by Penelope Sky
Foxy in Lingerie
Lingerie #10
Penelope Sky
Hartwick Publishing
Foxy in Lingerie
Copyright © 2018 by Penelope Sky
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
One
Crow
The second I hung up on Bones, I called my brother. It didn’t make sense for Bones to lie to me about this, not after three months of silence. If he wanted to take revenge on me for keeping him away from my daughter, there would be no reason to wait this long. And even if it was a trap, I couldn’t take the risk of not acting.
Not when my only son was at risk.
Bones was right about where Conway was that evening. He also was right about my daughter-in-law. He was a hitman for a living, so it made sense he would know about the hit before it happened.
And if he really wanted to kill me and my family, he knew exactly where I lived.
He could have killed all of us by now.
Cane answered. “Yes?”
I ignored his attitude because it wasn’t important right now. “I’m only going to say this once. No questions asked.”
“Shit…what is it?”
“Skull Kings hired a crew to take out Conway. They’re hitting him at the end of the banquet. They’re also planning to hit Sapphire too, at their home in Verona. Get the chopper ready, organize the crew and the artillery in Milan. I’ll meet you in seven minutes. I need to call Conway.” On the outside, I seemed to be calm, issuing orders without letting my voice shake. But the truth was, I was absolutely terrified. When my daughter was taken, my hands trembled. And now that my only son was at risk, I was even more scared. I didn’t know who I was up against and I had no idea what provoked this hit, but that wouldn’t change anything. I had to save my son—even if it claimed my life.
“Got it.” Cane hung up.
I called Conway next, the tremors starting in my hands.
Voice mail.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” I called three more times, and each time, it went to voice mail.
He must have silenced it.
I texted him, knowing the message would be on the front of his screen when he looked at his phone, unless it was drowned by messages from other people.
Shit.
I ran to the artillery room downstairs, running past Lars on the stairway without giving any explanation of the terror that gripped my heart. I pulled on the bulletproof vest, grabbed two pistols, my rifle, and my shotgun, and then prepared to leave.
I forgot about Button.
I halted at the entryway, unsure what I would say to my wife. I didn’t want to tell her the truth, that our son, daughter-in-law, and future grandbaby were all at risk. I was tempted to walk out of there without giving her any explanation, to protect her as long as I could.
“Crow?”
I heard her voice from behind me, and I slowly turned around.
One look at my face told her something was terribly wrong. “Lars told me you were running around the house like a madman—” She looked at all the weapons that covered my body, and instantly, her eyes watered with unshed tears. “What’s happened?”
“I don’t have time, Button. I have to go.” I opened the door and walked out.
She followed me. “Crow! Let me—”
“No.” I got to the car and stuffed the guns in the trunk. “There’s no time. I have to leave.”
“Who is it?” she whispered. “Please don’t say—”
“Conway.”
She covered her face, the tears falling. “No…” My wife was tough, hard as steel, but when it came to her kids, it was a different story. “God, no. What—”
“I don’t have time.” I slammed the trunk. “Skull Kings put a hit on him. That’s all I know. Cane and I have to leave for Milan now.”
She kept crying, but she didn’t try to stop me from leaving. She followed me to the driver’s side of the car. “Bring our son back, Crow. Please.”
“I will, Button. You know I will.” I didn’t kiss her goodbye or hug her to comfort her. I didn’t look at her again as I shut the door, started the engine, and sped out of the driveway, hitting seventy within three seconds. I didn’t glance at her in the rearview mirror, unable to look at the mother of my children.
The mother of my son.
Two
Vanessa
Antonio and I were taking it slow.
I still hadn’t kissed him yet.
He’d tried a few times, after he’d said goodnight to me after dinner.
But I never said yes.
No matter how much time had passed, it always seemed too soon. It seemed like Bones just said goodbye to me at the little house we’d stayed in. It seemed like he was just in my bed the night before. Sometimes when I slept, I thought I smelled him on my sheets…even though that wasn’t possible.
Would I ever be over him?
Maybe it wasn’t possible.
I was sitting at the easel in my apartment, examining a painting I’d made that morning. It wasn’t my best work, and I was tempted to throw it in the dumpster and forget it ever happened. I’d been selling so many pieces that I was anxious to replace them, but feeling rushed stifled my work. I couldn’t be creative when there was so much pressure to produce new pieces.
But there were worse things.
My phone rang, and my mom’s name was on the screen. It was unlike her to call me at this time of night, so I answered right away. “Hey, Mama.”
Her long silence before she spoke was a dead giveaway that something was wrong. “Vanessa…I don’t know how to say this. I’m not even entirely sure what’s happening right now…” Her tone was heavy with sorrow, so full of pain that it weighed down her voice.
“What is it?” I asked, my voice shaking.
