“Lina, get the jet prepped. We’ll have to find another route to retrieve the other two accounts,” Hilda orders her, and Lina picks up her phone like a good little puppet, holding it to the undamaged side of her face.
Focus. What would Michael tell me to do now?I think.Play along, look for another opportunity.No matter what I have to do, I’m not leaving this island with these bitches.
Pulling me out of the car, I let Hilda drag me back into the house and into the great room overlooking the ocean. A sword that looked more than merely decorative hung over the fireplace. It’s too clean, too shiny. As I’m looking around for other potential weapons, she points her gun at me. “We both know that I will not kill you, but I am quite comfortable with shooting you in the knee. So be my good girl and put on the handcuffs.”
It’s not on your ankle. You are not in the dungeon.Repeating the words silently, I slowly place the handcuff on my wrist and she latches the other cuff to the heavy wooden armrest on the couch.Don’t freak out, you killed Schmidt. You can take her, you just need an opening.
Lina comes storming in. “Do you know the risks of bringing this bitch with us?” She’s shouting, and Mommy Dearest isn’t enjoying it. She’s opened a safe under the desk and she’s busy making neat piles of money. “I’ll just cut the tattoo out of her skin and remove her fucking eye! These guys aren’t that fussy and you know it!”
Sighing, her mother stops for a moment, placing her hands on the desk. “Do you know why your brother was always my favorite?”
Even I can feel the resentment and fury pouring off Lina. “Why don’t you tell me, mother?”
“Because he listened to me. He obeyed orders without question.” Hilda’s hand moves so quickly that it takes me a moment to realize she’s pulled the gun she waved at me earlier and shot her daughter in the chest. Tearing her heart apart one last time.
Dario…
“How close?” I’m leaning heavily against the dashboard, trying to think over the constant chant ofc’mon c’mon c’mon c’monrunning on an endless loop in my brain, I’m a little fuzzy from the blood loss but it’s not the first time this has happened. I’ll be fine.
“Close, boss,”Davide answers me.“They turned onto a private drive that runs along the cliff face, there’s only one house on this road. There’s a small dock at the bottom with a boat, but they’d be wide open if they tried that route to escape.”
“Good work, keep eyes on the house. Can you see how many other cars are turning with them?” I asked.
He didn’t sound as excited when he answered me.“I see three cars. Men in front and back seats, so probably twelve soldiers.”
“Can you take out their electrical box?” I said, “It may dismantle the security system long enough to get in through the back of the house.”
He sounds excited. God, was I ever that young?“I think so, boss. I can see the power lines, they’re strung above, not buried.”
“Excellent!” I rub my hands together. “You do not engage anyone; do you hear me? You’re my eyes and too valuable to lose. Park close to the turnoff and where you can get to the power lines. I’ll give a signal.”
Carlo checks my wound again. “This is not going to hold in combat,” he warns, “try to keep to just using your gun. Hell, use it to bludgeon people, I don’t care. Just please don’t start fighting.”
I’m ignoring him, checking my gun and loading my pockets with extra clips.
My phone lights up, it’s Giovanni again. “We’re five minutes behind you. Can you hold on long enough to let us get there?”
“It’s going to be a firefight,” I said regretfully, “and you pulling up behind us is going to be shock and awe and will likely mark the moment this hell bitch’s soldiers make a run for it.”
“You’re wearing your bulletproof vest, right?” Fucking trust Gio to be the responsible one.
“We don’t have them in this car,” I admit. “So drive faster.”
Time seems to slow down and then speed up when I’m in a firefight. My adrenaline buzz makes me feel invincible and everything turns into a riot of color and sound. I’ve learned over the years and too many shoot-outs how to discern between my men and theirs, the trajectory of their bullets versus ours. But I’ve never had the woman I love trapped behind enemy lines.
As Schmidt’s men pile out of their cars, they’re already firing their AR-15s, indiscriminately spraying our cars and the surrounding countryside with bullets.
Sloppy fuckers.
Our car makes it the closest to the house, which is dark. Davide did get the lines cut in time. Waving my arm at Carlo, I nod to the front door. He and Gianni light it up, mowing down the soldiers trying to hold the door while I race around to the back. It’s unguarded and opens after a couple of well-placed bullets. Hopefully, the thunder of a dozen different semi-automatic weapons up front muffled the noise.
My earpiece clicks, and Davide’s voice is urgent.“We counted wrong. You’ve got another two carloads full of soldiers coming in from the east, there must be another way in.”
“Send the coordinates to Lorenzo, have his team peel off from Gio’s, and try to get in the back,” I whisper. “I’m in. Running silent unless necessary.”
“Understood.”He clicks off, leaving me to edge down the hall, listening for voices, the roar of gunfire outside is making it harder.
Ah. There to the left, the high, agitated voice of my wife, trying to make Schmidt see reason.
