“Seems like it,” I answered gravely, my heart hammering in my chest. “And in the process, he nets a huge payday from Jayce and both men walk away happy. Never mind that they’ll be trying to kill each other in a couple of months once their ill-conceived truce gets fucked to hell for one reason or another.”
As I sped through the streets of Chicago, Ben checked the chamber of his favorite gun and made sure he had quick and easy access to the blades that were strapped to his calves.
“I assume you know where you’re going?” he asked, his voice calm and steady now that he’d dropped into soldier mode.
No one had better focus than Ben when it came time for war. And yet, he and I couldn’t do this alone. Sure, that had been my intent when I’d first approached him, but over the last few days I’d realized my initial plan would never work. Which was why I was barking orders into my car’s Bluetooth system, my palms sweating as the phone rang three times before a voice on the other end of the line answered.
“Yes,” came the terse greeting. “It is time?”
“Change of plans Aleksei,” I snapped. “How quick can you get to Canaryville?”
There was a long pause. “Twenty minutes.”
“I’ll give you a hundred thousand dollars if you can be there in ten.” Then I explained what was going on and why he needed to hurry the fuck up.
“I will see you then,” Aleksei answered and hung up.
“What’s in Canaryville?” Ben inquired as he went about sharpening his favorite bow knife.
I’d seen what he could do with that thing when the mood struck so I was happy he had it on him.
“Jayce has a place no one knows about.” I twisted my head, one eye on the road in front of us, one eye on Ben, to take in his dubious expression. “Yeah, not exactly his style, I know. It’s umm …” I scratched my nose, feeling uncomfortable with what I was going to have to admit. “Let’s just say our last name hasn’t always been St. John and this place is a reminder of that.”
“And you know Jayce will be there?”
“Honestly?” I asked, letting out a frustrated breath. “I’m about 50/50 on whether he’ll be there or not, but it’s where he goes when …”
I didn’t know if Ben was aware of Jayce’s penchant for some seriously twisted shit and I didn’t want to be the one to fill him in. My gut clenched on a sick realization. I’d been covering for Jayce for so damn long that it was like second nature to me. We were on our way to kill him but even now my first instinct was to protect the fucker.
I didn’t have to fill Ben in, however. It turned out he was up-to-speed on Jayce’s penchant for sex that oftentimes led to immense payoffs attached to iron-clad nondisclosure agreements. “I heard about that,” he answered matter-of-factly. Then, more curious he asked, “Is there really a sex dungeon in the basement?”
“Yes,” I answered, grinding my teeth.
That’s why I’d thought of the house on South Union Avenue. When I spied the line item payout to Rocco, a wave of nausea rolled through me as I realized Arabella’s uncle would have had to do more than kill her for that much money. A straight hit would have cost Jayce much less. No, I knew my brother and that sort of payday was for an exchange of goods. And because I knew him so well, I knew my twin would feel the need to get his money’s worth … and that included having his enemy beg for her life. The pitted wooden rack, shackles, and ball gags Jayce had in the basement of our great grandparents’ old house would see to that.
“We’re gonna get her out of there,” Ben interjected confidently, breaking into my dark thoughts. “You gotta have hope, man.”
I didn’t have time for a response because the street came into view, as did Arabella’s cousin CeeCee’s white Mercedes SLK. It stuck out like a sore thumb in this neighborhood, but then again, I was rolling up in an electric blue Aston Martin so who was I to talk about blending in? Together, our two cars probably cost more than the rest that lined the block.
Halfway down the street was the house I’d only been in only a handful of times over the years, the first being when my father brought Jayce and I here as kids to show us where we came from and why we could never go back. The lesson had stuck and I’d stayed away as much as I could.
I shook my head to dislodge the memory, all the while wondering how Jayce and I could have turned out so differently.
When I pulled up behind the Mercedes, Aleksei’s hulking frame exited out of the driver side, while CeeCee’s long, toned legs slid out the other. Her shoes echoing like bullets on the broken concrete, she marched over to me and shoved her finger in my chest.
