His Revenge by Charlene Raquel

Chapter Eight

 

 

Gwen’s body began to shake, goosebumps broke out on her arms and legs, and her breathing began to get shallow and fast. Basically, she was freaking the heck out. The man who they believed was after her was standing on stage, ready to address a crowd that was gathering around him.

The man who was somehow involved with her father was across the room dressed in a suit that definitely cost more than her car. His expensive shoes were more money than it would take to feed the entire party tonight.

“It’s okay, babe. No one is going to get to you. Do you see who is standing at the base of the stage?” Drew rubbed her arms. He knew she was freaked out, but she was not in any danger. Crash would take care of anything that might happen.

Jeff and Boomer were on a boat following discretely behind the river cruise. Both of them could be aboard their vessel in a matter of minutes. Drew also didn’t think Dominic would try anything is such a public place, but they might be able to gather some usable information.

“Did you know he was going to be here?” Gwen was getting her panic under control.

“No, but this could be a good thing.”

“Dean and I are in the parking lot next to the dock where the river cruise launched. We’ll run all of the license plates to see which one is his and put a tracker on it.” Sam took out her phone and clicked photos of every vehicle they passed.

“Thank you all for coming tonight.” Dominic bellowed from the stage.

Gwen studied the man in front of her. If she didn’t know he was not a nice guy, she would probably find him attractive. Dominic was probably in his mid-forties, but he could pass for younger. The only gray in his hair was just above his ears and that gave him a distinguished appearance. His muscular build and slim waist showed that he took care of himself and exercised regularly.

His dark brown eyes were almost the same color as his pupils and like the black centers, held no light. They were devoid of any emotion.

“We’re here to support the rowing team, but more importantly, the university itself. As an alum, I can unequivocally tell you that Stonewall University changes lives. It enriches our community and creates top professionals in every subject area. Stonewall University is not just an Ivy League education, nor is it about the opportunities you all will have after you graduate. It’s about the connections you make, the alliances you create, and the friendships that last forever. Stonewall has made me the man I am today, and I know it has done the same so for many of you here tonight.

“So, let’s open our wallets to assure that this university remains that great institution it is today.  Remember, we are helping to shape the next generation and the future of our world. It is our duty to assure that these future leaders are ready for the challenges to come and equipped with everything they need to succeed. The silent auction is now open. Let the bidding begin. Thank you.”

Dean recorded the message through their coms so they could play it back and analyze it later. “He must have one heck of a good speech writer.”

Drew tightened his hold on Gwen. “He wasn’t reading from anything, so he either memorized it, or he is a dynamic public speaker.”

“There’s nothing we can do about that now. Can someone get close enough to him to plant a bug on him?” Jeff addressed the group over the coms.

“I’m on it.” Crash was waiting for Dominic to leave the stage, when a loud crashed sounded from the outer deck.

A call for all security personnel was made over a loudspeaker and Crash was forced to follow along with his fellow guards. He had to play the role or risk exposure. He nodded to Rip who was behind the bar in the back of the room as he exited.

“Be on the lookout for trouble.” Boomer’s voice filled their coms. “It’s too convenient that something happened outside just when Dominic was set to leave the stage. Does anyone have eyes on him?”

“Shit!” Drew scanned the room. “Negative. He’s not on the stage. It’s too crowded in here. He could be anywhere.”

Gwen searched the room but only saw people interested in the silent auction items that lined the walls. A few people were staying by certain sign-up sheets to try and outbid each other. “We should walk by the auction items. Maybe he’s over there somewhere.”

“Will you be okay if we run into him?” Drew didn’t want the man anywhere near her.

“As long as I’m with you, I know I’ll be safe.”

“Awww. That’s so sweet.” Dean teased over the com. “Ouch! What was that for?”

Sam laughed. “Don’t tease Gwen.”

“She pinched me really hard!”

“Quiet. Both of you need to scan the area. Something’s not right,” Boomer admonished.

“A fight broke out on the deck.” Crash commented quietly over their communication devices. “I’m betting it was staged.”

“Keep alert.” Jeff moved their boat closer to the river cruise boat.

Gwen and Drew started across the room. The stage took up the entire front of the room. Tables were scattered in the center of the room with the silent auction lining the walls. A bar took up the back corner of the room with two long lines leading up to it. A small open space near the bar was filled with mingling people. It would turn into a dance floor when the auction was finished.

The rowing team’s Junior Varsity team began to sing loudly as they made their way across the floor. They plowed through the crowd, separating parties and knocking into the party guests. Someone pushed into Gwen, causing her to lose her balance and stumble a few steps to right herself. Drew had been shuffled in the opposite direction and Gwen lost sight of him as the rowers sang louder.

