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Vadim merely flicks me a glance then looks back to my father. “We leave within the hour.”
“Good. The sooner we get back to Seattle the better,” he drawls, nonchalantly.
I pause at the mention of my home city. My heart pounds in my chest, pure panic taking over. Blood pumps in my ears, drowning out any more of their conversation and my pulse is so erratic, I turn lightheaded. I can’t go back to Seattle. If I do, my life is as good as over. I would rather die than go anywhere with my father. I need to somehow get away. Get out of these restraints and run. How I am going to achieve that, I’m not sure, but I need to at least try. If not for me, for my son. For my husband. For my new family. Screaming, I pull at the restraints, my body jerking from side to side. I watch in horror as Vadim jerks his head at the other two men that entered the room and says in a cold, detached, tone. “Sedate her, then transfer her to my SUV. Mr. Caldwell’s private jet is waiting at Teterboro for our arrival.” He turns to my dad. “Correct?”
My father nods. “Yes. I will message my men to make sure everything is set.” He pulls his cellphone out of his dress pants pocket and gets to work. I almost snort. Even when kidnapping me, he is impeccably dressed.
My gaze shifts to the other men to find they are all dressed in black pants and dress shirts, similar to my father and my… husband. Frowning, everything starts to click into place, like a puzzle and realization hits me. I gasp, my eyes snapping to Vadim. He is the Russian mafia. The Bratva as Nico called them, and my husband’s enemy. I swallow.
I didn’t think things could get any worse and yet, somehow, they have.
My heart pounds in my chest, breaths coming in thick and fast. No matter how much I want to fight, I know it’s pointless, just like Vadim said. There is no getting out of this. Tears pool in eyes, only to fall over the rims of my lower lids and stream down my face when my family flash through my mind.
Romeo. My beautiful boy who I have not had nearly enough time with. His perfect face flickers in my head, so clear as if I am watching a movie reel, and I wonder if I will ever see him again. See the boy he grows into and the man he becomes.
Nico. My dark, handsome devil. The man I never wanted to get involved with but had no choice but to love. He steamrolled into my life, never giving me a chance to second guess anything. We were a given. And despite who he is and what I know he is capable of, I love him. Every flawed, imperfect inch of him. I love him so damn much, it’s a living, breathing thing inside of me and I wouldn’t change any part of him.
I let my mind drift to my boys, my happy place. I am past caring about the assholes in the room and the fact that they are currently witnessing my meltdown. But I let all my emotions out. I let the sobs stuck in my throat break free, piercing the silence in the space. I cry and I cry, for all that I have had, all that I may have lost and all that I am about to lose. I can feel their eyes on me, but I don’t look at them.
Lifting my face, I stare at the ceiling and pray. I pray to a God, to everything holy, that this is all a nightmare, and I will see my boys again.
Because I would rather be dead than live in a world where they don’t exist.
Chapter40
Nico
“Surveillance is set up around the buildings and we have men in place. They are ready to take out anyone that is a threat. We are good to go.” Gregorio, a hacker of mine, announces, looking up from his laptop.
I nod, adrenaline pumping through my veins as I prepare to walk my men into a potential war zone and retrieve my wife. I’m not a good man, I am very aware of this, but right now, I am the worst of the worst. Because I would walk them through hell and let every single one of them be killed if it means getting Ocean back safely.
My jaw clenches, raw anger pulsing in every inch of my body that we are even in this situation. Vadim took my wife, and not only had the audacity to take Ocean, but also my consigliere. Giuseppe, a man I have known since birth. My papà’s right hand man and now the man that stands beside me, has been taken by the Russians and at this point I don’t know whether he is dead or alive. I am not a particularly religious man, but I hope he is, if only to protect my wife.
I am aware how things work in our world, and Giuseppe staying alive will come down to how much use he is to the Bratva. If Vadim thinks he can use Giuseppe against me, then he will keep him alive. If not, they will kill him. Despite my rage and thinking the worst when I first realized Ocean was gone, I know my wife is still alive. Once I put myself in Vadim’s shoes, and thought over everything, I recognized that, if it was me that had taken his wife, then I would use her as insurance against him, therefore I would keep her alive. Ocean is Vadim’s insurance. A way to bend me to his will and make me do whatever the hell he wants. He knows she is my weakness and will use her however he deems necessary. I will kill him before he can do that, but I know logically these are all reasons that make her his best advantage right now.
My gaze shifts around the warehouse we currently occupy. It’s a couple blocks from where my wife is being held and a temporary holding area slash makeshift headquarters of sorts, while my men wait for further instruction. My heart pounds in my chest and I can almost taste the blood that will be spilt today.
“Surround the building and be prepared for retaliation. Anyone that gets in your way, shoot to kill, but be mindful that my wife and Giuseppe are somewhere in that building. If Ocean is harmed in any way, even if it is a hair on her head that is pushed out of place, I will kill you. Understand?” My words are cold, deadly, and leave no room for argument. If any one of my soldiers has a problem with my instructions, they can leave now. Their murmured agreement echoes through the building, confirming they are in, no matter what happens. I smirk. Time to get my wife back.
“There is movement on the tracker, Nico. I have a drone circling the warehouse and a convoy of vehicles are entering the compound. My guess is they are getting ready to move her,” Gregorio informs me, his gaze fixed firmly on the laptop in front of him.
My body stiffens, everything inside me demanding that I fuck the risks and go to her now. But that would be a suicide mission and I would like us both to get out of this alive.
“Let’s move out. My wife does not leave that warehouse.” It’s a warning, and they know their lives will be as good as over if she sets foot outside.
Moving to the exit, I make my way out onto the street, my men following behind me. Pausing, I inhale the salty sea air that comes with being so close to the docks, letting it wash away every thought in my brain but one. In this moment, I become who I was made to be. Who I need to be. The devil Ocean always thought me to be. The Don who will stop at nothing until vengeance is served. The husband that will kill anyone who stands in the way of him and his wife. Channeling all these thoughts, I let them consume my body until there is only one thing left. Ocean. I have always tried to keep the darkest part of me hidden from myTesoro,and though she has seen a little of how twisted I can be, she definitely hasn’t seen me at my worst. Today, she will see exactly who I am. See the lengths I will go to ensure she remains mine.
“Spread out. I want every potential exit covered.” I instruct as we move toward the warehouse. Some of my men heed my command, only leaving around two dozen of my soldiers surrounding me in a protective stance. Not that I need protecting; but it’s expected of them. It is programmed into them during their training and initiation when they become part of our organization. Protect your Don with your life. At all costs.
Moving as a team, we make our way to the side of the building. Glancing down at my cellphone, I make sure that my wife is still in the same spot as she was when I checked five minutes ago. She is. Something inside me settles and I wait for Gregorio to notify me that the cameras have been deactivated.
“Cameras are down. You are good to go.” Gregorio drawls through the earpiece, me and several other of my men are wearing. I told them it’s because I want to be able to keep in touch with everyone, and know what is happening, but really, I wanted to cover all bases and if any of my soldiers get to Ocean before me, I want to be informed immediately.
“You heard the man. Let’s go.” I instruct, more than ready to get my wife back.
One of my men steps up to the wire fence, metal cutters in hand. I watch as he cuts through the wire in what feels like minutes but is in fact mere seconds. Impatience runs through me and it’s only when he steps back, after having made a big enough space for us to climb through, that I release a breath. It’s go time.
Stepping through, I duck when the sound of gunfire hits my ears. I don’t know whether it’s the enemy firing shots or my men taking them out, but I hope it’s the latter. Don’t need my men dying this early into the mission.
