The Price of Disrespect (Gray Spear Society Book 6) (16 page)

"He hasn't made any moves. He told me he has a girlfriend. I don't know what to do."

"Are they dangerous?"

"Very," Tawni said. "They carry guns and some are black belts. The headquarters is like a fortress with thick concrete walls. They even have missile launchers on the roof."

Ladona gave her an incredulous look. "Have you been taking drugs?"

"No! You know I don't touch that shit. I'm serious."

"I think somebody would notice a fortress with missile launchers on top of a hotel."

"That's not the craziest part," Tawni said. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you the rest."

She shuddered at the memory of Smythe putting his hand inside her body. The image of Carlos' empty eye sockets was still vivid in her mind.

"Maybe you should stay here and get a good night's sleep," Ladona said. "Everything will make more sense in the morning. My bed is big enough for both of us. Hey, those are the guys! They have friends now."

She pointed at a group of six men. They wore blue baggy pants and black jean jackets. Black do-rags covered their heads. The clothing marked them as members of one of the larger gangs in Chicago.

They looked around as if checking for witnesses. They headed towards the door leading up to the apartment.

"Shit!" Tawni said.

She still had a revolver in a holster under her skirt, and she pulled it out.

Ladona backed up when she saw the gun. "Where did you get that? What are you doing?"

"I think those men were waiting for me to come here."

"Why?"

"I've been causing trouble," Tawni said. "Fuck!"

Her Society phone was in a clip on her belt. She hated the idea of calling Aaron, but maybe it was time. He had promised he would rescue her.

She took out the big gray phone and flipped open the protective cover. A large display showed the word "LOCKED" in bold red letters. She had left the manual in her hotel room and didn't know how to unlock the phone. There was supposed to be an emergency beacon, but she hadn't learned how to use that feature. The damn thing was useless to her. She mashed the buttons in frustration.

The door at the bottom of the stairs banged open. She heard rapid footsteps getting louder.

She only had a few seconds to formulate a plan. Her revolver held six shots. She was fairly certain she could kill two or three of the men before running out of bullets, but that wouldn't get the job done. No doubt they were well-armed. She would be defenseless against the survivors.

"We have to hide!" Tawni said.

Ladona ran into the bedroom and Tawni followed. Ladona opened the door of the closet which was packed to absolute capacity with clothes. She forced her way inside. Tawni gave her mother a shove to help her reach the back of the closet. Tawni went in and closed the door. Suddenly, she was in darkness.

She heard voices. It sounded like the men were searching the apartment. Tawni squeezed herself into a back corner of the closet. The clothes made it such a tight fit she could barely move.

"What kind of trouble?" Ladona whispered.

"Beating up crooks," Tawni said. "Trying to make the streets safer."

"Like those Lake Street Vigilantes I heard about?"

"I'm the leader of the Vigilantes."

"Oh, Tawni. When will you learn?"

Tawni was miserable. She had put herself and her mother in grave danger by coming here. She couldn't blame anybody else for this screw up. That asshole Aaron had even ordered her to stay in the hotel. He had made that point repeatedly. Why hadn't she stopped to think before running off?

The closet door abruptly opened. The clothes were yanked out, exposing the two women. Tawni considered shooting her revolver, but then she saw six pistols and two sawed-off shotguns aimed at her. She dropped the revolver and raised her hands.

The gangsters yanked her out of the closet and threw her to the floor in the living room. Her mother was thrown down beside her.

The biggest of the men sneered at Tawni. He had a large diamond stud in his nose.

"Tawni, Tawni, Tawni." He clucked his tongue. "You've been a bad girl. I know what to do with bad girls."

Another gangster said, "What about the old broad?"

The first one replied, "Not worth fucking. Waste her."

"No!" Tawni screamed. She tried to shield her mother.

She was pulled out of the way by her hair. One of the men used the butt of his shotgun to bash Ladona's skull. Tawni heard the crunch of breaking bones.

