Chapter 26
Ash
I’d been racing up to the roof of our office building when Belle called me back. Relief had quickly turned to utter disbelief when she’d said Barrett was already there.
I should never have come back to Chicago. I’m too damn far away.
If hearing Belle’s fear hadn’t been bad enough, the sound of Piper’s little voice traveling across the miles that separate us almost killed me. I promised to protect them both. I should be there. And I’m not.
I’d kept the helicopter on standby after returning to Chicago, and our private jet has remained prepped and ready to go at a moment’s notice.
I’d thought they were appropriate precautions, as was leaving my head of security to watch over Belle.
But as my brothers and I take to the air, heading to the airfield to catch our flight, my heart takes another blow.
Jake’s been hit, and our men outmaneuvered.
Flying the helicopter gives me something to focus on while my brothers coordinate our rescue mission. But are we going to be too late? I don’t know Barrett nearly as well as I thought I did. He’s darker and more devious than I ever gave him credit for, and that’s on me.
I’m desperately trying to phone Belle back as we climb the steps to our jet. There’s no answer, but I won’t stop trying.
As we prepare for take-off, Mace takes the table seats, and sets up a makeshift mission control. He has a status report ready before I’ve had a chance to buckle up.
“The plane’s still on the ground, but Barrett’s men have shot down our drone so we don’t have eyes above the estate.”
“How’s Jake?” I ask Hunter, who’s taken the recliner seat opposite me, with Reid next to him.
“Still capable of shouting at people,” he replies, pulling his phone away from his ear with a grimace.
“Let me speak to him.”
As I reach for his phone, I pass mine to Reid in case Belle tries to call me back.
“I want that fucking missile launcher here in under twenty,” Jake is shouting to one of our men. “Or I’ll be shooting it up your goddamn fucking ass!”
“Jake, tell me what you see,” I ask, having to raise my voice above his.
“I see a load of fucking useless cunts,” Jake shouts. “Tell the bastard to drive faster and get it here. Now!”
“Jake!” I yell.
He hisses. “Sorry. Is that you, Ash?”
“Tell me what’s happening,” I grit out.
“There are eight of Barrett’s men at the gate,” he says.
“We didn’t get the chance for proper introductions before they shot me in the goddamn fucking leg, but we exchanged enough pleasantries to establish that they’re Russian.
Apparently, they don’t give a fuck about Vasili Barkov.
They answered to Ilya, and now they’re answering to Barrett. Unless we have deeper pockets.”
“Are you saying we can do a deal?” I’m already adding up how much we have available to transfer. I’d pay any price to get Belle and Piper back.
“Jesus, I’m not a fucking pin cushion,” Jake barks at the unfortunate guy presumably stitching him up as he continues to rant. “There’s a guy called Oleg we need to speak to apparently, but he’s at the house. Mace is trying to find out exactly who he is.”
I glance at my brother, whose gaze moves between two open laptops. His brow is furrowed in concentration.
“Ash, we don’t need a deal. I have backup on the way,” Jake continues. “Now that we know what we’re up against, our guys are bringing the big guns. We have everything we need at the cabins to launch a counterattack. One or two missiles should do the trick.”
“You’re not firing missiles while my family are in there,” I growl.
“I was only going to blow up the gates. I’m not fucking stupid,” he says. Being shot has really pissed him off. “Or maybe I am. I didn’t expect Barrett to have the balls to bring armed men.”
“You’re not the only one who’s been taken by surprise,” I admit. “Tell me what happened.”
“I’d asked Belle to meet me at the gate, and I’d been waiting there like a fucking idiot, when one of the estate’s Land Rovers shows up.
The guy driving was one of the ground staff, and Barrett’s heavy mob used him as a human fucking shield.
We couldn’t get clean shots, and when I got hit, my guys pulled me back,” Jake says through gritted teeth.
I’m guessing he didn’t go quietly. “Another Land Rover arrived with a hostage, another gardener. It looked like we’d reached a stalemate until the two local guards on duty decided to play hero.
They managed to open the gates briefly, and we provided enough cover to get all four men out of there. ”
“Who’s left on the estate?”
“According to the staff, it’s just Belle and Piper.”
My back presses against my seat as jet engines flare, and the plane lifts off the ground a moment later.
“How bad are you hit? Can you walk?” I ask.
“I’d like to see someone stop me.” He curses under his breath and tells whoever’s patching him up to go away, though not so politely. “I’m so fucking sorry, Ash. I should be in there. I should have got them out.”
“No, I shouldn’t have left them.” There’s a pause as we both wrestle with our consciences. “But could you do me one small favor.”
