Sonata

by Kenya Wright

  For some reason, Rafael rushed off. Someone had called him, and he’d walked away to talk to them. Now he was racing back into the building.

  What’s going on with him?

  “Jean-Pierre?”

  I redirected my attention. “Kenji, your men returned to you alive and with full pockets. No one knows you helped me in a tight situation. And if I remember correctly, you sat in the bathhouse with Sasha for a few hours, before I arrived. I imagine you had a strong knowledge of what was going on.”

  Battling Celina and helping Sasha fight Kazimir had begun to exhaust me of men. I’d asked the Yakuza for help, but no job big enough to alarm the Bratva. Kenji’s men had never killed anyone. They simply moved the necessary weapons here and there, as well as provided extra muscle.

  Sometimes it wasn’t about the number of guns a man brought into the room. Sometimes it was all about the amount of people around him. Their look. Their stance and energy. The way death blazed in their eyes. With enough killers surrounding me, many times I didn’t need to pull out a gun.

  Louis walked up to me.

  I checked my watch, already annoyed that we’d been on the phone for this long. “Your involvement is protected, Kenji.”

  “I believe it is.”

  Translation: It better be, or you’ll have more than the Lion bothering you.

  “Is that the only reason for your call?” I asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Good night, Dragon.”

  Irritation coated his voice. “Good night, Butcher.”

  I shut off the phone, handed it to Louis, and headed toward the building.

  Louis walked on my side. “What did he want?”

  “He’s scared the Lion will start sniffing around his lair.”

  “Better the Yakuza and Bratva fight, then us.”

  “It would be.” I was about to discuss the point further, when the lights shut off in the building. I reached for my gun, didn’t feel it. I’d been with Eden. Anytime I was with her, I kept the guns and knives away.

  “What the hell is going on?” Louis sped up as I rushed to the door.

  Our men spotted the problem. They flanked us as we entered the building. Hysteria had erupted in the lobby. There’d been a few elegantly dressed couples leaving and coming.

  A few of my men used their phones as flashlights.

  “The elevators will be locked.” I passed them. “Where’s Eden? Did she make it upstairs?”

  “Giorgio never checked in, but he never does. I’m sure she’s fine.” Still, he had his gun out. “Rafael was going up there.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know.”

  She better be fine.

  I pulled out my phone and climbed the stairs. Others ran ahead of me. Everything was black. I heard scattered noises as we passed certain levels. Everyone in the building was trying to figure out why the lights were off.

  We hurried up on the third floor.

  “No cell service.” My heart boomed in my chest. “And the power has been out for too long.”

  “Yeah.” Louis handed me his gun and pulled out another from his jacket.

  This isn’t a simple power outage. This is a set up.

  “Get to the fucking top!”

  We’d already been racing, but everyone found the extra energy within them.

  My legs burned. I had to remain calm. Losing my mind with worry in a situation like this, always put me at a disadvantage. But my heart screamed inside my chest. And every time I glanced up the stairwell, all I saw, was an unending spiraling darkness hovering above. Constantly ascending. Never ending. Foreboding. Doomful stairs.

  It’s going to take us forever to get up there.

  Every floor, I checked the phone for service. I just had to hear her voice and make sure Eden was okay.

  “I don’t like this shit.” Louis grabbed one guy. “Pull the fire alarm and go get more men from downstairs. Have every fucking exit blocked. No one leaves this building without you checking them for anything suspicious. I don’t care if they’re old or young.”

  I increased the pace, climbing three or four steps at a time, but still it didn’t seem like we’d gotten anywhere.

  Had to convince me to get the penthouse, Rafael?!

  The lights turned on, when we hit the eighth floor. I rushed on that level to get to the elevators.

  Come on. Come on.

  When we made it to the elevators, Louis pressed the buttons.

  By now, several men guarded the stairs and watched people leaving. We didn’t know what the hell everyone was looking for, but the lights and phone service shutting off wasn’t a coincidence. Someone had either attacked or was trying to attack.

