“Jesus, Jacob,” Heath laughed. “You blowing the whole town?”
“Okay, I’m not even gay and that sounded suggestive,” Jacob snickered.
Heath rolled his eyes. “But you do know what you’re doing, right?”
“Hey, I’m not in the Army and on this little excursion just for shits and giggles.” Jacob cocked a brow.
Charlie set up her computer. “Okay, I’m ready if I need to do anything.”
Antonio opened the cases and gathered the kids around. “These are tranquilizer guns. Your fathers would never forgive me if I gave you live ammunition.”
Damon busted out laughing . “STOP! Or I’ll put you to sleep!”
Heath smacked him upside the head again.
“Hey! Ow!” Damon rubbed his scalp.
Marco handed out two-way radios and they headed to the launch for the smaller boats.
“Okay — we’ll hit the house. You guys wait to hear from us. As soon as we have a location we will let you know.” Heath hugged them.
Angela met them on the deck. “I have the money, just in case. I want you all to be careful.”
“We will, Auntie. Stay here and keep your radio on.” Heath hugged her. “Thank you.”
According to Damon’s men, Sophia had a house on the edge of town. They figured that would be the best place to start. They took separate boats to locations on either side of the island.
Heath and his group made shore and turned the transmitter on; it began beeping quietly. They went to Sophia’s rental house and gathered around the corner. Heath peered in the window. There were two men inside.
“Let’s go.” Heath motioned them to follow. “Damon, get the door,” he whispered and motioned to his brother.
Damon gaped at his brother with his best ‘are you fucking crazy?’ look. “Why me?” he mouthed.
“Because you’re Damon, and you think fast on your feet. Oh my God, just do it!” Heath mouthed back.
Damon knocked on the front door and waited. One of the men opened the door, looking cautious.
“Have you heard the word of God today?” Damon beamed his most charming smile.
Heath rolled his eyes but couldn’t stop his grin. He shot the man in the neck with a tranquilizer dart, and he dropped like a tree onto Damon.
“Dammit, Heath, help me. He weighs a ton!” he whispered.
The other man came to see what was going on and Caleb shot him. Heath pulled Guido Number One off Damon.
Damon looked at both men on the ground and shook his head. “Shame on you. You’re both going to hell,” he laughed.
“Damon, stop playing around!” Heath whispered.
Antonio dragged both men inside the house and stuffed them in a closet.
“Oh, that’s funny,” Heath laughed.
Antonio looked puzzled, then it dawned on him and he chuckled.
“Come on.” Antonio led the way downstairs to a wine cellar and looked around. There were shelves of wine from floor to ceiling and smaller shelves with preserves.
“We could so party in here. Look at all the alcohol,” Damon laughed quietly.
“You’d be fucked up after one sip, Damon. Remember Dad’s foundation party?” Heath chuckled.
“Oh fuck off, Heath.”
“Will you two shut up?” Antonio tried to look stern but couldn’t help his smile.
“There has to be something here.” Caleb studied their surroundings. “Keep looking.”
Damon felt a cold breeze. “Hey, you feel that?” He moved around with his hand out. The air was coming from behind a shelf of preserves. “Right here.”
They teamed up to push and the shelf moved, revealing a passageway.
“Flashlight time; come on.” Heath started to go forward but Antonio held him back.
“No, I go first.”
They moved down the tunnel, which seemed to go on forever. It finally ended at a chained and locked gate.
“Shit! Now what?” Damon whispered.
Antonio reached into his bag and pulled out bolt cutters.
“Well, that works.” Damon squeezed the big guy’s shoulder.
They went through the gate and ended up in a park. The transmitter beeped louder.
“We’re getting close. Which way, Antonio?” Heath was watching the tree line.
“This way.” Antonio took off and the transmitter beeped louder. He turned it down and watched the little red light instead. They came to the edge of the park and saw a big house behind the trees. There were spotlights on all sides and it looked as if there was a light on inside as well.
“They are there.” Antonio pointed.
