Ford: The Dudnik Circle Book 1 (14 page)

It’s like that, huh?

***Ford***

It’s been well over an hour before my phone finally rings.

“I’m going to send you a text with the information you requested. It took a while because the bastards live in a motorhome. They’ve placed a tracking device on it for me.” The old guy’s voice is filled with satisfaction.

That right there is what’s creepy. This fucker is in Russia and still gets shit done across the fucking globe. A mere request and he has minions jumping at his beck and call.

“Now remember our deal. My niece is already on her way. Her plane will land hours from now. I’ll send you a text with that info too. It’s been a pleasure doing business with you, Ford.”

I don’t even get a fucking chance to reply before he hangs up. A few seconds later my phone vibrates with two incoming messages. After sending the information from one message to Peacock, I send the other info to our computer team.

“I just sent the information to our computer guys. They’ll pinpoint the location so we’re gonna head over within the hour.” Justice nods at my words.

Peacock types away on his phone before he tucks it away. “Good. My team is headed down here so we can get ready.”

Apple, Acer and Abram walk into the living room, each carrying a laptop and sitting down at the large table.

Justice’s phone rings. “Yes? Oh, Afon.” Her eyes flash to mine as her face lights up with a smile. “So good to hear your voice… yes… oh, don’t worry, we’ve got a handle on… what? Oh, you gotta… fine.” Plainly frustrated, she blows out a breath and rolls her eyes as she holds out the phone to me.

I can’t help the fucking smile that tugs at my lips. Putting the phone next to my ear, I hear Afon’s voice, “You’re going to keep a close fucking eye on our girl, right?”

“She just agreed to become my wife, so what the fuck do you think?” I bark back into the phone. I know there’s no fucking reason at all for this jealous shit, but the fact that he called my woman ‘our girl’ sets me off.

“It’s like that, huh? Good, good. Hey, did you get her a ring?” His voice carries a hint of excitement.

“I will, it’s just that…” Fuck, how did I not think of something crucial like that?

Afon interrupts my train of thought. “You need to ask her about her mom’s ring. That’s about the only thing she’s got left that has any meaning. With her father killing her mother, the police sent Tarzan her personal things. She only saved the ring that originally belonged to her grandmother. It’s been passed on to the women in her family.”

A ball of emotions lodges in my throat because the guy is practically giving me his blessing by telling me all of this. And since Justice has no family left, it means a lot that Afon is standing up and approving of me. “Thanks, man. Appreciate it. I’ll ask.”

“Good. Now, when the hell can someone get me the fuck out of here? I’m done with being stuck in bed. I know I need to heal and shit, but come the fuck on! Get me my own bed and a personal nurse whose job involves blowing my dick and giving me sponge baths.” The fucker chuckles and I laugh right along with him.

“Sit tight for now and I’ll see what I can do.” I give him my word. He thanks me as I hang up.

Justice glares at me. Shit. I totally took over the phone call and did not give it back after I was finished. And technically, she’s his boss. Her hands go to her hips and her chin goes up. Defensive, yet so fucking adorable.

“Ask me what, Ford?” She almost bites my head off with her words. Or at least she’s trying to.

I put her phone on the table while I pull her in close, nuzzling her neck before I put my lips next to her ear. “Ask you where your mother’s ring is, so I can put it on your finger.”

She gasps and melts against me. The soft shake of her body tells me she’s fighting her emotions. With everything we’ve been through she chose this moment to let go and I’m fucking honored.

She’s gonna hate herself if she lets go, though, so I act on the first thought that comes to mind, and pinch her ass. She pushes me off, smacks my chest and glares at me while she fights a smile. Yeah, she knows exactly what I did right there and she appreciates it.

“They’re here.” Peacock’s voice brings us out of our staring contest.

Grabbing both phones, I hand Justice hers as I shoot a message to Kolya. The same moment we hear one voice that seems to be arguing with someone and I see Borya coming down the stairs. Behind him, a woman with dirty-blonde curls is calling him every name except the one he was given the day he was born.

At the end of the stairs, he spins around and waves his good hand in front of her face. His other arm is wrapped in a sling. I forgot he just came home from the hospital an hour ago. I’m sure the woman is the private nurse we hired so he can recover here from the burns he sustained from the car bomb.

He’s visibly frustrated that he can’t communicate with both hands. The woman isn’t helping at all when she crosses her arms in front of her chest while Borya is still trying to sign.

