JACKSON

 

ONCE WE REACH our destination, Lucien and I put a plan into place.  We're sending the trained agents and Wraith's men in first.  Lucien, Katya and I will bring up the tail end of the mission and go straight for Adeline once the coast is clear.

Due to Lucien's recent medical problems, it's better for him to stay out of harm's way.  He's in no condition to fight, but I know he wants to be there when we find Adeline.

Lucien is communicating with Miles on his phone as his friend proficiently hacks into the city's electrical grid within the matter of several minutes.

"When I give him the signal, the whole house will be in total darkness for a total of ten minutes," Lucien tells the team of men gathered several hundred yards from the backyard of the house.

It's not much time, but it gives us one hell of an advantage.

"Your guy's gonna cut off all the electricity for ten minutes?  Fuck, he's good," one agent whistles.  "What did you say his name was again?" he asks slyly.

Lucien rolls his eyes.  "Not a chance."

"Can't blame a guy for trying," the agent says with a grin.

It's amusing to see the good guys and the bad guys working together towards a common goal.  But I'm sure that if we weren't going up against a bigger target than Lucien, these agents would have no problem gunning for my cousin instead.

Giovanni is their number one goal on a long list, and they're going to get a chance to capture him tonight.

Little do they know that they won't be catching him alive; however, because we have no intentions of letting him live to see tomorrow.

Wraith motions for everyone to get into place, and then we're donning the night vision goggles that were supplied by the FBI and making our way through the surrounding tall grass towards the mansion.

When we're within striking distance, we all stop and lie in wait as Lucien sends out a text to his hacker colleague to cut the electricity.

Seconds later, the entire property is doused in a shroud of darkness.  They have no communication systems from the front gate to the house, no security cameras, no fucking lights…nothing.

The FBI agents go first, securing a portable climbing assist tool to the top of the fence.  One by one, they climb up the makeshift ladder and down the other side, disappearing into the night.

Wraith motions his men ahead, and the group runs towards the tall barrier, resembling black knights storming a castle.  I watch them repeat the agents' actions from just a few seconds prior.  And once they fade into the veiled property of the manor as well, I look behind me for Katya.

And she's fucking gone.

"Fuck!" I hiss.  I frantically search the area around us, but she's nowhere to be found.  She ghosted me.

"What's wrong?" Lucien asks.

"Katya's gone!" I say in a panic.  I look towards the house, and my face falls.  "She must have followed Wraith."  I can't even fucking believe it right now.

Lucien clasps me on the shoulder.  "I'm sure Wraith will watch over her."

I hang my head and nod.  "Fuck, I hope so," I mutter.  The thought of her not being safe or getting hurt fucking guts me.  I didn't realize how deep my feelings ran for Katya until this moment.  If anything happens to her, I'll never be able to forgive myself.

We allow some time to pass before Lucien and I maneuver our way over the fence.  The muffled gunshots can be heard sporadically throughout the property as Giovanni's men are taken out by weapons equipped with silencers.

Seeing a clear path to a back service door of the mansion, I use a large rock I find nearby and break off the handle of the door.

We enter the house just as the lights flicker back on.  Tearing off our night vision goggles, we move carefully through the house with our guns in our outstretched hands.  Lucien and I tread lightly through the kitchen.  But when we hear Adeline's screams coming from a few rooms over, Lucien forgets all about his safety and everything else and takes off running.

"Lucien!" I hiss, but he doesn't stop.

I'm about to follow after him, but a whimpering sound makes me halt in my tracks.  I slowly step into the next room where I see Katya fighting against one of Giovanni's men.  He clearly has the upper hand given his size, but Katya is putting her training with Wraith to good work.

She elbows him in the gut, and the gun in his hand goes skittering across the floor.  When he moves to reach for it, I train my gun on him and say, "Don't even think about it."

An agent rounds the corner and takes the guy out in one shot.  Then he gives me a nod and says, "All clear," into his radio piece.

I can hear Lucien calling my name from somewhere inside the house, and I quickly grab Katya's hand and drag her after me. 

"Jackson!" Lucien shouts.

Once I reach him, it takes my brain a few moments to process the sight before me.  At first, I feel elation at seeing Adeline again, knowing that she's here, safe with us.

But then I realize exactly what I'm seeing.

Lucien is cradling Adeline in his arms.  There's blood everywhere, and she's not moving.

Fuck, is she even breathing?

I shove the gun into my waistband and run over, collapsing onto my knees beside them.  I put my fingers to her neck, checking for a pulse before meeting Lucien's terrified gaze.  I'm not seeing any visible gunshot wounds…but where is all the blood coming from?  "W-what happened?" I ask, my anxiety mirroring his.

He hesitates for a second before spitting out, "She's…she's pregnant."

My eyes flare with surprise, and then slowly peruse her body, taking in the blood staining her clothes and hand.  My brain finally catches up to what Lucien told me.  She's losing the baby.  Their baby.  "We have to get her to a hospital right now," I say harshly.  I reach for her, but Lucien shakes his head.

