by T. C. Clark
“He left with them, didn’t he?” Anita knew the answer before he opened his mouth. God, how could he leave her here? What if something happened to him? What if something happened to all of them? Her mind spun with all of the worst possible outcomes.
“He did. We can’t leave Sri Lanka with that man still alive. He has ties to other organizations. He won’t stop coming for you until he gets what he wants. Your man made the only logical choice he could. This type of work isn’t for you. It’s written on your face, and that’s not a bad thing. My wife, she couldn’t do anything like this. Aidan is different, he’s seen things. Don’t be mad at him for putting your life above his. That is how things should be.”
“What if he dies?” Anita asked the question that was squeezing her heart.
“Then he dies knowing that he did so for you. He dies a man. But I think you should have more faith in him. He has a lot to live for now.”
“I can’t just sit here and do nothing. I may not be made for this work, but I’m not some damsel in distress. I didn’t say I wanted to help just to say it. I need to do something. This all started with me.”
“Who says you’re a damsel? I planned to put you to work long before they left. I gave them two drones. We will each control one. We will do what we can to offer backup from here. Pull up a chair, doc, we got a long night ahead of us.” He pulled out a small notebook with hand-written notes, which she assumed were about the drones.
Anita closed her eyes and made herself relax. She took deep, calming breaths until her heartbeat went back to normal. Whatever happened next, she would do what she could to protect the people she cared about. Even if that meant hurting someone else. She took a seat next to Dmitri and took the book. It was her turn to do the protecting.
* * *
It only took them a couple of hours to get to Eraj’s compound. They went over the plan multiple times before Lily was satisfied that he understood what to do. Aidan pushed aside his fear and focused on all the details of the plan. Once they got inside, things would escalate quickly.
About two miles out, Sandy stopped and let Lily out. Aidan had seen how much Sandy cared for Lily, but they exchanged no goodbyes. He hadn’t even wished her luck. He wondered how their relationship worked? Sandy purposely slowed down the car to give her time to make it to the compound.
“You’re not worried about her?” Aidan watched as the small woman disappeared into the thick trees.
“Lily?” Sandy laughed. His huge barrel chest shook as he did. “Lily is strong. Stronger than almost everyone I know. I’m more worried about you dying and her being pissed at me than anything happening to her.”
“You two aren’t invincible,” Aidan pointed out.
“No, but we’re experienced and smart, and that beats invincible any day.”
Aidan tensed when he saw the outcropping of buildings. There was one large house and it was surrounded by at least ten smaller ones. If it wasn’t for the men waiting out front with their guns drawn the place would have looked deserted.
Sandy pulled up and parked. He turned and looked at him. “You’re not going to freak out, are you?”
“No, I have to do this right. He’s a threat to Anita until he’s dead.”
“Just stick to the plan, Aidan. I know how Eraj thinks. I’ll make sure you get out of this okay.” Sandy leaned forward and smiled at the advancing team.
“Do you think they will shoot me as soon as I get out the car?” Aidan half-joked as the men walked closer.
“No, Eraj has a mean streak, and he prefers to dish out torture himself. His men won’t risk his temper by hurting you here.”
Aidan nodded and his door was flung open. He was pulled from the car and thrown onto the ground. He braced himself as one of the men raised their foot to kick him when a gun went off. The man hit the ground in front of him with a blood-soaked stomach.
“You know he’s mine,” Eraj called out from the balcony. An older man stood there with hard eyes and an evil smile. The people around him looked at him in fear and he wondered how many people this man had destroyed.
“I know about you, Sandman. The silent killer. I heard you killed a lot of my men,” he said. A woman in a red dress and dead eyes came out with a tray of drinks for Eraj and his men.
“Now don’t be angry, they did try to kill me first. And I didn’t know about the bounty at the time. That bit of knowledge changes things.”
“What’s to stop me from killing you now and keeping the money for myself?” Eraj said as he took a sip of his drink.
“Well, because I have more things to offer. You know us Russians we love to bring gifts.”
“Ahhh, I do like gifts, and what do you have for me?” he asked, leaning closer to the rail.
“First, I have the other doctor, and she is a beauty. Trust me, you want her. Oh, and I have the location of Manil, the man who betrayed you. Obviously, if anything happens to me, all of that disappears, and then you would have to deal with the people I work for. They’re my kind people, and they would make your life very difficult, to say the least.”
Eraj thought about it for a second and then raised his hand to signal his men to open the gate. Sandy reached down and yanked him to his feet. Aidan stumbled, and Sandy sucker punched him. Aidan collapsed, but he caught him before he hit the ground.
“Stand up and get fucking moving,” Sandy said, yanking him with him.
Aidan’s breath changed as they walked inside. As soon as they were through the gate, he turned and shot Sandy in the middle of the chest as he fell to the ground. He ran towards the east side of the building.
Aidan heard yelling and screaming behind him, but he never stopped. He knew the plan relied on him not getting caught. He counted his steps just like Lily said. When he rounded one of the buildings, he caught Lily stabbing someone against the wall.
She released the man, and he slid to the ground. She had the same emotionless eyes he’d seen on the Sandman. This was why he wasn’t worried. She was his equal when it came to killing.