“Something’s not right with that team. Location check.” Jeff called.

The others were checking in over the coms when she almost fell again. Someone else knocked into her from behind. She spun around to see what happened to Drew but didn’t get the chance.

“Careful, you don’t want to get injured.” Dominic pulled her off to the side of the room and away from the unruly team.

Gwen sucked in a breath, terrified. She could no longer hear anyone talking over her earpiece and she was now facing the man who wanted to take her for payment from her father. Reaching up, she smoothed the hair over her ear and confirmed that it was still there. It just wasn’t working.

Gwen took a step to the side and Dominic matched it. “I’m not the bad guy you think I am. I’m not here to hurt you. You need to trust me.”

“Ha! Trust you? You were there! You were at the mansion. You were behind those men kidnapping me.” Gwen noticed that he had his jaw clenched but he was trying not to appear angry.

“I’m glad you were able to get away from that situation. No one should be held against their will.” Dominic’s check twitched.

“You didn’t seem to care about that when I was at that estate.”

“You have no idea what I care about, Gwen, but someday soon you will.” He paused to take her in. “It’s good you have a highly trained team at your back. Keep your friends close. You’re going to need them.”

“Is that a threat?”

Dominic laughed. “I’m not the one making threats.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Time’s up. Stay close to your friends and keep your striker out of trouble.”

Dominic fled through a side door to the outer deck just as Drew made it to Gwen’s side.

Drew pulled her into his arms and squeezed her tightly. “Damn, Gwen. That scared the shit out of me. We couldn’t get through to you on the coms. We couldn’t hear you at all. I thought they took you again.”

Gwen clung to Drew, her faced pressed into his chest. “I’m okay.”

Drew pulled back and framed her face with his hands and kissed her lips, reassuring himself that she was unharmed.

Gwen broke the kiss. “Dominic cornered me.”

“What?” Drew shouted.

Gwen could hear the others cursing over their coms. “He didn’t hurt me. It’s okay.

“Nothing about that is okay.” Drew ran a hand through his hair.

“A small craft just pulled away from the port side and is traveling at a high speed. We don’t have eyes on who’s inside, but my guess would be our guy, Dominic.” Boomer cursed while adjusting his binoculars. He couldn’t make out who was aboard the speed boat.

Crash joined Drew and Gwen. He motioned to Rip. “The captain is docking temporarily so that he can eject the guys who were fighting. I suggest we exit as well.”

“Yeah. I’ve had enough of boats for a while.” Gwen followed Crash as he made his way to the deck.

Rip jogged to catch up to them. “We’ll follow you home. Don’t stop anywhere and don’t discuss what happened over the coms.”

Twenty minutes later, they were back at the dining room table at Jeff’s house. Gwen and Sam sat next to each other while the men in the room paced, argued, and created new and colorful curse word combinations.

Dean was munching on Flamin’ Hot Cheetos and getting fake orange cheese powder everywhere.

Jeff stood in front of the table, leaning both palms on it. “Dominic had to have used an electronics jamming device when he spoke to you. There’s no other explanation for why we couldn’t hear or speak to you.”

Rip nodded. “It makes sense considering he knew about us.”

Crash flopped down in the chair across from Gwen. “How the fuck did he know about us? The fucker is always a couple of steps ahead of us and that pisses me off.”

Boomer pulled out his phone and scrolled through the contacts, bringing up his FBI buddy.

“I wondered when I’d hear from you, Boomer.”

“Need an update on the investigation.”

“Shit. You’re not going to like it.”

The guys all shared a look. “Talk to us.” Boomer had a feeling what his friend was going to say.

“We couldn’t hold Richard Mason.”

“Why the fuck not?” Drew demanded.

Rip hit him on the back of the head and whispered, “Calm the hell down.”

“You didn’t have authorization to enter the premises and we only have a father picking up his daughter from school. It’s his word against hers. He’s got proof that he’s been the devoted parent to a wayward child. He’s paid for her college tuition, room and board, books, and meal plan. He’s also got old records showing that Gwen was a troubled child.”

“That’s not true! He’s twisted everything.” Gwen pushed away from the table.

Boomer switched the phone from speaker to normal. “Anything else?”

He listened for a minute and then ended the call. “They released him this afternoon and suggested that he go home.”

“I hate him. He’s always getting away with everything. I have to get out of here. I’ll hide somewhere far away where he and his cronies can’t find me.”

“We have connections too.” Rip softened his gaze. “We won’t let anything happen to you.”

Jeff added the new information to their chart. “Is there anything else we need to add to our lists?”

No one said anything.

“Okay, let’s call it a night.”

Gwen sat there motionless. Richard Mason was never going to let her go.