Page 77 of Trick
“Son of a bitch,” I growled, shoving my phone in my back pocket and punching in the door code that Lauren had given me. I stormed inside, gun in hand, and ran down the hall toward the small recording booths. There was an empty chair in front of the door at the end of the hall, and Tony and JD were nowhere in sight.
I sprinted down the hall, and my blood froze in my veins when I looked in through the narrow window next to the door.Lauren was desperately clawing at the arms of a man wearing a ballcap, who was trying to put her into a rear chokehold.
“Lauren!” My scream echoed in the empty hallway as I tried to open the door. It was locked, so I took a step back and kicked it open.
The man whirled around toward the door, dragging Lauren with him. He used her body as a shield, while keeping one arm pulled up tightly against her windpipe, and the other wrapped around her waist. Tears streamed down her face as she struggled in vain to get free.
I raised my gun, but he was half hidden behind Lauren with his ballcap pulled low, so I couldn’t even get a good look at his face, much less get a clean shot. He didn’t need to know that though.
“Let go of her or I’ll blow your fuckin’ head off,” I bellowed. He jerked Lauren tighter, and she half-slumped against him, either because of the sleeper hold he was using or because she’d exhausted herself fighting him, I wasn’t sure which.
The sound of heavy boots thundering down the tiled hallway floor was music to my ears. It also distracted Lauren’s attacker enough that I was able to slam the butt of my gun down against his temple. It wasn’t quite as satisfying as shooting him or even taking a bat to his head would have been, but it served the purpose.
He crumpled to the floor, face down and unconscious, taking Lauren down with him. Not even sparing a glance at him, I was able to grab her, pulling her limp body into my arms before she hit the ground.
“Is she OK? Do we need an ambulance?” I turned to find King standing in the doorway, flanked by Lucky and Jagger. Joker and Bull were in the hallway behind them.
“I don’t know,” I ground out, my voice tight with fear.
King told Jagger to call for an ambulance and ordered Bull and Joker to search the building to find Tony. I felt a moment’s guilt because I hadn’t even given him a thought, but Lauren was my priority.
I cradled her tightly, and they moved aside so I could carry her across the hall and lay her down on the couch in the break room. I knelt down next to her, running my hands over her to check for injuries.
She moaned softly, and as her pretty green eyes fluttered open, the tightness in my chest started to ease just a little bit. She had a bump on the back of her head and redness around her neck that I was sure would bruise over the next few days, but there were no other wounds that I could see.
“Jase,” she whispered hoarsely, then winced and reached for her throat.
“Easy, darlin’, don’t try to talk. You’re safe now.”
She struggled to sit up, and I helped her, propping her up against the arm of the couch. I was relieved to see that she looked more alert now. I pressed a kiss to her temple, then looked up at Jagger, who was standing next to the couch eyeing Lauren with concern.
“Watch her for me, brother. I’m gonna kill that bastard.” I stood up, but Lauren grabbed my hand to stop me.
“No,” she rasped, tugging me back down beside her. “It wasn’t Beau.”
“We know. He’s still at work, so he must have hired – ”
“JD’s the stalker,” she interrupted, before bursting into tears.
Those three words had the effect of a bomb dropping in the middle of the room.
I exploded. “That goddamned motherfucker!”
I jumped to my feet and stormed across the hall, shouldering Lucky out of the way as he stood guard in front of the recording booth.
I reached down toward the prone body on the floor, yanking the bastard’s head up. His hat fell off, and I found myself staring at an unconscious John “JD” Darnell. Blood ran down his temple, and he was deathly pale, but the sonofabitch was still breathing.
“We’ve already called for an ambulance, Trick, so the cops won’t be far behind,” King spoke up over my shoulder. “As much as I’d like to help you put that fucker in the ground, we’re gonna have to do this one by the book.”
I dropped JD’s head, smiling as it bounced off the carpeted floor. I took a step back, then hauled off and kicked him in his side, taking great satisfaction in the sound of his ribs cracking. I’d never been happier to wear a pair of heavy shitkickers. They were just perfect for inflicting maximum damage.
“Fine,” I ground out. “We can turn this guy in, but don’t be surprised when he gets shanked in his cell. I don’t want Lauren to ever have to worry about him getting out.”
“We’ll make it happen,” King agreed as we stepped back into the hallway. Lucky took up his post in the doorway, glaring daggers at the piece of shit lying on the ground.
“We found Tony,” Bull called out as he came around the corner and walked toward us. “Joker’s with him. He’ll be OK, but he’s probably got a concussion. His head’s bleeding and he has one hell of a lump. Looks like the fucker hit him on the back of the head with something heavy, then duct-taped his hands and feet before he locked him in the supply room.” He hesitated, then looked at me with concern before asking about Lauren.
“I think she’s gonna be OK. I want to get her throat and neck checked out. He had her in a pretty good rear choke when I found them. It was the fuckin’ custodian, JD” I snarled, and Bull’s brows lifted in surprise.