“You okay?” she whispered as she checked his body for wounds.
“I’m fine. Do you think we should go help Sandy?”
“No, we stick to the plan.” Another man appeared behind Lily, and before he could raise his gun to shoot, someone else shot him from behind. No, not someone, something. A gray drone floated where the man used to be.
“Thanks, Dmitri. Go take out the rest of the people in the house,” she said to the metallic plane. As the drone disappeared, she checked the man on the ground and took his weapons and money. She pocketed what she could and then looked around.
“We got to move.” She grabbed Aidan’s hand and pulled him towards the garden.
* * *
When Aidan disappeared into the compound, Sandy sat up. He used Aidan’s distraction as the perfect cover for his attack. He shot at the men from behind. Each target fell as he delivered his shots—he wasn’t a man who wasted bullets. When there was no visible person alive in the courtyard, he ran in the opposite direction of Aidan. He knew Lily would be in that area to protect him.
He shot anything that moved as he made his way through the quiet building. He ignored the gunshots that went off around them and kept his mind focused on his mission. He found three badly beaten women in Eraj’s bedroom.
They pointed to the garden outside. From his vantage point, he could see Eraj sneaking up on Lily and Aidan. For the first time in decades, he felt fear. He raised his gun to shoot but he was too far away to hit him.
Eraj raised his weapon, and Aidan grabbed Lily and pushed her to the ground. Two gunshots went off at the same time. Sandy took off running and for the first time in a long time he was afraid. If anything happened to Lily, he was dead; she was the best part of him.
A black drone hovered two feet from the ground. It was one of Dmitri’s. Sandy reached down as Lily flipped Aidan onto his back. There were still gunshots going off around the compound. It must be the second drone. The small plane
circled them as Lily examined Aidan’s wound. He didn’t look good.
Aidan took shallow breaths. Every time he inhaled too deeply, sharp pains shot out from his wound into his chest. He was glad Lily was okay. She looked pissed sitting above him as if him getting shot was his own fault. His mind went to the crazy men who’d aimed a gun at them earlier.
“We got Eraj?” Aidan whispered. Sandy was pressing down hard on the wound in his stomach. He knew he was losing too much blood.
“We didn’t, Anita did,” Lily said, pointing to the drone. She knew Anita was manning that one. Dmitri had told her he would let Anita help when she woke up. Lily had kept that information from Aidan because she needed him focused on the mission. Dmitri only flew the gray one, the black drone was specifically used as a backup.
“Anita…you tell her…I love her and I know she loves me too…”
“Oh, no, homeboy, we aren’t doing farewell speeches today. You can’t die. I swear you better not…” Lily’s words faded away as Aidan closed his eyes. His mind was filled with sweet memories of Anita. He wouldn’t die. He finally had his woman back, and he wasn’t going to lose her again.
* * *
A few months later…
The party was in full swing. The only thing they were missing were the guests of honor. Nikos Stravanos searched through his home with a frown on his face. His wife was also looking around for Aidan and Anita.
The two doctors had arrived late and then promptly disappeared into the house. He wasn’t really angry. How could he be when he had everything he wanted? His brothers were married to beautiful women who’d given the Stravanos men a reason to love. Now he had good friends with…interesting backgrounds.
He’d even become good friends with Luca, who’d once upon a time been his rival. Life was looking good for them. This party was a symbol of the new family he’d created here in America. Mina wanted to do a party in honor of her being cancer free. Ada had begged to throw it, and he couldn’t deny his little woman.
He cursed when he found the door to his study locked. Why did everyone use his study to hookup?
“Hey, could you guys stop having sex in my office and come back to the party? Mina is looking for you.” He’d gone soft, that was why so many people tried his temper now. Ada walked up behind him and smacked him on the ass. He turned around with a frown. Before he could say anything she pulled him down for a quick kiss.
“Anita, take all the time you need. You only get one honeymoon, and we forced you to come here. Don’t mind my husband, he’s just jealous that we are not in there,” she said through the heavy door. She pulled Nikos away from the room to give the happy couple some space.
* * *
“I told you not to wear that dress,” Aidan said as he helped Anita zip it back up.
Anita giggled as she put her clothes back on. She was too relaxed to be embarrassed. The last few months with Aidan had been amazing. They split their time between Chicago and New Orleans now. Since Aidan was no longer chief, he was free to move around more. She’d told him not to give it all up, but he’d made his decision. Apparently, someone had to be free to take care of the kids she was supposed to have.
She looked over at the man who’d once broken her heart and smiled. She was so happy they had found each other again. She loved him so much, and she knew he loved her. Their path hadn’t been easy, but they’d made it.
He’d talked her into marriage a few weeks after they were home. She couldn’t say no. After watching him almost die, she knew he was the man for her, and whatever time they had on this Earth was meant to be spent together.
Yoel was back home as well. He’d received a medal for his work with Manil. She’d spoken to him a few times since she’d come home, but she knew their close friendship was coming to an end. It was a necessary, if bittersweet, change.
“I love you, Anita,” he said as they made their way downstairs. He told her that so often she wondered if he thought she didn’t believe him.
