Carmine
I sit bolt upright in bed as I hear my door gets kicked in. I grab my spare gun from my side drawer and point it at the door. I’d been fast asleep after Arianna left, but her brothers must have found out about us and decided to come and collect.
Dominic enters the room first, followed by two guards and Alessandro. I keep my gun trained on one of the guards, I would never point a gun at my Don, and he knows that.
“What the hell are you doing?” I demanded, glaring at them, “Can’t a guy even sleep in peace.”
“Where is Arianna?” Alessandro asks casually, inspecting the room slowly.
I shake my head. “I don’t know where she is.”
He lifts his gun suddenly and fires above my head. I don’t twitch. I was put through desensitizing training, among other things, so I don’t flinch when people shoot at me. You aren’t a safe shooter if you flinch.
“I’m going to ask you once more, and then I’m aiming for either your dick or your head. I haven’t decided. Where is Arianna?”
“She was here,” I say after a long pause. “She was here but left around four or five in the morning.”
Alessandro steps toward my bed and points his gun at my head. “I told you to stay the fuck away from Arianna.”
I look up into his eyes, not at the gun, into the eyes of my older brother, and I say, “I’ve never minded dying for the people I love. Including you. Including Arianna.”
Alessandro’s finger moves over the trigger, but I don’t close my eyes. I want him to look at me when he pulls the trigger.
His phone rings, and he sighs, rolls his head slightly as though his neck is stiff, and holsters his gun. “Keep him here.”
He pulls out his phone and answers it, “Yeah.”
He walks out into the living room and talks while Dominic and the guards hover awkwardly over me with their guns trained on me. I look at Dominic, and I’m surprised to see sadness in his eyes. I give a slight nod of understanding, and he looks away. I think that’s the first time he’s ever done that.
Alessandro comes back in. “Dominic, they’ve found
Arianna’s car. It’s been in an accident.”
“What?” I say, sitting up straighter. “Is she okay?”
“Stay out of this,” Alessandro says, looking back at his younger brother. “There was a tag on her car. A Russian tag. It seems the Triev family have come to collect on the brother’s deaths.”
Dominic holsters his gun but reaches for it again as I scramble to get out of bed,
“What do you think you’re doing?” Alessandro asks, glaring at me.
“I don’t give a flying fuck if you try to shoot me or not, but I’m going to find Arianna and bring her home,” I explain, pushing Dominic aside and opening my closet to get clothes out. I get dressed unashamedly, ignoring the guards’ stares.
“You think you can take on the Triev family on your own,” Dominic says. “You’re insane, Carmine. They’ll chop you into pieces and leave you out for the cats to eat. And that’s if you can find them.”
I start strapping a holster around my hip, then one across my chest. “There’s a Russian who does races. He has an issue with Arianna. She threatened him the last time. I’ll bet anything he’ll have an idea how to find them.”
“How many men do you need?” Alessandro asks, watching me carefully.
“I’ll decide once I have the location. I have my own contacts that I can use. I don’t need to use family men.” I slide a gun into each holster, then reach down and grab a pair of heavy-duty army boots.
“You can, though. I will allow it this time. You bring Arianna back, and I’ll consider letting you back into the family as a reward, with provisions.” Alessandro stands at the door. When I’m done putting my shoes on, I approach him. We’re close in height, so I look him in the eyes. “I don’t give a fuck about being in the family right now. All I care about is getting Arianna back safely and protecting her. I don’t care if I have permission to do that or not.”
Alessandro regards me carefully and then steps out of the way. I walk out of the bedroom and grab a jacket, slinging it on. I grab the car keys hanging by the door. I don’t know what shape Arianna will be in, so the bike is out of the question.
I leave them in my apartment. I take out my phone and dial a number, waiting for Richie to pick up.
“Hey, Carmine, what’s cracking?”
“Konstantin, the guy who does the races. I need to know where he stays.” I say. “It’s urgent.”
“Yeah, I know him. Shit doesn’t land far from the ass if you catch my drift. He holes up in a place near Long Beach.
I can text you the address, is everything okay?”
“Ritchie, send me that address and tell no one where I’m headed,” I say as I enter the building’s parking lot.
“What did he do?” Ritchie asks.
“He touched something that is mine,” I answer, hanging up.
I climb into the Ford Pickup. Armored and tinted, this is my baby. I wait for Ritchie to text me the address.
The passenger side door opens, and Dominic climbs in.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I ask angrily.
“It’s my sister, and you’re my best friend,” he says, looking me in the eyes. “My brother. I’m coming with you to get her back.”
I stare at him for a moment, then nod. “Okay, call up some of the guys from the security days. Get Bones, if you can. Tell them that we have a job, and it pays well. Rescue mission. Tell them that this one is personal as well.”
Dominic takes out his phone and starts making calls as I receive the address from Ritchie. I know exactly where Konstantin stays, the little rat.
I start the truck and pull into traffic, not caring about anyone in my way or traffic lights that are either in or not in my favor. I need to focus on one goal and one goal only.
I need to get Arianna back.
Carmine
Dominic sits beside me as we drive toward Long Beach, a tense silence between us.
“If I knew you were going to be a drama queen about my sister, I wouldn’t have gotten involved,” he says, and I know, in his way, that’s an apology.
“Yeah, well, have you met your sister? She drives people to insanity, personally, and then leaves them there for a few days before she comes to pick them up again,” I say, a way of accepting his apology.
“I’ll speak to Alessandro….”
I cut him off, “Don’t. I can handle my own affairs with Alessandro. Right now, all that matters is Arianna. The Trievs didn’t kidnap her for an exchange. They’re going to make an example of her.”
