Chapter 33
While we mingle among the partygoers, we have eyes everywhere. When I spot Bailey, I cease breathing. She looks spectacular in that dark green dress fitted to her lithe body, with her strawberry hair cascading down her back. She doesn’t need a crown; she’s a queen on her own. Her aquamarine eyes, a unique gem just like she is, find mine, trapping me forever in her sphere. Even if I’d lost my sight, my heart’s compass would follow the arrow pointing straight at her—my only destination and true destiny.
I ignore the bug by her side. I will squish him under my shoe tonight, anyway. He’s not even a damn footnote in our love story.
Not letting her out of my sight, I watch as Bailey walks inside the bathroom, her movements slow and uncoordinated. And that started right after she drank the champagne. Fuck.
I try to reach her, but just then, fireworks go off above the gardens. All the guests in the ballroom move outdoors, pushing me further away from Bailey.
Shoving through the moving crowd, I am almost to the bathroom when I hear the front doors slam shut. Turning, I see two armed men blocking the entrance.
Suddenly, one of them hurls a fog cannon into the hall. Thick smoke blankets the air, making it impossible to see and effectively trapping me and my friends inside.
“They have her. Run!” Mia shouts through the comm.
Fucking shit. No . I won’t accept that.
“You won’t help her if you die trying,” Celine yells at me, pushing at my chest to move. Our friends follow behind as we run deeper into the castle.
We slip into a room at the far end of the hall. Shouts break out as we try to locate each other and stay alive. Trapped inside and surrounded by armed guards, bullets whiz past us as we search for hiding places.
Twenty men barge inside, and the only sound from us is our heavy breathing picked up through the comms. I duck behind a thick column and return fire. Come at me, assholes. This is not the night I’ll die.
While we prepared for an ambush, I didn’t expect Felix to have professional help to this extent—perfectly planned and executed. I knew we’d be at a disadvantage and that the mission was high risk, but we’ve gotten used to living dangerously. Nothing else matters but gaining our freedom by eliminating the last threat.
Celine takes cover behind a table, shooting at whoever approaches her. Kaden is at the far end, peeking from behind a column with his gun drawn.
“Cover me,” he orders through the comm.
I shoot the one moving toward him, and Kaden rushes over to Celine. Together, guns blazing, they take down three more.
Blake slits a man’s throat with swift precision, then moves to the next like a gladiator who kills for sport. Abi and Dane stand back-to-back, their guns spitting bullets that drop bodies surrounding them in a circle of death.
A bullet flies by my arm when I pull the trigger. My shot tears through the attacker’s skull, sending him crumpling to the ground.
Glancing at the twenty bodies scattered across the room, I confirm no one survived. We slip out unnoticed, rejoining the other guests outside, who remain clueless about what happened behind closed doors.
It couldn’t have lasted more than fifteen minutes, not with the fireworks painting the night sky in bright colors, but we survived.
Once we’re in the van, Blake shouts profanities, slamming his fist into the wall. Mia hovers over him, checking him a dozen times. Abi speaks into the comm, desperately trying to reach Bailey, but the only response is crackling static. Celine sits in silence, wearing a despondent look as she surely works through our next move. Dane plays with his lighter, his eyes fixed on the dancing flame.
Calmness floods my bloodstream, more intense than I have ever felt before. I’m led by a single-minded focus: I will get Bailey back.
With Dane’s proclivity to burn shit, Felix will be buried under debris and failed ambitions.
Kaden fixes me with an intent stare.
“I know where she is,” I say, and Blake stops his erratic movements.
Five pairs of eyes turn to me. Kaden rolls his hand through the air, signaling me to continue.
“I put a tracking device in Bailey.”
For a moment, silence fills the van before Abi sighs in relief. “I can finally breathe again.”
“That’s why I insisted on the chips. Exactly for scenarios like this one.”
The group nods in acceptance. This is our life. Personal preferences can’t be allowed to jeopardize our well-being.
