by Penelope Sky
“Sounds easy enough.”
Pearl moved into her husband and kissed him on the mouth. “I’ll see you later.”
“Alright, Button.” He gave her ass a gentle spank as she walked away.
She shut the door and left us.
Crow grabbed a folder off his desk. “We’re moving to the conference room. Save your questions for later.” Like the leader he was, he immediately issued orders.
I didn’t respond to people telling me what to do, but this time, it didn’t bother me. Reminded me of Vanessa, actually.
“I’m guessing Vanessa was happy when you told her?”
I nodded. “Very.”
“I wasn’t sure how she would feel about you being gone all day.”
Even her own family underestimated her. “Vanessa doesn’t need me. She has her own passions and her own responsibilities that don’t involve me. She needs her own space and her own ambitions. It’s a part of her life I have nothing to do with, and I should have nothing to do with. She needs me the way a woman needs a man, but that’s it. The rest of the time, she doesn’t need me for a damn thing.”
Crow looked at me, a slight smile on his lips. “Well said, Griffin.”
Thirteen
Vanessa
A part of me missed having Griffin right upstairs. When I took my lunch, I could spend it with him, eating and screwing on the dining table. Or if the gallery was slow, I could close early and spend the afternoon with him. But having him work directly with my father every single day was a dream come true.
It was all I ever wanted.
I’d dreamed of having a husband my father would embrace like a son. Now they were friends, two men who respected each other. They had their own relationship, commonalities that had nothing to do with me.
It was perfect.
Spending my day painting in the gallery and running the business was the best utilization of my time. The day passed quickly, and I enjoyed every second of my line of work. When I painted in the gallery, customers walked inside to see my brushwork with their own eyes. They were usually impressed by the images I could create from memory, and after conversation back and forth, they usually took home one of my pieces.
It was a dream job.
A dream that only happened because Bones believed in me. He told me to drop out of school and bought me this gallery. He believed in me more than anyone else, even my parents. His faith was probably based on a mixture of love and obsession, but that didn’t change anything.
I sat at my desk and looked out the window, seeing the empty sidewalk at the hottest time of the day. It was humid in Florence, so most of the tourists were in the museums or eating gelato.
I noticed the blacked-out car across the street, with completely tinted windows and unusual rims. It wasn’t a small car that usually traveled down these narrow streets. Bones’s truck stuck out like a sore thumb because those kinds of vehicles weren’t common in the city. The fact that the windows were completely blacked out was disconcerting as well. A dread grew inside of my heart, and that sensation immediately reminded me of Knuckles, the man who broke in to my apartment and kidnapped me.
Or was I just being paranoid?
I didn’t consider myself to be a paranoid person. I only worried about things when danger was looking me straight in the face. I turned back to my computer, not trying to make it obvious that I was suspicious.
A few minutes passed, and another car just like it parked on the side of the road.
There was no way that was a coincidence.
My heart started to race in my chest. My palms grew damp with sweat. The adrenaline associated with fear spiked in my blood. There were no guns in the gallery. All I had were random objects and my fists.
The front door on the first black car opened, and a man dressed completely in black stepped out. In a black leather jacket and with a terrifying demeanor, he looked like bad news. Other men got out as well.
“Shit.” I only had time for one phone call, so I skipped calling the cops.
The phone rang twice.
“Griffin, pick up!” The doors to the second car opened, and another series of scary-looking men appeared. If they were there just to take me, it seemed unnecessary. They must be prepared for Bones to show up.
He finally answered. “Hey, baby. I’m in the middle—”
“Shut up and listen. Eight men are about to walk into the gallery and take me.” I blurted out everything as fast as I could. “They’re all armed and all dressed in black. They’re headed right this way. I have less than thirty seconds.”
Instead of panicking like anyone else would, Bones spoke with a calm voice. He didn’t pause longer than a second before he spoke. “Don’t fight them, Vanessa. Be quiet and cooperative. Don’t be scared because I promise I will get you.”
“I know you will, Griffin.” They were almost to the door. “I love you.”
“I love you too. Tell me everything you can about these guys before they get to you.”
“Two black Mercedes. Blacked-out with tinted windows. Eight men altogether. The man in front has a scar underneath his left eye. They look foreign, maybe Middle Eastern.” I watched the first man open the door of the gallery and point a gun right at my face. “I have to go.”
“Baby, I love you—”
I could have left the phone on, but I didn’t want Griffin to hear what would happen next. I hung up and set the phone on the desk. The gun was pointed at my face, but I refused to show fear. Bones told me not to fight them, and I would listen, knowing I was outnumbered and these men were seriously evil.
The guy walked right up to me, snarling like I’d done something to wrong him. He kept the barrel trained right on me, his finger on the trigger. “Get up.”
I looked straight down the barrel, just the way my father did when he was on the ground and outnumbered. Just because I couldn’t fight with my fists didn’t mean I couldn’t have dignity. “He’s going to kill all of you.” I slowly rose to my feet, meeting his gaze with defiance. “If I were you, I would take this opportunity to walk out with your lives.”
