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The moment we unlock, I hear shouting, and gunfire from the back of the penthouse. I won't stop. My mission is to find him and the girls. “You got anything Zef?”
“That’s a negative Jak. You?”
“Just a bunch of fucking resistance.”
“I am taking the stairs.” I tell my brother knowing he can cover downstairs. I barely make it from the landing and a bullet whizzes past my head. I dodge it, moving back around the corner trying to find a clear shot. The adrenaline is coursing through me, reminding me I am a fucking warrior, but also not invincible.
“Who the fuck are you?” The man shouts from around the corner.
“Don’t worry about that. All you need to know is I am here for your boss and the girls. Tell me where they are, walk down the stairs with your hands up and you live.”
“Fuck you.” He starts blasting his weapon and I stay put, knowing he is going to run out of ammo. He curses when his weapon is spent. I turn to the corner and plug two into his head, before continuing on through the upstairs.
Room after room I check, getting more and more pissed that he is not in them. “What the fuck Jak. Something or someone tipped him off.”
“I was just thinking that.” he says into my ear.
I clear the last two rooms and see an unfinished cigarette. “Fuck. We just missed him. Check the garage.” I hear my brother give orders for the garage and any underground tunnels we might have missed.
Grabbing as many of the women’s IDs as I can find, I pocket them so we have something to give to the feds and back out of the last room. I am either so distracted that I don’t see him, or I simply fucked up. Out of the corner of my eyes I see a flash before I feel something sharp go through my chest.
Looking down, I see red covering my shirt. “Fucking dumbasses. Don’t fuck with the Popov’s.” Someone yells like a fucking battle cry. I turn, or attempt to, hellbent on taking him out before I drop, but the blackness comes faster than I am ready for. The last thing I remember is my name being called and a loud thud, before nothing. My last thought is of my son and my future wife. My unborn child. Am I going to live to hold him? Will she recover from this? Does she know how much I love her? Will she remember to tell my son every day? This fucking sucks.
CHAPTER
TEN
AISLING
I am exhausted. This has been the most emotionally draining, but fun day ever. I cried like a damn lunatic after eating with the ladies, listening to them tell me about their lives and things they have seen and heard. I have literally been living in a gilded cage.
Once the food was done, Chiara took me to the other property to look at it and I would be a liar if I said I didn’t fall in love with it. The house that Jakub and Chiara live in is gorgeous. It is as humongous and extravagant as you would expect. Especially given Chiara’s overly exuberant personality.
But, the one for me and Jozef… it’s understated but stunning. It is made of concrete, which is overlaid with black marble on the outside. The front has stone gray pillars flanking the doorway. The circular driveway has a coy pond like theirs but it also has a mini garden in the front.
She took me around the back and there is a peach orchard and mini butterfly observatory. I mean… swoon. The rose garden is nothing to sneeze at, but my favorite part of the entire outside is the backyard. It has an Olympic size pool, with a jacuzzi on the side. There is an outdoor kitchen with a brick wall that has a stove, oven and grill. An outdoor eating area and a kiddie pool. Yes. You heard me right. A kiddie pool. Did I mention the enclosed inside pool for cooler days? No? Well yes. All of this. It sounds massive, right? I suppose when you come from a house like the one I grew up in, it can be considered massive. But, it is smaller than Jakub and Chiara's and more simply decorated. It has five less bedrooms and one sitting area. In a nutshell, it is perfect.
According to her, each house on the property is built different and has its own special amenities and features on purpose. Each one that is gifted is chosen by the future inhabitants. Jozef was given a choice of three and he chose this one. He really took care to think about what I would like and he chose well.
By the time the tour was done, I was confused, tired and worried about him. I called him and he didn’t answer and even though I have been checking my phone every ten minutes, I haven’t gotten a response from him. Something in me is telling me something is wrong, but until I hear…anything. I won’t know. This is the part I am not sure I can do. The sitting around waiting. Not sure if he is going to walk through the door or not.
