Series: Penny Dee
Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 97669 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 488(@200wpm)___ 391(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97669 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 488(@200wpm)___ 391(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
“We’re moving. I want the best,” I say to Valen. “I’ve just sent you a location. Have more of our men meet us there immediately.”
“Yes,” he says quickly and begins to make some calls on my behalf.
When I face Leonore, she has that burning rage in her gaze and goes to step forward as if to leave again, but I block her path. So be it if she hates me for it.
Defiance flares in her eyes. “Silas—”
“I need you here with Larissa. That little girl needs you. And I need to know you’re behind these walls and safe. You’re more risk to me if you come.” The hurt twists in her gaze, and I quickly add, “Not because you’re not capable, but because I won’t think clearly,” I confess quietly and somewhat defeated. I can sense my sister watching everything carefully, but right now, I need to make sure the woman I love doesn’t act recklessly, because it affects me.
She wants to fight me. It’s written all over her face. But she also knows I’m right, and the mention of Larissa reminds her that there’s a child who needs her.
“Okay,” she says. “But Silas?”
“Yes?”
“Don’t underestimate him. Promise me.”
I walk over to her and tilt her chin up with two fingers. “I don’t underestimate anyone. It’s why I’m still alive. I’ll keep this family safe.”
I kiss her, hard but brief. And it’s a silent promise to come back to her with Nessa. I give my sister a brief nod, and her gaze seems soft, that understanding that our family has extended, and I know no matter what happens, she’ll look after them here. That offers me a sense of relief as I walk through the door.
47
SILAS
Idrive like a bat out of hell.
The city blurs past the windows as I push my car through intersections without slowing. At this hour, the streets are mine, and I devour them quickly.
The destination: a cold storage warehouse.
My phone vibrates on the console. Valen. He and my other men moved in about five minutes before I left the house.
“We’re in position,” he says. “Six men on the perimeter. Four going in with us. Thermal imaging shows one heat signature inside. Stationary. Ground level.”
One heat signature.
Assumably Nessa. That doesn’t sound right.
“No guards?” I ask.
“None visible. No vehicles in the lot. No movement on any approach.”
My spine tingles.
One hostage. No guards. No vehicles. It doesn’t make sense.
It’s more than likely a trap. But right now I need to keep my focus on driving and getting there alive. Once on-site, I will make the call. Until then, the plan remains in place.
“Okay, standby,” I instruct. “I’m two minutes away.”
I increase the speed and tear up the space between me and the warehouse in under two minutes.
When I pull into the deserted parking lot, Valen materializes at my window before I’ve even opened the door.
“Any change?” I ask, stepping out.
“No movement. Single heat signature hasn’t shifted in twelve minutes.”
I scan the warehouse. “Have you done a perimeter sweep?”
“Of course. There is nothing.”
My jaw clenches. Something doesn’t feel right. I quickly calculate multiple outcomes, always three steps ahead, but right now, I’m not feeling like I’m ahead. Something is missing.
However, going in is the only option.
Trap or no trap, I need to get Nessa out of that warehouse. I promised Leonore.
“I’m going in,” I tell Valen. “Alone.”
“No way. Not without backup.”
“This is probably a trap. You protect me from the perimeter,” I instruct him.
“Silas, there is not a man here tonight that won’t want to follow you inside that warehouse,” Valen is quick to say. “This is family.”
It serves as a reminder of Pietro’s recent death and my two men who had to be cut down from the rafters only days ago. I know Valen. He won’t let this go. And we’re wasting time. This is personal for all of us.
“We go in fast,” I say. “Clear the space. Eyes on everything. If it smells wrong, we pull back.”
Valen relays the order with a series of hand signals, and the team moves. Six men outside cover every possible exit. Four follow Valen and me, our weapons drawn and hand gestures our only form of communication.
I press my back against the wall beside the door and listen.
There is nothing.
No voices or footsteps.
I nod to Valen, and he pushes the door inward, and we move.
The inside of the warehouse is vast and dark. There is a wide sweeping floor of stained concrete and a high ceiling, almost lost in darkness. And in the center of it is Nessa, still bound in the chair and unmoving.
I move toward her with my gun raised, my eyes sweeping the darkness for any sign of movement.
When I reach Nessa, I crouch in front of her. Her head is slumped forward with her chin resting against her chest, and for one sickening moment, I think she’s dead.