Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
brANDON
“ G et me a flight to Haiti. I don’t care if you need to steal a fucking plane, I want to be in the air in thirty minutes or less.” My hands clenched and unclenched, in my attempt to hide the shaking, as I instructed Aiden and Conor.
They nodded and took off to complete their assignment. Their faces were a mask of anger and fear. My gut told me they weren’t part of the mutiny against Carly, but it was obvious Greg hadn’t acted alone. I wasn’t sure who to trust, but I couldn’t turn to my family completely, or I would lose what little ground I’d gained with Carly’s.
My phone rang and I dug it out of my pocket to see Nic’s name flashing across the screen. I hit accept and he started talking before I’d gotten my mouth open.
“Our last shipment came into the airport you’re at. Enzo and the guys are unloading our merchandise, then he’ll fly you to Haiti. I’ve got the jet fueled and a flight plan filed, get your ass to hangar eight, pronto.” I was never more grateful for the tight circle of my family than at that moment. Someone had kept Nic up to date and he had my back, like always.
I hung up the phone without a word and started running, yelling for Aiden and Conor to meet me at the plane. Ewan started to follow, but I didn’t know what kind of condition he was in after the collision and couldn’t take any chances that he would slow us down. Luckily, I had the perfect job to entice him to stay behind.
“Ewan, I need you to stay here. I need your help. I’ll call you once we are in the air. For now, get to a fucking doctor and then back to O’Reilly’s. Call in everyone .” That pub was where we’d held the wake, the largest by far and where we held most of our meetings.
I didn’t wait for his response, sprinting out the door and into an unattended airport vehicle. I didn’t stick around to see who it belonged to and less than thirty minutes later, we were in the air.
Conor and Aiden sat across from me. Thomas, who’d shown up as we boarded the plane, occupied the seat next to me. As pissed as I was, I knew I could trust him, and considering our situation, I needed as many trustworthy guys with me as possible. A mix of Italians and Irish were scattered throughout the rest of the jet. I made the call to Ewan and told him to find me the fucking traitors. Each one had a noose with their name on it.
Slowly, my men slipped along the outside of the high stone wall surrounding a yellow, Haitian villa. The small guard shack at the gate hadn’t been a deterrent. The motherfucker who owned this place clearly had a monumental ego if he thought a pathetic, little rent-a-cop would keep his ass safe. One bullet to the head and we had access to all of the perimeter security.
Aiden and Conor had been more involved in the drug trade, but they were in the loop enough to know the key players involved in the trafficking of women. It made the most sense that Sean would hole up with their contact, Josué, a cabinet member in The Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I prayed Carly was with him because every minute she was gone, the chances of finding her diminished.
Nic had left enough weapons on board to outfit us and somehow found us a place to land where we wouldn’t run the risk of alerting anyone of our arrival. Particularly the government since they weren’t likely to appreciate our undeclared and illegal cargo. We stayed clear of Josué’s private hangar to stay off of his radar as well.
A contact met us when we landed, providing transportation, money, and a map of Josué’s compound. I didn’t know who the fuck he was or how he got the info, but I wasn’t about to question it. He was more than likely one of Brecken’s contacts.
We’d finally mounted up and made our way to the crooked politician’s villa. Conor stayed at the guard booth to watch the monitors so we had eyes on the perimeter, giving us an early warning of other security, and keeping us off camera. We weren’t ready to enter just yet, preferring to scout the place from outside the walls. When the time was right, Conor would let us in.
“They’re here,” I heard Thomas whisper over his comm. “Sean is pacin’ on the patio and havin’ what looks like a pretty heated conversation with Josué.”
“Carly?” I asked.
“Not yet.”
I tensed the muscles in my arm, barely keeping myself from punching the stone. Where the fuck was my woman?
“I’ve got a twenty on her,” one of Nic’s men informed me. Air rushed from my lungs, making me almost dizzy with relief. We weren’t clear by any stretch of the imagination, but at least I knew she was here. “She’s in a small structure out back, looks like a guest house or servant’s quarters.”
“Is it visible from the pool deck?” I inquired as my mind raced over our options and attempted to formulate a plan.
“Partially, but from what I can tell, the room she’s in isn’t.”
“Bran, ya got company,” Conor growled in my ear. “Security is makin’ the rounds.”
“Armed?” I asked.
“Looks like pistols only.”
Conor gave us the location for each of the three guards and one by one, we picked them off before they could sound an alarm. Then two of the boys dragged them into the bushy area across the access road.
It was time to breach, but I hesitated, torn between going to Carly and dealing with the scum who had taken her. I knew Carly would kick my ass for choosing her when Thomas or Aiden could just as easily do it. But my heart ached to see her, to know she was alive and unharmed. However, the thought of her safety in the long run, and our determination to shut this faction of the business down, was what made the decision.
“Thomas, take three guys and secure my wife. Aiden, you’re with me, we’ll meet back at the rendezvous point.” Thomas started to argue, wanting to switch places with Aiden, but I cut him off, commanding him to do as I said. I needed someone calm and logical to counter balance me. Thomas was too close to Carly, and I was afraid our rage would make both of us irrational and easily provoked into doing something incredibly stupid. He huffed in irritation but dropped the issue.
I entered the compound through a side entrance in the gate, followed by Aiden and five other guys who immediately spread out, staying hidden. The others would wait at the back until I signaled for them to make their move. Sean and Josué would be dead by the time I left, but I wanted Carly far away and safe before we got aggressive. We would serve as a distraction while they got her out.
Aiden and I snuck up the concrete steps leading to the pool deck, pausing near the top to listen in on the squabble being had.
“She’s no good ta me now,” Sean whined, “I’ll have ta take the territory by force instead of gaining it through marriage. Which means I’ll need capital.”
“What do you expect me to do, estipid ?” Josué asked in a thick Haitian Creole accent. “She’s too old to fetch much of a price, even if she weren’t pregnant.”
Fucking hell. How did they find out about the baby when Carly hadn’t even admitted to being pregnant yet?
“Why don’t ya keep her? It’s not like ya care about their condition as long as they’re strong enough ta be broken. She’s a feisty one, she’ll fight harder than the other girls. An I’ll only charge ya half the fee.”
Rage consumed me, and I could barely see the steps as I tried to barrel up them. They were talking about my wife. I was yanked back before I could ascend even one stair.
“They’ll get what’s comin’ to them, Brandon,” Aiden hissed. “But you’re no good to Carly if you go rushin’ in thoughtlessly an’ get yourself killed.”
He was right. I hated that he was right. But it was why I’d brought him with me in the first place. We needed to find out where they were keeping the girls.
“Oke,” Josué said, his tone somewhat gleeful. “If you’re right, maybe she’ll be enough to entertain me for a while.”
Dead man. Dead man. Dead man.
“Just make sure she disappears when yer done with her,” Sean snapped. “Now, send someone to load up the shipment, I need to get the feck out o’ here.”
It was exactly what we needed. I motioned for one of the men with us to turn around and go back. He’d heard the discussion and knew what I wanted. A few of them would follow their guy to what was most likely a local brothel and clear it out.
Before I broke eye contact, I gave him one more order, my voice deadly. “Burn it the fuck down.”