by Wade, Maddie
Jack nodded, and Nate could see the apology that he couldn’t quite bring himself to make in his eyes. “Will, can you get us all you can on this guy from his shoe size to his favourite cereal. I also want everything we know about Lacey. We need to plan for a hostile extraction if we can’t get her out through negotiation. Decker, you take the lead on that and liaise with English. The rest of us need to get up to the ninth floor and evaluate the access points.”
“How many are carrying?” Nate asked wishing like fuck he was. A chorus of ‘I am’ sounded, showing that everyone else was. “I’m not, so I need someone’s spare,” he said with disgust. He had a whole arsenal at home, and when he needed it, he wasn’t loaded.
“No need, I can send Gunner to pick up some supplies for us. Tell him what you need.”
The men began to disperse as they set about gearing up for this extraction and rescue. He needed to tell Skye, but he didn’t want to upset her today of all days. He also knew his wife, and he knew she would kick his ass if he didn’t tell her the truth.
Pushing through the door, he saw that Jace and Lucy, Kanan and Roz, and even Smithy and Ice had positioned themselves strategically around the room closest to the exits and entrances. Nobody would be getting in or out without going through them first. The bar was fully loaded, and the band had already started setting up for the live music which should block out any noise. The toilets could be accessed by this room only, and he could have that guarded from the outside. His best plan was to keep everyone unaware if possible.
He spotted Skye chatting with Megan and Colin and made a beeline for them. He smiled as he slipped his arm around Skye and kissed her neck.
“Hey,” she said with a grin, but it didn’t meet her eyes.
“Can I steal you away for a minute?” he asked with a forced half smile.
“Sure.” She tilted her head at Megan with a curve of her lips. “Excuse me for a sec,” she said, and they moved away. Nate pulled her to a quiet corner and instantly Lauren and Dane were there.
“What the fuck is going on?” Dane asked as he kept the happy grin on his face.
Nate lifted an eyebrow at the combination. “It’s Lacey,” he said as he held Skye’s eyes with his own, his body curved around her offering support.
“Oh God,” she said, her hand raising to her mouth as her face paled. “I knew something was going on, but I didn’t push it. I should have pushed it.” Her distraught eyes met his. He read the guilt in them, and fury sparked in his gut. He was going to tear this fucker apart for making his wife look like that on her wedding day.
“No, you couldn’t have known and if she didn’t want to talk you couldn’t make her tell you. Can you think of anything she did say that could help us in any way?”
“No, but I know she broke up with her boyfriend recently. Maybe look into him.”
“Can you remember his name?” he asked as he stroked her back to calm her worry.
“Carmine Russo,” she answered, and the knot of fear slithered in his belly.
He looked to Dane, and he saw recognition there. He knew too, and it was bad. This had just got a whole lot more dangerous. Not wanting Skye to see his worry he smiled and kissed her temple. “Well done, baby. Dane, can you let the others know that?”
“Sure. Lauren, can you take Skye and get a drink? She looks a little pale,” Dane said as something passed between them.
“Of course, and we need to make sure the band has the setlist we asked for. Right, Skye?”
Skye glared at them. “Stop managing me, I’m okay,” she said as she lifted and kissed his cheek. “I know this is bad, but I also know that this idiot has no idea who he has just messed with. So, go and kick his ass and I’ll hold the fort in here.”
Nate watched her walk off with Lauren and felt so much pride and love for his new wife, his heart almost stopped.
“You know who Carmine Russo is don’t you?” Dane asked as he watched the women talking to the band.
“Yep and it’s bad news. I need to let the others know. Look after them, Dane,” Nate said as he turned and looked his best man in the eye.
“With my life.”
Nate angled his head and nodded in gratitude.
Moving back out the main door, he took one last look at his wife and prayed it wouldn’t be his last. “I got a name for Lacey’s ex-boyfriend, and I’m praying it’s not him who has her.”
