4am…
Jakobe sat up in the bed, wide awake. The bright light on the ceiling flashed. He was instantly on high alert. The silent alarm in his house had been flipped, which could only mean one thing. He rolled over, straddling Nakida. He placed his large hand over her mouth before he shook her out of her deep sleep. Her wide eyes flew open. He placed his finger to his lip to signal for her to be quiet. She nodded her understanding.
“We have to get moving,” he whispered.
Jakobe was taken back at the speed in which Nakida rolled out of bed. He had thought she would have thrown a million questions at him. Instead, she ran over to the draw that held her clothes. She began to dress. Even the outfit she pulled out was one that was practical. The black leggings, t shirt, and Chucks she put on with shaking hands were made for running. He watched her as he mirrored her actions by dressing in jeans and a t-shirt. He scooped up his phone. He cursed under his breath when he saw the many missed calls from his Mom. She obviously had been trying to reach him to warn of the night invasion, but he had switched it to silent.
He waved his hand for Nakida to follow him into the closet. His fingers glided over the cell’s screen, as he pulled up the surveillance app on his phone. He tilted the screen to let her see.
“They’re all downstairs,” she pointed out, calmly. “What are we going to do?”
She stood back as he reached over her shoulder into a cluster of clothes. She stared in awe when the rack that was attached to the wall swung back to produce a hidden passageway. She walked in, stopped, waited for him to entering, and close the door behind them. The area was small and dark. The only light source was his phone. Taking her hand, he led her on.
“Sweet Jesus, Jakobe… are you okay?”
“Yes, the alarm woke me,” he whispered into the phone.
“Can you make it out?”
He could hear the fear in his mother’s voice.
“Yes. It’s about 15 men in the house, and another 10 on the grounds, but you know we’ll make it.”
“We’ll be in place, waiting to pick you up,” she promised.
“I’m muting you.”
Nakida could hear the men moving around in the main part of the house. They walked down a set of crudely made stairs.
“Who did all of this?”
“It’s a mothafucka that—”
“Not who’s out there… who made this passage way?”
“I did,” he answered.
Once again, he was taken back at her response. Why the hell was she so calm? Why wasn’t she screaming a prayer? Instead, she seemed as if… He shook his head to make himself focus. This was not the time to wonder about her. He needed to get them out, which would involve making a run for it. That also meant he would have to find a way to keep her from getting shot or worse… taken. He noticed her surprise when the passageway lead to the secret room within the pantry.
“Put this on,” he commanded.
She remained still, as he placed a bullet proof vest on her. Her eyes scanned the shelves that were filled with guns, clips, night vision glasses, brass knuckles, and other weaponry. As soon as she was strapped in, she started grabbing. She tested the weight of one gun, pulled back on the clip, checked it, and then loaded it with bullets before she grabbed another. She was on her fourth gun, before she noticed his eyes on him.
“We’ll talk after all this shit is over,” he vowed.
“Since you seem to have a handle on things, I’m gonna use your skills,” he grunted. He paused to toss her a pair of night vision goggles.
“We have to make it to the garage out back,” he informed her.
“So, you’re going for a black out by setting off those gas bombs. We’ll pop them off as we make our way out,” she explained.
He pinned her with his gaze.
“You’re very smart. I don’t know if I should find you sexier, or be worried,” he whispered.
“You can decide if we live.”
He chuckled strangely. He turned back, picked up a large semi-automatic gun from off the shelf, and nodded. No more words were said. They both placed the goggles on without switching on the night feature. They both hovered around the phone until he said now.
What happened next, looked like it was taken straight out of a movie. Silently, they walked out of the hidden room to the door of the pantry. He counted down to five on his fingers before he pushed a button on his phone to cut the power to the house, bathing it in darkness. Quickly, they switched to night vision, just before he tossed the smoke bomb into the kitchen. The light of bullets popping off lit up the house. He found out quickly that Nakida was a dead shot. She mowed down the men with ease. It was like she was trained in black ops. From her stance, to how she lined up her shot, she knew what she was doing. He realized that she counted her clips and switched between her weapons with ease.
