Finding Faye:

by A. J. Andersen

  I know this man. He makes the guys who snatched Ana and I look like teddy bears.

  This man is big and scarred. He looks angry. Excited and angry. Not a good combination.

  My feet don’t touch the ground as he shakes me violently before throwing me toward the darkness of a stairwell leading back inside the building.

  I hit the ground in a heap, struggling not to cry out from the pain. I am not breaking down in front of this man. I will not. I will die first.

  This is the man who made me an orphan.

  The man who murdered my mother.

  Because of this man, I have spent the last four years of my life alone and afraid.

  I have to be brave. Somehow.

  Travis will come for me. He has to. If he doesn’t, I’m as good as dead.

  I knew that this day might come, that someone might find me, but I always told myself I would never again see this face. The face that has haunted my nightmares for years.

  Turns out I lied, because here he is.

  Travis

  It has been more than a full day since the girls were kidnapped, and there has still been no contact from Dominic. Xavier is confident it is coming, but we just don't know how long he plans to make us wait. Dominic wants him out of Vegas, and he knows that won’t happen without a fight. He’s definitely not going to back down and leave without Ana. A war is coming and I brought Faye right into the middle of it.

  It’s a war we are ready for. That fucker took our women, so it’s just a matter of time before we dig him out of whatever hole he’s hiding in and put an end to this whole thing. Dominic was only expecting a fight with his nephew, he had no idea he was going to be dealing with pissed off Marines too. He has no idea what’s coming for him. They may have taken us by surprise yesterday, but they will not be able to do that again.

  It was late yesterday evening before Blake finally got a hit on the armored truck. It was parked on the street a few blocks from Xavier’s casino, so we are hoping that means they are close by. Xavier has had a man watching it ever since. Dominic’s guys are all over the area. They all seem to be coming and going from a trio of older structures, two scheduled for demolition and one scheduled to undergo massive renovations. We think the old high rise is the place they are being held but we haven’t found any proof yet.

  All three of the buildings have armed goons patrolling the entrances, but according to city utility records, only the big building still has power and water making it the most likely place. It was purchased a couple of months ago in the name of an LLC that, upon investigation, looks like it’s a cover for something else. Blake has been trying to trace the paper trail back to an individual person. We suspect that it will lead us to Dominic.

  I found out that Xavier has been working with the FBI to bring his uncle’s shady business dealings to an end. This is good for us, because the Special Agent in charge of the Cerelli case has been able to push through clearance for K&S Securities to be involved in the investigation, so whatever happens we are sanctioned by the feds.

  This is an amazing opportunity for K&S—not that I am worried much about that right this moment.

  We spent the previous evening setting up surveillance on all of the buildings, placing special focus on that one. All four sides of the building have video feeds streaming live to our base in Xavier’s apartment. He has pulled in his most trusted men to make sure there are always two people watching the bank of monitors, and we have pulled a couple more of our former military contacts who reside in the general vicinity to do physical surveillance of the suspected locations.

  We all know it’s just a matter of time before Dominic or one of his men surfaces.

  I woke up early, my nightmares not allowing me to sleep for another moment. I’m sipping another cup of coffee, staring out the window toward the building that I know my little Sweetpea is in. The sun is just coming up over the horizon when one of the guys watching the live stream shouts, “Something’s happening on the east side of building one!”

  Blake jumps up off of the floor where he was stretched out resting and takes over the computers. Clicking rapidly, he zooms his cameras in for a closer look at the activity. We all watch in shock as he focuses on Faye perched on a small ledge. Her face is pale as she begins moving away from an open window toward a ladder that goes up to the rooftop.

  Ana’s face is behind her, her hand over her mouth, eyes wide. A growl rumbles out of Xavier’s chest as he sees his wife for the first time in months, and he reaches out a gentle finger, stroking her image on the screen.

  Blake shifts the camera’s focus to follow Faye and Xavier steps back, stuffing his hands in his pockets and releasing a shuddering breath.

  The video feed captures the look of terror on Faye’s face as she glances down to the streets below and presses herself against the wall before her gaze lands on the ladder about ten yards from her position. The ledge is so narrow, I don’t think a single man in this room could attempt what she is doing—all of us would be too big. Her petite size and tiny feet give her an advantage few people would have.

  There is no way anyone will be able to follow her out the window; if they discover her missing they will have to intercept her on the roof. That means we have to be on that roof before they discover she is missing.

  “We have to move now,” I roar, rushing to Xavier’s panic room, grabbing up the duffle bags we packed last night so we don’t waste any time before we race out of the building. We are piling into the waiting SUVs in less than five minutes, leaving Blake behind to man the com center. As much as I would prefer to have him with me, I know that he is the only one who can make sure we know what is happening once we are inside. Our makeshift team is connected by tactical radios and he will be the one who makes sure we all have the needed intel to get in, save the girls, and get out.

  “Trav,” Blake’s voice speaks in my ear. “She made it to the roof, but they had someone waiting for her.”

  Well, fuck. I had hoped to get there before they found her. Things just got a lot more complicated. Blake sighs into his mic like he has more to say but doesn’t want to.