Pulling one of her hands up, she checks her nails without interest while Borya is practically blowing steam from his ears. He grabs her hand and gives it a rough shake. Her eyes flash with fury while she yanks her hand from his grip.

She starts to sign while at the same time the words flow from her lips. “Now you listen here; I’ve told you just like your doctors did a few hours ago that you need to rest. You cannot get out of bed for at least another two days. You need to heal before you hurt yourself even more. It’s a process, a long one. So you better man up and stop acting so childish.”

Borya gets up into her face. His voice sounds hard and weird since he almost never uses it unless his emotions overpower his control. “I am not a child.”

Her head moves a bit back as a slow smile tugs at her lips. “Nice voice there, Grumpy. Now, get back upstairs before the pain in your arm get worse. Don’t give me any excuses because I can see it in your eyes.”

His jaw ticks as he takes a stand for a few more seconds before he stomps back upstairs.

The nurse smiles at all of us. “Sorry about that; he’s going to be a tough patient, just how I like ‘em. It would be boring if it was the other way around.” She winks before she follows the path Borya took.

Justice starts laughing with me as Peacock joins in too.

When she’s caught her breath she looks at me. “Nathan’s sister, Tori, was a very good choice.”

I give her a kiss on the top of her head while I mumble into her hair. “Fucking brilliant. Just what he needs.”

More people gather in the foyer as Kolya brings in two bags filled with weapons and ammo. Everyone loads up. Apple walks up to me. “We’ve got a lock on the motorhome and Acer is sending you, Tarzan, and Peacock the info in a minute. We’ll stay here. If something’s up, just let me know. We’ve also pulled a map to give you the lay of the land surrounding it and hacked into a satellite feed for a visual.”

“Thanks, Apple.” I murmur after her since she’s already walking back into the living room.

Our three phones beep and we all glance at the text. Justice takes a few steps forward, tucks away her phone, and claps her hands to get everyone’s attention. “Okay, listen up. We need five teams to cover every angle. You will not, I repeat will
not
, go all vigilante. Work as a fucking team and wait for my, Ford, or Peacock’s signal. Clear?”

A chorus of confirmations bounce around as Peacock steps up. “Corban, you’re team one. Jaron, team two. Zackery, team three. Tyree, team four. Otto, team five.”

Peacock’s guys step forward, and I watch how they take lead and divide all our men like they’re teaming up to play football or something. A few minutes later, we climb into cars and drive toward the location of the motorhome.

I can’t wait to kill the fucker. It’s something we should have done years ago. Except the fucker dropped off the face of the earth when we rolled up his gang, member by member. We had a watertight plan that would have destroyed them in one shot. They were all supposed to be there the second we hit them hard, but someone tipped them off.

It’s a fucking long drive, miles out of town, in the middle of nowhere. Being stuck in a small metal box with Peacock rambling about the woman he’s going to tame ain’t no fucking picnic, I can tell you that. Just for this, I hope to God she’s the devil in disguise who will stick a pitch fork up his ass and straight out his mouth. Silence that cocky fucker once and for all.

He pushes a few buttons on his phone and glances over at me. “Gonna get things set before I forget, since it’s a done deal that I’m getting her.”

What did I tell ya? It’s as if the fucker is getting a new car or some shit. Hearing the speakers kick in… he’s going for a conference call or some shit.

A soft female voice fills the car. “Hello, Sir.”

Peacock beams. “Hello, Little Pet. I need you to listen very closely to what I’m about to say.”

You can hear her breath catch, and I see Justice roll her eyes so it’s not just me who thinks this shit is over-the-top.

“You’re going to clear out all of my knives in my room and lock them in the basement. Then you’re going to place the ball gag on the bed.” Peacock’s eyes go to my woman in the rearview mirror, making me growl.

“Would that be the one with the red ball or the one with the black one with the leash, Sir?” The girl asks in a husky voice.

Peacock pauses as though thinking about it. “I can always pull hair when I need to guide, so the red one will do. Oh, and one more thing, Candy.”

Her shocked gasp rings out through the car at the sound of her name.

“I’ll be letting you and Melanie go, as of right now. No worries, I’ll make sure you’re compensated. But I do need you two to be gone, as well as any trace of you both, within the next two hours. Clear?” His voice is stern as the girl tries to hide her sobs.

“Will you need us both within the next two hours to compensate or separately, Sir?” She breathes into the phone, waiting for his answer.

The fucker has a huge smile on his face while he just stares to the road in front of him.

“Sir?” She asks again.

