Enforcer: A Bad Boy Romance (7 page)

Alice was gone and the O'Malleys had her. I was so stupid thinking she would be safe at my apartment. I ran all the way back to my Dodge Charger, not paying attention to my labored breathing or burning muscles. All that mattered was Alice. I'd do whatever it took to get her back—even if it meant my life.

My car raced through the streets, weaving in and out of traffic. There was only one place Alice could be. The O'Malleys and I had a fallback plan in case the cops were ever on to us. We were to go to the log cabin on the edge of the lake. It was a remote area and far from civilization. I'd been there a couple times with them, securing the place and making sure we had everything we could possibly need in the event that we had to stay for a long period of time.

I pulled off the freeway and navigated through the wooded area on a dirt path. My knuckles were white from gripping the steering wheel too hard. I was going to kill the O'Malleys if they touched Alice. Breaking their necks with only my bare hands would give me no satisfaction. These men were my brothers for so long. But they had crossed the line.

When the log cabin came into view I parked to the side of the road. I needed to approach it on foot. I was most likely walking into a trap. I needed to be careful. I wasn't going to let my rage mess this up.

I hid behind some dense bushes and watched the log cabin. I counted two of O'Malley's henchmen, holding AK-47's. One guarded the front door while the other made the rounds around the cabin.
Only two men?
Surely the O'Malleys thought more of me than that. I'd have to take them out quietly. Couldn't afford raising the alarm.

I sneaked around the back of the log cabin and waited in the shadows for the the one goon to come around. I'd only have one chance at this. If the man screamed, my surprise would be blown. I listened carefully and heard his footsteps coming closer. The sound of leaves breaking and twigs snapping increased. I pulled out my switchblade and popped it open.

The man came around the corner and I sprung into action. My left hand covered his mouth while my knife slipped under his chin, slicing his throat open. The man squirmed in my grasp, blood spurting out of his neck. I slowly lowered him to the ground and he was dead. I picked up the AK and slung it over my shoulder, knowing that I wouldn't be able to use it.

I rounded the cabin and peeked around the corner at the guard by the front door. He had no clue what was about to happen to him. I picked up a rock and threw it about fifty feet in front of the guard. It made a loud crack as it hit another rock. The guard became alert and drew his AK. I waited patiently as the guard tiptoed forward. I came up behind him and did the same to him as I did to his buddy. I dropped him to the ground and blood gurgled out of his mouth as he tried to speak to me.

I looked through the window and spotted Liam and Connor talking alone. I wouldn't be able to take them both at the same time. I needed to wait for them to separate.
But
w
here the fuck was Alice?
I didn't have much time before they realized their guards were all dead. I crawled on the ground and peered through the window that looked into the living room. There she was. Alice was sitting against a wall with her head down. She was still alive.

Liam came into the room and I ducked out of the way. I'd take out Connor first. I quietly opened the front door and turned to my immediate left to the bedroom. Connor had his back turned to me, looking at a map on a laptop. I had to kill him before he saw me. It wasn't the death he deserved but it was the only way.

I popped up behind him and clenched his head with both hands. I twisted with all my might. Connor's head snapped around and made a pop. His body became lifeless instantly and dropped to the ground.

“Sorry old friend,” I whispered to him. I dragged his heavy body out of the bedroom and heard Liam calling out.

I came into the living room and dropped Connor to the ground. I drew my AK and pointed it right at Liam's chest. All I had to do was pull the trigger and this entire nightmare would be over.

But Liam was pointing the end of his pistol right at Alice's head.

“Don't even think about it, Locke. One move and I'll blow her brains out. Put your gun down.” Liam forced his pistol against Alice's temple. I did my best to avoid any eye contact with Alice. One look from her and I'd go weak in the knees. I needed my whole focus on the task at hand. Our lives depended on it.

I placed my boot on Connor's dead neck and pressed down just a little. “Let Alice go and I won't kill your brother.” Liam didn't need to know that his brother was already dead. He looked like he could be passed out. I didn't leave any visible marks on him.

“Let's not get too hasty here, Locke. How are we going to settle this?” Liam was beginning to sweat. He knew I was just crazy enough to kill Connor. And he was right because I already did it. But I also knew he was evil enough to kill Alice and not feel a thing.

“We settle this like we did back in school. No weapons. Just our fists,” I proposed.

