Chapter 10
"Zay, do me a favor. Check the security footage of the front gate please. Make, model, license plate. Hell a face would be great." Zay scurried off. "Tommy e-mailed me last night, Billy threw a fit. They're both in LA now, they both know about me, Billy knows about Anna. Billy is too hot headed to fall into a pattern, his emotions control his reactions. Which would explain the letter this morning, but he mentioned having a pattern." He expressed his thoughts out loud.
"Lucas, I got the letters back. The encryption of handwriting isn't an exact science but there are two different patterns of writing. One personality angrier than the other." The marine bit his lip, why didn't they type? Either way he was grateful for the new information.
"Two different people? Or two different personalities same person?" Smackle shrugged her shoulders. "That explains the difference in letters, there are some more aggressive than others."
Farkle finished reading the letter and passed it to Maya. "Lucas?"
"He's not going to hurt her." The marine started pacing the room. "If there are two people, this one cares for her. Tommy? But he broke pattern, so Billy? Together?" His sandy blonde hair shook continuing to whisper to himself knowing he wasn't making any sense, "How would they know each other?"
"Lucas?"
"One minute."
"LUCAS!" Maya snapped.
"WHAT?" He yelled.
"Is you being here a good idea?" The blonde questioned, "Is you being here safe for you?"
Before he could reply, Riley rolled into the office. "No, it's not." Everyone froze, they kept these letters away from her for a reason knowing she'd overreact. "Give me the letter."
"Peaches that's not a good idea."
"I wasn't asking Maya." The paper ripped out of her hands and her brown eyes soaked up the words. She glanced up at the man she loved, the one she couldn't stand to lose again and inhaled. It was his life or hers, "Lucas you're fired."
"No, I'm not." The brunette jogged back to her room. "I'M NOT!"
"YES YOU ARE!" She can't let him risk his life for her, not anymore. Riley hated to lose him, but she couldn't risk him dying.
Seconds after she closed her door she heard, "RILEY!" Her bedroom door flew open and slammed promptly, causing a boom throughout the home. "I'M NOT GOING ANYWHERE!"
"YES YOU ARE! I CAN'T LOSE YOU LUCAS!" Tears streamed down her face.
"YOU'RE THE ONE PUSHING ME AWAY!" He screamed.
"BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!" She shoved him and started crying. "BECAUSE YOU ARE TOO DAMN IMPORTANT TO ME! I LOST YOU ONCE, BUT IF I LOSE YOU FOR GOOD, I'D DIE!" His temper cooled almost immediately. "If you died, I'd die."
He wrapped her in a hug, "I love you Riley. I'm not going anywhere, I'm not the one who's going to die." The brunette sobbed into his chest. He had flashbacks of her going on the plane, they were back at the airport all over again. Except this time it was her pushing him away. "I'm not going anywhere. Not this time." Her tears ran down his chest, and the only thing to do to calm her down was to kiss her. His arms lifted her up and pushed her towards his lips, she let out a small moan as they continued their embrace.
The marine laid down on the bed and her fingers grazed down his abs to push past the barrier of his pajama pants. "Oh god." His lips found her neck as she stroked his engorged member.
"I need you." They kissed again and his hands slid up her thigh. His fingers played, causing her to moan his name. Lucas continued while stepping out of his pajama pants and instantly thrust inside of her. "Oh my- Lucas." Her words were filled with gasps, his green eyes watched her ache with pleasure. Grasping for the sheets, he couldn't take his eyes off of her. This was where he belonged, with her. It didn't matter to him that he could die, she's worth dying for.
GMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMW
"Zay?" Maya peeked her head into his room.
"Come on in." The blonde shut the door behind her, "what's wrong?"
"Is Riley going to be safe? Please don't sugarcoat this, be honest."
Zay smirked, and patted on the bed for her to take a seat. "If I know Lucas, and I do since I was 7 he's not going to let anything happen to her."
"But he doesn't need to be here. He's going to get himself killed." His brown eyes moved towards the floor, "wait. He means to?"
"If that's what it takes. Then yes, he was an incredible marine. He fought to come back to her, he killed to get back to her. He still will to keep Riley around, but if dying is what it takes to keep her safe, he will."
"That's insane." She whispered and fidgeted with her fingers.
"That's love." His fingers moved to tuck some hair behind her ear. "We're not going anywhere. Once Lucas is done talking to Riley we will devise a plan. You have to trust us, we may not have a business card but we are all more than qualified to handle this."
The blue eyed girl smirked, "you have changed a lot since high school."
"Good or bad?" Zay questioned with a smile.
