Chapter 17
Bailey napped until she rolled over the wrong way, and something in her back sent sharp pains rippling through her ribs. Instantly she awoke, gasping for the waves of torture to slow down. There was only so much pain she could take. Apparently she’d hit her limit. She’d forgotten to take the painkillers before going to bed.
Crap. Awake now, she slowly sat up and made her way to the bathroom. When she was done, she sat back down on the bed, took two painkillers, washing them down with a drink of water. Her stomach felt oddly queasy too. She frowned, wondering if it was okay to go to the kitchen to get a glass of warm milk. She knew Alfred wouldn’t mind, but she was supposed to stay in her room. Still she’d be there and back in ten minutes. She could bring the cup to her room.
With everybody on watch, she figured it was safe. She put her feet inside her slippers, tossed on her robe, wincing at the pain, knowing she would need Ice to see if any stitches had been ripped out. Although how she could’ve possibly done that, she didn’t know.
Out in the hall she quietly made her way to the elevator.
She was still tying the sash around her bathrobe when the doors opened on her floor. She inspected it before stepping inside and headed downstairs.
This place was more like a hotel than a home. But it had a very homey feel. Ice and Levi had done a wonderful job making it something others felt welcome in.
In the kitchen, she went to the refrigerator for the milk and poured some in a saucepan, quickly heating it up on the stove. It didn’t take long before she poured it into her mug. She added a cinnamon stick and returned to the hallway.
She’d overfilled her mug slightly, making it hard to walk without spilling. At the elevator doors, she pressed the button and waited. She blew on the top of the milk in her cup, wishing it would cool. The cup itself was heating up. Why hadn’t she thought to bring a tray?
The door opened, and she stepped gently inside, not wishing to spill milk or someone might slip and fall. As she went to close the door, somebody joined her. She glanced up with a smile, only to have her smile fall away. “What are you doing here?”
“Bailey? Bailey Hoskins?” the mayor asked. He gave her a smarmy politician smile filled with arrogance that said he could do whatever the hell he wanted to do to her. She pressed the button to keep the door open.
When she went to step back out again, he said, “Oh, I don’t think so.” He flipped the switch that held the elevator indefinitely. A pause button. With no harsh buzzing noises.
Her heart sinking, she knew this wasn’t good, and she had no idea where anybody else was. “How did you get in?”
“When they captured my buddy, they forgot to close the hatch behind them.” He chuckled. “All the focus was on my bogey and not on me.”
“I’m sure they are still looking for you.” She glared at him. “Everyone is looking for you after you shot the detective.”
“Absolutely. But I didn’t shoot the detective. That was Jim, one of my men. And it doesn’t matter because I don’t give a shit about him. He served his purpose.”
“What? To get rid of your enemies? Did you kill Jim too? He’s gone missing, so I bet you have, haven’t you? I know politics is cutthroat, but that’s ridiculous. Especially as he killed your other man in the alleyway, Troy Burgess? Why? Why kill anyone?”
“Troy was all for a deal we had going, but then he got cold feet. I couldn’t have that,” the mayor said in a hard voice. “So he had to be dealt with before he went to the cops. The best way to keep people on your side is to embroil them in the conflicts so they can’t run to the police. Jim has been taking care of ugly business for a long time. We expect to get paid for the government contracts we hand out. All of us expect something. And the more the better.” He grinned. “Then there are the deals to look the other way while companies did illegal things. We all knew there was a price tag. But then a building collapsed and killed a couple children. It probably wouldn’t have happened if we’d made sure the inspection was done. But Jim had actually been the one to push it through. He couldn’t stomach the results. So one day Jim decided he wanted out.”
“And you shot yourself as a diversion.” She glared at him. “No one was fooled.”
“Doesn’t matter as I didn’t do it. My new hired man was very helpful that way.”
She snorted. “Does he know he was the diversion?”
The mayor shrugged his shoulders. He had massive shoulders, and she realized he had more of a linebacker’s build. “How did you get so close to the property without anyone seeing you?”
He smiled. “You ask so many questions.”
She shook her head. “I know they didn’t see any vehicle on the road, or they would’ve seen you.”
“I’ve been in Texas a long time, little girl. There are a whole lot more ways of getting things done than you might think.”
She frowned at him. “And what are you doing here?”
“Well, you and I will have a talk.”
