Matt’s loud snoring woke Bruce from his deep sleep. His friend’s image on the couch across from him slowly came into view, as he opened his blurry eyes. He glanced at the clock above the couch. It was 1:25am. All of a sudden, he recalled Matt’s words.

“We need that guy back.”

A split second after that, he remembered what Julia had said to him earlier:

“You should go get her. She’s not happy.”

“Do we? Should I?” He asked himself, putting his hands on his face. A look around him added to the emptiness that he felt in his heart.

“A song says ‘So close, no matter how far.” Damn, that lyric’s so true. I feel so cold without you, Melissa. That’s what you get for being nice, Bruce. Ok, you had her for a few days. Now what? You’re going to wait for Howard to just… hand her over to you? That’s never going to happen. I’m starting to think that Matt was right. We do need that guy back. He used to take what was his. He wouldn’t take shit from anybody. Julia was right, too. Melissa deserves to be happy. I don’t care if I have to go up against an army. I don’t give a shit if I get killed trying to get her out of there. No more ‘Mr. Nice Guy’ motherfuckers. I’m coming for you.”

The mere thought of going back to Las Vegas was enough to awaken his senses. Bruce literally jumped up and sprinted across the living room. Burning with determination to get Melissa back, he stormed out of the suite. Whatever inhibitions he had about this were gone. He would stop at nothing. In his mind, they were meant to be together.

He reached the underground parking lot in seconds. Jeffrey was standing next to a yellow, Chevrolet Camaro, parked in the upper right corner. Bruce was surprised; he was expecting to see his mangled SUV.

“Hey!” Jeffrey yelled, waving from a distance, as Bruce approached him at a fast pace. “What are you doing here so late?”

“I just needed some fresh air.” Bruce claimed.

“You did well tonight. Julia’s going to pay for the damage. I was on my way to get a cup of coffee. Do you want some?” Jeffrey inquired, as Bruce stopped in front him.

“Change of plans.” Bruce spoke in his stentorian voice, clenching his fists. Quickly throwing his arm, he rotated it mid-way and laid a tremendous jab to the jaw of the unsuspected Jeffrey, sending him ten feet across the lot and to the left. He landed hard on his right side, moaning in pain. His gun fell out of the holster, as his body hit the ground. It scraped along the floor, finally stopping a few feet to Bruce’s left.

“Sorry.” Bruce muttered, as he picked up the weapon.

“You crazy bastard!” Jeffrey cried, holding his jaw. “Why did you do that?”

Bruce chose to ignore his question. He had no time to waste. He started the powerful engine of the Camaro and put it in gear. The rear tires squeaked as he drove off. Adrenaline shot through him, as he reached the road. In a few seconds, people and traffic had become blurry images of things he was trying to avoid, exactly like when rode his Harley. However, the last thing on his mind was the rush that he would get from driving a fast car. Bruce had a date with destiny. He would either bring Melissa back with him or die in the process. At that point, nothing else mattered. Before long though, his cell phone rang. It was Julia and she did not sound happy at all.

“Yeah.”

“You stole my car?!” She yelled so loudly that Bruce had to pull his phone away from his ear. “What the hell were you thinking?!”

“I just decided to take your advice. I’m going back to Vegas.”

Silence followed his last statement. Bruce held the phone to his ear, anticipating response, but he got none. For a moment, he believed that the line had been cut off.

“Hello?”

“I’m here.” Julia lowered her tone. “Look, just be careful, ok? Go get our girl.”

“I’ll try. I need her address. I know it’s on Franklin. I just don’t know the number.”

“Thirty-four. It’s the biggest house in the neighborhood. You can’t miss it. Good luck.”

“Thanks.”

“Bye.”

“Alright, this is it.” He said to himself, as he got onto Malibu Canyon Road.

“I have the element of surprise. It’s late; traffic won’t be an issue. It’s 1:30, I need 4.5, maybe five hours to get there, tops. I just hope I don’t run into Howard’s goons. But even if I do, I’m going to run those pricks over if I have to.”

Helped by the powerful engine of the Camaro, it took Bruce only four hours and twenty minutes to cover the distance. It was still dark when he entered the city of lights on that moonlit September night. There was barely any traffic on the road. And it was then that he grasped the importance and the dangers of what he was about to do. Blinded by passion, he had not been thinking. Bruce realized that there was a chance that he might never see Matt or his sister again. Nevertheless, he did not regret his decision. Now, there was no turning back.

Bruce slowed down and almost brought the Camaro to a full stop, before turning off the lights, a few yards before the neighborhood entrance. His heart was racing, but unlike earlier that night, he was not sweating at all. Gripping the steering wheel hard, he took a deep, cleansing breath. A large, brown Bentley drove past him, as he stepped on the gas pedal and slowly applied pressure. He turned his head to the left. The wall address plaque on the third house read “6”.

“Let’s risk some more gas.” He thought to himself, applying some more pressure to the accelerator. As he drove by one expensive mansion after another, a very familiar sight came into view: Melissa’s Harley, parked in the driveway, close to her front door. Just inside the edge of the driveway stood a tall, muscular man, with his arms crossed over his stomach. Thirty yards before Melissa’s house, Bruce put his foot hard down on the gas pedal and turned on the lights at the same time. The sound of the powerful engine rocked the quiet neighborhood. He tightened his grip on the steering wheel and swerved left. Melissa’s guard had no time to react. The Camaro struck him on the knees, very hard. His body was thrown more than fifteen feet across the lawn. He landed hard and flat on his back. Screaming in pain, he brought his knees to his chest. Bruce stepped on the brakes. The car was brought to a full stop, inches away from the stranger.

He got out of the car, fuming with rage, as he recognized the identity of Melissa’s guard. It was the same man who had taken Bruce to the basement of the restaurant on Wednesday night, holding a gun to his head. He ran towards him, casting his shadow over him. By putting his hands on either ankle, he pulled his legs and then pressed them down onto the lawn, forcing an even louder cry of pain out of him. He took one big step forward and sat on his stomach.

“You’re not so tough without your gun, are you?” Bruce snarled, clenching his right fist. A powerful punch rocked the man’s head back. He was about to hit him again, when his ears picked up a thumping sound, coming from inside the house. It sounded as if a table or a large chair had been flipped over. Bruce bounced back up and flipped around. He rushed towards the front door to the right, filled with worry about her. Just when he reached it though, someone opened it. It was Melissa. Her keys slipped through her fingers, as she looked up at him.

“Oh, my God.” She whispered. Bruce could not speak. He reached out, put his big arms around her and held her close to him. Melissa wrapped her arms around his waist, putting her head on his chest. However, their reunion had to be cut short. The commotion had woken up a few of her neighbors. Some of them had even gotten out of their houses and were asking each other about what had transpired.

“I’m sorry, baby.” He croaked, pushing her back. “We don’t have time for this. Come on, let’s go.”

Melissa nodded and followed him. Anxious to leave as quickly as possible, Bruce did not bother to ask what had happened inside the house. Instead, he got back in the car and put it in reverse. She sat in the passenger’s seat and put her head in her hands, as the Camaro returned on the road. In a matter of seconds, the two reunited lovers were on their way out of Melissa’s neighborhood, leaving several bystanders in disbelief…