Chapter 16

Chapter 16ForgeAfter we realized it was Mr. Russo who abducted Bella, the brothers moved to heaven and earth to figure out all the details of how he took her, who was involved, and where they had taken her. Sophia’s husband, Blade, was sticking to me like glue, as was Mason. They both seemed to have a good understanding of what was going on with the mafia in LA. The more time I spent with the Russo brothers, some more I trusted them to help me get Bella home safely. All the intel pointed to Bella being held at the Russo family vacation cabin.Today was D-Day. We had about thirty brothers surrounding the lake house. When I looked through my binoculars, I could hardly believe what I was seeing. Mr. and Mrs. Russo smiling, laughing, grilling, and swimming in the lake like they didn’t have a care in the world. Meanwhile, Hacker’s infrared camera showed one heat source in the basement, my Bella.Diego, Nicco and Lucas said there was a high degree of certainty that their father would be so wrapped up in their mother that he would spare very little time and attention on his prisoner, which would give us an opening to try and get her out. If what we were seeing today was an indication, the brothers were correct in that assumption. Looking at the Russos enjoying their weekend break, I wondered if Mrs. Russo knew what horror lurked beneath her feet in the basement? Diego said that it was where their father held enemies. The brothers were pretty sure that Mama Russo had nothing to do with the depravity, but they also said that she would do anything for their old man. That worried me.It was fortunate for us that Mr. Russo was too jealous to have any of his men in close proximity to his wife. That meant we weren’t facing a dozen thugs with weapons. It would only be the older couple standing between me and rescuing Bella. Those seemed like odds I could handle.The thing that worried me the most about this situation was thinking that Bella might be seriously injured and in need of medical care from jumping out of that car. I couldn’t stand the thought of her having broken bones or being in physical pain. Hacker had confirmed that the heat signature in the basement was mobile, so if Bella was hurt, then it didn’t appear that it was too bad. But physical hurt is one thing—she must be terrified knowing what was planned for her.The game plan was for the three brothers to show up, pretending they were there to visit. They would be responsible for neutralizing their father and controlling their mother until we could get Bella the hell out of there. It sounded like an easy to execute plan. However, Mason, Blade, and I worked up our own backup plan in case something went wrong.I looked at the taser in my hand. I was using this instead of a gun because these vicious bastards were Sophia’s parents. I couldn’t bear to kill them if there was another option available—like shipping them off to a retirement village in Alaska. I wouldn’t traumatize Blade’s old lady by killing her parents if it wasn’t absolutely necessary.I watched from my vantage point on a nearby hillside as the Russo brothers pulled up in their SUV. Their mother waved and smiled from the middle of the lake where she was relaxing in a small rowboat. However, their father’s expression immediately turned suspicious.I remembered the day he stepped out in front of my car with the intention of shooting me and how if I hadn’t been so vigilant, he might have succeeded. Their father was an old school mobster who was apparently in the habit of doing whatever the hell he pleased, so I hoped our allies weren’t gonna turn their backs on that wily old coot.If any of us were expecting the brothers to receive a warm welcome, that expectation was immediately blown up when their father took a swing at Diego. Nicco and Lucas stepped in to try to break up the fight, but it turned into a four-way brawl with their mother screaming for them to stop as she tried frantically to row to the shore. I had to hand it to their old man. Despite his age he was a good fighter, nearly able to hold his own against his three adult sons. They managed to wrangle him to the ground, but by that time their mother had made it out of the lake and had started tearing them all a new asshole. It was the most ridiculous spectacle I had ever witnessed in my entire life. If Bella’s life wasn’t hanging in the balance, I might be amused by their shenanigans.The minute both their parents were calmly seated on the side deck, me and the rest of the Slayers started making our way onto the property. The minute his parents caught sight of us, his mother looked worried and his father tried to grab Diego’s gun out of his hand. I did not envy these men at all for what they’d had to put up with growing up. I’d never been so happy to be an orphan in my entire fucking life.Ignoring all the chaos, I pushed my way into the home with Blade and Mason at my back. Blade showed me the way to the basement, and I made my way in alone. The minute I saw my Bella sitting there looking bruised and battered with tears running down her face, I felt a murderous rage swell up in my chest.I ran down the steps and knelt beside her. When she looked up at me, the haunted look in her eyes fled, replaced with hope and happiness.