19. Dante
Chapter 19
Dante
Dad bursts into the apartment, a grave look etched on his face. “We’re going to rescue your brother.”
“You found him?” Cade asks with a hopeful tone.
“His whereabouts have been located.” My father turns on his heels. His eyes find Lia, who sits next to Cade, her head on his shoulder while he’s hunched over his computer.
The glow of the screens reflects in her eyes as she watches the screens as Cade scans through footage from the night of the raid at the club; including the horrific moment when Amara was nearly killed by a hit-and-run driver.
Lia’s brow furrows in concentration before she glances up. When her gaze meets my father’s, a small smile tugs at the corners of her mouth. To my surprise, my father returned the smile. It’s the briefest of gestures, but the exchange sends an unnerving shiver down my spine. Nothing is ever this easy with my father.
“A helicopter is on the roof and ready to go,” he announces, as always, his voice carrying the weight of authority of a man who always gets what he wants. “I know where Rafe is.”
A collective intake of breath fills the tense air.
“How?” I ask, unable to mask the tremor in my voice as hope wages war with apprehension within me. “Is he alive?”
Dominic’s expression hardens, his jaw set in a rigid line. “My sources tell me a masked man dragged him into a black Range Rover. We know the man must have been in the club. It’s just working out who it is.”
“That’s what I’m looking through. The footage,” Lia tells him.
“Good.” He turns his steely gaze towards Cade, who now paces the floor, his fists clenched, his knuckles white from the stress of losing his lover. “Cade, you need to help her find out who the kidnapper is. Go through every person in the club. Start at the top, the other mafia men, including the Russian and Mexican men I played poker with. Then work your way down. Find out where that person is today. And tell me the moment you don’t know of someone’s whereabouts.”
The command hangs in the air, and for a moment, Cade seems lost, his silence broken only by the sound of his shallow breaths. But then life returns to his features, and he nods his head. A low grumble escaping his lips. “I know what to do.”
“But you haven’t been, Cade,” I counter, my voice sharp with seriousness. “You need to refocus and help us save Rafe.”
His shoulders sag as if the truth has finally settled upon them.
“We need to go,” Dominic interjects, his tone leaving no room for argument. He turns to me and says, “And I will be the one who kills him. Because nobody hurts my children.”
His words echo through the room with a finality that sends a chill down my spine. His gaze turns to Lia, his expression unreadable. “We all took a vow to die for our children,” he says, his voice softer now, yet no less resolute.
Lia visibly shakes, her body trembling, before she giving him a solemn nod of acknowledgment.
I catch Dominic’s gaze, and his eyes hold such an intense determination that they could destroy cities. I suspect he plans to do just that to Rafe’s captor. “And once we get him home, I’m going to renounce my leadership in your favor. I hope you’ll accept.”
The weight of his words hangs heavy in the air, and for a moment, I can only stare at him, struggling to process the implications. I exhale sharply. “You are? I thought you’d die before you renounced that.”
“I know everything you’ve done to get what you want. I would never renounce my position unless I thought the person was deserving of my place. You are.” He clears his throat. “But right now, we need to save your brother.”
I nod at my father and turn to see Lia as she rises from the desk. “You’re staying here,” I tell her, my voice thick with unease as she glares at me. “I’m not taking any risks with your life.”
She slams her hands on her hips as her brow furrows. “I can shoot better than any man,” she argues, her tone leaving no room for debate.
“You’re pregnant with my babies. I don’t want you getting hurt.”
“I want to help,” she insists, her eyes flaring. “It might be the difference between life or death. You don’t know how many people the kidnapper has.”
“I don’t fucking care,” I growl, my frustration boiling over.
Lia remains unmoved, her chin jutting out in defiance. “I do. Accept it. I’m going.”
The fear of losing her overwhelms every logical thought that she is an expert assassin. But ... “I don’t want to lose you,” I breathe.
Her expression softens, and she reaches out, her fingers brushing against my cheek in a tender caress. “And I don’t want to lose you.”
Despite my father’s presence, I can’t resist the pull any longer. I surge forward, my hand tangling in her hair as I crash my mouth against hers, kissing her with a desperation that borders on feral. When we finally break apart, I’m breathing hard, my heart pounding in my chest.
“If anything happens to you, you won’t get to rest in peace,” I growl, the words laced with equal parts threat and promise. “I’ll come and dance on your bones every day.”
To my surprise, she smiles, her eyes sparkling with amusement but also affection. “I suspect that’ll happen alive or dead.”
A reluctant grin tugs at my lips. “You know it, wife.”
She holds my gaze, her expression resolute. “We’re doing this together.” It’s not a question, but a demand. Her eyes silently daring me to argue.
I open my mouth to protest, but the words die on my tongue. Instead, I give a curt nod of consent, knowing there’s no point in arguing when her mind is made up.
Dominic clears his throat, drawing our attention back to the matter at hand.
He acts like Lia and me kissing is something normal and says, “Later … Antonio, Romeo, and Mateo are in the helicopter, and I have a SWAT team already on their way to the target.” His tone, all business.
A flicker of confusion crosses my features. “Why only the Conti’s?”
