LUCIEN

 

"DID IT WORK?" Jax asks.

My fingers type furiously on the laptop.  Sometimes my own code is just too damn good, and it took forever for me to produce a small message to show up on Adeline's watch.

"I think so," I tell him.  I can't be sure, but I'm confident that she'll see the message.  Just in case she's surrounded by others, I turn the message off after a few seconds.  I just pray that she saw it and knows that I'm coming for her.

We're currently stationed on the outskirts of New York City in an abandoned warehouse.  Wraith brought in a handful of his own contacts — several tattooed and mean-looking men with more scars than I fucking have.

And I had to pull some strings with Wepner, but he managed to scrounge up some of his best FBI agents for us to use as backup.  No questions asked since Salvatore Valenti and half of the empire is currently behind bars thanks to me.

Giovanni is still out there on the loose, and I have no doubt in my mind that he's the one who kidnapped Adeline.

After searching through properties that the Valenti family has ownership of and using the GPS coordinates on Adeline's watch, we've narrowed it down to one place on our map.

It's not going to be easy to break into, however, because the intel we've gathered so far has informed us that it would be easier to break into Fort Knox.

The property is surrounded by a ten-foot tall fence equipped with motion-detector security cameras every few feet.  There is a guard shack outside the entrance, and the front gate can only be unlocked with an electronic keycard.

There's also a panic button inside the shack that the guard can press if he suspects any suspicious activity, locking down the entire place and alerting everyone inside.

Even if we make it past the guards stationed out front and the fence, we need to take down the numerous guards and dogs stationed every several yards throughout the inside perimeter.

The mansion itself is impressive with bulletproof windows that could withstand a firing squad and heavy, steel entrance doors that could withstand a fucking tank.

With every bit of information I gather, the more unstable I become.  I keep forcing myself to not go off the deep end, however, because Adeline needs me too much right now.  I have to be strong.  For her.

I can break down later.  I owe Adeline that much at least for putting her through all of this and everything she's had to endure since she met me.

As I check the data one more time, I hear Jackson and Katya arguing several feet away.

"You're not going!" Jackson declares.

"Oh, so what are you going to do with me then?  Tie me up again and force me to stay here?" she snaps.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm going to do," he says.

She huffs and puts a hand on her cocked hip.  "Oh, you'd like that, wouldn't you?  You and your little kinks," she hisses.

He throws his hands up in the air exasperatedly.  "It's too dangerous for you to go, Katya.  We could all die.  I could die," he tells her adamantly.

I expect Katya to back down then, knowing that Jax is putting his life on the line and not willing to risk hers.  But she surprises me by asking, "And then what would happen to me if you never come back?  I'd be left here to starve and die!"

Shaking my head, I try to block out the two as they bicker like an old married couple and focus on the task at hand.

I plan on sending the trained agents and Wraith's men in first.  Jax and I will bring up the tail end of the mission, staying out of harm's way and going straight for Adeline once the coast is clear.

Normally, I would want to be out front where all the action is, but I can't fight in the condition I'm currently in, and I'm not willing to put Jax's life in danger.  I would never allow it, and I would most certainly sacrifice myself before I let anything happen to him.

The government agents have gathered in a group in the corner of the room, talking in hushed voices while my crew is on the other side of the expansive room.  I approach the group of agents and hear one say, "This is going to be fuckin' impossible.  A goddamn suicide mission.  I certainly didn't sign up for this shit."

Clearing my throat, they all turn to look at me with surprised and then blank looks on their faces.  "If you want out now, tell me.  Because I assure you, gentlemen, I will move heaven and earth, if I have to, with my own goddamn bare hands to get her back," I say, giving each and every one of them a searing look.  "Don't underestimate my obsession…or my undying love for her."

There is a calm silence that settles over the men, and several nod their head in compliance.

"I have an idea on how we can get in quickly and quietly and without detection," I announce to the entire room.

I hear some disbelieving huffs and murmurs through the warehouse, but I block them out.

What I need to have happen can happen.  It's just that I hate pulling in favors, especially from the person I'm about to call, but all of the scenarios running through my head all lead back to him.

"We're going to hit them and hit them fucking hard."  I grin before adding, "The good news is…they won't even see us coming."