  I hoped the situation was on a low level. Cyber-attack. Hacking. Some idiot trying me.

  Whatever it is, just let Eden be safe.

  “Phones are back on.” Louis had his out. “I’m calling Giorgio.”

  I dialed Eden. She didn’t answer. The more the phone rang, the more my heart sank.

  I gripped the gun hard and looked at Louis. “Did Giorgio answer?”

  “No.”

  “Fuck!” I hit the wall near the elevator.

  “We’ll get them.” Louis turned to the others. “Make sure more men are guarding the exits. Roof. Everywhere.”

  They rushed away. Only a few remained with us. The elevator stopped on our level. Just in case, we pointed the guns at the elevator. The doors slid open.

  A sweaty Rafael stared back at us with his own gun. “What the fuck happened to the lights?”

  We lowered our guns and got on.

  “I don’t know.” I hit the button, unable to talk until I saw Eden safely in front of me.

  Giorgio was with her. He would protect her with everything. I had to believe it and relax.

  She’s fine. She’s fine.

  We rode up in silence.

  Everyone had their guns out.

  The elevator lights flickered.

  Louis sighed. “Now that our people know what they’re doing, they won’t be able to control the lights anymore.”

  Not good enough, if anything has happened to Giorgio or Eden.

  We made it to my floor.

  The doors slid open.

  I rushed out.

  The first thing I saw was blood.

  Someone was shot in the hall.

  My mind shifted to insanity. I was down by the door, before anyone else. Had it open and my gun out. I had no idea who’d bled in the hallway. My brain couldn’t grapple it, or I’d lose control.

  Louis tapped at two bullet holes in the wall.

  With his gun out, Rafael kept the door open and checked the hallway again.

  Make sure Eden and Giorgio are safe. That’s it. Focus. Don’t think about anything else.

  In times like these, one had to concentrate. Breathe in and out. Clear the mind. Laser-centered focus. It was the only way to make the accurate move in times of stress. It was the only way to not get killed, when a killer stood within the shadows, waiting patiently to jump out and attack.

  No one talked.

  No one needed too.

  Louis, Rafael, and I had fought alongside each other since we were kids in the school yard, beating up other kids just because they had dads. Just because they were happier than us. It had been wrong, but therapeutic. It had been unhealthy, but we learned how to fight, and do it impeccably together. Fast. Skilled. No mistakes.

  We moved down the hall.

  I spotted blood on the wall and more drops on the polished floor. Deep within my core, I could feel that Eden was gone, but I wouldn’t let myself come to grips with it.

  All my top security lay dead in a pile on the hallway floor at the entrance of my living room. Whoever had killed the men had time to stack them up. The small trail of blood went beyond the living room, heading to my bedroom.

  Eden, please be okay.

  I wanted to yell her name, but whoever did this could still be in the penthouse. I didn�
�t want to alert them.

  No. I want to do other things to them.

  A dead man lay in the hallway. A black mask covered his face. Louis kneeled down, yanked the mask off, and pulled his shirt down. A dark black and green tattoo covered all of his chest, shoulders and back. Louis went to his sleeve and lifted it up. The ink painted that too.

  We all exchanged glances.

  Yakuza. The Dragon hadn’t called to make sure Kazimir wasn’t on to him. He’d called to set me up and keep me downstairs. But for what?

  If he took Eden, I would sink Japan into the sea.

  A creak sounded from Eden’s room.

  Murder blazed in my eyes. Making no sound, Louis jumped in front of me. I tried to move him out the way. He shook his head and went on. Silent. Ready to kill.

  When we made it to the door, Louis kicked it open. Darkness showed back.

  And then bloody hands appeared from behind the door.

  Someone grabbed Louis.

  Rafael and I were on the person in seconds.

  The man screamed. “Eh!”

  I knew that sound of pain and froze. “Giorgio?”

  One of our other men turned on the lights. Giorgio let out a long breath, sinking into Rafael’s hold. Rafael had already had his arm around Giorgio’s neck, close to chocking him. Rafael let go. Louis grabbed Giorgio before he hit the ground.

