Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Serena’s scream sliced through him as his arms locked around the attacker’s body. He blew a punch into the man’s kidney. A grunt of pain rewarded him.
Crack!
A black curtain shuttered in front of his eyes, making him almost lose consciousness. The bastard had smacked the butt of his gun against his skull. Milo hooked his foot around the back of the guy’s knee and shoved at his torso, but he didn’t go down. The fucker was an ox.
Bang!
The sound of metal connecting with a solid surface rang through the air. Then the man’s body went limp and folded to the ground.
Milo jerked his head up. Serena stood behind the attacker wielding a cast-iron pan. Her eyes met his, and the hard lines in her forehead smoothed. She dropped the pan and launched herself at his chest. He winced as she connected with his aching ribs from where the attacker must have struck him.
“Are you okay?” She caught his face in her hands. Concern pinched her brows together.
He lowered her feet to the ground, turning so that she wouldn’t be standing on top of the unconscious man on the floor. Not that he cared if the asshole got trampled.
“I’m fine,” he said, as he ran his palms over her shoulders and down her back. “When that shot went off—” He forced the rest of the sentence down his throat. Her lips parted and her hands twitched on his cheeks.
His mouth firmed, and he nodded at the discarded frying pan. “I didn’t realize you finally learned your way around a kitchen.”
Her shoulders jostled on a chuckle.
“Are you hurt?”
She shook her head. “No.” Her gaze dropped to the body at their feet. “Is . . . is he dead?”
Milo peeled his arms away from her and dropped to his knees. Then he pulled the mask off the man’s face and tossed it to the ground. A trickle of blood ran over the guy’s ear from the wound on the side of his head.
A pale white shade took over her skin. “Oh my god, please tell me I didn’t kill two men in one day.”
Milo lifted his gaze and saw her press her hands to her eyes and turn away. He brought two fingers to the attacker’s throat and waited. A pulse beat slowly beneath them.
“He’s not dead.” Milo studied the man’s face. Sandy curls dangled around his ears. His mustache was the same color. He fished around in the man’s leather jacket and retracted a wallet.
He pulled out the driver’s license and read the man’s name. “Bart Walker.” He dropped the wallet on his chest. “Name doesn’t ring a bell.”
Serena’s knee bumped into his side. Slowly, she slid down to squat next to him. He studied her makeup-free profile. The delicate lines of her cheekbone tapered to her chin. Her pouty lips hardened his cock.
Christ.
She tilted her head. “He looks familiar.” She plucked up the ID between her thumb and forefinger. “That’s not right. Look,” she said, and thrust the license under his nose. “There’s no way he’s five foot six. It also says his hair and eyes are brown.”
Milo leaned forward and parted Bart’s—or whatever his name was—eyelids. “Blue.”
Serena dug through his pockets. “He belongs to Alfonso’s Boxing Club in Beverly Hills.”
“So?”
She turned to face him. Color had returned to her cheeks. Her eyebrows inched up her forehead. “You don’t remember? Alban co-owns the club with his brother—”
He gripped her knee. “Alfonso Moussa. Fuck, how could I have missed that?” He stood and rubbed his thumb over his beard. Damn, he hadn’t shaved that morning. “It’s Alban. He must be after you and Dani . . . but why?”
Serena placed her hand around the base of her throat. “I followed up on the story after the raid. He escaped.”
“Yeah, so if he wasn’t arrested, what the hell could he have against you? I never told anyone I caught you in his house. The bald guard is the only one who saw you.”
She pinched the bridge of her nose. “Shit. Alban could have been Dani’s next target. Maybe one of her friends is a mole or it’s possible the bodyguard told him you were working with the FBI and caught me there. Though I don’t know how he would have identified me.”
“We don’t know how long he was listening to us before he attacked me that night.”
The color that had returned to her cheeks morphed into a flaming red. Memories of her hot, wet tongue and lithe body in the barely there dress she’d worn to the party assaulted him. Need coursed through him. How could he have been such an ass to kiss her and then tell her to get lost?
Serena pressed her palms to her thighs and stood. “We need to get some answers from this guy.”
He nodded. “Lock the door and find something to restrain him with.” No way in hell he’d leave Serena alone in the room with the bastard.
She locked the door, secured a chair beneath the handle, and then disappeared into the laundry room off the kitchen.
He snagged the man’s leather jacket and rolled him onto his stomach.
The attacker’s gun lay on the ground. Milo stretched across the guy’s back and picked it up.
The attacker bolted up.
In a flurry of movement his elbow connected with Milo’s jaw, and then he clamped his hand on the gun. Milo held fast to the weapon and swept his arm beneath the attacker’s neck, positioning him in a chokehold.
