Chapter 9
Renee must have dozed off, because the next thing she knew she was opening her eyes. As they came open, she saw Gabriel starting to sit up in bed. Getting to her feet, she was beside the bed in seconds. "My head hurts," he told her.
"I'm sure it does. Now, lay back down and go to sleep." She was pretty sure he didn't have a concussion. His eyes were clear and he had just spoken his first coherent sentence since he had arrived home.
He fell back to sleep right away. She walked over to the other side of the bed and slid under the covers next to him. Her arms slid around him, and she rested her head against his back. With the comforting feel of his body against hers, she fell into a peaceful sleep.
*******
"Do you understand what I want you to do?" Kenneth Irons asked the men standing in front of him.
Four of the five men were experienced, professional killers. The other one had not even reached thirty. He seemed out of place among his companions. The leader of the group was large with muscular arms. He had a calm look to him, but was very deadly. His dark brown hair was kept cut short and starting to gray, and his green eyes were sharp. The two men behind him were identical. They were tall and thin, but well built. Both had short blond hair and pale blue eyes. The fourth man had bright red hair and green eyes. His hands were large, and there was always a sour expression on his face. The youngest in the group had dark, brown hair and eyes that were brown pools. He acted like he was carrying a chip on his shoulder, but there was something lacking in him that was in the other men. The pleasure that came from killing.
"Yes," the leader replied. "We are to find Sara Pezzeni and Ian Nottingham and bring both of them to you."
"Unharmed," Irons reminded him.
There was a look of disappointment in the man's eyes, and it could be heard in his voice when he echoed, "Unharmed."
"Good, you understand. Now, go find them." He dismissed them with a wave of his hand.
*******
Gabriel was laying on his side looking at her when Renee woke up. She saw that he was awake and smiled at him. "Feeling better?" She asked him.
"Head still hurts, but I think it's better."
"That's good. You're hungry."
He was about to say no, then he realized it wasn't a question and smiled. "Okay," he said as he slowly sat up swinging his feet to the floor. They walked into the kitchen and Renee started making something for them to eat.
When they finished eating, Renee noticed that Gabriel's face looked strained. "What's wrong?" She asked, concerned.
"Have you seen my wallet? It's not in my pocket, and I know it was when I left this morning."
She shook her head. "Did you leave it at the shop?"
It was his turn to shake his head. "I never took it out of my pocket." He suddenly thought of something, and his face went red with anger. "I bet he took it."
"Who?"
"The one who hit me."
He stood up and started to walk to the door.
"Gabriel, where are you going?"
"To find my wallet."
"I'm driving," she said grabbing her keys and starting after him.
They walked outside and couldn't see Gabriel's car sitting in front of the apartment. Then, Gabriel remembered that he had driven to his shop, but hadn't driven back. They climbed into Renee's car and drove away.
*******
"I think we should wait."
"And why do you think that, Jakey-boy?" The redhead asked.
"Because it makes sense, Aidan. Right now they are expecting him to send someone after them. If we wait at least a month, they'll let down their guard."
"But he's not paying us to wait," he replied angrily. Aidan Murphy didn't like their new recruit.
"Sanchez, Murphy, stop your bickering." The leader, William Ryan, was sick of their constant arguing.
The twins, David and Dennis Duffy, just stood off to the side watching to see what the outcome would be. They didn't care so much when they got the two as long as they did. Their brother had been killed, and they thought they knew who did it; Sara Pezzeni.
"Aidan, Jake is right. Right now they're gonna be cautious, but in a month or so they'll grow less so."
Aidan glared at Jake, then stormed past him muttering something about being the teacher's pet. William put his hand on the younger man's shoulder and said, "He'll get used to you. Just don't get on his bad side in the meantime."
"Too late for that," he muttered as he walked away.
*******
Gabriel pushed the door open, and Renee followed him inside. He instantly spotted his wallet on the floor and bent down to pick it up. Opening it, he saw that it was empty. "Damn it," he swore.
"How much was in there?" Renee asked coming up behind him.
"Not more than a hundred. I don't like to carry much with me. But it still rankles that he did this."
She slid her arms around him and locked her fingers together in the middle of his stomach. Then, setting her chin on his shoulder, she said, "I know it does. Let's go home," she said after a moment.
He nodded and they left again.
*******
"What do we know about these two?"
Monica looked up at her boss, then back to her computer screen. "Ian Nottingham was Kenneth Irons' personal bodyguard slash assassin until about a week ago. He spent some years in a special forces unit, the Black Dragons. Deadly with every weapon, he has yet to be charged with any killings he's done for his boss."
"And Sara Pezzeni?" Frank Donovan asked.
"She's a homicide detective for the New York Police Department. Lives alone, well she did until Nottingham showed up a week ago. She's a straight cop, but not above bending a few rules if it gets the job done."
"When's Jake due to report in again?" He was worried about the young agent.
"Not for at least another hour." Alex Cross looked at him from the table and could see the worry on his face. "Don't worry, he'll be fine."
Donovan didn't look relieved. He started pacing the length of the room, then turned to the man sitting at the computer. "Cody, we need to get visual in there. Can you do it?"
"Sure can, boss." He turned to the computer and started typing until they could see the inside of the building where Jake Shaw was.
*******
"Sara, it's not right. I have been staying here for free for two months. I should be paying you or helping out in some way."
"Don't worry about it right now, Ian. We'll talk about it later and figure something out. Gabe and Renee should be here soon."
She finished setting the table, then turned off the oven and stove. Five minutes later there was a knock on the door. Sara opened it and let Gabriel and Renee in. "Come in," she said stepping out of the way.
She set the food on the table, and the four of them sat down to eat. When they had finished, Gabriel looked up at Ian and with a wink at Renee said, "Renee keeps nagging me about getting a tux, so we should probably go in to look tomorrow."
