Chapter Twenty #18
I dialed the rest of my team one by one and ordered them to get to the estate as fast as they could, armed, geared up, and ready to go.
Then I dialed Carlos and Vinnie, videoing them in the same call.
“Cynthia was just kidnapped from the mall over on Princeton Street. Lyn is currently tracking her, and the two men that took her in a white van headed south from the mall in a white cargo van.”
“I’ll get Patty and head in your direction,” Vinnie stated. “You’ll need the extra hands when you go after her and the idiots that took her.”
“I’ll get my men out there looking for her,” Carlos said. “I can have a hundred extra men ready to go in the next twenty minutes. Just give the word.”
“Right now, we’re just trying to find her. We’re currently tracking the van headed south through the city. I’m just waiting for my team to get here, and then we’ll be hitting the road. Call me if you learn anything.”
“Does this have anything to do with the men you were looking for?” Carlos asked.
My eyes went to the storyboard. I squinted as I considered his question. “Quite possibly.”
In fact, most likely possible.
“Once we know where Cynthia is, we’ll know more.”
“Call me if you need more men,” Carlos said. “If I hear anything, I’ll let you know.”
“Thank you,” I told him.
“Patty and I will be there soon,” Vinnie stated.
“Hurry.” I hung up and walked out of the study. I hated leaving Lany, but if I was going to go after Cynthia, I needed to be ready. “Brant!”
Brant stepped out of the security office. “Sir?”
“There are a lot of people headed this way. If they’re on the list, immediately let them in.”
“Trouble, sir?”
“Cynthia was just kidnapped.”
For the first time ever I saw Brant’s eyes widen. “Understood, sir.”
“I may need you and some of your men to go with us when we go to rescue her.”
“Of course, sir,” Brant replied. “I’ll have everyone on standby.”
I turned and walked toward the dining room. Finding it empty, I headed for the infirmary, hoping to find Skip and Wu there. “Hey,” I called out when I spotted the two men.
Skip had a tablet in his hand, and he was going through one of the cabinets. Wu was on his phone. Not sure if he was playing a game or what, but he glanced up when I walked in.
“Wu, I need you to gear up. Skip, get a bag ready to go and then have your husband get you some gear.”
Wu was instantly on his feet. “What’s up?”
“Cynthia was kidnapped.”
Both men instantly started moving as I knew they would. They both knew what would happen if Cynthia wasn’t returned to her family safe and sound. Besides, they adored her just like the rest of us.
“We’ll get her back, Lancaster,” I stated with full confidence in my voice. “This is what my team does, and we’re damn good at it. We’ll bring Cynthia home to you, to all of us.”
“I know you will, Salvador.”
“As long as it’s not life threatening, she’s not going to want to go to the hospital, so make sure the infirmary is ready for her. I’ll have Mrs. Martinez get the guest room on this floor ready for her in case she has any injuries.”
Now, I just had to get myself ready to go.
Chapter Fifteen
Lany
I wiped a tear from my cheek and then pressed my hands onto my thighs to keep my legs from shaking. I was so tense that I felt as if I was going to shatter at the next word anyone spoke to me.
I sucked in a shaky breath, my chest tightening painfully, making it hard to breathe. My mother, the woman that had given birth to me, the woman that kissed my boo-boos and cradled me as a child, she was missing, taken. I was terrified I wouldn’t get her back. Never hear her call me Junior again.
Thick, muscular arms wrapped around me. “Lany, baby, you need to breathe.”
I doubted it was going to happen.
I clutched at the edges of Sal’s tactical vest, my fingers turning white due to my tight grip. Hands suddenly grabbed my face and tilted my head up until our eyes met.
“Breathe with me, caro. In and out, in and out.”
I followed Sal’s breathing until the pressure in my chest began to lesson. Tears spilled down over my cheeks. “My mom, Sal.”
“I know, caro.” One of Sal’s hands slid over the top of my head and then down to the nape of my neck. He gave me a gentle squeeze. “I’m going to find her, Lany. I’ll bring her back to you. I promise.”
I knew he would. In all of our years together, he had never broken a promise to me. He certainly wouldn’t start when my mother’s life was in danger.
“The team is on their way here, as is your father with the kids. As soon as they get here, we’re going to head out and go after your mother. Lyn is already tracking her. We just need to wait until everyone gets here.”
“I want to go.”
“No, Lany, you—”
“I want to go,” I said more firmly.
Sal’s lips thinned.
“I have to go.”
