Chapter 25
Twenty-Five
Kayden
Icalled Dani more times than I care to count, and every single call was ignored. Even my texts were left on read. I knew she was upset, but I didn’t think she’d ignore me for this long.
Once I got to the airport, I was surprised to find Emilia and James waiting for me on the jet when I boarded. Emilia brought a glass of wine to her lips as she smirked. “Did you really think you would leave without us?”
“What about Melody and Jaxon?” I asked. “I told them to go to you.”
“They did and they’re safe. The Bonettis are a force to be reckoned with, Kayden. I trust my people to keep them protected. Plus, the compound is secure, no one is getting in,” she replied, setting down her glass of wine with an air of nonchalance.
I fought the urge to roll my eyes. I know Emilia is a badass, but I was hoping not to involve my family more than what they already are. If anything happens to them, that’s on me.
“Take a seat, Brother. We’re waiting on one more person,” James said, his slight English accent breaking through. He was old enough when we were adopted that he already had an accent. As we grew up, our time in the States had softened it, but it was still noticeable enough.
“Who else?” I asked, throwing up my hands. “We don’t have time to wait. Andrei could be on his way to Dani right now.”
“Our sources here at the airport gave us information that his flight left nearly thirty minutes ago,” Emilia supplied over the rim of her wineglass.
“Well, fuck, then we really need to leave, Emilia,” I seethed, pacing the small aisle. “He can’t get his hands on her. She isn’t answering my calls or my texts, either.”
A hand clasped on my back and I spun around, ready to lay whoever it was flat on their ass.
“Whoa there, Brother.”
“Jaxon? What are you doing here? Why aren’t you with Melody?”
“I tried to stay with her, but she practically pushed me out the door. Said she couldn’t live with herself if something happened to Dani. She knew you could use my help.”
“Great, another person for me to keep safe.”
“I can handle myself, Kayden,” Jaxon replied with a growl.
I threw up my hands and took a seat in the space across from Emilia and James, admitting defeat. “Fine. It’s not like there’s any convincing you all to leave.”
“Nope.”
“Not a chance.”
“Sorry, Brother,” James chimed in. “You’re stuck with us.”
Since leaving, we’ve been on the flight for over three hours and Dani is still ignoring my calls.
To keep my mind busy, I took time to review our targets with everyone after take off, giving them as much info as I could on Andrei and his right-hand men, Marco and Ivan.
We have about a half hour to go and I’ve been doing nothing but pacing, knowing Andrei and his men probably already landed.
The itch to kill, maim, and torture is a constant ache beneath my skin to the point I can’t sit still.
“Sir,” comes a voice from just beyond the curtain to the cockpit.
Pushing aside the curtain, I stand behind Mike, our pilot. “Almost there?”
“We should be coming upon the airstrip in just a few minutes, but, Sir, there is radio silence from the airport. No one is answering us.”
“Fuck. We’re going to have to land anyway. I’ll let everyone know we might be entering a hostile situation when we land.”
Going back through the curtain, my gaze lands on Emilia, James, and Jaxon already getting geared up and loading their weapons.
“We could hear what he said. We’re ready,” Emilia says as she racks the slide on her handgun.
“Kayden, how far behind us is your team?” James asks as he slips a gun behind his waistband.
“I didn’t activate my whole team, it’s just Donovan and Axel. Everyone else is busy securing the new Eden location. But they shouldn’t be too far behind, maybe forty-five minutes.”
“Got it,” he says, nodding his head. “Then let’s do this.”
The pilot announces our approach to the airstrip, signaling us to buckle up and prepare for landing. While this airport is extremely small, it’s just barely big enough to accommodate my private jet.
As the jet touches down, I immediately place another call to Dani. Still, it continues to go to voicemail.
“Let me try calling,” Jaxon says as he pulls out his own cell phone.
He places the phone to his ear and after a few seconds, breaks out in a huge grin.
“Hey, Dani. It’s Jax. No, Melody’s not with me. Funny you should ask. I have someone here that wants to talk to you.”
I can only imagine her protests as Jax continues on. “Dani, stop being so fucking stubborn.”
He hands me the phone as we all make our way to the exit. “Dani?” I ask as I bring the phone to my ear.
There’s silence before she finally answers. “Yes?”
“I need you to listen very carefully to me, Dani.” Before I can continue I hear a bell in the background and my heart races as I descend down the jet steps.
“Wait, Dani—”
“Kayden, I swear to god if you’re on the other side of the door, I’m going to kick you.”
“No, Dani, don—”
I hear the door open, followed by her gasp.
“Privet, epitomes.” (Hello, pet.)
“Who are you? What do you want?”
“You know exactly who I am, Dani,” Andrei replies, a hint of anger bleeding into his tone. “And now you’re mine.”
“Fuck you, asshole!”
There’s a loud bang, followed by heavy breathing. “Kayden, what the fuck do I do?”
“How many men did you see with him, Dani?”
“I don’t know, two maybe. I slammed the door in his face and locked it. Oh God, Kayden, they’re going to kick the door down.”
“Dani, run. Find another exit, and run,” I plead with her.
“OK, OK. Fuck, they’re in the house, I’m not going to make it to the door.”
“Ty mozhesh’ ubezhat’, no ne spryachesh’sya, suka.” (You can run, but you can’t hide, bitch.)
