Chapter 28

Stavros

I’d insisted on coming alone just like had been required by Madden in his reprehensible invitation. I’d taken my uncle’s powerboat, using the coordinates to find the small private island. As soon as I pulled to the small dock, gunmen had appeared carrying assault rifles. Within seconds, they jerked me off the boat and onto the dock, swiftly checking me over to see if I was carrying a piece.

I wasn’t, another rule Madden had set in place.

For whatever reason he wanted me here privately and I wasn’t certain I cared why. All that mattered to me was rescuing the woman I loved. I would stop at nothing until that happened. The goons said nothing, merely dumping me into the passenger side of one of three Jeeps they had at the dock. Their weapons were primed and ready to shoot if I attempted to do anything stupid, which I wasn’t planning on.

My thoughts drifted to the beautiful woman I’d fallen hard for, still furious with myself for questioning her integrity. After finding out Madden had taken her, I’d even talked to her mother on the phone, the woman breaking down in tears as she told me how horrible Madden had been as a kid. She also mentioned he was unstable, making threats when her kids had been little, which had prompted them to move from the East Coast to the ruggedness of Missouri.

And still, Madden had kept track of her and her family. The why I would likely never know, but through the help of powerful friends, at least some of the truth had come to light. There was bad blood between her mother and Madden’s father, which had likely prompted the entire situation to come to a head. But using Jenna? It had all made sense after information Maxim had discovered. The man was an asshole, but he was an excellent fact finder.

It wasn’t long before Madden’s estate came into view. He’d gone to great lengths to hide the purchase some years before, which was two months before he’d been released from prison. He’d had people working for him, setting up the game even then. That was starting to dispel the idea that the Death Squad was involved.

As soon as the driver stopped, he shoved me out the door, another soldier grabbing my arm and yanking me toward the entrance. I kept a grin on my face as they paraded me inside, stomping as if they were the Third Reich or something, which fueled my ire and the joy of what I would do to the man.

No one fucked with my woman. No one.

I was led through a very nice house to one of the back rooms, which is what I was hoping for and anticipating.

When a set of double doors was opened and I was shoved inside, I could tell Madden was holding court on his throne in front of a massive window looking out onto a lovely courtyard.

And there was Atlas standing next to him with a grin on his face.

“Well, well. You called me late for the party.” I was relaxed, keeping a smile on my face.

Madden had appeared amused when I’d been led into the room, as if he had the leg up on me. What a shame he didn’t look that way any longer.

I was pushed closer with the butt of a rifle, the asshole behind me getting on my nerves but I refused to show it. I glanced around the room, nodding several times. “Nice digs. What did you pay, thirty or forty million bucks? Chump change to you and your empire. Right?”

Madden drummed his fingers against his desk as Atlas shifted from foot to foot. He knew my moods and when I was up to something, which was why I noticed a flash of anxiety in the former soldier’s eyes.

“Oh, that’s right,” I said as I scrubbed my jaw. “I forgot that your father outwitted you. Right?” Now I chose to walk closer, channeling a model swagger just for the fuck of it. I’d worked through the rage, turning it into a brilliant opportunity to perfect my acting skills.

Madden was tensing more by the second. “I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. I suggest you show some respect since I’m the man with all the power.”

What he didn’t know was about to get him killed.

I closed the distance, slamming my palms on his desk. That allowed me a full view of the backyard through the window and more important, the skies around the protected island.

“Well, let me enlighten you. Your father, who of course you loathed given his abusive behavior, knew you were likely to kill him. He managed to lock up all your money, even that which you believed you earned in the case of his death. He was bitter since he knew you were planning his demise, so he haunted you after the fact by shutting you out completely.” I waited, enjoying the tiny hint of shock on his face.

“You know nothing and I suggest you pay me more respect since I do have Jenna in my possession.”

“Mmm… And just what did you think you were going to do with my lovely woman? Oh, yes, marry her. That’s because in a twist of fate, your father left everything to his only other living family member and her descendants. That makes Jenna’s mother a very wealthy woman, her daughter as well since the bulk of the dollars you earned from illegal weapons trading, drugs, and now oil rigs were placed into a trust fund for her. Therefore, if you marry her, you’ll once again have access to the funds. Now, if she produces an heir, then even better. Am I getting close?”

Once the pieces had begun to fall into place, it had been easy to see why Madden had played a charade. He thought he could take us out in the interim, using our ports as he rebuilt his world in the United States. If he’d managed to destroy us, he wouldn’t need to step on anyone’s toes in New York.

“Oh, in case you haven’t heard, Sean is dead.”

Another surprise.

He was fuming, his face red. Just the way I liked it. I burst into laughter, which prompted him to motion to his guards. Suddenly, I had about nine automatic weapons pointed in my direction. I wasn’t sweating. I simply glanced at my infrared watch I’d been given by Brogan, the communications device as sophisticated as they came. There were a few questions about his actions that would remain unanswered, but I really didn’t give a shit any longer.

