Chapter 14 #2
The pressure Mateo felt was enormous. Because if he’d made the wrong choice, it would be Ally who suffered.
But facts were, he thought this could be a way to get his girl out without having to shoot anyone.
While it would make him immensely happy to kill every single one of these sick perverts, what he cared about more than satiating his rage was getting Ally out alive and in one piece.
Which meant the minimum bloodshed.
So this was a good alternative. As soon as he’d realized that Koa Rolland was throwing a party, he knew it had to be to show Ally off.
Showing her off meant either assaulting her in front of everyone or letting everyone take their turn playing with her.
As much as it absolutely pained and sickened him to think it, he was hoping for the latter.
Of course, it would leave her traumatized, having to service dozens of strangers, and he had no idea if Koa Rolland would set limits on what his guests were allowed to do to his newest acquisition.
But it gave Mateo the perfect in. If it were a look but don’t touch situation, it would be hard for him to get Ally alone long enough to try to get her out of there.
But if anything went, he could simply wait for an opportunity to take a turn, and then as soon as he was with her, he’d sneak her out.
If he could get in there.
As he drove the motorcycle they’d “borrowed” from a nearby village—and fully intended to return as soon as they were finished—up to the gate of Koa Rolland’s property, he hoped no one was going to stop him from heading in.
When he had the idea to slip in as one of the guests, the guys had all agreed it was a good idea.
From what they could see on the drone footage, everyone was dressed up, so they’d had to speed to a city, grab a tuxedo from a rental store that by some miracle was open, it appeared only because a last-minute wedding was happening.
Then, since there was no way he could conjure a limo out of thin air, he’d decided to go with the motorcycle instead.
As prepared as they’d wanted to be for this op, there was no way they could have known they’d have to attend a fancy gala.
They’d had to make do, but he was pretty sure he was going to be able to get himself inside while the guys all positioned themselves around the perimeter of the property, ready to help provide cover for him if he needed it when he got Ally out.
As he slowed at the gate, he saw a single guard there. The man looked bored, but a flicker of interest flared in his eyes as he took a look at the motorcycle.
“Cool ride,” the guy said.
Mateo shrugged. “I’ll take a bike over a limo any day of the week.”
The guy chuckled. “Me too. You're here for the party?”
“No other reason to get dressed up in this monkey suit,” he said, waving a hand at the tux he wore.
Another chuckle. “It’s worth it. Trust me.
I got a look at her, and she is hot. Red hair.
Natural, from what I've heard, although I'm sure you’ll be able to confirm that later when you see her. All of her.” The man grabbed his crotch and laughed like he was hilarious, so unaware of how close he was to getting his neck snapped.
But that would give Mateo only passing satisfaction.
Because a dead guard at the gate wouldn't go unnoticed for long, and as soon as he was found the party could be shut down.
Which would no doubt mean that Ally was immediately sequestered away while each guest was questioned so Koa Rolland could find the traitor.
So he forced out a chuckle, then revved his bike and took off down the driveway, relieved there was no guest list. If he’d had to, he would have killed the guard, whatever it took to get to Ally, but the less he did to draw attention to his presence here the better.
Already, he was likely to stand out. Not only did he not know anyone here, but he had lightly tanned skin, while the vast majority of the guests were also Vanuatuan.
There was nothing he could do about that, and they had spotted a couple of other white guests, so he was pretty sure it wasn't going to be an issue.
When he got to the end of the driveway, he barely glanced at the house.
It was nice, sure, although not his taste.
He liked ultra-modern, lots of concrete and huge walls of glass, but the plantation style mansion did look beautiful surrounded by the lush tropical rainforest. Nice as it was, it was what was inside the house that he was anxious to get to.
Parking the borrowed motorcycle at the end, if he could use it as a getaway vehicle, then that would be helpful, because he’d be able to get out into the jungle easier than a car would if he was being followed.
If he had to leave on foot, then he’d do that too.
In the end, he was getting his girl out of here, however he had to do it.
Nobody stopped him or even glanced in his direction as he strolled up the steps, across the veranda, and into the house.
The front doors stood wide open, and he was grateful for Koa Rolland’s ego that had lulled him into a false sense of security.
He literally couldn’t comprehend the idea that someone who shouldn’t be here would walk through his front doors, so he’d left them open.
As badly as Mateo wanted to, he couldn’t just go storming through the place in search of Ally, he was going to have to take his time.
Talk to a few people along the way, pretend he belonged here, then get eyes on Ally.
Even once he spotted her, he couldn’t just go straight up to her, he had to make sure he didn't draw undue attention.
It was what he did every day in his job.
He played the part, faked feelings that weren't his, monitored every facial expression and tone of voice to make sure that he was being believed, and adjusted accordingly.
After doing it for a decade, he was well practiced and at ease being someone other than himself.
Until today.
Today, he was on edge, today, he felt like he had when he’d taken his first undercover case. He was a ball of nervous energy, and he was so focused on everything that could go wrong that it was hard to do anything else.
Mateo had made small talk with half a dozen people by the time he entered the ballroom, and he was about ready to start ripping throats from all the lewd comments he’d been forced to listen to.
Everyone was buzzing about Ally, although not a single person knew her name.
They were all calling her princess, gushing about her red hair and vivid blue eyes, about all the things they wanted to do to her, or have her do to them.
It was a miracle and nothing less that he didn't shed a drop of blood.
Although there was still time for that to happen.
And it almost did when he entered the ballroom and spotted her. There was an initial wave of relief when he finally had eyes on her, and he saw her alive and in one piece, but it was quickly chased away when he saw that she was on her knees, chained to the floor on a small platform.
That alone would have been enough to set him off and have him explode, let out every drop of rage bubbling up inside him, but to see one of the men step up onto the platform with her, yank down his pants, and stuff his erection into her mouth, nearly pushed him over the edge.
In fact, if he’d had a weapon with him, he would have pulled it out, ignored the consequences, and opened fire on everyone in the ballroom.
It was probably a good thing he was only armed with a knife, because if he did open fire, there was every chance the guards he’d seen dotted about would fire back, and Ally could get shot, especially when she was chained up and couldn’t find somewhere to hide.
So he did what he had to do.
Reined in his fury, kept his expression neutral, and started working his way toward his girl, not much longer, and he’d have her back in his arms. Whether or not she would be happy to be there was up in the air.