Heath got on his radio. “Jacob, I’m sending you GPS coordinates right now. We’ll wait for you here.”
“I got it, Heath.”
Jacob turned to his group. “It’s showtime.”
Half an hour later, Jacob showed up with Isabelle, Steve, Charlie and Marco.
Heath had been watching the house with binoculars. “They have security cameras outside.”
Charlie pulled out her laptop. “I’m on it. Give me a few minutes; I’ll run a loop.”
“Damn, you’re sexy when you get technical,” Steve whispered.
“Shut up.” Charlie grinned.
Antonio had returned after making a round of the house. “There is a side door, but there is a camera right above it.”
“Working on it, Antonio.” Charlie waved her hand at him.
“Does everyone have their tranq gun ready?” Isabelle studied the group.
They all nodded.
“Got it. Okay, ready to go.” Charlie stood up and put the laptop in her bag.
Antonio nodded to Isabelle. “You four head that way; as soon as we clear the door you come in.” He took Marco aside. “Watch them closely. We cannot make any mistakes.”
Marco nodded and turned back to the group assembled behind him. “You be careful — no stupid moves.”
Damon shifted. “Why is everyone looking at me?” He ducked Heath’s hand as they took off.
Antonio got to the door first. He entered the house and looked around. They were in the laundry room; he could hear voices in the next room. He motioned for Heath.
They cracked the door open and saw four men sitting around the table laughing and playing cards.
“Perfect,” Heath whispered. “Come on; we can shoot all four at once.” He motioned for Damon and Caleb. “Damon, you take the one on the left.”
“Your left or mine?” Damon cracked a smile.
“Dammit, Damon,” Heath began threateningly.
“Okay, okay! Shit, you’re cranky.”
All four aimed and shot at the same time. The four men slumped on the table. Antonio went in first and checked them for weapons. They each grabbed a man and dragged them into the laundry room.
*~~~*
Sophia had been in the cellar with Stefan, Jordan and Damon. She was sitting on Jordan’s lap, rubbing her crotch on him.
“It’s a shame you like men.” She pushed her tits in his face. “This does nothing for you, does it?”
“Does puking count?” Jordan smiled at her.
“Ugh! I hate gays.” She eyed Damon. “But you’re not gay, are you? You’re one fine specimen, Damon.” She moved over to his lap. “Mmm, the things I could do to you.”
Damon spat in her face.
She slapped him. “Now, that’s not nice.” She continued to Stefan and loosened his hands. “I’m going to go now. I’m letting Stefano here free so you can all…take a piss, as they say?”
She left and they heard the series of locks again.
“Oh Jesus, I can’t take another day of that woman,” Jordan sighed.
Stefan was busy trying to get his hands undone. He finally got the tape off and started undoing Jordan’s hands.
“Let’s just hope the kids find us soon.” Stefan laughed.
*~~~*
Heath rounded a corner and spotted two more men. He loaded his tranq gun and shot o
ne. He moved forward, aimed at the second and his gun jammed.
“Oh shit.” Heath got ready for the beat down he knew was coming.
The man was on him in seconds, but he fought back well. He brought his arm around the man’s neck and pulled in, putting him in a chokehold.
“Damon! A little help?”
Damon shot him and the man dropped in front of Heath. Antonio and Caleb came around the corner.
“Heath, you are to wait for me!” Antonio whispered.
“Okay, okay —no harm, no foul.”
Heath, Caleb, and Damon checked out the man on the floor.
“It’s a shame. He really has a nice ass,” Damon observed.
Charlie came around the corner to find her brothers and Caleb looking at a man on the floor.
“Hey what’s up?” She looked down. “Nice ass.”
“I know, right?” Damon whispered.
“Will you all concentrate?” Antonio hissed.
Heath smiled. “Come on, let’s go.”
The rest of the group had caught up. They ran into a few more men before they got to the end of the hall. There was a large door with locks on it and each required a key.
“Jacob, you’re up,” Heath called softly. He ran his hand over the door. “It’s thick.”
