The All-Seeing Security Guard

Chapter 009

Cade Merrick looked at the readouts hovering above the heads of the eight men blocking their path.

[Name: Blackroot Syndicate Member]

[Threat level: 375]

[Intent: Armed assembly, attempting to seize the black-and-gold card from property owner Lila Sinclair.]

The Blackroot Syndicate. Cade had heard the name tossed around during his internship, always in a tone that carried weight. They were one of the four major syndicates running Rivermont, and compared to them, the thugs who'd hassled him that morning weren't even worth mentioning.

Who was pulling the strings behind this attack, though, Cade still couldn't say for certain.

"What's going on?" Dana Whitlock climbed out of the car, striding toward Cade with irritation written across her face. The moment she spotted the eight hulking men standing in the road ahead, her voice cracked with alarm. "What... what is this?"

"Dana, what's happening out there?" Lila called from inside, reaching for the door handle.

"Lila, stay in the car. I've got this handled," Cade said without turning around, his voice low and even.

"Are you sure you can manage this?" Dana hesitated, glancing between Cade and the men.

"Trust me."

"It's fine!" Dana shouted back toward Lila, who was halfway out of her seat, and pushed her gently back inside. "Cade says he's got it. We don't need to worry."

"But..." Lila pressed her face to the window, watching Cade's back with open concern.

Cade stepped forward, putting the car behind him.

"Who sent you?" Cade drew the extendable baton from his waistband, his voice flat as he faced the eight men. "Was it Julian Ashford?"

"Ha, staring down at death and you've still got the nerve to run your mouth." Jax Callahan, a stocky, hard-muscled man who clearly ran the muscle for this crew, stepped forward and leveled the tip of his blade at Cade. "If you know what's good for you, drop whatever you're holding and get on your knees."

"Call me Grandpa three times, then hand over the seven million. Maybe then we'll let the rest of you walk away."

Seven million. That confirmed it. Whoever ordered this had to have been among the guests at the auction tonight, and the likeliest candidate by far was that snake Julian.

"Jax, quit wasting breath on this kid," one of the brutes said, hefting an iron rod and pointing it at Cade, who stood there studying them without flinching. "Just break his arms and legs. After that he won't be in any position to argue."

The others fell in behind him immediately.

"Yeah!"

"Jax, Brick's right! Forget the talk, let's just take him down!"

Cade's grip tightened around the baton, though it wasn't fear running through him. It was something closer to anticipation, a restless eagerness he hadn't expected to feel. His fingers brushed the silver needles tucked at his waist. Not long ago, facing eight armed men alone would have been unthinkable. Tonight, he thought he might actually have a shot.

Jax lifted a hand, and Brick, along with the man beside him, surged forward with twisted grins stretched across their faces.

Brick slapped the iron rod against his own palm as he closed the distance, eyes glinting with mockery, and when he was three feet away he swung it down hard at Cade's skull.

Cade slipped the blow with a light step, letting the full weight of the strike crash through empty air. Surprise flickered across Brick's face. He hadn't imagined this thin, unassuming man could dodge something so heavy that cleanly.

Behind him, Jax's patience was already thinning. "Brick, hurry this up!"

"Stop messing around!"

Brick caught his partner's eye, and the other man understood at once. Cade saw both rods arc toward him from opposite sides in the same breath.

He raised the baton to block Brick's strike while, in the same motion, he willed one of the silver needles at his waist to streak toward the other man's wrist.

A sharp crack rang out.

The second man's rod clattered to the ground, and Cade swung the baton low, driving it into his stomach.

"Ah!" As that man doubled over clutching his gut, Brick raised his weapon again, aiming for Cade's head. Cade repeated the trick, guiding a needle into Brick's wrist to throw off his swing, then brought the baton down hard across his shin.

There was a sickening crack, and Brick went down howling, rolling on the pavement with both hands wrapped around his leg.

Watching two of his men crumble in a single exchange, Jax's expression hardened into something far grimmer. He bellowed, "Everyone, take him down!"

The remaining six surged forward with their weapons raised.

Inside the car, Lila and Dana clutched each other, heads bowed, unable to watch what was coming.

Cade flung a handful of needles toward the charging men. Catching the glint of metal under the streetlights, Jax shouted, "Scatter!"

The men split left and right, but to their confusion, the needles sailed only a few yards before dropping harmlessly to the asphalt.

Jax's face flushed red with fury. "You think this is a joke?"

Cade simply shook his head. "Not at all."

A silver streak flashed between the six men so fast it was barely visible, and six pained grunts rose almost in unison. Rods and blades hit the ground together.

Jax stared down at the thin cut on his own wrist, disbelief written across his face. He'd watched the needles fall. There was no way they could have reached him, and yet here was the wound, impossible and undeniable.

He reached for the fallen blade at his feet, meaning to retrieve it, but a wave of dizziness swept through him and the world went dark before he hit the ground.

The moment Jax collapsed, the system's chime sounded in Cade's mind, and his points climbed to 380.

Cade walked among the fallen men, retrieving each needle and tucking it carefully back into place, then pulled out his phone.

"Chief Brennan, it's Cade. I'm on East Beltway right now. Blackroot Syndicate men ambushed Ms. Sinclair's car and tried to rob her. They've all been subdued."

There was a short pause. "That's right. Understood. Thank you, Chief."

Inside the car, Lila and Dana noticed the silence outside and finally found the courage to open the doors.

They stepped out to find Jax and his men sprawled across the pavement, and the shock on their faces was plain.

Lila ran to Cade first, grabbing his arm, her wide eyes blinking up at him in amazement. "Cade, did you really do all this?"

"You're incredible!"

Cade glanced down, acutely aware of the soft pressure against his arm where Lila held on, and felt his composure wavering.

Her figure was something else entirely.

Dana stepped closer as well, her voice warm with gratitude. "Cade, thank goodness you were here tonight."

"I mean it. Thank you."

Cade snapped out of his thoughts and tried to gently pull his arm free, but Lila only tightened her grip.

The softness of it made his face burn.

Mistaking his flush for pain, Lila reached up and touched his cheek, leaning in with worry. "Cade, are you hurt?"

"Where does it hurt?"

Her breath was warm against his skin, and his face reddened further as he gently pushed her hand away. "I'm fine. Really."

"Just a little tired, that's all."

Watching the exchange, Dana's mouth curved into a knowing smile. She wondered if she'd sheltered this girl a little too well.

Was Lila genuinely oblivious, or just pretending to be?

Did she have any idea at all what effect she had on men?

Before long, Chief Brennan arrived with several patrol cars trailing behind him.

He strode straight toward Lila, his tone apologetic. "Ms. Sinclair, I'm truly sorry."

"We should have gotten here sooner."

"This frightening experience falls squarely on us. It's a failure on our department's part."

Dana stepped between them, her tone sharp. "Chief Brennan, Lila has been in Rivermont for three days, and this is already the second attack she's faced."

"If your city's security is this poor, how do you think the press will react when they hear about it?"

Cold sweat broke out on Brennan's forehead. An A-list celebrity had been assaulted twice within two days in his jurisdiction, and if the press got hold of this story, his career would be finished before he could even explain himself.

He straightened immediately. "Ms. Sinclair, Ms. Whitlock, please rest assured."

"We'll find whoever is behind this as quickly as possible, and we'll assign dedicated protection for Ms. Sinclair. I guarantee no one will threaten her safety again."

Lila wrinkled her nose at that.

"Who needs your protection?"

"Cade is all the protection I need."