His expression darkens, a shadow passing over his face. “Because I don’t trust the other families anymore.” The implication hangs heavy in the air, a silent acknowledgment of the betrayal that has infiltrated the Syndicate. “And anyone foolish enough to cross the de Luca family will burn in hell,” Father says.
The blades of the helicopter cut through the thick, humid air, creating a rhythmic thwapping noise that adds to the visible tension inside the cabin.
Across the aisle, Mateo sits ramrod straight, his eyes fixed on some distant point beyond the horizon. An evil smirk curls up his lips, his eyes gleaming with a predatory intensity that reveals how eager he is to get there. Every muscle in his body is tense, but he’s always like a tightly coiled spring, and ready to unleash his fury against anyone. This time, for the person who dared to harm our family.
His brother, Romeo, is the same.
The cabin is thick with tension, a potent mixture of anger and adrenaline crackles in the air like static electricity. Or more like a hand grenade, primed and ready to explode at the pull of the pin.
For me, hope builds with every passing second as we hurtle towards an unknown destiny.
Lia watches as my father leans in close to Antonio, his brow furrowed and jaw set in a rigid line as their heads lean together in hushed conversation.
Antonio finally nods in understanding.
Antonio was annoyed, to say the least, seeing Lia ready for combat when she got into the helicopter. But he knows what she’s been up to these past few months. Because, after a conversation I had with Lia, Antonio knows she’s a very capable killer.
But then, he’s the one who had her trained.
He’s the one who made her.
He’s the one who can hardly complain.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” I ask Lia.
“I am. And I promise I’ll keep my distance.”
“I’m going to have some bodyguards stay with you. Protect you so you do what you can from the boat with no one obstructing you.” I point to where the boat will be positioned just before we rescue Rafe. There’s a good chance the captor already has boats lined up for a quick escape.
Outside the window, the world rushes by in a blur of muted greens and browns to one side, to the other a sparkling blue ocean, but the landscape is a simple afterthought as we hurtle towards our aim.
The occasional crackle of radio chatter and updates from the ground team mix with the dull roar of the engine, which only ratchets the tension higher.
I exhale deeply.
Time seems to have slowed to a crawl, each second stretching into an eternity as we draw closer to our destination.
The weight of the unknown bears down on me. If it wasn’t my brother we were rescuing, I’d be feeling like Mateo right now, ready to unleash, but there’s a suffocating presence that smothers me because I know there’s no room for mistakes.
We have to show we protect what is ours at all costs. Although we may be leaders, we’re not afraid to roll up our sleeves and get our hands dirty.
We’re soldiers and ready to risk our lives for the sake of our family—and our legacy.
As the helicopter banks sharply, the world tilting on its axis, I glimpse Lia’s face.
Her eyes are alight with a fierce energy, her jaw set in a defiant line that speaks of her steadfast courage. I’m in awe of her, but I’m also terrified by her nerve and her determination.
A fleeting thought crosses my mind—what if this is the last time I see her, the last time I gaze upon her beauty? The mere notion sends a lance of icy dread through my heart.
I want to beg her not to get involved, but I know she’ll refuse. She wants to do this for Rafe and Cade... for me too, so I forcefully push it aside and beat down my pounding heart.
The helicopter banks again, and suddenly, our destination looms before us.
Rafe is being held in an old boathouse which has corrugated metal entwined with concrete walls and a metal rooftop.
As I turn to Lia, our eyes meet, and I smile. She returns it. And it’s in that single, intense moment that a thousand unspoken words pass between us, revealing the depth of our adoration.
But I can’t leave without telling her. I pull her close and whisper, “I love you. Be careful.”
“And you too.” She smiles. “Love you.”
Romeo stares at us. “What the fuck?”
I wink at him. “You know what these Bailey girls are like. You can’t forget them.” I don’t know if Antonio has told his sons exactly who Lia is. But it’s also not my place to get involved.
With a sharp nod, I tear my gaze away from Romeo, refocusing on the task at hand. It’s time to bring my brother home, and exact vengeance on those who dared to take him.
As the helicopter begins its descent, the blades kicking up a maelstrom of dust; I feel a strange calm settle over me. The fear and the uncertainty fade into insignificance, now replaced by a singular purpose of bringing my brother home, no matter the cost.
My cell dings with a message. I open the attachment and immediately gag at the photo of my brother naked from the waist up with blood drenching his torso.
My phone dings again with a message:
Unknown: I’m going to torture him for two more days and then you can come and get him.
“Fuck!” I yell and pass my phone around for everyone to see it.
“Let me get the bastard who did this,” my father growls. “He won’t die quickly.”
When my phone is returned, I glance again at the photo as fear skittles down my spine. But I try to push it to the back of my mind when the helicopter comes into land around one mile from the boathouse near to the sea.
Just as I take hold of Lia’s hand, ready to assist her out of the copter, the jarring sound of my phone interrupts us. I hit the answer and yell, “You bastard!”
“Dante.”
“Fuck Cade. I thought you were someone else.”
He sighs. “Ricardo Bianchi?” he asks. “Because that’s who kidnapped Rafe.”