  “Sitrep, Blake?” I finally snap, needing a situation report before I go off the deep end from not knowing what he is seeing.

  “Big ass dude has her on the roof. Looks like he’s roughing her up.” He says the words calmly, since he’s a professional and we have both seen worse, but he’s talking about some fucking piece of shit laying his hands on my girl.

  “I’m gonna fucking kill him,” I say into my mic, exiting the SUV. I have one hand on my sidearm and the other moving to pull my blade from its sheath. It’s a good thing the alley we parked in is empty, otherwise this could turn into an even bigger shit show. I’m too pissed now to even consider how I would look to a bystander, dressed in black tactical gear, bulletproof vest, and what has to be a half-crazed look on my face.

  I have to get to her, now. She must be so scared...

  Blake had suggested that we try accessing the building through the service entrance in the alley. Our surveillance has shown that the thugs guarding the building have been using it for smoking and deliveries. By deliveries, I mean girls. There has been an almost constant flow of defeated looking women coming and going since we started observing them.

  “One more thing, guys,” Blake rumbles into the headsets. “I’ve got Vince on camera in the room the girls have been held in.” The sound of Xavier cursing beside me pulls me from my worries about Faye. He doesn’t look surprised by Blake’s revelation, but he is definitely pissed.

  “That motherfucking traitor is mine,” he grumbles as we clear the hall and make our way into the gloomy light of the stairwell.

  John and Mike continue to their entry point, the stairwell at the other end of the building. There has been quite a bit of activity here recently. There are paths in the dust and construction debris littering the stairs, and cigarette butts piled in the corners of the landings.

  Knowing that Faye and Ana we
re being held two floors up from us, we decide to stop for a moment on the eighteenth floor and check in with the rest of the team. Blake's flow of intel indicates that the most activity seems to be happening on the floor below where Faye and Analise are being held. Just one floor up from where we are now.

  Dominic won't want to lose the bargaining power he believes holding Ana gives him, so we all believe that she will be the most heavily guarded. The thing that Dominic is forgetting is that holding the wife of a man like Xavier against her will is never a smart move.

  Taking my woman against her will is even less intelligent; but that is something he wouldn’t have bargained for.

  I'm positive that X has done some bad shit in his time, but me—I'm a trained killer, and taking these pieces of shit out of the gene pool means absolutely nothing to me. In fact, the thought of it has me amped up and ready to put them all down. Faye's life is worth more to me than all of theirs put together, and I would walk through the deepest levels of hell to have her back at my side, in my bed… where she belongs. Dominic and his men are just an obstacle in my way.

  Xavier's team radios in. They are still patrolling the ground floor and the alley with our buddies, making sure that no one is able to come in behind us. So far everything down there is quiet.

  John and Mike are in place on the opposite end of the structure.

  Since their last contact with us, Blake relays that they encountered a couple of Dominic’s finest. They have them hogtied and gagged a couple of floors down. Blake informs Xavier and I that he has already relayed the info to Agent Weaver with the FBI. Part of our agreement with her is that after we get our women, the feds will step in and make arrests. They need to gather as much dirt on Dominic as they can if they have any chance of taking him, and the Cerelli mafia family, down. For his assistance and agreement to testify against his uncle, Xavier will not be implicated in any of his uncle’s crimes. Not that it sounds like he’s been involved with them anyway.

  Blake confirms that we are all clear to take the next floor, and we ascend the final set of stairs. Mike and John doing the same on their side. By some miracle we have come this far with very little resistance, and a tiny part of me wants to sigh with relief that this has been so easy.

  The bigger part knows that shit is about to get real.

  They may be goons, but they aren’t stupid. The Cerelli organization has been around for decades, and they have to know that we are coming. Why take Ana as bait otherwise?

  “Easy, Trav,” Blake says in my ear. It used to freak me out that he always knows what I need to hear, even when he is just my eyes in the sky.

  “Yeah. I know,” I whisper back. This whole thing has been too easy, and I know better than to trust it.

  I can’t think about Faye and how scared she must be or think about what I should have done differently. I just have to treat this like any other job. In. Out. No emotions.

  I take a deep breath and place my booted foot on the step above me. It’s time to work.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Faye

  “I never thought I would see you again.” The cold voice cuts through the fog of shock still clouding my body. There is a creepy shade of excitement in his tone that makes my blood run cold.

  I try to play it off like I have no idea what he is talking about. “What do you mean?” I ask, scuttling backward, trying to keep as much distance between us as possible. He laughs, making my skin crawl like there are thousands of tiny spiders on it. I can't stop the shudder that ripples through my body.

  He smiles at me, amusement lighting his dark eyes. I know I didn’t hide my reaction from him at all and he likes my fear. My skin prickles with goosebumps. It’s like a cold breeze flowing over me even though I can still feel the morning sun. I want to cry but I know that he would enjoy my tears.

  I remember his smile. He smiled at my mom just like that as he pulled the trigger. First when he shot Brad, then her. He never flinched, never looked away, just kept his smiling gaze locked on her terrified face.

