Chapter 33
CHAPTER 33
H avros
I felt death all around me. In my mind. In my heart.
In my soul.
Rage remained eating at me, the guilt not far behind. I’d failed her several times. Only this time could cost Kara her life.
“We’ll find her, son.”
Apollo Nomikos was a man of action and always had been. He remained solemn as did the others, acting very much the patriarch with his support. I was thankful, but wasn’t going to waste any time in engaging in conversation.
“We don’t have much time,” I told the group. “You didn’t hear Bernardi’s voice.”
“How is the fucker still alive?” Christos barked out.
I shook my head. “Maybe someone tipped him off as to the attack. Does it really matter at this point?” No, it did not. The fucker was going to die by my hands. A flash of rage brought images of snapping his neck after I’d gutted him, but that death was too damn good for a monster. The sound of my strangled laugh was bitter.
Dimitrios and Christos glanced at each other. They knew just how close I was to an edge I’d never been near before. Kara was meant to be mine. The thought of losing her was something I would never get over.
I’d ordered Jonas to gather all our soldiers, ensuring the bastards didn’t leave the country. I’d called in favors, every informant attempting to discover where the fucker was hiding. Hell, I’d even used Dimitrios’ contact at the police department to try to run him down. Hours had gone by with zero information. It was as if the man had disappeared.
Enlisting our full army had stretched our numbers significantly, pushing us to the breaking point. But I would find her.
I grabbed my keys and weapon, ready to head out the door.
“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” Christos grabbed my arm.
I jerked it away. “Wherever I goddamn well please. I will find her. Nothing is going to stop this.”
“We need to think logically,” my father said, his tone gruff. “All you’re going to do is end up in an accident. Or a war. We make a plan.”
“What kind of plan? How the fuck are we supposed to find Kara if we’re not searching?” No, I wasn’t thinking clearly at all. How could I at this point? My mind was consumed with thoughts of murder, the pain of losing her overwhelming. “We have nothing. Nothing!”
Dear God, the sound of my phone almost made me go ballistic. I yanked it from my jacket, staring at the unknown number. “Fuck.” A bad feeling rolled into my system. “Havros Nomikos.”
“Havros, this is Lorenzo Coppola.”
Sighing, I rubbed my eyes, trying to keep a rational tongue. “Now is not a good time.”
“I’m aware the lovely woman who was in my home with you has been kidnapped. It would seem my men didn’t do a good job in eliminating an enemy we share in our worlds. For that, I apologize.”
“Yes, well, shit happens.” I wanted to rake the man over the coals, but starting a war over this wouldn’t help bring her back.
“Yes, it does. However, you have people who care about you enough to call me on the carpet.”
I glanced at both my brothers, trying to decipher what he was trying to tell me. “Yes, they do. Why are you calling?” My voice couldn’t disguise my anger.
“I have a possible location here you might find Bernardi,” Coppola stated.
“Where?”
“He owns a house just north of Athens. In our discovery, we learned of it and its possible use as a homebase for attempting to come into your lovely country. Surely, he will know you have the borders shut down as soon as possible. He won’t risk attempting to leave for now. He’s not a stupid man. And your brother made it quite apparent I owed you for the information you provided. He was right.”
“Which brother?”
“Christos. I understand he’s your Enforcer. You’re lucky to have such a caring family by your side.”
I swiveled around to face my desk, taking long strides until I was able to jerk out a drawer. “Give me the address.” As he offered the address, a series of lights flashed in front of my eyes.
“I hope you find her, Havros. I truly do. A woman who can make you happy is the greatest gift of all. I’ll be in contact.”
The call ended and I lifted my head, locking eyes with Christos. “Thank you.”
He smirked and nodded. “You’re welcome. It’s past time I take my full place next to my brothers.”
“What am I missing?” Dimitrios asked.
“I’ll tell you on the road. We may have found her.” I’d said it before, but nothing would stop me from rescuing and protecting her until the end of time.
Pop! Pop!
The gunshots I fired were muffled, the two soldiers monitoring the entrance taken down immediately. We fanned out, searching for more. From the drone we’d used with an infrared camera, we’d caught ten positioned on the grounds.
Now four were down, six more to go.
We were stealthy, the weapons equipped with silencers. We didn’t want Bernardi to have a single minute of advance notice.
Pop! Pop! Pop! I dropped and rolled, catching all three men who were at least twenty feet apart. They went down like rocks.
I moved closer to the house, constantly scanning the surroundings. As the others started to return from securing the perimeter, Jonas gave the okay that all ten men had been eliminated.
The house itself was set off the road, the entrance flanked by olive trees. The area was more rural, yet the location had been easy to find. Night had fallen, the darkness a perfect cover. Fortunately, Tobias had found the security system, his brilliant skills allowing him to disarm the system in less than thirty minutes with no alarm bells going off.
There were lights on inside the house, which meant someone was taking up residence. Although it was advisable to be cautious entering in case there were innocent people inside, I didn’t give a shit about protocol of any kind.
With a weapon in both hands, an assault rifle strapped to my back, I was prepared for an attack.
So were the other forty men prepared to invade the property.
“We’re all set,” Christos said, determined to lead the advance. I would be eternally grateful to him for making the call to Coppola no matter the outcome.
“Head to the back with half the men, Christos. There are two entrances there. One inside the garage and the front door.”
“Will do. Give us two minutes to get in place.”
“Two minutes.” I glanced at Dimitrios in the dark. I could sense his concern. We had one hope. One chance. There wouldn’t be another. “Jonas. Take ten men to the garage to ensure the fuckers don’t try and escape.”
