11. Unlimited Liability
Unlimited Liability
Dante
“The tracker we put on Finn’s phone came on.” Sebastian holds his phone out to me.
I stare at the little dot in the house. Did someone take it from him? Is he in trouble? Sebastian also loaded mirroring apps on our phones.
When I click over to it, my heart pounds. Boss?
“That’s not Finn.” The need to go claim her, to fuck protocol and just storm in now, almost overwhelms me.
“Who is it?” Sebastian asks. He has a pair of binoculars and is scanning the house while Mac aims an infrared camera the same direction.
I open Sebastian’s text and type in Got you. I go back to the dot. That’s her.
“Finn found Sara.” I close my eyes. She’s not in my arms, but if he’s with her, I feel so much better.
“Or he got captured with her.” Sebastian shakes his head as I hand him back his phone. He studies it for a moment before scrutinizing the back of the house. The trees give us plenty of cover back here.
If anyone looks out the windows, they won’t see us.
“Mac. Second floor left corner.” Sebastian turns his binoculars in the same direction.
“One.” Mac nods.
I peer over his shoulder to look at the screen. The lines are all squiggly, but there’s the shape of a person in them.
“Maybe she’s taking a shower?” Mac shrugs.
Or hiding the sound because they’re listening to her. “Finn’s not with her?”
“Peter’s car is in the driveway.” Sebastian sighs. “He was gone last night. That would have been optimal. His bodyguards wouldn’t have been on site.”
“We’re not putting this off again.” I can’t let another day go by with both of them held captive. If I have to, I’ll go it alone.
“Chill,” X says. He’s typing on a computer that looks tiny compared to how big he is. I have height and muscles, but X is just a big guy. Not fat, but big.
“We do this the right way.” Sebastian pulls out his phone. “Good. She’s turned it off. Mac, see if anyone is in there with her.”
I glance at the screen as the waves have disappeared. She moves into another room and a few other figures are in the same area. One of them walks away, leaving two figures.
“It makes it easier if they’re together.” Sebastian runs a hand through his black hair. He stands and brushes his hands down his jeans. “I have to make a call.”
When Sebastian walks away and lifts the phone to his ear, I turn to Mac.
“How much is this costing Drew?”
Mac chuckles. “Enough to buy a house like that. Especially if Sebastian has to call in a favor to do it. He guards those like good pussy.”
A favor. For what?
Sebastian walks back over and pockets his phone. “We wait until after dinner. The guards go to bed. We’ll get them out with no issues.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “If it’s that easy, why don’t we do it now?”
Sebastian’s smile doesn’t reach his eyes. “Everything we do comes at a price, Dante. Some costs are monetary and others are time. This one is a little of both.”
Waiting is going to kill me. I just hope Wyatt and Drew are having better luck.
* * *
Wyatt
I glance at my watch since I can’t check my phone. This no-contact shit is going to drive me nuts. Do they have Sara? Are they in trouble? Will we even know by the time we get to the meeting spot? Or will we be blind?
Drew walks with me behind Tom and Natasha. I don’t think they’re a flight risk. But I never expected Tom to put Sara in any danger either, so I’m not letting him out of my sight until we get on the plane. Actually, until Sara is back in my arms. Then I might relax a little.
We enter the café they’re supposed to meet the Feds at. The smell of coffee and baked goods rolls over us. My stomach growls.
Agents Martinez and Price sit at a table with their heads together like they’re in some deep discussion. At least we know these dicks are actually with the FBI. When Tom mentioned it, I was concerned it was a trap set up by Peter to catch the two of them.
“What do you want?” Drew taps my arm and nods to the counter.
“Coffee black. A croissant.”
Drew goes to order.
We’ll eat on the plane. I glance at my watch again. We scheduled it to leave in two hours. So we need this meeting to go quickly and then get to the airport. Tom leads Natasha to the agents like she’s made of glass.
If I have to, if it’s the only way to have Sara back, I’ll hog-tie Tom and deliver him to Peter myself. Tom is like a brother, but he is her brother. He’s the reason she’s in this mess to begin with.
