Blue Moon: Too Good to Be True (33 page)

Max could see several of Valenzo’s guards standing back in the distance.

“I have a clear shot on Valenzo, Call.” Fox’s voice in their earpieces broke the silence.

“Call, is not in fucking charge. I am. No one make a goddamn move,”

Pierce broke in over their frequency.

“Stand down, Fox,” Call said.

Max quickly swatted at the moisture in his eyes threatening to spill over.

There was no time for that. What Max was getting ready to do, required brass balls. He saw the SWAT team move into an attack position, just in case.

Valenzo froze, and wrapped his forearm around Angel’s neck putting an AK-47 to his temple.

The SWAT leader hit the side of Max’s door twice, telling him it was okay to get out.

Max’s door was opened for him and he slowly stepped out, moving to the side of the SWAT leader.

“Who the fuck are you?” Valenzo snarled.

“Your pallbearer if you don’t take that damn gun away from his head,”

Max replied coolly. He leaned against the side of the Hummer as if he did this type of thing every day.

“You brought the fucking police…this is a goddamn setup,” Valenzo growled, not moving the gun away. He glared at Max with angry brown eyes.

Max’s heart was doing that thing again where it attempted to escape from his chest, but on the exterior he remained calm. His Angel was looking into his eyes. It almost made him drop to his knees until he heard his best friend in his ear.

“Calm down, Max, I’m right here with you buddy. I can see the gun at Angel’s head through the camera in the Hummer. Stay calm, he’s not going to shoot him. It’s time to play the trump card.” Pierce spoke in a controlled voice.

Max stepped forward with the SWAT leader at his side. “Mr. Valenzo, keep your eyes on the Hummer please.” Max spoke the words Pierce told him to say. One of the SWAT officers tapped the back Hummer and Jake got out with his Vizio tablet in his hand. He stood about fifteen feet away and aimed the face of his electronic device at the side of the jet-black vehicle.

An image appeared immediately. It was the front of Valenzo’s house. They were using the man’s own security camera. The time running in the far right corner of the image showed that this was happening right now. His wife was out front in her garden while his son played with his skateboard in their driveway. The bus full of inmates, still in view.

Max looked into Angel’s dark eyes and silently begged him to forgive him. He turned his head and spoke into the radio mounted on his shoulder.

“Let ’em out, Sheriff.”

“Noooo!” Valenzo screamed, as the inmates began filing off the bus.

Three large men went around the back of the bus, crossing the street and making their way behind Valenzo’s house, completely undetected. Everyone watched in horror as a huge inmate with a shiny bald head and tattoos all over his face and neck approached Valenzo’s wife from the rear. His son had

stopped playing with his skateboard and stared openmouthed at the scary man.

“Valenzo, this man approaching your wife from behind has been convicted of ten counts of rape and five counts of first-degree murder. He’s currently serving life without parole.” Max stared stone-faced at Valenzo as he spoke. He saw the man staring at the image on the Hummer without blinking, his face a mask of sheer horror. The inmate was making his way up the long curved driveway. Valenzo’s wife was still bent over picking weeds out of her garden. The inmate brought his two very large hands together and began rubbing them back and forth as if he was preparing for a feast.

“Stop, stop, stop! Okay. Please. I beg you, just make him stop. Now!

Please!” Valenzo cried out as he dropped the gun out of his hand and fell to his knees.

Max spoke loud enough so the guards behind Valenzo could hear him.

“Shot. If any of those motherfuckers back there take one fucking step or even breath too hard…I want you to blow their goddamn head off.”

“You got it, Ace,” Shot replied in his ear.

Max turned his steel gray gaze back to his lover. “Angel, come to me, baby.” Max stepped forward with the SWAT leader still glued to his side. He held his hands out, waiting for his man to step into his embrace.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Holy fucking hel ,
Angel thought when he saw Max step out of that Hummer dressed like a soldier. Max’s black boots were laced up over top of his all black military-style cargo pants. His tight black T-shirt was underneath a bulletproof vest. He had a radio attached to his shoulder just like the other SWAT officers and a clear-coiled wire ran from his ear and disappeared behind his neck. The dark sunglasses covered his beautiful blue-gray eyes.