  “Goddamn it!” I checked out his chest.

  Giorgio had been shot in his side, back, and thigh. There was a fifty percent chance that the bullet hadn’t hit any major organs. But I was more worried about all the blood he had lost.

  His bloody hands shook. “They. . .took. . .her.”

  I held him to me. “Relax. I know. Save your energy.”

  But I didn’t understand. And I had no idea what was going on. My body shook, and I didn’t know if it was due to Giorgio’s body trembling and spasming against mine, or the empty darkness that took over my heart.

  No. Giorgio isn’t going to die, and Eden is here. She’s right here.

  Louis was on the phone with our doctor. Another man was on Giorgio’s side stopping the blood. Another saw to his thigh. I wanted to lay him down and search for Eden, but Giorgio was in a horrible place.

  Come on, cousin. Don’t do this. Don’t die today.

  Rafael and the others ran out to the balcony.

  Giorgio’s bottom lip quivered as he whispered to me, “Devil.”

  “What?”

  “The Devil. He had no face under the mask.”

  My head spiraled. I’d lost my clear mind, when I walked in. I’d barely caught my breath. Nothing Giorgio was saying was making any sense, but it was good that he kept talking.

  “What else?” I held him closer. A tear fell from my eyes.

  Sweat trickled down the side of his bloody face. I didn’t know if he’d shot someone else or had been injured there too.

  Giorgio frowned. “Wear all white. Everyone.”

  “What?”

  “If I die—”

  “Shut the fuck up.” I wiped a tear from my eye. “I haven’t given you permission to die yet.”

  Medics bursts into the bedroom and took over from there.

  “I love you, Giorgio.” I rose, coated in my cousin’s blood. Pain swallowed me as the medics took over.

  He’ll be fine. Everything will be okay.

  Rafael and Louis had shifted to searching through the entire penthouse. There was no sign of Eden. Just dead security and other corpses. The kidnappers wore black masks and black clothes. Things a soldier would wear in a battle, but these weren’t army men.

  An hour later, Louis dragged all the dead men into the living room. There’d been four that we found. A few of my men yanked off their clothes.

  I walked around their bodies and pointed at each one. “Yakuza. Bratva. Bratva. Yakuza.”

  “Japanese and Russians working together? That doesn’t make sense.” Rafael kicked the dead Russian in his face. “It looks like Kazimir has decided to stop bullying the world. He’s now trying to make friends.”

  “Kenji wanted me on that line, to make sure I was busy, but how did he know he could take Eden?” I was still stained from Giorgio’s blood. I wouldn’t shower, until I knew he was safely out of surgery and doing fine. In fact, we all kept the bloodied suits on. As if somehow that gave him strength.

  Louis paced. “It’s not that simple. Kenji couldn’t guarantee that you would be downstairs on the phone. Why were you downstairs anyway?”

  I pointed to Rafael. “He met us at the limo and gave me the phone.”

  “Because the service kept going in and out on this floor,” Rafael explained. “The tech guy came in, right as I was cursing out the phone. He told me that there was a problem with service and that downstairs would be better, until he fixed it.”

  “The tech guy, just happened to come to you, while you were having the problem?” I asked.

  “I’ll grab him.” Louis left the room.

  I placed my blood-stained hands in my pockets. “What happened after you went downstairs?”

  “The guy remained on the line,” Rafael said.

  “What guy?”

  “Kenji’s assistant.”

  “Okay.” I nodded. “You waited downstairs with the assistant on the phone. Later, I came up in the limo with Eden and then you told the assistant that I was there?”

  “Yes.” Rafael frowned. “I had no idea—”

  “Of course you didn’t. Just help me get her back.”

  “You know I won’t sleep until she’s back with you.”

  No one will get any sleep until she’s back with o me.

  Unable to keep calm or sit down, I headed to the window and pulled the curtains back.