She jumped up with no plan in mind other than causing as much pain as possible. She rammed her head into the gut of one man. Another reached for her, and she bit his arm until she tasted his blood.

Somebody fired a gun. Terrible pain ripped through her shoulder and knocked her back. She touched the wound, and her fingers came away sticky and red.

She heard a clattering noise. She looked down and saw a green canister with holes in the side. She recognized it as a flash-bang grenade. She barely had time to close her eyes before it went off.

The world flashed white, and the sound was so loud, she felt it as a physical blow. All the lights went out an instant later.

All she could see were purple spots and inky darkness. A ringing in her ears made her deaf as well. If she were about to die, there was nothing she could do about it. She was comforted by knowing the gangsters were in the same situation.

After several long seconds, the lights turned on. Tawni's vision was still spotty, but she saw Smythe standing in the room with night vision goggles over his eyes. He carried a pistol with a suppressor and the barrel was smoking.

She looked at the floor. All the gangsters had been shot in the head.

"Mom!" she yelled. She lurched over to her mother who hadn't moved since getting struck.

Smythe took off his goggles and crouched down. "What happened?"

"Her skull was smashed."

He put his hand inside Ladona's head. The sight made Tawni queasy.

"Her brain is hemorrhaging badly," he said. "I can't fix it. She'll die. I'm sorry." He sounded genuinely sad.

She clutched her mother and sobbed.

"Hold still," he said. "Let me heal that shoulder."

She remained clinging to her mother as he tore open her sweater. He reached inside her shoulder and moved his fingers around. It felt strange, but she was too overwrought to care.

It took him only a few seconds to work his magic, and he stood up. Out of curiosity, Tawni touched her shoulder. The wound was gone, and there was no pain. The skin appeared completely healed, and despite her overwhelming grief, the miracle astonished her.

"The police will be here any second," he said. "We have to go now."

She shook her head.

He grabbed her, tore her away from her mother, and set her on her feet. Still sobbing, Tawni was pulled out of the apartment.

They went down the stairs and out into the cool night air. She heard sirens in the distance. Smythe took her in the other direction at a brisk pace.

Tears rolled down her cheeks. She wiped snot on the sleeve of her sweater. The emotional pain was unbearable, and guilt was a big part of it. She should never have come here. Her stupid mistakes had killed her mother this time.

They came to a small, brown sedan. Smythe sat in the driver's seat, but Tawni hesitated to join him. She just stood on the sidewalk and sniffled.

"Get in," he said. "I'm taking you home."

"The hotel isn't my home," she mumbled.

"I ordered you to get in."

She didn't have to be told what would happen if she ignored the order. He had just executed six men in cold blood. She sat in the car.

As he drove through the city, she stared out the windows. The tears in her eyes made the street lights blurry.

Gradually, she settled down. After a few miles, she managed to say, "Thank you for rescuing me."

"You're welcome. Why didn't you use your phone to call for help?"

"I don't know how. I didn't read the manual."

Smythe was kind enough to leave that statement hanging in the air.

"How did you know I was in trouble?" Tawni said.

"Aaron asked me to keep an eye on you. I followed you from the hotel."

She furrowed her brow. She didn't like being followed even in this case. She also wasn't comfortable with Aaron caring so much about her welfare. It felt a little creepy. All her life, men had seen her as a sex object. She couldn't believe Aaron was different.

"Does he really have a girlfriend?"

"Marina," Smythe said. "They're deeply in love."

Tawni took a deep, shuddering breath. "Is she nice?"

"She and Aaron make a perfect couple. They're both very nasty sons of bitches."

She smiled slightly despite everything. It was good to know other people shared her opinion of Aaron.

"I have another question," she said. "How did you shut off the lights? You didn't touch the switch."

He glanced at her. "I had Bethany hack into the electric company's computer system. She turned off the whole neighborhood for ten seconds. I wanted it
dark
."

She raised her eyebrows.
Cool.

He drove the rest of the way in silence. He parked in front of the hotel and took her straight up to her room.