His shoulders slumped as if he had just lost the battle for the universe. “It’s dangerous, Lany. We don’t know what we’re walking into. You could get hurt.”
“I won’t jump into the middle of a firefight, but I need to go.”
Sal’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “You’ll have to stay with Marcus and Dmitri.”
“Done,” I answered instantly.
It would be stupid to leave their sides, especially in a situation like this.
Their sole job was to keep me safe. Yes, I sometimes snuck away simply because I grew frustrated from time to time, but in general, I knew that they were just trying to keep me safe.
They couldn’t do that if they weren’t with me.
“All right, you can go, but you will not leave Marcus’s or Dmitri’s side, and you will do exactly what I say when I say it. No going off on your own. I can’t concentrate on rescuing your mother if I’m worried about you.”
“I know how important this is, Sal.” I held up three fingers. “I promise I’ll be good.”
We both knew I meant that promise, but we also both knew the situation could change in an instant, prompting me to act out. In a dream world, we would go in and get my mother and arrest the bad guys. Unfortunately, this was not a dream. It was the real world, and it was dangerous.
“Make sure you have an earpiece,” Sal directed as he stood. “I want to be able to communicate with you at all times.”
“Are you really going to take him with you on a rescue?” Uncle Jerry asked. “Do you realize how insane that is?”
“He’d just sneak out and follow me after I left anyway,” Sal replied. “I might as well take him with me where I can keep an eye on him.”
I pressed my lips together when Uncle Jerry grunted and looked away. Sal knew me well, but so did Uncle Jerry, which was why he didn’t argue. They both knew I couldn’t just sit at home and wait for this all to be over.
“Dad, Papà,” several voices called out from the study doorway.
They knew not to enter the study until we gave the all clear. If we were doing a storyboard, there were certain things we didn’t want them to see. Luckily, this time, there wasn’t anything on the storyboard that could emotionally scar them.
“Come on in,” Sal called out.
I quickly got to my feet and then spread my arms wide, knowing I was going to get hugs from all of them. I smiled when a warm presence pressed against my back. Four kids of varying ages and little ol’ me? That was a disaster waiting to happen.
I grunted when they all hit me at once. If Sal wasn’t standing behind me, propping me up, I would have been flattened on the floor.
“How was school?” I asked after hugging each of them.
“Grandpa pulled us out early. What happened this time?” Emily’s brow was furrowed when she looked at me, her gaze intent as it went up and down my body. “You’re not hurt again, are you?”
“I’m not hurt, Emily.” At least not physically. “There’s been a situation, and a man that your dad and I put in prison a few years ago might be after us. We wanted you to come home where we knew you’d be safe.”
“I want you guys to go upstairs and hang out with Jenna,” Sal stated. “Your papa and I have some work to do to catch this guy.”
“Yes, Dad,” Emily stated. “Is Jamie coming home, too?”
Sal nodded. “I already called him, and he’s on his way home now. He just needed to get his homework assignments from his professors.”
TJ had gone into the Marines, and Jamie was now attending a local university. Emily was already fifteen and not far behind him. Luckily, we had a few more years with Mikey, Rosy, and Bella before we were fully childless.
I hated how quickly time went by, they were all growing up so fast, but I couldn’t be prouder of each and every one of them.
“The house is on lockdown for right now,” Sal continued to explain. “Until we know if there is a real threat or not, it’ll stay that way. I don’t want any of you going anywhere until this is over, okay?”
Four little heads nodded.
Sal pressed a kiss to each of their foreheads and then shooed them toward the door. “Get going.”
My heart sank a little as I watched them all walk out of the study. I hated that we had to keep the information of their grandmother being kidnapped from them, but I hoped to have her home before they found out. I didn’t want to break their little hearts.
During the next ten minutes, everyone else arrived.
I was hanging out, hovering over Lyn, watching the video feed from the traffic cams. Sal was talking to his team, filling them in on everything we knew on the storyboard plus what was happening to my mother.
I was in no way surprised when they all went to the armory to gear up and gather weapons.
“Okay,” Lyn called out, “they’ve stopped. I followed them as far as a warehouse over on the east side, but I can’t follow them into the building.”
“Keep monitoring the situation, Lyn. If the situation changes or more people show up, let me know,” Sal said. “We’ll take it from here.”
Lyn nodded.
Sal glanced at me. “Are you sure I can’t convince you to stay here?”
I just looked at him.
Sal sighed before grabbing me and reeling me in. “Sometimes, you are a big headache.”
I knew that wasn’t an insult.