Reckless: A Bad Boyz Anthology
Page 20
“What did you do?” Thamar screams once the line goes dead, her fisted hands swinging at me. I grab her arms, and pull her close as her rant quickly morphs into sobs. “What did you do, Lucan? Who are these people and why do they have Gio?”
Thamar
“We have to get you someplace safe,” he whispers into my hair once I begin to calm.
Safe?
Somehow, I feel like I will never feel safe again. To have my friend—my only friend—kidnapped and to hear the strain of his voice while he’s been held God knows where. No, safety isn’t something I can image myself feeling anytime soon.
I don’t understand why any of this is happening. Why are they after Lucan? And how do these people know about me? Or Gio.
I push away from Lucan, bringing my hands to my eyes to wipe away the tears that have fallen. Sitting up straighter, I know that I can’t lose my shit completely. I have to keep it together.
You can break the fuck down later, I tell myself.
“I’m not going anywhere until we find Gio,” I tell Lucan, my voice still a bit shaky. I clear my throat, hating that it I can’t seem to control my emotions.
“Thamar, these men. They are not to be played with. They are soulless monster and will not hesitate to kill you. I cannot allow you to be in any more danger. I will go get your friend. I promise you.”
He can’t what?
I turn to look at Lucan. The anger I feel towards his words quickly replacing the sorrow I felt just a moment ago. “You cannot allow me?”
Lucan visually cringes, at my tone. I am sure he is going to apologize, but what he says next surprises me, “You were right. At the restaurant. When you guessed that, I was mafia. Bratva, actually, as I am sure you can assume from the conversation you just heard. However, I am also FBI, and in that, you were also right. I have been working undercover within the Bratva for the last few years and apparently, I have been found out.
“I am sure you can understand why coming with me is simply too dangerous. I can take you someplace safe until this over.”
“Well Lucan, I am already involved in this. They have my friend. And you can’t possibly expect me to just hide out somewhere hoping and praying that they don’t kill both you and Gio. And furthermore, you try to tell me what you cannot allow me to do and I will kick your F.B.I mafia ass.”
Shaking his head, he sighs in defeat.
Shifting in my seat so that I am faced front, I end the conversation. We are wasting time. The longer we sit here arguing, the longer Gio is in the hands of those men.
I know that I can’t blame Lucan for what has happened, but I am pissed that his job, or jobs as it seems, has placed not just me but my innocent friend in danger.
Just thinking about the last conversation I had with Gio, hurts my heart. If we made it out of this situation alive, I can’t imagine how I will ever face him again. I placed him in danger. He was only being held as a bargaining chip. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that they must have initially been after me to get to Lucan. How they ended up with Gio, I have no idea, but we need to save him.
Starting the car back up, Lucan pulls away from the hotel. I am not sure how tonight will end, but one thing is for sure…Since meeting Lucan, my life has been the polar opposite of stress free. And though, I am upset by the threats we await once we get to whatever meeting location we are heading to, I still feel butterflies take flight at just a glance from Lucan.
It’s maddening really. With all of this happening and with the knowledge that it stems from meeting him, I can’t help but think back to just an hour ago when he made me feel like the most beautiful woman in the world.
It’s that thought that has me reaching across the console that separates us and grabbing his hands.
Such a good man, inside such a dangerously bad and sexy exterior.
Lucan
The sound of my superior’s voice comes through the phone after the second rings. “If you are calling, then I have to assume that you got my note and shit is hitting the fan big time,” Jack says in his usual serious tone.
“Jack. You have no idea how good it is to hear your voice.” It is the truth. Speaking to my him now feels both foreign and comforting and I feel like a piece of my old self shifts back into place.
“How bad is it?” he asks.
Sighing, I glance at Thamar who is staring at the phone like she can physically see my boss. “Very bad. They have one of my friends. Says I need to meet with them at a shipment yard in Red Hook. The same shipment yard I was taken to just last night to help them unload some young girls.”
“If they took you their last night under the guise of work, I’d say something has forced them to speed up their revenge.” I nod in agreement.
“Only thing I could think of is that they tailed me to Junior’s. It’s either that or they figured out we were after their trafficking business and decided to give me a glimpse. Thinking that I would not be able to use any of the information if I the plan was to kill me a few days later.” It’s something Petrov would do. Show you the prize you are after, dangle it in your face, just to kill you.
“So what’s the plan? I have two people I need to protect here, Jack. You have to send in the calvary, and quick. I need a squad at the shipment location tomorrow night.”
Jack curses under his breath and I know that the last thing he wants to do is pinch Petrov too soon. “I’m sending you a team in the morning. Go to the apartment and keep a low profile. Petrov has eyes everywhere, but hopefully we won’t think to look for you in Queens. Brief the guys on Petrov and prepare for the meeting. I’ve got to see if I can use anything we have current against Petrov,” he says with a groan.
I thank him, and just before I hang up, he continues “And Lucan…”
“Yeah, boss.”
