Chapter 18 - Vlad

The car was dead fucking silent as we sat outside the address, looking for any sign of, well, anything. Ivan was in the driver's seat as per usual. Still, I was actually riding shotgun, which was a departure since I'd been relegated to the back seat since I had the unlucky fortune of being born last.

My nerves were wrapped tight through my muscles, like threaded wires sinching on the sinew. Tense was a polite way to say how I felt, and I wasn't fucking concerned about being polite at the moment, so I was honest with myself when I thought, "This fucking sucks. You're fucking terrified for her."

Worst, there was so much that hung on my brothers' shoulders. I needed them to get Emory out, and while I knew they were capable, while I knew they had done shit like this hundreds of times, I was doubting them.

I was doubting myself.

"Hey, knock it off. It'll be fine. We got this, okay?"

Ivan's voice cut through the endless cycle of turbulent thoughts threatening to drown me. I looked over at him, a little shaken because of the abrupt end to the silence, and I cocked a brow. How did he do that? He always knew when I was spiraling.

Pulling out the new burner phone we'd stopped and got before arriving here, I typed a message into the newly activated TalkBack system and let it play for Ivan.

"How the fuck do you always know when I'm too in my head?"

Abe scoffed from the back, and I could practically hear him roll his eyes. "When aren't you, dude?"

I saw Ivan roll his eyes and shake his head for good measure. Looking out the dash, Ivan gripped the steering wheel, and I watched him for a moment as he considered, the gears in his brain whirring as he squinted out over our target.

"You have a habit of it, I'll admit. But…"

He sighed, an exhaustion washing over him that gave me pause.

"I'm the big brother, yeah? Sure, we all know that. But I've been more like the dad of the group, and we all know that, too. Our actual father…well, you saw what he did to Mom."

My gut clenched as it turned sour. I didn't want to remember that day. I never wanted to remember that fucking day. But Ivan was forcing me to face some truths I always wondered about.

"But that shouldn't have happened. Not that I ever thought we'd be able to change the man or keep him from killing her. I think I knew he'd do that the moment she got pregnant with you. No, I mean that you shouldn't have seen it. We kept as much as we could from you, Vlad. Our beatings, the way he treated Mom right up until that fucking end. Abe and I did everything we could to let you have a normal life, so I guess I'm pretty damn tuned into your needs. Because it's my job, Vlad. It's why we're here. Because I know you need this. Need her ."

I was completely thrown off balance, an invisible rug pulled out from under my feet, and I hit the ground hard. Turning over my shoulder, I looked back at Abe, my eyes wide as I asked for silent confirmation.

He nodded.

When I looked back at Ivan, he was still staring out that damn windshield, his eyes glued to the warehouse. And I was scrambling. Some part of me knew. I mean, of course, it did. My father was a piece of shit, a drunk, and a violent asshole who'd punch you as soon as look at you.

Hearing the truth straight from the horse's mouth was different, though. Ivan had admitted that he and Abe took the brunt of Dad's abuse, that they both steered the man away from me because…because…

I was an innocent kid.

Nausea pulled at the edges, and my eyes stung. They had tried. My brothers had tried so fucking hard to protect me. And none of us had gotten the childhoods we wanted—the ones we deserved .

Leaning over, I pulled Ivan toward me by his jacket sleeve, and when he tipped in my direction, I hugged him. I held him there for longer than I would any other day. I owed him. I owed Ivan my life and the little bit of joy I'd gotten with our mother before she died.

He patted my arm. "You're welcome, bro."

There was a beat, and then Abe piped up from the backseat.

"Where's my hug, asshole? I wrangled that drunk fuck more times than I can count. Which is, you know, probably because I don't do numbers."

Chuckling silently, I reached for the water bottle I'd put in the cupholder and chucked it at him. Knowing Abe was lying across the back seats, the thing hit him square in the dick.

"Fuck!"

Ivan laughed, glancing into the rearview mirror to see how the middle child was doing.

"Walk it off, rookie."

"You can both suck my balls." He groaned. "Which really fucking hurt right now."

After a moment or two, the car returned to silence, and I turned my attention back to the warehouse. I needed to get a better idea of what was going on inside. Walking up to the front door wasn't going to happen, obviously. Those assholes definitely set a trap, so finding another way to scope out the scene was imperative.

I typed up another message for the TalkBack.

"I need to see inside. I think I can get to the roof without being noticed. It'll give me a good vantage point."

Ivan pulled out a pair of binoculars and scanned the top of the building across from us. "Doesn't look occupied. Just be careful."

"I always am," the TalkBack asserted for me, and I smirked at Ivan as I slipped out of the car without a sound.

The side of the building still had an escape ladder, though I didn't trust it to hold my weight without issue. So, I snagged the climbing gear from the trunk to make sure I would have a secure way to scale the building. I was already packing, and I grabbed a small knife to tuck into my boot and a set of night vision goggles to ensure I wouldn't get caught off guard again.

Hurrying across the tiny bit of open expanse before I hit the shadows surrounding the building, I was deadly silent as I approached the warehouse. Sneaking was my specialty, and I channeled every ounce of training I had into being as unnoticeable as possible.

