Chapter 17 #2
At first glance, the room seemed empty, but as we made our way further into the room something strange caught my eye.
I stepped over to the window and immediately spotted a familiar pair of white tennis shoes poking out from behind the floor-length drapes.
It took me a second to register where I’d seen them, but then it hit me. “Everleigh? Is that you?”
“Billy?” Everleigh eased the curtain back, and relief washed over her face the second she saw it was me. She rushed over and wrapped her arms around me as she whispered, “Thank God it’s you.”
“What the hell are you doing here?”
Hawk lowered his weapon as he grumbled, “I was just about to ask the same fucking thing.”
“She came for me,” Kiersten answered as she stepped out of the closet.
“Holy shit!” Hawk stepped to the side as I rushed over to Kiersten and grabbed her in a bear hug. “Kiersten! Are you okay?”
“Better now that you guys are here.”
“I gotta let Viper know that we found you.” Hawk took out his phone and sent a message to Viper. He turned back to Kiersten as I asked, “You sure you’re okay? They didn’t hurt you or...”
“I’m fine, Dad. Really.”
The words had barely left her mouth when a young man wearing a dark suit stepped out of the closet and stood behind Kiersten.
I pushed Kiersten out of my way, then lifted my gun and prepared to shoot.
I was just about to pull the trigger when Everleigh lunged in front of him and said, “No, wait! Please! He’s with us! ”
“What the fuck are you talking about? He’s one of them... He’s one of DeLuca’s boys.”
“Yes, but he’s not like them.” Everleigh turned to me as she said, “This is Matteo. You know, the one I told you about.”
“But I thought...”
“I did, too,” I interrupted. “But this is him. He’s alive and well.”
“He is for the time being,” Shotgun grumbled. “What the hell is he doing with you two?”
“He was helping me with Kiersten. Neither of us would’ve gotten this far without him,” Everleigh explained.
“She’s telling the truth.” Kiersten motioned her hand to the floor, pointing out the chain that was mounted to the floor. “That whack-job who kidnapped me had his men shackled me to the damn floor, but Matteo set me free. He was just about to take us out of here when you guys showed up.”
“Okay, okay enough. We get it.” I turned to Everleigh as I said, “You’ve yet to tell us what the hell you’re doing here?”
“I came to turn myself in to Antonio.”
“You did what?”
Before she could answer, another round of shooting roared below us, and Hawk stepped between us. “We gotta get them out of here.”
“I can take them,” Matteo volunteered. “I know the best way out, and...”
“Not a chance.”
“Come on, Billy. Let him do this... You can trust him,” Everleigh pushed. “You can trust me.”
I was torn. I could’ve just gone with them, made sure this Matteo guy was on the up and up, but I had unfinished business with Antonio.
The asshole had not only taken my daughter; he’d chained her to the fucking floor, and come hell or high water, he was going to pay for that shit.
Hawk could see that I was struggling, so he suggested, “We’ll send Davies with them.
If this guy tries to pull anything, Davies will deal with him, and I’ll message Menace, too.
He can meet them out back and help get them to the SUV. ”
“Okay. That’ll work.” I reached into my holster and pulled out the extra Glock Shotgun had given me, then offered it to Everleigh. “If there’s any trouble...”
“You’re bleeding,” Everleigh gasped as she reached for my arm. “What happened? Were you shot?”
“It’s nothing. Take the gun. If you need it, use it.”
Concern marked her face as she took the gun in her hand and said, “Please be careful.”
“Right back at ya.”
With that, Hawk eased over to the door and peered out into the hall. Once he was sure it was clear, he turned back to us and said, “Time to move.”
Matteo nodded, then started out of the room. He’d only taken a couple of steps when he stopped and looked over to me. “22-19.”
“What?”
“22-19,” he repeated. “You’ll know it when you see it.”
Without saying anything more, he led the girls out of the room. We all watched as they made their way down the hall and started down the stairs. Once they were out of sight, I turned to Hawk and asked, “You think they’ll be okay?”
“I wouldn’t have let them walk out of here if I didn’t.”
While I still didn’t like it, I felt a little less troubled as I followed Shotgun and Hawk down the hall. When we approached the next room, Shotgun turned to Hawk and me, then said, “Cover me.”
I nodded and watched as he opened the door and stepped inside another guest bedroom. There was a king-sized sleigh bed along with several large, ornate antique pieces of furniture, but there was no one in sight. Once he’d checked the bathroom and closet, he made the call, “It’s clear.”
He motioned his hand towards the door, then said, “Down the hall.”
I nodded, then followed him into one of the rooms down the hall. Like the one before, it was completely empty, so we moved on to the next. Again, there was no one in sight.
We headed to the next room but quickly discovered that the door was different from the others.
It had a metal security panel with a keypad—one much like I had in the basement.
There were many reasons why DeLuca would have a lock like this.
None of them were good. I glanced back at Hawk as I asked, “What do you think?”
“Who knows with this guy. Maybe it’s a saferoom or something?”
He turned the doorknob, but of course, it didn’t budge. He was about to try again when Viper and Widow came rushing up behind us. “You boys okay?”
“Yeah, we’re good,” Shotgun answered. “What about you guys?”
“We’re all feeling better now that we’ve found Kiersten—especially Country.” Viper shook his head. “He bolted the second he heard you found her.”
“So, he’s with them?” I asked.