In no time, they were outside. They kept watch on each other’s back to ensure neither got hurt. Unfortunately, the men outside were poised and ready for them. Their attack had them trapped. It was only a matter of time before the police arrived.
“Will you stop that damn whistling,” she snapped.
“It helps me stay focused and calm… you should try it,” he suggested, with a nasty eye roll.
“Why don’t you run out, while I cover you?” she offered. She almost laughed at the dumbstruck expression he shot her.
“You have the vest,” he pointed out.
“For all the marbles, are you ready?” He sighed
He kissed her passionately, then stood up firing off. Run, duck, and fire was the strategy that gained them access to the backyard and the garage. With the power off, he was able to open the garage without entering the code to the key paid. Once inside, he turned on the generator that caused the lights and the locks on the door to engage.
“Wow,” she said, marveling at the spread of cars. She kept in step with him. He weaved through the vehicles until he chose the fastest whip. Nakida slammed the door, and strapped herself in. Jakobe placed the phone in the holder that was mounted to the dashboard.
“We’re in the car,” he announced.
She had completely forgotten that his mother had been hanging on the line.
“We’re in place,” his Mom shouted.
The Mercedes Benz SLM AMG roared to life. Jakobe put it into gear. Smoke came from the tires as they spun, due to the speed that he took off with. Without slowing down, three men’s bodies flew into the sky as he ran them down and burst through the garage door. She gazed out the side window. She groaned at the sight of headlights that took off after them.
“Who the hell are these people?” she cried, frustrated.
“A snake that has shown himself, at last,” he mumbled as he drifted onto the road.
He hissed as a spray of bullets hit the car. He shifted gears as he weaved around the traffic on the road. Even early in the morning, the California streets were cluttered with cars.
“You’re going to have to come to me. These fuckers at too determined.”
“I have your position. I’m moving now,” remarked his Mother.
“Reach in the back, and get the bag in the back seat,” he instructed.
“Don’t get shot,” he yelled as the mirror on the driver’s side was shot off.
Nakida brought the heavy bag, in question, to the front. She took note of the closer than comfort headlights hammering down on us. Quickly, she unzipped it and removed the pump shotgun.
“Loa—”
He began to say, only to realize that she was already doing it. Suddenly, their car began to slow down. He snatched the gun out of her hand. The cool air blasted into the car, causing her hair to fly into her face.
“Put your seat back, and take the wheel,” shouted Jakobe.
He needed to get this car off his dick, before the assholes shot their car up. She focused on steering them around the cars. She didn’t even turn to watch the gun fight that ensued, as the loud sound of the shotgun going off thundered within the car.
“Down shift… up shift… brake… okay, go,” she yelled as she stirred. She listened to his mother guide her through the streets to the meeting point.
“Okay, make a right, and go straight… punch it!” his mother cried.
At that, Jakobe sat the gun on his lap to regain complete control of the high performance sports car. He gave the wheel a hard right, crossing all lines of traffic, until he reached the median on the interstate. It wasn’t until they rounded the corner that she noticed the 18-wheeler with its back down. The truck was rolling, which caused sparks, as the metal door scraped against the asphalt. Nakida grabbed the hook that was attached to the roof of the car as she climbed the door, when she figured out what he was going to do.
It was obvious that this wasn’t the first time that he had to go to these extremes to make a getaway. Like a pro, he pulled the car up into the moving truck. Once on, he put the car into park. By the time she unbuckled and got out, the back of the truck had closed, concealing them from their attackers. She didn’t know if she was wobbling due to the sway of the bed of the truck, or if it was the high level of adrenalin that was still coursing through her veins. It had been years since she had been in a situation such as that one, but it just proved that there were some skills a person never forgot. She marveled at how quickly her brain had switched into go mood. Even the coldness that she had thought she had overcome had returned. She searched her mind and heart to see if she had any remorse for the men she had just shot, only to have none.
