Chapter 20
TWENTY
Tank navigatedthe city streets with the ease of a man who had spent a lifetime blending into the shadows. His errand, just a small drop for an informant on the west side of DC, was nothing to worry about. The morning air was crisp, and the city buzzed with life as he moved through the labyrinth of shadowed alleys and bustling streets.
His mind wandered back to the experiences of the last week. Kaylie”s expression as he took the life of the man in front of them haunted him, etched with a mix of fear and horror. Anthony couldn”t shake the worry that, in their eyes, he had become a monster—a creature no different from the looming threat of the Moreno family.
And then, not forty-eight hours later, the kiss and the emotional conversation on the rooftop. He replayed the moment their lips met, an undeniable connection. However, the subtle withdrawal he sensed in Kaylie afterward gnawed at him.
Had his violent actions made her realize that he wasn’t as harmless as she’d thought? Tank couldn”t shake the feeling that the darkness inside that he tried so hard to bury was now casting its long shadow over the fragile threads of their budding relationship.
Anthony”s thoughts oscillated between the attack at the house and the roller coaster of emotions on the rooftop. Movement ahead forced him back into the moment. A flicker of unease ran across his spine, a sixth sense warning him that something was amiss.
The echo of footsteps behind him quickened, and instinct kicked in as he turned sharply into a narrow alley. The soft hum of the city was replaced by the confined space of brick walls and dumpsters.
The hairs on the back of his neck prickled with the realization that he wasn”t alone. Three figures materialized from hidden corners of the alley. Tank”s muscles tensed, instinctively preparing for a confrontation.
Without a word, the trio of men surrounded him, cutting off any escape route. This certainly hadn’t been in the plans this morning.
A subtle nod from the leader, and the tension erupted into motion. Tank’s training kicked in, a ballet of precision and controlled force. The confined space became a battleground, the sound of blows and grunts echoing against the brick walls. Tank fought with a fierce resolve, every muscle honed by early years of survival in the criminal underbelly and decades since as a cog in the military machine.
In a swift motion, Tank”s fist connected with the jaw of one assailant, the crack of bone echoing in the confined space. The man stumbled backward, momentarily disoriented. A surge of adrenaline fueled his movements as he closed the distance, determined to neutralize the threat.
Meanwhile, the second man lunged at him. Anthony deftly sidestepped the attack. In a fraction of a second, he seized the opportunity, wrapping his arm around the assailant”s neck and pulling him into a relentless headlock. The man struggled, gasping for breath, but Tank”s grip only tightened.
As they all caught their breath, a tense standoff unfolded. The injured attacker regained his footing, eyeing Tank with a mix of caution and aggression. The one caught in the headlock fought desperately to break free, his struggles growing more frantic.
Tank, his senses sharp and focused, reached into the concealed holster at his waist. The cold steel of a firearm met his fingers, a calculated reminder of the lethal force at his disposal. The third assailant, sensing the shift in the balance of power, hesitated for a moment.
With a swift and fluid motion, Anthony pulled the gun from its holster, leveling it with precision at the remaining mercenary. The alley fell into a weighted silence, the standoff frozen in time.
”We”re done here,” Anthony declared, his voice cutting through the tension.
The injured man retreated with a resentful glare. The one ensnared in the headlock ceased his struggles, his breaths ragged and defeated. Tank pushed him away from his body but kept the gun pointed at the trio.
”We heard you”ve been poking around where you don”t belong, Mr. Olson,” the obvious leader sneered, the cold metallic edge of his voice sending shivers down Tank”s spine. ”Senator Collins and Marshand Chemical? That”s none of your business. Stay out of our way.”
Tank’s jaw clenched at the acknowledgment of a dangerous game being played in the shadows of Washington DC politics. These guys had to be from Citadel. That explained the well-honed fighting skills and the inflated egos. “We’re going to take you down,” Tank snarled.
The man stepped forward, a calculating grin playing on his lips. ”You know… It would be a real shame if something happened to that little girl and her pathetic mother. We have ways of making people disappear, you know.”
The threat hung in the air like a toxic cloud, and Tank”s gaze flickered between the faces of his attackers. The realization hit him like a blow to the chest—they knew about Lia and Kaylie. His protective instincts surged, a fierce determination to shield them from the looming danger.
In the brief pause, the leader”s cold gaze locked onto Anthony”s, a silent warning that spoke of consequences far beyond the physical struggle. The threat was clear–back off or face the consequences. With a final, disdainful glance, the trio stalked away, leaving Anthony alone in the alley, adrenaline coursing through his veins.
