Golden Trail (90 page)

Ryker’s breathing started to get visibly
heavy, his huge chest moving with it.

“I can’t lock this down, bro,” he
whispered.

“Yes you can.”

“No, Tanner.”

“Focus, brother.”

“Lexie,” he whispered.

“
Focus,
” Layne clipped.

“I can’t.”

“Be her hero, Ryker. Do not make her and her
mother lose more than they’ve already lost today.”

They held eyes and Ryker kept breathing
heavy.

“Deep, Ryker, breathe deep, not shallow,
suck in air, lock it down,” Layne urged.

Ryker nodded and took in a deep breath,
turned to face front, his eyes locked on the Mazda and his fists
curled on his thighs.

Layne let out a breath, leaned over, pulled
down the door to the glove compartment and yanked out his .38.

“She goes to the car, I go in, you call
Merry. Cal provides cover. You’re last resort. You got that?”

“What if she isn’t alone?”

“Then you provide cover too, you got your
.45?” he asked even though he knew. Ryker didn’t go anywhere
without his .45.

Ryker leaned forward and yanked out his .45.
Then he nodded to Layne.

“This is not a shoot first and ask questions
later, deal, Ryker. We are not officers of the law. We’re skatin’
on thin ice here, only so much Merry can cover for us. This is an
incapacitate and incarcerate deal, yeah?” Layne ordered.

Ryker nodded again.

Layne called Cal.

“Yo,” Cal answered. “I’m guessin’ the Mazda
is important.”

“It’s hers. You got eyes on it?”

“Yep.”

“She approaches, I go in, you and Ryker are
cover. Do you have a gun or do you need me to get you one?”

“My wife was kidnapped and nearly shot in
the head, man. I got guns everywhere.”

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

“Good call since it was a yes.”

“Right, we’re done,” Layne stated and
flipped his phone closed.

Then he reached up, turned off the interior
cab light, pulled the keys out of the ignition, tossed them to
Ryker who caught them and his eyes went to the door to the
stairs.

Layne was right, she felt the heat. They
didn’t wait five minutes before the door to the stairs opened and
Nicolette Towers showed, wearing sick fuck, underage gang rape
party hostess gear of fancy-ass dress and spike heels, her hair out
to there, her face made up to perfection. She had a bodyguard but,
thank Christ, only one.

Ryker flipped open his phone and Layne
didn’t look at him. He opened his door, slid around it, didn’t
close it and then ran quickly and silently, moving behind parked
vehicles, keeping his eyes on Towers and her goon.

They were walking swiftly but engaged in
intense conversation which was a mistake. At least the bodyguard
should be vigilant. They must have clocked the intensity of the
operation gearing up inside the hotel. She looked pissed. He looked
tweaked.

Layne slid up the side of a Pathfinder,
positioning at the hood. They were walking toward him. He bent with
his body behind the vehicle, his gun aimed, arms resting on the
hood.

“Hands where I can see them,” he barked when
they were two cars away from the Mazda.

The goon didn’t hesitate. He yanked a weapon
out of his shoulder holster and started firing. Towers dashed to
the Mazda.

Bullets slammed into the Pathfinder and
ricocheted off, Layne returned fire almost blind then ducked. More
fire coming his way but also from Cal shooting from the opposite
direction.

The Pathfinder stopped taking hits and Layne
bolted up, the goon was turned, returning Cal’s fire. Layne aimed
and fired, connected a bullet to his calf and the guy went down to
his knee. Cal kept shooting and more gunfire entered play. Ryker
had made his call and was in the game.

The Mazda reversed out of the spot, Towers
cutting the wheel, riding the rims. She either didn’t know or
didn’t care her man was down behind her because the Mazda slammed
right into him. Layne wasn’t in the position to see how she got him
but he heard his howl of agony. She shifted into first and Layne
moved out of cover, hunkered down and launched himself on the hood
of her car.

Finding purchase on the lip of the hood by
the windshield with one hand, his belly to the metal, their eyes
locked.

She cut the wheel and Layne’s body went
sliding, she slammed into a car and skidded through it and the
next, still moving.

Then she cut the wheel the other way to make
the turn through the garage, the Mazda nearly uncontrollable,
riding on rims and Layne’s body flew with the car and his hold
slipped but held at his top knuckles.

