Chapter 15
Fifteen
Luca
“You’re telling me she’s in there?” I nod toward the towering building in the distance.
“That’s what Dante’s intel is telling us. Her phone is off,” Ashton says, giving me a look of pity.
I don’t need his pity.
We have a trunkload of equipment. Sophia inspects the small drone that’s sitting on the ground. There’s a remote control, and she fiddles with it, getting the drone up a few feet off the ground but then sets it carefully back down.
She’s practicing, but for what? I don’t see how the drone is going to be of much use.
We need to get Harper out, now.
I cling to the belief that Livia DeLuca wouldn’t kill my wife. She may want revenge, but a mafia boss doesn’t get their hands dirty.
I glare at Sophia, annoyed by the drone that she’s playing with. Now isn’t the time to be screwing around.
“Careful,” Liam warns his sister as he glances through the equipment in the back of the SUV, finding a micro camera and turning it on. The feed links to a tablet. “We don’t want anyone to notice we’re here.”
I don’t do well sitting still, waiting to rescue my wife.
I pace outside, anxiety prickling at my skin, my stomach in knots.
“We need video, now.” I glare at Rhys, who is working diligently to gain us access to surveillance cameras. He’s pulling up satellite internet on the laptop; it’s a multi-step process and I don’t want to stand around and wait.
“Patience, Luca. I’m working as fast as I can, believe me, I want justice as much as you do.”
“Vengeance,” I seethe, glaring at him. “They took my wife. They threatened my son.”
The DeLucas won’t stop until they’re all dead.
Liam stalks over toward us, leaving Sophia to manage the drone on her own. “How’s the footage from inside the compound coming?”
“I just got the link from Dante’s source. As soon as I log in with the parameters, we’ll have full access to every camera inside and outside the property.”
Rhys types away at the keyboard, clicking hastily, and manages within a few short seconds to pull up footage. There are more than a dozen cameras, and it takes some sorting and rearranging the feed on his screen to find Harper.
She’s naked, the footage grainy, but the anger bubbles in my veins.
“What the fuck are they doing to her?” I growl, stepping closer, examining the video, and Rhys turns the sound up.
The door opens, a gentleman steps inside, shutting the door behind himself.
“Who is that?” Sophia asks, setting the drone back down on the ground. She places the remote inside the trunk of the vehicle, glancing at the footage with us.
“Turn up the volume,” I say, giving Rhys orders, even though he’s the one with the most experience, practically running the show.
“I’m Dr. Barone, I’m here to give you your physical examination and run some quick swabs and a blood test to make sure you’re clean.”
“The hell you are,” Harper snaps, quickly moving out of his reach.
“I was informed you were a troublesome one. Shall I bring in the guards to hold you down while we perform our examination?” The doctor stalks closer, and I shake my head in disgust.
“Don’t you dare fucking touch her!” I growl, momentarily forgetting that the doctor can’t hear me. “What are we waiting for?”
Why isn’t the team strapping on weapons and ammunition?
“I’m pregnant.” Harper’s voice makes my heart thud uncontrollably.
I shake my head. “No.”
It can’t be true.
We’ve been careful—and she would have told me. But then again, we haven’t had time alone together the past couple of days, between the hockey game, her new job, thanks to my father…
“I’m not leaving my pregnant wife fending for herself!”
Fuck it all.
I stalk clear across the desert, leaving our vehicle and carrying a pistol at my hip and a rifle strapped across my back.
We’ll need more ammunition if Livia DeLuca has the place fortified, but my goal is getting Harper back. The rest, the team can figure out.
Ashton races after me and grabs my arm. “You can’t just walk up and ring the doorbell.”
I snort. “You think I’m just going to waltz up and wait for that monster to shoot me? I’m going in guns blazing. No one goes after my wife and unborn child.”
Rhys eyes me up and down, gesturing for me to come back to the vehicle. “Ashton is right. That’s nowhere near enough ammo, and we don’t know what we’re walking into. It’ll be an ambush.”
I want him to be wrong, but Livia is holding Harper hostage. The new mafia boss must realize we’re coming. She’d be a fool not to expect us.
“At least go in smart, fully loaded, with audio and video. We can map out a blueprint with the right tools,” Liam says and digs through the open trunk, pulling out surveillance tech that was sent to us through one of Dante’s contacts.
We had a package along with weapons waiting at the airport hangar upon our arrival.
Liam hands me a camera that is the size of a button and clips it to my shirt. They’ll have eyes inside, audio too.
“Come on, they’re going to expect me to be wired,” I say.
Liam makes sure the button looks ordinary and doesn’t appear out of place on my shirt. “Do you plan on getting caught?”
I huff under my breath.
“No one plans on getting caught,” I mutter.
“Good. Then get us intel that we can use. We need a map of the facility.”
They’re fucking using me as bait. I glare at Liam, not the least bit surprised or pleased, but I’m not about to wait for more information from Dante’s sources. There’s not enough time in the world for that. Harper’s life is on the line. Along with her dignity.
Fuck that doctor wanting to examine her.
Touch her.
I’m the only man allowed to touch my wife like that.
I chance a quick glance at the screen and grimace.
Harper is lying on a bed, the doctor touching her, and God help me, I want to cut his balls off.
I will castrate the bastard who lays a finger on my wife.
“Get us good footage, and we’ll be in within minutes. We just need to know where you’re both being held and how many we’re up against.”
I pause, staring at the mansion in front of us. There’s no gate, it’s easily accessible, but quite remote. Mountains surround us as we’re at the bottom of a valley.
I can’t just stare at the damn compound and not do something. Restlessness pricks under my skin. Waiting is a ticking time bomb, and Harper might not be alive if I waste another second.
“This is a terrible plan. You’re just going to give Livia what she wants?” Ashton asks.
“Actually, I am.” I remove the rifle, shoving it into his hands. “See you on the other side.”
“What the fuck are you doing?” Rhys grinds his teeth and chases after me, but I’m already out of earshot.
“I’m going to save my wife and child!” I shout back at him.
While they bicker about the best way into the mansion, I’m doing exactly what no one would expect: walking up to the front door.
Why?
Because I can’t protect Harper if I’m not with her.
“Fucking Luca,” Rhys curses, and I’m sure they’ll come up with a plan to get both of us out. If not, it’ll be up to me to save us both. But at least I’ll have given them eyes on the inside.
As I approach the property, I survey the windows, the balcony, and roof. There are no sharpshooters, no one aiming a gun at me. There are, however, cameras at every juncture, and I feel watchful eyes on me as I walk up to the front door and let myself inside.
Time to fuck things up for the DeLucas.