“Yes,” Marcus says. “It’ll be a delicate dance, especially if we’re sending someone in for Roman and Lio without any back up. But I don’t trust the Senator, so we shouldn’t wait for the main force to get through his own before attempting to rescue them.”
“I agree,”Leandro says over the line.“From what I’m seeing, Roman and Lio are alone in a room—these assholes really need to get creative about how they deal with their prisoners. I can provide support, while Hollis keeps an eye on everything that's going on outside.”
“I’ll go in,” Cristian says.
Everyone goes silent as all eyes turn to the former Boss. He doesn’t pay the attention any mind, effortlessly signing and voicing as he says, “Roman is my son, and I need to get him back. I’m aware of how important Emilio is, not only to my son and my friend, but to the rest of you. Iwillget them back.”
“I’ll go in with him,” Tennant says. He looks to Keegan and Marcus. “I believe there will be enough voices on the ground that they don’t need my input. I can be more effective taking them down from the inside out.”
Marcus inclines his head. “You’re confident you can slip in undetected?”
“Yes,” Ten replies. “They’ll expect to see me in the main force, so my being there won’t be surprising. In the confusion…I can get in.”
“Okay.” Carter lets out a breath. “How much time do we have before we need to go in?”
“I wouldn’t suggest more than a few hours,”Leandro says.“We don’t want the Senator moving, and without Lachlan to keep an eye on things there, we’re going in dark. I have the cameras under my control, yes, but there’s still room for error, as we have to assume he has an exit plan.”
“Then refine your roles, pick your teams, and let’s get my co-rulers back.” Carter’s order seems to jump-start life into everyone, as the stress and tension of not knowing eases, while the determination to succeed comes forth.
There’s no room for mistakes here, not when we’re so close, not only to saving the Boys we love, but taking out our enemy for good.
One chance is all we get, it has to be enough.
The energy in the room is tense, a sticky, staticky feeling blanketing us all. I’m still not used to being sidelined, and it’s driving me crazy.
On the wall are two screens, each showing the outside and inside of where Roman and Lio are being held. My eyes greedily roam Roman’s face, watching every inflection. His mouth opens, and I wish I could hear what he’s saying. Whatever it is, Lio isn’t responding, or at least not properly, as frustration is clear on my Love’s expression. Fuck. I wish I could be there. All I want is to pull Roman into my arms and never let him go.
I can’t, of course, as the last thing I want is to smother him. He’s too strong for that, and I can’t cage his flame, but fuck, I hope he knows I’m going to need to hold him for a long while. I know the rest of his lovers are anxious to have him back as well. We’re all so different, and yet, the same in our devotion to him.
From what Keegan told me, Benjamin is struggling with sharing Tennant. I can’t say I understand where he’s coming from, but maybe it’s yet another sign that we weren’t meant to be together.
I’d never try to keep Roman to myself. He’s my everything, but I can’t be his only. His personality…it’s too large to be contained by only one person. But what I can do is offer him a soft place to land when he needs it. I can spoil him, and let him have all of me, even if he encourages me to play with Jayden. The others can call to his strength, his stubbornness, and other parts of him. I cherish all of him, but not even I’m foolish enough to believe that I can meet all of those needs.
I hope Benjamin figures out how to accept Tennant’s lifestyle. Despite my previous anger at the man, I can see how loyal he is, and he’s certainly intelligent. I look forward to when my body is stronger and I can pit my training against his.
Still, I don’t want my Roman hurt because of Benjamin’s inability to be flexible on this. He fell in love with a complicated man, and now he needs to learn to understand another. I just hope he doesn’t treat Tennant with the same carelessness he showed my own heart. Nobody deserves that.
Blowing out a breath, I focus on the screens again. Marcus’s voice comes through the speaker, letting us know that they’re finally there, and beginning to stage for an attack. My heart rate picks up, as I know that soon, he’ll lead the charge to give Tennant and Cristian time to get in—hopefully, unseen. Fuck, as hard as it can be on the ground, this is worse. There’s nothing I can do while stuck in this fucking room, except stare at the monitors and listen to chatter of what’s happening.
“We’re about ready to go in. Everything set?”Keegan’s strong baritone interrupts the muted conversations, and I lean forward, keeping my eyes set on what’s going on. I barely listento Leandro and Hollis giving the affirmatives, as I watch them converge on the outside of the building.
“Heading for the little Bosses,”Tennant whispers, and if I didn’t know the plan, I probably wouldn’t have noticed the two men heading toward the back. They disappear from sight and I glance toward the video of the inside, desperately watching for them to appear.
For a moment, I think everything is going to be alright, and then suddenly, the camera goes blank, and the sight of my precious Roman is gone. Glancing over, I see the outside is still visible, and I struggle to stand. I’m not sure what the fuck I plan on doing, but damn. I can’t keep sitting.
“Fuck!” Hollis snarls, his fingers racing across the keyboard.
Leaning against the table, I glance over at him, demanding, “What? What’s going on?”
“We’ve lost the inside cameras,” he states flatly, as if I’m unable to see that.
Growling, I snap back, “But you’re able to get them back, right?”
“No, fucker, now sit down and shut up,” Leandro retorts, as his frantic typing joins in the cacophony of noise. “It’s like they just unplugged the whole damn thing. All the security is down. Gone. Why…”
Hollis shakes his head grimly. “I don’t know. Thankfully, we’ve got satellites for the outside, but we’re flying blind inside. Ten, be careful. I can’t guide you.”
“Of course, Tesoro. We’ll get our Boys back.”The deadliness in Ten’s voice sends shivers down my spine, even as fear floods me. Not only for the bosses, but for everyone on the ground. Something isn’t adding up.