The corner of his mouth rose in a malicious sneer. “If he wanted peace, he shouldn’t have killed my father.”
Fourteen
Bones
The second I hung up the phone, I walked back into the conference room where Crow was meeting with one of the biggest wine distributors in Europe. It was a big contract, something that would increase the reach of the wine by ten times. It was a huge client to land, and it seemed like Crow had it in the bag.
But I was about to ruin it. “Crow, I need to talk to you. Now.”
Crow flashed me an annoyed expression, but once he saw how deadly serious I was, he dropped his attitude. “Please excuse me for one moment.” He left the folder behind and followed me into the hallway.
I didn’t let the door shut before I started talking. “Vanessa has been taken. It just happened. I was going to drive back to Florence to retrieve my gear, but there isn’t time for that. I need everything you have, guns, ammunition, vests, everything.”
All the hostility and anger left his face immediately, replaced by such sorrow it seemed like he’d just lost his world. He couldn’t even speak because the air had been ripped out of his lungs. Agony like no other entered his features, turned him from a man to a corpse.
I couldn’t give him the time he needed to process this. “I know who took her. I promise you, I will get her back.” I wouldn’t stop until she was in my arms and all those men were dead. On top of that, I would kill their families too. They crossed a line coming after Vanessa. It was my turn to cross the same line. “Crow, where are your weapons?”
He snapped out of it, finally. “At the house. Let’s go.” He walked with me down the hallway and pulled out his phone. He called Cane. “Meet at the house. We have an emergency. Don’t ask any questions, and just do what I say.”
We left the building and ran to the truck. “What about Mrs. Barsetti?”
&
nbsp; “We don’t have time for that. Drive.”
We pulled up to the house and darted inside. On the third floor next to his office was where he stashed all his weaponry. He handed over everything, his pistols, shotguns, and rifles. I took everything I could carry and secured a vest around my chest.
I couldn’t afford to get shot this time.
“Who are these men?” Crow had changed into jeans and a t-shirt, and he secured a vest over his chest.
“They’re from my last hit. I killed my target, but the son caught me in the hallway. I shot him, but I guess I didn’t kill him. Now they want revenge.” I should have shot him twice to make sure. The rest of the palace had been searching for me, and I didn’t have time. How they figured out who I was and understood what Vanessa meant to me was a mystery.
“Do you know where they are?” Cane asked.
“They’re probably taking her back to Morocco.” There was nowhere they could go where I wouldn’t find her.
“How certain are you?” Crow asked.
“Based on Vanessa’s description. We spoke before they ambushed her.”
Another jolt of pain moved into Crow’s eyes. He did his best to fight it, but he struggled.
It broke my heart, so I couldn’t watch. This was all my fault. If I’d left the job sooner, this wouldn’t be happening right now. “I’ll get her back. I promise you.”
Crow wouldn’t look at me.
Cane looked at his brother, the same throbbing pain in his eyes. He didn’t comfort his brother because there wasn’t time, but he certainly felt the same agony.
I put what I needed in a bag and walked out, heading back to the entryway. I set my bag on the doorstep then pulled out my phone. Several months ago, I put a tracker in her ankle just in case she tried to run off. After she went out drinking one night, she’d made the idiotic decision to walk home alone. The only reason I knew that was because I’d been watching her tracker like crazy. Now I used it again, hoping they hadn’t found it.
It was still working.
And as I feared, they were headed straight for the airport.
Crow and Cane joined me outside where an SUV was parked. Blacked-out and ready for battle, it was just as good as a tank.
“They’re headed to the airport. No way to make it on time.”
“How do know that?” Crow asked.
Now wasn’t the time to hide my mistakes. “I have a tracker on her. They haven’t found it yet.”
Crow didn’t react to the statement. “Let’s hope they don’t find it. You’re certain they’re going to Morocco?”
“No doubt.” I was willing to bet my life on it. They were arrogant enough to assume I wouldn’t figure out what happened to her since I wasn’t there. They’d obviously been watching the place, and when I left, they made their move.
“Alright.” Crow carried the leather bag over his shoulder. “We have a chopper that can take us to Northern Africa. We’ll have another team on the ground with the equipment we need to go the rest of the way.”
I would also call Max and bring in the boys. “Alright. Let’s get moving.”
Conway came out of the house, wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt. “Father, what’s going on—”
“Son, I don’t have time. I’m sorry.” He ran up to him and gave him a quick hug. He kissed him on the forehead before he turned away. “I love you. Tell your mother I love her too.”
Speechless, Conway watched him go, terror written all over his face.
We jumped into the SUV and took off.
Every minute that passed was torture.
I was terrified, more terrified than I’d ever been in my life.
I’d been shot more times than I could count, and I’d stood on the doorstep in front of the pearly gates more than once, but I’d never been afraid.
