Protecting Lyndley (20 page)

I hung my head as I cursed under my breath. “I’m sorry, Ruger but we are running out of time. You know that just as much as I do. And we still have no leads. Where the fuck would they have taken her?”

“Wakely, there’s something else I need to tell you.”

“What now?” I growled.

“I heard from Tom. Sam Cooper, Lyndley’s boss, is who got Ray out of jail.”

I looked up at Ruger in shock. Every fear I had about
these people finding Lyndley had finally happened. As much as Ruger and I tried, we failed to protect her. We failed to make her feel safe again, and more than anything, I failed her by walking away. Now I may never see her again, and instead of telling her how much I loved her and showing her just that, I chose to run away like I always did. The only difference was this time it was her life that would pay for my mistake.

Lyndley

“You look confused, Peaches.” Ray’s laugh echoed throughout the vast open space as he turned his back to me and started speaking to my boss.

The intensity of the pain in my shoulder was getting worse with every passing second.
I kept trying to sneak a peak at the damage Ray was causing to my newly opened wound, but I couldn’t get a clear view. I could feel my heart rate starting to slow and I wondered if it was because of the amount of blood I was losing. I was tired and every part of my body ached beyond belief.

Ray still had his back turned to me, so I quickly glanced down at my shir
t that was now soaked in blood trying to figure out a way out of my current predicament. The entire left side of my shirt was soaked clean through but the rest seemed to be okay. That’s when I noticed that my legs were duck taped to the legs of the chair I was forced to sit in. I let out a small exasperated sigh as it dawned on me that getting myself out of this situation was probably going to be near impossible. At this point all I could do was to hope and pray that some how or another Ky or Ruger would be able to find me.

My head fell forward as I began to feel a little woozy. Along with it getting harder to breathe, I was also finding it hard to keep my head upright. My body was screaming out in pain, but there was absolutely not
hing I could do. Just as I felt as though I was about to pass out Ray’s hand cupped my chin, squeezing my cheeks as hard as humanly possible as he made me look directly at him.

“Not t
ime to die just yet, Peaches.”

I used what little bit of energy I had left in me to twist my face out of his grasp. “What the hell do you want from me? I didn’t do this to you.”

“Oh but you did, Peaches. See, your boss over there hired you for a reason. Did you really think you got one of the biggest cases of your career just handed to you because you are
that
smart?” I looked at him under my lashes as I scowled. “Oh, you did. That’s cute. The evidence that they arrested me with turned out to be circumstantial. My good friend Sam over here made sure that that’s all it was. Funny thing about judges in this State, they’re so easily bought. And everything you had worked so hard on to keep me behind bars just magically disappeared. They lost all of their evidence, thanks to this man over here, and then what was there really left for them to keep me on?”

“Why me?”

Ray pulled my chin back up forcing me to look at him again. “Why not? You were such an eager beaver, you and that friend of yours. Nice trick with that one by the way. I actually believed that one of my guys had gotten to him. Ah well, no worries there. See while Sam here had you working your pretty little fingers to the bone figuring out everything you all would need to put me behind bars, he was actually using all of that to get me out. It’s all too easy these days to put the blame on someone else or to have things come up missing. I tell you, our justice system is fucked. Don’t you think?”

I found the courage to look over at Sam for the first time since he had entered the room. If he really was a bad guy, then he was going to have to prove it to me. “Mr. Cooper how could you do this to me?” He tried to look away and I knew in that instant that he was the definition of a coward. “You’re nothing but Ray’s lackey. You can’t even look me in the face, the girl that you are trying to take out for knowing more than she should
, all because of you. At least I have the balls to face what’s coming to me.”

In the blink of an eye, Mr. Cooper was
bringing his hand down across my cheek with the force of a sledgehammer. I could feel a pop in my face, followed by an extreme amount of pain, but I wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of knowing that he had hurt me. I was determined to show them that no matter what they did to me, they would never break me. I spat out the blood in my mouth onto the floor at Mr. Cooper’s feet before looking up at him with a wide smile on my face.

“Who has the bigger balls now?”
He laughed.

“Certainly not you.” I quipped.

His hand came down across the same cheekbone again and it took everything in me to hold back the painful cries. This time I heard the distinct sound of bone breaking, but I paid it no attention. 

Mr. Cooper leaned in close to my face, “Please don’t make me do it again, Lyndley. This isn’t what I signed up for.” He whispered.

