Page 23 of Paradise Ties

Zack pointed towards two cars parked side by side. “Roz is waiting for the twins over there.”

“Has my father been told?”

“Colin is going with Roz to help with the kids. Mimi and David want to stay and so does Reg.”

“Fine. Let me see them off and I’ll be right there.” Dane carried the twins towards the car with Lauren beside him. He wanted to wash the fear from her face, but he couldn’t. He also knew it wasn’t fear. Lauren was torn between wanting to protect her babies and knowing she might be able to help if someone was hurt.

He handed Aaron and Leah to Roz and Kanan after kissing their heads and turned to Lauren. She was biting her lip and her bronze skin was pale. “Lauren.” He stepped and took her in his arms, pulling her tight to his body. How to offer comfort to a woman who’d already been through too much? “I’ll bring them back unharmed.”

“Just stay safe, Dane. I beg you, don’t die.” Her voice broke as she dropped her head onto his chest, and he held her tight and buried his head in her hair.

“I will, baby, I promise. We have to get married, and I have all sorts of sordid plans for you on our honeymoon.”

She lifted her head, a watery smile on her face. “Call me if I can help.”

“I will.”

“Promise?”

“I’d never lie to you, Lauren.” She nodded and kissed him lightly before getting in the car. He watched for a second as they drove away, then turned to Kanan. “Time to kick some ass.”

Kanan dropped a hand on his shoulder as they walked towards the others. “A-fucking-men.”

They reached Zack, Nate, Daniel, Liam, Smithy, Bebe, and Astrid. Smithy had a laptop balanced on the bonnet of a car, an earpiece in his ear.

“What do we know?”

“Locals have called for help from the mainland, but that won’t be here for another hour.”

“Do we know what they want?”

“Not sure yet but we think it’s a ransom demand.”

“Do we know who they are?”

Zack walked towards Smithy as the others followed. “Smithy found information on these two.” An image of two men from inside the hotel came on the screen.

“Karol Snopek is a Polish national with a long list of offences behind him, including armed robbery, assault, and there’s a warrant out for his arrest for the murder of Jan Snopek—his brother. This guy,” Zack said, pointing at the bald man, “is Leonid Ihorovych Vakulenko. He was dishonourably discharged from the Ukrainian army and is now a killer for hire. He works for the highest bidder.”

They walked a few feet away so Smithy could listen without them rambling in his ear.

“They must have flown into the Island separately to the five men we saw on the plane.”

“Yeah, their cover would never have held up if Will had run their backgrounds.”

“Do we have any weapons?”

“I have a contact who’s going to meet me with some,” Kanan answered.

“Can we get someone out to the boat to speak with the family and find out where their heads are at?”

Bebe spoke up then. “I can do that. I’ve met the Prince before, and I’m sure he’ll be willing to see me.”

Zack nodded. “So, we just need radios and a plan. Can we get a map of the area and the hotel?”

“On it,” Kanan said, having the most connections on the island. Dane watched as he got in a car and drove off at breakneck speed.

“Liam, we need you here in case the explosives on the doors can be disarmed without alerting them. Can you get close enough to see?”