His man had come from him, and flanked by his own SWAT team.

When they got home Max had some serious explaining to do. Angel couldn’t run, but he made his way into Max’s arms and held on to his man for dear life. For nine excruciating hours he’d thought Max was dead. Max squeezed him hard around his midsection and it made him suck in a sharp breath. Max pulled back abruptly at Angel’s gasp.

Angel thought that maybe his ribs were broken. Max removed his sunglasses, his eyes shining bright with unshed tears. He nuzzled the side of Angel’s face and whispered, “Get inside, baby, it’s all right.” Max opened the Hummer’s door and Angel saw there was another SWAT member inside sitting next to a medical bag. “Jackson, check him out please.”

“Yes, sir, Ace.” Jackson assisted Angel into the large vehicle.

Angel smiled and pulled Max in for another quick embrace before being closed in.

Max turned back toward Valenzo, who was still staring at the image on the other Hummer. Pierce had called the men off. The inmates were back on the bus and it was pulling away from the curb. His wife was so consumed with her yard she never even noticed anything.

Max looked at the SWAT team and flicked his head in Valenzo’s direction. The men closed in and began reading the man his rights as they secured his hands behind his back and dragged him to the black Tahoe pulling up.

Call came over to Max and shook his hand. “Tell Backhander he makes a formidable ally, and perhaps our paths will cross again.”

“Will do, Call. Thank you for everything,” Max replied as the man walked away, giving him a lazy salute.

Max saw Angel’s father and a very tall man with jet-black, wavy hair jogging over toward him. Shot embraced Max quickly before slinging open the Hummer door Angel was in. He climbed in the vehicle and shut the door behind him. The tall man stuck his hand out and introduced himself.

“I’m Special Agent Fox with the FBI, and you are Maximus Strong…or can I call you Ace too? I must say, that was one hell of a trick you just pulled and I’m dying to know the mastermind behind it,” the agent whispered conspiratorially.

“Yes, we all would like to know…who’s Backhander?” Bass chimed in.

Toad, Shade and Monroe were standing with him.

“He’s my ace in the hole.” Max shrugged.

“Well, I must say, Ace, you even tricked me this time.” Hawk walked up to the group carrying the largest, heaviest-looking rifle Max had ever seen.

“It’s not often that someone can sneak something past me. But I truly didn’t see this one coming. How the fuck did you go from being comatose in Angel’s office to heading up your own damn SWAT team with a bus full of lethal convicts at your beck and call? Please explain that to me.” Hawk shook his head in amazement.

Max snorted at Hawk and waved his hand dismissively. “There was nothing lethal about those convicts. Those men are inmates, but they’re in the minimal security jail for nonviolent crimes, like failure to pay child support, excessive tickets, crap like that. Backhander just picked the meanest-looking ones he could find. They’d all agreed to participate in the scare tactic and not tell a soul if we cleared their time and expunged their records.

“Besides, that man never would’ve laid a hand on Valenzo’s wife. Despite his looks, he’s as gentle as a teddy bear. The judge finally gave him ten days to serve because he’s gotten like twenty tickets for parking his work truck in the fire lane. If he would’ve reached her, he probably would’ve given her

some gardening tips because he’s a horticulturist.” Max winked at Hawk and to his surprise the man slammed him hard against his chest for a big hug.

“Fucking brilliant. Just like I said. Ace in the hole. Wins every damn time.” Hawk grinned that mischievous smile.

“Thanks for saving our boy, Ace. We couldn’t have done it without you and your team.” Shade looked him in his eyes seriously. “We’re used to doing some heavy intel before going into a mission. We aren’t too proud to admit that we fucked this one up, and it almost cost Angie his life.” The big man looked down at the ground.

Max patted the big man once on his back. “Hey, there are no fuckups here. What’s most important is that Angel will be safe in my arms tonight.

Besides, you guys are still the baddest motherfuckers I know. Ya’ll gave those bastards hell while we got the inmates into position. Honestly, if it wasn’t for Viper’s program it would have taken Backhander longer to find out who exactly was holding Angel. I think together we all make one hell of a team.”