“Anything, Boss.”
“When you do get to them, watch your fucking language in front of my daughter.”
Hunter and Reid both fight a smile, but as good as it feels to act like Piper’s dad, there are a lot more bridges to cross, and people’s necks to break before I can fully embrace the role. But I will.
Once the jet reaches cruising height, one of the team accompanying us sets down four metal cases at our feet.
They’re identical except for our individual names stenciled on them.
They each contain our own personal arsenal, customized to each brother’s needs.
I’m sliding a blade into my ankle strap when Hunter’s cell phone starts ringing in my hand. I take the call.
“Killian.”
“What do you need, Ash?”
“A faster plane would help,” I say, switching to speakerphone.
“I wish we were closer,” my friend mutters. “If I’d known how much of a lowlife Barrett truly was, I wouldn’t have been so quick to kill Ilya until he’d tormented that bastard some more.”
“You didn’t kill Ilya.” I’m glancing at Reid as I reply, and he cocks an eyebrow.
“Potatoes, potatoes,” Killian says, repeating the word in the exact same pronounced Irish accent each time. “So, what’s the plan?”
“Jake’s about to blow up the gates. He’s counted eight men at the entrance, but we don’t know how many Barrett has in total. What we do know is they’re stragglers left over from Ilya’s little army.”
“There’ll be no more than sixteen,” Mace calls over without looking up. “Based on the size of the plane, and assuming Barrett is planning to leave with two extra passengers.”
“Do you think he will leave?” Killian asks, having heard Mace’s input.
“With so few men, they’d be sitting ducks waiting for us to arrive. And the way I’m feeling, I’d happily take out all of them on my own.”
“Well, big fella, you don’t have to be doing that,” Killian says. “Me and the lads are ready to go if you need us. Just say the word.”
I’ll only need his help if Barrett escapes with precious cargo. “I hope it won’t come to that, but I appreciate the offer.”
“I know Dad’s been a little reluctant of late to get into a fight, but this is different. Your family’s being attacked,” Killian says. “And I hear you’re a dad now.”
“Yes, I am,” I reply, meeting Hunter’s eye.
I’m not mad that my brother’s told Killian.
The days of secrecy are over. The battle between Barrett and the Griffins has been a long time coming, and while the public may never hear of it, and the law might turn a blind eye, it’s still going to attract a lot of attention.
That’s going to include Vasili too, which means Katarina’s escape plan is already in jeopardy. But that’s a problem for another day.
“I’ll catch up with you later, Killian. I have work to do.”
“Sure. And let me know when that wee girl of yours is safe. I’d like to meet her some time.”
Me too, I think as I end the call and give Hunter his phone back.
Reid returns my cell, which has remained deathly silent, and hands me a bottled water. I’d much rather have a whiskey, but my head needs to remain clear. I’d told Killian I had work to do, but there isn’t much I can do except count down the miles.
“Jake’s just setting up for the attack, and he’s patched me into their comms,” Hunter tells me, phone to his ear. “He’ll be through the gates in under five.”
My legs bounce. I feel so useless. “Now I know how you felt when we heard Maddie had been taken,” I say.
“I don’t even get why Barrett did that,” Hunter says as we wait for news. “From what Ray said, he was never interested in claiming Maddie.”
“But he did need to stop the meeting we were scheduled to have with Alice,” Reid says. “It could have opened up lines of communication between you and your mother.”
“Barrett’s mother,” Mace corrects him. “She was never our mother.”
“I know that,” Reid replies, “but insecure Barrett might have worried that you’d mend your relationship with her somehow.
If that had happened, we would have found out about his deal with the Russians sooner, and more importantly, it might have prompted you to visit Poulton Springs, Ash.
And the last thing Barrett wanted was for you to bump into a recently widowed Belle. ”
“He didn’t just divert us from the planned meeting with Alice,” I add. “He ensured relations between our families became unsalvageable.”
It’s another layer of deceit we’re peeling back, but I’m less interested in the past than I am with what’s happening at this very moment. Belle and Piper will be with Barrett. What’s he doing to them? What does he have planned?
“They’re in,” Hunter says.
I should tell my brother to switch to speakerphone, but if I have to listen to a blow by blow account of what’s happening, I’m likely to punch a hole in the wall, and that’s not a good idea when you’re thousands of feet in the air.
When waiting becomes intolerable, I look to Mace, hoping for some crumb of comfort, but his head drops into his hands.
“What is it?” I ask, my stomach dropping like a stone.
“The plane’s just taken off.”