"Very good." Before she had a chance to think about her actions, Maya kissed him. "I'm sorry, I wasn't-" His hands cupped her face and returned the affection, she hadn't felt like this since Josh kissed her. It was more like Josh times 3.
GMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMW
Riley laid on Lucas' chest, finding any and every way to be closer to him. She intertwined their legs and laid her hand across his stomach. "What happens now?"
"Now, I kill this guy."
"How?" She questioned, "We don't know who this is."
"I have some ideas but, I do have a question does Tommy know Billy?" The brunette furrowed her brows and moved her chin to stare into his emerald eyes.
"Um yeah, they met up after the marine ball for something. Billy said it was some sort of confidentiality agreement, since I told him about you. Why?" The marine gently scratched her arm, sending chills throughout her body.
"Let's get dressed sweetheart, we need a team meeting." He reluctantly rose from the bed, sitting Riley up in the process.
"Lucas."
"Yeah beautiful?" The bodyguard slid on his pajama pants and turned towards her.
"Please don't get hurt." He couldn't promise her something that he couldn't keep anymore, Lucas sauntered towards the singer and kissed her forehead.
"Come on baby." She slid on her shirt and a pair of shorts and jogged downstairs towards Farkle's office. In the foyer the marine cleared his throat, "EVERYONE FARKLE'S OFFICE NOW!" His voice was so boisterous and more intense than she'd ever heard before. He took a seat and smiled when the brunette crawled into his lap. She kissed him as much as possible before her friends entered the room. "Take a seat, in a chair or on the ground, or in each other's lap apparently, I don't care." He needed to make a joke. He needed to reassure everyone he wasn't scared. "Zay, anything on the video?"
"There was a black SUV, the license plate was covered, and the only thing you saw was an arm drop it in the mailbox, black clothes and gloves. VIN number was out of sight." The green eyed man bit his cheek.
"Okay y'all, here's the deal I'm not fired. I'm not going anywhere."
"Do I need to cancel her tour?" Farkle questioned.
"Not unless Riley wants to." The singer disagreed, "it might ease your worries to know that this guy is not going to hurt her. Kidnap her, yes but not going to hurt her, at least that's what I gather from the letters."
"Luke, you can't make assumptions like that." Zay commented, "We have to be prepared for anything."
"Of course we do. It's not an assumption, he's mentioned that he is her future. He's going to get her, she deserves more than someone who would push her away. All statements that I would make if someone else did what I did, besides the 'getting her'. We will be prepared, always." Riley tucked her head into his neck and sighed. "Zay I need you to do me a favor. Go into town and buy a Ruger LC9, hollow points and a thigh holster."
"What's that for? Well obviously protection but for who, you have plenty of guns?" Farkle questioned.
"I don't think you can have too many guns. But it's for Riley." The singer popped up. "She's going to wear it on tour, when we aren't on the bus." Lucas' green eyes locked on her, "you need to pack a lot of dresses."
"Riley doesn't know how to shoot." The blonde joked. "We'd be dead before she hit the stalker."
Lucas smiled, "yes she can. Let me just tell you a little story."
GMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMW
4 Years Earlier.
"Alright, your left hand is going to hold the butt of the gun, so your elbow will slightly bend. You're right hand holds the rest of the gun, whoa!" He slowly pulled her finger off the trigger. "Don't let your finger touch the trigger unless you want to shoot."
"Okay. Why am I so nervous?" Riley joked.
"You're holding a gun, it can kill you. Remember what I said?"
"This isn't a toy, this is a dangerous weapon. For protection only."
"Good girl." Lucas stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her's to help hold the gun and make small adjustments to her form. "This gun doesn't have a safety okay? It has a trigger pull so you have to pull a little harder, it's its own form of safety."
"Sir yes sir."
"Riles, this is serious." He mumbled in her ear.
"Right, sorry."
"Do you see the orange night sight?" The brunette nodded her head, "that lights up at night, and is orange during the day, you use that to guide what you want to shoot. Line it up at the bullseye." His fingertips grazed her arms as he pulled away. "Inhale and pull." The gun fired 5 times. The green eyed man stood behind her and carefully removed the gun from her hands, quickly unloading the magazine and emptying the chamber. Lucas set the gun down on the bale of hay and grabbed the binoculars. "I'll be damned baby. Take a look."
Riley snatched them out of his hands and focused on the bullseye 30 yards away. "OH MY GOD!"
"You did great!" Her eyes moved around the target and saw 3 holes in the center and 2 right on the outside. She dropped the binoculars and smiled before kissing his lips.