“If Arabella dies in there, I’m going to blame you.” She tossed an authoritative look toward the fearsome Russian and dragged her gaze back to me before adding, “You better hope to god my cousin walks out of that house on her own two feet.”
She didn’t wait to see how I’d respond to her threat. What could I have said, after all? If Arabella didn’t come out, I wouldn’t be either. Shit, it was likely neither Ben or Aleksei would either … which was why I was pulling out my phone and directing my accountant to wire the hundred thousand dollars I’d promised Aleksei ten minutes ago to CeeCee’s account. He’d held up his end of the bargain and I knew if things went south, he’d want the women he meant to marry get the cash in his stead.
She marched away and took over the driver’s seat. Then, popping her head out of the car one last time, she blew a kiss to Aleksei and whispered, as if this rescue mission most normal thing in the world, “I’ll keep the car running, baby.”
I held out my phone to show him the note about the wire transfer. A man of few words, he nodded once and then tapped on the rear of CeeCee’s car twice with his knuckles. She popped the trunk, revealing a whole arsenal of firearms. He slung a military-grade machine gun across his chest and then shoved two handguns in the waistband of his black slacks. Turning toward Ben and I, he shook his head disappointedly and then, reaching into the trunk, came away with two additional guns: an AK-47 for Ben and an M-16 for me.
His phone beeped and he pulled it out. A slight frown pushing his eyebrows together, he said in his heavily accented English. “Her bodyguard is dead and your twin—” he spat, showing exactly what he thought of Jayce “—is inside with 10 men.”
“Ten?” I asked, my pulse racing with dread. Those were terrible odds.
Aleksei nodded briskly. “Hired men,” he confirmed. “No loyalty, but your brother has deep pockets.” He cocked his head to the side and surveyed me dispassionately. “But you pay better so …” he shrugged, as if that’s all there was to his presence here, but we all knew better.
Against all odds, he’d fallen in love with CeeCee which meant he was loyal to the Wilson empire. Or, more specifically, one particular Wilson. And as long as CeeCee wanted her cousin and I protected, Aleksei would be by our side. Of course, I’d sweetened the pot to the tune of half-a-million dollars (plus the additional hundred grand I’d just wired to CeeCee) to make it worth it worth his trouble. I wasn’t an idiot, after all.
That was another difference between Jayce and I. While he’d spent years blowing through cash like it was going out of style, I’d stashed the money from my trust and my share of our company’s profits in an off-shore account for safe keeping. Aleksei’s retainer was a drop in the bucket of the $200 million I had collecting interest in the Caymans, but once I’d come around to Arabella’s idea, I’d admitted it was money well spent. I probably would have doubled it if he’d had the foresight to ask for a higher fee.
Ben broke into our stilted discussion. “The upstairs curtain just twitched. They know we’re here.”
“So much for the element of surprise,” I joked, flicking my eyes between Aleksei and Ben, calculating the likelihood of success, which admittedly wasn’t high.
“Okay then,” I said, turning to study the house. From the street it looked perfectly normal, not at all like a mad man was holed up inside ready to wage war.
“Ten to three.” I
blew out a long breath, the weight of what I was about to face landing heavy on my shoulders. “Our chances aren’t great, but I’ve seen worse.”
Aleksei pulled out his phone and started running his thumb over the keypad. Ben cocked his eyebrow at me as if to ask, “What the fuck?” but I just shrugged. Who knew what went on in the tatted Russian’s fucked up head?
“Three hundred thousand and it’s six men only,” he said after a handful of seconds, his eyes never leaving the screen of his phone.
Next to me, Ben bristled. “What?”
I knew he thought we were being played, but something about the casual way Aleksei presented the offer and how he hadn’t looked up to gauge my reaction told me the man didn’t care one way or the other how I responded.
“What does five hundred g’s buy me?” I asked, which finally made him look up from his phone, a wicked smile on his brutal face.
“CeeCee told me you weren’t a stupid man,” he answered as his thumb skated over the virtual keys. A few seconds later, he added, “Five hundred thousand and five of mercenaries walk out the door, get in their cars, and forget they ever knew your brother’s name.”
