90. Madden

90

Madden

W e pull up in our black SUV outside the motel where Elena is staying. Kade parks the car near the main entrance, away from the L-shaped block where the rooms are. We don't want Elena to be suspicious, but the motel is in a busy area and there are plenty of other cars around.

Part of me wonders if Aleks is telling the truth about Elena being here, but I saw the look on his face when he pulled a gun on his father. It was obvious he hated the man. Knowing what I do about Sergei Mashkov, I'm not surprised his son hated him. The man was a monster.

"What room is she in?"

"17. Aleks will be here in a minute. He'll go in and bring Chloe out."

Five minutes later, a nondescript beige Chevrolet swings in and parks outside room 17. A tall guy wearing jeans and a baseball cap gets out. He glances in our direction and then looks away.

A second guy emerges, scans the parking lot, and waits by the car. Meanwhile, the driver keeps the engine running. Aleks clearly isn't taking any chances. Which is wise now that the Irish are gunning for him.

We watch as Aleks knocks. After a few seconds, the door cracks open and he walks inside.

The tension in the car feels heavy enough to smother me. If Elena doesn't have Chloe, we're fucked. Sure, we can torture the information out of her, but if she's passed Chloe on to someone else, she could be anywhere by now.

I take a moment to wonder when I became so comfortable with the idea of torturing someone for information, then decide it's Elena, so she doesn't deserve my empathy.

From the way Tessa's leg bounces and she grips the back of my seat, she's as tense as I am.

"Relax, sweetness," Cin murmurs. "We'll get her back."

"But what if she's not here, Cin? What then?"

"Then we'll keep looking," I growl.

"She has her," Kade says with obvious relief. We all watch as Elena emerges from the motel room with Chloe. Aleks says something to her and then she hands the little girl over. Chloe appears to be asleep - she's floppy in Aleks' arms. God, the bitch better not have harmed a hair on that baby's head. If she has, I will fucking kill her.

Aleks turns in our direction and nods. It's the signal we've been waiting for.

Tessa dives out of the car before Cin can stop her. She runs across the parking lot, toward Elena and Aleks.

Aleks' bodyguard pulls a gun, but Aleks steps aside and tells him to stand down.

"Aleks? What's going on?" Elena cries. She tries to snatch Chloe from Aleks but his guard shoves her back.

Just as Tessa reaches them, Elena pulls a gun from her purse and points it at Tessa.

"She's mine!" she screams before pressing the trigger. Aleks yells something in Russian and his guard shoots Elena without hesitation. But it's too late.

Tessa cries out and falls. Kade reaches her a second before me and catches her before she hits the floor.

"We need to get her to the hospital now!" he yells, looking at the blood and then me.

"Get her in the car, we'll take her," Aleks barks. He hands Chloe to me and helps Kade lift Tessa into the backseat of the Chevrolet.

"St. Theresa's is the closest ER. Follow us there."

I tuck an unconscious Chloe against my chest and nod. Tessa better be OK. I refuse to accept any other outcome.