Chapter 17
Frost
Every beat of my battered heart is a painful thump in my chest. My heart yearns, screaming her name through my veins.
Excruciating agony like I’ve never known goes through me at the thought of losing her.
I can’t ever feel like this again. The pain is unbearable.
I need her back, whole and unharmed. How did I ever live without Killer?
We've all assembled into our teams and are on the road. We were given guns. Mine is shoved in the waistband of my jeans.
I barely got any sleep, and I know my brothers are in the same state as me. Getting through the day was fucking grueling. Each minute dragged by.
I shake my head hard, needing to concentrate on the map in front of me on my phone. Me, Trikk, and even 3 have the same thing pulled up— the tracker for our girl. Maverick is driving, and in constant contact with the hackers back at the compound via an earpiece.
We've been creeping closer to where the red dot is unmoving.
“Where the hell could she be?” Maverick mutters, slowing down to look more thoroughly.
As he circles the area for the millionth time, I notice something. The direction we are in affects the position of the red dot.
As we crawl by again, I holler out, “Stop. I think I may have an idea!”
Well, what is it?” Maverick asks, but does as I request, pulling over to the side of the single lane, gravel road we’re on.
I unbuckle my seatbelt, climbing out with my phone held high. I step to the middle of the road, slowly turning in a circle. A light bulb goes off as I realize the position I’m standing in is adjacent with the red dot. I race back to the car, opening the driver’s side door.
“Mav, I may have something. The dot stays in the same place, but the area we are in changes the position. When I stood over there, facing the west, it lined up.”
“Okay, that could be something. Let me relay this to the team.” Mav starts typing on his phone.
I pace a few steps back and forth, impatient. “Bro, there’s nothing over there. There's nothing around at all!” Trikk exclaims, his face turning red with impatience.
3 stirs in his seat, deciding to get out with me. He copies the position I was in, making a sound in his throat. Frowning, he steps forward, moving westward.
“3, where are you going?” I ask, but then think “fuck it”; so, I follow him.
“Guys,” Mav calls after us. “Hold tight. We're working on it.”
“Fuck. That,” 3 says with determination and moves faster.
Cursing, I break into a jog to follow.
We move farther into the dark, the sun already setting, making the vast area dimmer. I don’t see a damn thing. The only visible things are the grass and the trees. Nothing to indicate a place she could be held at. No buildings at all.
“Boys, get back to the car,” Mav calls, following us. “We need more intel before going any farther. We have instructions to wait here for the others. Thor, Bill, Purge, and Harris are working on it as fast as they can.”
I curse again, kicking the grassy area in front of me. “Fuck!”
I go back anyway, looking behind me to make sure 3 is following. He is, and we all hustle to the car. We climb back in, waiting on the others to make it to our location.
Synn
Trav is driving fast, whipping our way down this lonely stretch of a gravel road. There isn’t shit around here. I’m rubbernecking looking for anything.
Trav gets a call in his earpiece, and he touches it to answer. “Yeah? Good, that will narrow it down. We're on our way now. Maybe five minutes out.”
“Well?” I ask impatiently. “What did he say?”
“Maverick’s team has located a potential lead. They pinpointed her location to a certain area. I’m warning you boys, though—it's a large area. We don’t know what we’ll find, if anything.”
“Well, fuck. We will find her. My Fiasca will be in my arms tonight,” Razor growls, his lip curling.
“My Malishka will be saved. There is no other outcome. I will slaughter anyone who gets in my fucking way,” Ghost jumps in.
Trav shakes his head up front, eyes on the road. “Follow instructions when we catch up, understand?”
I grunt, knowing damn well I'm going to do what I need to.
We pull up to another car, and Frost, Trikk, and 3 spring out, Maverick following. As soon as the car slows, I’m out the door. The rest follow me once Trav parks.
“Report?” he asks Maverick.
He explains everything they've figured out, and point out the possible direction my Baby Girl may be in.
I look to the west, frowning. There isn’t even a whisper of anything being around.
As I’m contemplating, the next car pulls up with four more ZYGOS guys getting out. Georgeo, and three others I don’t recognize. They make quick introductions.
“Tyler, nice to meet you,” the first guy says. He's slim, with strawberry-blonde hair. “I’m an ex-cop.”
“Blade. Ex-hitman for the US of A government,” the second guy says. He looks a bit insane—muscular with silver-colored hair.
“Black. Ex-CIA.” the last one introduces. He's tall, average features, brunette.
“So, what’s the plan?” an impatient Frost asks, his brows pinched with stress.