“I love you, too.” She kissed him, a simple sweet kiss, and stopped when someone wolf-whistled at them. She turned and then ran to embrace Lily and Sandy. She’d recently found out Lily was related to Tara and Bella, and Sandy was sort of Dmitri’s best friend. Either way, they were part of their group.
“I’m glad to see you two are good.”
“You can’t get rid of us that easily,” Sandy said with a wide smile. He looked relaxed in his dark denim jeans and a gray fitted t-shirt. Lily was dressed in a beautiful yellow maxi dress. Her dark brown eyes glowed with mischief. She was still wearing her signature metal necklace.
“We need to get lunch together, Lily. I can see us as girlfriends, and I think you need some new people in your life,” Anita looked at Sandy and blushed. She’d worded that wrong. “No offense, Sandy.”
“None taken, I’m awesome.”
“I don’t have girlfriends,” Lily blurted out. She looked uncomfortable when Sandy and Anita laughed.
“Oh, honey, you do now.”
Mina and Luca stepped forward, and the room went quiet. The only sounds were the kids playing in the family den. Everyone laughed when Ada and Nikos’ daughter told the rest of the kids to grow up.
Mina took a deep breath and said, “I want to say thank you to all of you for coming out. This is the start of a new life for all of us. Everyone in this room is family, and I think we can all agree that our lives are better for it. I wanted to…” She stopped as Dmitri, Sandy and Lily’s phones went off. They were sharp, loud tones that bespoke of something important.
Dmitri apologized and checked his phone. All of them cursed when they read the messages. For the first time ever, Lily looked worried. Even Sandy looked troubled.
“Cut on the television!” Dmitri yelled to Nikos.
“Why would you tell them to do that?” Sandy snapped. He shook his head when Nikos picked up the remote. He looked at Lily and said in Russian, “This isn’t good. We need to leave. I mean it, Lily, this won’t end pretty if one of them tries to stop us.”
“Sandy, some of these people are my blood. If you try anything…I don’t want to hurt you,” she said softly. Lily moved to stand directly in front of him.
“My sweet, Lily, you wouldn’t hurt me,” Sandy said calling her bluff. He reached out and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. He tensed when Dmitri walked up.
“But I would. You need to calm down, Sandy. I mean it,” Dmitri warned. They squared off against each other for a second. As far as Anita knew no one else in the room spoke Russian so they didn’t understand what was said. But no one could miss the tension building between them. When Sandy relaxed, Dmitri walked away to talk to his wife.
Aidan walked over to her, put his hand around her shoulders, and pulled her to the other side of the room away from Sandy and Lily.
* * *
The voice of an anchor on CNN came across clearly in the quiet room:
A government-sanctioned organization has been revealed to be operating on U.S. soil. The organization in question is a type of black ops team with highly skilled assassins pulled from a variety of criminal organizations and governments. They operate on a code name basis and have a stockpile of weapons and money. Their names and photos have been added to the most wanted list. If you see these individuals, do not approach them. They are considered armed and dangerous. Report any sightings to this line. There is a five hundred-thousand-dollar reward for any information leading to their arrest.
Nikos pulled out his phone and Sandy stepped forward. “You don’t want to do that. We’ve helped all of you before. We are just going to leave, and there won’t be any trouble.” His face said he didn’t want to hurt them, but his eyes said if they tried him, he would.
“Sandy…” Lily warned her small hand went to the metal pen on her necklace. Anita shivered as she recalled exactly how Lily used that piece of jewelry.
“I can’t let him make that call. We need to leave here tonight. I know some people who will help us.”
“What about Dmitri? You’re going to leave him here with his wife and child?” Lily asked. They both looked over at Dmitri, who was talking to Eden in the corner. Eden nodded with tears in her eyes and picked up her bag and went to get their baby. Ada went after her.
“I’m not calling the police. All of you are now family, and I protect the family. I’m checking to make sure the house is on lock down and that no one else can get in or out. Now, tell me what you need,” Nikos said. Luca and his brothers nodded in agreement. Aidan walked over and placed a hand on Sandy’s back. “What do we need to do next?” he asked seriously.
For a second, the assassin nicknamed for his ability to kill silently was speechless. He’d never had family or friends, and until recently, he hadn’t known love existed. When Lily walked up and put her hand in his, his mind cleared.
“I think I have a plan,” Lily said softly. “But first, Nikos, how attached are you to that helicopter on the roof, hypothetically speaking how would you react if someone blew it up?”
Special Note: Hi, everyone. I wanted to say thank you to all of you who joined me on this Wallflower’s journey. I hope you enjoyed the novellas and know that I appreciate all of you. YOU are why I keep writing. I know I’m not the best author but I try my hardest to get better with each book I write. I plan on releasing additions to this series later on this year. I have stories for a few of the side characters you’ve met along the way. They will be released as stand-alone novellas. I also plan on offering the story of how Nikos and Ada met, free on my blog at tctheinvisiblewriter.com in August 2019.
If you liked this book please, please, please leave a review on Amazon.com, it helps me move forward as an Indie Author. My goal is to go full time at the end of the year which means longer books delivered monthly.