Chapter 21
Twenty-One
Nova
I stare at the screen in horror as Harper is thrown over the shoulder of one of the guards and disappears through the door.
Luca is safe, for now.
He’s locked in a bedroom, by the looks of it, and he’ll probably have a nice shiner on his cheek, but he appears to be relatively unharmed.
Harper is the one I’m worried about. We have no idea where they’re taking her. And to find out she’s pregnant, holy shit!
Liam stares at the tablet in front of him, watching video of Luca, a direct line of video and audio from the small hidden camera Luca has been wearing.
How long must we wait before doing something? I’m beginning to feel a bit on edge, like Luca, wanting to go in and rescue my family.
From the distance, we can see the property, but we’re far enough away not to be noticed.
I have an unsettling feeling as the third vehicle I’ve seen in the past twenty minutes has pulled up at the property. They’re all different models of vehicles, clearly pricey, fancy.
Ashton seems engrossed in his phone. “What’s so important that you’re staring at your cell phone instead of helping?”
I can’t help but feel annoyed. My brother and best friend’s lives are in danger, and Ashton is playing on his stupid cell phone.
Ashton’s jaw clenches and his gaze flickers from his phone briefly to me. He lifts the device, showing me a live breaking news feed. “Harper’s parents went to the local news about her abduction. It’s making national news.”
Rhys curses under his breath and grabs the phone from Ashton’s hands, turning the volume up to hear what’s being said.
“This doesn’t change anything.” I glance between the boys. “We need to go in and rescue Harper and Luca. We know they’re both inside, and if there’s any chance they plan on moving them or—”
Ashton shoots a glance in my direction. “I thought you wanted nothing to do with us—this.” He gestures at the equipment in front of him. “And now you’re giving orders?”
“Someone has to do something!”
Right now, we need all the help that we can get, especially after my dumbass brother decided to waltz right in through the front door.
What the hell was he thinking?
Oh, right, he wasn’t thinking. He found out his wife is pregnant.
Liam’s attention is transfixed on the tablet, making sure if we’re given any hint of a clue, we don’t miss it.
I saunter up to Liam, standing beside him, getting a glimpse of Luca.
He’s still alive.
My heart pounds as I watch him.
I’m grateful, the camera seems to have gone unnoticed by Livia’s crew. Luca paces back and forth after pounding on the door for the past several minutes. He’s locked up tight in that room, which at least isn’t a prison cell.
“I’m more concerned about the newcomers,” Liam says and glances up, pointing at the compound as two more vehicles head for the driveway.
He hands the tablet to Sophia.
“More patrols?” Sophia asks and returns her attention to the tablet, in case there’s anything of interest to report to us.
Rhys is busy cataloging the cameras and interior surveillance footage. He’s making it easy for him to swap feeds, while still having access to cameras that we may not need at the moment but that could become important later on for us.
Rhys zooms in on the exterior cameras housed right outside the main entrance of the compound. “I don’t know who these people are, but they’re not security. They’re dressed up like they’re attending a gala.”
“Given what we know about their previous business ventures, I’d presume it’s an auction,” Ashton says. “We know they’re in the business of abducting women and children. We’ve already seen several girls being held inside the compound.”
My mouth runs dry. “Human trafficking,” I rasp, feeling albeit a bit woozy. I don’t like that my best friend and brother are both locked up inside that place. I glance at the screen Sophia is holding. While I can’t see Luca’s face, he’s moving around, inspecting every inch of that room.
At least he’s alive.
My phone buzzes with a text alert, and I yank it from my back pocket, surprised to learn that my father is awake.
Relief floods through me. But it’s nowhere near over.
He still has a long road ahead of him for recovery, and then there are Harper and Luca, who aren’t out of danger yet.
Rhys clears his throat. “I think it’s safe to assume they’re here to buy the girls we saw who were locked in with Harper when Luca first arrived.”
I shove my phone away. “What are we going to do to stop them?” I ask.
Rescuing Harper and Luca may be our priority, but we can’t just walk away from knowing that countless girls are locked up inside, being held against their will.
“We can’t do anything until we know how to disable those collars,” Rhys says, his attention entirely on the screen in front of him.