Ian nodded his head. "I am glad you asked me to be your best man," he said, then added with a grin, "I think."
They laughed, then Renee stood up and started to help Sara clean off the table.
"I can do it. You don't have to help," Sara protested.
"I want to."
Sara shook her head, but didn't say any more. Once the table was cleared off, they walked into the living room and sat down. After talking for a couple of hours, Renee and Gabriel started home.
*******
"We've waited long enough! They can't still be suspicious." Aidan was getting impatient with Jake's unwillingness to go after them.
"Sanchez, Murphy's right. And Irons is getting upset that we haven't done anything yet. We need to make a move," Ryan said.
Jake kept the stubborn set to his jaw for a moment, then his head bent and his shoulders slumped in defeat. "Fine. What do we do?"
"Tonight we go after them."
"That's the plan? We're gonna need more than that."
"That's all you need to know. We make our move tonight."
"I'm gonna take a walk. Get some air," Jake said walking toward the door. He needed to call Donovan.
*******
"What are we doing?"
"What we are being paid to do," Aidan sneered at Jake.
"No, we're not," he protested. "These aren't the two we're after."
"Jake, shut up," David Duffy spoke up. "These two will lead us to the ones we are after."
They were watching Renee and Gabriel as they walked back to their apartment. They were walking arm in arm while they talked and laughed. Nothing was wrong in their world right now. They didn't realize that soon something would change that. Jake wished he didn't have to do this.
"Let's go," Ryan said.
They started forward with Ryan and Murphy in the lead. The twins were behind them, and Jake followed behind. They slowly made a line behind the two and followed them until they noticed their presence.
Gabriel spun around and stepped between the men and Renee immediately recognizing the danger they represented. "What do you want?" He growled at them.
"You two are going to come with us," Ryan informed them.
"No. We're not."
"Listen, boy. You'd be smart to do as we say."
Suddenly five guns were trained on them. Gabriel stood there ready to fight. Then he realized that if he was hurt or killed, he wouldn't be able to protect Renee. His shoulders slumped in surrender. "Fine. Just let my fiancé go."
The leader shook his head. "Sorry, boy, but she's coming too."
They pushed the two young people ahead of them until they reached a van hidden in an alley. Once everyone was in, the doors were slammed shut, and the van pulled away.
*******
Sara opened the door and saw a man she didn't know standing there. "Hello," she greeted him, not sure what he wanted.
"Miss Pezzeni, my name's Frank Donovan. Can we come in?"
She noticed the woman standing behind him and asked, "Who are you?"
"Alex Cross. We're with the department of justice and we need to talk to you."
They showed her their badges. Sara looked at them carefully, then stepped aside so they could come in. "That's Ian Nottingham," she told them nodding at the couch.
"We know."
This took her by surprise, but she recovered quickly. "What do you have to talk to me about?"
"One of my agents, Jake Shaw is undercover as Jake Sanchez." Donovan started. "We're hoping to bring down a group of hired killers."
Sara interrupted him. "What does this have to do with me? If you want the department's cooperation, you should talk to my captain."
He shook his head. "We already have the police department's cooperation."
"Then what do you want with me?"
Donovan took a deep breath before continuing. "Kenneth Irons hired these men along with my agent about two months ago."
"When I left," Ian muttered.
Donovan looked at him, then continued. "They were to come after the two of you, but agent Shaw was able to hold them back for the past two months. He couldn't keep them away any longer, however. He reported in earlier today and told me that they're coming after the two of you tonight."
"Thanks for the warning."
"It's not just a warning. I'd like to leave agent Cross up here. When they show up, I'll come up with some men and we'll get them." Then, he added. "And with them, Kenneth Irons."
She looked at him for a moment, then nodded. "Of course. If it will bring down Irons."
"Good. Keep in contact with me," he told Alex as he started toward the door.
*******
"Jake and Aidan, you two watch them."
"Yes, sir."
Renee and Gabriel were sitting against the wall with their hands tied behind their backs. She was doing her best to keep the tears that desperately wanted to flow from rolling down her cheeks. Gabriel wanted to wrap his arms around her and comfort her, but he couldn't. He had the sudden urge to attack these men. Realizing he couldn't do any damage with his arms restrained, he fought it down.
"What do you want with us?"
Aidan kicked his knee. Gabriel bit back a cry of pain and glared at him.
"I wouldn't make him mad," Jake said. "He's in a bad mood today. Like every day," he muttered.
"I don't care. I want to know what you want with us."
Aidan grabbed his shirt and jerked him to his feet. "Boy, just keep your mouth shut. It will make things more pleasant for everyone."
"No."
A fist flew into his stomach, and he dropped to his knees. Aidan kicked him, and Gabriel rolled over on his side and groaned. He kicked him several more times until Renee pleaded, "Stop it! Please stop."
He grinned and started to walk toward her. Jake got up and stood in front of him. "Leave her alone."
"Why should I listen to you? I'm starting to think you're against us."
Jake ignored his last statement. "Look at her. She's pregnant. Don't harm her."
Ryan walked up to them and said, "Aidan, they're just bait, don't do anything to them."
"Yes, sir," he replied reluctantly.
"I need to get some air," Jake said looking disgusted at Murphy.
"All right, Sanchez. Dennis, come take Jake's place."
Jake walked outside and down the street before taking his phone from his pocket.
"Jake, what's going on?" Donovan asked.
"Plans changed. They didn't tell me. Went after Renee Mackenzie and Gabriel Bowman for bait. They're gonna get ahold of Pezzeni and get her down here."
"I'll contact her and tell her. Then, we'll come in."
"Okay, boss. Hurry before the boy gets himself killed."
Jake hit the end button on his phone, put it back in his pocket, and started back.