She slipped out, but he grabbed her free arm. “No games. Absolutely no games.”
“I’m not going into that elevator with you.”
“Yes, you are.” And he pulled her closer.
She used the only weapon she had. Boiled milk. She threw it directly at his face. His screams of rage and pain were music to her ears.
She raced down the stairs to the prisoner holding cell. Someone would be standing guard. She didn’t know where else to run. She could have gone to the control room, but she didn’t want to lead the mayor upstairs where some of the others would be sleeping.
She heard the mayor running behind her and picked up the pace. Her back was injured, not her legs, but every jump she made down the stairs sent jarring pain up her back. She bolted through the door, shouting. Merk stepped out and grabbed her. “What’s the matter?”
“He’s chasing me,” she babbled. “He just grabbed me at the elevator. I threw hot milk in his face and ran.”
She was shaking so badly she could hardly stand. Merk tucked her up behind him and pushed them both behind the door.
She didn’t have a weapon now. She’d used the only one available to her, but she really wanted something else. She glanced over at the prisoner, staring at them with a big smirk on his face.
She glared at him. “I wouldn’t be smiling. You were the diversion. He didn’t give a shit if you got caught or not.”
The smile fell away. He glared at her. “Like hell. He’s here to rescue me.”
“Dream on. He’s here to do the job you couldn’t do.”
Merk reached around and grabbed her hand and gave her a warning to be quiet. Across the way she could see the medical clinic. She slipped past the prisoner and into the clinic. Crouching low behind a stretcher, she neared where they kept the medical instruments. What a well-stocked facility. Lots of needles. She had no idea if she could fill one with drugs and then plunge it into the mayor’s arm. But, even with a scalpel in her hand, knowing it was deadly sharp, she felt better.
Suddenly there was gunfire. She raced to the doorway and sank down behind the little cabinet. She hoped Merk was okay. He already had a head injury. The last thing he needed was to get hurt again.
The gunfire filled her head. She could hear other people racing toward them. But she just wasn’t sure who. She peered around the door. The first thing she saw was the prisoner. Then she gasped at the sudden movement to her right as pain surged through her back. There was more gunfire. She crouched back down again, hearing the prisoner taunting Merk.
“You might as well give up. You can’t kill the mayor,” he said. “You have morals, ethics. He doesn’t. He’ll kill every person in this house and not give a damn.”
“I can kill any asshole intruding into my place that I want,” Merk said. “I don’t have to take shit from you at all.”
“You should listen to my man.” The mayor chuckled. “Or not. Kill him. Then when he’s dead, nobody would know who did what.”
The prisoner gasped. “Hey, that’s not—”
A single shot fired. Silence followed. Bailey peered around the corner to see blood running down the side of the prisoner’s head as he now slumped forward in his chair.
She shuddered and closed her eyes. The mayor had killed yet another of his men.
Bailey shook her head. If he would come just a little bit closer, she’d kill him herself.
He stepped in front of the clinic’s doorway. “Where is she? I know she came down here.”
“I have no idea,” Merk said.
She couldn’t see Merk anywhere, so she figured he was hiding. The mayor was behind the open door of the medical clinic with his back to her. She glanced down at the scalpel in her hand. She had no idea if it was enough to stab him with. He was a big man. He wouldn’t go down with one blow. Unless she went for his neck.
He sent up another shot. And she heard Merk swear. That just made her angry.
Another voice was added to the fray. “Now you’re surrounded.”
She grinned. That was Dakota.
“Oh, I don’t think so. You see? Your little honey is in here with me. So you won’t get a chance at her at all.”
“Bailey, run,” Dakota called.
She didn’t know what to do. Answer him or stay quiet?
“Answer me if you’re there.”
And she realized he wanted to scare the mayor. Make him believe she wasn’t in here. All he needed was that split second for the mayor to let his guard down.
The mayor chuckled. “See? She doesn’t listen either.”
Another shot was fired. It hit the sign on the door beside the mayor. He swore and ducked into the medical clinic, looking around for her.
She was crouched behind the one tiny cabinet. It wouldn’t take him long to find her. But the longer he was stuck inside, the more time Merk and Dakota had to get closer.
She held her breath and kept her position low.
“Where are you, little bitch?”
Well, she hadn’t answered Dakota, and she certainly would in no way answer him.
