Chapter 33 Andre
ANDRE
Ifurrowed my brow at Oleg. “What do you mean, there’s a fire?”
He shrugged, pausing in strapping in and securing his Kevlar vest next to me. “That’s what they said.”
“There’s a fire at Giovanni’s warehouse?” I asked it loudly, glancing at the other men who’d come with me.
“It sounds like they thought there was a fire,” one of them said, also sounding confused based on what the spies were saying.
I’d tasked a team of plainclothesmen to surround Giovanni’s crumbling mansion. Setting up any men near his residence, on his turf, was already trespassing. But I didn’t give a fuck. I was on the offense in order to defend Sofia.
My father had mixed feelings about my rash decision to go after Sofia like this. To be so blasé and cocky about going to war for her. Especially after her lies to be in my life at all.
Thanks to Claire, though, and Anya, my father changed his mind. He’d relented on stopping me from charging into the Giovanni home. But he’d ordered me to keep it within reason.
That was why I was using the spies to determine when Giovanni wouldn’t be there. That was the reason for this small crew of men and why we were going in the dark of the night, operating in stealth so those motherfuckers wouldn’t be able to determine who’d come to get Sofia out of his control.
It would be obvious. Of course, Giovanni would assume it was my doing. But he’d have a hard time proving it. And he’d have a harder time finding me or her after I took her to a safehouse.
“It sets him up to attack us,” Sergei said.
Roman nodded, also in on that meeting. “He’ll come blazing guns to get Sofia back, and that’s when the world’s shortest war will start and end.” He closed one eye and mimed shooting a gun, then blowing off the barrel of his fingertip.
My father scowled at that. “I’m not fond of him either, but goddammit, it’s not ideal timing.”
No time would ever be right for a tense clash like this, but between me and him, sharing our sentiments in that silent way we could as father and son and being able to read each other this well, he understood that this was the most important fight of my life.
The war I would be braced and waiting for, no matter what.
One of the security specialists rushed into the room. “They took the cousin.”
“Who took her?” I asked, unnerved by something else unexpected happening when I needed to count on our arrival and rescue being something Giovanni couldn’t expect or stop.
“Some guy from the garage.” He shrugged, relaying on the footage the spies were giving us. “They left in a hurry—”
“When this alert of a fire came in?” I asked.
“A fire that didn’t happen?” Oleg asked.
The tech shrugged. “Yeah. Seems like it. This kid from the garage ran inside and carried out this woman, and she was handed over to an ambulance parked a few houses away.”
Oleg narrowed his eyes at me. “Was it Sofia?”
I shook my head slowly. It couldn’t have been that simple… I knew she was independent, but I really didn’t see how she could save herself without any help or resources at all.
“No. Her location hasn’t moved,” the tech said.
I snapped my fingers. “The cousin. Esmeralda.”
The tech scratched the back of his head. “I think so. Because I tracked the route of that medical transport, and it ended up at a hospice.” He raised his brows at me.
“Goddamn,” I whispered softly.
She was captured. She was pregnant and vulnerable. Beaten and threatened. And still she was looking out for her cousin. Saving someone else.
Reminded—again—of how good she was, I felt like a hundred times more of an asshole for ever letting myself believe she’d want to hurt me, to deceive me or treat me wrong at all.
She was too pure.
Too good.
Too good for me.
I could only pray that coming to save her would reset the scales in that regard.
Because that’s what you do.
Care about everyone else. Save and help whoever else you can.
But not yourself.
That was where I came in. Where I belonged. As her savior, her guide, her support however she wanted me.
“He’ll be furious that she’s gone,” Oleg suspected.
I slid my gun into its holster and nodded. “He will be. Especially when he realizes Sofia thwarted him and got her out of his hold.”
“He’ll take it out on her,” he predicted.
I ground my molars. “All the more reason for us to get this done,” I growled.
He nodded once and ordered the small crew to get ready to move out as soon as we could.
Launching an operation like this took time and careful consideration, but once we reached our positions and communicated on the comms units we all wore, I knew this couldn’t fail.
Cutting out the electrical was the first step. Sending in smoke bombs came next. Even though the sky was gray with heavy storm clouds darkening the atmosphere, we were prepared to slip through the night and retrieve the most important treasure in my life.
Oleg and another soldier—a former special ops fighter who’d joined the family after being dishonorably discharged from service—led the mission.
I wasn’t in the mood to fight with anyone about being told where to go and what to do.
I was too close. I was emotionally committed to getting Sofia out.
While I was clear-headed enough to contribute to rescuing her, I wasn’t so full of myself not to let “experts” lead the way.
They snuck into the house once the electricity was cut. Smoke bombs further distracted the guards. As alarms were hit, we picked off the soldiers who were there to defend Giovanni’s fortress. Night vision goggles paved a clear path for us, and we left no one alive.
They were all dead. Shot before they could find their guns. The ones who had a chance to fire back failed to hurt us with how protected and masked up we were.
“He’s not here,” Oleg reported in the comms unit.
He’d gone up through the ramshackle house to search for Roberto and any other leaders.
I dismissed his check-in, hurrying down to the basement to find Sofia.
“Seems like the spies were right. He’d gone to party,” they quipped dryly.
We hadn’t come here for Roberto, though. He could think he had time and could stew later. Like Roman said, we were setting a trap for him to want to come and retaliate. He could start the war against us. He already had by sending Sofia to spy.
I had come here only to find and save her.
“Over here,” another Orlov soldier said in the unit.
My heart leapt higher. All my senses were heightened. I turned and doubled back to run down the narrow hallway with him, never lowering my gun as I continued to pick off any Giovannis guarding the area.
The Orlov soldier kicked in doors, then stepped in to check if the cells were occupied. For such an old and large mansion, there were many rooms to get into.
Too many.
All the wrong ones.
Where are you?
I was frantic to get to her, lured closer by the sounds of her crying.
Silencers muffled the shots we fired. Overhead, the stampeding sounds of footsteps pounding on the floors ceased as my men killed the Giovannis here.
Sobs.
Cries.
Whimpers.
I heard them all and every sound of despair enraged me. That she was hurt. That she was taken. That she’d had to suffer at all.
After I slammed my foot on the last door, snapping the crossbar that locked it from the outside, I launched into the room.
Blood and gore decorated the walls and floor. But they were old stains. The trembling lump in the corner didn’t react.
Her arms stayed latched around her stomach, covering her belly.
Protecting our child.
I crossed the room and dropped to my knees.
“Sofia.”
She jerked away from my touch, burrowing her head further against her knees.
“Sweet—” I cut myself off. Even though I was whispering, so none of our voices would be tracked here, I didn’t want to say such a personal endearment here, surrounded by violence and death and pain.
Gripping her upper arms, I jolted her out of her defensive curl.
She unfurled, striking out. Her fists flew at me as she snarled, but I caught them. I held her steady.
With this mask on, and covered by protective gear, she couldn’t tell who I was.
“Sofia,” I said again, only loud enough for her to hear my voice.
Recognition hit at once. Her trembling lips parted. A cut split one corner. The start of a black eye was puffing up one of her terror-filled eyes.
Anger rolled off me, making me shiver at the force of fury. Seeing her wounded at all incensed me. But her gasp of disbelief kept me in the present.
“You came.”
I nodded.
“And we’re out of here,” I replied.
Gathering her in my arms, I rushed to escape with my men and bring her to the safety I’d failed to give her. The security she deserved.
It was time to get her out of this hellhole for good. And it was time to begin to prove to her—and the rest of the world—that her place wasn’t here as Giovanni’s pawn, but at my side, as my woman, the only one I’d love.