“What the fuck was all of that?” thundered Jakobe.
“Well, it was…” his mother’s words trailed off at the fierce look Jakobe gave her. He closed the space to tower over Nakida. Choosing to ignore him, she spoke to his mother instead.
“Drop me at my house.”
His mother shook her head.
“No, you’re going to stay right here. You don’t know these people. They’ll come after you to get to—”
“Look, I don’t want to be in any of this shit. I know how to go ghost. All I need is my bag, and I’m gone,” she explained.
No longer willing to be dismissed, Jakobe seized her by the shoulders. He shook her hard. She could still feel her brain swashing around in her skull long after he stopped. He leaned forward, blocking out everything except his stone cold blue eyes.
“Who the fuck are you?” he grinded out.
“You’ve been sleeping with this girl, knocked her up with my grandbaby, and you don’t know who she is?” his mother interjected in disbelief.
“We weren’t expecting a hook up to become permanent,” said Nakida in his defense.
“Then let me do the honors,” stated his mother.
Jakobe backed away as if he had been burnt, when his mother began to reveal just who Nakida was. His eyes scanned her as if he was seeing her for the first time. He ran his hands through his hair, as it all made sense. Her calm resolve… her ease with weapons… her comment about ‘going ghost’ and disappearing… even his odd attraction to her, all made sense. A wicked grin formed on his mouth.
“I thought that was the reason you picked her to be yours,” his mother finished.
“Of course, I’ve gone through great pains to keep those facts about me a secret. I don’t want people coming after me, or trying to use me because of my fathers,” added Nakida. She eyed Jakobe. His lack of comment made her nervous. Would his feelings toward her change? Would he turn out to be like the men that she feared, who would take advantage of her?
“So, you aren’t Nakida?” he replied at last.
“No, I changed my name when I left home at 22. Yes, my biological father is Cedric ‘Grey Eyes’ Clintmore, and my step dad is El Chayo that heads a Mexican drug cartel,” she admitted with a sigh.
“You weren’t lying about your mom’s eye for men with power and money,” he chuckled.
“Anyway… if you’ll drop me off, I—”
“Are you fuckin’ cra—” he stopped himself, before he finished his statement.
“What did you say?” she snapped, tilting her head.
His eyebrow went up as he took in her stance. He was sure the she was still riding on the high of fighting for her life, which was why she was in combative mood. He too was high on a wave of emotions, and seeing her in this new light, only served to make his nuts tighten with desire of the beautiful brown skinned woman that was currently shooting daggers at him.
“Crazy,” he said, finishing his sentence.
The word fell like a stone. His mother didn’t know why the word was causing such an uproar. However, what she could recognize was the lust that was almost tangible between the two young lovers. She laughed when Nakida took a swing at her son. With ease, he maneuvered out of the way of her fist. She laughed even harder when he picked the girl up as if she weighted no more than a feather, to plaster her back against the truck bed wall. Nakida panted. Unconsciously, she wrapped her legs around his waist. Her gaze lingered on his lips. He brushed the back of his hand on her smooth cheek.
“Do you remember what I confessed to you tonight?” he whispered.
She closed her eyes. His deep, even voice shook her to her core.
“Yes,” she swallowed hard.
“What did I say?” he pressed.
When she opened her eyes, she was instantly lost in the depths of his open blue gaze.
“That you loved me, and that I could never get away from you.”
She moaned at the sight of him biting on his full bottom lip.
“I don’t care if your fathers were a gimp troll and a cross eyed cyclops. You… are… mine, forever.”
“Yes,” she smirked.
Jakobe felt the change in the speed of the truck before she did.
“We’re here,” came a male voice from an intercom.
Jakobe lowered her slowly back to the ground. Taking her hand, he began to walk to the front of the truck. She had to jog to keep up with his long strides.
“What? Where are we going?” she inquired.
“To fuck some shit up,” he growled.
TO BE CONTINUED…