“Fucking great to have you back, man.”
Great to be back.
NINE
Thamar
LUCAN AND I don’t speak as we walk through the door; both of us are lost in our thoughts.
The apartment, which he told me belongs to his FBI friend, is small and masculine with dark woods and grays are the predominant color. The living room and dining area share a single room and the kitchen have a cutout wall that looks into the main room. There are two bedrooms, both of which are the same size, but one has an en suite bathroom. This is the room Lucan has given to me.
“There are towels in the linen closet in the hall. If you need anything else just let me know, yeah?” he says, standing in the door with an unsure look on his face.
I nod.
We stare at each other, both unsure what to say. The pained look on his face clearly tells me that he feels guilty about everything. And the ride over to Queen helped dispel my anger at him. I know that Lucan is a good man, even in the midst of this craziness, I trust him.
“Will...you stay with me.” The thought of being alone tonight scares me.
He closes the space between us, pulling me into his arms and instantly the tension I felt just moments before dissolves.
“I am so sorry that you have been dragged into this. I am going to get you and your…friend out of this,” he says, and I realize then that I had never explained to him my friendship with Gio.
Smiling, I look up into his eyes. “Yes, friend. My only friend actually. Gio has just always been there for me. He wanted things to progress into move, but I don’t see him that way. He’s family,” I explain, feeling a little happy that he was jealous of Gio.
Who would have thought?
“Well, as long as he's only a friend,” Lucan says, his lips brushing across mine, softly.
Instantly I feel the warmth of his kiss spread throughout my body. My eyes flutter close and my hands come up and around his neck. His lips moved slowly over mine, sensual and passionate. One of his hands cups my face, while the other encircles my waist, pulling me up against the firm wall of his chest.
The feel of him, hard and strong against me as he dee
pens the kiss, draws out a moan from me. He feels so good, so right and I want nothing more than to lose myself in him, but I’m not sure if I can.
His hands slide down my body, cupping my ass firmly and all thought fled my mind. With a swift and surprising tug, he lifts me into his arms, my legs, making to wrap around his waist. It’s then I realize that I don’t have a choice of whether this can go further tonight.
I wince and gasps from the pain I feel shooting through me, my body stiffening in his arms. He pulls his lips from mine and looks at me and it then he remembers my problem.
I am broken.
“Shit. I am so sorry, Thamar,” he mutters, his voice pained, and I brace myself. I know what’s coming, even while he slowly places me back down and pulls away.
He turns away from me and I feel like the weight of his rejection. I shouldn’t have hoped things would be different with him. Of course, he can’t handle dealing with my baggage. For the most part, I can’t handle my baggage. I should have hoped.
“Um… it’s okay. I totally get it. Not everyone wants to deal with the shit storm of a life I have. Don’t worry—”
“What?” he asks, cutting me off. “No, no… That is not it at all. I told you Thamar, you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. I did not…I turned away because I seem to keep failing you tonight,” he says, the last bit coming out in a whisper. His back is still to me and but I can hear the pain that he feels.
Reaching out to him, I turn him around and cup his cheek.
“You haven’t failed me, Lucan,” I tell him truthfully. “Yes, this night has been a bit crazy, but you make me feel, wanted, normal, cherished—it’s something I haven’t felt in a very long time.”
I don’t notice the tear trailing down my cheek until his hand comes up and he swipes it away with the pad of his thumb.
Leaning in, he kisses me on my forehead, “Lets get you to bed. We have a long day ahead of us.”
Lucan
The morning comes too quickly, but waking up with Thamar nestled into my side feels right. Her head is resting on my chest and her legs tangled with mine, and I cannot believe that it was only days ago that we met.
Not wanting to wake her, I slowly slip from underneath her, gently placing her head against the pillow. The guys will be here soon and I need to clear my head.
Everything happened so fast yesterday that I have not had the chance to process all that is changing.
I am no longer a member of the brotherhood.
It is a weird thing to acknowledge, having spent the last few years working my way through their organization, earning the trust of Petrov, just for it to come to an end so suddenly.
It is for the best.
Grabbing a shower, I quickly dress in the same clothes I wore the day before and make my way to the living room. Thamar was exhausted and rightfully so after the night she had endured.
A knock comes to the door and I let out a sigh of relief. Throwing the door open, I am greeted by Mac, Chris, Thomas and Pete.
“Look who is back with the big boys. What the fuck man?” Mac says as the guys pile into the apartment.
“Save the shit for later, Mac. I have a feeling I am going to need several drinks after this over.” They all laugh and pat me on the back in greeting.
They each take seats in the living room and we begin to get to work. I give the short version of everything has happened within the last few days, starting with the night Petrov killed his brother.
I tell them about the shipyard and what I witnessed there, giving them a full account of the layout of the location.
By the time Thamar comes out, we have a solid plan. The guys call in a few favors, making sure they have everything they need for the night.