Something inside me knew that he wasn’t as bad as he had made himself seem to Ray. As much as I wanted to save face in front of these assholes, I was at my breaking point. Without saying a word I simply nodded at my boss and shut up. Mr. Cooper clutched his hand in pain and Ray waved him off. I couldn’t see where he had gone, but I could hear the sound of a large metal door sliding against the concrete. Before I had a chance to try and figure out where I was, Ray was back in my face.

“Well Peaches, I guess there’s only one thing left to do now.
I hate to kill such a pretty little thing, but unfortunately you know enough to put me away for a very long time, and we just can’t be having that, now could we?”

I closed my eyes tight
and said a silent prayer. I wasn’t exactly sure how this was going to go down, but I felt as though I needed to make my peace with it now rather than later. When I opened my eyes, I was surprised to see Ray still standing there with what looked like empathy in his eyes.

“Do what you have to do
, Mr. Nelson. I suppose I’ll see you in hell.”

“Perhaps.” He laughed as he raised the gun he had just pulled out from behind his back. “I really am sorry it had to end this way, Peaches.”

I opened my eyes wide and looked directly into Ray’s. If he was going to shoot me point blank, then he was going to have to look me in the eyes while doing it. I heard the gun cock and before I could count to three, the gun was going off. I felt the bullet enter my right side, the force of the impact causing the chair and me to topple over onto its side.

I tried to brace myself for the impact on the concrete floor below me, but with my hands and feet bound there was no possible way to prevent any further injury. My head smacked hard against the unforgiving hardness of the concrete, bounced
, and then hit one last time before taking up permanent residence in this concrete palace. My eyes glossed over and my vision became hazy. Ray’s face appeared in front of me moments later with a wicked grin that I wish I could slap off of his arrogant evil face.

“This is what happens when you stick your nose where it doesn’t belong. It’s a shame such a beautiful young girl of your caliber had to die.” I felt his lips press firmly against my forehead and I closed my eyes in disgust until I felt him pull away. When my eyes reopened the only thing I could see were his feet walking away from me. I opened my mouth to scream for help, but it wouldn’t have done much good.

The warmth of my blood pooling beneath my head helped ease the pain of my injury. I could feel it slowly creep out through my hair and disperse around my face. I was having a hard time keeping my eyes open, but forced myself to do so for as long as I could, because I knew the minute I let them close I would never want to open them again. My mind drifted to a million different thoughts and memories as I sorted through the last twenty-two years of my short lived life.

Of course there were thoughts of my parents and sister, and memories too good to forget, but the ones that stood out the most were the ones of Ky. In the short amount of time that I had known him, I had fallen for him with one hundred percent of my heart and every ounce of me yearned to feel his arms wrapped tightly around me
one last time. I was going to miss everything about that man, his smile, his smell, and even the way he could get me all riled up just by making a smart-ass comment. In all honesty though, I was just going to miss him in general.

They say your life flashes before your eyes before you die, and I always wondered if my life would be worth seeing one last time. Now I knew, it was. Every moment with Ky was like another piece of the puzzle of my life fitting into place. I honestly believe that he was who could complete me, but my stubbornness had prevented me from letting him in fully. Regardless of how he felt, I knew my heart would have never felt this fu
ll if I would’ve never met him.

I had never had anybody in my life love me with the pas
sion and persistence that he did. His heart was so caring and giving, even after everything he had endured in his life. I found myself questioning the decisions that I had made at work that brought me to this place, but never in a million years would I ever take it back. The very thing that brought Ky Wakely into my life was now the same thing that was pulling me away from him.

My thoughts began to blur and I could tell that the end was upon me, but I just couldn’t bring myself to be scared. Instead I relished in the fact that Ky truly did love me, whether he was able to say it or not. I knew deep down in my heart of hearts that he would have given me the world
, if given the chance. He was my savior, in more ways than one. He showed me how to love completely and without certainty.

Nothing in this life is a guarantee, this was a fact I was slowly starting to come to terms with as the life inside of me began to escape. I took solace in knowing that Ky would know how I felt about him, and if given another chance I would tell him exactly how he affected my heart
, without the fear of rejection.

I could smell the thick metallic blood moving its way to my
shoulder that was pressed firmly against the ground. I could feel its warmth enveloping my body as I lay unmoving, and there was almost a silent peace to it all. My eyes fluttered shut even with me fighting to keep them open. This was the end. I could feel it in my bones. One last image flashed through my fleeting mind and it was one that I would grasp onto with every ounce of what was left of me before I went.

