While his back is turned and he's intently focused on the phone in his hand, I realize this could be my only chance.
I slink off of the barstool and take off running away from him with my hands out in front of me, feeling my way through the unfamiliar place.
"Adeline?" I hear Giovanni call. And then harsher, meaner, he yells, "Adeline!"
With my heart threatening to beat out of my chest, I keep moving, staying near the walls and trying not to bump into anything or make any noise.
I can hear Giovanni talking on his cell phone asking what the hell is wrong with the lights.
If he doesn't know, I'm hopeful that this is Jackson's doing. Maybe he's coming to rescue me right now. Just the thought of seeing a familiar face again has my feet moving faster. I'm at least two rooms apart from Gio right now, but I can't see where I'm going or where I am. I hope that I'm not going in a circle and coming right back to him.
Suddenly, a beam of light sweeps over the room I'm in, and I turn just in time to see Giovanni's eyes landing on me. He's holding a flashlight in his hand and pointing the beam straight towards me. "Adeline, don't you fucking move a goddamn inch!" His deep voice echoes off the walls and has my breath hitching in the back of my throat.
Turning, I run away from him in the opposite direction, wanting to put as much distance between us as I can.
The stream of light wobbles, making the rooms we run through flash from bright to dark, bright to dark as Gio chases after me.
After I round a corner, I no longer see the light following me, and I think I finally escaped him. It's not until he suddenly cuts in front of me that I realize my mistake.
Gio knows this house a hell of a lot better than I do, and he just proved that fact.
I turn to run again, but he tackles me to the ground. With his weight pressing on my back and crushing me on the hardwood floor beneath me, I can barely breathe. "I told you not to run," he says, grasping my hair and pulling my neck back at a weird angle.
Grunting and gasping in pain, I realize he's putting too much pressure on my stomach…on the baby. "Please!" I beg through panting breaths. "Get off of me!" I plead desperately.
It's at that moment the lights turn back on.
And that's when all hell breaks loose.
CHAPTER 42
LUCIEN
I CALL IN a favor from my mentor, the man who taught me everything I know about the dark web, and he proficiently hacks into the city's electrical grid within the matter of several minutes.
"When I give him the signal, the whole house will be in total darkness for a total of ten minutes," I tell the team of men gathered several hundred yards from the backyard of the house. It's not much time, but it gives us one hell of an advantage.
"Your guy's gonna cut off all the electricity for ten minutes? Fuck, he's good," one agent whistles. "What did you say his name was again?" he asks slyly.
I roll my eyes. "Not a chance."
"Can't blame a guy for trying," he says with a grin.
It's amusing to see the good guys and the bad guys working together towards a common goal. But I'm sure that if we weren't going up against a bigger target than me, these agents would have no problem gunning for me instead.
Giovanni is their number one goal on a long list, and they're going to get a chance to capture him tonight.
Little do they know that they won't be catching him alive; however, because I have no intentions of letting him live to see tomorrow.
Wraith motions for everyone to get into place, and then we're donning the night vision goggles that were supplied by the FBI and making our way through the surrounding tall grass towards the mansion.
When we're within striking distance, we all stop and lie in wait as I send out a text to my hacker colleague to cut the electricity.
Seconds later, the entire property is doused in a shroud of darkness. They have no communication systems from the front gate to the house, no security cameras, no fucking lights, nothing.
The FBI agents go first, securing a portable climbing assist tool to the top of the fence. One by one, they climb up the makeshift ladder and down the other side, disappearing into the night.
Wraith motions his men ahead, and the group runs towards the tall barrier, resembling black knights storming a castle. I watch them repeat the agents' actions from just a few seconds prior. And once they fade into the veiled property of the manor as well, I hear Jax cursing behind me. "Fuck!"
