“You … you … make … good … feel good,” Jemma pushed the words from her lips. “I want … it … want … you.”
Rocco gave her that sexy smile. “Soon.”
The needle disappeared into her arm again.
Rocco’s face faded, replaced by the guard’s impassive one.
She blinked again, praying for her mind to continue to play tricks on her. To bring back the man she loved.
Chapter 58
The woman’s head hung at an unnatural angle. Her dark hair blowing in the wind. The lifeless dark brown eyes arrested Rocco as he stared at her pretty face.
“Wonder what she did to get killed,” Everett asked, lowering his binoculars. Hiding behind a grove of tropical bushes, he crouched next to Rocco as they staked out the house.
Rocco didn’t respond. He didn’t feel one ounce of guilt for not caring who the woman was or what she’d done to suffer Nomar’s wrath. The only thing that mattered was that the woman wasn’t Jemma.
Two guards carried the woman down a pebbled pathway toward a cove where a super yacht was docked next to a couple of smaller dinghies. A broad, muscular man dressed in a dark suit followed close behind.
“Is that Ortiz?” Everett asked.
“Yeah, that’s the bastard. We could take him out now,” Rocco said, raising his gun and pushing it through the leaves to get a better angle.
Everett pressed a hand on his shoulder. “Not at this distance. Neither one of us is that good of a shot.”
Rocco didn’t deny that assessment.
“Plus,” Everett said, glancing up to the roof. “He’s got cover.”
For the first time since Tatiana led them through the maze of the garden that abutted the mansion, Rocco noticed the sharpshooter on top of the roof.
“Gives us a chance to enter the house from the other side without being seen,” Rocco said, pulling his gun back and rising.
“Let’s go,” Everett said.
Rocco led the way, jumping through a narrow opening between hibiscus bushes and racing up the rocky hillside. Once he reached the top, the terrain morphed into smooth stones that surrounded a pool gleaming under the moonlight like a mirror, reflecting the night sky. Keeping low, he raced along the edge of the pool, then took a pathway leading to a wide sweeping verandah boasting a one-hundred-eighty degree view of the ocean below the hill. At night, the scene was spectacular with waves crashing against the rocks below.
Peering through the first set of French doors, a foyer loomed, luxurious and empty. A curved stone staircase led to the second floor. Most likely, Nomar had Jemma locked up in one of the bedrooms there.
Everett stood on the opposite side of the French doors, gun raised and ready to enter. “Looks clear.”
Nodding, Rocco turned the knob on the door slowly and silently opened it. Gun trained ahead of him, he entered the cool air-conditioned space and crossed the foyer, then ducked up the stairs, taking them two at a time.
At the top was a long hallway, each side containing a series of closed doors with a set of double doors at the end.
“Split up?” Everett asked. “I know it’s not the best option butit’s only a matter of time before Nomar and those two guards make their way back to the house. We need to be quick.”
“You’re right,” Rocco whispered back. He didn’t like the idea of Everett finding Jemma before he did but it didn’t matter. What was most important was getting Jemma out of there.
Since he was standing on the left side of the hallway, Rocco turned that way while Everett went toward the right. Reaching the first door, Rocco turned the handle and pushed it open. A massive library adorned with books from the floor to ceiling and a set of sofas arranged in a semi-circle in the middle. He ducked inside to ensure there wasn’t a hidden nook where Jemma was being held, then exited the space. There were only two more doors before he reached the double doors at the end of the hall. The next was an empty bedroom. He opened the last door and a familiar scent of cocoa butter washed over him.
Jemma had been in this room. He stepped inside, eyes drawn to a blood stain on the wall. His muscles constricted and tensed as he looked around the space. The closet was filled with clothes that were her size. While it didn’t prove that this was the room where Nomar had imprisoned Jemma, Rocco knew in his heart she’d spent most of her time in here.
Exiting the room, he glanced back down the hallway. Everett made a hand motion indicating he’d found nothing so far and had two more rooms to check on that end.
Rocco wondered if they were too late. Had Nomar already taken Jemma away? What if she was no longer in the mansion and they’d lost the chance to rescue her?
He pushed the thoughts away as he approached the last set of doors. Halting his steps, he noticed the door was ajar.