  I’ll keep this whole city up and full of terror, until she’s back to me. Whoever you are? You’ve made a dangerous mistake this evening.

  Flashing lights surrounded the perimeter of my building.

  I’d called the president.

  No one would leave Paris tonight. Not by airplane or bus. Not train or boat. The news had announced a possible terrorist on the loose. A curfew had been put into effect. People were to assume their regular activities today but be off the streets by sunset.

  I had every traffic and street camera in this city. I’d called in more men from our further Corsican sectors to come through. Not just various provinces in France. I called in favors and grabbed our people from all over—Belgium to Haiti. Oceans to oceans. Canada to Senegal. We had our specially trained men in Montreal, and street warriors, from the Ivory Coast.

  It would all go down in Paris.

  Until Eden was back safe and alive, no one would live their lives normally. No one would leave the country or enter. No one would move without my knowing who, what, and why. Everybody would be on alert. Everyone would be in fear, looking over their shoulders, searching for the possible suspect.

  All I need is a face or a name and that bastard won’t be able to piss in a toilet without me knowing.

  Rafael interrupted my thoughts. “Bratva are here, but do you think this came directly from Kazimir?”

  “He should know what the fuck is going on in Paris, especially since he’s here.”

  “I just want us to be careful, before we think he’s involved. Let’s just be rational.”

  You think I’m going to be rational?

  A dark chuckle left me.

  Louis returned with a scared and shaking skinny man. His glasses kept falling off his face as Louis shoved him inside. The guy’s eyes swept around us. His gaze stopped on me. He went pale as we came close and stood in front of him.

  Rafael brought over a chair. “Would you like to sit?”

  “Uh. . .n-no.”

  Rafael scowled. “Sit.”

  The guy did. “L-like I said, Louis, I-I don’t know—”

  “I don’t believe you.” Louis crossed his arms over his chest. “If I don’t believe you, then Jean-Pierre won’t either.”

  “What’
s your name?” Rafael asked.

  “Ju,” he said.

  Rafael glowered. “What kind of name is Ju?”

  I ended their discussion. “Tell us something, Ju. How did men come into my building without me knowing?”

  Ju’s bottom lip quivered.

  I turned to Rafael. “Get my bows.”

  Ju wrung his hands. “No. No. No. Y-you won’t need your bows. I…”

  We watched him.

  Stay calm. Don’t kill him. Not yet.

  I placed my hands in my pockets. “You what?”

  “I…my wife. . .” Ju glanced at Louis, then Rafael and then returned back to me. “My kids. . .they said they would…they have them now. You have to understand—”

  I kneeled down and gazed at him. “Someone took your wife and kids?”

  “Yes.” Ju quickly nodded. “It was twenty of them. They woke me up in the middle of the night—”

  “When?”

  “Three days ago.” Ju trembled. “They took my wife and kids into the other room. They told me, I had to go to work today and put a file into the system, so they could get in, and then they would leave us alone. I came back that night and…and it all had just begun. . .they wanted the layout of the penthouse. . .they. . .”

  “Don’t stop there.” Louis pulled out his knife. “What else did they ask for?”

  “I-I was…”

  “Protecting your wife and kids,” I finished for him. “What else did they want?”

  “They wanted your schedule. Then tonight, they said my last thing was to make sure Rafael takes the phone downstairs to Jean-Pierre. I jammed the cellphone tower near here…”

  We glared at him.

  “P-please…”

  “What did the guys look like?” I asked.

  Ju moved his hands in front of his head as if trying to draw a monster. “The main guy. He…he didn’t have a face.”

  What?

  I thought back to earlier tonight, when I held my cousin’s shaking body.

  Giorgio’s bottom lip had quivered as he whispered, “Devil.”

  “What?” I’d asked.

  “The Devil. He had no face under the mask.”

  Fear gripped at my heart. My gut twisted with anxiety.

  Please no.

  I clenched my jaw.

  Ju continued, “He wore t-this clear mask over his f-face, but once he took it off and…”