The two minutes felt like a lifetime. When they were up, I raced toward the house, moving to the front door. There was no holding me back. I kicked in the thick surface with enough force it hit the wall. We charged in, immediately prepared to shoot.
The sound of assault rifles being fired caught our attention. Our enemies were aware we’d breached their security.
I moved through the house while my soldiers took out the men inside, spinning around only once and catching one man between the eyes before he had a chance to fire.
After searching the entire downstairs, there wasn’t any sign Kara was there or had been in this location. I took the stairs two at a time, running into another soldier bounding toward me. I knocked him down by backhanding him with the weapon, standing over him with the barrel of my handgun pointed at his face.
“Where are they? Bernardi and the woman?”
He spit out shit in Italian, not knowing I understood the language. “Nice try, fucker. Call me all the names you want. I don’t care. Tell me where they are and you’ll live.” I smacked him again, rolling him over and pinning his arm at an angle that I could easily break within seconds.
He whimpered from the pain. “Fuck off.”
I twisted his arm until the position was at that point. He was ready to scream from the agony. “Tell me!”
One more centimeter was all he could take.
“In the basement. The fucking basement.”
“Good boy. Sadly, I lied.” I fired into the back of his head, not wasting any time to ensure he was dead. There was no need and time was of the essence.
“Where?” Christos yelled as he bounded into the hallway.
“Basement!” I growled, moving through the house like a predator. The door leading to the space below was in the kitchen. My guess was that the area was soundproof. I opened the door cautiously, ensuring no one was standing with a weapon pointed toward the opening. There was nothing but an empty set of stairs. I crept down, my brothers immediately following.
When I was close to the bottom, I heard a muffled scream. Without hesitation, I rushed toward the sound. There was another room attached to this one. We flanked the sides of the doors and I darted my head just into the opening. I’d been right about soundproofing. There were baffles on the ceiling and walls. For once luck had been with us. The fuckers hadn’t heard the gunfire upstairs.
Nothing in my world involving vengeance was easy. We’d faced our share of enemies over the years yet the encounter had always been a battle. With only three soldiers inside, another man hovering over Kara, the odds were in our favor.
Before I had a chance to react to the sight of her, one of the soldiers turned around.
Then all hell broke loose. I fired, hitting him in the chest first, blasting my way further in.
All three men were killed and the bastard who’d dared to hurt my baby was hunkering over her.
“Well. Well. I have visitors as I anticipated.” Bernardi was laughing.
I tossed my head over my shoulder, Dimitrios immediately motioning for one of the soldiers. If he had been expecting us, the house itself was a ticking timebomb. The soldier raced back to where we’d come from.
“Why don’t you let her go so we can talk about this like men?” I suggested, scanning the area to ensure there were no other soldiers hiding in the shadows.
“I don’t think I can do that.” Bernardi stroked Kara’s face. “It’s time for you to meet your maker. All of you.”
“Havros,” Kara whispered. “He has a gun.”
“Shut up, you little bitch,” Bernardi snapped. “But she’s right. One move and she’ll be staring back at you with blank eyes. The two of you will rot in hell together.”
We were out of time. I didn’t need my sixth sense to tell me the house had been wired.
There was something to be said for growing up with three brothers. While only two were here with me physically, the third was definitely here in spirit. With no other communication needed than a single glance to each other, we reacted.
Two bullets slammed into the backs of Bernardi’s legs, easily blowing out both knees. I fired the single shot into the arm holding the weapon.
His scream was high pitched, but it wasn’t enough for me. Yet I wasn’t interested in wasting any time with the fucker. My brothers could do with him what they wanted. All I cared about was getting to Kara.
Suddenly, the shadows moved and men appeared from the darkness. “Get down!” With two seconds, I had the assault rifle in my hand, spraying the soldiers with bullets.
And all the while, Bernardi was laughing.
When all was quiet, I heard Christos whistling.
I knocked Bernardi to the floor, kicking his weapon away before crouching down to Kara.
“It’s okay now. Baby. I found you.” Her lip was swollen, and she had a few cuts on her arm, but it appeared otherwise she hadn’t been hurt. “I’ve got you and I’ll never let you go.”
She reached up, touching my face. Her eyes were sunken from the terror, yet she managed to smile. “I knew you’d find me. We need to get out of here. The house is wired to blow.”
“Fuck. Come on!” Dimitrios yelled. “What do you want us to do with him?”
“Let him burn in the fires of hell where he belongs. We need to get out.”
Neither of my brothers decided to listen, determined to ensure his early demise. Several shots were fired, killing the man instantly
I scooped her up in my arms, carrying her past my brothers and the soldiers. We all raced up the stairs.
“Get out!” Christo yelled as he trailed behind me.
Maybe the nightmare was finally over.
As I raced through the house, every soldier stopped and offered a nod of respect. As if I was the hero. Fuck that.
“Leave. Now!” I barked.
The rustle of activity was relentless, our men heading toward the road to seek safety. The rush of adrenaline kept me going. “Hold on, kitten. Just hold on.” She clung to me as I struggled to move as far away from the building as possible.
A roar of sound caught my attention and given we were far enough away from the house, I stopped and turned slightly, holding her head against me so she wouldn’t be forced to witness the fireworks.
The blast was significant, a fireball lighting up the sky.
“He got what he deserved,” Dimitrios hissed.
The three of us stood together, watching as the house and surrounding landscape went up in flames.
“Is he dead?” Kara asked.
“He’s dead. Come on, baby. I’m taking you home.”
“Home,” she repeated.
The night air felt good on my skin as I walked down the driveway. “No one is ever going to hurt you again. I promise you that.”
“Don’t promise something you can’t keep,” she whispered as she fisted my shirt.
“I intend on keeping it, my kitten. Forever.”