Chapter Nine

There is language in this chapter. You have been warned.

Travis never was a fan of crowds, which would explain why he always stayed to the shadows every time he attended a function. He'd never gone to a concert, ballgame, or anything else that would require him to be in a crowd. He felt as if he was being slowly suffocated by the stifling bodies—that now served as a problem for him, considering he was required to attend events and functions with Randy since he was his personal assistant.

It still didn't stop him from finding the darkest corner where he could still keep an eye on things and still be at his boss's disposal. It also helped that he was now on his third glass of champagne and it was helping to dull his anxiety to the point where it was just a nuisance.

"I would like to thank everyone for coming out tonight to support Every Kid Counts," Randy's deep voice reverberated through the speakers around the veranda of the Darlington House.

Travis couldn't help but be impressed as the crowd grew silent and turned as one to face Randy, where he was standing on a stage that had been set up for the band. It was hard to deny the other man had a commanding personality, not to mention he could charm any person—man or woman.

"It is because of your generous donations and contributions that we are able to begin work on a new music and theatre arts building for children," Randy continued, smiling at the crowd. "For a lot of our children today, they do not have the access or means to participate in the arts. Research has shown that a child who participates in the arts makes better grades, stays out of trouble, and is more sociable."

Randy stopped speaking for a moment as the crowd broke out into a polite round of applause.

"I can remember when—"

Travis was torn away from what Randy was saying as his phone began to ring. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his cell phone and moved into the house where he could have a little more privacy. "This is Hughes."

"We've got a problem."

"What kind of problem?" Travis asked, instantly recognizing the voice of Andrews. He'd been left in charge of guarding the house while they attending the charity event tonight.

"The woman—she's gone."

"Gone?" Travis lowered his tone as a couple of guests turned to look at him. "What the hell do you mean, she's gone? There was no way for her to get out of there!"

"She didn't escape on her own…"

"What do you mean?"

"There were two of them—"

Travis let out a sigh, running a hand through his hair. He didn't want to listen to any excuses. The less he knew about it, the better. All he did know what that hell was going to break loose when they got back to the house. Randy didn't like mistakes—and he certainly didn't believe in second chances. Travis had a sinking feeling this was going to be Andrews' last night on the job.

"I'll let Mr. Wolfe know. Don't mention this to anyone else." Travis hung up the phone, staring out the doors as Randy continued to talk to the guests. He was speaking animatedly, his hands moving as he worked the crowd.

Taking a deep breath, Travis walked back outside just has Randy was finishing his speech.

"Again, I would like to thank you all for coming tonight." Randy held up his champagne glass in a toast. "If you will please be seated at your designated tables, dinner will be served shortly." He nodded his head in appreciation as the guests gave him another round of applause.

Draining the last of his champagne, Travis handed his empty flute to a passing waiter and approached Randy as he stepped off the stage.

Randy smiled as he saw Travis. "How was that for a speech? I practically have all of these people eating out of the palm of my hand. It should make for a very successful night."

"Sir, I need to talk to you."

"You need to relax, Travis," Randy said, patting him on the shoulder. "This is a very important night. Mingle with the guests."

"I wouldn't be bothering you unless it was important," Travis argued. He fixed Randy with a serious look. "And urgent."

The smile slowly faded from Randy's face. "What is it?"

"I just got a call from Andrews…"

"Did something happen?"

Travis nodded. "The woman—she's gone."

"Shit!" Turning away from Travis, Randy stalked up to the stage, a fake smile plastered on his face as he took the microphone once again. "I'm sorry to do this, ladies and gentlemen, but it seems as if I have an urgent business matter to attend to. I'll be handing over the reins to Miranda—she'll take good care of you in my absence." A petite blonde woman stood up from one of the front tables and waved at the crowd.

Travis had to practically jog to keep up with Randy as he stormed off the stage, the smile still plastered on his face. As soon as they were in the house, Randy's expression could only be described as one of rage. His body was practically shaking. He reminded Travis of a nuclear bomb about to go off, sparing no one in its path.

As soon as they were in the car, Randy whirled on Travis. "How the hell did this happen?"

"I-I'm not sure, sir," Travis stammered. "I didn't get any details from Andrews. I thought it would be better if you talked to him yourself."

"Oh, I'm going to talk to him. I'm going to rip his throat out for letting this happen!" Randy ran his hands through his hair, anger radiating off of him in waves. All of a sudden, he lashed out, punching the window as hard as he could, the glass cracking from the blow.

Travis said nothing as he edged away from his boss, knowing it was best to stay silent. It didn't stop him from saying a silent prayer for Andrews as the car sped down the road, towards Randy's house.

