Dangerous trio 2 (2 page)

He heard the guards yelling at him, but he did not stop, instead he ran towards the stairs he knew led him up to Bailey. Jolly yelled over his shoulder for the guards to call for back up. He recognized one of the men chasing him finally and knew he would make it to Bailey before he was tackled and taken into custody. He listened to her conversation in one ear and Steve talking to him in the other. When he hit the door to the States Attorney, he had a host of guards following him. He paused long enough for him to explain part of the situation and then pulled the one guard he knew he could trust aside and briefed him on the situation. Jolly finally checked to make sure Bailey was still in the office before entering the lobby. He saw one of the U.S. Marshalls that took Bailey earlier and nodded. He stood his ground as he waited for the guards to do what they had planned in case of a situation like this. It would take a few minutes to get everyone into place and he could get Bailey out of here.

Knowing she was still safe, he stood in the hallway waiting for permission to get into the conference room Bailey was in. Finally, after clearance from the Marshalls, he poked his head into the room and asked to see Bailey. The look of relief that passed over her face was evidence enough he had not overreacted. He pulled her out of the office and asked for a conference room to talk to her alone.

Once the door down an opposite hallway was shut firmly behind them, Jolly took a deep breath and told Steve he had secured Bailey.

“What?” She said nervously looking at the big man. She knew she could trust him but he was so large, he scared her a little. If it had not been for Dallas explaining the situation with Jolly, she would have run screaming from the room.

“Honey, Mr. Trent failed the vetting process, we are waiting for instructions on what to do. Steve is calling the Marshalls right now and talking to them, I just wanted to come and make sure you were okay.” He said gently to the little woman. He knew he scared her and was trying to be soft and gentle with her. She was so tiny, thank God he had fallen for Calli who was at least taller that most women. Shit, if she had been any smaller, Jolly would have been terrified to touch her.

“What do we do?” She said glancing around nervously.

“Bailey, look at me, do you really think anyone will hurt you while I am standing right next to you?” He asked astonished, trying to put her a little at ease.

Bailey giggled and looked at him, still a little tense, but he could see she had relaxed somewhat. He needed her to trust him right now. Jolly looked around the room to see if he could find a place to hide her if things got a little out of control. He was thinking of a great plan while they were standing there. Jolly pulled the Nextel out of his coat, turned the earpiece back on, and talked to Steve quickly. He did not worry about pleasantries, instead, giving him orders, while he was pulling Bailey behind him in the closet that was in the corner. He finished talking to Steve, turned to Bailey, put his hands on her shoulder, and bent so they were face to face.

“Do you trust me?” He whispered and smiled at her.

She bit her lip nervously, but nodded. He explained what he wanted her to do and pushed her into the closet with encouragement. Jolly heard a slight knock on the door and went to answer it. Outside, was a small agent about the same size as Bailey, he opened the door wider so she could come in. Steve had made the call quickly to ask for a stand in foe Bailey.

“Ma"am my name is Jolly. I have a little problem that your boss said you would be willing to help me with so we can get your witness out of here alive. I believe you have been briefed on the problem with Trent?” He said briskly and shut the door quickly before anyone else could see there were actually two women in the room with him.

Thankfully enough, he had not seen anyone in the hallway when he answered the door, hopefully they were all still in the conference room across the building, waiting for them to come back. Mr. Trent was being watched, but until they could prove to the feds he was dirty, they were only allowing a little leeway.

The agent nodded, then went to the closet and did as Jolly requested. Before long, Bailey came out wearing the agent"s clothes and the agent with hers. He grabbed Bailey's hand and said to her quickly. “Now, we do not have enough time for me to go into detail here, but you know I am going to protect you with my life, right?” He said looking at her in the eyes so she would trust him more. She nodded and smiled.

“Jolly, I trust you; just tell me what to do.” Bailey said.

