Page 21 of Ignite
If only he knew how much Kenzi meant to me. I would give my life for hers 10 times over. Without hesitation, Van pulled the trigger. The bullet pierced my skin, and a sharp pain ricocheted through my gut. All I could think about was keeping Kenzi safe as the blood soaked through my white shirt.
Before Van could get off another shot, West lunged at him, which caused him to go down. The man standing at the doorway wasn’t as loyal to Van as he thought. He put his hands in the air and said, “No way am I going to be any part of this.”
West had Van pinned to the floor, but that didn’t stop him from taking another shot, this time at his disloyal friend. The way West held Van down, his aim was off and the bullet meant for his friend ended up in the wood molding across the hall. “I’ll find you, asshole,” Van cursed. “You can run, but you can’t hide.”
Axe was at West’s side, working the gun from Van’s hand before one of us ended up dead. Once the gun was in his hand, he removed the magazine and pulled back the lever to unload the bullet still in the chamber.
I could hear Van cursing as West held him in place. It was the last thing I heard before my vision blurred and I felt my legs give out.
~18~
Axe
There couldn’t have been a more perfect scenario. River was lying on the floor bleeding to death while West was holding down Van without a chance of getting away. I should have gone to the bedroom, taken Kenzi, and left the suite. That was what I really wanted to do, but in reality, I had to do what was right. She was safe, so I picked up the phone and dialed the front desk and requested an ambulance and the police.
While we waited for the paramedics and the police to arrive, I made a quick check on Kenzi to make sure she was okay. When I got to the bedroom, she was sound asleep. The chloroform River used on her must have been some potent stuff for her to be out for so long, oblivious to what had just taken place. Closing the door to the bedroom, I walked back River. He lay limp on the floor, lifeless. I leaned over his body, doing whatever I could to stop the bleeding. From what I could see, the bullet exited through his back, just below his rib cage. I wasn’t a doctor, but I had seen enough gun shots to know that he was going to live; that was, if he didn’t bleed to death.
I applied pressure as best I could until the paramedics took over minutes later. They got River on the stretcher and out of the door before four police officers arrived with two of them hauling Van away. The other two officers stayed behind to assess the suite and question West and me.
The cops were only doing their jobs, but damn, I wanted them to leave so I could take Kenzi out of here. It was apparent that the officers wanted to be thorough, but enough was enough. Their line of questioning seemed repetitive and was pissing me off.How many ways could we tell them that Van shot River?One officer asked about Kenzi when he opened the door to the bedroom, finding her lying there. Explaining why she was sleeping and didn’t hear a word took some explaining. I wanted to tell them the truth about River drugging her and then kidnapping her from the hospital, but I couldn’t bring myself to rat him out. Especially since he stopped Van from killing her.
Instead of telling the truth, I merely told them she had pulled an all-nighter and was exhausted. I wasn’t sure if they believed me or not, but they didn’t push to have her checked out. When they finally finished questioning us, I made a quick call to Davian.
“We’ve found Kenzi and are heading back to the warehouse. I’ll explain everything when we get there.”
“It better be a good one,” Davian replied. “I’m just glad it’s your voice I’m hearing and not the authorities informing me of your death.”
With his harsh words, I wished I had called him before we left the warehouse to save Kenzi. Things at The Ritz could have ended up differently if we hadThe Societyas backup.
~
I held Kenzi’s wrapped body close to mine as West and I entered the elevator. I should have taken the time to re-dress her, but the last thing I wanted was to explain to her why she was in a hotel suite wearing a silk nightgown instead of her clothes. Hopefully, she wouldn’t wake until after we got her to the warehouse. I hoped she would take what I had to tell her a little easier when she woke up in a familiar place.
West brought my truck around to the front of The Ritz while I waited in the lobby for him. Everyone who passed by gave me the evil eye as I held Kenzi in my arms. They didn’t deserve an explanation, nor had I given them one. When West pulled up in front of the hotel, it couldn’t have been better timing. I thought for sure the hotel’s security was going to show up at any minute.