  Murdered them both like they were nothing, grinning while he did it, and now that same twisted smile is focused on me.

  “They are here to rescue you,” he breathes, ignoring my question. My heart leaps in my chest with a tiny flicker of hope. I try to stop my face from showing it, but he must have seen it in.

  “Oh, little one,” he says squatting down beside me so he can stare into my eyes. I jerk back reflexively as he runs a blunt-tipped finger down my cheek. “They won't be in time to help you.”

  The truth in his voice echoes in my ears. Resonates in my soul. I believe him.

  He's going to kill me before Travis gets here.

  He sees that knowledge reflected on my face and his smile gets even bigger.

  His voice is almost animated with excitement when he asks, “Why don't you and I have some fun?” He pulls me to my feet, dragging me along behind him to a ladder like the one I used to get up here. There is a door that leads inside, I can see it behind him. He must feel like there is less chance of running into anyone this way. Debating my options, I let him push me right up to the edge. I stare down at the street below. No one seems to even notice us up here. In movies, someone always sees a jumper on the roof. I guess that doesn’t happen in real life.

  Jumper...

  I could jump. He wouldn’t expect me to do that.

  The thought has some appeal. I would die. There is no doubt about that, but it would be on my own terms. I’d rather choose my own end than wait to see what this evil man has planned for me.

  Tensing, I take a slow breath, preparing to take that step. I hope Travis can forgive me. My breath freezes painfully in my chest, grieving for what he will suffer when he finds out that I took this way out. Taking one last look down, I glance to the shadowed alley below I gasp as I stumble back a step. There are two black SUVs parked there, and I swear that, even from this distance, I can see Blake staring up at me. I’m sure it’s my imagination, but it stops me from taking that step.

  Travis is here. Jumping would mean that I don’t trust him to come for me. I do trust him. Enough that I’m willing to bet my life on him getting to me before I am murdered like my mom.

  My nightmare motions for me to descend the ladder and I slowly comply, lowering myself to my belly and dropping my legs off the edge. My sweating palms slip on the metal as I go down, my terror a writhing ball in my stomach. Now that I have decided that I want to live the last thing I want is to fall.

  I can’t believe that I was ready to jump just moments ago.

  The man keeps plenty of distance between us, as if I would be strong enough to pull him off the ladder above me. I'm not even going to try it. I don’t want to touch him under any circumstances.

  As I climb past the windows on the floor I escaped from I can hear voices and fighting coming from somewhere close. The sounds bolster my courage, and for the first time since I came face to face with my mother’s killer, I have real hope that I might survive this.

  “Hurry up.” The words are hissed right above me. He’s close enough that he can reach down and grab me. Or push me if he wants to. I glance up and see him pointing to a balcony with an open glass door. I swing my leg over the rickety safety railing and do as I'm told, knowing that Travis must be close.

  He is still a few rungs up the ladder as I approach the open door. Just a few more steps. I suck in a deep breath, slamming the door closed and flipping the latch, locking it behind me. From the corner of my eye I see my captor jump onto the balcony and slam against the door. I run through the apartment, and fling open the front door. The hallway is empty.

  “Travis!” I scream his name as loud as I can. So loud that it hurts my throat, hurts my ears. I open my mouth, preparing to do it again when there is the sound of smashing glass from behind me. Seconds later a massive hand grabs my throat, lifting until my feet are dangling before I’m thrown to the floor. His massive weight follows me down, before he lifts me by the neck and crashes my he
ad into the floor again.

  I’m too dazed to fight him off. I can't breathe.

  I can't breathe!

  My hands scramble at where his are tight around my throat, scratching and pulling as I fight and thrash my legs as I try to escape his punishing grip..

  Laughter rings in my ears. He is laughing. Actually laughing.

  It's a dark, sinister sound that rings in my ears. Even in my worst nightmares, the smiling man didn't sound like this. He is taking so much pleasure in my fear, in watching me die. I am dying.

  I gasp again, squeezing my eyes shut because I can't bear to watch him laugh while he kills me.

  Black spots dance behind my eyelids followed by blinding white. I know I'm about to pass out and when I do this will be over. He will finish strangling me. My mind desperately searching for a plan, I force my hands to still and to let go of his wrists. He likes my struggles, so I go limp beneath the assault. Almost immediately, his hands loosen and I drag a painful breath into my oxygen-deprived lungs. I can still feel the brutal grip of his fingers against my abused flesh.

  More laughter fills my ears as he tenderly strokes my face. It feels disgusting. He’s playing with me like a cat with a mouse. The thought fills me with a rush of adrenaline, making me nauseated, and I swallow the hot rush of saliva that fills my mouth.

  “There's a good girl,” he murmurs as he lifts me into his arms. I dangle loosely in his grasp trying to catch my breath, thinking about fighting. About how I can push him to kill me and get it over with. I’m scared of what he will do to me if he has enough time. I can still hear the muffled sounds of fighting overhead, and tears slip from my eyes and into my hair as he carries me. He’s so close…