Daddy’s Law by K.C. Crowne

Chapter 36

Theo

“Talk to me,” I barked, revving the engine to speed past the Honda Civic already going sixty. Jesse was on Bluetooth in my helmet, barely audible over my motorcycle’s powerful engine. “How could this have happened?”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Jesse said, urgency in his tone. He sounded like he was on the move, too. “They attacked both Ava and the senator at the same time. It was a quick, coordinated effort. No one saw them coming.”

“What were they driving?”

“Unmarked vans.”

“Anything on the surveillance cams?”

“They were all wearing hoods. A team of three or four at each location.”

“Armed?”

“Heavily.”

“Any demands for ransom?”

“None so far.”

I weaved into the next lane over, nearly clipping a low-riding truck. The driver flipped me off, but I had more pressing matters to attend to than a bout of road rage.

I needed to act fast. A coordinated attack like this meant Ava’s kidnappers meant business. They were organized and dangerous. If they were taken for ransom, we would have heard their demands by now. Groups like these wanted to make their intentions known sooner rather than later, get it over with. The fact that they didn’t told me all I needed to know. They had no intention of giving Ava or the senator back, which meant they would likely end up dead.

Not if I had anything to say about it.

“Fuck,” I hissed to myself. “Why the fuck did Wilson let Ava out of the house? What the fuck was he thinking?”

“This isn’t on Wilson. He’s her guard, not her jailor,” Jesse warned. “She was within her rights to request a walk. He did everything right. All the signs pointed to it being a low-risk allowance.”

My mouth was uncomfortably dry. I needed to find her before my blood boiled over. But Chicago was huge. There was no telling where these bastards drove off to. They could be outside city limits by now for all I knew. If only there was a way to track her.

Oh shit.

I screeched to a halt, pulling off to the side of the highway. I ripped off my gloves and hastily opened my phone, opening the tracking app I had installed. I’d totally forgotten that I’d planted a tracking device on Ava’s jacket at the beginning of my contract, afraid that she’d be too rebellious for me to handle. Never in a million years did I expect it to help in this literal life or death situation.

I pressed the button and said a silent prayer. If she went for a walk, maybe she took her jacket with her. Then again, it was the middle of summer and bringing a jacket along on a hot day seemed unlikely.

My phone pinged, map zooming in to pinpoint her location. I almost jumped for joy.

“I’ve got her,” I announced. “They have her by the docks. One of the warehouses.”

“How do you know?”

“I’ll meet you there.”

“No,” Jesse snapped. “Wait for backup, Phillips. I need to call the local authorities. Do not engage.”

“Try and stop me,” I growled, hanging up quickly. I started my motorcycle and merged with traffic, this time with a destination in mind.

* * *

The crowds were a pain to navigate through. Pedestrians filled the streets, clogging up the flow of traffic as they celebrated in public. I was worried I’d have to deal with security when I got down to the docks, but the area was pretty much vacant; everybody had gone home early for Fourth of July.

A row of massive warehouses lined the docks, mostly used to house the yachts of the rich and famous. I followed the tracking app to the middle building, slipping into the alleyway between it and the adjacent structure.

The door was locked, but the mechanism was rusted and loose. I checked my surroundings to make sure the coast was clear before I gave it a good hard kick, the door swinging open with an angry creak. I froze, afraid I’d just given away my position.

Nobody came.

I was at a significant disadvantage. I wasn’t armed, I didn’t know the warehouse’s layout, and I was operating alone. By all accounts, listening to Jesse to stand down would have been the smartest option. The sane option.

But I had to get to Ava. No matter what.

I advanced with purpose, rounding the corner just in time to see a man walking down the hall. My training kicked in, taking all the necessary information to incapacitate him.

He was six feet tall. Two hundred pounds. Armed with a Beretta at his hip and a radio strapped to his arm. Alone, probably patrol.

I snuck up from behind and wrapped my arm around his neck. Swiftly. Without remorse. I squeezed with all my might, bracing myself as he struggled, flailing his arms in a futile attempt to escape. In his panic, he forgot all about his gun. Lack of oxygen rendered him unconscious within a matter of seconds.

One down.

I lowered the man gently to avoid drawing any attention, swiping his gun and radio before moving on.

The warehouse was a fucking maze, every turn and every hall looking like the one before. I pushed on; worries of getting lost were an afterthought. The only thing on my mind was Ava.

I approached two more armed men, both lounging in what looked to be a smaller storage room. They were playing cards, of all things, totally unaware of the hell I was about to rain down on them. The fact that I was outnumbered didn’t even register. I had the advantage of speed, surprise, and years of military training.

I raced in, catching them both off guard. I jumped and kicked the man on my right square in the chest, sending him flying. He hit the wall behind him and slumped to the floor, out like a light.

Two down.

The man on my left had a faster reaction time than I could have anticipated. He reached for his gun, an almost timid nature to his movements, like he wasn’t at all familiar with holding a weapon. Nothing about him screamed trained killer. I remembered that these people were supposed environmental activists. What the hell did they know about handling pieces? Who the hell suited them up like a small army?

It didn’t matter. I charged him, ripping the gun out of his hand and throwing him to the ground. One swift punch to the face was enough to knock him out cold.

That made three.

Somewhere off in the distance, I heard a loud slap followed by shouting. I was getting close. I could feel it. I picked up the pace, racing down the hall with my newly acquired weapon drawn. I hid behind a large shipping container, keeping as low to the ground as possible for cover with my gun in hand.

“The time for talking has passed, Senator Cruise,” a man said, words dripping with venom. “This is the only way I can get our cause’s message across.”

“If this is the only way you can get your message across, it must be a pretty shitty message.”

My lungs burned.

Ava.

I peeked around the corner in time to see a man strike Ava across the face. Her cheek was an angry red, already swelling. Murderous rage ripped through me. This fucker was going to pay. The senator was there, too, beaten halfway to a pulp.

“What did I say about watching your fucking mouth?”

He pulled his fist back to punch, but before I had the chance to leap out from my spot and take a shot, she shouted, “Wait, don’t! I’m pregnant!”

I blinked.

Pregnant?

There was no time for questions. I had to get Ava and her father out of there immediately. I was hesitant to use the gun before, and now that I knew that she was with child, I was especially reluctant to use it. I was just going to have to find another way to get her out of there safely.

I kept a cool head, despite everything. There was nothing worse than clouded judgement calls. I couldn’t risk this man harming Ava. The woman I loved.

I took in my surroundings and noted four other armed men scattered throughout the room. One exit. Ava and the senator were tied up in the center. Charging in wasn’t ideal. They’d have the upper hand. It’d be an easy enough task to fill me full of holes before I could even sneak past the door.

I really should have waited for backup.