“Kayden!” Dani screams and the phone disconnects.
“FUCK!” I yell, chucking the phone across the parking lot.
Everyone looks as worried as I feel, and despite my military training, I don’t have a clear fucking thought about what to do. My thoughts are racing and all rationality has fled my brain. Thankfully, Emilia steps in.
“We need to get a car.”
“I texted my driver, Henry, on the flight over,” Jaxon replies. “He’s the same one that drove Dani to the house. He should be here any minute.”
Jaxon runs over and grabs his phone off the ground, inspecting it for damage. He mumbles something but rejoins us near the jet.
As though on cue, a black SUV floors it through a gate and onto the airstrip, coming to a halt a few feet from where we stand.
The window rolls down and an older gentleman, Henry I presume, shouts to us, “Better get in quick. Everyone at the main building is dead. They sure left a slew of bodies in their wake.”
We all exchange a glance before grabbing our duffel bags and hauling ass to the SUV.
“We need to get to the house you took Dani to, as fast as possible,” I say as I get in the passenger seat and shut the door.
“Well, son, you’re lucky this is such a remote area. I’ll get you there in under ten minutes,” he replies with a wink.
“Whatever you gotta do, do it,” I respond with a nod of my head as he floors it off the airstrip and onto a gravel road.
“Better buckle up back there.” He peers at Jaxon, James, and Emilia in the rearview mirror. The SUV bounces along the road as gravel flies in a cloud behind us.
I take my phone out of my pocket and send a text to Donovan.
Me
We landed. I was on the phone with Dani when they came and grabbed her. We’re headed to the house now. Three tangos, maybe more.
I keep my text short and sweet, getting right to the point. Dani has always bled me of all rational thought, and tonight is no exception. Luckily, Emilia and James have the planning covered.
“Henry or Jaxon, tell me about where this house is located. What are we getting into?” Emilia asks.
“I don’t know much, honestly,” Jaxon replies. “We bought the house on a whim, our property manager has been taking care of things for us until me and Melody could fly out.”
“I can help with that,” Henry says. “So the house is surrounded by a dense forest as far as the eye can see, no neighbors for miles. There is a river that cuts across the western portion of the woods which runs through a deep gully. The north side of the house has a large natural cliff—might be a good vantage point if you can get around to it. The back of the house is all floor to ceiling windows, it should give you the perfect view into the house. To the east of the house is just more woods, nothing significant that way.”
Henry takes a breath before continuing. “With it being dark and all, I’m afraid my headlights would give us all away by coming up the driveway. Best bet is to drop you all off somewhere along the main road and make the trek through the woods.”
“That’s fine. Jaxon and Kayden can head toward the house from the west, and James and I will take the east,” Emilia says.
“That sounds like a plan,” I say with a sigh, searching through my duffel bag. “I have my sniper rifle in here, I can probably make my way around the house and get situated on that cliff. If I can’t get a clear shot, at least I can radio with their positions and then we can make our move.”
I pull out headsets for each of us so we can be in constant communication. I hand Emilia my bulletproof vest, but she shakes her head.
“I don’t need that,” she says with a roll of her eyes. “You wear it.”
“I’m not wearing the vest when the rest of you have nothing. Had I known you all were coming I would have brought enough for us all, but I didn’t, so here we are. Wear the damn thing.”
“How about Jaxon wears it, then? We can’t leave Melody as a single mother, now can we?” Emilia smirks.
“Wait, what?” I ask, my gaze swinging between Emilia and Jaxon.
“Oops, did you not tell him yet?” she asks with fake innocence.
“What the fuck, Jax? Your wife is fucking pregnant and you decide to go with us and risk your fucking neck?” I seethe. “What the hell were you thinking?”
There’s no way in hell I’m leaving my sister-in-law to raise my niece or nephew alone. Had I known any of this, I would have kicked him off the jet to begin with. Fucking bastard.
“You were there for me when I needed your help finding and saving Melody. It’s the least I can do,” he says as he turns to look out the window.
“I didn’t have a pregnant wife waiting for me at home, you ass,” I spit out at him, my anger spilling over until I’m shaking.
“It’s not like there’s any going back now, Kayden. Suck it up,” he replies, yanking the vest from my grip and thrusting it in Emilia’s face. “Put it on, Em. Otherwise Kayden isn’t going to shut up.”
Emilia takes the vest with a roll of her eyes, but hands it to James. “You have a history of being shot, my love. Best that you wear it, and don’t argue with me.”
I clench and unclench my fists repeatedly, willing my mind to focus back on the task at hand.
Two minutes later, Henry pulls over alongside the road. “Alright, this is where I leave you. I’ll wait here for you guys to get back.”
“Negative. I need you back at the airport. Two of my men should be landing soon. I need you to pick them up and drop them off here, too.”
“You got it,” he replies, putting the SUV back into drive.
We file out of the vehicle and I sling my duffel bag over my shoulder.
Everyone has numerous knives, handguns, and ammunition to reload several times.
Emilia is the only one other than me with a rifle.
I only had one extra and I know she’s a good shot.
I split up the first aid kit between myself and Emilia in case any of us need it, but hopefully not.
“Let’s move out.”
Lucky for us, the full moon is bright in the sky, so we at least have a little light shining through the trees so we aren’t completely in the dark.