23. The Lie and the Truth #2
This time when he regarded Halston, the knot between his eyebrows was more pronounced than ever. Even in the dark car, she couldn’t miss the concern in his eyes.
“This is bad, isn’t it?” she murmured.
“It sure as hell is,” her dad said from the back seat. “If we can’t get the power back on, we’ll be in endless darkness. No electricity. Food will spoil. No way to pump gas. Stores will shutter. Pandemonium will break out. People will become barbarians fighting to survive.”
“Dad, isn’t that a little extreme?” Halston asked.
“No, Halston, it’s not,” her dad replied. “It’s Armageddon.”
GAbrIEL
Gabriel wanted to laugh. Her dad might be a brilliant physicist and a well-respected expert in power grids, but Armageddon?
That was taking it too far, but he was not doing battle with Dustin Devereux.
If he and Halston did marry, he wanted a great relationship with his in-laws.
Though the first to admit he loved being the Agitator, he also knew when to hold his tongue.
And now is one of those times.
The two vans continued on Route 7 toward Hotel Dillinger in DC, the SUV driven by Teddy veered toward the crematorium in Springfield.
Minutes later, he and Greystone pulled up to the giant hangar of the Black Site in Great Falls. The surgeon, Joyce Ferguson, and her nurse, Baker Deen, were waiting nearby in their cars. The large door rose, they drove inside and parked.
As the giant hangar door closed down, Gabriel said, “Let’s hold back until Bulgrov has been taken inside.”
They watched as Greystone, Caroline, and Slash—along with the doctor and nurse—assisted Bulgrov into the building.
After Gabriel collected the Devereux’s suitcases, Halston clasped her parents’ hands. Moving as a pod, they made their way to the sliding glass door. There, Gabriel called Greystone.
“I’ll be right there,” Greystone said.
A minute later, Greystone appeared on the other side of the glass door. He punched a code on his phone, the door slid open.
“This is very secure,” Halston’s mom murmured to her.
They entered the low-lit hallway.
“Glad to see you have a generator,” Halston’s dad said.
Gabriel and Greystone helped Duston and Sonya Devereux into the secure building. Once inside, Gabriel rolled the suitcases toward the residential wing, and into a waiting suite.
“Do you need to shower or change clothes?” Gabriel asked.
“Thank you, Gabriel,” Sonya Devereux replied. “That’s thoughtful.”
“I want to get started right away,” Dustin Devereux replied.
“Let’s get you set up in the conference room,” Gabriel said before leading them back to the office wing of the Black Site.
Caroline hurried over. “Bulgrov is being prepped for surgery.” She smiled kindly at the Devereuxes. “You must be starving. I’m making breakfast for everyone.”
“I can help,” Sonya Devereux said, “unless you need me, Dustin.”
“I’ll stay with Dad,” Halston replied.
Sonya left with Caroline.
Gabriel got Halston and her dad situated in the executive conference room. As he finished setting Dustin up on the private server, his phone rang with a call from Kathrine Austin.
He answered in the quiet hallway. “Hey, Kathrine, what’s the word?”
“The power outages are all over the country,” she said. “Teams are frantically trying to get their systems back on. It’s in over sixty cities, and my number might be low. Where are you?”
“Black Site. We’ve got someone here who’s a power grid expert. Dustin Devereux.”
“I’ve looped Z in. Call me with any updates. I’m about to jump on a video chat with my team.”
The call ended.
There was nothing Gabriel could do but wait.
Wait for the ambassador to come out of surgery.
Wait for Dustin Devereux to figure out what the hell was going on.
Gabriel was a man of action. He’d never waited for anything or anyone in his life.
If there was anything Gabriel Santini hated, it was having a lack of control over a situation.
This is about as frustrating as it gets.
He returned to the conference room. Halston had been peering over at her dad’s laptop.
Their eyes met.
“I’ll be right out in the hallway, Daddy.”
“Okay, dear,” Dustin replied, his gaze cemented on the screen.
Together they exited, and Halston pulled the door shut behind her. In the hallway, Gabriel wrapped his arms around her while she hugged him hard.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “This is about as intense as it gets.”
They came together in a loving kiss, her lips pressing against his sent relief pounding through him. She was safe. Despite the mayhem surrounding them, her safety mattered most to him.
“If this is Armageddon, we’re in it together,” he murmured.
She leaned up, kissed him. “This is not the end of civilization.”
“Kathrine Austin from NSA—Sydney and Caroline’s mom—said there are over sixty blackouts across the country.”
Her eyebrows jutted into her forehead. “That’s big.” Then, she broke away. “The Petrov twins are dead. The ambassador will play ball. He has to.”
He shot her a smile. “Petrov twins. Nice.”
Greystone strode toward them.
“Bulgrov’s in surgery,” Greystone said. “Slash insisted on scrubbing up. She’s in there with them, but I was able to convince her to holster her gun.”
