No one had time to object. Ivan grabbed Sephie’s hand and was moving quickly toward the exit to the west. It was clear. There was a bike close, so they’d be able to leave quickly. Misha and Viktor were falling back toward the rest of the group, drawing the guys in the alley toward them. Everyone moved together, slowly, toward the back of the warehouse. I covered Ivan and Sephie until they got on the bike, then I lost sight of them. I went back to covering the alley. I managed to get a few more guys, but I would need to move soon or I’d be caught in the blast.
“Stephen, get out of there,” Adrik said as they neared the back of the warehouse.
“You ain’t gotta tell me twice,” I said, laughing to myself.
It went quiet as I broke down my rifle. It took me exactly 45 seconds to get it broken down and ready to move. I was on my way down the stairs within a minute. As soon as I hit the ground floor, my bike was waiting on me. I’d pulled it inside the building to hide it from sight. “Clear,” I said as I pulled out of the building. I was one block over from the warehouse, so the street was quiet. I still didn’t waste any time getting out of there.
“3…2…1…” Andrei said. I felt the explosion when it happened. I expected it to knock out our earpieces, given that there were explosions throughout the city at the same time, so I wouldn’t know that everyone made it out until we were back at the penthouse. The plan was to regroup at the building, then we were going to grab Dr. Moretti in the wee morning hours, so he wouldn’t know what hit him.
This was the worst part of any plan. The waiting. The not knowing. I expected Ivan and Sephie to be waiting on me when I got to the building. Then we’d wait for the rest of the group to show up. tried not to be nervous, but I always failed miserably.
I pulled into the parking garage. No bike. Shi t. Ivan and Sephie should be here. Where the f**k are they?
I only had to wait a few minutes and the rest of the group showed up. “We’ve got a problem. Ivan and Sephie aren’t here,” I said as they pulled up. Adrik went nuclear right away.
“They should be here already. Where the f**k are they? Did you see anything before you left?” he asked, His anger, much like my own, turned him into a beast. He wasn’t Adrik anymore. He was his anger personified. I knew his anger wasn’t directed at me, but he was still a sight to behold. The dealers were visibly apprehensive. They’d never seen this side of Adrik. He looked like he was ready to snap at any moment. Every muscle in his body was flexed, every vein engorged with blood. If I really was a vampire, I’m sure I’d be able to hear his heartbeat loud and clear. His eyes had an intensity to them when he was angry that made you feel a sort of primal fear. You felt like he was a predator and you were definitely the prey.
“I covered them until they got on the bike. I lost sight of them after that. The explosion knocked out the earpieces so I didn’t hear anything either,” I said.
Viktor pulled his phone from his pocket. “I gave Sephie a tracker just in case,” he said as he checked his phone. “I’ve got a location. She’s moving “
Misha had gone to one of the SUVs to grab new earpieces for everyone. “What direction?” he asked as he handed us all new earpieces. It was easier than waiting for them, all to reset themselves. Faster, too. We didn’t have time to waste.
“They’re headed to the north end of the city,” Viktor said.
“That’s Sal’s area of the city,” Andrei said, a clear look of worry on his face.
“He’s a dead man.” Adrik said as he grabbed a helmet and climbed on a bike. We all followed quickly. Even the dealers jumped into two SUVs, ready to help us out once more. Looks like taking care of Salvadori was getting bumped up on the schedule.
Stephen
We followed Sephie’s signal. As we got closer, it was obvious that she had stopped moving. It was going to take all of us to keep Adrik from rushing into whatever was waiting for us. It was highly likely that they were going to use Sephie to set a trap for
Adrik.
We got within half a block of Sephie’s signal and Viktor stopped us. “She hasn’t moved for a few minutes. I think it’s best we see what we’re walking into first. We don’t know if Ivan is still with her or how many guys they have.”
“You and Andrei go check it out. I won’t be able to hold myself back if I go,” Adrik said.
Viktor nodded and he left with Andrei on foot to get a better look at where Sephie was. They were only gone a few minutes. The looks on their faces when they returned made us all panic. Viktor held up the tracker he’d given Sephie, along with the helmets they were wearing when they left the warehouse.”
“Hopefully this means Ivan is still with her, at the very least,” I said.
We could all tell that Adrik was slowly losing control of his anger. I’d seen him when he’d lost control a few times. The carnage that he left in his wake was impressive. He wouldn’t hesitate to burn this city to the ground if it meant finding her. Lord help the people of the city if something happened to Sephie. There would be no survivors.
Adrik looked toward Misha. “Anything?” he asked, almost desperately. Misha got that faraway look in his eye that meant he was running through scenarios in his head.
“They’re still alive as far as I can tell, but that’s all I’ve got right now,” he said.
“F**K,” Adrik said. “She could be anywhere.”
“We’ll find her. Ivan will protect her, as long as he’s with her. They don’t know who they’re dealing with when it comes to both Ivan and Sephie. Ten bucks says they escape before we can find them,” Viktor said, trying to put Adrik at ease.
“We’re going after Dr. Moretti right now. I need to beat someone within an inch of their life right now,” Adrik said, getting back on his bike. Might be a change of plans for the doctor, too. We had planned on holding him until the bosses were taken care of and then turning the doctor over to the police. They would get the credit for capturing him and he would have a very public trial for his crimes against the city. We might be improvising on that plan now.
It didn’t take long to make it across town to the doctor’s house. The house was quiet. He was being watched 24/7 to make sure he didn’t try to escape. The guys watching him said he’d gotten home about an hour before we arrived and had been in the house since. There were a few lights on in the house. The rest of the block was quiet. We waited to see if we could see movement in the house. He walked by an open window eventually, giving us the confirmation we needed it was him.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.