The smile fades from Peacock’s face. “I thought I was clear. Compensated meaning currency, money, cash. That kind of payment. I don’t fucking need you two anymore, and I want my house cleared of the both of you. Can I be any more fucking clear, bitch?”

His harsh words makes Justice lean forward and smack Peacock’s shoulder. He glares at her in the rearview mirror.

The girl seems to get her shit together when she just says, “Right, Sir. Sorry, Sir. You have our number if you need anything, Sir. Thank you, Sir.”

What. The. Actual. Fuck?

““I won’t be calling. Have a nice life.” Peacock ends the call and Justice and I punch his shoulder at the same time.

“What the fuck, people?” He shouts.

“We could ask you the same question,” Justice says, her voice bouncing off the windows of the car. “What the hell was that all about? That’s just fucked up, Peacock.”

“They know the fucking deal with me. Ford, handle your woman or I will.” Peacock throws me a look that shows he’s not fucking kidding.

I pull Justice close to me and lean in next to her ear. “Let’s keep our fingers crossed the female troublemaker he’s getting knows how to kick him in the balls.”

She chuckles. “Oh, yeah. Karma is a bitch, and from what I’ve heard from Acer… Bitch is her middle name.”

Although we whisper, I’m sure Peacock picked up on our conversation, because he’s shooting daggers through the rearview mirror. Save it, pal. You’re gonna be needing that ammo. I hope.

Feathers up your ass.

***Justice***

Trees line both sides of the road. I stare out the window until I see a guy on a crotch rocket pull up alongside the car. The rider is wearing a helmet but flips up the eye shield as he turns his head. I can see laughter in his eyes. Yeah, he’s that close next to the car.

I’m about to ask if he belongs to anyone when the biker pops a wheelie.

Peacock mumbles, “Fucking showoff.”

He signals with his hands to Peacock, who just raises his chin a bit before his gaze locks back to the road in front of him. The biker flips down his eye shield, revs the engine before he executes another wheelie, and then races off at an insane speed.

“Wow.” Slips through my lips on a very soft breath. A second later a sharp sting shoots through my nipple. “Ouch.” I rub furiously over my breast while I glare at Ford who looks very pissed off.

“Remember that next time you think about gawking at another guy.” He growls.

Peacock chuckles while he shoots a glance in the rearview mirror. “And for the love of God, do not say anything to the fucker when you meet him. Marlon’s ego is big enough and it doesn’t need stroking.”

I am so sick of these alpha male idiots thinking every single one of them is all that. “Oh, just like you? You don’t need pretty feathers up your ass to shine and live up to your name, right?”

The car jerks hard to the right as he slams on the brakes. The door swings open and I unbuckle before I pop out of the car myself. I’m ready to kick his ass as he comes around front end of the car, facing me.

His hands clench into fists. I’m soooo fucking ready. Nobody outside of my gang knows that I fight my guys on a regular basis. It helps me keep focus, keeps my muscle memory active, and lets my energy flow. Plus, a girl needs a little stress relief every so often.

Before Ford can stop me, or Peacock can change his mind over punching a girl, I strike first. The uppercut hits home. Peacock stumbles back in surprise while blood flows from his nose.

I brace myself to strike again as I hear someone yell, “Don’t!”

Arms wrap around me, and as a reflex I bring my elbow up and hit the guy who’s trying to grab me in the face. Hearing a grunt, I know I just hit Ford. Shit.

“I warned you, didn’t I?” one of my guys says. “Tarzan fights all of us from time to time and always kicks our ass. Never interrupt her when she’s like this. Guess you’re learning the hard way, huh?”

I didn’t even realize the whole caravan had stopped to witness our confrontation. Ford wipes a hand down his face while he pulls me against his body. I feel his lips near my ear. “Now that you’re mine, I need you to tone down a bit from time to time and let me, your man, handle some shit for you. I fucking know you’re one hell of a strong woman and not the type to turn into the little chick who needs a guy to fight her battles. I can’t have you fighting other guys, unless it’s me kicking that delectable ass. Clear?”

His voice is rough and I feel his dick harden against my ass. How I want to rebel right now and kick his ass after I’m finished with Peacock. And while I’m wondering if I could take Ford, the fucker chuckles, as if he knows what I’m thinking about.
Fuck
.

“Behind closed doors,
Angel Moy
. Because I might need to fuck you during or after you’ve kicked my ass or if I’ve beaten yours.” He bites down on my neck and licks away the sting.

