“How do you know Lana?”
“From school. She goes to the college and takes fashion design. We ride the bus together sometimes to get to the school. I had no idea her brother would be at the club, but she told me he’s older than she is and is protective of her.”
“What about your good friend Bradley Tudor? Could he have found out about the key?”
She realized everyone she knew was going to be in trouble. The merry widows, Doug and Carlton, Shaila and David, maybe even Abigail Humphrey and her little three-year-old daughter, Betsy. All because she worked for Billows.
“He doesn’t even know where I work. I babysit his kids when his regular babysitter has appointments or is ill. Otherwise, we don’t really associate at all.”
The surveillance Alan had put on her in the form of McGrady would bear that out. He had to have reported to the Billows brothers. All of them. He might not have known there was more than one, but surely over the time he watched her, more than Alan had gotten a report.
Derrick pushed forward. “This is bullshit, Patrick. She knows more than she’s saying. Don’t fall for her sweet little innocent act the way Alan did. Look at him, his guts spilling out of his body. He didn’t deserve that.”
He stepped around his brother and hit her in the face again, the same cheek, this time splitting open the skin. He punched her breast hard. There was no way to stop the cry of pain as agony exploded through her body.
“Talk, you little bitch. You have no idea what’s coming.”
She could barely see him through the veil of tears, but it was just as well. What she did see appeared to be his features twisted into a demonic mask. That added to her mounting terror. She was going to die a terrible death. She prayed she would just become unconscious and they would kill her outright.
“Derrick.” Patrick sounded like the voice of reason. “Back off. We were getting somewhere, weren’t we, Azelie? You want to tell us the truth. You cared a great deal for Alan. Anyone could see it. He was always loyal to you, trying to make certain you were safe. He was so enraged when he found out McGrady hit you. And threatened you.” He gestured toward McGrady’s body. “That was done for you. Because McGrady dared to strike you.”
It hadn’t been Andrii who had done those terrible things to McGrady. Could she honestly say she was sorry McGrady was dead? No. He’d threatened the merry widows and Doug and Carlton. He’d threatened her. But did she want him to die in such a hideous way? No.
A small sob escaped before she could stop it. Her gaze clung to Patrick’s. She knew what the brothers were doing. One was good, the other bad. They would play her like this, one giving hope, the other taking it away. She reminded herself over and over, a chant in her mind, not to believe in Patrick. He had no intention of saving her.
“You knew someone stole from us.” Patrick made it a statement, switching subjects. “Alan said you believed it was an elite hacker, someone who may have been hired to harm us. He said you were still going through the books looking for a lead. Did you find one?”
Her mind was in complete chaos from sheer terror. If she was going to stall in the hopes of being rescued, although she had no idea how she would be rescued or who would rescue her, she had to pull herself together. Her body was almost numb from the blows Derrick had delivered. She realized he could have hit her a lot harder. He knew where to strike her to scare her, humiliate her and cause pain without damaging her. That only reinforced the possibility Andrii had raised that they were involved in human trafficking.
She took a deep breath, but that only dragged the stench into her lungs. She felt like her entire body was covered in blood, sweat and urine from the dead in the room. Now that coating was inside of her, where she would never get it out.
“I was still searching.” Was that even her voice? “You have a lot of business associates. Alan was going through them with me to tell me which were the most likely to be able to hire that kind of hacker. It would take a lot of money. I don’t know any of his—your—associates personally. Alan didn’t want me around them.”
“But you did meet a few,” Patrick persisted. “Derrick brought them into your office.”
It made sense that it had been Derrick, not Alan, who had allowed the men into her office. Alan had always been adamant that she stay out of sight. It hadn’t made sense to her at the time. Now she could see Derrick doing it, mostly as a silent threat.
Her biggest fear was that she would inadvertently blurt out Andrii’s name if she became too disoriented. He would come for her. She knew he would. He would have no idea that Alan was one of triplets or that his brothers were even more vicious and cruel than he had been. Andrii believed himself capable of handling men like the Billows triplets, but he didn’t have all the facts. She didn’t want him to come, as much as she needed to believe he would.
Now she was even more afraid for Andrii. He would come, and she didn’t want him to. She prayed he wouldn’t find a way in. These vicious men would kill him for certain.
* * *
“We run this by the numbers, like any other rescue mission,” Steele said before Maestro could leap from the truck.
“Then fuckin’ get the numbers down,” Maestro said. Code had provided them with feed from the cameras he’d tapped into. “She’s a mess. You know they’re going to kill her.”
He glanced at Savage and Destroyer. Killing wasn’t the worst that was going to happen to her. The blows she’d been receiving were nothing compared to what was coming. Derrick would inflict more pain and damage, and Patrick would act as if he were trying to calm his brother. It was a method used often in the trafficking business to force their victims into cooperation. It was possible they would even use drugs on Azelie.
“The guards outside the club must be taken out. Code said they were hired from a private security company, which means they aren’t part of the Billows’ business. Some may be, but you can’t take the chance. That means put them out, but no kills unless you have no choice.”
Maestro’s hand tightened on the door handle. “We know the rules of engagement. Every second we’re waiting is time they have with her.”
Steele ignored him. It was stating the obvious, and Maestro knew it wasn’t Steele’s fault. He was team leader and responsible for the safety of every member of his team. Steele had felt the same anxiety when his son had been kidnapped. Steele was right: they had to keep the team safe, or they wouldn’t be any good to Azelie.
“Sorry, Steele.” He rubbed his chest, over his heart. “We’re coming, sweetheart. Have faith that we’re coming for you,” he added, murmuring aloud.
“Code says she hasn’t so much as whispered your name, Andrii,” Lana said. “She’s going to protect you. She was dismissive of Preacher as well, as if he couldn’t possibly have anything to do with this.”
“She knows what’s coming, and she still won’t give you up,” Savage said. He looked over Maestro’s shoulder to the quick sketches Steele had thrown up on the screen, giving them their assignments.
“What are we going to do about Doug, Carlton and the widows?” Keys asked. “They’re in the way, and they aren’t about to leave without seeing that Azelie is safe.”
“Let them distract the guards,” Maestro suggested. “Those three women can talk the ears off of anyone. They can be an asset if they’re told what to do to keep safe.”
“I’m on it,” Lana said. “They’ve seen me.”
“Need you protecting our people,” Steele reminded her.
“It won’t take but a moment,” Lana assured him. “Give me three minutes with them and then I’ll go high.”
“Grateful, Lana,” Maestro said. “Those five are her family, or as close as she’s got. They matter to her.”
“Parsons and Gray were a big deal in the military,” Code said. “I could hack into their records, but most of it will be redacted. Even so, I don’t need to see the records to be aware they know what they’re doing. They might have gotten old, but don’t discount them. They can be lethal. Penny is the daughter of a cop. After he died, she spent years on the shooting range at her mother’s insistence. The other two, the Christian sisters, lived with them. I’ll bet both have concealed carry permits. I haven’t checked, but I wouldn’t be surprised.”
“Let’s do this,” Steele said. “Be safe, but you bring her back to us. We don’t need information from either of those men. Get in, take them out, and get Azelie out of there. Be mindful that either or both of those men could have a manual switch to the bombs. We haven’t pulled the plug on them yet. I figured it would be better for the cops to find everything intact.”
Maestro flung the door open and leapt out, ducking as he ran toward the tunnel entrance. Keys, Master and Player were right there with him, spreading out, running the way they had on so many missions. Reminiscent of a wolf pack. That was Czar’s teaching. He’d taught them to be wolves, to work together to bring down prey.