“Okay then, I am gonna take the little look alike here, and leave the building. You are going to get into the closet and lock it. Do not open it for anyone but Steve. He is on his way and knows where you are. No one will come in here and look for you when they see me with another woman. If I am wrong, I owe you a new outfit, but if I am right, Mr.

Trent will have someone following us. We will lead them away from you, until we can get you back to the loft. Under no circumstances will you leave the loft again, they can come to you and do the interviews or whatever. Now, what are you going to do?” He said gently to her.

“I am going to hide in the closet until Steve gets here. I won"t open the door for anyone, I promise.” She said and leaned up and kissed the big guy"s cheek.

Jolly nodded and stood up and pushed her into the closet. He called Steve one last time to find out how long Bailey was going to be in the closet. Steve informed him he had pulled up to the building and was going to security. They should pass each other in the hall if all went well. Jolly nodded to the female agent and handed her the trench coat Bailey had worn. There was a hood on it and she pulled it up to cover her hair that was blonde instead of red.

Jolly led the agent out of the room into the lobby area. He whispered for the agent to keep her head down and wait for him. Jolly went back to the conference room Bailey had been in, and was relieved to see the States Attorney, Mr. Trent, and another Marshall still in the room.

“Bailey is done for the day. You can call my office to set up further appointments, but she is feeling vulnerable and uncomfortable here and wants to go home. She signed the papers, my company is her preferred security, and the waiver is right here. For her safety we are moving her now, and will be in touch when you can meet with her again.” Jolly said briskly and nodded to the States Attorney who was frowning. Jolly saw the look of frustration flash across Trent"s face, and knew they had made the right decision.

“Excuse me, Mr. Vincent, is it? You and your partner Mr. Wade need to sign the waiver also.” Trent smiled smugly, thinking he had bought himself more time.

“Done and faxed to your supervisor.” Jolly replied.

“Oh… Well I guess everything is in order then.” Trent said disappointed. “I will go to my office and get it all filed then.”

Jolly smiled grimly and turned to get the heck out of the office quickly. He figured Trent was going to try to intercept Bailey and wanted to draw his attention away from Bailey and Steve and onto him and the decoy. He pulled the female agent out the door with him and walked quickly to the elevators. He at least was able to breathe a sigh of relief when Steve stepped out of the elevator they were waiting for. They nodded to each other but did not stop to talk. Jolly would not feel better until Bailey was safe in the loft with Dallas and Noah.

He made it to the car with no problem and had the agent get into the back seat. When he rounded the front of the car, he saw a Crown Victoria pull into the lot of the building.

He grinned and jumped into the driver seat and buckled his belt. The 4 Runner was designed for him, because of his height; they had to special order the car to give him leg room. He instructed the female agent to buckle up, and threw the SUV in reverse and peeled out of the parking space. He decided to take the route around the downtown area because it had narrow streets, and was better for if he wanted to lose a tail. With his huge firm hands, he maneuvered through a maze of thirty blocks, but the Crown Vic refused to be shaken off. The agent suggested he go toward the old airport boulevard, the traffic was sparse and there was less chance of them involving a pedestrian or innocent driver in the chase they were about to have. She was using her phone to call her supervisors and keep them apprised of the situation. Jolly knew soon there would be back up, but he was guessing the other car was about ready to make a move, and they had run out of time.

Jolly did not have long to wait, he saw the car increasing its speed, trying to pull alongside the 4 Runner. Jolly skillfully used the defensive driving techniques he taught his employees, and was a little more than irritated when the other driver seemed to be able to anticipate what he was planning. It must not be the driver from the other day because he had been a dumbass. Shit, that meant he was a professional and Bailey had been given a target on her back. Steve would not be happy when he heard that.

Concentrating on staying ahead of the other car, and listening to the agent keep him apprised of where their back up was, Jolly did not see the huge Hummer headed right for them. He figured it was a bystander until the truck swung in front of him, blocking the road. Jolly tried to avoid the collision, but the Crown Vic rammed him from behind, so he was unable to reduce his speed enough to make the impact gentle. He heard the agent screaming as they plowed into the side of the Hummer. Jolly"s seat belt pulled against his chest and shoulder with such force he felt his arm pop and knew it was broken. He airbag deployed and surrounded him, but Jolly knew he needed to think quick. He ordered the agent, who was sobbing in pain in the back, to get her gun out; he reached for the glove box where Steve stored his backup piece.

