“They were ready.”
“We will know soon enough.” Lorenzo pulled out his radio. “Nico.”
“Here.”
“How far away are you?”
“About two miles. We are making good time.”
“Stay close to the group, half mile between you.” Lorenzo looked at Jay. “Ready?”
“Yep.” Jay pulled on his parachute and looked at Greg. “I’ll see you down there.”
“Watch your back, babe.”
Tyler checked Damon. “Got your rifle?”
“Yep.” Damon winked.
“I love you.” Tyler kissed him.
“Roman and Alex are on the top of the mountain watching for anyone trying to take us by surprise. Watch your backs.” Jordan added, “Sergio and Luka are taking out their own problems and will join you.”
“Let’s go people.” Stefan stood on the edge of the chopper with Jordan.
Within half an hour, the rescue team was on the ground. All in all they had one hundred and fifty men in the group with more on the way. Nico arrived at the first site with Tanner; he looked around the rock and saw men with rifles patrolling the entrance.
“We have a visual,” Nico whispered.
“How many?” Jay’s voice came through his earpiece.
“Maybe four.” Nico tried to see around the corner.
“It’s four.” Nikolai’s voice came through. “I’ve got two.”
“I’ll take the other ones. On my mark, Nik.” Nico looked at Tanner. “Stay here.”
“Nico,” Tanner began.
“Please? Just for this part. Uncle Lo expects us all to follow orders.”
Tanner nodded unhappily.
“Nik.” Colin took his hand.
“I’ll be right back.” Nikolai waggled his eyebrows and took his knife out. “Nico, quietly.”
“Go for the lungs.” Nico looked around the corner. “Now.”
Tanner closed his eyes as Nico left. He heard scuffling and then Nico was back. “Come on!”
Nikolai was already covered in blood and Colin blanched.
“Jesus.”
“Come on.” Nikolai grabbed his hand.
Jensen and Hunter had hit the back entrance with Evan and Ryan; Conner was with young Jordan and they took out the men on the inside. Stefan and Jordan were right behind them. Stefan was tackled from behind; he flipped the man on his back and shot him.
“Daaaamn, Grandpa,” Jensen marveled.
“That’s Grandpa Stefano to you.” Stefan winked.
“Where are you, Damon?” Jordan waited.
“With Greg on the back side. Dante and Jake are making their way toward you, and Parker and Kyle have already infiltrated the second cave.”
“They okay?”
“I heard laughter so I would say yes.”
“We’re fine. Parker tripped on the dead guy.” Kyle laughed.
“Not funny.” Parker glared at Kyle.
“Now that we are on the inside, I should be able to pick them up.” Stefan looked at the group. “No mercy.”
“No worries.” Nico came over the radio. “So far, we haven’t spared anyone.”
“Nikolai?” Vince looked at Andrei.
“Yes?”
Vince closed his eyes. “Are you all right?”
“Yep. I’m a little, um, dirty,” Nikolai chuckled.
“He is a Markov,” Andrei said proudly to Vince.
“Move out,” Jordan ordered.
Justin and Dimitri were heading down a tunnel and met up with Dominic and Mason. They exchanged complicated signs and motioned to split up and take both sides quietly. They came upon some of the Santorno men and exchanged notes.
“We are right outside the door,” James reported, looking at Leo.
“On our way.” Stefan ‘s voice came through the earpieces. “Do not move until we get there.”
“Roger that.” Leo sighed. “Now, we wait.”
They hadn’t even been standing there for a minute when two armed men came out and shut the door behind them. James looked at Leo and nodded. Both of them took their knives out and James grabbed one guy from behind while Leo grabbed his own guy.
“He’s got explosives on.” James looked at the guy’s vest.
“Shit.” Leo knelt and pulled the vest open.
James took his smaller knife out and pulled the wiring free. He put his flashlight in his mouth and looked at the wires.
“Blue or red?”
Leo looked closer. “Blue.”