He knocked on the door.
Inside the room, Stefan heard a faint sound. “Quiet! You hear that?”
They all tilted their heads to the side, listening intently.
“Someone’s knocking.” Jordan walked to the door and knocked back.
Heath heard a faint knocking on the other side. “Hang on.” He knocked in a series and waited.
Heath listened closely before a smile creased his face. “It’s them.” He knocked back.
“It’s them!” Jordan smiled. He listened some more. “We’ve got to move, they’re going to blow the door.”
“They’re going to what?” Stefan blinked.
“Hello? Jacob Sanders? Bomb guy?”
“Okay, let’s get as far away as we can.”
*~~~*
Isabelle roamed the house. She had broken away from the group to hunt for Sophia. She found her in the living room.
“Hello, Sophia,” Isabelle sneered.
“How…how did you get in here?” Sophia backed up slowly.
“How stupid do you think we are? You thought we would just wring our hands and cry and hand over twenty million dollars? Deep down, we’re all Santornos, bitch.”
Sophia looked around nervously. Her eye caught the man moving slowly toward Isabelle. Izzy watched Sophia’s eyes, saw the man in her peripheral vision and shot him — never taking her eyes off Sophia
“You took something from me. I’m here to get it back.” Isabelle smiled.
“I did not hurt them. You have my word.”
“Oh, but you hurt me. You took my parents, my grandfather. Because of you, I lost my baby. Did you know that?”
“You were pregnant?” Sophia’s eyes widened.
“Yes, was being the operative word. In your greedy quest for money and revenge, you kidnapped my family — and killed my unborn child.
“And in my family, Sophia, it’s an eye for an eye.”
*~~~*
The blast went off and the door fell over; the kids rushed in as soon as it fell.
“Dad, oh thank God!” Heath hugged Stefan and reached for Jordan.
“Is everyone okay?” Jordan performed a visual check of the kids.
Two men barged in and Heath and Damon turned and fired.
Damon turned back to Stefan. “Yeah, we’re fine, Dad.” He gave him a cheeky smile.
“Where is Isabelle?” Stefan looked around.
“She was right behind us, Dad,” Heath said.
Damon Santorno was on the radio, calling in the rest of his men.
“You guys get out of here. I’ll go find Isabelle,” Stefan instructed.
“Stefan, are you sure?” Jordan asked worriedly.
“Yes, get the kids out, Jordan.” Stefan kissed him, grabbed a tranq gun and left.
“Come on guys, let’s get out of here.”
*~~~*
Sophia was backing up toward an open door. The look on Isabelle’s face scared her. Isabelle put the tranq gun down and pulled a real gun out of the back of her waistband.
“I would give you a head start, but I’m not that nice.” Isabelle smiled menacingly
Sophia turned to run and Isabelle shot her in the leg. Sophia spewed a stream of Italian profanities.
“How could you?” She gaped at Isabelle.
“How can you even ask me that?” Isabelle’s eyes filled with rage. “I’m not finished yet.
“You would kill your own mother?”
“You’re not my mother,” she spat as she held the gun on the other woman. “You’re a greedy, vile snake disguised as a woman.”
“Isabelle, stop.” Stefan entered the room and stopped.
“Dad?”
“Don’t do it, honey.” Stefan approached her slowly.
“She deserves it, Dad. You know she does. Look what she did to all of us. I lost my baby because of her!” Isabelle cried.
“Oh, Isabelle. Sweetheart, I’m so sorry. Maybe she does deserve it, but you can’t do this. It will stay with you, Isabelle.”
“You shot Gino.”
“That was different. Gino was armed and was going to kill your grandfather.”
“She could come back, Dad. She could cause more trouble for us.”
“Not a chance. Not where she’s going. Now give me the gun, Isabelle.” Stefan put his hand out.
Isabelle put the gun in Stefan’s hand. Sophia let out a slow breath.
“Thank you, Stefano.”