Before he could get it in his hand though, he heard the men from the others cars, yelling at each other as they approached his side of the SUV. He was pushing the airbag out of his way trying to free himself so he could protect the female agent in the back and himself. He never saw the man who fired his gun into the 4 Runner, but he heard the weapon fire and the agent in the back got very quiet. He did not know whether she was alive or dead. The thought that he had contributed to an officer"s death created a rage that pulsed through him, it gave him the needed strength to get to his weapon. He curled his finger around the trigger and brought it up through his window firing, not really caring who he hit at that point. Blood from a head wound clouded his vision and he heard the other person return fire and felt the sting of the bullets entering his muscles on his chest. He refused to go down until he knew they were safe from their attackers. He emptied his clip and heard a few grunts, making him believe he had at least hit something. He tried to reload his gun, but his arms refused to cooperate and so he pulled himself out of the car, intending to use self-defense tactics to secure their safety.

There was no one on the outside the car, and Jolly stumbled to find where the threat came from. He heard the screaming sirens coming in their direction as he continued around the 4 runner. There was no one in the Hummer and the Crown Victoria was gone. Jolly pulled the small agent out of the car and felt for a pulse. He sighed in gratitude when he felt a weak thread in her neck. He carried her to the grass and laid her next to him as he propped himself against a tree. He saw she had taken at least three bullets in the arm, leg, and shoulder. Thank goodness, it looked like they missed any major organs.

He looked down at his torso and groaned. His Nextel was still attached to his hip and the earpiece was hopefully working. He had taken at least four bullets to the chest and he knew one of them hit something important because the blood was pumping out of the hole. The backup was pulling up, when he said into the phone.

“Steve?” He whispered because it hurt to take a deep breath, which could only mean he had taken a hit in the lungs.

“Jolly? What"s wrong? I just got Bailey back to the loft she is secured.” Steve said loudly through the phone.

“Don"t think I am gonna make it to the loft like we planned. Ran onto a little bit of a situation here on the way back. Let"s get this out of the way, okay? You know you are like a brother to me; I have left my will in the safe on the second floor office in the house. You get everything, but I set up a trust for Calli. Make sure she uses it to get her store up and going. I just want her to know I love her and am thinking only about the two of you right now.” Jolly said quietly. The EMTs were running to him and the agent next to him. “Also, man, make sure the agent that was with me is taken care of, I think she will pull through, but she will need rehab. Pay for it man, she did not ask for this.”

“JOLLY!” He heard his best friend yell into the phone and he blacked out.

Steve was standing in the loft when his best friend called him. Noah, Dallas, and Bailey heard everything the big man said, and caught Steve when he went to his knees. In all their years in the service Jolly had only been hurt once, he broke a finger when repelling from a helicopter. Steve just never thought the big man would ever be hurt so bad he could die. His best friend and only family was dying and Steve was not with him. They could hear the EMTs yelling in the background but could not understand what they were saying until one of them said, “Holy Shit, he won"t make it to the hospital. Let"s get her in the ambulance first; she is stable at least.” Bailey cried silently knowing it was because of her the gentle giant was going to die. She would never be able to look at Steve again for being the reason behind his friend"s death.

Dallas had a phone and was barking orders into the receiver, trying to get to the first responders to turn off the Nextel. Steve was crumbling before their eyes, listening to the talking on the Nextel. Finally, they heard the click, the loft was silent, except for Bailey sobbing, and Steve"s ragged crying.

Noah took Bailey and led her to the couch to lie down, then went to his friend"s side and with the help of Dallas; he got the other man to his feet. Before he could lead him to the couch, Steve ran for the elevators.