He’d used what his father had done as a cover for his actions, or as an excuse, but it was really all about greed. Money, the root of all evil.

“I can see we’re not going to be able to do business together,” Madden said as if I’d believed for once I’d been called here to try to form some crazy kind of alliance.

“No, we’re not.” I shoved my hands into my pockets, taking a giant step backwards as the first shots were fired. Although I’d wanted to gut Atlas myself, the bullets smashing through the thick pane of glass took him out instantly. And like the coward he was, Madden flung himself over the desk, avoiding being killed while his soldiers were taken out with precise marksman skills.

There was something powerful about helicopters. I adored the sound of their whirling blades, two of them right outside the window just like the plans we’d established, the infrared satellites tracking all movement in the house for several hours before I’d headed off in the boat.

I grabbed one of the rifles from a dead soldier, slamming the butt against Madden’s face as he tried to reach for the handgun he had in his pocket. It spiraled from his hand, dropping then sliding across the floor. After repeating my actions two more times, the last pitching him against the wall, I took a deep breath, watching with a smile on my face as he slid down the surface to the floor.

Then I moved toward him, placing the rifle in both hands, using the barrel to lift his head. “It would seem you underestimated my friends and their good friends. As of right now, your island is being invaded by just about four hundred men who are killing every one of your soldiers as we speak.”

As if on cue, and the entire invasion had been carefully orchestrated, shots were fired in round after round. “You’re finished, Madden. You and your regime are toast.”

He grinned as if the entire situation was a joke. I could shoot him right here, put a dozen bullets in him before I blinked but there would never be any satisfaction in doing something that simple.

“If you kill me, you’ll never find her,” he said. The man was already trying my nerves.

An entirely different noise caught my attention, several pairs of footsteps not requiring me to turn around. I knew who was walking in through the doors.

“Hello, brother,” Phoenix said as he walked in, Leander with him as well as my uncle. And of course a few of the members of the Brotherhood had made the trip as well. With their contacts, they’d gotten us the use of military helicopters, and had managed to disable Madden’s secure alarm system allowing us an all but silent ability to surround the island.

After the majority of soldiers had been taken out, they allowed the boats to dock, coming in from several directions.

“Can I have my favorite tool?” I asked my brother.

“Of course.” He yanked the rifle from my hand, replacing it with the hunting knife Phoenix had given me when I was a kid. I’d kept it sharpened, the handle polished. It had been my favorite gift of everything I’d received as a child.

As Brogan advanced, handing me another device some of his guys had created, only then did I hunker down. “While I understand you might not be able to comprehend what happened here, let’s just suffice to say that with having an alliance with several members of powerful organizations who in turn have connections that rival that of the infamous Death Squad, very little gets by us.”

I threw out the name because I’d know by the look in his eyes if he had been approached.

His look was blank followed by confusion. This time it would appear our concerns about the Death Squad being involved were wrong. However, I would continue to do some digging, especially since I would become the head of the new assassin group. The decision had been made the night before. The man was genuinely uncertain what I was getting at. I didn’t think he was that good of an actor. I lifted the handy dandy infrared device, allowing him to see the screen.

“You see, I have many gadgets at my disposal, including one that allows us to see every person inside this house because of their body temperature. While you do have your lovely cousin in a cold environment, her secret location is no match for millions of dollars. Now, I’m going to give you one last chance at asking for forgiveness for what your father did to our family.”

He glanced over my shoulder at the other men, obviously realizing he wasn’t getting out of here alive. “Fuck you.”

“I was sincerely hoping that’s what you’d say.” While there was no one I wanted to punish more than the bastard sitting on the floor in front of me, I didn’t have the time and my baby didn’t deserve to stay in the prison she’d been shoved into for any longer than necessary.

I jammed the knife under his throat with precision, twisting it as he gurgled, his eyes opening wide. Before the life faded from his eyes, I jammed it as deep as possible, hopefully hitting his pea-sized brain.

His body jerked a few times before he took his last garbled breath. Only then did I pull it free, slowly standing and wiping the bloody blade on my pants.

“We found her,” Constantine said seconds later.

Nothing would have kept me away from her. As I was led down a hallway to a set of stairs, I couldn’t get down them fast enough. One of the soldiers was already there using a bolt cutter to break the lock.

Jenna squealed as soon as she saw my face, already fighting to get out of the cramped space.

As soon as the door was flung open, I pulled her into my arms, lifting and cradling her against my body. We were both shaking, her tears matching mine.

“You came for me. Again,” she managed to say.

“You had to know I’d walk through hell and back to bring you home to me, to the man who loves you.”

I was cognizant we had an audience, but I didn’t give a shit. The moment she placed her trembling hand on my cheek, I almost lost it, a single tear slipping past my lashes.

“You love me?” she asked.

“More than the sun and the moon combined.” As I captured her mouth for a tender kiss, the group of people started clapping and whistling.

I’d never been a man who wanted romance but right now, I couldn’t imagine anything better than having the woman I loved in my arms.