AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“We will get her back unharmed.” My words are an oath.
Only after I let the weight of them properly settle into the car does Katya speak again.
“You better.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
ALEXEI
There isn’t anything about this that I like.
I certainly never expected to align myself with Luca - a man that was my mortal enemy only a month ago - but here I am sharing a car with him. More than that, I’ve just actively stopped my sister from killing him. Funny how fate turns things sometimes. I never in a million years thought that I could trust somebody like him. But I know that if anything happens today that he’s going to put Katya first. She’s the priority here.
All of those hours that we spent planning out a move against his father once and for all amounted to nothing. None of it truly matters because Enzo decided that he had done enough waiting and wanted to do something irrational.
We pull into the old shipping yard that Luca says will take up to the warehouse in question.
I hate that I don’t have more of my men in place. I don’t like walking into a situation that I’m not ready for. Most of all when I don’t know what’s waiting for me or how many men I might be coming to face. Too many unknown variables and my sister’s life are the very last thing that I want to bargain with.
“Just don’t do anything stupid.” I mutter low enough that only my very impulsive sister can hear me.
“Don’t know what you’re talking about.” She answers stubbornly.
I can name half a dozen perfect examples of her reckless tendencies right off the top of my head but given the current mixed company, I choose to spare her the embarrassment. The car we’re in starts to slow as the passageways start to thin.
“How pissed is your old man going to be that she isn't alone?” I ask Luca, breaking the silence but not the tension.
“He won’t actually expect her to come alone. He will be hoping that she does, but he will have more than one plan in place, specifically so that he will still feel in control of the situation.” Luca answers as if he were discussing the weather.
Dario slows down and we note that the loading bay doors to the warehouse are propped empty.
“That’s not a great sign.” I mutter mainly to myself as I pull my gun and cock it after checking that it’s properly loaded. Muscle memory at this point.
I narrow my gaze to try to see further into the large open room. It’s too dark to make out much. I expect to see factory equipment or loading carts and dollies but there seems to be absolutely nothing apart from the massive beams that help support the ceiling.
Katya unbuckles, her hand on the car handle as she nearly presses her face into the glass.
“I don’t see people… no men.” I mutter.
Luca nods. “You wouldn’t. That would make it too easy.”
“It’s her.” Katya adds.
“What are you-?” Before I can finish the sentence - there she goes. Katya opens the door and flings herself out of the door. I make a grab for her but my fingers barely brush against the fabric of the black shirt she’s wearing before Katya is running at full force across the space and into the building. She’s swallowed by the blackness almost instantly as I scramble out of the car after her.
My heart drops into my ass as the cold fingers of fear grip me tighter.
I don’t like that I can’t hear her. I don’t like that I can’t see her.
I can’t hear anything either. No signs of screaming. No pops of gunfire or any of the other things I would expect from a trap. I can hear heavy footsteps behind me - though I’m not sure if it’s Luca or Dario who is matching my quick pace.
I swear my feet heat up through my shoes from my pace and then I, too, am swallowed by the darkness.
No sooner have we crossed the threshold, those huge, heavy metal doors slam shut behind us.
The lighting in the warehouse changes from the sharp, bright light of day to something muter. Despite the large windows up higher on the walls toward the ceiling, not much light comes into the room and it takes my eyes a long moment to adjust themselves. I’ve got my gun out and aimed at nobody in particular as I wait for my eyes to catch up to the readiness of the rest of me.
I almost wish they didn’t.