“I found—”
“Get back!”
Serena squeaked and ducked into the laundry room. The man drove his fist back, catching Milo in the nose. Pain erupted in his sinuses and blood rolled through his lips to prickle his taste buds. The man tore the gun from Milo’s hold.
No!
Keeping the attacker in a chokehold, Milo reached behind his back and pulled out his Beretta. The man bucked out of Milo’s hold and wheeled around, pointing the gun at Milo’s chest. Milo jerked his finger over the trigger.
Crack!
The gun dropped from the man’s fingers, and his hands lifted to cover his neck. Blood oozed through his hold and his eyes spasmed on each gurgle of air he struggled to suck in.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Milo grabbed the man’s shoulder and pressed him to the linoleum floor. He covered the guy’s hands, where the wound was. Fear brightened the whites of the man’s eyes.
“Tell me who sent you and I’ll call an ambulance.”
The attacker jerked beneath him, and the scent of urine wafted to Milo’s nostrils. Jesus Christ. He had to get some answers out of him.
“Tell me—now!”
The man’s mouth moved, but no words came out. Milo brought his ear closer to his lips. “Diamonds,” he gasped. His body loosened beneath Milo’s hold and his eyes rolled to the side.
“Fuck!” Milo pounded his hand into the floor by the man’s head.
“M-Milo . . .”
He looked up. Serena stood beyond the kitchen table, her eyes wide as saucers and her face white as a sheet. He got to his feet and opened his arms. She gravitated to him, but her spine stayed stiff, her body tense.
“He’s dead.” Milo dragged his fingers through his hair. “Dammit, he grabbed the gun and would have shot me.”
“You’re bleeding.” Her hand rested on his cheek, freezing his jawbone. He wiped his nose with his sleeve. His sinuses still throbbed, but had Serena not pointed it out, he wouldn’t have noticed the blood.
His gaze flicked to the door. “Shit, someone’s going to call the cops.” And he hadn’t even gotten to question the guy. He paced away from the body and dug through the mist in his brain.
“Did he say anything?”
“‘Diamonds.’ That’s all he said when I asked who sent him.”
Serena growled. “Why would they come here? It doesn’t make any sense. They already have Dani and are supposed to call me with instructions.”
Footsteps pounded down the hall outside the apartment. He stiffened and positioned his gun in front of him. He waved his hand in the air, motioning for Serena to hide, but her gaze was fixed on the door. The steps faded, and Milo rolled his shoulders back.
“We need to get out of here. Now.”
She nodded, slung the bag over her shoulder, and tucked the laptop under her arm. She moved close to him and slipped her fingers into his. His palm swallowed up her slender hand. Her cold skin drew the heat away from his palm but spread warmth through his chest.
Keeping her close to his side, he checked the peephole before removing the barricade she’d set. He peeked his head into the hall—empty.
“C’mon.” He urged Serena out of the apartment and shut the door.
“What about the body?” Even though she’d whispered it, the word boomed down the hallway as they moved swiftly to the stairs. No way he’d chance taking the elevator and encountering another visitor.
“I’ll handle it.”
“Someone must have followed us.” Serena buckled her seatbelt, and her head jerked backward as Milo peeled out of the parking lot. “It’s the only explanation.”
“Maybe he was there looking for diamonds.”
Serena shook her head. “No, Dani’s last job wasn’t for diamonds. It’s been months, but I’m pretty sure her last heist was for a jump drive. If they don’t call soon, I’m going to lose my mind.” She wrapped her arms around her stomach.
“We’ll go back to my place and—”
“Is it safe? The kidnapper seemed to know you.”
“I think we’re safe there. I’ve been off the radar for a long time. If someone was after me, they would have gone to my house by now.”
She pressed her fingers to her temples. “If it’s not someone from the Alban heist, it has to be someone from the heist she wanted me to work.”
Ring, ring
A call came in on Bluetooth, and a phone number Serena didn’t recognize lit the screen on the dash.
“It’s Rhett.”
Hope made her straighten. The seatbelt tightened across her chest.
Milo moved his finger over a button on the steering wheel. “Rhett, what do you have?”
“Not good news. Her phone can’t be traced. They must have damaged it.”
Tears prickled her eyes. She propped her elbows on her knees and dropped her head into her hands. God, she was a sitting duck. Every second that ticked by, Dani was closer to being dead—and she was probably being beaten in the meantime. What did they want? Why hadn’t they called?