“Your father and uncle left about forty minutes ago. They didn’t have time to explain. But from what I understand, someone has put a hit on Conway and Sapphire. They’re making their move tonight, as we speak…”
I covered my mouth, stifling my cry. “Oh my god…”
“Your father is a powerful man. Strongest man I know. He’ll get Conway…but I’m so scared. I’m a mess right now.”
“We have to get to Milan, Mama. We’ve gotta leave now.”
“It’s a five-hour drive. We’ll never make it in time.”
“But we still need to be there. I’ll pick you up, alright?”
“I don’t know…”
“Mama, I’m driving to Milan whether you come with me or not. If Father saves Conway, I want to be there. If he doesn’t…I’ll avenge them both myself. You need to come with me too.”
Mama took a deep breath over the phone. “You’re right. I know where all the guns are.”
“I’ll get there as soon as I can.”
Three
Crow
The chopper landed in Milan at the rendezvous point with the other men, along with the tanks and equipment we needed. We were going into a hostile situation with no information at all. We could be up against four men or forty. No idea. We had to be prepared for anything.
Cane and I got into the Hummer with our men in the back.
“Is Carter meeting us at the site?”
Cane had a beanie pulled over his head, dressed in all black with the vest over his clothes. “I want to keep my son out of this, Crow.”
When we rescued Vanessa, all of us were involved. Even Button was involved. But this was different, since this was a hit by the Skull Kings, the most rut
hless organization in Italy. Cane and I were well-acquainted with them. They were monsters in the dark. I loved my wife dearly, but she didn’t have what it took to stand up to men like that.
He continued. “If I die, I need him to take care of Adelina and Carmen…as well as Pearl and Vanessa.”
If both of us died, Carter would be the last man of the Barsetti line. “You’re right.”
“Thanks.”
I was behind the wheel, driving through the quiet streets of Milan. It was only nine in the evening and there should be more people out, but it was a ghost town. It was alarming. “Why is it so quiet?”
Cane scanned the area then spoke into the radio.
One of our guys spoke back. “Some of the streets are blocked off by police. Must be for the banquet Conway’s attending.”
Cane looked at me, his eyebrow raised.
“I wonder if it’s really the police or them,” I said out loud.
Cane nodded. “It could go either way. Were you able to get a hold of Conway?”
I shook my head then pulled over to the side of the street next to the curb. “His phone is on silent. I left a text message so it’ll be on his screen right away.”
Cane’s phone rang, and he answered immediately without checking to see who it was. “Cane.”
The guy was audible to my ears through the phone. “We just hit the house in Verona. She’s not here.”
“What?” he snapped, his nostrils flaring. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. There was a struggle. Front door was left open.”
“Shit,” Cane said. “Blood?”
My chest suddenly tightened, the pain searing me from the inside out.
“No,” he answered. “I’m not sure when this happened. We may have just missed them.”
“Find some clues, and figure out where the hell they went.” Cane hung up then gripped his skull. “Shit.”
“Fuck. We were too late.” I kept my hands on the wheel, but I felt a momentary jolt of weakness in my fingers and legs. My daughter-in-law had been taken, and I didn’t save her. I didn’t do my job. I didn’t protect my grandbaby. Even if I saved my son, he would never get over this. My temper snapped, and I punched the steering wheel, making a horn ring out.
“Stop!” Cane pulled my hand back. “We don’t have time for this.”
“Maybe you should go back and see if you can figure it out,” I said. “She’s a Barsetti… I can’t let anything happen to her. I love her like a daughter.”
“Crow.” He gripped my shoulder. “There’s no time for that. Whatever is done is done. Hopefully, our guys can pick up their trace.”
“Shit.” I gripped my skull, the rage starting to make me shake. I would slit the throat of every single man who laid a hand on her. I wouldn’t stop until she was avenged.
“This is the new plan,” Cane said, keeping me grounded. “We get Conway first. He might know something.”
“He doesn’t know anything,” I hissed. “He’s completely unaware.”
“I mean about Sapphire. He might have a tracker on her. I’ve still got one on Adelina to this day.”
And I had one on Button. It wasn’t about crazy possessiveness, but for situations like this. I’d worked so hard to have a quiet life, and now all that had been taken from me. I wanted to raise a family and keep them safe. But no matter what, I kept getting dragged into this. I got rid of Bones, and I still wound up here. “You’re right.”
“I know I am. Now let’s do this.” He pushed the door open and hopped out, his automatic rifle held at the ready.
We met with the second group of troops, making twelve of us altogether. That was all I could round up on such short notice. There were more men, but there weren’t enough of them who wanted the money enough to risk their lives. I hadn’t lied about the situation we were getting into, so some of them turned down the offer.
But when it came to Cane and me, we were as strong as five men each.
Especially when my son’s life was on the line.