James cut the wire and looked at Leo and smiled. “Good call, I thought for sure I’d be all over the wall.”
“What the hell?” Stefan demanded.
“We had no choice,” Leo replied.
“Anything on the thermal sensor?” Jordan spoke into his mic.
“All in all, twenty men in the room,” Dylan replied. He and Chris usually teamed to handle this part, but someone needed to stay home and Dylan had more experience.
“The shit just hit the fan over here,” Nikolai’s breathless voice came through.
“What the hell?” Vince was on the radio.
Colin was now in hand-to-hand combat with one of the men. They circled each other and Colin pulled his knife out.
“Colin, duck!”
Colin barely had time before a knife flew over his head and connected with a man behind him. He charged the guy in front of him and took him out.
“Fuck, we need back up!” Nikolai grabbed Colin and they ran down the tunnel.
“On our way!” Jensen and Hunter took off down the tunnel.
“Josh and I are coming!” Landon ran.
“Nico, dammit!” Nikolai was running with Colin down the tunnel.
“Two seconds, Nik.” Nico was sprinting down the tunnel.
By the time they came to the end, Nico flew out of one side with Tanner and Jensen and Hunter came out of the other. Jordan and Conner had come up behind them with Josh and Landon, blocking them in.
The men had turned around and realized they were now sitting ducks. The firing was deafening in the tunnel and Stefan and Jordan looked at each other. “Damn.”
“Everyone all right?” Jay looked at Vince and Andrei as he got reports.
“We are good, on our way to you.” Colin’s voice came through.
“I’m with them now.” Josh looked at his son and the rest of the boys.
Paul let out a loud breath of relief and hugged Dimitri. Roman and Alex had come up behind them.
“Sorry we’re late.” Roman smiled.
“Better than never, my friend.” Dimitri hugged him.
“How’s my boy?” Alex asked.
“I’m peachy, thank you.” Ryan panted slightly into his mic.
“We are in position. On the other side of the tunnel, if they try exiting this way they won’t get far.”
“Roger.” Roman looked at them. “Ready?”
“I know I am.” James nodded.
“Sorry, I’m late.” Sergio arrived, covered in blood.
“What the hell?” Roman laughed.
“Had some issues with the mountains. You know, people hiding.” Sergio smiled. “Luka is on the back side making his way in.”
Jacob, the explosives expert, was called in to put a small charge on the door. They all took their places and Jacob nodded. The explosives went off and they all charged in the smoke-filled room.
James was grabbed immediately and his knife was already in his hand. He flipped the guy over and threw him into the wall, making sure the knife went all the way through.
“Theo!”
“I’m here!”
Leo had found the back entrance and let Nico and the rest of them in. The smoke was clearing out and Jordan could finally see his husband on the ground, rolling around with one of the enemies. Stefan had grabbed his neck between his legs and Jordan heard the loud snap. Stefan got up and dusted himself off.
James was untying Theo when more men swarmed in.
“Fuck!�
��
The close quarters were making it impossible to shoot, so everyone pulled out their knives and it was hand-to-hand combat for some. Nikolai was taking out two at a time without even blinking and Nico was right beside him doing the same. Tanner was having his own fight to the death and he grabbed the guy around the neck and finished him off. Sergio was back to back with Luka taking out more on each side.
“Evan!” Ryan yelled.
Evan turned and his knife plunged into the guy coming up behind him. “Thanks, babe!” Evan waved.
Ryan ran his hand through his hair; he had seconds before the next wave of men came through the door.
“Where the fuck are you guys?” Jay shouted into the radio.
“Right here!” Greg opened fired on the three men coming into the room.
Tyler had come in and saw Damon in a wrestling match. Damon got the upper hand and crushed his throat. Tyler looked for Tanner and found him finishing off his own man. Theo and Tomas were finally loose and joining in, even though they were weak. Theo turned and James had his back to the open doorway.
“No!” Theo jumped in front of James as the bullet hit him; he fell on top of James.
