Saving Simone (Florida Veterans Book 3) Read online

  Eyebrows approaches and I put pressure on Simone to lie down and out of the way.

  “Phone! Now! Ear, now!” He shouts at me, pointing the gun at my face. Fuck! I don’t want to lose communication with Hudson, but I don’t have a choice if I’m going to live to protect these ladies. With a quick tug, my earpiece and wire are free and I toss them to the pile with everything else. My phone follows right after. Natalia is shaking so hard she’s banging into my back and I want to reach back and put my arm around her to settle her, but I don’t want to draw attention to her.

  Bad-skin guy kicks at some of the patrons on the edge of the floor to keep them from scooting away while Mr. Eyebrow guy yells, “Nobody move and I won’t shoot again. I better have all your phones. If you don’t do as you’re told, I’ll shoot you and whoever is closest to you.”

  A few of the women whimper and nobody moves. Eyebrows grabs a backpack he must have stowed earlier out from under a table and shoves all the phones inside. The more I watch these two, the more they remind me of henchmen for drug lords in South America. They have no finesse and use fear to rule the room. I’ve found that guys like this aren’t usually smart but you still have to be careful because they’re definitely dangerous.

  Whatever these guys want is not just to go on a shooting spree, or they wouldn’t have stopped shooting as quickly as they did. That whole scene was to place the fear of God in all of us. I’m hoping soon we’ll know what they want. There are a lot of big names in athletics, philanthropy and Hollywood in this room right now, which equals a lot of money. That could be both good and bad for us.

  A third man with an AK-47 storms through the door closest to the bathrooms and approaches Eyebrows. They talk quietly for a moment and then Eyebrows aims his gun at the woman closest to him, who happens to be older, maybe in her late 60’s, and then he moves down a line of people close to her. “You, you, you, you and you. Get up and follow me. Now!” he barks, startling them. They all rise to their feet and I mentally make note of who is with them. A famous basketball player, the older woman, who I believe owns a department store chain, a model, an African American woman who looks familiar but I can’t place, and a middle-aged Asian actor. The new guy with the gun is joined by another new face and they parade the group out of the room, guns trained on them the entire time. They’re almost through the door when the Asian man makes a comment that I don’t hear and one of the gunmen cracks him on the head with the gun, causing him to stumble and grab his head. There is a collective gasp as we wait to see if anything else is about to happen.

  Leaning forward a little while everyone is distracted, I whisper, “Luci, are you okay?” She nods slightly, but doesn’t say a word. Simone continues to hold the jacket on her belly with both hands. I turn back a little. “Natalia, you hanging in there?” She tugs on my shirt tighter from behind and answers weakly, “Yeah.”

  I don’t ask how Simone is because I want her to stay focused on Luci and keeping pressure on the wound not on how she might be feeling. “Simone, you’re doing great. Keep it up.” She makes a little squeaky sound and I know she’s holding on by a thread so I reassure her, “Just a little bit longer. You’ve got this.” I stroke her bare arm and feel the small muscles flexed beneath her smooth skin.

  My mind begins analyzing our situation, looking for exits, weaknesses, complications and strengths. We don’t have many right now. It’s going to take a little bit longer. While my eyes scout the room, two more men that I don’t recognize enter wearing black pants and black T-shirts sans tuxedo coats. Both are carrying handguns instead of the AK-47s all the others have.

  This time they head for our group. Before I can react, one of them snatches Natalia by the hair and she yelps as he uses it to pull her backwards away from me. How the hell did I end up in this situation? My only job was to keep her safe and now she’s about to be taken to a room away from me where I can’t even see her. Who knows what they will do to her.

  “Thomas!” she cries out and reaches for me as the guy tugs her to her feet. I shake my head at her slightly, hoping she will get the picture. Don’t draw more attention to me. Panic claws at my gut but I take a deep breath in and use it to settle my mind. There’s a solution to every problem, this is no different. I just need to get control of my fear and figure it out. The second guy points his gun at me and two women near me. “You three...up now! Move!”

