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After we’d left the mansion earlier this afternoon, we’d returned to our hotel to strategize. I’d tried once more to get Dante to wait until we had some backup, but he’d been adamant that we needed to move tonight and nothing I’d said had deterred him. And I’d known that if I pushed the issue, he’d simply go without me.
In addition to strategizing, we’d learned more about the man who owned the house after Dante had done a search on his address. His name was Marcus Parks and he was one of the wealthiest men in Chicago…and one of the most well-known. The man was a prolific philanthropist and moved in powerful social circles that included politicians and all sorts of pseudo celebrities. He was also married with four young children.
The house on Lakeview drive where he was keeping Aleks was one of many properties the man owned, but unlike the others, the lakefront mansion was under the legal umbrella of his company rather than a personal asset – most likely to keep the house along with the things that went on inside its walls, out of the public eye. His main residence where he lived with his family was a posh penthouse that took up three floors of a downtown high-rise.
The biggest irony was the man’s esteemed reputation as an advocate for children. Dante hadn’t had time to do in-depth research, but everything we’d seen showed the man had no secrets in any of his numerous closets…only we knew better.
The man’s wealth and prestige were concerning in that it meant he likely had a lot of manpower at his disposal. Add in the fact that he was literally hiding a secret that would destroy his career and marriage and land him behind bars for the rest of his life, and we knew we could potentially be facing a dangerous situation once we got inside.
“Thanks,” Dante murmured and then he hung up his phone and tucked it into his pocket. “They’re down,” he said to me and I knew he was talking about the two cameras covering the side door we were planning on entering through. “Let’s go.”
I nodded and pulled out my gun. Dante and I made our way along the fence to one of only two gates allowing access to the property besides the front one. I sighed in relief when the door clicked just as we got there and Dante pushed it open. Snow crunched beneath our feet, sounding insanely loud in the silence of the night. It was well after midnight and we’d waited for most of the rest of the lights in the house to go out, leaving only Aleks’s light on. I scanned the property as I followed Dante to the side door. I’d found it interesting that Parks didn’t have any men patrolling the yard, but I supposed the man was confident his security measures would keep people out.
That or his main goal was to keep one person in.
Dante and I paused when we reached the door. The feeling that all of this was easy – too easy – was hard to shake, but before I could say anything to Dante, he was opening the side door which Daisy’s hack had managed to unlock as planned.
Our pace was slow as we made our way towards the room we suspected was Aleks’s. The house was dark and quiet - eerily so - and the sensation that something was off again washed over me. I tapped Dante’s shoulder to get his attention, but he ignored me and kept moving. I realized why when I saw the light coming from beneath a door at the end of the hallway.
My brain was sending out warning after warning as Dante turned the handle for the room, but I couldn’t find any sign of danger. “Something’s off,” I whispered to Dante as I put my hand on his wrist to stop him from opening the door. “Why isn’t it locked?” I asked as I motioned to the door.
Dante hesitated for a moment and then shook his head. “I’m getting my brother,” he bit out, his voice barely a whisper, the determination clear.
Dante tugged free of my hold and then pushed into the room. I was right on his heels, determined to cover him no matter what, but when I saw the barrel of a gun being pointed at Dante’s head from behind the door we’d just opened, I knew we were fucked.
And when I saw Aleks standing next to a man I already knew as Parks because of the pictures Dante and I had seen of him in the society pages, I knew how we’d ended up fucked.
Because Aleks had told them we were coming.
* * *
I flinched when another blow landed against Dante’s face and I felt the warm spray of blood from his split lip hit my own skin. My own body ached where I’d been kicked repeatedly as I’d tried to fight back when the men had been putting me in zip-tie cuffs.