The men shook their heads in agreement as they watched more SWAT

members come in, arresting Valenzo’s guards. A black sedan pulled up and parked close by Max and the guys. A uniformed officer got out and opened the back door. The mayor of Virginia Beach stepped out of the vehicle in a navy-blue suit and briefly surveyed the area before making his way over to them. “Well done, Maximus. I hear everything went smoothly. Minus a few casualties.” The mayor cleared his throat and raised one bushy eyebrow as he looked at the groundsmen. None of them made eye contact as they whistled and looked around at the trees as if admiring the landscape.

Max chuckled at their antics before responding to the mayor. “Thank you, sir.”

He stuck his hand out for Max to shake and told him, “As soon as you and Angel are up to it I want you both to come and have dinner with me and my family at the mansion. I’m sure Jessica would love to see her superhero again.”

“That sounds wonderful, thank you Mr. Mayor. I’m sure Angel would love to meet Jessica too,” Max replied with a smile.

“Hey, none of that Mr. Mayor shit…call me John. You call me personally if you need anything at all, Ace.” The Mayor nodded and got back in his sedan and rode away.

The men just sat there staring at Max with their mouths hanging open.

“Don’t ask…long story. Come on, I need to be with my man. We’ll rendezvous at Angel’s home in two hours.”

“You got it boss,” they replied in unison before departing their separate ways.

Max climbed into the backseat of the Hummer with Angel. He immediately saw that Angel’s shirt had been discarded and his midsection was wrapped tight with a large white bandage. He had an IV in his arm as he lay across the wide backseat. Max slid in and lifted Angel’s head slightly so that it would rest in his lap. Angel’s eyes were also covered with bandages.

Jackson was in the third row changing the IV bag. Max knew it was just fluids. He’d taken advanced emergency medical training with his degree. As Jackson adjusted the blood-pressure cuff on Angel’s arm, Max asked, “Why are his eyes covered?” Max stroked Angel’s cheek. He looked to be sleeping as his chest rose and fell with deep even breaths.

“They sprayed him with pepper spray when they cornered him in the alley,” Jackson informed him. Max flinched before he could stop it, and it made Angel moan groggily and turn his head into Max’s stomach. Max affectionately stroked his man’s unruly hair. He let the long, disheveled braid hang over the side of the seat.
They better be glad they didn’t cut your hair. I
probably would’ve used real death-row inmates.

“I put a rinse in them and some drops to help with the discomfort,”

Jackson stated as he worked proficiently.

“What is this on his face?” Max looked at the white paste-like substance on Angel’s cheeks and around his eyes.

“This will help combat the chemicals from the pepper spray that touched his skin. He’ll only have to wear it for a few hours and then his skin won’t be

so inflamed. His other bruises and contusions are mild. I will give him another bag of fluid after this one, and then he should be good on hydration.

I don’t feel he needs to go to the hospital for any X-rays, the ribs are not broken just bruised. They’re going to be sore for a few weeks, so he’ll want to take it easy. If he has a regular physician then he should definitely make an appointment for a follow-up.”

“Thank you, Jackson, I will make sure he does.”

“I’m sure you will, babe.” Angel groaned and squirmed in his lap trying to get a little more comfortable. Max smiled and stroked Angel’s back. Max knew there wasn’t a day that would go by that he wouldn’t show Angel how much he loved him.

Angel’s dad was in the front seat as they drove down the interstate back to the oceanfront. He’d turned and looked in Max’s lap when he heard Angel groan. He looked up at Max and his intense eyes that were so much like his son’s began filling with moisture. The man didn’t need to speak, his eyes said everything he was feeling. Max just nodded and mouthed, “You’re welcome.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

They made it back to Angel’s house in two and half hours and most of the men were already there. Max had Zander carry Angel to the bedroom.

The massive fireman carried Angel like he weighed fifty pounds.

Jazz was in Angel’s bedroom turning down his sheets and fussing with the comforter when they came through the door. Angel could hear her muffled sobs as Zander placed him carefully in the bed. The bandages over Angel’s eyes were carefully removed and he opened his red-rimmed eyes.

Jazz let the waterworks flow. She laid her head gently on his chest as she sobbed away the last fifteen hours of pure hell. Angel stroked her hair gently as he whispered to her that he was okay. She rose up and placed a light kiss on his forehead while Max and Zander watched silently from the door.