Racing through two more passages, we enter the hall that houses the cells. On the opposite end and to our left is the sex club and the elevator, our escape route.
Fallon races ahead with the guard, me, and Rosalia on her tail.
I grab Rosalia’s hand from behind me. “Stay with us. Hurry!”
Jesus Christ, now I understand how deep Adriano’s fear runs. I’m so scared of either losing Fallon and Rosalia or not being able to protect them.
The walls are almost down as the guard yells into his earpiece, which apparently has lost its signal. We’re running out of time to reach the end of the hall. Then a man appears up ahead in front of us.
“Shoot, Fallon!” I shout while releasing Rosalia’s hand and cocking my gun. “Don’t hesitate!”
She aims and pulls the trigger just as I do, and one of us hits him in the chest as we both stoop down. Then the guard slides under the wall smoothly when it’s three-quarters of the way closed and tries to jam his steel baton underneath it to stop it from closing entirely.
“Go!” I order Rosalia, and she glides underneath it too, but then the baton slips, and the wall annihilates our chance of escape, separating the guard and Rosalia from Fallon and me.
Rosalia hurriedly slides her knife under the wall to Fallon just before it closes completely.
“No. No!” Fallon bangs her fist against the wall while on her knees.
“Shit!” Breathing harshly, I rip off the cat ears.
Every area is soundproofed, and Fallon and I are now stuck in the hallway where the five cells are located, two of which hold Santino and Serena, and it’s locked on both sides.
“What now?” Fallon leaps to her feet, but before I can answer, I hear a clicking noise, and the door of one of the cells unlocks.
The sound of footsteps comes closer as the air thickens with a coil, savage tension that bodes ill, and the blond Ukrainian that Fallon recognized steps from the doorway into the dimly lit hallway.
Steadily, I aim my gun with both hands as I inch in front of Fallon to shield her.
He frowns for a split-second, then two other men appear from the room, targeting their semi-automatics at us, so I pull back.
“You’re outnumbered, Camilla. Relax and let me introduce myself. I’m Olek, and I’ve come to talk to Adriano but found this interesting captive: Santino.”
Outright confused about what’s going on, I stay quiet with Fallon pressed against my back.
He snaps his fingers at his guards. “Move them into the room.”
The two men snatch our guns and haul us into the cell holding Santino, who’s cuffed to the bed, glaring at me.
Olek stands there evaluating us as if he’s waiting for someone while his guards poke us in the back with their guns.
The reality of the situation is growing more alarming with every second that ticks by.
Olek flashes his crooked, yellow teeth. “Shall we play a game?”
CHAPTER 18
Adriano
I crane my neck to see Cam shining on the dance floor as Luca and I ascend the stairs. On the balconied second floor, one entire hall is supposed to be locked down, but I’m instantly on alert when I don’t recognize one of the guards, so I touch my piece just as the tip of – what I assume is – a gun is shoved into my back.
“Let go of your gun,” a man commands into my ear, and another stands behind Luca as he also releases his weapon. “Just continue on to your office, and we won’t disturb your party.” He has a heavy Russian accent.
Realizing that this place has been taken over by intruders, I hold up my hands. There aren’t any dead bodies, but other unfamiliar guards are inconspicuously holding mine under the threat of gunfire. Because of all the smoke on the floor and the balcony railing, no one in the VIP area can see what’s going on.
Luca and I are forced to comply since we have a club full of influential people and don’t have back-up; I can’t risk a shooting in this public part of the club.
As luck would have it, my office is soundproofed, but the scene has already been orchestrated when I’m pushed into the security room where three more trespassers are waiting.
How the hell did they get into my office and security central?
I lift a brow to my main guard, who’s seated in a chair in front of the screens with two vacant spots next to him. So far, no excessive force has been used, but there’s five of them against three of us in this room.
“Gentlemen, please sit down.”
“What do you want?” I snarl, my patience gone.
“Please sit, Montesi.”
I’m jammed down into the chair at the exact same moment as Luca, and three men stand behind us while two proceed to the control panel in front of us.