We were
in my backyard. My mother was lovingly sitting in my father’s lap in one of the lounge chairs, laughing at some comment my father had made. She threw her head back in laughter and in that moment she looked more beautiful than I had ever seen her look. She was carefree and content which was a rare occurrence, but it made me smile all the same. My sister sat next to me tightly holding my hand, as though she knew that I was leaving for good. I glanced over at her and she looked so much wiser than her years. She was stunning and her million-dollar smile was directed right at me.

I smiled back
at her as I looked down at our intertwined hands and gave hers a small squeeze. Her gaze floated above my head and as I turned to see what she was looking at, Ky’s face came into plain view. He was smiling as he bent down to kiss me square on the lips, and I instantly went weak in the knees. I removed my hand from my sister’s grasp and slowly reached up for his face to bring it closer to mine, when a shiny diamond sitting atop my left ring finger caught my attention. Ky reached for my hand and placed a chaste kiss directly below the magnificent ring just before leaning in to kiss my mouth.

T
hat’s when it all faded to black. I felt a stray tear roll down my cheek as I expelled my last breath from my overworked lungs. I just hope all those I love and hold so dear, know how much I love and will miss them. All is not lost in death, and I hope each and every one of them remembers that when I’m gone.

Ky

It didn’t take long for Ruger and I to find the one abandoned structure in this one horse town. We put in a call to Tom and within minutes we had all the back up we needed to go in after Lyndley. I was strapping on my bulletproof vest when one of the FBI agents confirmed that there were in fact people inside. Adrenaline was pumping through my veins at an extreme rate as he filled us in on how many people there were and where they were inside.

“There are three people about twenty feet from the door. The way the structure is laid out
, it looks like they are in the unfinished part. It only has one exterior wall and it is all cement. If my plans are up to date, then there should be one metal sliding door just to the right when you enter through the main door. Any questions?”

“No, Howser. I think we’re good. Thanks.”

“Of course.”

I turned to Tom and Ruger who were now suited up and ready to go. “What’s the plan, Tom?”

“There is a small window adjacent to the metal door Howser was talking about. I’m thinking once we breach the main door, we toss in a smoke bomb through that window, and then charge in. Sound good?”

I pulled out my gun, checked the clip and then cocked it back so there was one in the chamber. “Sounds good to me. I’m ready to go.”

“Let’s go get your girl.” Ruger shouted as he slapped my shoulder.

I just smiled in return. We made our way around the police cruisers that were blocking off the perimeter and cam
e to a sudden halt when we saw the main door fly open. Ruger and I crouched down behind the closest cruiser with our guns aimed, as we waited to see who was emerging. There was an agent standing post off to the side of the door and within an instant he was grabbing whoever came out, and dragging them in our direction. When Lyndley’s boss’s face came into view, Ruger had to hold me back as I lunged at him.

“Where the fuck is she you piece of shit?” My voice came out louder than I had anticipated.

“Wakely, calm down.” Ruger had me in a half nelson hold and wasn’t letting go anytime soon.

“Let me go, Ruger. This asshole needs to pay.”

“And I agree with you, but right now he’s not what’s important. You need to remember that Lyndley is still inside there.”

I nodded my head and Ruger eased up on his hold of me. I fixed my vest and calmly walked over to the cruiser that they had just put Sam into. I leaned down so I was eye level with him and sternly asked him one more time. “Where is she?”

“She’s inside, with Ray.”

“Is she hurt?” I asked through gritted teeth.

“Yes, and you might want to hurry. Lord knows what he is going to do next.”

Just as Sam finished his sentence a loud gunshot rang out through the vast open field. Without a second thought I took off running in the direction of the warehouse. We were far enough away that it took longer than anticipated to get to the building. Just as one of the other officers reached for the handle, the door came flying open and Ray Nelson came wandering out as if nothing had happened. I aimed my gun right at Ray’
s face as Ruger made quick work of grabbing his arms, and detaining him before Ray even had a chance to try flee.

“I’ve got this. Go get her.”

“Sorry to ruin the surprise, but you’re too late.” Ray’s devilish laugh echoed off of the building.

The butt of my gun came crashing down on the bridge of his nose, stopping his laugh instantly. “Next time
, I’ll just pull the trigger.” I said with a smile.

I quickly turned and ran
straight into the building to find Lyndley. Once I got through the main door, I glanced between two different doors on the right hand side. I reached for the first one and pulled the door back with every ounce of strength I had. There was a single light illuminating the large open room, and it was just enough to see Lyndley’s crumpled form lying on the floor unmoving.

