"It was just over an hour ago." He went back to typing and seconds later, he announced, "I got her. It looks like she's heading over to his place."
"What the fuck? This doesn't make any sense. She knows what's about to go down, there's no way she'd just leave without … " I ran my hand over my face as I tried to collect my thoughts, and then it hit me. "Goddammit!"
"You think her father is behind this?"
"He's gotta be. There's no way she'd just leave without talking to me first."
"Then, we better get our asses over there before it's too late."
As we raced out the door, Riggs put a call in to Gus, letting him know what was going on. Having no way of knowing if it was just some kind of trap, Gus ordered T-Bone and Gauge to follow us over to Jason's place. My heart hammered in my chest as I pressed my foot against the accelerator, racing towards the address Riggs had given me. I tried to gain control of my panic, but nothing was working. I knew it was just a matter of time before she was in her father's grasp, and I wouldn't be there to protect her. Guilt and anger consumed me as I parked across the street from Jason's apartment. As we got out of the SUV, Riggs looked over to me and said, "It's apartment 302, so I'm guessing we need to head up to the third floor."
As we started towards the front door, I noticed T-Bone and Gauge waiting for us in the alley. I motioned for them both to follow, and with our weapons drawn, we headed inside. Trepidation swelled through me as we made our way up the stairs. I kept expecting to come across one of Navarro's men, but there were none in sight, making me even more anxious as we approached Jason's door. Riggs leaned towards the door, trying to see if he could hear anything on the other side, and after just a few seconds, he nodded. Navarro was there. I took a quick glance around, and when I saw that there was no other way for us to get inside, I gave T-Bone the signal to knock the door down. With one swift kick, the wood splintered into a thousand pieces, giving us access to the apartment. We charged inside, but immediately froze when we saw a tall, dark skinned man with his gun pressed against Navarro's temple.
He seemed completely unphased by Navarro's three men who had their guns pointed directly at him, and didn't so much as acknowledge our presence as he snarled, "I'm not letting you do this … not after what you did to her mother."
Navarro's face filled with repulsion as he growled, "I always knew you were in love with her, Marcus. Hell, anyone could see it. So fucking pathetic."
I quickly scanned the room and was overcome with relief when I spotted Alex huddled in the corner with her friend, Jason. He looked like hell as he leaned against her with his arm across her shoulder. His eyes were nearly swollen shut, and bruises and cuts covered his face. Someone had given him one hell of a beating, and from what I could tell, Alex was the only thing keeping him from falling on his face. When Alex's tear soaked eyes locked on mine, it was all I could do to keep from rushing over to her. I knew she was distraught, but at the moment, there was little I could do to console her.
"She was too good for you. She deserved better, and you know it."
"Maybe, but that doesn't change anything. She's still dead, and there's nothing you can do about it."
"But, I can keep you from doing the same thing to Alejandra." He pressed the barrel of his gun into Navarro's flesh as he replied, "I can still protect her."
"You're making a mistake, Marcus. If you pull that trigger, you're as good as dead."
I remembered Alex telling me about Marcus. He was the man who'd trained her how to fight, and as I stood there watching him put his life on the line for her, I quickly realized just how much he must've cared about her. She must've realized it, too, because she started to cry when she heard him say, "I don't care. I'd rather die than let you hurt her."
"Why must you be so fucking dramatic? We both know you don't have the balls to pull that trigger."
"That's where you're wrong."
He didn't bat an eye as he pressed his finger against the trigger, sending a bullet through Navarro's head. It was like time stood still as we all watched his lifeless body slowly fall to the ground. It seemed inconceivable that such a powerful man could be taken down with a single bullet, but there he lay. He'd only been lying there a moment, when a second and then a third gunshot exploded through the room. Navarro's men had shot Marcus, and once they felt certain he was dead, they turned their attention towards us. That turned out to be a mistake. They'd barely gotten a chance to aim their weapons when we fired our own, sending bullets soaring in their direction. When the last man fell to the ground, Alex rushed over to Marcus, and her sobbing continued as she knelt down beside him.
As she lowered her head to his chest, she whispered, "Thank you, Marcus. Thank you for everything."
To all of our surprise, his hand reached for hers as he muttered, "I couldn't let him take you back. I just couldn't."
Alex quickly lifted her head as she cried, "Marcus! You're alive."
"Not for long, sweetheart."
"Don't say that! We can get someone to help you." She looked over to me as she pleaded, "Shadow! You have to help him."
I knew by looking at him that Marcus was right. He didn't have much time. Blood was pooling in his mouth, and he could barely breath. I crouched down beside her as I checked the position of his wounds, and when I saw that he'd been shot directly in the stomach, I knew his end was near. "There's not much I can do."
"But, you have to try something!"
Marcus gave her hand a squeeze and he wheezed, "Listen to me … Alejandra … I want you … to live … a good life … I want you to be … happy. You do … that for me, okay?"
"Yes, Marcus. I'll do my best."
"Your … mom would be … proud of you." He coughed, and it took all his strength to take in one final breath. "You're a fighter … never stop fighting."
Tears started to stream down her face as she watched the life drain from his body. When she couldn't stand it a moment longer, she reached for me, wrapping her arms tightly around my neck. "He's gone."
"I know, baby."
I held her tightly against my chest for several minutes as she tried to collect herself. When the tears stopped falling and her breathing started to slow, I placed my mouth close to her ear as I whispered, "Let's get you back to the clubhouse."
She took a step back and asked, "What about Jason?"
"He's coming with us." I turned to T-Bone and said, "Hey, brother. Give me a hand."
Once T-Bone helped me get Jason and Alex into the SUV, he walked over to me and said, "That apartment is on the third fucking floor. Cleaning this shit up ain't gonna be easy."
"No doubt. I'll call Gus and have him send over some of the guys to give you a hand."
"Tell ‘em to bring plenty of plastic, cause we're gonna need it."
When he started to walk back towards the front door, I reached for my phone and called Gus. I gave him a quick rundown of everything that had happened, and while he was surprised by how things played out, he was relieved to hear that Navarro would no longer be an issue. We were still talking when he stopped to tell several of the brothers to head over to the apartment so they could help with the cleanup. Before ending the call, he asked about Alex. Like me, he was concerned about how she was handling losing both Marcus and her father. Even though I knew how she felt about her father, it couldn't have been easy to witness his death. Losing Marcus would only compound the hurt, but in time, she would see that it was his love for her that gave him the strength to do what needed to be done.
Once I got Alex and Jason back to the clubhouse, we took Jason down to the med-room so Mack could take a look at his injuries. After he got him bandaged up, Alex helped me get him set up in one of the empty rooms. Mack had given him some pretty powerful pain relievers, and he was barely able to keep his eyes open as Alex tucked him into bed. "I'm so sorry about all of this, Jason. I never meant for you to get involved in all this."
"There's no way you could've known he'd come after me."
"No, but I should've told you about my father … I was wrong to keep that from you."
"Yeah. You should have, and honestly, I don't understand why you didn't."
"I guess I was just scared."
"But you could've talked to me about it. I would've understood. It hurts that you couldn't trust me enough to tell me the truth." He closed his eyes, and I thought he'd passed out until he said, "But, I'll find a way to forgive ya."