Chapter 16

I'm freaking out as Maxim practically drags me from the diner and back to my car.

"Keep it together," he says and waits for me to look at him. When I do, I can see his eyes are focused, and that's what I need right now. It feels like I'm coming apart from the inside, but he's right, I can"t lose it.

"What's your great idea on how to get her back then?" It's not his fault, but I've got to take my anger out on someone, and he's the closest thing to me.

"Your safe house is near here, right?" When I nod, he goes around the car and gets into the passenger seat. "Let's start there. We need to suit up and find out how they got to them."

Following a plan feels like I'm somehow in control, and it's better than spiraling. When we get to the safe house where Kelly and Marco should have been protected, I don't see anything out of the ordinary.

There aren't any alerts that the alarm was triggered, so when we go inside, I check the cameras. I have one set up at all the entrances and exits, and when I run the video back, I see Kelly helping Marco out of the house and he's holding his arm. Looking around, I see the rug in the hallway is turned up on one side, and the table nearby has been moved. It looks like someone fell into it and maybe that's why they had to leave.

"I'm guessing it was an emergency," I say to Maxim, who nods and watches the video again. "I really don't think she would have risked leaving otherwise."

"They probably got them at the hospital then."

"Fuck." I thought through all the scenarios of someone trying to find them here, but what good did that do if they had to leave? It's an oversight I don't plan on letting happen again.

"Where's your armory?" Maxim asks, breaking through my thoughts.

"Upstairs," I tell him and lead the way.

On the second floor, there's a spare room that I use as storage. Or it appears that way. Walking over to where I've got a mattress leaning up against a wall, I slide it over and reveal a hidden panel. After I punch in the code, the door swings open, and we step inside. In my line of work, you can never have too much protection, and I've used this house for several clients. It's a good place to lay low when I've got VIPs that need to disappear for a bit. That can mean they require extra reinforcements for their own personal security.

"This should do," Maxim says sarcastically as we go through and take what we need.

"Now what?" I ask him when we're back downstairs and armed to the teeth.

"I know someone on the inside," he tells me as he checks his weapons. "It's costing me a lot of favors, but I'll get you in there. Getting them out is on you."

"What are we waiting for?"

We take a different car this time and park a few blocks away. When we're close enough, Maxim sends a text and then we wait. It's long enough that I'm about to tell him to text again when I see the service door at the back of the building open slightly.

Maxim takes the lead, and I follow behind him. As quietly as we can, we slip inside, and the door closes silently behind us. When I turn around, I see a woman standing there, and although she looks familiar, I don't know her.

"Luke, this is Barbra," Maxim says, and the older woman raises her chin at me before turning her glare on him.

"Almost ten years I've been working this case, and so help me god, you fuck this up and I'll have your balls."

"We're on the same team," Maxim assures her, but she doesn't look convinced.

"I'm warning you, boys. I didn't spend almost a decade on my back so you two could blow this case to shit." She points to Maxim and then to me. "If this is going down, then you better put an end to it." Her eyes lock with mine, and I can only imagine the hell she's been through to get close to Vince Sledge and his operations. "You got me?"

"I got you," I agree.

She leads us down a narrow hallway that's almost not wide enough for a person to fit through. "This exit was added a few years ago in case Sledge needed to make a quick escape," Barbra whispers when we get to the end of the hall. "These stairs will take you to the top floor." She points up, and I can't see where they end. "When you get to the top there's a door. It opens into Sledge's closet in his bedroom." She steps back and lets us slide around her. "This is as far as I can take you."

"Thanks, Barbra. You know I owe you."

"This better be worth it" is all she says before she disappears down the narrow hall.

When she leaves, I remember that I saw her the first time I came here. She lives downstairs, but she sees everyone that goes in and out of this building.

"She's given us everything on Sledge," Maxim says as we climb the slim spiral staircase.

"Then why is he still walking the streets?"

"Because it's all evidence of criminal activity, not him confessing to it. She can't exactly wear a wire while she's keeping her cover."

I think about her saying she's been working on her back for a decade, and I can't imagine being willing to go that far. As if Maxim is reading my thoughts, he answers my unspoken question.

"Vince had her sister murdered. She's been after him ever since," he says. "With all that she's got and what we recorded today it should be enough to shut everything down and end Sledge's reign permanently."

My thoughts go to Kelly and Marco. I don't know what their father is truly capable of. My legs burn as I climb faster, needing to get to them.

When we get to the top of the stairs, I put my ear to the door and listen for any sounds or movement. There's nothing, and Maxim and I share a look before I slowly open it.

The room is dark, but I can hear people talking in the distance. Once we're out of the closet, we go to the bedroom door and peek out. Up ahead, I can see Vince talking to someone sitting on the couch, but I can't see who it is. Then I hear Jackson laughing, and I open the door a little more so I can see him. He's on the other side of the living room, leaning over someone, and hatred burns inside of me when I see him crowding Kelly. She flinches at something he says, and I grip my gun tighter.

"Shit," Maxim hisses, and that's when I see it too.

Marco gets off the couch and rushes Jackson. He hits him with a bandaged arm and then cries out just as Kelly moves between the two of them. She's protecting Marco while Jackson stumbles, but it's too late, and the asshole recovers quickly.

"No!" Kelly shouts when Jackson raises his hand to hit Marco, but she's in the way, and he's going to hit her.

Meanwhile Vince hasn't moved from his seated position on the couch as he bends low and talks to a woman sitting there beside him.

"You ready?" Maxim asks, but I'm already in motion.

Maxim and I come out of the bedroom, guns trained on the two men, and we've got the element of surprise.

"Freeze!" I shout, but Jackson is already reaching for his gun. Before he manages to pull his gun out of the holster, I've got a bullet between his eyes.

Kelly turns her eyes on me, and I can see the relief as she holds on to Marco. I rush over to where she's crouched on the floor and wrap my arms around the both of them.

"You came," she sobs. "I knew you would save us."

"Forever, sweetness," I tell her and kiss the top of her head.

Maxim is covering Vince, so I don't understand what's happening when I hear screaming behind us.

"No!" Kelly's terror is chilling, and that's when I feel the pain explode across my back.