Chapter 45
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
Gideon
The cops drove me home. Fucking home. I needed to be elsewhere.
I answered their questions, and the detective I spoke to recognized a few of the shooters as organized crime linked to some Bratva in the area.
Toni was able to get Mikhail, Ivan, and a few others out of there and to the crates with the help of Raff and Tate.
On my orders, Danny went with Alex to the hospital.
At home, Rita, Dean, Matteo, and my parents were all waiting. Matteo was asleep on the couch, and I hoped he wasn’t having nightmares.
I looked into the eyes of my family, my vision blurring. “This is my fault.”
Rita rushed over and wrapped her arms around me. “You’re not responsible for the games other monsters play.”
“He took them, my babies, Penn. He has them because I helped Monica and his children break free.” I pulled away from Rita and paced.
“The fucking Bratva! Why didn’t Aleksei tell me about this agreement he had with them?
I could have approached the pakhan, maybe cut a deal.
Then Benito wouldn’t have had anyone to turn to. ”
I scraped my nails against my skull. Anger filled my veins, fear choking me.
“Gideon, sweetheart. We will find them, we will.” My mom stood in my path.
“I ruined lives, Mom.”
“No! You didn’t do this, and I won’t have you blaming yourself, Gideon. Rita is right, you didn’t make that man’s choices.”
“Gideon!” Dean snapped at me. “Get your shit together. There is zero time to fall apart. You have answers waiting for you. Go and get them and bring the rest of our family home.”
He was right. I believed Ivan and Mikhail knew where Penn and the twins were—they had to.
“Cops are watching the house. I need a way out.”
“They’re on the street, not the backyard. If you go west, it’ll bring you to the neighbor’s yard. Have someone pick you up there,” Dean said.
It was as good a plan as any. I texted Ronnie to meet me at the corner. Quickly, I grabbed my Desert Eagle and my Colt and slipped out the back.
Dean was right. The cops weren’t watching the yard, and I was able to make it undetected to the corner, where Ronnie was waiting for me. I got into the car and instructed him to take me to the port. I was getting answers tonight and bringing my family home.
Mikhail and Ivan looked as though they’d gone eight rounds with Mike Tyson by the time I arrived. Toni was leaning against the wall of the crate while the two brothers were passed out, blood dripping from their mouths.
“Are they dead?”
Toni shook his head. “No, unfortunately.”
“Get anything?”
“I’m close. The other crate has three shooters. One is actually Benito’s guy; the other two are Bratva. I think we might have better luck with Benito’s man.”
I pointed to Mikhail and Ivan. “Clean them up. If I get the info from Benito’s guy, I don’t need them.”
“So then why am I cleaning them up?” Toni cocked his head.
“Because Alex is going to want vengeance and right now, they are all I have to offer. I want them in one piece so he can tear them apart.”
Toni’s gaze fell, and he frowned. “Yeah…I can’t believe Mila is dead.”
“We’ll have time to let that sink in later. Right now, I need to find my family.”
I exited the crate I was in and walked to the other one. It was easy to spot which was Benito’s guy. Bratva dressed a certain way. I strolled up to him and grinned.
“Are you going to make this easy on yourself and just tell me where your boss has taken my family?”
He swallowed loudly, nervous. Good. “Just tell him where Monica and his children are, and he’ll let them go.”
“Ha! If you believe that, you’re an idiot.”
“You’re going to kill me if I tell you.”
I shrugged. “Yes, but I’m going to kill you either way. One is quick, the other is not. You can choose whether you get a bullet through the head, or slowly, my men peel the skin from your bones.”
One of the Bratva snorted, and I glared at him. He rolls his eyes. “He will fold.”
Benito’s man sneered. “Fuck you!”
“No fighting, boys. Now…what’s your name?”
His blue eyes shifted from the Bratva to me. “Pete.”
“Pete, okay, so what’s it gonna be?” When he didn’t say anything, I walked to where Ronnie stood and held out my hand. “Knife.”
He smirked and handed it off. I returned to Pete and without hesitation jammed it into his thigh.
His scream echoed through the metal space. I stepped away and he threw up.
“Pathetic,” one of the Bratva said. I ignored him.
“Now, Pete, where is my family? If you don’t answer me, I will remove the knife and stick it somewhere else on your body.”
Snot dripped down his face, mingling with his tears. He was pathetic. What was he, an office assistant Benito had recruited for this massacre?
I gave him a moment, and eventually he calmed. “They…”
“Keep your mouth shut.” This time I didn’t ignore the Bratva. I removed my gun and shot him in the shoulder. All he did was hiss. “Speak again, and I take your tongue.” I shifted the Colt to Pete. “Where the fuck is my family?”
“Home!” he shouted. “Home…he took them home.”
I was confused. “Home?”
“Yes…yes, please.”
“What home?”
Pete sniffed, his red swollen eyes meeting mine. “His home.”
My arm dropped, and I looked at Ronnie. “Is Benito really stupid enough to have brought them to his house?”
“He has nowhere else to go, Boss. Think about it. If he was to take them to a warehouse or storefront—hell, even a house, someone would inform you. You have eyes everywhere. But his place…like hiding in plain sight and not linked to you.”
“Huh.” I turned back to Pete. “Thanks.” I raised the gun and shot him in the forehead.
“What makes you think he did not lie?” another of the Bratva men asked.
I pointed to the piss on the floor surrounding the chair Pete was tied to. “He’s not cut out for this line of work. He was forced into it. It was never going to take much to get him to talk.”
He smirked. “I wonder…do you think your fuck boy is cut out for it?”
“What?”
“Do you think Benito is having tea with him?” He snorted. “You know your whore, would he easily give up the location of Benito’s family or would he crumble like this pussy did?”
He was right. Penn wouldn’t tell him, which meant they’d try to pry it out of him, and him not feeling pain meant they’d keep going until he died.
I had to get out of here. But first things first. I yanked the knife out of Pete’s thigh, walked over to the Bratva who was talking to me, and rammed it in his throat. “You don’t disrespect him.”
When he was dead, I looked at the last Bratva. “You have anything to say?”
He shook his head, but he didn’t appear scared.
I nodded curtly and turned on my heel to leave. I was going to get my family back.