After handshakes, we sit around the table and Drew brings over coffees and a croissant for me.
“We’ve got a plane to catch, fellows. So be quick.” Drew gestures to Natasha.
Jacob Price leans his elbows on the table. “Whatever you need for protection, we’re willing to give.”
Natasha glances at Tom and releases a breath. “We have evidence of my father’s illegal dealings.”
Martinez sits back in his chair with an eye on the door.
“We can’t just take your word for it.” Price sighs. “We need actual hard evidence.”
Tom nods and pulls out a thumb drive. “This isn’t everything, but it should be a start. Beth Brown started as an associate and wanted me to bring in these new clients. I was skeptical, but figured it wouldn’t hurt to look them over.”
Price takes the thumb drive and hands it to Martinez who slides it into his computer and pulls up the files.
“They’re high cash intake businesses, but even then, the numbers didn’t add up.” Tom glances my way. “I didn’t want them in the system because I was afraid of tripping an investigation into our company.”
“My father keeps his business associates well paid and close.” Natasha takes Tom’s hand. “We need to know he won’t retaliate against Tom for sharing this information.”
“If this is true, we can get you into witness protection.” Price glances at Martinez.
“It’s legit, but not everything.” Martinez closes his laptop and pockets the thumb drive.
“You can come with us and give us the rest of the information.”
“No,” Drew says. I turn to look at him. I was going to say the same thing.
Martinez arches an eyebrow.
“Natasha Sokolov is a primary witness against her father. Tom Morris is a key witness. We need to get them hidden so Peter doesn’t find them before we can put together our arrest warrant.” Price straightens with every word he says.
Drew narrows his eyes. “They aren’t under arrest?”
“No.” Price runs a hand over his hair.
“Good, then we’ll be going.” Drew stands and grabs Tom’s arm.
“We need to be able to get in touch with you.” Price stands like he’s going to block our way.
“We know how to reach you.” Drew helps Natasha to her feet and puts them both behind him. “Tom is needed with us and he won’t go anywhere without Natasha, so…”
Drew shrugs and steps back.
I rise and shake Price’s hand, giving a nod to Martinez. “You also seem to be able to find us when you need to. We have somewhere to be.”
We hurry to the door, and as we get outside, I look back. Martinez’s gaze collides with mine as he says something into the phone. Fuck.
“We’ve got to hurry.”
We shove through the busy sidewalks to get to where our car was, but a guy in a suit stands next to it.
My gaze meets Drew’s and he nods. We need a diversion for the guy.
“Give me a minute.” He strolls ahead of us. When he gets to the guy, he holds his arms wide and yells, “Gus! My god, I haven’t seen you in— Well fuck, how long has it been?”
The guy follows him to the side. As soon as his back is to us, we hurry to the car and get in. The guy tries to tell Drew he isn’t Gus, but Drew keeps mentioning dates and events to jog the guy’s mind.
When we’re in the car, Drew steps away and looks at him discerningly. “Fuck, I guess you aren’t Gus. Sorry, man.”
The guy finally goes back to his post with his back to the tinted windowed car. Drew rounds to the passenger side and slides in.
As soon as the door closes, we take off for the airport. There’s not a lot they can do since we’re not actually wanted for anything. When the time comes to be witnesses, these two will be there. Until then, we need to hold all the cards.
The ride to the airport is uneventful and silent. We easily bypass the one security guard at the private landing strip.
It doesn’t take long before we’re tucked away on the private plane. The flight attendant is the same man and he makes sure we’re all settled for takeoff. Part of me thinks the Feds are going to show up and surround the plane, aborting our trip, but that only happens in movies.
Before long, we’re in the air and I can finally breathe a little easier. Our mission is accomplished. Well, almost.
Natasha stands. “Excuse me.”
She heads to the bathroom and I meet Drew’s eyes. He gives me a little nod. We converge on Tom, sitting across from him.
“I’m here. I’ll do whatever we need to do to get Sara to safety.” He glances between the two of us. “You don’t understand the life Natasha was living. I had to help her.”