The mayor then caught sight of her. A horrible grin spread across his face. He lined up for the shot. She shoved the cabinet his way and bolted to the side under the surgical table. His shot went wild. She came up behind him as he tried to shoot again and slashed at her target.
He screamed at her. Dakota yelled at her. Shots were fired. The door opened behind her, but she couldn’t stop slashing. The next thing she knew, strong arms were around her, lifting her and pulling her, holding her up where she couldn’t hurt anybody. She heard grunting and moaning and screaming. “Easy, honey. Take it easy, Bailey.”
She froze. “Is it over?” she cried. Still twisting, only now registering her back was on fire.
Dakota slowly lowered her to the ground. She turned to see the mayor standing but needing Merk’s help to stay on his feet. She’d stabbed his chest, opening his shirt, and he was bleeding from at least a dozen places. One of them was deep in his forearm.
The room filled with people. Ice walked over, took one look at the mayor, assessed the damage and went to Bailey. She gently held out her hand. “Bailey, I need the scalpel.”
Bailey raised her terrified gaze to Ice. “Did I kill him?”
Ice shook her head. “No. We have him now. He can’t hurt you again.” She moved her hand closer. “I need the scalpel now please.”
Slowly, her arm trembling, Bailey reached out and dropped the scalpel in Ice’s hand. And that’s when she realized she was completely covered in blood—head to toe. She stared down at herself and asked, “Am I hurt?”
Ice chuckled. “I don’t know. Are you?”
She looked at Dakota, then looked back at Ice. “I think I’m okay, but my back … On the other hand, the mayor …”
He was sitting now, weak from lack of blood. Ice moved over and put pressure on some of the worst wounds. Levi was on his phone, calls being made, more swearing as others arrived. But it was just too much noise and confusion and chaos.
Before she realized it, Bailey was sitting on a chair. Dakota stood beside her, holding her in place so she didn’t collapse. She glanced down at her hands and her bathrobe. “I’m covered in blood.”
“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “I’m just damn glad it’s all his.”
She shook her head. “All I wanted was a cup of milk.”
He glanced at her and over at the mayor. “Is that what’s all over his face?”
She took a good look at the mayor’s face. It was red, sore-looking, and puffy.
“He got into the elevator with me. When I tried to get out, he came after me. The only thing I had was the cup of hot milk, so I threw it right in his face.”
“Good. I hope it was damn hot.”
She gave him a glimmer of a smile. “It was.” She smirked. “I make a mean warm milk.”
He chuckled. His chuckles became louder and louder until he laughed uproariously. He snagged her in his arms, holding her close. “You are a mean machine, one way or another.”
She looked up at him and smiled, wrapping her arms around him. “I can’t say I’ve ever been put to the test before.”
“You have now, and you passed with flying colors.”
She grinned. “Well, I couldn’t let him attack you.”
He chuckled again. “You’re my hero.”
She snorted. “You really think I don’t know about that? I heard from one of the ladies about the hero joke.”
Dakota laughed again. “That’s only a joke.”
“I don’t think so,” she said. “If we’re to have a relationship, somebody has to be the hero.”
“Like hell,” he said. “Besides, you’re not ready for a relationship. You still miss your husband.” With that he shooed her over to where the other ladies stood. “You want to help her get changed and tucked into bed again? We have to talk with these guys and to the cops when they get here.”
Sienna nodded, wrapped an arm around Bailey and said, “Come on, mighty warrior. Let’s get you to bed.”
*
Dakota’s mind went to what Bailey had said. Was she really ready for a relationship? He wasn’t exactly sure what her comment meant. He’d seen her sitting on the bed with the box of keepsakes, crying for her dead husband. Dakota didn’t want a partial relationship; he wanted a whole one. And, for that, he would have to wait. He didn’t have a problem with that. He just preferred to know how long.
The days went by with him at her side, ready but hesitant to make a move.
In the meantime, Detective Mannford improved. Jim had been found dead in his apartment. The ballistics matched the gun the mayor had brought into the compound. The mayor didn’t have great working relationships.
Bailey had taken the news in a steady manner. Dakota had been expecting her to pack and leave even as he was looking for excuses to keep her here. He’d even asked Ice if they were looking to hire some help for Alfred.
Instead of giving him an answer, she’d looked at him with amusement and walked out.
Was that a yes or a no?