Chapter 29
Twenty-Nine
Emilia
F ranklin seems just as frustrated as the rest of us. As I watch the camera feeds that he has pulled up on the screen, I watch Anthony go into that locked room. In other feeds, women are chained to their cots, and men are stationed around the house, each with a gun on their waistbands. The overall atmosphere of the house is relaxed, though. It might be something that can be used to our advantage.
“There’s a cellar that leads into that wing that we can potentially use to infiltrate the house.” Kayden points out on one of the blueprints he has in front of him.
“I just hate that we don’t know what that side of the house holds. Any number of changes could have been made since that blueprint was made,” says James.
“True, but it also doesn’t have surveillance, allowing us to get in without raising any alarms.”
As the brothers argue valid points back and forth, my phone buzzes in my pocket. It’s enough to startle me seeing that the only people that would even message me are dead or in this room.
Pulling my phone from my pocket, I see a text alert from an unknown number. Curious to say the least, I open my text messages fully expecting to see a spam text or some advertisement for a political party.
What I see, however, has me holding my breath.
You’re going to follow myinstructions very closely.
Do not give them any clue that you are receiving these messages.
The next few minutes will determineif he lives or dies.
Panicking, I dart my eyes around to see if anyone has noticed anything off. James and Kayden are still bickering, and Franklin is nose deep in his laptop.
My phone buzzes again and what I see has my heart pounding in my chest. There’s a photo of a man strapped to a chair, barely recognizable with the swelling and bruising to his face, and a masked man holding a gun to his head. But I would recognize him anywhere. My Matty. He’s alive. Alive and being tortured this entire time. Rage bubbles deep within my chest, a murderous calm settling over my body.
If you don’t want anything to happen to him,you’re going to follow my next instructionsvery closely.
I wait what seems like forever for another message but none comes. I try to keep a calm facade, not wanting to tip anyone off at the table that something is wrong. I must not be as good as I thought, however.
“Something wrong, Em,” asks Kayden, his head cocked to the side and his eyes peering into the depths of my soul.
“Nope, nothing’s wrong. Just my attorney. They found another account of my parents. Just surprised at the amount is all.”
James briefly looks up from the papers he’s studying before his attention slides back to the task at hand. Kayden watches me for a few more seconds, seemingly undecided if I’m telling the truth. Once his attention is diverted again to James, I peer down at my phone and text back a quick reply.
I’m waiting.
Curt? Maybe, but I’m full of both rage and fear at the state that Matteo is in. I never would have thought in a million years that anyone was alive after the house was blown to pieces. They planned this—actually, thoroughly planned this. And we are two steps behind as usual. It’s frustrating to say the least.
A reply comes in, causing my phone to vibrate in my hands. I quickly scan the message, the pit of my stomach falling to endless depths.
Somehow, someway, you’re going toleave and meet us at the rendezvouspoint in two hours. Don’t tell anyone ofyour plans or else Matteo here will havehis brains splattered to the wall. Don’t testme, princess.
A second text follows, giving an address for the city’s downtown area near the marina. Probably a warehouse if I had to take a guess.
Fucking dammit. I have no choice but to get out of here somehow. I know Matty wouldn’t hesitate to do the same for me. But how do I get out of here without raising suspicion? How do I leave the man I’ve come to love?
Mentally shaking myself from my thoughts, I get up quickly, my chair scraping against the floor causing me to wince. So much for being subtle…
“If you boys will excuse me, I need to use the restroom.”
They say nothing, but I feel eyes on me as I leave the room. Making my way to our en suite bathroom, I quickly close the door and lock it, bracing myself on the sink and hanging my head down. How do I do this?! Matty’s life depends on me right now.
Glancing up into the mirror, I wince at the frenzied emotions shining back at me from the depths of my eyes. I turn on the faucet and splash cold water on my face, needing to gather myself before I lose it. I have to pull myself together, for both of our sakes.
Out of the corner of my eye, I glimpse James’s prescription bottle on the sink, an idea forming in my mind. But will I be able to pull it off? I have no choice. I steel myself, putting the pills in my pocket, and leave the bathroom.
I know two of these pills are enough to knock James on his ass, so what’s a few more pills? The men will be knocked out for at least six hours, and that should be enough time that they can’t follow me.
Before I can finish my train of thought, I bump straight into a muscled body, bouncing back before hands reach out to steady me.
“Whoa there, tiger. Take it easy. Everything OK?” asks Kayden.
“Yeah, everything’s fine. Why do you ask?” I reply, hoping my voice doesn’t come off as shaky as it feels.
“Just wanted to make sure everything’s OK. You looked like you’d seen a ghost back there.” Kayden chuckles while peering into my eyes.
“No, I’m fine. Every account found by the attorney is just a reminder that they’re gone… and never coming back.”
Pity shines in Kayden’s eyes before he pulls me in for a hug. O. K. This is awkward.