I do the introductions, hating the surprised looks they give me when Thamar grabs my hands and doesn’t let go even when we take a seat across from the others.
“Just got off the phone with the boss. We’ve got our guys at the location now, scoping out the place. We have a few places where we can set up our guys and still be out of sight so that’s a relief,” Chris says, pushing his phone back into his pocket.
“I think we’re all set,” I say once the plan is all hashed out. Turning to Thamar, I gave her hand a gentle squeeze, letting her know that everything will be okay.
I believe it will be… I have to.
Thamar
Lifting the binoculars up, I scan the yard again, my nerves on edge as I wait for these horrible men to make their appearance.
Lucan assured me that his friends would swoop in fast and get Gio to safety, but I can’t help but feel panicked.
Lucan is waiting in his SUV with a surprisingly accurate look-a-like of myself in the passenger seat. She’s a fellow FBI agent and has a lot of experience in working undercover, or so I was told.
The other men I met this morning are scattered throughout the shipyard and are all well hidden. I can’t detect where they are and that both assured in their skills me and terrifies me that maybe they are too well hidden.
After an hour, I spot a car crawling its way up through the entrance of the yard. “I see them,” I say, turn toward Jack, Lucan’s boss and my current babysitter.
“We’ve got a visual,” he confirms into the earpiece he is wearing, letting his men know.
Slowly the car makes its way through the yard and with each advance it makes I feel like my heart is about to explode in my chest. When it finally stops a few feet away from Lucan, I hold my breath.
Please let their plan work. Please.
Lucan exits first, turning to the Thamar look-a-like and whispering something to her. She doesn’t leave the car with him as he closes his door and walks out in front of it and wait.
The other car door swings open and a man steps out. A huge man, but there is something about him that seems oddly familiar about him.
They exchange a few words, their body language telling me that whatever is said is not pleasant.
“Chris, can you make out if they have the hostage with them?” Jack says beside me, his eyes intense as he scans the location with his own set of binoculars.
Chris responds, and I see that Jack isn’t happy with the answer. His jaw is locked tight. “Be ready to move on my cue.”
TEN
Lucan
“IT IS A shame that is has come to this. I had such high hope for you when you came to us,” Vladimir snarls once he exits the car.
My fist clenches at my sides as he draws near, and I have to force myself not to lunge for him. “Where is the boy?”
I have no delusions about what will happen here tonight. I know that despite the fact that I have backup, there is a great chance that I will not make it out of this alive, but I need to secure Gio. That is my only concern, my only thought. Thamar cannot lose her only friend because of me.
Vladimir only laughs in my face and I clench my jar tighter. “What is he?” I demand, as I close the gap between us, my face now just inches away from his.
“You foolish, foolish man. I never said I would be bringing him with me. In fact, I never said he would live past last night.”
He words rock me for a moment, and I can practically feel the sorrow Thamar will experience once I tell her that her friend is gone.
Dead.
“He had nothing to do with any of this Vladimir. You want me, well you have me. Just give me the body, at least. You and Petrov can do whatever you wish with me.” My voice is laced with a mixture of defeat and grief. Grief not only for the innocent man killed, but also for the woman I know I will never see again.
The car door opens behind Vladimir and out steps the man himself, Petrov and trailing behind him is Gio. His body is battered almost to the point where I cannot recognize him. His face so swollen that I doubt that he can see, but my breath catches when I realize he hasn’t yet been killed.
“So much you don’t understand, Lucan,” Vladimir rebukes me, his eyes scowling as he moved to the right side of Petrov.
“I have you to you to thank, Lucan. You and my whore of a daughter.”
Thamar
No, it can’t be.
My body begins to tremble as I watch him exit the car, Gio not far from behind him. Though I am relieved to see that Gio is alive, the terror I feel when I realize that my father is the one behind all this causes my knees to buckle from underneath me.
Jack is swift to catch my fall, hoisting me up. “Hey. Look at me. What’s going on?” he asks me, but the lump that forms in my throat keeps me from answer him.
He lifts me up and turns around to grab a chair for me to sit in, and in an instant, I bolt for the door of the warehouse we’ve been held up in.
Running, all I can think about is the last time I had seen my Father face to face. I was 14 at the time, but I will never forget the terror in my mother's eyes as she shielded me from him.
He’d visited my mother’s, insisted on taking me with him, but she’d put up a fight. Threatening him that if he so much as looked at me, she would destroy everything, he’s worked so hard to build.
She never explained much about the encounter to me, but it didn’t take much for me to understand that what it was that my father did, made him a very dangerous man.
Taking the stairs, I run out of the building, hearing Jack’s steps advance on me.
“Father!” I call out. “Please, don’t do this.”
I’m not sure what I expected him to do, but when his hand comes up and a loud bang sounds through the air, I jolted back with such a force that I gasp in surprise.
Jack’s hands come to hold me and I while I can hear him speaking, nothing seems to make sense. Blurred figures crowed over me, yelling out orders while shots fill the air in the background.