This was real fear, raw and heavy.
I feared what they were doing to her. I feared…
I couldn’t even think it.
I called Max when we were on the chopper. “I need a favor.”
“You just retired, and you already need a favor?” he asked, thinking this was all a joke.
“Max, Vanessa has been taken.”
He turned quiet.
“I thought I killed the son in Morocco, but he must have survived. He’s the one behind this.”
“You’re sure?”
“No doubt. I’m in the chopper now headed to Africa. Vanessa’s father and uncle are with me, and they have a group of men meeting us on the ground with vehicles and artillery. But I need more help than that.”
“What do you want me to do, Bones?”
“I need you and the guys. I’m sorry to ask, but I’ve got to get her back.”
“Bones…you aren’t part of the team anymore.”
“I realize that—”
“And we already put our asses on the line for her just two months ago.”
“I get that—”
“I can’t help you, Bones.” He spoke with pain in his voice, like he hated denying me. “Shane is on a mission right now. I have to run operations from the office. I can’t turn my back on him.”
“Shit.”
“I can send you some extra men, maybe a dozen, but that’s the best I can do.”
“I’ll take it, Max.” I thought my boys would be there for me, but if they were in the middle of a mission, there was nothing that could be done. I was on my own.
“I’m so sorry, Bones. I know this must be…” He fell silent, unable to say anything.
“I’m gonna get her back, Max.”
“I have no doubt you will.”
“I’m not sure how they figured out who I am.” I didn’t accuse Max of anything, knowing he covered his tracks better than anyone I knew.
“I don’t either. I can look into it for you.”
“Please.” I wanted to know if I had any other enemies creeping around behind my back.
“Do you have a plan?”
“No.”
“Is her tracker still in place?”
“I just checked it five minutes ago, and it still has a signal. She’s on a plane headed right toward Morocco.”
“I bet they’re taking her to the palace,” Max said. “That’s my best bet.”
“I agree. They’re being sloppy, assuming I wouldn’t figure this out.”
Max was quiet for a long time. “Or this is exactly what they want…”
To lure me into their territory—so they could get revenge.
“Coming after you in Italy would be stupid. But taking Vanessa gives them the advantage. You’re running out of time, so you’re going to follow them as quickly as possible, not preparing fully for the war. This is exactly what they want, Bones. They want you—not her.”
If they wanted me, they could have me. If they just let my woman go…I would give them my head on a silver platter. “You’re right.”
“That’s good news for you…but also bad. If they can have both of you, that’s ideal.”
“They aren’t getting both.” Vanessa was my priority, and I would do anything to gain her freedom. But I had to do my best to survive too, because losing me would kill her anyway.
“I hope you’re right, Bones. I’ll get that team together and have them meet at the rendezvous point.”
“Thanks, Max.”
“Good luck, man.”
“Yeah…”
He hung up.
Crow and Cane both stared at me, waiting for the details.
“Max will send a dozen men our way to help. They’ll give us some equipment too.”
“Are your men joining us?” Crow asked.
“No. They’re in the middle of a mission.” I was disappointed, but I couldn’t be angry. Max couldn’t turn his back on Shane. That wouldn’t be the right thing to do.
“Shit,” Cane said as he dragged his hands down his face.
I was ashamed that we were in this situation, that I was the reason Vanessa had been taken. I’d promised to protect he
r, but now she was in the hands of men who wanted to hurt me. If they laid a single hand on her…I would kill their entire family line. “They want revenge for what I did. If I can’t save her, I should be able to trade her.”
“Your life for hers?” Crow asked.
I nodded.
“And will you do that?” Crow asked, his eyes filled with a pain he couldn’t defeat.
I was offended he even asked. “In a heartbeat.”
Satisfied with that answer, he turned away.
Fifteen
Vanessa
I was chained to a chair on a private plane.
The men spoke Arabic, which I couldn’t understand.
I was dead quiet, keeping my eyes averted and trying to disappear. I didn’t want them to even know I was there. Now I was en route to an unknown destination, and the fear started to kick in. I was stuck on a plane, and there was no way Bones would be able to save me now. They could do whatever they wanted to me.
All I had was myself.
I truly believed Bones would save me. But he couldn’t stop the events that happened in between.
And I didn’t want to go through the same thing my mother went through…
The thought alone made me more afraid than I’d been in my entire life.
There were two guards watching me at all times. They all carried rifles, guns that were too big for their hands. They kept looking at me, like I would do something unexpected at any moment.
The man in charge sat up front, drinking with his men and speaking in the language I couldn’t understand. Whoever these men were, they were excessively wealthy and obviously powerful. They were able to board a private plane with dozens of weapons without anyone even glancing at them.
Who the hell were they?
I kept looking out the window, doing my best to remain calm. If Bones weren’t around, I believed my father would find a way to save me, but knowing Bones was out there gave me more comfort. He was capable and trained for this. On top of that, he loved me. He would never stop until I was rescued.