She righted the car and he lifted his gun,
taking aim at her shoulder.

He pulled the trigger just as she cut the
wheel again, his shot went wide and so did his body. He was losing
his grip, he wouldn’t be able to hold on much longer. They skimmed
down cars, metal against metal, sparks flying around his legs.
Layne heaved himself back to full on the hood, raised the gun and
took aim when he heard sirens.

She cut the other way but Layne got off two
shots through the windscreen then let go, rolling with the movement
of the car, he lucked out and rolled straight onto the hood of
another vehicle rather than crashing to the ground and getting
caught under her tires or smashed between the Mazda and another
car.

He rolled up the windscreen then down to his
back. He did an ab curl just in time to see Towers drive through
two empty spots, slam into the side of a car and stop.

Layne slid off the car and dropped to his
feet, on the run the minute they touched the ground.

She threw open her door and fell out,
crawling. He lifted his gun, took aim and shouted, “Freeze!”

She rolled to her back, lifting a .22 in his
direction, blood staining the front of her dress.

Ryker came in from the right, shoving his
big body though the opening, he dropped down between floors, his
tree trunk legs took the impact then he was up and he trained his
.45 on her.

“Give me a reason,” he growled.

Cal pounded up behind Layne then slowed, gun
drawn, aimed, head cocked to the sight, he inched forward beside
Layne.

Her eyes circled the men then her hand
dropped, not that she was giving up, she couldn’t hold it up
anymore. Layne knew this because her body dropped too, flat on her
back on the pavement of a parking garage. A bubble of blood escaped
her lips and then slid down the side of her mouth.

They all approached slowly except Ryker who
got there quick and kicked her gun out of her hand.

She was audibly wheezing then the blood
gurgled in her throat.

Ryker crouched beside her and Layne and Cal
tensed.

“Brother,” Layne whispered as units came
skidding around the parking garage, screeching to a halt, sirens
blaring, lights flashing.

There was a lot of noise but, even so, Layne
could hear as Ryker pulled the phlegm up his throat.

Then he bent and spit, the slimy, yellow
hocker hitting her smack on the cheekbone, splashing into her
eye.

“Cunt,” he hissed then straightened.

“Stand down,” a uniform ordered and all eyes
moved to the advancing cops.

Layne dropped his gun hand, so did Cal.
Ryker shoved his in his back waistband.

The cops must have got a head’s up from
Merry. They immediately lost interest in Layne, Cal and Ryker and
trained their guns on Towers.

“Shit,” Cal growled slow and Layne looked to
him to see he was looking at Layne. Then he smiled just as slow.
“You are one crazy motherfucker. Fuck me, you jumped on her car,
man.”

Ryker strolled close, his eyes locked on
Layne.

Then he said two words.

“Epic, bro.”

* * * * *

Layne, Cal and Ryker strode into the foyer
of The Townsend as Merry was moving through it.

The minute Merry saw them he grinned huge,
his gait quickened and that fist that had hold of Layne’s chest
loosened.

There was no reason to smile.

Unless a miracle happened.

“Word’s spreadin’, big man, remember us
little people when you’re baskin’ in LA sunshine and the glow of
superstardom,” Merry remarked upon arrival.

“What?” Layne asked at this unexpected
opening.

“Parking garage’s got manned cameras,
Tanner, that shit’s flyin’ ‘round so fast –”

“You wanna cut the crap and tell me about my
girl?” Ryker barked and Merry looked at him, his grin still in
place.

“Yeah, man, I do,” he said without
hesitation. “They took the floor, only blood shed was blood that
deserved to leak. The team they put together was top notch. They
got into the rooms and all the clients were inside. Champagne and
hors d’oeuvres. The good news for you, brother, is that Alexis and
the other girls had not yet regained consciousness. They’re not
only untouched, they don’t even know where they are.” Merry looked
to Layne. “Apparently, they wait for them to be awake. Each suite
had two bedrooms and a sitting room. In each suite, one bedroom had
our girls in it, the sitting room had drinks and munchies, the last
bedroom had girls from her stable. Previews for the final show but
they didn’t get the final show. Got some of ‘em caught in the act.
Pervs are fucked, every last one of them, pants down or not.”