Silent and with impeccable stealth, we moved down the street and approached the banquet from the back entrance of the building, knowing they would strike from the rear instead of completely in the open. They would probably lure Conway out the side entrance by pulling some stunt.
Unless he finally looked at his phone.
We stopped at the corner and peered across the street. Just as I expected, there were black cars parked everywhere, providing adequate coverage on every single corner. We were surrounded on all sides. Our only option was to break into three different teams and move simultaneously.
“Fuck,” Cane said. “They don’t give a shit, do they?”
“No…they don’t.” These guys were willing to take down a celebrity even when hordes of people were gathered at the entrance on the next street. They obviously thought they were above the law, that they could disappear into the night without any questions asked.
Who were we dealing with?
“Did Bones say who these guys were?”
“No.” But in his defense, I didn’t give him much of a chance. “We’ll break into three teams. I don’t see any other way around it.”
“Neither do I,” Cane said. “But I’ve got to say…the odds aren’t in our favor. We’ve been through some tough shit, but this…I’ve got a bad feeling about it.” He stared out at the street, his jaw clenched tightly.
“You don’t have to do this, Cane. I know you have your own family.” I wouldn’t judge him if he backed out. He had a wife and two kids, a family that would be devastated if something happened to him. “But I have to do this…even if I don’t make it.” I wouldn’t turn away just because the odds were overwhelming. I’d rather die saving my son than live a life without him.
Cane turned back to me, a pained look still on his face. “No. Conway is like a son to me. I’m here to the end. I just don’t have high hopes this time…not that I ever really did before.”
I nodded, appreciating what he said more than I could articulate in words. I extended my hand.
He took it then pulled me in for a one-armed embrace. “If we don’t make it—”
“I know.” I patted the back of his head. “I love you too.”
Four
Bones
When Max and I arrived, the gunshots were already flying.
Police stayed back, understanding this wasn’t their fight, and if they wanted to go home to their families, they needed to keep looking the other way, even if the media didn’t understand what was going on.
Men hid behind their cars, firing shots across the street. When Max and I came onto the scene, heavily armed with every intention of killing everyone on that block, people had already broken into three different groups. The right corner had two sets of men firing back and forth from their Hummers.
Another car was situated next to the back alley, and as we turned the corner, we saw two men drag Conway by both arms out of the alleyway. Conway was beaten up pretty badly, bleeding from his nose and mouth with two black eyes. He’d obviously put up a fight before they finally beat him into submission.
Max crouched beside me, eyeing the scene from behind the dumpster. “Looks like they got him.”
“And we can’t let them get away.” I watched them shove Conway’s body into the back of an SUV, his arms cuffed behind his back like a criminal. Once those guys were on the road and out of the city, they would be untraceable.
“Where are the Barsettis?”
“No idea.” They had either already been killed, or they were caught up in another battle. There were a lot of men on both sides, both fighting to the death. Bodies were in the middle of the street, their blood draining into the gutters.
Just when the car holding Conway was about to pull out, Crow appeared. With a semiautomatic, he emerged from the other side of the street and blasted the front passenger door, putting rounds into the bulletproof glass. Out in the open and completely vulnerable, he was about to be shot any second.
&nb
sp; “What the hell is he doing?” Max asked.
“His last-ditch effort.” I prepared to run into the street. “He knows he’s gonna be taken down. But he’d rather die than let them get away with Conway.”
“Still—”
“Cover me.”
“Are you insane?”
I was already gone.
The car came to a halt, the hot tires squealing against the asphalt. The driver popped the door open and pointed his shotgun over the hood of the car, aimed right at Crow. Before he could fire, Crow shot first.
Headshot.
The guy fell quickly.
Crow moved to the car, desperate to get Conway out.
Another door flew open, and a man shoved his boot into Crow’s body, making him fall back and hit the street. The gun left his hands.
Crow scrambled for the gun, but he wasn’t quick enough.
The man kicked the gun away then pointed his pistol right at Crow’s face, his finger about to squeeze the trigger.
Instead of being afraid, Crow stared down the barrel of the gun, embracing death with the dignity of a true man. His life probably flashed before his eyes, thinking of his wife and kids. But not once did he beg for his life. Not once did he even grimace.
The man smiled before he pulled the trigger.
But I got there first.
The bullet hit me right in the shoulder, and at point-blank, it hurt like a bitch. I felt my body shift back with the momentum of the bullet. The firepower was immense, and even though I’d been shot dozens of times, this hurt the most. It was the first time I’d taken a bullet meant for someone else.
Maybe that was why it hurt so badly.
I recovered quickly, the adrenaline stronger than the pain. I felt the blood explode out of my body, felt my muscle weaken from the tear in my flesh. I pointed my gun right up to the guy’s neck and fired, killing him with three bullets that made his body go limp.