Thanks to the escape ladder and climbing gear combo, climbing the roof was a sinch. I was able to set up an anchor for myself quickly, and the old steps were surprisingly stable. Pulling myself up over the lip of the roof, I rolled onto the flat surface on top of the building. I paused before moving again, listening for signs that I'd given away my position.

Nothing. Good. Okay, let's see what we've got.

Crawling across the rough roof surface, I made my way to the large skylight in the middle of the open expanse. I looked down into the warehouse's one-room setup, and I could see my enemy stationed in three clusters below.

Texting Ivan what I saw, I clocked the people standing right near the front entrance, the group at the back, and the three men stationed around Emory.

Emory.

She was tied to a chair and positioned to face the front entrance where the Italians hid themselves. No doubt they wanted me or all of the Unholy Trinity to enter there, experience a bit of threatening, and then get shot. Emory would have to watch the whole thing, and from what I could tell, she was gagged.

I couldn't make out the exact details, but the shape of her hair and the lighter streak through the dark waves at the back suggested that she had something tied around her head. It could have been a blindfold, sure. But I had a feeling that Mr. Head Honcho down there would want her to be able to see him kill us and not scream.

Hmm, I don't like that they're so close to her.

Studying the scene below me a bit longer, I pulled out my phone again to text Ivan. I needed the people inside distracted long enough for me to spring Emory and get us the fuck out of dodge.

"There's three near Emory. I want them gone. Stage a boom at the front door? And more for the entire place once I'm out."

I got a response in just a few seconds.

"Excellent. Abe will be so much easier to deal with if I let him blow something up. Can do. Give us five."

Five minutes seemed like an eternity to sit up here and not get to Emory, but I could be patient. I had to be. To distract myself and because it needed to be done, I hoisted myself up to an anchor secured to the top of the roof so that I could drop in through the window. I needed to time the crash through with the boom, so I kept an eye on the front door from up here. Looking for Abe to run out of range would be my signal to get ready.

Sure enough, I was ready and waiting when Abe and Ivan hauled ass toward the building and set charges around the entire place. Their last stop was the front door. I watched, my spine pinging with constant impulses to run, to move, to fucking get this goddamn show on the road. Ivan was out of there first, and Abe was undoubtedly lighting the fuse since that was his favorite part.

After a second or two, Abe ran back toward the car, and I counted in my head.

One, two, three, four, five.

Just as I got there, the rumbling started, and I jumped. The boom of glass breaking and doors exploding at the front of the building drew people there and masked the sound of me punching through the roof.

I left myself enough rope to drop down just a few feet to the floor when I unclipped my harness. Going immediately for the piece tucked into my hip holster, I pulled out my Glock. I tracked around the area to ensure no one was looking to interfere with my plans. Thankfully, the coast was clear, and I rushed forward past the pile of crates I'd landed behind and silently hurried to Emory.

Tapping her on the shoulder, I held up my hands when she flinched. Emory's eyes went wider than I'd ever seen when she realized it was me, and then tears quickly glossed over her deep brown eyes. I tried to offer a smile, but we didn't have time for pleasantries.

"Hmm!!"

I stuffed my gun back in my waistband as I knelt in front of her. Then, I reached around her head and untied the gag I'd correctly pegged before landing. Emory spat on the cracked cement floor.

"Ugh, that was so fucking gross. Get me out of here." Her voice was hushed, but I could sense the terror coursing through her. "I'm tied to the damn chair. And my arms are bound."

I nodded, pulling out my knife and sawing through the ropes that held her to the chair first. It was taking much longer than I wanted, but eventually, they snapped free. There was still chaos near the front door, and the entire building had emptied of Italians who'd run to see what the fuck was going on.

Pulling Emory up, I yanked her along as I sprinted toward the back door. We could worry about her hands later. Right now, I needed to focus on getting us out of here.

But as we rushed past the crates, Emory's foot hooked a pipe that lay on the ground. When she kicked it, the sound boomed through the warehouse, and then several crates fell to the floor, adding to the clamor.

Shit.

The men at the front were otherwise engaged in dealing with the growing fire at the front of the warehouse and the sniper shots from Ivan and Abe. However, one of the men at the back of the group turned in our direction, and his eyes went wide.

Then everything switched to bullet time.

I watched in horror as the man raised his gun, shouting out, "Hey!" across the echoey building. Emory was right in the fucker's line of sight, and he glowered as the muzzle of his firearm leveled with her.

She was frozen, her eyes flaring, and every ounce of blood rushed out of my face.

No, no, no. No. This can't be happening.

"Stooop!"

The man's words rang out in odd slow motion, and then I was moving, my legs burning with the effort to move me faster than the damn speed of light.

She couldn't even raise her hands to protect herself because she was tied up. Not that it would have done any good. Bullets don't fucking care about how many bones they have to go through. This asshole was going to fire. He was going to shoot, and I didn't know if I could get to him fast enough.

She'll die. Emory will die if you don't get there. Get there, Vlad! Fucking get there!

Launching myself forward with everything I had, something snapped inside me. I needed Emory. I wanted Emory. After everything, I didn't want to lose her. I…cared about her, which was a damn miracle in and of itself.

So, when I screamed "No!" it wasn't a surprise that the entire room dropped into silence.