She was still fumbling with her key card when the door opened. Aaron glowered at her from inside the room.

"Welcome back," he said. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

She looked down as she walked in. "Carlos..."

"I know about Carlos, but you should've called me instead of running off. I explicitly ordered you to stay here."

"Sir," Smythe said, "maybe you should go easy on her. She just watched her mother die."

"Oh," Aaron said quietly. "I'm sorry."

The food had been cleaned up and taken away in Tawni's absence. She sat on a chair and put her face in her hands.

He walked over to her. "I tried to tell you before," he said in a gentle voice. "The rules for us are different. While you're learning your way, it would be best if you just followed my instructions. Trust my judgment, or there will be more incidents like tonight."

"Incidents?" She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "My mom just died! That's not an incident. What fucking rules are you talking about?"

"For one, disobedient
legionnaires
always get punished, one way or another. The Lord expects all of us to be good soldiers. When you flagrantly ignored your commander, you offended Him. I expected there would be trouble, which was why I sent Smythe to look after you."

"You knew those men would be waiting for me?"

"No," Aaron said. "I just had a bad feeling. Did you commit any other sins?"

"What do you mean?"

"Did you tell your mother about us? Did you reveal our secrets to an outsider?"

"Yes," she said, "but that has nothing to do with anything!"

"You're sure?" He shook his head. "Are you also sure I can't spit acid? Or that Smythe can't move his hand through your body? Or that a dead man can't talk? You know a lot less than you think."

She wiped her eyes.

"I'm very sorry about your loss. I truly feel your pain. I have a mother, too. I'm begging you, just follow orders next time."

"You don't follow orders," she muttered.

"That's completely false," he said. "I have a boss. Her name is Ethel, and I do exactly what she tells me to do."

"Your boss is a woman?"

"A black woman who grew up in Chicago, just like you. She also came from poverty. She's the
legatus legionis
of North America now. That means she's in charge of the entire continent."

Tawni was intrigued. She wanted to see Aaron taking orders from somebody like her.

"Does Ethel have a boss?"

"His name is God," he said, "I know it will be hard, but try to get some sleep. If you need a pill to help you relax, call room service. Tomorrow will be another interesting day."

He headed towards the door.

"What if Carlos comes back, sir?" she said.

"Stay put! I'll send Wesley down. Carlos will do whatever that kid tells him to do."

He and Smythe left.

Tawni started crying again.

Chapter Seven

Smythe bounced on the balls of his feet like an eager child. Odelia was almost here!

He was standing in the baggage claim area of O'Hare Airport. Waves of travelers washed back and forth in the vast echoing space. Kids were running around and babies were crying. The weary faces of people who desperately wanted to be home were all around.

He hardly noticed. All he could think about was a woman with white hair and eyes the color of rubies.

"Hi!" she said.

He turned around and found her standing behind him. He grinned at the pleasant surprise. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her on the lips. She melted into him. He expected that people were staring, but he didn't care. Odelia was in his arms, and life was good.

Eventually, they separated. He stood back to admire her beautiful pink skin and gorgeous body. The peculiar red color of her eyes was a side effect of her gift.

She had a small, black bag which had enough space for only a few changes of clothes. It was a painful reminder that this visit would be as brief as usual. They never had enough time together.

"Are you going to tell me what the big surprise is?"

He shook his head. "You'll know when you meet him."

"Him?" She raised her eyebrows. "That's interesting. Are you at least going to let me see your new headquarters?"

"We're going there right now. I can't wait to give you the grand tour."

He grabbed her bag and walked out of the airport with her. The morning sunlight was bright outside. It still felt like early spring, but the air was warmer than yesterday. He wasn't wearing a jacket and didn't feel uncomfortable at all.

"I love this weather," Odelia said.

"We could walk."

"Your headquarters is that close?"

Smythe pointed at the hotel in the distance. "See that tall building with brown windows? That's it. It takes about a half-hour to walk if you move quickly. We probably shouldn't. We have a full agenda today, and we can't waste any time."