“I’m going to check on my dad.” Halston shot Gabriel a loving smile before returning to the conference room.
The brothers moved away to talk privately.
“There’s a lot going on, but the waiting is killing me,” Gabriel said.
Greystone squeezed his brother’s shoulder. “Teddy gets the credit for being the glue that holds our family together, but you’re the one who makes things happen.”
That got Gabriel’s full attention. “What are you talking about?”
“You’re the one who—without any help from us—brought Cosa Nostra back into our family, where it belonged,” Greystone said. “You took it from the Russians.”
“Our grandfather didn’t build it for nothing. I owed him that.”
“When Luciano spun out, you brought him to Italy,” Greystone continued. “You started Santini International, Santini Vineyards, and Santini Spirits.” Greystone paused. “You don’t ever come to play, G, you come to win. Every. Damn. Time.”
Gabriel wasn’t expecting this from anyone, especially from Greystone. “Thank you. That means a lot.”
Caroline—holding a few bottles of chilled water—joined them.
“You get results,” Greystone said. “You piss off everyone—most everyone—in the process, but you manage things like a boss.”
Gabriel smiled. “I am the Boss. The Padrino.”
“The Godfather.” Greystone extended his hand. “I misjudged you, G.” Gabriel shook it.
“I love this,” Caroline said. “Now, I hope the fighting between you two stops.”
Gabriel and Greystone laughed.
“Never,” Gabriel said.
“It’s what we do,” Greystone replied.
With a smile, Caroline just shook her head. “Gabriel, you’re ruthless when it’s necessary, completely committed to family—especially Elsa—and exacting all the time. You’re unstoppable.”
“When I set my mind on something… it’s already mine,” Gabriel said.
Halston walked into the hallway, her gaze finding his.
“Like I said, I see something I want…” Gabriel murmured as he homed in on the stunning brunette making her way toward him.
“Is she yours?” Greystone murmured.
Gabriel couldn’t drag his gaze from her. “She is, if she’ll have me.”
“No one says no to you, G,” Caroline said. “Ever.”
“Am I interrupting?” Halston asked.
“Never,” Gabriel replied.
“How’s your dad doing?” Greystone asked.
“It’s slow going, but he’s making progress.” Halston eyed the chilled waters. “Can I grab one for my dad?”
“Sonya asked if I’d run these down to him.” Caroline smiled. “Your mom is awesome and so committed to your dad. I love it.”
Caroline vanished into the conference room to deliver the waters.
“Kathrine Austin said there’s sixty major cities in blackout,” Gabriel said. “She’s on a video call with her team.”
Greystone’s phone rang. “It’s Z.” He answered, put the call on speaker. “I’m at the Black Site with the team. You’re on speaker.”
“I’m at NSA,” Z said. “Kathrine’s team intercepted chatter. Whoever is behind the blackouts is focused on doubling the number of metropolitan cities in the next two hours.”
“Z, do we have confirmation the Russians are behind this?” Greystone asked.
“That’s what her team is working on,” Z replied. “Is Teddy there?”
“Not yet,” Greystone replied.
“We need his hacking skills.”
“I’ll find out.” Gabriel stepped away, called his brother.
“Yo,” Teddy answered.
“Z needs your hacking skills,” Gabriel said.
“We’re three minutes out,” Teddy replied.
“I’ll let Z know.” Gabriel hung up.
“What’s the word?” Greystone asked.
“Teddy’s three out.”
“Gabriel, I need you to ID some Bratva,” Z said. “Mugshots are in the portal. This group was on the No-Fly list, but we think they got into the country and are going to be integral in the next phase of this blackout.”
“We’re on it.” Greystone hung up, regarded his brother. “G, I’ll get you set up.” Without waiting, Greystone strode toward the conference room, vanishing inside.
Finally, alone with his woman.
Without hesitation, Gabriel pulled Halston into his arms and kissed her. Clinging tightly, she kissed him back. When their passionate embrace ended, they shared a smile.
“I like how you make things happen.” Halston dropped a soft kiss on his lips. “In the middle of chaos, you find two minutes for us.”
“I adore you, Halston.”
She beamed at him. “I like hearing that.”
Teddy and Sydney came rushing around the corner and stopped shy of crashing into them.
“What the—” Teddy blurted. “We’re driving like maniacs and you two are making out—”
“Babe,” Sydney said, “we had our own wild fun at Creepy Secret Zone. Don’t bust their balls. They’ve been through so much. This is a total pressure cooker.”
“You’re right,” Teddy said. “Sorry to break up the party.”
Gabriel and Halston were holding each other like the end of the world had come. Halston broke away. “I’m just grab—”
“You’re grabbing G!” Sydney said with a grin. “We can see that!”
They laughed.
“How’d everything go?” Gabriel asked.
“We took care of things,” Sydney replied.