Maverick speaks up. “We scan the area. We will fan out, checking every inch of territory. And boys—let me stress that it will be us that do that, not you. We are trained to do this.”
“Nope.” I shoot that shit right down. “I will be looking, and I don’t give a shit if you like it, or not.”
“Same,” Ghost agrees, stepping up next to me.
Maverick grinds his jaw. “Fine... but the rest of you stay here. We need you to be a lookout, and to keep an eye on this area. We will drive the cars up if the girl is located. These vehicles are designed to handle rough terrain.”
Everyone grumbles, but they don’t argue.
Me, Ghost, Maverick, and Trav get in the car. Tyler, Black, and Blade stay back with the others. Maverick points to the west, explaining where we will look.
We drive about four hundred yards, the car stopping in the grass inside a copse.
“Everyone fan out—but no one go vigilante. If anyone sees anything, report back,” Maverick instructs.
Ghost and I dart from the car, breaking into a run, desperate to find Pazessca.
“Make sure we check bushes, trees, and even the ground. There could be a hidden location,” Ghost tells me.
We make our way through the grass and trees, finding nothing. We’re trying to hurry and be thorough at the same time. I have this urgent need to rush, to get to Pazessca. But I also don’t want to miss anything.
Ghost's head pops up, and he stiffens.
“What?” I ask.
“I fucking feel her,” he whispers, making chills break out on my arms. “She’s close.”
That's all I need to hear as I push my body faster, Ghost right at my side. I fall back a little, letting him lead.
Hang on, Pazessca. We're coming.
Ghost
My Malishka is so close, I can feel it. I know we’re supposed to report back, but I’m too frantic to bother.
I squint, making out the shape of a building. “Holy shit. See that?” I point, Synn following my gaze.
“Brother, fuck. That must be where she’s being held. Come on.” Panic laces Synn’s voice.
We take off without a plan of any kind. Every beat of my heart is whispering “Find her, save her.”
We approach the building, and I force myself to slow down.
I grab Synn’s sleeve to stop him. “We need to check the lay of the land before rushing in there. We have no idea what’s going on inside.”
Synn agrees. We circle around the house slowly. It's an older, run-down farmhouse. We skirt the front, going around the right side. I see a car parked in the back.
Synn's eyes widen, pointing to the back door. We walk up, and I put my ear to it, listening for any movement inside.
I don’t hear anything.
I turn back to Synn, who curses low under his breath. “Maverick is blowing up my phone,” he whispers.
“Text him our location... but I’m not waiting for them. We're getting in there now.”
As he types away on his phone, I slowly try the doorknob. It turns, unlocked.
My brow raises, and I go inside, with caution.
We tiptoe into a large kitchen. I stop, listening again. I put up a hand to halt Synn when I hear muffled voices. Where the hell is that coming from? It sounds like it’s underneath us. There's no door or anything…
Synn steps away, checking the walls. Taking his lead, I crouch down to check the floors. We move around the kitchen as quietly as we can. I don’t want to check the rest of the house—it’s clearly coming from beneath us.
As we search, we hear someone coming. Loud footsteps pound inside, heading to the kitchen.
3 bursts through the kitchen door, and I shush him quickly. He goes to speak, but I clap my hand over his mouth. “Shh!”
I motion to the area we’re searching, then mouth the words, “Voices below.”
I continue my search, moving towards the wall in the back of the kitchen.
When the others don’t come in, I stop and look at 3. “Are you alone?” I whisper.
He nods once. So, he went kamikaze-style too. Fantastic.
My hand lands on a soft spot on the floor. I dig my nails underneath the tile, grunting low as I tug it upwards. There's a lever there.
I pull it, and the wall opens, a metal door looming in front of us. It has a lock, but we always have our lock picking tools with us.
I point to 3 and motion to Synn. They both come over, and Synn sucks in a breath.
I pause, wondering if it would be smarter to wait on the others. I can’t just fucking stand here, though. Malishka needs me—needs us. This can’t wait.
I yank out my tools with shaky hands. As quietly as possible, I move the tools around until I hear a soft click.
I open the door, looking back to Synn and 3.
There’s no question in any of our faces.
We’re going down there.
Right fucking now.
Razor
Where in the actual fuck did those assholes disappear to? I know they went AWOL. I heard Maverick cursing after checking his phone.
I squint into the distance, needing to follow them. My legs are burning with the need to move. Maverick sees me though, and claps a firm hand on my shoulder.