"Thank you. Thank you for teaching me. I know this isn't supposed to be 'fun' but I enjoyed it. I feel powerful."
His strong arms pulled her into his chest, "you looked sexy as hell. You're going hunting with me sometime soon."
GMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMW
"Peaches, why didn't you tell me you knew how to shoot?"
Riley smiled and tucked her head back into Lucas' shoulder. "At first I thought it was a fluke, beginner's luck. We kept shooting and I don't know I didn't think about it." The marine scratched her back.
"Back to the original discussion, I have a serious feeling whatever is going to go down will happen on the tour. Hence the line 'have a nice tour' comment or whatever the hell it said. It isn't legal for Riley to conceal carry, but I'd rather her be alive and get in some trouble than dead wishing she had a gun. I'm going to talk to 4 buddies and see if they will follow us on the tour, instead of having different people at each stop. It will make security easier."
"I need to practice." Whispered Riley. "It's been years since I've shot."
"Yes ma'am you do. Which is why we're going to the range today. Go get dressed." They kissed and she ran upstairs. "Farkle, Maya you'll be handed a taser. If someone tries to get to Riley or if someone is going after you, I expect you to react. Zay will show you how to use it when he gets back, it's pretty self-explanatory." The marine commanded.
"I don't think this is a good idea." Farkle whispered, "To conceal a gun during a concert is suicidal."
"Safety will be on, and there won't be anything in the chamber. She'll have to cock it for the gun to shoot anything. Besides, it'd be suicidal to not have protection for her. Look, I didn't want to say this while she was around but, I'm going to be the first person this guy goes after. If something happens to me I trust my team to keep her safe, but we all know shit happens. She can defend herself with a gun."
Farkle moved his head towards Maya. "How are you going to get out of here?"
"Simple." He stood up, "walk out. We're going to a gun range, and if we're lucky these people or dual personality individual will show up."
"Why would that be lucky?"
Lucas turned around and smirked, "because I'll kill him."
45 minutes later Riley ran down the stairs and jumped into Lucas' arms. "I love you."
"I love you too." He whispered and kissed her cheek. "You ready?" The brunette nodded and put on her baseball cap to help cover her face, followed by her sunglasses. "Beautiful. Zay just dropped off your Ruger. I've got your glock with me, let's go." She moved for his hand when he slowly pulled away, "I'm your body guard outside this house. Remember?"
"Sorry." The singer nodded and followed behind him. "Why couldn't I have just concealed the glock?"
"It's a bigger gun the Ruger is about .9 inches wide and tinier. Better for hiding." The brown eyed girl climbed in the back seat and buckled her seatbelt, "good girl." She had no idea why but she loved it when he said that. Riley loved the words of affirmation. "Hey Riles."
"Yes?"
"How did the song you played for me last night not make it on your album?" His green eyes continued to move from left to right and in the rearview mirror.
"Billy. He didn't, and obviously doesn't like you. That song says I need you, it says I need Anna. His excuse was that it wasn't a good idea to reveal to the public that I lost her." Her thumbs rotated around each other. "You know for a while I still thought about calling you or writing you a letter but, he convinced me otherwise. Said you'd be mad that I lost her."
"That son of a bitch." His grip tightened on the steering wheel causing his knuckles turned white. "Trust me when I say I'm not mad at you, none of this was your fault. Also trust me when I say that you should play that song in one of your concerts."
"Lucas who do you think this is?" Her question was so direct, it took him by surprise.
"Billy and Tommy. I think they're doing this together."
"Wait why? Why together?"
"Billy promised that he'd take you down, what better way to do that then to have Tommy kidnap you, keep you hidden and keep you to himself? I get the feeling that Tommy cares for you, in a very, very odd way." Riley bit her cheek, "this is all speculation sweetheart. That's who I think it is." The car got thrown into park and placed his hand on his gun while glancing around before letting the brunette out. "Come on."
GMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMW
Luckily it was a Tuesday and 2 o'clock so the gun range wasn't busy at all. Riley continued to fire off shots like no time had passed. She still remembered how to load and unload, and her proper gun etiquette. The brunette glanced at her target and smiled, "not too shabby."
"Not at all. You see those holes on the outside?" She nodded, "keep your wrist still. Since it is slightly more compact there's a little more kick than the glock." He glanced at his watch. "What do you think? How do you feel?"
"Good. Kind of like old times, I just wish I was out on-" He shook his head with wide eyes. "My grandparents land."