  At least we aren’t being separated, but I hate leaving Simone and Luci wounded in here. I have no idea what will happen. I’m concerned if they take much longer Luci will bleed out. I can’t tell if Simone managed to stop the blood flow, but if she hasn’t, there isn’t much time left.

  I step in close to Natalia, and the guy holding her yanks her away from me and in front of him. Shit. Then he forces her forward with the gun in her back. I can hear her crying and it just pisses me off. How did I let this happen? I was too distracted. I wasn’t paying close enough attention.

  “Move!” the guy behind me barks and shoves the women in back so that one of them crashes into and clings on to my shirt. I reach back and squeeze her hand in a lame attempt to soothe her. The first guy still has Natalia in his grip as we make it across the ballroom and out the door. Once we’re out in the hallway, I notice one of the gunmen from the previous group enter a room further down, leaving only us in the hallway. It’s now or never. I have no idea what they’re doing with the people in that room or if they are leaving the premises with anyone. I don’t know if Hudson has the Miami PD out there. I hate working with so many unknown factors.

  I turn quickly and push the two women that are behind me forward, and they both squeak a little. Surprise works in my favor and I’m able to jab the guy at the back of our little line in the throat. As soon as his body flops forward from the hit, I bring my knee up to crack his nose. He drops to the ground and I snatch his gun up and rush forward, where the other guy is getting a clue that his partner is not okay.

  “Down!” I yell at the women. The two in front of me flop to the floor and roll to the side awkwardly, and thank God Natalia tries to do the same while the dude is still holding her, because it throws him off balance. I dive for him and his gun goes off. The bullet singes my ear as it grazes it and I wonder briefly if he took the outer shell off. I catch the gunman in the gut but he hasn’t loosened his grip on Natalia so all three of us hit the deck hard. The guy and I end up in a playground-type fistfight, kicking, punching and rolling around as we wrestle for dominance.

  I hear one of the women scream to the others, “Run!” We continue to battle it out until I end up on top of him, choking him until he loses consciousness. I grab his gun and run toward where the women disappeared to. When I round the corner, I see flashing lights and a ton of people about 100 yards from the building. The women make it out of the doors and I note that Natalia is safe amongst that group. Thank God!

  There’s no way I’m leaving Simone or anyone else behind so I move to the far doors of the ballroom and put my ear to the door. It’s hard to hear with my heart pounding in my chest, but there isn’t even muffled voices. It’s silent until one of the gunmen fires the gun again and the crowd screams.

  I stuff one of the guns I have in the waistband of my pants and grip the other one in my hand after I check that the safety is off. I run to the door that I exited out of a little bit ago and bang hard several times on it before sprinting back to the door I was listening against. When the door I banged on opens, I push through the one I’m at and turn toward the other door. Quickly, I assess that it’s one of the captors opening the door and then I take three shots. The guy drops to the floor like a sack of potatoes and I drop and roll to the nearest table for cover. The other guy with the AK-47 opens fire in my direction and one bullet slices across my bicep, but the rest miss. It burns, but then again, most flesh wounds do, so I shake it off and wait while watching his feet.

  He’s moving closer so I crouch in the ready position and rush him as soon as he’s near enough, taking him to his back. His gu
n goes off once more, but I have no idea if it hits anyone because people are screaming and running for the doors. It’s absolute mayhem. I lost the gun in my hand when I tackled him so I yank the one out of my back, take aim and fire, all in a split second, and place a bullet right between this guy’s eyes. Then I jump up to evaluate the room. There are no other shooters in the room, so I start herding people who haven’t run out into the hall, to the far corner where they’re less vulnerable. I know there are at least two more guys somewhere in the building, but I don’t know if there are more. A few limp bodies remain on the dance floor, along with Simone and Luci, so I go to them. Simone is draped over Luci, sobbing.

  “Simone, scoot over. Let me get to her. I have to move you guys to the corner where you’ll be safer. I need to neutralize the threat, but I can’t leave you out in the open like this.” Simone cries louder and glances at me like she’s just lost her whole world. Shit!