His eyes found mine, and they flashed with something I thought might have been disgust. “I told you, no loyalty.”
“Done,” I confirmed, adrenaline rushing through me at the thought of evening the odds.
He typed a few more words into his phone and then shoved it into the inner pocket of his black sport coat. Aleksei might be a crazy motherfucker, but he had style, I’d give him that.
Still suspicious, Ben glanced at the Russian with distaste written across his face. “Awfully convenient you know the bastards inside,” he seethed.
“A cousin,” he shrugged. “When he saw me with you, he turned. Convinced the others he could get them a better payday.”
“A cousin?” Ben asked, his voice dark. “You motherfucker,” he growled, stepping toward Aleksei.
Aleksei didn’t looked fazed one bit. He didn’t falter or flinch or give any indication that he was at all worried about a man like Ben stepping into his space. “My mother’s youngest brother’s youngest son,” he explained, as if his family tree give us some hidden insight into what was going on. “He is not, as you say, a beloved son.” He shrugged. “As I said, no loyalty.” He spit again.
“He must have some loyalty,” Ben observed, “for him to give you a heads up.”
Aleksei took in Ben’s angry stance, then slid his eyes back to the house. “He knows my fee.” Dragging his gaze back to me, he said, “Now he can go home to brag he pulled a job making more than me. He won’t share though. Only me. I’m the one who pays for everything.”
Ah, I was beginning to understand some of the family dynamic. It seemed Aleksei and I both had an asshole who shared our blood.
Accepting his explanation, Ben shook his head, but remained quiet. And then we waited in silence until we saw the five mercenaries I’d just paid an exorbitant sum to walk out the front door as if they didn’t have a care in the world. Then again, they’d all just gotten rich so maybe they didn’t.
Unfortunately, the fact remained there were still five other men inside. But why hadn’t they tried to stop these guys from leaving? Something was going on behind those black-out drapes and our lack of intel had my senses on high alert.
Ben sidled up next to me. “What now?” he asked, looking for direction.
Blunt force attacks weren’t Ben’s area of expertise—he was more a covert ops kind of guy—so it meant all the more that he’d followed me here, no questions asked. Not that he wasn’t good in a fight; he could brawl with the best of them and his skill with a knife was legendary. Only, his victims didn’t usually see him coming until it was too late. Since it looked like we’d be walking through the front door the mercs had promised to leave unlocked, Ben was at a disadvantage when it came knowing his next course of action.
Cracking my neck, I settled the large gun in my arms and straightened my spine. The M-16 wasn’t my weapon of choice but I couldn’t deny the extra fire power would come in handy if things got out of control. Messy, certainly, but scarily effective.
With the fingers of his right hand flexing over the AK’s trigger and the palm of his left cradling the barrel carefully, Ben cocked his eyebrow. “Five on three doesn’t seem so bad, does it?” he asked as he tested the weight of the assault rifle in his hands.
“Nope,” I agreed. “Should be a piece of cake.”
Even as I said it, fear clenched at my insides. I could pretend all I liked that this was just another operation, but he and I both knew the stakes were higher than they’d ever been before. I didn’t know what I’d do if we got in there and Arabella was dead. At the same time, I knew we couldn’t rush in, guns blazing, in case she was still alive.
“Kumbaya time is over now, yes?” Aleksei asked, his eyes sparkling with something akin to glee … or maybe desire … revealing how anxious he was to get the show on the road.
In the interactions I’d had with him since Arabella had set up our first meeting earlier in the week, his no-nonsense, practical approach to life had made me almost forget that he got off—literally—on the carnage he created. CeeCee was a fucking lunatic if she decided to take him on. Still, that was her problem, not mine. Right now I was buried up to my eyeballs in shit that needed sorting through, beginning first and foremost with getting Arabella to safety … and then putting an end to my own bat shit crazy family member.
I swallowed. “Yes, kumbaya time is over. Let’s do this.”
At my command, the three of us fanned out to take our positions around the perimeter of the house. Ben covered the left side where a basement door opened out onto the side yard, while Aleksei ran around the other way to enter through the back door. Me? I waltzed through the front like I owned the place. Come to think of it, I kind of did.