“Who is this guy we’re going to see? Is it Konstantin?” he asks.
“You’ve had the pleasure, I see,” I comment.
“You weren’t always the one who protected Arianna. It used to be me. I’m familiar with the asshole,” he says coolly. “What makes you think it’s him?”
“He threatened her. He knows her car, and he knows the family. He could gain from the Russians taking over,” I point out.
Dominic nods. “All valid points.”
I nod, and we fall into a more comfortable silence, something we’re used to. I pull up outside the address and look at Dominic. “This is it.”
“Let’s do business,” Dominic says and climbs out of my truck.
I climb out, and we both walk to the front door. I knock while Dominic stands to the side. The door swings open, and Konstantin looks at me, confused. “Who the fuck are you?”
I pull my gun in a flash, grab his shirt and push him backward, with Dominic following. “Check the rooms.”
Dominic goes off, and I force Konstantin into a chair. “You and I need to have a little talk.”
“I don’t even fucking know you,” Konstantin whines.
“What do you want? I don’t keep cash here.”
I snort, “Probably bullshit, but don’t you recognize me, Konstantin. I was with Arianna not so long ago when she threatened to shoot you.”
“You,” he narrows his eyes, “you’re the guy who was in the car with her.” I see a light sweat develop on his face. “What is this about? I gave her the winnings that night. I don’t owe her anything.”
“You owe me her location,” I say as Dominic comes back in. “All clear?”
“All clear,” Dominic says.
“Good.” I shoot Konstantin in the leg, and he screams. “Now, you told the Trievs what car Arianna drives and how to find her, did you not?”
“No! No! No!” Konstantin cries, but when I raise my gun to his other leg, he holds his hand up. “A guy came around asking about her a while ago. I didn’t think anything of it.”
“Russian guy?” I ask, keeping my gun trained on him.
“Yes, some guy called Igor,” he says, sweating hard.
“Please, that’s all I know.”
I shoot him in the other leg. “You’re going to bleed out real soon, Konstantin. Where is your friend Igor hanging out?”
He doesn’t even fight the accusation. “In one of the warehouses in Brooklyn, not far from the warehouses your family owns.”
He pants hard. “Now, please call me an ambulance.”
“This is your fault. No one is coming to help you,” I say coldly and raise my gun, putting a bullet in his head.
“Call the guys. I’ll get Richie to find out which warehouse it is.” I take out my phone and call Richie again. “Hey man, it’s me. Russians own a warehouse in Brooklyn, recently acquired. Igor might be the name of someone linked to an Igor. I need a location stat.”
“I’ll send it to you as soon as I have it,” Richie says and hangs up.
I get into the truck and wait for Dominic. Then we both head toward one of the houses with an armory shed nearby. We need to stock up on weapons.
It takes two hours to secure a team and a location, and it’s the longest two hours of my fucking life. I could murder someone. I’m so tense.
I need to clear my mind. I’m no good to Arianna wound up. I pull up next to Bones’ vehicle in the lot, two warehouses away from the address Richie gave us. I get out and shake the hands of my fellow mercenaries.
Bones nods to the warehouse. “They’re not expecting anyone. Hardly any guards, in or out, but Carmine, we did hear a woman scream.”
My blood boils, and I take a deep breath. “Bones, cut the electricity, everyone on radio comms. Our priority is to secure the package and get her out safely. Kill any motherfucker in your way.”
Everyone agrees, and Bones slips away to the main electric box for this section of warehouses.
“Get ready to switch to night vision,” I say into my radio.
The lights go out. “Switch to night vision and breach.”
We move quickly. As we approach the warehouse, two assholes with guns walk out to see what’s happening. We snipe them-two down.
We walk in and fan out, and before I know it, bullets are flying everywhere. Three of us head upstairs to the first floor and sweep through the various nooks and crannies. There aren’t really rooms in this warehouse, so they could have her anywhere.
“I found her,” Bones’ voice sounds into my ear. “Second platform, one ugly motherfucker has a gun to her head and is threatening to shoot her.”
I look around and then up. I can just make out the heat signatures. I quietly go to the end of the platform, and using the pipes on the wall, the machinery rising through the warehouse, and some rather incredible balance, I manage to make it to the second platform silently.
The shooting has died down, and I can hear the Russian shouting that he’s going to shoot the princess if anyone comes near him. He doesn’t realize I’m behind him.
I lie on my belly and train my rifle on the back of his head. I need him first to move that gun away from Arianna’s head before I can take the shot.
“I need a clear shot,” I whisper into the radio. I see someone approaching from the Russian’s right and bang the barrel of his gun against the railing. The Russian quickly points his handgun toward the mercenary, and I lean in, steady my breathing and take the shot.
Straight through his head. He collapses, dragging whoever he’s holding down with him.
Please, God, let Arianna be okay.
I get up, and we all rush to where he was standing. I pull off my night-vision goggles and turn on a flashlight, shining it on Arianna’s bruised face. “Ari. Ari. Are you okay?
Can you hear me?”
She groans. Thank God she isn’t dead. I give her a quick once over and Bones, to my left, hisses when he sees all her fingernails are missing. “Good thing you shot that son of a bitch.”
“I need to get her home. They have a special doctor that can take care of her privately. Cover me.” I sling my gun over my shoulder, so it rests on my back and scoop Arianna into my arms. We slowly make our way downstairs. We move slowly and carefully and get Arianna to Dominic and the car.
“Dom, call Dr. Harper. Tell him to meet us at the estate,” I say, sitting with Arianna in my arms.
Bones gets in to drive while Dom calls the doctor and Alessandro.