Reckless Abandon (Phantom Protector Book 1) (7 page)

Two girls about eight years old ran by, both about
the age Jamie had been when she’d been here. One of them stopped. Her light violet
eyes sparkled with mischief and a tint of optimism. She looked familiar. Maybe
it was because her unique eye color resembled Jamie’s own. Her gut tightened.
The need to reach out and touch the little girl nagged at her mind.

Mrs. Evans placed her hands on the little girl’s
shoulders. “Run along, Sarah.”

Sarah nodded and walked slowly down the hall,
all the while watching Jamie over her shoulder.

Max put his palm on her lower back and walked
Jamie down the hall. “I always thought your eye color was unique. You two could
be related.” he whispered.

She nodded and glanced into the room where Sarah
had vanished. Max pulled open the door and turned back to Mrs. Evans. “We
appreciate your help.”

Mrs. Evans grinned. “I’ll see you soon.”

Max’s brows pulled down, and he frowned.
“Uh…Okay, see ya.”

Max grabbed Jamie by the hand and pulled her
back to the SUV. His step quickened as he hit the fob to unlock the doors “I
need you to get in the SUV and lock the doors.”

His words pulled her from her thoughts. Jamie
pulled him to a stop. “What are you talking about?”

“Shit,” he whispered. “We’ve got company; and
it’s too late.”

Jamie noticed the men exiting the white van, and
she tensed. They approached slowly. Neither of the men held any visible weapons,
and Jamie released a breath.

“Ms. Bloom, we need you to come with us.”

Max stepped in front of her. “Over my dead
body.”

“My employer said to use any means necessary,
Mr. Briggs.” Two more men approached them from behind. She glanced over her
shoulder and eyed the smaller of the two men standing behind her. She leaned
into Briggs and whispered, “I’ve got the two at our six.”

He gave a slight nod without taking his eyes off
the two men standing in front of them.

Jamie turned and held up her hands. “Gentleman,
why don’t we all sit down and talk about this?”

One of the men reached to grab Jamie’s arm. She
grabbed his instead and twisted it behind the man’s back. She pulled the knife
hidden in her waistband and held it to the unknown man’s throat, applying
enough pressure to pierce his skin. “That’s not how you treat a lady.”

She heard the tussle going on behind her, punches
being thrown and grunts rending the air. She kept her eyes trained on her own
two targets.

The man standing in front of her laughed. “The
little girl brought a knife to a gun fight. Didn’t your daddy teach you any
better than that?”

Jamie narrowed her eyes. Every muscle in her
body tensed. She knocked the assailant she held with the butt of her knife,
successfully knocking him unconscious. She swept her leg through the air,
kicking the revolver out of the other man’s hand.
 
She held up her palm and twitched her fingers
at the last man standing instigating that he advance. “It’s not my parents who
taught me to fight. How about we settle this the old-fashioned way?”

The beady-eyed man grinned. He sneered with his
yellow teeth at her as he held up his fists. “You’re going to wish you’d died
by the time I get finished with you.”

Briggs stood behind her. “Quit playing, Jamie.
We need to get out of here before the cops show up.”

She kept her gaze on the advancing man. “This
will only take a minute.”

The asshole threw a punch, and she ducked. She
spun with her leg out, sweeping the man’s legs out from beneath him. He landed
with a thud, cracking his head on the concrete sidewalk. He reached up and
fingered his now bleeding head. He pulled his fingers away and narrowed his
eyes at the crimson staining his fingers. “My orders were not to kill you, but he
never said anything about making you feel pain.”

The man tried to push himself up. Jamie bit her
lip and balled her fist. One solid punch to the side of her assailant’s head
and he was down for the count.
 
Guns and
bodies lay on the sidewalk.

The sirens in the distance were getting closer.
Max grabbed her hand. “We’ve got to go.”

Jamie jumped into the SUV and glanced one last
time up at the orphanage where she’d spent her childhood. Violet-eyed Sarah had
the curtains pushed to the side as she stared out the window. She put her hand
on the glass.

Max squealed the tires as he pulled from the parking
lot, leaving smoke in their wake.

“Slow down, before they pull you over for
speeding.”

He slowed to the speed limit. His knuckles were
scratched and stained with blood. She reached for his hand. “Are you hurt?”

Max lifted his hand. “Nah, most of that isn’t my
blood. I only got a few scratches.”

Jamie unhooked her seatbelt and climbed in the
back seat. “We need to find a place to stay.” Jamie started digging through the
stuff in the back of the SUV. “We need to clean you up first, so we don’t draw
any attention.”

Max remained silent but pulled into a hotel
parking garage. He backed into a spot near the front entrance and stepped out of
the SUV, opening the passenger door behind him. “Let’s go.”
 

She held a bottle of water and a first aid kit
in her hand as she slid across the seat. She set the stuff in her lap and
grabbed his hand, turning it as she examined his cuts. “You can’t go in there
like that; they’ll think I beat you.”

Max chuckled. “Sweetheart, look at me.” He held
his hands out to the side. “They won’t think that.”

She pulled the bottle of peroxide from the box,
removed the lid, and poured the liquid directly on his cuts. What liquid landed
on the spot immediately started to bubble white while the rest splattered
around his feet. She capped the bottle and took a dry towelette and dried the
area before she stuck the bandage over his hand. He pulled his hand from her
and turned it to look at it. “Oh yeah, this is a lot less conspicuous.”

She pulled her bag and shoved the medicine kit
into it. She pushed him out of the way and got out of the SUV. “Well, at least
it’s clean. Grab your gear and let’s get a room.”

Chapter
7

Floyd had arrived in this god-forsaken town less
than twenty-four hours ago. It wasn’t as though the town was unfamiliar to him.
He’d been here before. A place he never had a reason to visit again. He walked
over to the large window in the penthouse suite and looked down on the twinkling
lights indicating the booming nightlife around the town. “Will that be all?”