“What about an EMP? If we were able to deliver a small pulse that would interfere with electronics, it should take out the collars on all the girls,” Ashton says.
“Do you know how to make one?” I raise an eyebrow, giving him my undivided attention. The idea is solid, but it’s not like we have an EMP how-to-guide with the weapons we’ve procured.
“I don’t think any of us know how or have the necessary tools,” Rhys says. “But Dante’s guy may have something we can rig up with the materials he’s provided us. I’m waiting for a call back.”
I huff under my breath. “Sure, because we have all the time in the world. It’s just Luca and Harper’s lives we’re talking about.” My moodiness knows no bounds, and Ashton reaches out, his hand caressing the small of my back, a soft yet intimate gesture, and I can feel his stare.
I should pull away from him, but I don’t.
I want to stay angry, but the truth of it is, he’s here now, willing to risk his life to save Luca and Harper. I can’t say the same about the other guys I’ve dated in the past.
Several more cars pull up, and I glance over Rhys’s shoulder at the footage from inside the house.
“They’re moving Harper and the other girls,” I say.
The camera feed has them moving farther inside the house.
I grab the map that we’ve outlined from what we’ve seen and grab a pencil, continuing to fill it in with the location of where they’re taking Harper and the others.
They escort the girls to a small room, forcing them to change attire. It appears Livia is there, shouting out orders, but we don’t have audio from the surveillance feeds, only video.
The audio feed that we do have is tied to Luca’s microphone and he’s an entire floor away from Harper.
I study every movement, try to keep track of how many girls there are being held captive. In addition to Harper and the girls, there are also several older ladies who are stationed in small sections, doing hair and makeup.
It’s definitely an auction of some kind.
There’s no reason they’d be dolling up the girls for sport. In a matter of minutes, the girls are shucked from one room to the next.
“They’re on the move again,” I say, relaying the most up-to-date information to the team.
The girls are shuffled down the hallway, remaining on the first floor, and make a hard left as they head in the opposite direction of where we’re located.
The guard opens the double wooden doors, shoving those inside who don’t move quickly enough.
They’re locked in a room near the back of the compound.
The room has ceiling-to-floor windows, but the view leads to a garden located within the courtyard of the compound. Sunlight shines in through the windows, basking the room in a bright glow.
The wall opposite has no evidence of windows or the outside, but based on my sketch and the video footage we’ve gained access to, I’m fairly confident it’s an exterior wall. Almost like they intended for this room to appear deep inside the compound.
There are semi-circular, dark-red velvet booths and cherry wooden tables throughout the room. At the far end, against the exterior wall, is a bar. Chandelier lighting hangs overhead but is currently dimly lit, with most of the light coming from the windows to the garden.
The girls huddle together, frightened, like they know what’s about to come next.
Rhys grabs his phone that is ringing; it’s Jaxson Monroe from the caller I.D. screen. I glance at Ashton, staring up at him. “We can’t just sit out here and wait. We have to do something,” I whisper, pleading with him.
Watching is torture. Anxiety is mounting and I just want to rush through the open door and shoot all the bastards who are holding my friends against their will.
That must have been how Luca felt, knowing Harper was locked up inside.
Powerless.
“We need to take control,” I say, glancing from the compound to Ashton. “Please, tell me you have a plan.”
He wanted this life, working in the mafia, following in his father’s footsteps. Now is his time to shine and prove that this is what he intends to do and why it matters.
Because if anything happens to either one of them locked up inside—
My breath catches in my throat, and I force away the slight tremor in my hands. “Ashton.” Urgency laces my voice.
“I’m thinking,” Ashton says, and glances at Rhys, who hurries to the trunk of the vehicle with all sorts of equipment we’ve been provided.
Rhys puts in a Bluetooth earpiece so he can hear Jaxson while he tinkers with three different devices, one of which is an explosive.
Hesitantly, I take a step back.
I don’t know what the hell Rhys is planning, but I don’t want to keep getting hurt. Already, I’m aching inside, my heart bleeding at the fact everyone I care about is in danger.
“Ashton, give me a hand,” Rhys orders and has him help make some modifications while I stalk over toward Sophia.