  “Come on, Simone. I need this to be fast so we can get her some medical help.”

  She sobs harder but shifts so I can get in there. With two fingers, I check Luci’s pulse. It’s thready, but still there faintly. She doesn’t have much time. “She’s still alive. Head to the corner. I’ll carry her.” She does as I’ve instructed and we get her over there where two men help me settle her on the ground. “Go, man, we’ve got her. I’m grabbing the bag of cell phones to call for help.”

  Neither of us waits for a response from the other; he sprints for the bag and I take off for the doors. As I’m coming out, ready to face whatever threat is out there, the SWAT team storms in. All are armed and in full gear. Thank God! I drop the gun and hold my hands up so they know I’m not a threat. We’re almost out of here. Hang on a little longer, Luci, I think to myself, hoping they get to her fast.

  9

  Simone

  Last night was without a doubt the worst night of my life. Luci was shot and although the bullet didn’t hit any major organs, she almost bled out. The doctor thinks because of her age and good health that she’ll be okay but she hasn’t woken up since her surgery and I’m worried.

  After they took Luci back for surgery, her boss showed up. He saw everything on the news. He had access to her emergency contacts, so I was able to call Titus and leave a message. He called back a few hours later and promised to be on the first flight he could get to come home. I was also able to call her mother in Puerto Rico where she moved once Luci was in college and explain the situation. That took a lot of time. She lost her mind and went on a hysterical rant in Spanish that I had difficulty understanding. I booked her a flight to Miami and she’ll be here tomorrow around lunchtime.

  Once I was done with that phone call, I had to deal with Gavin’s dad and explain what happened. Normally, I wouldn’t make him privy to anything happening in my life, but now I need him to keep Gavin longer because I refuse to leave Luci until I know she’s out of the woods. I hate giving up time with my son, but I can’t leave my best friend until I know she’s going to be okay for certain. Almost worse than having to tell Luci’s mom what happened was explaining things to Gavin in a way that wouldn’t give him nightmares but will help him see why it’s important that I stay here. Visions of him seeing us on the news covered in blood made my stomach ache. There were cameras and reporters everywhere as we were brought out and I know I ended up on television. It would have been awful if he saw that or if one of his friends told him before I talked to him.

  The hotel property, both inside and out, was so chaotic that when I left in the ambulance with Luci, I only caught a glimpse of Thomas. The vision of him disheveled and covered in blood while he stood there talking to the uniformed Miami PD officers will stay with me for years. My heart begged me to stop long enough to throw my arms around him and hold him tight while I thanked him for saving all of us. It was because of him and his partner that most of us got out of there alive, and it was because of his quick thinking that Luci didn’t bleed out completely. I was too busy freaking out to think straight. Instead of stopping to tell him though, I rushed into the ambulance with Luci, terrified she wasn’t going to make it.

  Now it’s been about 24 hours since I arrived at the hospital and the only person I’ve seen that isn’t hospital personnel is Luci’s boss. I’m thankful he came, but he left a long time ago and I’ve had too much time to think. I’ve been dying to hear how Thomas is doing but I don’t know Summer’s number by heart so I can’t call her to check on him.

  Once Luci came out of surgery, the personnel at the hospital tried to send me home to shower and rest but I had a slight temper tantrum so they gave in and said I could stay as long as I don’t disturb her. Thank goodness one of the nurses coming on shift in the morning gave me a spare pair of scrubs, because my beautiful gown was torn and soaked in Luci’s blood. The scrubs are a little baggy but we used some rubber bands from the nurses’ station to creatively hold up the pants. Now I’m trying to rest as much as possible while staying at Luci’s side, however the nurses and aides are required to check vitals every so many hours. With my luck, that means that they come in every time just as I doze off. It’s annoying, but I don’t want to start anything and get booted out of the hospital.