Daniel glanced up as Max exited the bedroom, closing the door softly behind him. He honestly couldn't remember a time when Max had looked utterly exhausted. His stamina and eagerness had always surprised him, especially the way Max was able to finish one job only to launch into the next one without pause. He figured it had to happen eventually—no one could continue full steam without breaking down somewhere along the way.

Amazing how it took a woman Max had only just met to finally get him to stop. Then again, women were powerful creatures. This, Daniel knew from experience. In fact, he would even go so far as to call himself an expert in the field of women. They were the only beings who could bring a man to his knees, make him fight for something he may not even believe in, or to lay his life down without hesitation. It was a gift that was very powerful and could be very destructive if not used with caution.

"How is she doing?" Daniel asked as Max sank down into the sofa, covering his face with his hands.

"She's exhausted."

"She's not the only one."

"I'm fine." Max let out a sigh. "Let's not forget that she more than likely hates me and would probably love nothing more than to rip out my throat."

Daniel smiled. "Can you really blame her? If I had been her, you would have already been a bloody mess on the floor."

"Then I suppose it's a good thing you're not her."

Despite his initial reservations about the rescue mission, Daniel had to admit he actually liked Nancy based on the little time he'd been around her. Of course, he like any woman who could stand up to Max, considering his friend was someone most people feared. Nancy didn't seem to be the type who cowered in fear—she was strong. Then, he imagined that she would have to be, especially after what she had been through in the last twenty-four hours.

Anyone else, he knew would be a blubbering mess on the floor. And while she finally did break down in front of them, Daniel didn't see her as weak. There was only so much the human psyche could take before it became too much for them to carry.

"So, what's the plan now that we've gotten her back?" Daniel asked, taking a sip of his scotch.

"We need to leave." Max moved his hands away from his face and sat up, propping his arms on his knees as he sat forward. "It's too dangerous for us to stick around here. I'm sure Wolfe's found out that she's not longer at the house and he'll be tearing the city apart to find her."

"You think?"

Max ignored him. "I know it's going to piss her off, but we can't take her back home—it's the first place he'll look for her."

"Where do you suggest we go?"

"Not Philadelphia. I'm sure the guards at the house recognized me, so Wolfe will know I'm behind her escape and he'll come looking for me." Max stood up and walked over to the window, gazing out distractedly.

"We could go to your home in the Keys," Daniel suggested. "The paperwork on the place is buried so deeply, it will take him months to figure it out. It may be our safest bet until we figure out what to do next."

Max nodded. "I don't see any other option at the moment. I know Nancy will probably hate it, but I promised her I would do everything to keep her safe."

"I know you and promises, Max. You'd die first before you went back on your word."

Max said nothing as he continued to stare out into the San Diego night.

"I know you want to do everything to protect her, Max. Hell, I barely know her and I want to jump on the bandwagon." Daniel stood up and walked to Max. "We have no idea what we've gotten ourselves into. This could be some very serious shit and it could get a lot worse."

"I'm not asking you to stick around, Daniel." Max turned around and fixed his friend with a serious look. "I would never ask that of you."

"I know you're not asking me." Daniel smiled. "And I never said anything about bowing out. If things are going to get worse, I want to be there in the thick of it. It's been an awfully long time since I've had any fun."

Max chuckled, rolling his eyes. "Your idea of fun terrifies me."

"And yet, you still keep me around." Turning away from Max, Daniel retrieved is laptop and sat at the small table in the corner of the room. "You should get you some sleep while you can. I'll keep an eye on things around here and get things moving so we can get out of here in the morning."

When Max didn't say anything, Daniel raised his eyes to glare at him. "I mean it—get some sleep. I won't have you being cranky in the morning because you refused to listen to me."

"There's one problem…"

Daniel couldn't hide the sigh that escaped his lips. "What?"

"I don't have anywhere to sleep. I let Nancy have my bed."

"And whose fault would that be?" Daniel asked, arching an eyebrow. He nodded to the sofa. "Toughen up, Grey—there's a perfectly good couch right there you can sleep on."

Max looked over at the couch and winced.

"It's either there or on the floor." Daniel flashed him a wicked grin. "Of course, you could always get another room and leave me here alone to guard our fair maiden."

"No, thanks." Max walked over to the couch and pulled off his shoes before lying down. "It's not that I don't trust you, Daniel. It's just that I don't trust what you'll attempt knowing there's a somewhat vulnerable woman who is only feet away from you."

Randy was practically breathing fire as the car sped towards his house. It had taken every ounce of self restraint not to throttle Travis, only because the other man was unfortunate enough to sit by his side. But he had to remind himself that it was his assistant that he was angry at—it was her.

He didn't understand how she had managed to get away. She'd been tied to a bed, for crying out loud. There was no way in hell she would have been able to free herself from the restraints; he'd made sure of that before he left her alone in the room. Add to that, there wasn't anyone who knew she was even there. He'd made sure to cover his tracks as soon as he'd hired Max Grey to find her.

