21. Dominic #3
I walk briskly along the back wall until I can hide under the other jet. I scan the area, ensuring no one is watching, before climbing the stairs.
The cockpit and cabin of the plane are empty, giving me a minute to set up. I place Nico’s suitcase on a chair and unzip it. Pulling out the gas canister, flame thrower, and a box of fire-starting kindling, I prepare to burn the fucker down.
I start in the back like I instructed Marco to, pouring gasoline and tossing kindling sticks to the sides of the aisle.
I make sure to douse the chairs and sides of the plane the best I can, emptying the excess fuel on the dials in the cock pit.
I check outside the plane’s door to ensure no one is watching before lighting the blow torch and throwing it to the ground.
I don’t wait to make sure anything lights, because if I do, I’ll be burnt to a crisp in about ten seconds. Before I hit the bottom of the stairs, I feel the heat from the fire against my back.
The second my feet meet concrete, I take off.
Through the underside of the opposite jet, I see Marco doing the same. We race toward the back wall as the fires grow. A loud pop sounds behind us as a window blows.
“What the fuck?” someone calls out before a chorus of yells and curses breaks out.
I bump against my brother as we reach the exit door at the same time.
“Go, go, go,” I hiss, pulling the door open and shoving him through. Before I exit, I take one last look at the damage we caused. Flames lick out of the windows and doors of the planes, destroying everything inside. I slip through the back door, letting it slam behind me.
“Fucking run!” I yell. From the air traffic control tower, an alarm sounds as Marco and I race behind the hangars to the car.
We’re almost to the parking lot when a vehicle reverses, blocking our exit. I falter briefly before I realize it’s Nico in our SUV.
Leaning into the backseat, he throws open the door, allowing us to jump into the car without being seen.
“Holy fuck.” He laughs once we’re safely inside. “What did you do?”
“Incapacitated them.” I smooth down the front of my black button-down while I work to catch my breath. Nico pulls out of the parking area and waits as a fire truck zooms past. The ground vibrates with an explosion.
“Jet fuel is very flammable,” Marco says with a nod.
“Very.” Nico smirks.
He drives toward the exit with little fanfare and tells us to duck as he rolls the window down to leave.
“What happened?” Nico asks the guard at the gate, concern lacing his tone.
“Engine fire, I think,” the guard says.
“Jeez.” Nico taps the steering wheel. “Well, I hope everyone’s all right.”
With that, we’re through the gate and on the street.
“Holy shit.” Marco laughs, popping up and turning to look out the rear window to see smoke billowing in the air.
My phone rings again, and I finally answer.
With a smug, “Hello,” I greet Leo. He unleashes a string of curses.
“What is wrong with you?” he hisses. “Do you know how dangerous that was?”
“It was necessary,” I counter.
“Dominic.” I can picture him pinching the bridge of his nose. “My entire job is to keep you alive. Why the hell do you have to make it so damn hard?”
We roll up to the meeting place as I cut the call and wait for Leo to climb into the front seat.
He glowers at me, waiting for an answer.
“And my whole job,” I say, “is to keep my organization alive.”
Nico steers us onto a main road toward our hotel.
Just as Leo is about to rip into me some more, his phone buzzes with a call. Still glaring, he accepts the call and puts it on speakerphone.
“Lucas,” Leo answers. “What’s new?”
“We got into the safe room,” Lucas says. “Most of the women are fine.”
“Most of?” I snap.
“Amanda was there,” he says, causing Marco to blow out a relieved breath. “But Cassie, Sadie, Natalie, and Cecilia are missing.”
My blood runs cold.
“Where are they?” Leo asks, his frame tense and hand curled into a fist.
“We’re working on it.”
“Working on it?” I scream. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Cecilia’s car is gone. We’re tracing it now.”
“What about phones?” Leo asks. “Do any of them have theirs?”
“The only one missing is Sadie’s, but she has an Android, not an iPhone, so I can’t use the Find My feature.”
I scoff. “Lucas, are you fucking kidding me? What about Life 360? You don’t have any way of tracking your woman?”
“I didn’t want to be overbearing,” he grumbles.
Nico snorts. I want to shoot him.
“Wait,” Lucas says. “We found something. Oh shit . . .”
“What, ‘Oh shit’?” I snap.
“We think they left in Cecilia’s car.”
“And . . .” Leo waves his hand in a circle.
“And we think a couple of Kozlova guys followed them out of the neighborhood.”
“Lucas.” My voice drops, and my jaw sets. “If you don’t find my fiancée and mother in the next ten minutes, I will take you out to the desert, and you’ll disappear.”
Lucas clears his throat. I hear the waver in his voice as he says, “Yes, sir. I’ll call you back within ten minutes.”
The line goes dead, and I clench my teeth so hard I’m about to break a molar.
“Nico, go to the other airport. We need to get back to Vegas now.”