“Call me Maxim. Remember how you sent Yakiv Medlov a message almost”—he taps his chin—“three months ago?” And he motions his man to take a seat at the control panel.
I lean back insolently in the chair while a gun is crammed into my temple.
“Well, he isn’t too pleased with it, and you’ve repeatedly shut down our offers to provide your club with young ladies. Now, Club 7 has become the most popular sex establishment in the Loop, and we’re not happy to be excluded from this flourishing endeavor. Yakiv can overlook you ending our former underboss, Peter, but it’s high time we come to an agreement.”
Instead of me, Luca replies, “I thought we were clear; if he wanted a meet, he could’ve requested one. What do you hope to accomplish now?”
“Who’s the boss here? We know that Club 7’s primary owner is Adriano Montesi,” Maxim blurts, moving his attention from Luca to me.
Luca and I always play this game where he and I shift taking the lead in negotiations, causing our opponents to wonder who the leader of this Syndicate is. It’s known in the underworld that Luca and I are ranked high up, but no one except our own members knows the hierarchy. This is how the highest ranking men maintain their power.
I remain silent, and Maxim aims a quelling stare at me before he grins cruelly. “Tie all three of them up.”
His guard pulls my arms back, wrapping duct tape around my wrists, and repeats the action with Luca and my main guard. Then it’s quiet for a long time while Maxim checks his phone and is obviously bothered by whatever message he’s reading before he types a response.
Where’s Yakiv Medlov? I believe that Medlov’s smart enough not to come in here, so he’s sent his men, again.
“This isn’t personal; it’s just business, Mr. Montesi. Although you do have good taste in women. Play the feed of Catwoman,” Maxim announces out of the blue, and the screen flicks on showing Santino’s cell with Fallon and Cam being held at gunpoint by three other men.
Luca stiffens and clenches his jaw but manages to override his rioting emotions, and I summon my composure as my heart pounds at three times its normal rate. The calmness I’ve held within reach so far dissolves when I see that Cam’s endangered.
They’re talking back and forth, but the sound is muted as I’m riveted by the sight of Cam on the screen. I scan the length of her for injuries, expelling a discreet sigh when I can’t detect any. Thankfully, Fallon’s intact as well.
“To come back to your earlier question, Luca. What do I hope to accomplish? I hope to persuade you this time.” He points his finger to his man. “Play sound.”
“Move to the bed,” a man on the screen says to Fallon and pushes her to sit next to Santino on the bed.
Angrily, Luca jumps up, but he’s jostled down, and then his feet are bound as well.
Maxim smiles slowly. “Perhaps Fallon can persuade you to accept our business?” Then he addresses me, “Or Camilla?”
In a swift motion, I rear up and head-butt the guard behind me, causing him to stammer backward, but when I spin around again, I’m confronted with a fist. Pain crushes through my skull as I’m tugged into the chair and my feet are secured to its legs.
“You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into. We don’t succum
b to threats, Maxim,” I spit, blinking furiously while trying to focus.
“Nothing has to happen here, Montesi. Yakiv has just one simple request: buy your women for your sex club from us.”
“No,” I answer evenly.
“Continue,” Maxim says to I don’t know who.
Fallon’s hair is grabbed and Cam objects, “No!” Then Cam lurches forward but is caught from behind and thrown onto the bed as well.
“You’re a feisty one.” One man kneels down and tugs Cam up to sit next to Santino, pushing Fallon off the bed as he whispers something to Cam, who looks up, straight into the camera, directly into my eyes.
I see no terror in hers, only willpower and ire. It’s her Calderone Mafia blood that has her clamping her jaw while I practically see her mind spinning with escape scenarios. Her determination fuels my own as I glance sideways at Luca, who’s wearily observing Fallon.
But my worst nightmare becomes reality, and determination transforms into a cold fury when Cam’s zipper is being slid down. I squeeze my eyes shut for just a second, trying to block it out, before they fly back open with my rage. Darkness that resides inside of me, in the crevices of my soul, crawls out and suffocates me whenever she’s in danger.