I glance at the tablet in her hands. Luca keeps yanking on the door handle in the room where he’s being held, but it’s locked. Without any windows, there isn’t another way out of that room.
“How large a blast radius are we looking at?” Rhys asks.
I glance back over my shoulder at him, already knowing what’s going to happen, and I can’t say I’m happy about it. But whatever it takes to save Harper and Luca.
Sophia places a hand on my shoulder. “We’ll get them back.”
I roll my lips together and wordlessly nod. Right, we’ll get them back. But then what? With the DeLucas, it seems a never-ending battle. We need to stop them once and for all.
I heard Harper’s words to Luca; Livia wants their child.
When will it end?
“How do we detonate it?” Rhys asks over the earpiece, and his eyes tighten for a fraction of a second. “Okay. We’ll be in touch.” He removes the earpiece and shoves his phone into his pocket.
“What’s the plan?” Ashton asks, glancing at Rhys.
“We need to make sure that we use the explosive device before the EMP, or one of us will manually have to detonate it.” Rhys doesn’t so much as glance at me.
“Sophia, can you man the drone if we load the explosives and the EMP to it?”
She hands me the tablet, letting me keep an eye on Luca. “I don’t think we’ll be able to detonate more than one at a time,” Sophia says.
“That’s okay, we can have you put the explosive in position and wait to detonate until the EMP is in place.” Rhys clicks his tongue. “But I’ll need you and Nova to stay here while we infiltrate the compound and make sure that we get Harper and Luca out.”
“You’re leaving us here because we’re girls, aren’t you?” I glare at Rhys.
“I’m leaving you here to watch the video feed and report to us what you see, at least until the EMP detonates. If they move Harper or Luca, we need to know about it.”
“And once the cameras are disabled?” I ask. “What then? The moment the EMP hits, the cameras are worthless. And you want us to detonate the EMP immediately after, right?”
Rhys loads up the explosive, securing it to the drone while Sophia flies it over the property, careful not to be seen.
He has her carefully place the device near the backside of the compound, closer to the girl’s location and the garden, intending to blast a hole through the wall to let them escape.
No one notices the drone, too busy planning their little party, while Sophia brings the drone back and Rhys secures the EMP to it.
“Wait!” Ashton interjects, “we’re going to have to detonate before we bring the EMP over, or else we’re risking it getting damaged in the explosion. We only have one chance to pull this off.”
“He’s right,” I say. “We don’t know how big a blast radius the explosion will be.”
I hope that it’s far enough away to leave an exit for the girls without hurting them.
“Right. Good thinking,” Rhys says and pats Ashton’s shoulder. “I’ll load up the EMP. Wait to send it over until after the explosion. Detonate it as soon as you get it in position.”
The EMP is in position in the drone, and Sophia hides behind the vehicle with me as we watch the camera footage. Luca hasn’t left his room. The girls are still locked up in the ballroom.
Rhys hands me the trigger for the EMP. “Wait until it’s in position, then activate it as soon as you can.”
“Okay,” I say, my fingers cold and trembling as I take the black trigger with a red button. The weight feels overwhelming.
Rhys, Ashton, and Liam gather supplies and gear, pulling on bulletproof vests and weapons, packing up with extra bullets, knives, and daggers. Any extra space is utilized with gear. They hunker down behind the SUV.
Rhys counts down from three and uses the detonator, blowing a massive hole in the building. The ground quakes at our feet, smoke bellows and rises.
I press a chaste kiss to Ashton’s lips. “Be careful,” I warn while Sophia uses the remote control, bringing the drone up into the air and toward the compound.
Rhys, Liam, and Ashton hurry across the open expanse toward the compound. Clad in black and decked out with weapons, they definitely stand out.
As soon as Sophia can get the drone into position, we have orders to detonate the EMP.
Girls are running, fleeing from the hole we blasted through the building’s wall. Sophia lowers the EMP near the explosion, and I hit the trigger.
I expect static to fill the screens.
Instead, everything is dead.
The computer with every camera we had access to, dark.
The tablet, not so much as a hint of battery.
It’s as though everything is off. I retrieve my phone from my pocket.
Dead.
Sophia glances at my phone. “Was that supposed to happen?” she asks. “How far did the EMP reach?”