Milo told Rhett about the dead body in Dani’s apartment, and he was still on the phone as he pulled the SUV into his garage. He cut the engine. Serena unbuckled her seatbelt.
“I need you to consider involving the police, Milo,” Rhett said, his voice heavy through the speakers.
“This could get ugly really fast. The last thing you want is to have to involve the police later, when it’s already too late.
For now, there’s a good chance she’s still alive, since they want something from you. ”
Serena’s stomach pitched, and she closed her eyes on a breath. They had to get to Dani . . .
Milo promised they would talk about it and disconnected. She pushed open the passenger door and got out before he could reach for her. She needed to move, to collect her scattered thoughts, to—
“Serena.” Milo’s raw, gentle voice burst the bubble around her. She spun around, nearly colliding with the lawn mower. His hands caught her elbows.
“Honey, I’m so sorry.”
She dropped her head to his chest and the dam that had been holding back her tears for the last couple of hours burst. The brush of his lips on her hair and the steady coast of his hands down her back made her muscles turn to mush.
“Milo, I’m so scared.”
He held her tighter. “I won’t let anything happen to her.”
Ring, ring, ring
She yanked her head away from the cushion of his chest and pulled her phone from the pocket of her sweater. The phone shook so much in her trembling hands that she couldn’t read the number.
“It has to be them.”
“Answer it.”
She sucked in her breath, swiped her thumb across the screen, and pressed the phone to her ear. “Hello?”
“Hello, Serena,” said a deep, slightly muffled voice. “I need you to add this number to your contacts and then switch to FaceTime. I have someone who wants to see you.”
Sweat dampened her palms, and her gaze lifted to Milo’s. He gave one solid nod. She swallowed and lowered the phone to do as instructed. A few seconds later, a ski-mask-covered face filled the screen.
“Hello, Serena,” he said again.
“Where’s Dani?” The words rushed out of her and her heart stalled. She scanned the background behind the caller. He stood in a dimly lit room. Only a wood-paneled wall served as a backdrop.
The man’s gaze shifted beyond the phone he held and then back to her. “She’s a little tied up right now. Don’t worry, I’ll prove she’s intact in a minute.”
Serena dug her fingertips into the sides of her phone. Intact? What kind of sicko talked like that?
“I know you’re not alone. I want to see both you and your boyfriend.”
She didn’t bother telling him that she and Milo weren’t in a relationship—that was the furthest thing from important right now. Milo moved behind her, and she tilted the screen to capture his face.
“I’m here. Now tell us what the fuck you want.” Milo’s voice boomed through the garage.
“Ah, Milo. You’re looking well.”
Milo’s hot, hard chest against her back anchored her. His hand came around her waist, and the tremble that had been threatening to shake her soul diminished in strength.
“Relax. My demand is nothing new to either of you. You’re going to steal ten million dollars worth of diamonds from Titus Phillips.”
Serena froze.
Her whirring pulse banged against her eardrums.
They know Titus is my client.
They’d been watching her. Dani’s kidnapping wasn’t about something Dani had done. The kidnapper targeted her.
Milo gripped the phone to stabilize it. “Why don’t you do it yourself? Why go to all the trouble to kidnap Dani and force us to do it?”
“Because your sexy little bitch is one of the best thieves out there. Don’t you think we’ve attempted to steal from Titus before?
He’s impenetrable.” The thin lips that peeked through the hole of the mask stretched until their corners disappeared behind the material.
“Besides, Serena knows his house better than any of us.”
The air in the stale garage grew thick. Milo’s corded muscles jumped against her spine. His hot breath blew on her temple.
Serena shook her head and laughed derisively. “Yes, I’ve been inside his home and you’re right—it’s impenetrable. And I haven’t stolen a thing in years. If you failed, I will too.”
“You’re not going to fail, Serena. You love your sister too much.
Besides, we’ll provide blueprints and up-to-date details of his schedule.
With your experience, it’ll be a cinch.” He turned the camera, and Dani’s image filled the screen.
Duct tape covered her mouth, and one eye was swollen shut.
Her hair was plastered to her head and ropes surrounded her upper body, knees, and ankles.
The blood left Serena’s head and plummeted to her feet. A whimper escaped her mouth, and she clamped her hand across her lips to stifle any further sound. The screen moved closer to Dani’s face, putting every cut and bruise on display.
The need to reassure her sister, to pull it together to give her strength, vibrated through Serena, but her brain couldn’t form a single word. Then the kidnapper’s covered face replaced Dani’s.
“We’ll do it.” Milo’s steady voice rumbled against her spine.
“Good. Text me your email address and I’ll send the information. You have twenty-four hours.”
The screen went black.