“Carmine Russo,” Will answered, and Nate felt his face harden.
“Fucking, fuck, fuck,” he snarled as the men around him looked the same.
“Give us all you have, Will,” Jack said, his jaw rigid.
“The Russo family are the largest mafia family in Sicily. They are the biggest importers of guns and women into the United States from Europe and have the largest growing cocaine business outside of Mexico. The father, Giuseppe Russo is the most feared man in Italy. He has one daughter, Valentina, and two sons, Mario and Carmine. Mario runs the family business with him, and Valentina is a model. Carmine is the screw-up playboy. Word on the street is daddy has been tightening the leash on Carmine and told him to reign it in and step up to start playing his part in the family business.”
“Jesus fucking Christ, it’s worse than I thought,” Decker hissed.
“That’s not all. A contact of mine on the web told me that Carmine has been put in charge of the guns and has been bragging how he’s taking his new bride home to meet daddy. He’s also purported to like pain and hurting his whores, although he’s never been reported, some have turned up dead after a night with Carmine.”
“That info didn’t come for free,” Jack said his eyes never leaving Will.
“Nothing is ever free, brother,” Will replied his face void of emotion.
“This changes things. This isn’t some moron with a twisted mind. This is a moron with a twisted fucking family and a very sick obsession.”
“Can you hack the CCTV in the hallway outside his room?” Alex asked.
“Already done,” Will said turning the laptop to them. The hallway was clear, but that meant nothing, they needed eyes in the room.
“Let’s take this into the manager’s office, I need to try and make contact and find out what his demands are. He wouldn’t have taken her so publicly if he didn’t want the world watching,” Alex said as he crossed his arms over his chest and gritted his jaw.
Each man stood at different parts of the office as Will rigged up a secure phone line for Decker to try and make contact.
“What now?” Nate asked.
“Now Decker makes contact, and we crawl through shit and dust to get into the room next door.”
“Do we have the schematics for the hotel?”
“Yes,” Blake said, who had joined them. He rolled out the blueprints over the large desk, and the men crowded around.
“If we use this access tunnel for the heater maintenance, we can crawl through over the kitchen nearest the restaurant on that level, and it will bring us out here beside room eight. Then we just need to make it to room eleven without being seen,” Alex said as he pointed to the room marked with an X.
“Piece of piss.” Blake said with a smirk, knowing that while not difficult nothing could be deemed a piece of piss. They all went silent as the line rang trying to connect Decker with room ten on the tenth floor. A hush filled with tension rent the room as the call was answered.
“What!” barked a raspy Italian voice.
“Mr Russo, this is Mark Decker, I’m here to see if you need anything? We would really like to see this situation resolved so that Miss Cannon can go home safely.”
“Miss Cannon ain’t ever going home. She belongs to me. She’s my woman, and I’ll look after her.”
“Can we speak with her to reassure us that she is okay?”
“No, this is none of your business. I want a Catholic priest brought to my room, and I want one hundred thousand pounds in cash. Also, I want some food sent up.”
“We can arrange that, but as you know, it
is Christmas Eve, so it will take time. We need to speak with Lacey to know she’s okay. You know how this works—you give us something, and we give you something.”
“I’ll give you a dead woman if you don’t do as I say. You have two hours,” he snarled and hung up, the dial tone like thunder in the silent room.
“He’ll do it,” Decker said with calm authority, the profiler in him coming to the fore. “He believes he owns her, so he believes he can also end her life at his will.”
“Do you think she’s alive?” Nate asked his throat tight with worry.
“Yes, she’s safe for now. He won’t do anything until he’s backed into a corner. I need more info on him, so I can run a profile. In the meantime, we need a backup plan to get us in the room and I think I just found it.”
“What do you mean?”
“If we can’t get eyes in the room, we’ll have to take it by force. I think if we do that without being close enough to protect her, he’ll kill her and go down in a blaze of glory. We need to get close enough so that doesn’t happen.”
