When Keenan pulled into the underground parking lot, I felt like I could breathe a sigh of relief. It was home. It felt like home. Knowing Marek wasn’t there didn’t make it feel like a victory but there was still something to coming back to where we lived together. Keenan helped me out of the car and we made our way over to the elevators.“Can you do me a favor?” I handed him his phone back.“Of course.”I smiled at his immediate reply. “There is a package coming for me in a few minutes. Can you wait at the front desk for it? I’m going to head up to the penthouse. When you get it, just come up and knock. I’ll come down and meet with this asshole.”“Sure, Atamansha. Anything else?”“Some food? Maybe India? I’m starving. If I have to look at Jell-O within the next ten years, I think I will puke.”Keenan laughed and nodded. “Done.”I stepped into the elevator that took me up to the penthouse and Keenan moved to the one that would take him to the front desk. The doors shut and I sighed. L
Wizard had been right. They were keeping this guy far too comfortable. He was sitting in a wooden chair, tied to it with ropes, but he was being fed and watered. The room itself was empty, probably from one of the guys who left a few months back. Boris was sitting at the table in the corner with Lec and Zann when Keenan and I walked in.All of their eyes widened and Zann stood up.“Keenan! What the hell? She is supposed to be in the hospital!”I snorted. “Yeah, while you guys sit here twiddling your thumbs?”“He hasn’t cracked, Ria. We’ve tried.”Glancing at the guy, it looked like they’d punched him a few times. He had a black eye and his face was swollen. There were a few cuts on him but it was barely anything. It actually made me angry. This was Marek’s life and I felt like they didn’t care. I knew they did but it was hard to see when I’d literally gone through so much worse not even a week ago.“Any of you been in Marek’s torture sessions?”Keenan and Zann shook their heads but Le
I stood under the stream of the shower. It was nice they didn’t turn off the water even though no one lived here. Or maybe the guys requested the water to be turned back on. Still, I was glad that I hadn’t needed to walk through the hall covered in blood. Enzo’s guy had broken about thirty minutes ago but I’d fallen too deep.Zann, Lec, and Boris had all left. Keenan stayed, his head down as he leaned against the wall. After their outburst, I wasn’t interrupted again. Not until Keenan informed me that the guy was already dead. Frankly, the difference in length of time alive between having them laying down and hanging was so different that it surprising. Still, he hung on to consciousness longer than I thought he would.Scrubbing my skin, I knew there wasn’t any blood or guts left but I still scrubbed. The madness was still encompassing me. I’d gone too far. I needed Marek. I needed him to pull me back. Maybe this was better though. Maybe this would get me through saving him.I’d gotte
Keenan was sitting quietly in back as we drove, his hands in his lap. I was looking out of the window, but not really looking. I missed Marek. We were so close now that it hurt that much more.“I think we broke him.” My brother leaned over and whispered to me.I turned to him and sighed. “I mean, you being alive tends to break people.”“Sure, but…like…look at him. He’s completely gone.”Lorenzo looked in the mirror and I turned around. Keenan did look really lost. Unbuckling my seatbelt, I walked over to him and squatted down on the running board.“You okay, fratellino?”Behind me, I heard a chuckle. “He is really like a fratellino. Poor guy. Stuck being adopted into our shitty little family.”“Shut up, Lor. Seriously.” I turned back to Keenan. “It’s been a lot for you today. Did you want to sleep? We still have an hour before we get there.”Keenan shook his head. “No. I just…there is a lot I feel like I’m missing.”I took his hands and Keenan finally looked up at me. “Ask anything. I
Lorenzo was leaning back in his wheelchair, a headset on his face while he had a controller in his hands. We were parked just out of sight of the building. Pulling out one of two drones that Lorenzo brought, he did some recon for us before we made a fool of ourselves by going in blind.The whirl of the drone sounded and Keenan opened the door, catching it as it came down. It shut off as Keenan brought it back inside and Lorenzo took off his headset. Taking a deep breath, he rubbed his eyes for a second.“I don’t know how you do that. I tried it once and I thought I was going to throw up.” I shook my head.“It takes some getting used to but you do.”Keenan set the drone down into the foam it came from originally. “What are we looking at?”“Honestly, I think they were relying on us not finding it than us finding it and holding us back.”“So security is lax.”Lorenzo nodded. “Really, it’s the most lax I’ve ever seem while holding someone as important as Marek Baranov.”My eyes widened. “
The guns from the drone echoed in the empty building and the guys inside started shouting. Keenan and I stepped into the building through the door. We were afforded a few moments for our eyes to shift and take in everyone that was on the ground floor. I trusted Lorenzo to get the top floor without issue.I’d grabbed the machine pistol from the van, Lorenzo knowing it was one of my favorite guns to create mayhem with. I let off bursts as I took on the four guys that had knocked over their card game. Keenan took on the three who now were trying to pull their back-up guns as their main ones were disassembled on the table.Over the gunfire, I heard Keenan grunt and cough.“Keenan!”“I’m fine, Atamansha. Hit my vest and knocked the wind out of me. I’m fine.”I wrinkled my nose because the guy that had been sleeping into the cot took cover against a cement pillar holding up the building. My eyes glanced over at the cage in the center. Marek was sitting in the chair but his eyes weren’t open
I couldn’t tell if he was angry or if he was just pouting. Either way, Marek refused to look at me the rest of the drive. He did end up falling asleep and I worried we would need to drop him off with Kamilia but he waved us off when I told him the plan. We were quiet as we drove through the city and back up the way to the hell I literally had just escaped.It sent of jolt of nerves through me but I knew if there was a time to do it, now would be that time. Enzo was gone, we confirmed that. With Juri blowing up locations and knocking in doors, the security wasn’t what it normally was. If we waited even a day, Enzo could regroup and come back to bolster Father’s forces. That and with Marek in hand, Juri would probably stop his assault. He wouldn’t have the excuse of trying to find Marek anymore.“Set up where you can be covered and I can see the entrance from the top of the van.”“I know!” Lorenzo snapped at me.“If you don’t want to do this…” I turned my head to him. “It’s okay.”He gr
I unbuckled the seatbelt and stood up, looking out the windshield. Sure enough, Lorenzo had pulled up against a brick wall that was part of the closest neighbors boundary. Tapping him on the shoulder, I walked to the back between Keenan and Marek. With a flick of a button, the top of the van started to retract back. I pulled down the metal ladder and climbed up.I had a perfect view of the guards house and the gate . My lips pursed and I stepped back down a couple stairs.“This will be fine. Their numbers went up though.”“Cause he’s back.” Lorenzo pulled out a laptop from the door and opened in. “Yeah, it’s nearly empty inside the house.”I nodded and looked over the top of the van again. “Confirmed location?”“In the study. Ferrari is also in there.”Smirking, I shrugged. “Two for one I guess.”“You need to ensure that he doesn’t run.” Marek added and I looked down at him.Frowning, I dropped down and took hold of the bulletproof vest he was putting on. I shook my head.“You’re not