“That sounds all nice and shit but step away, Ford. I’m gonna have my way with her right fucking now.” Peacock growls.

The next second, I’m facing Ford’s back.

“You’re sure you want to go down this road?” Ford’s voice sounds like it could cut straight through Peacock.

“Like I said, step away. She was disrespectful to me and then gave me a fucking uppercut. She needs to be put in her place. Since you turn all fluffy clouds, pink unicorns, and shit around her, I’ll give her a taste of how a woman should treat a man.” His eyes are on me. The fucker is taunting me and Ford.

I step right next to Ford and I raise my voice. “Oh? Lemme guess. Gonna treat me like a horse? Wrap some leather shit around my head and shove something in my mouth while you whip my ass and ride me till the sun goes down? Nice, Peacock. Real female friendly too. Gets you all the respect a woman can give a man.
Not.
”

Just as Peacock takes a menacing step forward, I hear the sound of a motorcycle. The bike appears and the rider parks right in front of Ford. Boot
s
shoot to the left and right, keeping the bike in balance. He rises from the seat, kicks out the stand, and throws his leg off the bike.

“Thought we’d meet up a few miles out.” The raw rumble of his voice is sexy, even to me.

I swallow har
d
as he pulls off his helmet. He needs to put it back on before drool drips from my chin and I start to say weird shit like compliments and stick feathers up his ass to make him prettier than Peacock.

His eyes land on me and he winks. Ford growls as Peacock shoots me a look as if to say ‘I told you so’.

“You like my action back there, Tarzan?” Sexy voice, did I mention that?

With what he just said and the alpha bullshit… it kind of pops the bubble of hotness.

“Yeah, I’ve been warned and I feel no need to stick feathers up your ass. We’ve got one Peacock and that’s all the world can handle right now. So rein in that ego of yours and lets kill ourselves some Japanese guys, okay?” I can’t help to roll my eyes when I see the look of appreciation on Peacock’s face. Damn that man.

“Yeah… Right. I. Uhmmm. The motorhome is there. I’ve seen movement inside, counted at least six inside and two outside.” That’s funny, he’s slightly out of balance but covers it quickly. That and he acts like I’m no longer here.

I feel Ford’s lips on the top of my head. “How do you want to proceed, Peacock, since you’ve put one of your men with each team?”

It’s clearly a peace offering coming from Ford so we can focus on the action to come.

Peacock looks around at all the cars that have assembled behind us. “Marlon, did you see a place where we can ditch the cars?”

The guy from the bike, Marlon, chews on his bottom lip while he seems to think things over. “Yeah, there’s a spot a few miles ahead. But we’ll need to walk for a bit before we reach the motorhome. They’ve parked the thing in a clearing so we ain’t got the element of surprise. There are two guys on post: one on the front and the other at the back. I can take them both out from a distance, but we still need to handle the guys on the inside and they will see us coming.”

“I like for them to see us coming. We need to make sure the fucker is even in there. I want fucking proof he’s dead this time.” Ford snarls and I agree with him. We need to know for sure.

“That’s settled then. We’ll follow you and continue on foot. You take out the guards, and when all hell breaks loose and the fucker is identified, we’ll blow the whole fucking thing to the moon.” Peacock signals for everyone to get back in their cars when he’s done speaking.

Within a few minutes we reach the spot where we leave the cars. After grabbing our stuff from the trunk, we head toward the clearing where the motorhome is located. Spreading out, we form teams in a tight circle.

When the motorhome comes into sight, we crouch down behind some bushes to take in the area around us. Marlon was right. There’s a Japanese man standing in front. He’s clearly on look out, just like the guy on the other side.

Peacock signals to Marlon and I see him grab his sniper rifle that is strapped to his back. He pulled it from Peacock’s trunk earlier, slinging it over his shoulder for the trek into the field. I watch in fascination as he assembles the rifle and does some kind of routine. The hell if I know what all of that does, but I’m sure at some point he’s even checking what side the wind is coming from.

The moment he’s ready, he glances back at Peacock. “Okay, everyone get ready. There will be two hits and we’ll see how things flow from there.”

His voice is clear right next to me but also in my earpiece. Everyone wears one so we’re in contact
;
there are just too many of us to not be connected. With six teams surrounding the motorhome, we need this so we don’t end up shooting each other.

Peacock looks back at Ford when their eyes meet, they nod in agreement. Marlon catches their gaze and he knows he’s been given the okay. Although it’s personal for Ford, he doesn’t stand alone. Not just with me having his back, but also with Peacock.