“What’s the plan?” Jack asked.
Alex smiled. “The same one we used in Bolivia.” Alex grinned, and Jack groaned.
“Oh shit, not Father Alex again?”
“It worked perfectly last time, and there is no reason why it won’t this time. I can protect the girl when you guys make the forced entry.”
“Do you know how long it took before that woman stopped calling the Vatican looking for Father Alex?”
“What can I say, woman love me,” Alex said with mischief in his eyes.
Nate tried not to laugh at his antics. He was starting to see a side to the Eidolon team that he hadn’t before—that they were similar to Fortis in that they were more than just a team, they were family.
“Fine, Father Alex can be put on standby,” Jack relented, and Alex whooped.
“I have my outfit already,” he said as Gunner walked in holding a garment bag and a shit ton of firepower.
“Did you bring the Kevlar?” Alex asked as he laid everything down.
“No,” Gunner said with a frown. “There was a problem with the lock box and it locked me out.”
“That’s not right, let me check that out,” replied Will not looking happy at all.
“We should be fine but watch your backs and don’t fucking die. Let’s suit up.” Jack said with a serious look on his face as he threw a black jacket at Nate.
Chapter 10
An hour later Nate was wearing a black jacket to protect his wedding suit as he climbed into the ventilation shaft of the hotel where he had just gotten married. Decker had run a quick profile and after another brief conversation where Lacey had screamed as he hurt her, the decision was made.
Alex was dressed as a priest and was waiting in the hallway for them to give the signal that they were in position. He swore inwardly as he caught his trouser leg on a nail and the fabric tore a little. The only ass he wanted in his face was his wife’s not Jack fucking Granger’s.
They slowed as they came closer to their destination. After talking with Blake and Jack it had been agreed that they would come in from above while Alex was in the room and Zin would cover the exit. They were now above the main living space of room ten, and with only hand movements, Jack indicated he would open the vent, so they could see inside the room.
Lifting the edge, he slid the tile back with infinite slowness so as not to make it obvious. Nate could hear someone pacing below and suspected it was Carmine. Using a tiny camera on a guidewire, they could see inside now.
Lacey was zip-tied to a chair by her wrists, but her feet were free. Her face had a cut above the cheekbone that was bleeding, and her dress was ripped exposing her bra. Nate clenched his jaw trying hard to keep control of his temper as he saw the tear in her dress that led him to a conclusion he didn’t want to face about what had also happened to his wife’s friend.
He heard Decker in his ear as did the others. As a profiler, he was best equipped to read Carmine’s mood and thought patterns. “Fucking bastard needs to die,” Decker said in his ear, the normally mild-mannered and controlled man furious. He wouldn’t get any arguments from him, the only problem—this was an unofficial favour, and they had to bring this motherfucker in alive.
“Go time, Alex,” Jack whispered over the comms unit.
Carmine began to pace again before stopping in front of Lacey, the gun a familiar weight in his hand if the way he handled it was anything to go by. Nate watched as the man crouched down in front of her and took her chin in a bruising grip, making her wince as tears fell silently down her face.
“Look at me, Princess,” he crooned as he twisted her face to him. Her tearstained face looked at him, and Nate saw the desolation and hatred in her face that hadn’t been there before. “Why did you run, Princess? You made me hurt you, and I didn’t want to do that. You know how much I love you.” He stroked her cheek with the barrel of the gun, and she flinched as Carmine smiled an evil smile.
“You don’t know what love is, you only know how to control and hurt.”
Nate tensed as Carmine’s face contorted into an ugly mask. “Ungrateful bitch, I gave you everything,” he said as he raised his hand. The slap never came as there was a knock on the door. Carmine dropped his hand and raised his gun to her head. “Time for us to get hitched, my love.” She looked at him with renewed defiance in her eyes despite the tears that fell down her cheeks.