Feeling uncomfortable with his show of affection, I push him back and run a hand through my hair.
Letting my anger bleed into my voice, I tell him, “I don’t need your pity, Kayden. I know I’ve been a wreck lately, but really, I’m fine.”
Kayden holds his hands up in surrender. “Whatever you say, Em.”
Rolling my eyes, I saunter away, throwing a few choice words over my shoulder that leaves Kayden chuckling as I make my way into the kitchen.
* * *
Making a few drinks for the men, I crush up the pills loading about three pills worth into each drink. I’m not a doctor, but I’m hoping the amount I gave them is enough to just knock them out and not permanently send them to sleep.
I place the drinks on a serving tray and make my way back into the dining room. Franklin is still typing away at his laptop, while James and Kayden are still looking over all the blueprints.
“Refreshments!” I announce, placing each glass in front of them.
“Thank fuck. These blueprints are giving me a bloody headache,” says James as he eagerly grabs the drink and downs the alcohol in one gulp.
“Slow down there, boss. We still have a lot of work to do,” Kayden says, pointing at the stack of papers in front of them.
“Thanks, Emilia,” Franklin says from across the table, barely glancing up from his laptop.
Feeling happy that each guy is downing their drink, I take a seat next to Franklin again and pretend to take interest in whatever he’s looking at. We all get back to our research for the next thirty minutes, each of us working silently to come up with a plan. Myself? I’m sweating bullets.
“Well, I think I found something that we can use to our advantage,” says Franklin excitedly, pushing back in his chair and wearing a smug smile.
“Well? By all means, tell us,” James says, hope filling his voice.
“After reviewing my drone footage, and given the age of the house, I’m willing to bet they have a pretty outdated electrical system. Now, the part that we can really use to our advantage is they don’t have a backup generator. Which means if we can cut the power to the house, we can have the advantage to go in and take them out.”
“What about the cameras? We can’t go in blind. And what about the women? We can’t just leave them or have them get caught in the crossfire,” replies James, frustration clear in his voice.
“The cameras in the house have battery backups, so we are covered there. In regards to the women, that’s where I think Kayden comes into play. Your men have plenty of experience with hostage situations, right?” he asks, continuing without waiting for a reply. “So, I’m thinking we cut the power and send in Kayden and his men. It’ll be dark but with their equipment, it shouldn’t be a problem for them to navigate their way through the house with me in their ear. On the other hand, Anthony’s men don’t have night vision and will be scrambling in the dark.”
“I’m listening,” says Kayden, rubbing his chin like he’s intrigued by this idea.
“From there, it’s just a matter of taking out the targets, securing the women, and getting the hell out of there.”
“But what about the other Romanis? If we take out Anthony, then we have his parents and brothers to worry about,” I pipe up, confused as to how this will ever end.
“They are so far in debt that I seriously doubt they could put anyone on their payroll for retribution, let alone even keep their territory. The next family in line will do our dirty work for us, essentially taking out what’s left of the Romanis.”
“Who’s to say the next family won’t put a target on Emilia’s back?”
Franklin starts to speak, except no words come out of his mouth. He glances around, confusion marring his features. My eyes widen as I realize the sleeping pills must have kicked in already, but I start to panic because James and Kayden still appear coherent.
“Franklin… what’s wrong?” asks Kayden, his eyes darting between Franklin and myself, suspicion evident in the furrow of his brows as he meets my gaze.
“What did you do, Emilia?” Kayden roars, standing abruptly, his chair toppling to the floor.
James jumps to his feet, swaying slightly, placing a hand on Kayden’s chest and pushing him back. “Watch how you speak to her, Kayden.”
Kayden sways on his feet, and only then does James turn to look at me, betrayal lining his handsome face.
“Emilia.” His words slur. “What did you do?”
As though his words are tied to his consciousness, he slumps back down to his chair, his eyes fighting to stay open.
“Love, you don’t have to do this…” he barely whispers before his eyes slowly shut, his face smoothing out as sleep claims him.
Kayden continues to fight the effects, stumbling forward and barely catching himself on the table. “Emilia, what did they tell you? Why did you do this?”
“I’m sorry, Kayden,” I say, choking back a sob. Now isn’t the time to be weak. “I had no choice.”
“Emilia, please…”
“It’s too late, Kayden. Forgive me. Take care of him for me, please.” I push out, my words catching before I turn around, ready to make my way to the rendezvous point.
“What do they have over you?”
“They have him, Kayden. I have no choice but to save him. I hope you can understand.”
Kayden struggles to get out any words, his eyes starting to roll as he crashes to the ground, his head slamming against the table on his way. I wince, knowing he’s going to have an impressive concussion after that hit.
Glancing over at Franklin, I see that he’s slouched over his computer, forehead resting against the keyboard. I grab the notebook next to his laptop, jotting down a single name for them for whenever they finally come to.
Matty
And with that, I leave my heart behind and square my shoulders for what is to come.