Without losing another second, I pull out my phone, and we track her to a cottage just south of London. It’s ten miles from here. We can’t afford to repeat what happened at the gala. It’s a damn miracle it didn’t turn into a bloodbath on our part. I have to give it to the bastard; it was a flawless plan, but we’re not that easy to kill.
“Eric is mine,” I tell them, caring more about him than about killing Felix. While that was the original plan, Eric was the one who drugged her. He’ll pay for that.
The team Cassandra sent is not far away, but we’re not going to lose any more time. Dane hops in the driver’s seat and speeds off.
Kaden is on the phone with Cassandra, “Ma’am, we’re heading there right now. We can’t wait.”
The drive happens in a blur as Mia shows us the Google images of the house. It’s secluded and in the heart of a forest—a great hiding location.
Once we park the van farther away, we change into black bulletproof coveralls, putting the infrared goggles on as we make our way toward the cottage.
Ten men roam the perimeter, and we’re extra careful as we can’t have them call for help, aware of what is at stake. Stealthily, I move to the first one, slicing his neck. With the silencer on my gun, I move further in, shooting a second guard and waiting to see if his body landing on the ground gathers attention. My cover can’t be blown. Not yet. I’m here, love.
I hear muffled grunting noises in the distance as my friends take care of the rest of the guards. Everything becomes silent once again, except for the hooting of owls in the distance. The eerie quiet seems to carry death with it.
The next guard appears to be on his cigarette break. I pull my knife out, stabbing the blade into his heart with rapid jabs, catching him before he drops to the ground. Placing him down, I spot the same tattoo of the Family crest etched on everyone I’ve taken down. Felix’s reign will end tonight .
As we haven’t had time to watch the guards properly, we don’t know when they use their walkie-talkies to check in. The closer I get to her, the more my patience wavers. I couldn’t care less about risks—she’s been here for almost an hour. Not even an army could keep me from her.
“Ten more inside,” Mia informs us.
“That fucker really sold his soul to the devil,” Kaden says, sounding more insulted than anything.
“A desperate man,” Celine reminds him.
That was one fundamental rule in the Family’s guidebook: Never get in a position of desperation, or you’ll be owned.
Followed by the second important rule: Every connection must hold equal importance for quid pro quo.
We have surrounded the cottage. It’s time to go inside. But once we do, our cover will be blown. I check her position. She’s somewhere in the basement at the farthest end.
“I’ll go in first,” I say through the comm.
“We’ve got your back,” Celine assures me.
“Do not come inside until I give you the go. If something happens to her leave me here.”
“Stop being so dramatic. We got it,” Kaden says—hypocritical asshole.
I open the door and slip inside, blending into the shadows with my all-black attire. Like in a dance of hide and seek, I move easily through the house, avoiding detection. I’ve trained for years to become a ghost when needed.
Reaching the basement, I spot two guards posted at the door. If I get my knife in one and shoot the other, I might be fast enough to stop them from calling for backup.
But my plan blows up when I hear a scream piercing through the door.
I don’t think—I act.
“Now,” I tell my friends, throwing the knife at the first guard. Both men look at me like gutted fish, their surprise frozen on their faces.
I am quick to shoot the second guard, but he fires at the same time. His bullet grazes my side, while mine gets him square in the chest. Blood pours out of their bodies, painting the floor in deep scarlet.
A commotion erupts upstairs, but my focus is singular—finding Bailey.
Hurrying down the stairs, I yank at the basement door, but it doesn’t give. I need a keycard .
Fuck it . I don’t have time to find Felix and take his. I pull a small device that resembles gum from my vest. It’s designed to eat through steel on contact.
I place it right on the handle. Every agonizing second passes so torturously slow. I can hear her muffled cries through the door while he laughs maniacally.
I’m here, love.
When the door gives way, I ram my shoulder into it with all my strength. It flies open, crashing to the floor with a thud—a warning of the violence I’m going to let loose.
Their heads snap toward me.
The scene before makes me murderous with rage.
Eric has her pinned on the bed while she fights to escape him. She slams her elbow into his nose, breaking free. Her lip is busted, and bruises in the shape of fingerprints blemish her arms.
You messed with the wrong man’s woman .