Liam grinned the same way he used to back in school when a fight would break out. He loved the sound of bones crunching and the feeling of beating a kid within an inch of his life. I know because he told me. Liam tossed his gun to the side and I could hear Alice breathe a sigh of relief. I lifted my boot off of Connor and dropped my AK to the ground.

Liam cracked his knuckles and raised his fists in a defensive stance. “Last time we got in a fight, I nearly killed you, Locke. What makes you think this time will be any different?”

I craned my neck to side until it cracked and jumped on my toes to loosen my body up. “Last time I let you win. Wouldn't be good to beat the boss now would it?”

“Fucking liar,” Liam growled, charging at me and throwing the first punch. He was fast. But not fast enough. I ducked under and sent my fist flying into his stomach. Liam doubled over and bull rushed my legs. I lost my balance and fell over, crashing backwards onto the ground.

“You son of a bitch! You betrayed me!” Liam climbed on top of me and battered my face with blows. Every hit brought me back to the schoolyard. Those bullies used me as a punching bag everyday. Liam saved me from them but I realized that all I did was trade one bully for another.

Time to take back my life.

I brought my knee up with all the force I could muster and knocked Liam off. My head felt dizzy and I had to use my knee to lift myself off the floor. Liam grinned as he stood up to meet me. He always loved a good fight.

“This ends here, Liam. I won't be your bulldog any longer.”

Liam laughed. “You think you've already won? I taught you everything you know, Locke. And I still have a few tricks up my sleeve.”

This time it was my turn to charge Liam. I gathered all the rage in my heart and channeled it into my fist. I swung hard and fast, aiming for Liam's head. His arm came up for a block and deflected my blow. Liam returned with an uppercut to my chin that sent my head rocking back. The dizziness became more apparent. I didn't know how many more blows I could take to the head.

“See how pathetic you've become, Locke. Fighting to the death all for some junkie whore.” Liam pointed right at Alice. “She's done this to you. Can't you see? You've become soft.”

I looked behind to see Alice on the floor all tied up. She shook her head slowly, tears filling her eyes. Bad idea for Liam to mention Alice. I didn't want to admit to myself that it was all for her.

But it was.

My love for Alice rejuvenated me. My head became clear and my fists lighter. I faked with my right hand and surprised Liam with a left hook to the jaw. Bones cracked as Liam's head swiveled side to side. His blank stare gazed up at me as he fell to the ground.

I didn't even wait for him to hit the floor before I went to Alice. “Are you okay?” I asked, bending down and examining her bloody lip.

Alice nodded. “I'm all right. Just get me the hell out of here.”

I went around Alice to untie her but the ziptie was too strong. I needed my switchblade to cut it.

As I got up, Alice screamed, “Look out!”

I turned around to Liam on the ground and in slow motion, watched as he pulled a small gun from his ankle holster. How could I have forgotten? He always kept a spare gun for situations like this. My blind love for Alice had gotten me killed.

“I told you I still had a few tricks up my sleeve,” Liam sneered.

I closed my eyes and remembered my first time with Alice—her soft naked flesh and my hard cock pounding in and out of her. At least I could die happy.

BANG!

The smoking pistol in my hand was warm to the touch. This time pulling the trigger worked. Liam lay dead on the floor with a hole in his head, blooding pooling around his body. Not bad for firing a gun for the first time in my life. I kept the gun pointed at him, my grip firm on the handle. I wouldn't let him hurt us ever again.

Locke opened his eyes and checked his body for bullet holes. He turned to me and realized what happened. He knelt down and pried the gun from my fingers. I wanted to shoot Liam a million more times. Make sure he'd never come back to life.

“You saved my life,” he said, gazing into my eyes.

“Only because the gun was loaded. You really need to keep that shotgun of yours loaded at all times. Could have saved us all a headache.”

Locke chuckled. “I'll take that into consideration.” He looked down at my wrists and saw that they were still bound together by the ziptie. “How the hell did you get your hands free.”

I pointed to the broken pipe. “I was trying to break it the entire time you guys were fighting. I guess seeing you about to be shot gave me that extra ounce of power.”

Locke walked over by Connor and picked up his switchblade. He returned to me and sawed the zipties until my hands were free. My wrists were red and raw from all the struggling. Locke held my wrists in his hands and looked over them. “I'm so sorry this happened. It was all my fault.”