Which only left two options—there was either a mole in the house who had called the police as soon as he'd left or Grey was behind this. The latter seemed ridiculous to him; after all, Grey made his living by taking people. A very good living, if what Randy had paid him was any indication. He couldn't see the other man risking everything to come back for Nancy. As far as he knew, she meant nothing to him.

That could only mean there had to be a mole in his staff—someone who'd finally gotten a heart and felt guilty about what they had seen. That was a problem.

And it was a problem that Randy would soon rectify. There was going to be blood tonight. Plenty of it, if he had his way.

The car had barely come to a stop before Randy was pushing the door open and storming towards the front door. He barely acknowledged Travis as the younger man scurried to join him, keeping his distance at the same time. He couldn't blame Travis—even Randy was afraid of what he was capable of at the moment.

Andrews was waiting in his office, along with the other guards he'd left on duty. Randy didn't say a word as he strode into the room, the tension among the others palpable. He knew they were waiting for him to explode.

"Would someone care to explain to me what happened tonight?" Randy's voice was soft, carrying with it a deadly undercurrent. He looked around the room, taking notice of their fear and he relished it. They were smart to be afraid of him. No one seemed eager to speak up, though their eyes kept darting to Andrews. "I'm waiting."

Andrews cleared his throat. "There was a situation, sir."

Randy's smiled was chilling. "I am well aware there was a situation. What I don't understand is how the hell it happened."

"They took us by surprise," Andrews began. "There were two of them—"

"There were six of you!"

Andrews flinched as Randy screamed at them. He licked his lips nervously. "We never heard or saw them coming…"

Randy took a deep breath, trying to get his temper under control. "How did it happen?"

"They worked as a team and overpowered us. As soon as they were finished with one pair of us, they moved to the next. It was as if they'd rehearsed it."

Randy said nothing, continuing to fix Andrews with a level glare.

"Before we knew it, they were running out of here with the woman. They split up—one drove off with the woman on a motorbike and the other was in a Jeep. We managed to give chase, but they split up and we lost them."

"You lost them?"

Andrews nodded weakly.

"Did you happen to get a good look at either of them?"

The other man nodded again. "You're not going to like it though."

Randy smiled thinly. "Yes, because I have liked everything you've told me so far. Who the hell was behind this?"

"Max Grey."

"You're sure?" Randy felt as if someone had punched him in the gut. What interest could Grey possibly have in Nancy? Was it guilt? Or was he trying to work a different angle? Or could it be he actually had feelings for her? It wouldn't surprise Randy, considering Nancy had made him fall for her back in Rio.

"Yes, sir. It was Max Grey."

Turning away from Andrews, Randy walked over to his desk. Opening the middle drawer, he reached in and pulled out a small handgun. He stroked it lightly as he turned around to smile at the man sitting in front of the desk.

"I have to say, I am very disappointed in you, Andrews. You actually had a lot of promise."

Andrews eyes widened in fear. "Sir, I—"

"But I can't afford to let you get away with such an unforgiveable mistake. What message would it send to everyone else who works for me?"

"Just give me a chance—"

Randy took aim at Andrews' chest and fired, silencing his pleas. "I don't give second chances. You know that." He glanced around the room, delighting in the looks of fear and shock from the other men. "Does anyone have a problem with this?"

They shook their heads.

"Good." Randy walked back around his desk, returning the gun to its drawer before sitting in his chair. "What are you still doing in here? You should be looking for Grey and Miss Drew. I want them back alive."

They hurried out of the room, Travis following closely behind.

"Travis?"

His assistant turned around, trying to keep his eyes off of Andrews' slumped form. "Yes, sir?"

"Get someone in here to clean up this mess."

Travis nodded quickly before dashing out of the room, closing the door behind him. Randy let out a satisfied sigh, propping his feet up on his desk.

There really was no better way to end the night than with a little spilled blood.

It wasn't my intention to exclude Nancy from this chapter, but when the characters speak, you don't ignore them. Especially someone as ruthless and evil as Randy Wolfe. Besides, to keep it flowing, I had to go this route.

I would like a say a huge thanks to all of my reviewers: MCR-1993, Michelle Gallichio, dares to dream, Angelvie S, lys, McKenna Evens (I am so happy you are giving this story a chance and didn't let the fact that it was a Nancy Drew story scare you away!), and SC15. Also, huge thanks to my newest followers!

As always, I apologize for any mistakes!

I also want to give you guys a heads-up: I am about to start a new story (Mortal Instruments fandom—if you haven't read this book series and like teen fantasy, I highly recommend them! They are very well written and so enjoyable, I have read them twice now!) so I will be dividing my time between the two. I still plan to update this story frequently, so don't fret! I just wanted to let you know in case I get a day or two behind my usual postings!

Let me know what you think and until next time!