Stepping over the threshold, I was met with complete and utter silence. The house wasn’t large—around 1200 square feet, I guessed—and with five men and one captive female with a mouth like a sailor, I expected there to be much more going on, some type of noise. The eerie stillness made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.
When I heard the back door open, my eyes jumped at the sound, but my nerves settled when I saw it was only Aleksei joining me from outside. He tilted his head toward the staircase and together we crept across the linoleum-tiled kitchen until we reached the empty hallway. He raised his eyebrow in question and I shook my head in response, a scowl on my face. I had no fucking clue what was going on either. Whatever it was, this was not normal.
As quiet as we could manage, we inched upstairs, making sure to avoid the fourth step since I knew remembered it squeaked if you put too much weight on it. When we reached the landing, I finally understood why everything had been so fucking silent. The far wall was streaked with crimson and at its base were the bodies of five dead men. I looked to Aleksei who only shrugged, indicating he had no more clue what was going on than I’d had downstairs. Stepping closer, I scanned the pile. With the toe of my boot, I nudged aside the man on top who rolled away to reveal the shocked face of Jayce’s bodyguard.
The sight of the mercenaries piled up like so much garbage normally wouldn’t have affected me like this, but if Jimmy was out here, where the fuck was Jayce? My heart sped up as I moved toward the only door that wasn’t open. Turning the handle, I grimaced when it stuck and old, rusty metal rubbed against metal.
Here goes nothing, I thought, steeling myself for a grisly scene. When door swung open, the first thing I saw was Arabella twisting from a hook in the ceiling, her feet barely scraping against the worn shag carpeting. In three strides, I was in front of her, one arm wrapped around her middle as I reached toward the ceiling with the other to unhook her bound wrists. Carefully, I untied the gag from her mouth and she sagged against me, letting out a groan—the best fucking sound I’d ever heard because it meant she was still alive.
“You’re safe, I’ve got you,�
�� I whispered as I finished taking her down, careful of the many knife slices that lined her bare skin.
Behind me, Aleksei spoke. “You brother, he is dead as well.” When I continued attending to Arabella instead of turning to see the evidence for myself, he filled me in. “He was shot like the others. He’s in the other room, if you need to see.”
I nodded once, letting him know I heard, while I cradled Arabella in my arms and moved toward the door. I couldn’t stand to be in this house one moment longer. Making my way down the stairs, I stopped in front of the bar in the front room. Impulsively, I picked up a bottle of expensive bourbon and took a swig and then started pouring it out all over the ugly, old, shag carpet. I kept doing that until the cart was empty and the rug was drenched. Shoving my fingers into the front pocket of my jeans, I pulled out my Zippo and flicked it open. I tossed it into the corner and watched as the fumes from the alcohol met flame and a fire roared to life. Within seconds, the entire side of the room was engulfed in flames that danced up the wall, eating their way through wallpaper, plaster, and wood. I took one final look around and then marched out the front door. When the screen slammed shut behind me, Arabella flinched in my arms.
“I’ve got you,” I cooed into her hair as I dropped kisses to her temple. “I told you Belle, I’ve always got you,” I promised, making my way out the yard toward Ben and the car he’d called to come get us.
She sniffled into my chest and nodded, acknowledging my words. “I knew you’d come for me,” she answered. “I just didn’t know if you’d get here in time.”
I didn’t answer right away. I couldn’t find my voice. Instead, I lowered her into the car and then slid in next to her. Ben joined the driver up front and we pulled away from the curb, away from this house of horrors forever. As we turned the corner, I saw smoke filtering out from the kitchen window. Any second now, a neighbor would call the fire department and they’d show up to put the blaze out. I didn’t care what happened when they found the bodies. A plan was already in motion to announce Jayce’s disappearance. Ben would have made the call the second he knew we’d succeeded. That I hadn’t had to pull the trigger myself didn’t matter. All that mattered was Jayce was dead and he couldn’t hurt Arabella anymore.
The Ties That Bind Page 9