Nikolai took the gunman out and turned with his knife raised looking right at his dad. “Hey, Pops.”
Vince smiled and shook his head.
“Theo!” James pulled him over, looking for where the bullet had exited.
“We need a doctor now!” Stefan was yelling into the radio and giving his location. Jordan hurried to the two men and ripped fabric for a compress.
“On my way!” Brett barked.
“I’ll meet you.” Roman took off.
“James.” Theo palmed his face.
“Stay with me, Theo.” James held his face.
“I love you, James.”
“I love you, too.” James held him in his lap. “Please stay with me.”
“You love me?” Theo looked at him.
“I do love you.” James checked the blood coming out and applied pressure. “Stay with me! Please, Theo.”
“I wanted to marry you.” Theo looked into James’ blue eyes. He wanted to make sure James’ face was the last thing he saw.
“You still can. Theo, please.” James cried.
Reece was on the radio with the nearest hospital telling them what was going on and what they would need. Brett finally made it to Theo to relieve Jordan, who was still needed for the fight. He looked at James.
“I need to take him.”
James kissed Theo. “I love you.”
“Get him to the chopper. Now.” Brett looked at the rest of the guys. “Fast.”
chapter eleven
Leo had Tomas in his arms. He pulled his shirt back and glanced at Brett. “He needs to go, too.”
“Get Tomas on the chopper.” Brett checked around. “Any of you need medical attention?”
“Nope, get them out of here.” Vince looked at the group. “We still have some cleaning to do.”
Stefan studied the boys covered in blood and smiled tiredly at Jordan. “We aren’t done yet. If you want to leave, now is the time.” Stefan looked at all of them, none of them moved and Stefan smiled. “Let’s get to it.”
Tomas woke up groggy and confused. His eyes adjusted and he saw Leo sleeping with his head on the bed.
“Hey,” he whispered.
Leo jerked up. “You’re awake! You want some water?”
Tomas nodded and Leo poured him a cup, holding it as he took small sips and nodded he was done. Leo looked like hell and Tomas reached for his hand.
“You look awful.”
“Some assholes took my man.” Leo smiled weakly.
“They stabbed me.” Tomas pulled his gown up.
“Yes, and you were in surgery for a while.” Leo kissed him softly.
“Is Theo okay?”
“It’s touch and go. He lost a lot of blood and they are monitoring him right now.”
Tomas closed his eyes. “James must be going nuts.”
“I love you, Tomas,” Leo declared.
“What?” Tomas sat up too quickly and winced.
“I love you.” Leo fixed his pillow and laid him back. “I realized when you were taken that if something had happened to you, you would have never known because I was too chicken shit to say anything.”
“I love you too, Leo.” Tomas caressed his cheek. “I wanted to tell you when they had us on the phone but I didn’t want them to know I had a weakness.”
“You love me back?” Leo smiled wide.
“Oh, yes. I love you very much.”
Leo finally broke down and Tomas stroked his back to comfort him. “I have never been that scared. If I had lost you.” Leo shook his head and held him.
“I’m here.” Tomas closed his eyes.
Leo looked at him and palmed his face. “Don’t ever do that again.”
“K, Dad,” Tomas chuckled.
“Not funny.”
James watched Theo’s heart monitor. He couldn’t sleep and he couldn’t eat, not until he knew Theo would be all right.
“James.”
“I can’t, Dad.” James put his head down on the bed.
Jordan came in and ran his hand through his hair. “He’s going to be okay.”
“He jumped in front of me.” Bleary eyes looked at Jordan. “What was he thinking?”
“Same thing you were, I suspect when you jumped in front of him.” James looked at him and Jordan smiled. “Yeah, I heard all about it. The thought of being without you, that’s why he did it.”
“I love him.” James palmed Theo’s face. “He said he wants to marry me.”
Jordan looked at James and smiled. “What do you want?”
“I want Theo.” James smiled at Theo. “How are Vince, Andrei, and Nikolai?”
“Fine, among the three of them they were able to donate enough blood.”