“She’s okay?” Ryker growled.

“She’s absolutely fine. She’s with a female
officer and still unconscious,” Merry answered.

And that was when Ryker collapsed. One
second he was standing, the next second his ass was to the floor,
his knees bent to the ceiling, his forearms to his knees and his
head was bowed between his legs. Merry, Cal and Layne all looked
down at a big man brought low by a miracle.

When Ryker’s shoulders started shaking, Cal
stepped away, Merry looked to his boots but Layne crouched beside
his friend.

He wrapped a hand around his thick neck and
got close.

“Colt told me, since they used God, maybe
He’d be motivated to help out.” Layne murmured, put pressure on
Ryker’s neck and released him. “Apparently, He was motivated.”

Ryker nodded to his lap.

Layne straightened and Merry and he moved
two feet to Cal, giving Ryker time.

“Anything new?” Layne asked.

“Rutledge is still in surgery. Towers is
bein’ transported, no clue there but we’ve got her on identity
theft, multiple counts of underage prostitution, multiple counts of
statutory rape, blackmail, kidnapping and, any of her boys’ guns
match the bullets you took, brother, they roll and say she ordered
the hit, conspiracy to commit murder. She lives after you drilled
two into her chest, she’ll never take another free breath.”

“What about her other girls?” Layne
asked.

“Too soon, they’re bein’ transported to the
Station to get questioned. Though, one gave up the location of at
least one of her stables. They’re puttin’ together a raid now.
There might be more. Each of those rooms had three or more girls in
it, Tanner, and early info says these girls are not all she’s got,”
Merry answered. “She left some behind.”

“Jesus,” Cal muttered, the word heavy with
disgust. “It’s this big, how can this be under IMPD’s radar?”

Merry shook his head. “Don’t know, outside
the bitch was smart. But I reckon we’ll find out.”

“My source says she worked the foster care
angle,” Layne reminded Merry.

“Yeah, and we checked that out. She did that
but, like Youth Group, she recruited through a front, a fall guy,
or in that case, woman. The woman who acted as her agent is
currently serving a nickel but Towers never let her close enough,
in fact, the woman never saw Towers. She handed over to a member of
Towers’ crew who disappeared after Social Services cottoned on and
started their investigation and never was located. The girls were
never recovered except to surface later as prostitutes, porn stars,
bikers’ bitches and equally limiting professions. That angle died
seven years ago.”

Ryker’s presence hit their group.

“I wanna see Alexis,” he announced.

Merry looked at him and nodded. He turned to
a uniform who was standing with a plainclothes officer and
whistled.

When he had the uniform’s attention, he
nodded his head to Ryker. “This guy is guardian to Alexis McGraw,
the redheaded girl in room twelve oh three. He wants to see his
girl.”

The uniform swept his eyes top to toe on
Ryker and then they narrowed on Merry. Ryker looked like guardian
of the gates of hell, not guardian to a pretty, fourteen year old
redhead.

“He’s cool,” Merry assured.

“Merry, are you gonna talk to the girls now
or can they go home?” Layne asked and Merry turned to him as the
uniform approached.

“They wake up, they’ll be disoriented and
since they were probably roofied, won’t remember much. We can talk
to them in the morning,” Merry answered.

Ryker was moving away with the uniform, his
hand in his motorcycle jacket but he called to Layne, “You’re our
ride, bro.”

“I’m not goin’ anywhere,” Layne called
back.

“I know, but you comin’ or what?” Ryker
returned.

Layne glanced through Merry and Cal, nodded
and followed Ryker. It would seem big, scary, badass, looking like
a raving lunatic Ryker needed his BFF.

Fuck.

He heard Ryker on his phone when he stopped
beside him at the elevator. “Liss, baby, she’s okay, she’s good.
They found her. She’s all right. I’m goin’ to her now. We’re gonna
be home soon. It’s all good.”

The elevator opened and Colt with a variety
of cops walked out. Colt clapped Ryker on the shoulder as they
switched places but his hand came up to Layne, Layne took it and
looked in Colt’s eyes.

“Cal called, ran it down. Remember us when
you’re a big Hollywood action star,” Colt remarked.

Layne let his hand go muttering, “Bite me,”
through his smile.