Drew’s smile is plastic and his words are meant to put him at ease. “Sure. Sure. We believe you.”
“Sara wasn’t really supposed to be in danger.” Tom looks to Drew like he’ll understand him. “I told her to move in with you guys.”
“The same guy you spent years keeping her away from?” I narrow my eyes.
“You know why,” he bites out. “You and Sara never would have been good together. You only would have hurt her.”
“The only one who consistently hurts her is you.” I can’t hold back. “Even when we were younger, you always left us to watch out for her. Knowing we’d do anything to protect her. You made her our responsibility over and over again, even though she was supposed to be yours.”
“That doesn’t sound like you were a very good brother,” Drew says.
Tom’s brow furrows. “She’s my kid sister. I’m not supposed to want her to follow me around like a puppy.”
“But you did. You loved that she worshipped you.” I shake my head, seeing it so clearly now. “It’s been a while since she needed you, hasn’t it? After all you were the first person she called when Verity ruined her.”
“She told you?” He seems surprised.
“Of course she told me. You had me take that bitch on a date. What the fuck was up with that?” I lean forward and search his eyes for the truth. So like Sara’s eyes, but Tom’s aren’t open and receptive.
“I’ve met Verity Baron.” Drew rubs the side of his mouth like he’s thinking it over. “I don’t know many people that are fond of her. She wanted to use Wyatt to hurt Sara, but that wasn’t your fault, was it, Tom?”
Drew smiles like he figured it out. “You needed Verity to get to Natasha since they were best friends. You didn’t think about the fact it would hurt your sister, right?”
“Of course not. I wouldn’t hurt Sara intentionally.” Tom rubs his hand over the back of his neck.
“Except when it came to me.” I cock my head and give him a smile. “You couldn’t handle the thought that your baby sister wanted me. So you wanted to do everything possible to stop that from happening.”
Tom glances at Drew like he expects him to say that she’s his girlfriend. Drew leans back and gestures for Tom to respond.
“What does it matter? She’s with Drew.” Tom meets my gaze. “Besides, you know why she would never want to be with you.”
Drew leans in. “Why is that?”
Tom blinks like he just remembered Drew doesn’t know our history. “That’s between Wyatt and me. It’s a secret I promised to keep.”
“It’s a secret you hold over my head like a guillotine.” I shake my head. “Honestly, I don’t give a fuck what you do or who you do it with, but I care when it affects Sara. And right now, she’s in the hands of a dangerous man because you couldn’t keep it in your pants.”
“That’s not what happened.” Tom’s eyes narrow on me. “I left her in your care—”
Drew punches him in the jaw.
“What the fuck, man?” Tom looks at Drew like he grew an extra head.
“You should know by now that excuse isn’t going to play.
” Drew rubs his hand and checks behind him to make sure Natasha hasn’t come out.
“I’ve also wanted to hit you since long before Sara got taken.
This is your fucking fault. She never would have been on their radar.
We wouldn’t have been so lax if we knew exactly who was after her. ”
Tom rubs at his jaw but there’s regret in his eyes. “I didn’t know how to tell you.”
“Tell us what?” I cock an eyebrow.
“That I’m pregnant.”
We both turn to see Natasha standing there. Her hands cradle her abdomen.
“My father would have wanted to control our baby’s life or possibly force me to not have it.
” Natasha steps into our circle and sits next to Tom.
“I’m sorry Sara got mixed up in this. I’ve run away before and he knows I’ll come back.
He usually gives me a month before he comes to find me.
I don’t know how he found out about Tom. ”
Drew sighs and runs his hand through his hair.
“Everyone who saw you two in the same room would know. We watched grainy fucking video and could tell you two had the hots for each other. I get that you would do anything for the woman you love and your unborn child, but you could have done that and made sure Sara was actually protected.”
Tom’s gaze drops to his lap and it’s like he finally understands. “Fuck.”
“Yeah, fuck is right. And I don’t give a shit what you have to do to make it up to her, you will make it up to her.” I stand and head back over to my seat. I’ve done what I can. Now I can return to worrying about Finn, Dante, and Sara.