt the same numbness. They were prepared for battle and he hoped to God that they got there before Abbi could be hurt. He felt the van slow as the back door opened. A tall lanky man in full black tactical gear grabbed his rifle and hopped out the back, followed by a shorter stalky man who held a spotter’s scope. He watched through the back glass as the two men swiftly made their way off into the blackness disappearing just a few feet from them as the van sped back off. Ryan wouldn’t allow himself to feel the fear, instead he held onto the anger that was forming deep inside of him, coursing through his veins.