A valet stood on the other side and opened the door as I held on to Kenzi. West was ready to exit the truck when a valet holding the door walked over to the truck and opened the passenger door. With the valet’s help, I easily climbed into the truck without waking Kenzi.
The valet stood by the door and I could tell he wanted to say something, but instead, he nodded his head as I slipped him $50 for his assistance. West shifted the truck into drive and pulled away from the hotel, moving slowly into oncoming traffic. Kenzi shifted slightly and nuzzled her head in the crook of my neck. I thought for sure she would wake before we got to the warehouse, but once she found a comfortable position, she went back to sleep. I wasn’t ready for questions she had, and thankfully I didn’t have to explain anything since she remained asleep. But given her movements, the chloroform River had given her was wearing off.
West was driving like he was being chased, and I wasn’t sure if we would make it to the warehouse in one piece. When he stopped in front of the warehouse, I was glad that we made it before Kenzi woke up. As I pushed open the door, I remembered that Kenzi’s purse was still lying on the floor. I knew once she woke up, she would ask for it, so I grabbed it before I got out of the truck. As we headed to the door, it opened with Davian standing on the other side. “Take her upstairs to one of the empty bedrooms. Once you’ve got her settled, we need to talk.”
I wasn’t keen on having what would be more of an ass-chewing than a talk. I went against Davian’s request, but for a good reason. Had it been Reyna, he would have done the same. As I headed up the stairs, Kenzi once again adjusted her head. I could feel her warm breath against my neck and it warmed my heart, knowing she was safe with me. She was going to feel like shit once she woke, but when she did, I would be at her side. Davian and his little talk would have to wait until I knew for sure that Kenzi was okay and didn’t have any adverse effects from the chloroform.
When I got to the bedroom that I knew she would be most comfortable in, I pushed the door open with my foot. The room hadn’t changed since the last time she slept here. It seemed like only yesterday that she, Helga, Mika, and Reyna were living at the warehouse. It was the only way we could keep them all safe from Rui Salko. I would never forget the day we rescued Helga and Reyna from Rui Salko’s compound in Canada, where he kept the women he would eventually sell to the highest bidder. If it hadn’t been for Helga, Reyna might not be with Davian today. There was no telling how Salko’s mind worked, so protecting the four of them was a must. When Marcus put Rui Salko down, it was a long time coming. He deserved to die. And with us framing Crosby McCall for his death, he also got what he deserved.
I held Kenzi close while pulling back the covers to the bed. Before I placed her on the mattress, I carefully unwrapped the sheet from her body. Kenzi stirred for a moment as I placed her on the bed and covered her body with the cool bedding. Two hours had passed since I had found her and I was getting concerned that she hadn’t woken up yet. If, within the next hour, she still hadn’t woken, I would be taking her to the hospital.
Since there was no way I was going to leave her, I pulled up a chair and took a seat. My eyes were set on her, watching for any movement. I was beyond exhausted and my lack of sleep was taking a toll on me. I could no longer keep my eyes open and I found myself nodding off. Instead of using my need to stay awake to fight sleep, I allowed my eyes to close. When Kenzi woke, at least I would be the first person she saw.
It seemed like only a few minutes had passed when I heard a loud female voice. “Axe.”
I slowly opened my eyes while shaking the fog from my head. Kenzi was sitting on the edge of the bed with her eyes focused on mine. “You’re awake,” I managed to croak while my mouth felt like a huge cotton ball.
“Can you please explain to me what I’m doing in this bedroom half-naked?”
I rubbed my hands across my face, trying desperately to wake up. Before I could explain anything, I needed something to drink. Pushing from my chair, I looked down on Kenzi. “I need a glass of water. How about you?”
“I don’t want anything except an explanation.” Kenzi rose to her feet and wobbled before falling back on the edge of the bed. “Woah. My head hurts like hell.”