In an instant my heart fell to the floor, along with my gun. Time stood still as I made my way over to Lyndley. My eyes instantly l
ocked onto the large pool of blood below me that was surrounding her body. My hands clenched into fists as I tried to find the courage to check for a pulse. She looked so broken and tarnished. Her once bright and vibrant soul had been beaten out of her and all that was left was an empty shell.

I kneeled down into the pool of her blood and reached for her face with shaky hands.
I pushed the matted hair off of her cheek and gasped in horror as all of the damage that had been done to her lit up beneath the soft glow of the hanging light above us. My fingers slid down her cheek making their way over to her neck. I pressed lightly trying to find a pulse, but couldn’t find one. My breath hitched in my chest and I tried to swallow past the lump in my throat.

They try to prepare you for situations such as this, but never in a million years did I think I would have to live through it. Sitting here in this old dilapidated warehouse, looking at the woman I love at death’s door had me feeling emotions that I had long suppressed. I needed Lyndley. I needed her to breathe, to keep me whole. But just like everything else in my life, she was torn out of my grasp with no warning.

I grabbed my knife from my back pocket when I saw that she was still bound to the chair she had been sitting in. I quickly cut away the duct tape around her ankles, and then reached behind her to cut free her hands. I caught her body as it fell and I pulled her onto my lap, holding her tight against my heaving chest. I could feel the tears welling up behind my eyes and I let them boil over without caring who saw.

I rocked Lyndley’s lifeless body in synch with mine as I prayed for some sort of mi
racle to bring her back to me. I sat there smoothing her hair down her back as I stared down at the woman that I was finally ready to give myself to completely. With every stroke my hand became more and more soaked with the blood that was pouring from the side of her head, where I could only assume she had hit it against the concrete.

What felt like hours later, I finally heard voices and footsteps all around
me. I never looked up to see who it was or what they were saying, because honestly in this moment I didn’t care about anything else but Lyndley. I held pressure to the gaping wound on the shoulder where she had already been shot once before, but it didn’t make a difference. She literally had blood spilling out of her in every direction. Tears rushed down my face landing on Lyndley’s cheek, washing some of the blood away enough to see her face more clearly.

“Ky, the paramedics are here. They need to get in here and save her life.”

“She’s gone, Ruger.” I muttered between my erratic breaths.

“You don’t know that, Ky.”

Before I could turn and lay into Ruger for questioning my assessment of the situation, I felt Lyndley’s hand clutch my forearm. I quickly but gently rolled her body away from mine so I could see her entire face. “Lyndley? Lyndley baby, if you can hear me please squeeze my arm again.” It was a faint squeeze, but a squeeze nonetheless. I looked up at Ruger letting him know that the paramedics needed to get in here now.

I watched as they lay the
backboard down on the floor beside me, ready to load her onto it. I glanced down at the fragile girl hanging on for dear life and whispered the only thing that came to mind. “I love you Lyndley. You can’t die on me now. Fight baby, fight.” I pressed a soft kiss to her swollen lips, and then let the paramedics remove her from my arms.

I sat there on that cold bloody ground with Ruger by my side as they took my girl away. As much as I knew I shouldn’t blame myself for what was happening, I couldn’t help but do just that. If I would’ve just swallowed my pride and stayed at the farmhouse with her and Ruger
, like we were told, maybe she would be okay.

“Let’s get out of here.”

I nodded and followed Ruger outside. When we reached the closest police cruiser, I noticed a second ambulance. “Who is that for?” I glanced down at my blood soaked shirt and hands. “I don’t need that. This isn’t my blood.”

“It’s not for you, Ky. It’s for Ray.”

My head whipped up fast. “What happened with Ray?”

“He tried to run. I had to put him down. I didn’t have a choice, he came straight at me with a gun he managed to take from Howser.”

“Hey, no explanation needed. One less person I have to worry about.” I instantly felt a small amount of weight lift from me. All I could think was, at least I didn’t have to do it.

“Speaking of which, you headed to the hospital?”

“Yeah.”

“Cool. Hope to see you soon, Ky. Take it easy. Oh, and take care of that girl. She deserves it.”

“Will do. See ya around, Ruger.”

We both gave a wave and headed in opposite directions. I wasn’t sure when I would see Ruger again, but I knew I would see him again someday. Despite all of the bad that had happened, I knew that he was one person I could always rely on an
d that brought me comfort I hadn’t felt in a long time.

On my way to the hospital I contemplated what I was doing with my life. Was I willing to put my life on the line everyday for complete strangers with everything that has happened? I knew my job was dangerous, as did Lyndley, but look where that got her and she was just a lawyer. There was one thing I knew for sure, if given the chance
, I wasn’t letting her go for anything, ever.