Floyd turned toward Greg, his pilot. “I’m not
sure how long we’ll be here, so get settled in but be ready to leave on a
moment’s notice.”

Greg nodded once and backed out of the room,
shutting the doors as he left.

He turned back to the view of the nightlife, walked
out onto the balcony, and inhaled a deep breath. He’d been a different man when
he was last here, a shell of a man lacking ambition. He’d never let that happen
to him again.
 
His men should have
checked in by now. He’d sent them hours ago to retrieve the little healer. He’d
planned to be in the air on the way back to the compound with his little
captive by now.

His cell phone rang, the sound drifting out into
the night’s sky. He pulled it of the clip and answered. “Where are you?”

“Sir, we have a slight problem.”

Floyd rubbed the knots at his neck. “What kind
of problem?”

“We’re in jail, and you’re my only phone call.”

Floyd squeezed the phone. “All of you?”

“Yes, sir.”

“On what charge?” He blinked. The surrounding
skyline turned red. He fisted his free hand and turned to walk back into the
hotel room. He narrowed his eyes. “I asked you a question, and if you don’t want
me to leave you to rot in that hellhole, you better answer me.”

“They don’t have anything on us. We were all
unconscious when they found us. Our guns were on the ground around us, but they
can’t trace them back to us. We were in a fight in front of an orphanage.”

Floyd raised his brow. He heard the police
officer in the background telling his minion that his time was up.

“How many did you fight?”

The man remained quiet for what seemed like
forever while he pondered his answer. “Two,” he squeaked out. “I’ve got to hang
up now.”

The line went dead. Floyd stomped across the
hall to where his pilots were staying and pounded on the door. Greg pulled it open
with the phone pressed against his ear. “I’ve got to go, doll. I’ll call you
back later.”

Floyd stormed into Greg’s room and nodded at the
additional pilots who were all sitting around. He pulled out a wad of cash and threw
it on the bed. “I need you to go down to the jail and bail out all of the
ground units. It appears they were in a fight.”

Greg nodded and grabbed the keys to their rental
car. “Yes, sir.”

****

Gracie Lou hit end on her cell phone and
pocketed it. “What the hell is he doing in Jonesville?” It wasn’t like it was a
tourist town. Greg hadn’t had any answers, just that they might be there awhile
for Floyd to deal with his business.
Business
my ass.
Gracie sifted through the files on Floyd’s desk, stopping only when
she saw a name she recognized.
Jamie
Bloom.

“Crap.” This changed things. She flipped open
the file, trying hard to keep everything in its proper place. She scanned the contents
until she found the answer she’d been looking for.

She pulled the phone out of her pocket and
called her father’s IT guy. Jonah answered on the first ring. “Hey, Jonah, this
is Gracie.”

“Hang on and I’ll transfer you into the general.”

“No!” Gracie demanded. She sweetened her voice.
“I didn’t call to talk to him. I was looking for Jamie.” Gracie tapped her chin.
“She told me that she’d go shopping with me for dad’s birthday next week.” She
berated herself after the words had left her lips. If the IT guy had any idea
when her father’s actual birthday was, then she was going to have a lot of
explaining to do.

“Oh… uh…Jamie’s not here. She and Briggs have
been sent out on assignment.”

“Where to?” She used the sweetest voice she
could, hoping that he’d tell her.

“I’m afraid that’s classified, but I’ll tell her
you called when she gets back.”

Gracie locked the mansion door and pulled it
closed behind her as she left. “Thanks, I’d appreciate that. Do you mind giving
me a call when she gets back? I need to stop by and visit my dad anyway.”

Gracie slipped into her car.

“Sure thing.”

Gracie hit the end button on her phone and threw
it onto her passenger seat. It seemed she was going to be taking an unexpected
trip.

****

Briggs pulled out one of his fake IDs, along
with the credit card he’d had made in the same name, as he stood at the front
desk of the swanky hotel. He handed it to the clerk as he glanced around. He mentally
noted the location of the exits. He took in the marble floor and the enormous
chandelier that illuminated the foyer. Off to the right of the entrance was a
dimly lit bar and next to that was a restaurant. Jamie stood quietly next to
him.

The clerk slid his ID and credit card across the
counter and set a piece of paper in front of Max. “Mr. Harrison, if you’ll just
sign on the x at the bottom of the page you’ll be all set.”

 
Max
picked up the pen and tried hard to remember the first name he’d picked for Harrison. He swiped the two keys from the counter and
handed Jamie one.

“You’re on the first floor as you requested in
room 120. The restaurant is open till ten; however, you can order room service
throughout the night and the bar closes at three a.m. in the event you and Mrs.
Harrison would like to have drinks.”

Max nodded. “Thanks.”

“Enjoy your stay.”

Max threw the strap of his bag over his shoulder
and placed his palm on Jamie’s lower back as he steered her in the direction the
clerk had indicated.

He pushed the keycard in the slot and held the
door for Jamie to enter. He closed it behind him, throwing the lock before he
followed her into the room.

Jamie dropped her bag on the floor and plopped
down on the bed. Max walked around examining the huge, nicely appointed room. A
four-poster queen-sized bed sat against the wall. On the opposite wall stood a
tall cherry armoire. He pulled the doors open. A flat screen television sat
behind the panels. A matching set of dressers sat next to it. He pulled open the
doors to the walk-in closet and noticed it was already furnished with hangers.
He walked over to the sliding glass door and checked the locks. He slid the door
open and stuck his head outside to see a patio with chairs and a table. He shut
the door and locked it as he pulled the curtains closed.
 
This wasn’t his type of hotel, but then again,
anyone looking for them wouldn’t think to look in a place like this.