Standing with her in his arms, he pulls her against his chest.  He grimaces in pain, but he refuses to let her go.  I know his shoulder has to be killing him, but I don't dare try to reach for her again.

I give him a stern nod of understanding before telling him, "We're going to have to take one of their cars."  And then I ask, "Where's Wraith?"

"He's got Giovanni," Lucien explains.

I glance into the other room and see Wraith handing off Giovanni to two FBI agents, who handcuff him and lead him away.  Fuck, we didn't even get to torture and kill the bastard like I know both of us had been planning in our heads.  At least he'll be going to jail to rot for the rest of his pathetic life, and the power he once held over Adeline and a lot of other people is now gone.

"Wraith!" Lucien calls.  When Wraith comes running over, Lucien tells him, "We need a vehicle.  Now!"

Wraith nods before bolting out the door.  I quickly grab Katya's arm and lead us to the front of the house while Lucien follows behind with Adeline in his arms.

"Wait!  What's going on?" Katya asks, fighting against my grip, but I'm not having any of it.

Just as we step outside, I stop and grab her arms, roughly pulling her towards me so that only an inch of space separates our faces.  I don't think I've ever been so pissed off in my entire life.

"I'm done playing these games with you, Katya!" I yell.  I'm still seething from the fact that she didn't follow orders and stay behind with me.  She could have been hurt or killed.  Hell, she was almost hurt and killed.  And that has my anger reaching its boiling point.  "I need you to fucking listen to me just this once!" I growl.

I might be taking all my shit out on her right now, but she fucking deserves it.  I'm scared and worried and everything in between.  Adeline might be dying, and there's not a damn thing I can do about it until we get to the hospital.

A black SUV comes to a squealing, sudden stop several feet from the front entrance.  Wraith is out of the driver's seat and rounding the back of the vehicle before I can blink.  He opens the passenger side doors, and Lucien gently rests Adeline on the soft, dark leather seat before climbing in beside her.

I push a now eerily quiet and completely compliant Katya into the front passenger side and slam her door before climbing in the back behind Lucien.

"Where to?" Wraith asks when he gets behind the steering wheel once again, gripping it tightly with his large hands.

"The nearest hospital," I instruct Wraith as I open an app on my phone to find the closest one.

My fingers are fucking shaking as I search on Google Maps.

Adeline is pregnant.  And it explains so damn much.  Back on the island, before everything went to shit, she had been complaining about not being able to keep food down and being sick.

Lucien thought she had a stomach bug of some sort, and I willingly played it off as such.  But I should have checked her out or been more attentive.

Not that it would have changed much considering that wouldn't have altered the fact that she was kidnapped days later.

I watch as Lucien brushes Adeline's dark hair away from her beautiful, ashen face.  Fuck, I would give anything for her to be okay right now.  I miss her smile and her laugh.  I'd pay any sum of money just to see and hear them again.

"Turn right up here," I tell Wraith as we near a crossroads.  Then, I lean over the seat and check Adeline's pulse.  It's there, but it's so damn weak.

"I can't lose her.  I can't lose her.  I can't lose her," Lucien chants over and over again, and I'm not even sure if he realizes he's saying it loud.

He's a fucking wreck.  Fuck, I am too, but I'm better at keeping it together than he is.  "I know," I tell him.  Then I say to Wraith, "Turn left up here, Wraith, and fucking step on it."

Moments later, the SUV is stopping in front of a large hospital.  I open the door and climb out first.  Lucien gathers Adeline into his arms, grimacing again from the exertion and toll it's taking on his debilitated body.

I run ahead with Wraith through the automatic sliding glass doors leading to the emergency room as Lucien follows behind us.

But just as I'm about to call for help, I realize Lucien's still outside.  Turning back around, I stare at Lucien, and I can see his inner struggle written all over his face.

Lucien doesn't do hospitals.

He's staring at the people in the waiting room, probably obsessing over germs and shit.  But we don't have even a second to waste on his bullshit right now.

"Fuck," he grunts.  His knees wobble as he nearly drops Adeline from his arms.  He manages to recover and pull her tightly against him once more.

"What's wrong?" I ask him, concerned and worried, even though I already know the answer to that question.  I'm just hoping he'll man up and tell me to take Adeline because he's having a fucking meltdown right now.

He gasps a haggard breath and tells me, "I…I can't…"  Then he shakes his head, unable to finish the thought.

I don't even hesitate at that point.  I simply run to him and pull Adeline from his arms, ignoring his protests.  My eyes meet his as I apologize.  "I'm sorry, Luc."  I back away with her cradled against my chest, and she looks so damn pale…so innocent.  "I have to be strong enough for all of us right now," I say softly.

I leave my cousin standing outside as I walk back inside the hospital with Adeline, calling for someone to help us.  My voice is desperate, and that's exactly how I feel right now.

Desperate for some kind of miracle to bring Adeline back to us and have her recover from this…both mentally and physically.