“No, you don’t. We've got enough of a situation as it stands. You will not be adding to it.”
I growl, eyes like fire as I glare at him. “Fuck. I can’t just stand here.”
“You will stand down. We need your eyes and ears, understand? Your girl’s life is on the line here,” Mav reiterates.
I sigh. Dammit. I resign myself to doing just that.
I continue to scan the area, looking and listening for anything or anyone.
It's up to Synn, Ghost, and 3 now.
Please bring my Fiasca back, guys.
Patient 3
I follow Ghost and Synn down the long, winding flight of stairs. The further we go, the more the stench of mold and piss hits my nose. This set of stairs goes on forever. How far down is this basement?
Ghost turns to put his finger to his lips to remind me to stay quiet. I will; I won’t risk Em’s safety.
We finally get to the bottom. The blood drains from my face as I take in the hooks on the ceiling, the drain, and the torture weapons strewn about.
Murmured voices freeze me in place. My vision narrows to seeing my girl, shackled to the floor. My Em is being berated by that son-of-a-bitch, the most recent Demon.
Synn darts forward, but Ghost snags the back of his shirt, reeling him back in. With a firm shake of his head, we all lean in to listen.
“I just wanted to say goodnight to you, wife. Aren't you excited for our wedding tomorrow?” Demon asks.
“No. I'm fucking not. But it’s not like I have a choice.”
My eyes widen. My Em... she's in real trouble.
“Do not test me, Little Bird. I can still beat your ass without marking that pretty face,” Demon says.
Oh... holy shit. Not fucking happening.
I turn to Ghost, frantically pantomiming pulling a mask over my head. I mouth the word “Demon” to him and Synn.
Synn's eyes turn almost black with rage.
I toss up my hands to ask why the hell we are just standing here.
“Wait for the others,” Ghost mouths.
Before he can finish that sentence, a loud smack fills the air. Em yells out in pain.
“Get off me! No, Maxim. Wait until I’m your wife, please. Don't rape me again!”
The three of us move at once.
Ghost surges forward in such a blur, I almost don’t see him. Ghost leaps through the air, coming down on the back of Demon, putting him in a chokehold.
Insanity erupts. Em screams, footsteps come careening down the stairs, and Synn goes straight for Em.
Ghost
I’m going to kill this motherfucker. I’m punching Demon so hard, he falls to the floor. I follow him to the floor, straddling his chest. Grabbing his head, I start bashing it into the floor.
He surprises me by rearing up, throwing me sideways. I scramble to keep a hold on him, but he gains the upper hand. Now he’s on top of me, viciously destroying my face. I spit blood at him.
“Fuck you. You are going to die—slowly and painfully!” I scream in his face.
“Ghost, no,” Malishka yells at me, and I turn my head slightly to see her.
Synn has Malishka held in his arms, and she’s struggling to get away for some reason.
Before I can piece together a thought, the asshole, Demon, starts in on my abdomen. That’s a huge mistake.
I laugh, rolling Demon to his back. Standing, I place my foot on his neck and use all my body weight to pin him.
I’m getting ready to finish him when Synn interrupts. “No, brother! We need him.”
I grit my teeth, refusing to give in.
The distraction gives Demon the advantage. He grabs my leg and pulls.
I stumble, hitting the floor again.
Synn
“Pazessca, stop fighting me!” I don’t know why she’s struggling like this. “Hold still. The others are coming.”
A frantic 3 speaks up. “I message team.”
Good. “We need a vehicle here—now. Tell them to use their GPS.”
The sound of slow clapping comes from behind me. What the fuck? I forgot the footsteps we heard before Ghost went postal.
I whirl around and see… Ghost’s father.
Ghost’s father turns to the still-fighting Ghost and Demon. “I planned to reveal this later, but, oh—this timing is too exquisite.” He laughs loudly. “Aleksey, meet your brother, Maxim.”
“What the fuck?” Ghost shouts, climbing up off the floor. Demon quickly follows.
“What the hell are you talking about? I'm the Demon mask. You already know that!” Demon yells back.
Ghost’s father just throws his head back in laughter. “Stupid boys. Why do you think I was so quick to dismiss your recent transgressions, Aleksey? I have another heir now. I don’t need you anymore.”
Pazessca is whining, making a keening noise. I try to console her, but she starts shouting.
“Maxim, leave my Ghost alone! Don't touch him! Rapist... psycho!”
Maxim moves towards my girl and me, but 3 steps in and grabs him, holding him in place.
Everyone starts talking at once.
That's when everything goes tits up.