Stefan sneered at her with disgust. “Shut up. I didn’t do it for you.” He grabbed the tranq gun and shot her.
Isabelle hugged him hard. “Daddy, I’m so glad you’re okay.”
“I’m fine. I’m just fine. So are your father and Grandpa.”
Damon’s men arrived and began cleaning up. Stefan took Isabelle outside to join the rest of the family.
“Let’s get out of here.” Stefan grabbed Jordan’s hand.
“Stefano.” Damon pulled his son aside. “What do you want me to do with Sophia?”
“I never want to see her again. Put her in jail here in Malta where we know she’ll never get out.”
“And if she tries?” Damon cocked an eyebrow.
“We will cross that bridge if we get to it, but I don’t think she will. Remind her of what will happen, Dad, if she tries.”
They took the boats back to the yacht, where they took turns telling their dads and Damon the story on what happened and how they got there.
“Your father and I knew you wouldn’t just whimper and pay up.” Jordan grinned.
“No, we’re your children,” Heath said proudly.
Stefan smiled at Caleb, Steve and Jacob. “I want to thank you guys so much. You didn’t have to be part of this, but you were. Jordan and I won’t forget what you did for our kids — for us.”
“Let’s not forget Antonio and Marco — the ultimate babysitters.” Jordan winked at them.
“Oh we did not have to do much, Mr. Jordan. Your children have minds of their own.” Antonio grinned, shaking his head.
“Stefan?” Angela approached carefully.
“Aunt Angela, I want to thank you for coming with the kids and providing the money in case it was necessary.”
“I couldn’t not help. I know I owe you both so much.” She shot a look at Isabelle.
“Well, maybe we can all go out to dinner and begin to make amends,” Jordan offered.
“I think that could be arranged.” Stefan raised his eyebrows at Isabelle.
“I think your father and I would like a word alone with Isabelle, and I think we should all get some sleep. We’re going home tomorrow.” Stefan beamed at the kids. “But I want to tell you how proud I am of all of you; you didn’t panic and you
worked as a team.”
Heath smiled. “We just did what you and Dad would have done.”
Stefan hugged Heath. “Okay guys, go on — get to bed.”
Stefan and Jordan settled down with Isabelle and Jacob.
“Honey, I know you’re upset. Please don’t let this define your life.” Stefan palmed her face. “There isn’t any way to make this hurt less. But I promise that your father and I will be over the moon when we become grandparents. And it will happen one day.”
“I know and I’m sorry I almost — hurt — Sophia, but I wanted her to suffer, Dad.”
Jordan took Isabelle’s hand. “It’s a natural reaction, Isabelle, but you have to learn to control your anger. You were going to kill her. Your father and I have both had to kill someone to save a life. It’s not easy to live with, honey. I’m glad your dad stopped you in time.”
“Me, too. I love you both.” Isabelle hugged them hard.
“All right, you two head to bed. And thanks again, Jacob,” Stefan added.
“No problem, Mr. Youngblood. Glad I could actually use my skills.”
They left Stefan and Jordan at the table.
“Oh God, I need a shower,” Stefan sniffed his shirt.
“Well let’s take our own advice. But, yes — shower first.” Jordan smiled.
*~~*
Damon called Tyler right away.
“Hey, baby.” Damon said huskily.
“Oh, God! Thank God you’re okay!”
“I told you I’d be fine. I miss you.”
“I miss you too,” Tyler whispered.
“Where are you?”
“In bed.”
“Really?”
“What are you wearing?”
“Well, now I’m wearing nothing.” Damon smiled.
“Damn I can’t wait to see you,” Tyler laughed.
“I know. Me, too. I want to kiss you so bad!” Damon groaned.
“I want something else.”
“Oh yeah? Me too. I want to touch you.”
“I’m so hard, Damon.”
“Fuck, Tyler.” Damon stroked himself. “I’m so hard for you right now.”
“I’m stroking my cock.”
An Eye for an Eye (The Santorno Stories 2): The Santorno Stories Page 22