Someone will pay dearly for this little mission.
“If anyone touches her,” I warn Maxim, “I will show you evil in this world that you’ve never even imagined.”
He doesn’t waver a beat. “Then just accept my business. Again, this is not personal, gentlemen.”
Maxim is texting with his three men downstairs, who are waiting for their next command. Cam struggles as she’s pinned on her back with her hands above her head, her zipper down so far that her breasts are almost on display. Astonishingly, Fallon looks calm, and I zero in on her hand, which is at her side and seems to be moving inside her dress pocket.
“I said no,” Luca repeats this time.
“What’s your plan? How are you even going to get out of here?” I point out.
“That’s not for you to worry about. You have the power to end all of this now, and we’ll leave in peace—”
“Peace?” I snort, and he loses his patience with Luca and me because we’re not budging. “You lost your chance to leave in peace a long time ago, Ukrainian.” On the outside, I remain stoic while blood is rushing furiously through my ears, and I keep studying the screen.
“You’re not in a position to be so arrogant, Italian.”
“You just declared war,” I counter.
“No. You don’t threaten us.” Maxim comes at me, hitting my temple with the butt of his gun. “Your smug smirk is annoying me.”
Searing pain blurs my vision, but I clear my mind easily when I hear Cam shouting.
On the screen, I have to watch her thrashing on the bed while one man grips her arms and another orders Santino, “Kiss her!” And he digs his fingers into her cheeks, presenting her face to Santino.
“We were quite fortunate to encounter this Santino in the cell and have a little chat with your captive. I think he has a soft spot for your lady...” Maxim taunts me.
“You motherfucker!” I twist my wrists, trying to get free, to no avail.
“Last chance, Montesi.”
I stall, shooting daggers at the screen while Cam kicks and writhes. But when Santino’s pushed onto her and his face is pressed into her cleavage as she screams bloody murder, I lose my composure and reveal how much this is affecting me. She’s in pain with her arms stretched above her head, her breathing ragged. When the one I love most dearly in this world is in jeopardy, an undisputable strength awakens inside of me. It’s a beast, clawing to get loose.
“You’ll never leave this place alive,” I growl in a low voice.
“Oh, yes, I will. We can keep going all night until one of you surrenders.” Maxim types on his phone just as Cam’s being fully exposed, her zipper completely open.
“I’ll fucking cut you when I’m free,” Cam screams and spits in the man’s face as he looms over her.
No, I’m going to torture each and every one of them for ever touching my Cam. But as much as what they’re doing to her guts me, I have to concentrate and conjure a plan for how to get us all out of this mess. I can tell by the amount of time it’s taking for the Ukrainians to communicate with each other that this isn’t a well thought out mission. Perhaps they had to deviate from their original scheme at some point; maybe when they found Santino? While they’re taking so much time to figure out exactly what they’re going to do, I need my guards to discover either the breach on this floor or the underground floor and move into action since the Ukrainians didn’t manage to disrupt the dance club because of the tight security there.
As I’m trying to form a strategy in my mind, a mocking laugh ensues from Maxim. “She is feisty.”
Luca’s been calm so far, but I know him, and he’s on the verge of blowing up too. For a second, our gazes clash as I grit my teeth and continue to work my wrists in the duct tape while Maxim peers at the screen.
“I told you that we rule this part of the underworld,” Maxim chides, looking at the screen. “Not you. You chose to do this the hard way. Do you want both of them to be assaulted down there?”
At that moment, I make eye contact with Luca. Then, with all my strength, I wrench my wrists free as Luca and my guard tumble their chairs back against the men standing behind them. During the commotion, I snatch the gun from the guard behind me and shoot Maxim in the leg while bending down and grabbing my knife from my ankle holster and using it to cut the tape loose from Luca’s feet. Then I release a bullet into the shoulder of Luca’s guard so that I can free Luca’s wrists, but the guard who was working at the control panel jumps on me as I duck down and roll, taking the chair with me since my feet are still bound to it, and we wrestle for the gun. His knee hits my stomach, and I grunt while keeping the barrel of the gun pointed at him until he lunges for it and redirects my aim so that when I manage to pull the trigger, the bullet hits the wall. Then I relax my hold on the gun for a split-second, catching him off guard long enough for me to move my aim onto him and fire at his throat, his blood spraying on my face as I push him away. Hurriedly glancing at the screen, terror overcomes me when I see Cam still struggling.