“Please tell them I can never repay them.” James took Theo’s hand.
“They would do it again, James. We are a family.” Jordan pulled his face up. “Please try and get some sleep.”
“I will,” James promised.
Another hour had gone by before James finally felt Theo’s fingers moving in his hand. He looked up to see Theo’s eyelids moving. “Come on, baby, come back to me.” James caressed his cheek.
“James?”
James broke down and lay his head on Theo’s chest. He couldn’t stop the sobs from coming. Theo ran his hands through James’ hair and smiled. James was alive.
“Oh God, Theo.” James looked at him. “I thought I had lost you.”
Theo wiped the tears from his eyes and caressed his face. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.”
“Are you thirsty?” James handed him a cup and sat him up a bit. Theo drank slowly and handed James the cup. “You still have an IV but I’ll bet your throat is sore; you were pretty dehydrated.”
James was busy pouring another cup when Theo smiled weakly at him. “I meant what I said.”
“I did, too,” James whispered.
“I love you, James Greco.”
“I love you too, Theo.” James sat on the edge of the bed. “I’m sorry I didn’t say it before.”
“Me, too. I thought if I was going to die you should know that I have loved you for a long time, maybe before I even knew you were it for me.” Theo smiled, caressing his face.
James lay in the bed next to him listening to his heartbeat and closed his eyes. Theo smiled. James had passed out from utter exhaustion.
“He finally went to sleep?” Jordan smiled looking in on them.
“Yes. I wanted to know — I wanted permission to marry James,” Theo told Jordan.
“You have it. He loves you Theo, more than I think he even knew.” Jordan smiled. “James Mitchell?”
“No. Theo Greco.” Theo smiled.
“Bold move my friend.” Jordan smiled and ruffled his hair. “Get rest.”
Colin watched Nikolai in the shower. They had
finally gotten a chance to clean up and Colin watched the dark pink water going down the drain. He had never seen Nikolai like that
“Your feelings have changed haven’t they?” Nikolai said quietly.
“No. Why do you say that?”
“I saw your face.” Nikolai came out of the shower and put a towel around his waist. “It was almost as if you were afraid of me.”
“Afraid for you, not of you.” Colin looked at him. “Big difference. I did my own killing; I’m in no place to judge.”
Nikolai looked down. “I thought maybe because of what I did...”
“Stop that.” Colin pulled his face up. “Nothing will ever change how I feel about you!”
Nikolai searched his face. “Really?”
“I love you, Nik.” Colin grabbed him and kissed him.
Nikolai picked him up and they fell on the bed in a tangle of arms and legs. “I love you, Colin. You did look really sexy today.” Nikolai smiled.
“You’re definitely just like your fathers,” Colin chuckled. “Did I actually see you high-five your Pops?”
“I am a Markov.” Nikolai winked.
“You’re mine, Nikolai Markov.”
“Yes, I am.”
Tanner was washing the blood out of his hair. He had never seen so much in one place and the smell of death had been strong. Watching Nico in action was something he would never forget. He was ruthless, professional, organized and he took out anyone who got in his way swiftly, with no mercy. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t done the same thing; they had been side by side in the thick of it and more than once. Nico had taken someone out who had been trying to kill Tanner. He sighed and rested his head against the wall.
“You’re thinking about it.” Nico leaned over and kissed his ear; his hands made their way up Tanner’s thighs rubbing soap on his ass.
“I’m trying to put it out of my mind.” Tanner smiled, feeling Nico’s hands run up his chest.
He kissed his neck softly letting his tongue trail up to his ear. “I love you, Tanner.”
Tanner turned around and was swept into Nico’s arms. His mouth descended on Tanner’s and he kissed him passionately.
Nico let his hands slide down Tanner’s soapy thighs and around to his ass. He got on his knees, bit Tanner’s hip bone and took him in his mouth.
“God, Nico!” Tanner gripped Nico’s hair and put his own head back.
Conquering Love (The Santorno Stories) Page 20