Moving to the door, Carmine stood behind it and pointed his firearm at the door at head height. “Open the door and move in slowly with your hands where I can see them,” he said as he kept glancing at Lacey.
The door opened, and Alex’s hands came into view, held a head high, moving slowly. His eyes landed on Lacey and Nate saw his jaw go hard at the sight of her looking so broken.
Everyone knew who Lacey Cannon was, had seen her face in countless commercials for clothes, perfume, and God only knew what else. Now to see her like this made every man there want to commit murder.
“I’m unarmed,” Alex said quietly, his whole demeanour had changed from Alex the operative.
“Move into the room and keep your hands up.”
Alex did as he’d requested, his back to Carmine as he offered Lacey a reassuring smile. She barely moved, but her eyes flared slightly in recognition.
“Turn around and face me. What Church are you from?” he asked suspiciously with a growl.
“I’m the new priest at St Francis of Assisi,” he said with the calm authority that all priests seemed to have.
Carmine took out his phone, obviously wanting to check and Nate again thanked God for Will and what he could do on a computer. In some ways, he was the most dangerous member of the team because he could make up a life with just a few keystrokes.
Carmine looked up from his phone obviously satisfied with what he had seen. “Right let’s get this done so my bride and I can get the fuck out of this shit town.”
“Please, let us move to the middle of the room so that I can perform the ceremony that will join you in holy matrimony.” Alex moved to the centre forcing Carmine to follow, already lowering his guard now that he was happy there was a priest in front of him. Carmine cut the ties on Lacey’s wrists and hauled her to her feet as she winced and limped on her right leg.
“Stop stalling,” Carmine bit out as he dragged her to Alex, the gun still to her head. Alex was about to start when Carmine’s phone rang. His face turned puce as he looked at the screen and answered. “What?” he asked in the surly tone of a teenager.
“Yeah, well, I’m kind of busy right now,” he answered the caller as he looked at Alex.
“Move,” Jack said seeing that Carmine was distracted.
Using the stillness learned as a sniper Nate moved the ceiling tile and with Carmine facing away from him dropped his body to the ground using the strength in his arms to lower himself. On silent feet he rolled behind the sofa and out of sight. It took mere seconds but was a crucial part of
the job.
“What the fuck!” Carmine yelled as he raised his gun to Lacey and grabbed her back to his front like a shield, the phone forgotten on the floor. Nate tensed—as did everyone else—concerned they had been caught.
“Are the Special fucking Forces here?” he demanded of Alex.
Nate relaxed when he realised it was whatever he had been told on the phone that had him reacting not any realisation they were in the room.
“Yes, there are, but I promised I would come in and try and talk to you both about setting a date for your nuptials rather than doing it in such a way. A house of God where your family can attend mass and your union will be blessed.”
Carmine looked from Alex to the door, his face uncertain.
“No, I need this done. I need access to her funds so that I can make a name for myself outside of my father’s control.”
“But God can provide,” Alex began.
“No. Shut the fuck up, or I’m going to kill you too. Then you and your God can have an up close and personal about it.”
“Carmine, please. Let’s do this properly, I don’t want to fight with you anymore,” Lacey said as she turned imploring eyes on him. Nate saw Carmine consider her for a moment. He stroked her cheek and dropped the gun slightly to kiss her and Nate heard the whispered go.
The next ten seconds happened in slow motion, he moved from behind the sofa and Carmine broke the kiss and looked directly at him as he raised the weapon and shot. The bullet tore through his jacket and shirt and pain exploded in his chest as he fell back, air leaving him as his mind went to Skye and Noah and all the things he wanted for them, all the love he had for them, and how he wished he could have had longer.
Chapter 11
Skye suddenly felt overwhelmed by grief as she stood talking to Emme and Shane. Her mind went blank, and her stomach became an empty pit.
“Skye, are you okay?” Emme asked putting her hand on her arm as Shane looked at her with concern.
“I feel a little faint,” she said and Shane eased her towards a chair.