Locke's head was down and tears rolled off his cheeks and fell into my hands. I raised his chin and looked into his eyes. “You saved my life, Locke...twice. If it wasn't for you, I'd probably be dead from an overdose in that godforsaken dungeon I called home. If it wasn't for you, Liam would have killed me.” I kissed Locke softly on the lips even though mine hurt. “You're my hero.”

Locke wiped the tears from his eyes and helped me to my feet. I walked over to Liam and kicked him right in the chest. His lifeless body slumped over. “Fuck you.”

But we still had one more thing to take care of. “What do we do about Connor?” I asked Locke. “We can't let him live, right?”

Locke laughed and kicked Connor over the same way I did to Liam. His head twisted in a way that wasn't humanly possible. There was no life left in his limbs. Connor was dead. He'd been dead the entire time and Locke fooled both Liam
and
me. “You killed him before you even entered the room? But what if Liam noticed?”

“It was a risk I had to take. I couldn't fight both of them at the same time. But if Liam knew Connor was dead, he'd most certainly kill you before I had a chance to do anything. My only option was to act like I held Connor's life in my hands. It was the only thing stopping Liam from killing you in front of me.”

I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. It was the first time in hours that I actually breathed. “I'm just glad it's all over.”

“Not quite yet, Alice. We can't let people find out what happened here. That means we need to dispose of the bodies.” Locke pointed at Liam and Connor. “There's also the guards outside that I had to take out.”

I imagined the amount of digging it would take to bury four bodies.“We have a long night ahead of us then.”

Locke stared down at the body of Liam and I knew exactly what he was thinking. Nobody should have to kill their best friend. “I'm sorry you had to kill him. I know how close you two were.”

Locke nodded and I noticed a line of blood running down from his scalp. “Are you hurt?”

Locke cocked his head to the side. “My face feels sore but other than that I feel fine.”

I pointed at his wound. “But you're bleeding from your head.”

Locke felt around and looked at the blood on his hands. “It's nothing. Don't worry about. Help me move these bodies.” Locke went to the shoulders of Liam and lifted. “You get the legs.”

“Stop for a second. Let me take a look at that wound first. We don't want a bunch of your dried blood all over these corpses for someone to find later.”

Locke thought about it for a moment and dropped Liam to the ground, agreeing with me.

I took his hand and led him into the bathroom off the living room. I flipped the switch and three out of the four bulbs above the mirror lit up. I pulled Locke's head forward and bathed his wound in the light. His short brown hair was matted with blood. “It looks like you have a nasty gash in your head. But it's not too deep. You shouldn't need stitches.”

“Motherfucking Liam. It's those damn gold rings of his. I'm surprised my face isn't cut up more. I've seen guys lose an eye from those.”

I didn't even want to picture what losing an eye would look like in real life. I'd already seen enough death and destruction today. “Let me see if I can find a first-aid kit.”

“There's one underneath the bathroom sink. We've had to stitch each other up here many times before.”

I looked under the sink and found a big white bag with a red cross on it. Inside was everything a doctor would need to do brain surgery. I wasn't that experienced so some gauze and antiseptic would have to do.

“Okay now, lean your head back,” I asked nicely. Locke did as he was told and I carefully poured the antiseptic into his cut.

Locke started squirming in his chair and biting his bottom lip. “Easy, woman. That shit stings.”

“Stop being a baby. You've been hurt so many times I'm surprised you even feel pain anymore.”

Locke laughed and let me finish bandaging his head. He stared up at me with a longing desire. “I won't let anything bad happen to you.”

I stopped for a moment and looked into his eyes. “I know.” he made me feel so safe. Even in the worst, I knew everything would turn out all right if Locke was around.

Locke ran his fingers through my tangled hair. “Do you know how beautiful you are?”

I blushed and slapped him on the shoulder. “You're just saying that because of the blood loss to your head.”

Locke stood up and held me close. “No I'm serious. You're the most beautiful thing my eyes have ever laid eyes on.” Locke wrapped his arms around me. “I don't ever want to let go.”

I looked up at him, my mouth inches away from his. I could feel his hot breath against me. “Never let go.”

Locke pressed his lips against mine, holding me firmly. My body felt like goo in his hands as I melted away. My heartbeat raced in my chest. I never wanted him more than now.