“Did they hurt you?” I asked. I know she was battered, but I had to know if Mr. Russo had done this, or if it was from her escape.“No, they’re treating me just peachy,” she said gesturing to the makeshift prison cell. I saw the metal cuffs around her ankles.“Sorry, it took us so long to get to you.”“I can’t believe you managed to find me at all,” she choked out hoarsely. “I seriously thought I was going to die chained up in this room.”I started removing Bella’s cuffs, and when the last one popped off her ankle, I gathered her up in my arms. She laid her head on my chest. This love of mine was exhausted from her ordeal. Not only that, I could also see that she was cradling one arm against her chest. She had a busted lip, scrapes all down one arm, and a bruise on her temple.“Are you sure that asshole didn’t beat on you?”“No. I haven’t seen either one of them since Mr. Russo brought me down here the first day. He just left me with water and food. At first, I was worried they had gone, and then I realized I could hear them walking around upstairs. I’ve never been so happy to be forgotten in my entire life.”“I’m getting you out of here right now and we’re taking you to the hospital.”When I turned to leave, someone was coming down the stairs. I could hardly believe it was Mr. Russo, that fucking bastard wouldn’t take a telling. I didn’t know how he got away from his sons, but the look on his face when he saw me with Bella in my arms was pure fury. At least he didn’t have a weapon on him, not as far as I could see anyway.“Put her down right fucking now. You don’t have any fucking right to be in my home, much less carting off my property.”I balanced Bella with one arm, pulled out the taser, and shot him right in his chest. The look of shock on his face was absolutely priceless.“Women haven’t been fucking chattel for centuries, asshole.” I spat at him.The old man jerked as he fell down the steps. I walked over with Bella in my arms, and pressed my foot across his throat while he was still jerking and in shock.“If you ever come within a hundred miles of the woman I love, I will rip you apart.” I pressed my boot down harder, closing off his airway. “We like your daughter, Sophia, a lot. And your sons aren’t half bad either. But none of that is going to stop me from killing you if you lay another hand on my Bella.”I carefully placed Bella on the steps. “One moment, princess.”I lifted my boot and gave him a swift kick in the side before cuffing his hands together behind his back. By the time me and Bella made it outside, everyone was panicking because they thought the old man had run off.Blade came running over. “The old man slipped away. We need to find him. Do you need someone to go with you to the hospital or can you handle it?”I raised my voice. “You can all stop searching. He didn’t run away. He was down in the basement getting his ass kicked by me.”Mrs. Russo began wailing like it was the end of the world.Nicco raced over to me. “I hope you didn’t kill the bastard, remember he’s for us to deal with.”I shrugged and adjusted Bella in my arms so she would be more comfortable. “I tasered him and gave him a couple of swift kicks. He pissed me off when he called Bella his property. He’s cuffed, so no chance of him getting away from you… again.” I glared at Nicco because I was still pissed that they’d let him get away in the first place.“Fine. But this vendetta between you and my old man stops now.”“That will be one hundred percent up to your father. I’ve already told him that if he comes within a hundred miles of my Bella, I’m gonna take him apart limb from limb. I’m not even joking about that, Nicco.”“No, I get that. We’ll do whatever it takes to keep him under control.”“See that you do. I like your family, but your dad is a no-go for me, and while I don’t mean to disrespect your dear old mom, I think you need to consider how involved she is in all this too.”Nicco had a dark look in his eyes as he nodded. I guess discovering that the woman who kissed you goodnight as a kid, might be capable of holding a woman prisoner in a basement is a lot to process.I walked off with Bella and put her in the vehicle Blade had provided for us. I climbed into the backseat beside her, and Blade drove us to the nearest hospital.On the way, I asked Bella to tell me everything that happened from start to finish. She immediately teared up and began talking about how Corey gave his life to protect her, and how upset his brother Jav, and Dusty would be to lose him.I immediately assuaged her fears in that area. “Corey didn’t die, that dude is indestructible. He was injured after being thrown off his bike, but I can promise you he’s gonna be just fine.”“Thank God. I just couldn’t bear the thought of someone so young losing their life in such a horrible manner.”