Prologue - Four Years Ago
Barun
After finishing my early morning run and workout, I got out of the shower, picking up my mobile phone that flashed with my half-brother’s name. Five AM was way too early for casual chitchat. Frowning, I answered the call immediately, knowing Gio and the Falcones called me at this hour only for emergencies.
“What happened?” I didn’t bother with niceties, knowing he wouldn’t expect them either.
“It’s Katy.”
“What?” I vaguely recalled a little girl running around in pigtails when I’d last visited the Falcone mansion.
“She’s been kidnapped.” Gio rasped, making my blood freeze.
“Fuck! When?”
“Last night? This morning? We’re not sure. We discovered she’s missing an hour ago. Start immediately; the senior Falcone has summoned you. And ask your guys to dig right away.”
“On it,” I responded, already reaching for my suitcase. I hurriedly packed some of my essentials, simultaneously speaking to Ryker, the cyber expert in the security firm I started six months back.
Along with me, five more guys from the military, and even a motorcycle gang, joined hands to start the security business. It was the best decision I ever made, and I knew we were in for good money with the clientele we already had in our pockets.
Ryker immediately got started with the tracking and snooping over her socials, phone, and any other digital footprint while I hurriedly left to get to the waiting jet.
Three hours later, I entered the Falcone mansion, hardly noticing the high ceilings or the immaculate, ornate staircase. The art pieces that adorned the walls did nothing for me today; my thoughts only fixated on one thing. Bring back Katy before it was too late.
In the study, the Don of the Falcone family was pacing, his face pinched with worry. Noah, his elder son, and Rhett, his younger son, were ready to massacre the city. Together, they ruled Honey Valley and a part of New York. None could dethrone this trio. Yet, someone had dared to kidnap the youngest Falcone, Katy.
“It’s the fucking Vikings. I know it.” Rhett snapped, his anger palpable. Even I was taken aback at the coldness in his grey eyes.
Before I could speak, my assistant called me. “This better be important.” I growled in a low voice.
It was Ryker who spoke. “The Vikings’ youngest son has taken his jet to Plum Island. I hacked into all their phones, and this bastard was the one who contacted his pilot. The timing’s way too much of a coincidence, although he has flown in under the pretext of a boy’s trip. My gut feeling says it’s more than that.”
After working with him for years on private projects, I trusted Ryker’s views and instincts for anything cyber-related. I grunted a noncommittal response. “What else have you got from the snooping?”
My man hesitated, making my heart skip a beat. “Spit it out.”
“This doesn’t seem to be a whim. His phone…he has all her social media pictures stored in a folder. It doesn’t seem like a family revenge. It’s more than that.”
“Jesus Christ.” I ran a hand through my hair. “Can you get the location?”
“You’ll have it when you land,” Ryker promised.
I disconnected the call and looked at the other men in the room, including my half-brother, Gio. Briefing them about the call, I noticed Noah curse out loud simultaneously glocking his gun.
“Let’s go.” The command bounced through the room, propelling us into action.
Nodding at the senior Falcone, Gio, Noah, and I left. Rhett stayed back, preferring to deal with the other Vikings along with their soldiers. I knew the Vikings would be slaughtered before the night was over and didn’t have an ounce of pity for those motherfuckers. Katy was innocent, only seventeen years old, and if that bastard touched her…
My blood boiled even as I told myself not to think of the worst scenario. Rushing to the jet, we boarded, wasting no time. The journey to Plum Island was filled with tense silence, each man lost in his own thoughts.
The moment we landed, as promised, I received the location of an old warehouse that was partially hidden behind a farmhouse at one end of the island. Quickly getting into the SUV that was waiting for us, we drove to the place, making our way to the abandoned warehouse.
The murky smell and the dirty place made me clench my fists. That poor kid, if she were held here, would be out of her mind with fear. I briefly recalled watching the young girl with two pigtails and rosy, round cheeks run around the mansion.
Swallowing my fear, I kicked open the door to find… nothing! Her brothers ran inside while something made me pause and turn to the farmhouse. Inside, I saw a bottle of beer lying open. Ignoring the bottle, I made my way up the stairs, scanning the first room and then the next.
Only one more room remained. I went in only to find no one there either. Surveying the room once more, I turned around, this time, hearing a small whimper and a thud. My body stilled for a brief second before I moved toward the sound. I stood next to a cupboard, cautiously opening the door.