Peacock is the head who oversees problems that interfere with all the gangs. His own gang also has the reputation of being a well-trained army. All of this is comforting to know when I hear the first shot being fired, followed by a second.

The bodies drop almost simultaneously. Before any of us jump into action, the door of the motorhome swings open and two other guys run out. Marlon pops those as three others rush out and one of them falls to the ground.

Marlon curses as he starts to reload. “How many fucking Japanese assholes can they fit in a fucking motorhome?”

“Is that a real question or the start of a joke there, Marlon?” Peacock chuckles as he takes aim and shots ring out. This seems to be the go signal as eight more sneak out of the motorhome and take cover
.
At this point the motorhome is starting to resemble those clown cars from the circus.

“Fuck this shit.” Ford growls. The moment he bends down to grab the bazooka, his body jerks and he falls back.

Running forward, I grab the bazooka and load it, making sure it’s twisted up tight and ready. Feeling the heat of Ford right next to me, I glance back. There’s a tear in the shoulder of his shirt and a circle of blood around it is spreading quickly. Fuck.

“There.” His voice brings me slightly out of my worry, for now at least. I follow his line of sight and see one punk run to a bike that’s parked next to the motorhome.

I suck in a breath and hold it as I take aim and fire. The mortar whooshes out and I’m surrounded by a cloud of white smoke. Seconds later, the motorhome blasts to pieces while bodies and debris fly into the air and then rain over the place of impact.

Even with all the noise surrounding me, I still hear the rev of a motorcycle engine.  “Marlon, get that sonofabitch.” I snap. He takes aim, but the scene is too smoky to get a clear shot. The thought enters my mind to reload the bazooka again but it’s a moving object.

“Got him.” Marlon mumbles as he squeezes the trigger.

Following his aim, I see the bike flip as the guy and the bike separate and land on the ground. From this distance, I see his leg bleeding heavily. Ford runs forward, along with Peacock behind him, leaving me with no other choice but to follow them while shots ring out around us.

Looking around, I see our guys taking out the ones who are still alive. Yeah, all of us have a no-loose-ends mentality on the matter. Silence hits when Ford reaches the guy who’d been on the bike. He’s applying pressure to his leg, but the amount of blood gushing out makes it obvious his femoral artery has been ruptured.

Ford’s leg whips back as he kicks the Japanese guy in the face. The guy’s hands fall away from his leg due to the force and the blood literally sprays out. Although this injury will kill him in the next few minutes… I doubt Ford will let him last that long. His hands go to the guy’s neck and he places his thumbs on each side of his windpipe.

Jaw clenched, Ford leans in closer to the guy’s face. “I would get it all on camera just to fucking watch it again. That’s why you guys make snuff movies, right? To re-live the pleasure over and over again? The fucking, the killing, the need to re-fucking-live.”

His thumbs fall away as the guy clearly struggles to keep focus. Ford puts them back in place and applies the pressure. “Shame you got shot in the fucking leg because I could do this all fucking day. But I need to change things up since you’re not dying of a goddamned gunshot wound to the leg. No. That will be me, fucker. I. Will. End. You.”

Ford’s hands release the guy’s neck as he falls to the ground. “This is for my sister.” His leg swings back before he brings it forward in a fast swing. Connecting with the guy’s jaw. His head snaps back at an unnatural angle as his spine disconnects.

“Too fucking easy. Fuck!” Ford screams in anger. His hands dig into his hair as he starts to pace back and forth.

Peacock leans in close to my ear. “You need to calm his ass down. His blood pressure is rising and he’s taken a shot to the shoulder. Add that to the workout he just had with running to this guy and… well, you get what I’m trying to say, right?”

My hand goes to his bicep, squeezing softly before my arm falls away. “Yeah, I know what you mean, Peacock.” My words trail behind me as I walk off toward Ford.

His head is down while he’s holding onto fistfuls of hair. Stepping forward, he bumps right into me. When his eyes meet mine, I almost step back. I’ve never seen that look. It’s so raw, and I’m having a hard time drinking it in and filtering to know if it’s the grief that’s blown free for the payback for his sister or the anger flaring.

Like him, I kill my enemies. Or anyone who deserves it in my eyes. When you kill a fucker too soon by accident… it’s like thinking you’ve got another piece of chocolate left, but when you reach for it, it’s already gone. Yeah. Disappointment doesn’t cover that shit. It's a building need; a hunger you want to satisfy or an itch you need to scratch.