“Well, this isn’t first time Corey has gotten himself injured in the line of duty, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. This is part of what being a Dark Slayer is all about. Putting our bodies between danger and innocent people is what it means to be a protector. Most of us wouldn’t change that for love nor money.”Bella replied, “It shouldn’t have to be that way. I don’t know why the world has to be so cruel.”“I don’t know either, princess. But what I do know is that as long as the innocent need protecting, there will be Slayers standing in line for the privilege.”She glanced up at me through her long lashes, looking almost shy and vulnerable. “You told Mr. Russo that you loved me.”“Yeah,” I responded. “That’s probably something I should have told you, before I started yapping about it to perfect strangers.”A soft smile slid onto her face. “I love you too, Forge. I probably should have mentioned that before now as well. I just didn’t know if you felt the same way and I didn’t want you to feel obligated in any way.”“I don’t feel obligated. I feel privileged to have you in my life. You and I have a whole lifetime to talk about our feelings and plan a life together. There’s no need to rush. First off, I wanna get a doctor’s eyes on you and make sure we get that arm looked at.”“I think I might have broken it when I jumped out of the car,” she said meekly.“Yeah, about that jumping out of the car thing. Let’s not do that again.”“Trust me, I didn’t want to do it the first time. I don’t see myself ever doing anything like that again. I just want to stay away from mobsters and shady clubs and enjoy the smalltown life that I have grown to love since I’ve been with you.”Before I could reply, we pulled into the hospital parking lot. Mason had followed us on his bike just in case we ran into any trouble, and while we parked, he went to get a wheelchair for Bella. We settled her in and headed into the emergency room. After taking one look at her, the triage nurse rushed her right back to a trauma bay.“Y’all good from here on, brother?” Mason asked.“Should be,” I said. The drive to the hospital had been trouble free, and even if somehow Mr. Russo had alerted his goons—which I seriously doubted, given the state he was in when I last saw him—they’d be idiots to try anything here. Though Blade was going to stay with us just in case.***I spent the entire night holding Bella’s hand as doctors and nurses came and went, examining her, giving her medication, and sending her for X-rays.Having her back in my arms went a long way toward easing the burning need in my chest to go back to that lakeside cabin and beat the shit out of the two people who had so ruthlessly abducted and terrified her. I swore a vow to myself that if they showed up or tried to get their hands on Bella, I would unleash my full fury on them. They would be getting no second chances with me. Though after seeing the expression in Nicco’s eyes before I left, I had the feeling that the Russo brothers weren’t about to give their father a second chance either.At some point in the night, Bella fell asleep. There was no rest for me, though, because all I could think about was remaining vigilant and protecting her at all costs. There was never going to be a repeat of what happened to Bella in the last couple of days. Not ever. I would damn well make sure of that.At some point in the early hours of the morning, Blade came in to talk to me. He handed me a cup of strong black coffee and I took a sip. “Hey, how are you holding up?”“I made it out of that lake house without killing anyone.”“Sophia’s family is warped, dysfunctional, and full-fledged members of the criminal underworld. But unfortunately, they’re the only family she has. I would take it as a personal favor if you would refrain from giving any of them a dirt nap.”“I already told the old man I was willing to walk away this one time, but he ever came after my Bella again, the gloves were coming off. The stupid fucker caught me following his boys and tried to kill me while I was LA. If I had been a little slower on the draw, he might have succeeded.”“That’s fucked up.” Blade shook his head.“About the dirt nap…”Blade looked up.“I wouldn’t get Sophia’s hopes up. I might have sworn to Nicco that I’d leave their old man alone, but I have a feeling that the Russo brothers might have a score to settle with their father.”Blade sighed, “She might understand if it’s family business. But best we leave them to it.”“True, brother.” I’d had enough of mafia dealings for a lifetime. Though I doubted this was the last we would see of them, or their kind.“I’ll let the two of you rest for a while, but I’ll still be around. Call or text me if you need anything.”“Will do. And thank you.”After he left, I held my sweet love a little closer. I needed to pay closer attention to my gut instincts in the future. If I had done so this time, Bella would never have been forced to go through this trauma.