As the echoes of the encounter faded, Anthony”s mind raced. The Moreno family was one thing, but tangling with Citadel and the Syndicate brought a different kind of danger. Anthony”s steps quickened as he retraced his path back to Black Tower Security, the weight of the threat gnawing at him.
When he arrived, the atmosphere at Black Tower seemed tense. He hurried toward the living quarters to lay eyes on Kaylie. He was desperate to see them, needing to see with his own eyes that Citadel hadn’t gotten to them.
A sinking feeling settled in the pit of his stomach as he entered the living room. The familiar faces of Miranda, Jackson, and the others looked up with concern as he scanned the room for Kaylie and Lia.
”Where are they?” he demanded, his voice betraying the urgency that clawed at him.
Miranda, her expression unreadable, said simply, ”They”re gone.”
Tank”s heart raced as he absorbed Miranda”s words. He ran to the basement lounge, clinging to the fleeting hope that Kaylie and Lia were simply in another part of Black Tower Security. Yet, as he pushed open the door to the lounge, the room greeted him with empty chairs and an eerie silence. A half-built block tower was still scattered across the floor.
Panic clawed at his chest, and he scanned the room, his eyes desperately searching for any sign of where they’d gone. ”Kaylie! Lia!” he called out, the names hanging in the air like a desperate plea.
Dread washed over him at the thought of what could have happened. Citadel was ruthless in a way that not even the mob had been. The room blurred before him. His attempt to shield Kaylie and Lia from the Moreno family had unwittingly exposed them to a new, unforeseen danger.
How could Citadel have taken them? The security around Black Tower was unrivaled. And no one had seen anything? It didn’t make any sense. A thread of a thought wriggled in his mind. He still hadn’t figured out how Moreno had found them at his house. Could Black Tower have a leak somehow?
Miranda appeared at the doorway of the lounge, her expression betraying a mix of concern and understanding. ”We”re checking the security footage, Tank. We”ll find them.”
He nodded, his mind a whirlwind of guilt and fear. Black Tower, the protective cocoon he’d tried to wrap them in, now felt like a fragile illusion. His job had placed Kaylie and Lia directly in the crosshairs of a new threat.
Minutes later, Joey was hunched over a computer in the security office, her fingers dancing across the keyboard as she accessed the security system. “Got something,” Joey announced, her eyes locked onto the monitor.
Tank approached, his heart pounding in his ears as he watched the footage unfold.
The security cameras revealed Kaylie and Lia leaving the Black Tower premises. Kaylie, her posture determined, held Lia”s hand as they headed toward the garage. As the vehicle pulled away from the headquarters, Tank”s jaw tightened. The footage only heightened the sense of responsibility that gripped him.
Tank nearly exploded on the security agent watching the scene unfold from the corner of the room. The BTS agent’s only job was to man the gate and keep an eye on the perimeter.
“They drove out,” he repeated slowly, forcing his voice to remain calm. “And no one thought to inform me? Or stop them?” His voice may not have remained quite so calm on that last phrase.
The man was scared but putting on a brave face. “Look, it’s not our job to prevent visitors from leaving.” The shakiness in his words showed his fear. “We assumed she had permission.”
Tank snarled at the man and stormed away from the security room before he took out his anger on the junior agent. The man was right. They weren’t tasked with keeping people in, with the exception of the holding cells they sometimes used before handing someone over to the authorities. Kaylie and Lia hadn’t been prisoners. But they’d been under his protection. And now they were at risk.
”We need to find them,” he declared, his voice cutting through the anxious atmosphere.
Miranda nodded, her steely gaze meeting Tank”s. ”We will, but we need to act strategically. Rushing in without a plan will only put them in more danger.”
His instincts urged him to disregard caution, to charge into the unknown and retrieve Kaylie and Lia at any cost. But the seasoned part of him, the survivalist who had navigated the treacherous waters of the Chicago mafia, knew that a reckless approach could prove disastrous.
It didn’t make any sense. Why would Kaylie have left? She’d come to him for help. That was before Moreno attacked his house and Tank had…
A groan escaped from his throat as he realized that he’d been right to worry about her reaction. He’d never regret what he did to protect them at his house. But if it meant Kaylie didn’t want to be near him anymore, what could he do about it?
He’d been a fool to think, even for a moment, that there was a chance that she could overlook the truth about his nature. She’d run away the first chance she had.
Right into the waiting arms of not one, but two evil organizations.