  My long body doesn’t fit very well in the vinyl recliner that’s sitting next to Luci’s bed but it’s better than sleeping on the floor or on a hard chair in the waiting room. The heavy scent of antiseptic is something my nose has finally grown used to and the constant sounds of the hospital outside of the room—which are louder than they should be in this environment—are now thankfully just blips on my internal radar. Closing my eyes, I do my best to rest, tilted back in the chair with my feet up. After a few minutes, there’s a small click and an adjustment to the noise level in the hall, which tells me someone is entering the room. Assuming it’s the nurse’s aide that keeps coming in every so often, I open one eye to confirm and find Thomas standing in front of me. Out of shock and probably a burst of excitement that he’s actually standing here, I sit up straight, pushing the footrest closed with a thud and springing forward to get to him.

  A white bandage covers part of his ear and other than some bruising on his face and around one eye, he looks the same. He pulls me into his arms and holds me tight. The relief I feel is so profound that I sag against him. I’ve thought about him a lot since everything happened but I didn’t realize exactly how worried I’ve been until I saw him standing in front of me whole and relatively healthy.

  “Are you okay?” His voice is gentle and quiet.

  I nod against his chest, not ready to let go. I haven’t had anyone to hold my hand or hug me since this started and I’m starving for it. I’ve needed someone and just haven’t had the means to call. He pulls back a little to see my face and I instantly miss the comfort of his arms. But I’m sure he’s just here to be nice so I need to keep that in mind and not latch on to him like an obsessed octopus.

  “How’s Luci? The nurse wouldn’t tell me anything.”

  I sigh. “They say she’s going to be okay, but she hasn’t woken up yet. She lost a lot of blood. The bullet missed all major organs, thank God, but it was the blood loss that was so bad.”

  “Have you left here since you arrived Saturday night?”

  “No, none of her family is here yet. I used Luci’s boss’s phone to call her mom and boyfriend but neither will be here until tomorrow. We don’t have our cell phones back yet so I couldn’t call anyone but my ex to explain what happened and why I won’t be home to get my son today.”

  “You need a break, probably a good meal, and definitely a hot shower. Let me take you to my hotel, which is right around the corner. You can get cleaned up, we can grab you a drive-thru meal and get you right back here. Then I can go get you a new phone after I drop you off, because I don’t know when or if we will get ours back. You should have a phone on you.”

  “I can’t leave her. I just can’t. We’re like sisters. She’ll be all alone and I can’t do that to her.”

  “Okay, we’ll wait
until someone gets here from her family or until she wakes up.”

  My eyebrows draw together. “We?”

  “Yeah, I’m not leaving you here by yourself. Someone needs to take care of you. I hate that it took me so long to get here.”

  “You don’t have to do that. I’m fine. Or I will be when she wakes up and I have a shower.”

  His palm cups my jaw. “I know better than most that you’re a strong capable woman, but everyone needs someone at times like these and I hope you’ll let it be me.”

  How can I argue with that? Even as stubborn as I am, I know better. If he really wants to stay with me, I won’t fight it. If he gets bored, I’m sure he’ll leave. Instead of giving him a handbag full of attitude, I simply say, “Thank you,” and lean against him. Strong arms never felt better. He kisses the top of my hair and I melt a little. I don’t know the last time I was held this tenderly when sex wasn’t involved.

  Thomas excuses himself from the room and I sit back in the recliner feeling a little relief. He returns a few minutes later with one of those crappy waiting-room chairs and sets it down next to me.

  “Those men at the gala were planning to kidnap several people and hold them for ransom. They had a moving van parked at the loading dock by the kitchen. They had a list of 15 people at the event who had ransom insurance. Those were the initial targets. One of those was my client. If they would’ve gotten out the door with her, we never would’ve seen her again. The secondary targets were the big names with lots of money they were hoping would buy their way out of those situations. I’ve never been more grateful for stupid, greedy people. Because they were trying to move such a big number of people off the property, and keep them conscious and alive, they miscalculated the number of men needed to pull it off and got sloppy. They also didn’t factor in Hudson and me. They were crazy and stupid and we got lucky.”