Meanwhile, Luca jams his boot into the stomach of the guard that’s manhandling him and is able to jerk free just as he’s smashed in the jaw. Luca leaps to his feet while Maxim, who’s lying on the ground with blood seeping from his leg, takes hold of his own weapon and raises it at him.
My vision is too impaired from the blood on my face for me to get a clear shot, so I warn Luca as Maxim directs his pistol on him, “Luca!”
Luca ducks just in time so that the bullet misses him.
Fortunately, back-up finally comes when Wade bursts into the room and shouts, “Drop it!”
At that same moment, more of my guards barge inside and seize the intruders.
Before Luca’s able to cut my feet entirely loose, I stagger up, my mood savage. “Give me your earpiece,” I command my main guard. “And, Wade, get me into that fucking underground or I will shut this club down and there will be hell to pay in all of Chicago. Do you hear me?!”
CHAPTER 19
Camilla
Out of breath, I kick my legs and scream when Santino’s mouth is pushed onto my breast, and I’m helpless to do anything because my gun has fallen onto the floor beside the bed. But I was cut and abused when Sal held me captive for five months as a slave three years ago, so I can handle this. I spit in the guard’s face, and in reaction, he backhands my cheek and pounces on me.
Throbbing pain stings my skin, but a piercing voice gives me a chance to break free.
“Get the hell off her!” Fallon yells.
Santino manages to pull back and push himself off me just in time for me to see Fallon gripping the knife Rosalia gave her and plunging it into her guard’s lower stomach behind her with all her power.
Olek hands a small, rectangular device to his g
uard and says, “Get out of here now, and take this to Yakiv asap.”
The guard Fallon stabbed whines in misery and doubles over. Then Fallon hurls herself onto Olek’s back. He’s much stronger than she is, and as she grabs his hair, he stumbles backward, slamming Fallon against the wall with a loud grunt.
“Ah, shit!” she yells but tries to gouge her fingers into his eyes as he recklessly aims his gun and starts shooting.
Bullets ricochet off the walls, and I dodge them to get to him, knocking the weapon from his hand as he bangs Fallon against the wall.
I snatch his gun off the floor, breathing furiously. “Stop moving! Are you okay, Fallon?” Then I finally zip up my suit.
Fallon nods, yanking his hair as he holds up his palms in surrender.
She jumps off his back and rushes to Santino, who’s flat on his back with a red halo forming on his chest, checking his pulse with two fingers against his neck. “He’s dead.”
Footsteps come closer from down the hall; it must be the second guard that Olek sent out of here.
“Fallon, search the man you stabbed for another weapon for you. Hurry.”
The guard is lying motionless on the floor, and without hesitation, she pats down his pant legs and finds a holstered handgun, stealing it from him.
Suddenly, I feel the ground vibrating and hear the steel walls opening. The footsteps retreat, probably because the second guard sees his means of escape.
“Shit, the other guard’s going to run if our team hasn’t discovered the breach,” I mutter.
“Then go follow him and I’ll stay here.”
“I’m not leaving you with him.” Without having any time to waste, I shoot Olek in both knees.
“Oh my god,” Fallon mumbles with round eyes.
“Fucking bitch!” Olek falls forward and to the side with a girly yelp.
“That’s for your game. I didn’t enjoy it,” I hiss and tug Fallon out with me.
Straining to hear footsteps, we quietly follow the guard to a passageway that leads away from the sex club, but we have trouble keeping up because she’s barefoot and I’m in these freaking heels that slow me down.
For Cam (Chicago Syndicate Book 4) Page 13