"Alright, let's get you back." They sauntered back to the car, and he immediately noticed the deflated tires. "Get back inside." The singer did so without question and Lucas walked backwards back into the range. "Excuse me sir." The man who had introduced himself as the store owner earlier waltzed back up to the front, "do you have any cameras out front?"
"You're kidding right? My customers aren't the kind that like to be filmed." The brunette stood beside him, ready to reach for his gun if necessary. The green eyed man gestured for him to lean forward.
"Sir, I don't want to say this out loud. I asked out of common courtesy but I did see a camera outside. My tires have been slashed because I'm working security on this lady right beside me, whose name I'm going to leave out of this. May I please watch the security footage?" The older man leaned back and stared into the marine's eyes. One look and you could tell he wasn't bluffing.
"Come on back." Lucas took Riley's hand and followed the owner to his office.
"Text Maya, tell her to send Zay." He instructed.
"Okay."
"Here you go son, please keep it hush hush." He smiled at Riley before leaving the room and closing the door. The marine rewound the tapes and stared at his car, hoping he'd find something. Anything. The singer kept quiet, letting him work his magic when she glanced at the paused screen that he was zooming in.
"Wait." She exclaimed, "Zoom in on his arm." His brows furrowed but moved the focus without question. "That's the tattoo."
"What tattoo?"
"Tommy he got a tattoo on his forearm for his sister. That's it!"
The marine exhaled while smiling and kissed her. "I love you."
"I love you too." His emerald eyes moved back towards the computer screen and pressed play.
"He was the passenger." He whispered, which only further made him believe he wasn't working alone. Billy had to be involved in this, a former marine with a clean record couldn't have come up with this on his own.
"They're here." Riley stated.
GMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMW
Alex, hey it's Lucas.
Friar, what can I do ya' for?
What's the address of Tommy Higgins?
I sent it to you in an e-mail. Didn't I?
Whether you did or didn't wasn't the question. I'm fixing to drive and need it. Now.
I'll text it.
"Lucas are you sure you want to do this?" Zay questioned while putting on his bulletproof vest.
"Yeah, I'm sure. He probably noticed those cameras too. We won't have much time if he tries to get out. We could be too late." Lucas holstered another weapon.
"The detective is outside you two." Farkle announced and got a little worried seeing them in their armor. The marine made sure his vest was on tight, his gun was holstered with extra hollow points and handcuffs.
"Let's do this." Zay and Lucas entered the foyer where Maya and Riley stood. The brunette clearly had been trying to fight back tears. She pulled him to the side.
"You better come back." The green eyed man smiled and kissed her.
"I promise. I love you." Maya said bye to Zay and watched them leave. Slamming the door behind them.
30 minutes later, Zay and Lucas were being followed up the stairs by Detective Heard to get to Tommy's apartment. Lucas took one side of the door, Zay took the other and Heard knocked, "Mr. Higgins are you home?" 10 seconds with no answer, and a head nod from Lucas the door was kicked open. They hurriedly swept the apartment.
"CLEAR!"
"CLEAR!" Lucas lowered his gun. "We're too late. DAMN IT!"
"I'll put a warrant out for him. Especially now that I've seen this." Heard kicked the closet door open fully and the entire wall was covered with pictures of Riley. Starting from when she was at most 19. "It seems as if Mr. Higgins has a little thing for Ms. Matthews." The marine clenched his jaw.
"LUKE!" The green eyed man grabbed his gun and followed Zay's voice.
Once he was in the dingy kitchen he put the gun away. "What?"
"Take a look." There was a stray sheet of paper, "that's a Staples Center blue print." Lucas kneeled down to get a closer look.
"What a coincidence that's where Riley's kickoff concert is."
"He must be hitting there on her tour."
Lucas moved the blueprint out of the way and there was a picture of Riley's house. He raised himself back up and clutched his vest, trying to figure out what that meant. "No! That's what he wants us to think. We need to get back now!"
"Why?"
Lucas took off downstairs, with the other two men on his heels. "He knew, he knew we'd be coming to look for him. He knew about the cameras, he knew Riley would recognize the tattoo. He's going after her, now!" The lights flipped on in the car and Lucas' phone dinged. "SHIT! Someone's on the property." He grabbed the detective's walkie, "Possible 217 in progress at 461 Sunset Blvd. all available units, please respond." He dialed Riley as soon as possible.
Hey are you okay?
GET UPSTAIRS, GET EVERYONE UPSTAIRS GET THE GUN!
What are you talking about?
RILEY GET UPSTAIRS NOW!
There was a scream from Maya on the other end of the phone.
MAYA!
GET UPSTAIRS GET THE GUN!
GMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMW
Thanks for reading.