by Via Mari
Sal’s eyes grow dark and intense, because it’s Ryker’s job to know exactly what he’s pushing, which he didn’t, but Sal doesn’t antagonize the man, just lets him think about what he just said.
It doesn’t take him long to catch up. “When we accept the shipment, it’s tested at the time, and then again when we accept it on this side of the ocean, granted randomly, but enough that this couldn’t have just slipped by. Only my top men are entrusted with this job, and they pay certain people, which means I have a much bigger problem on my hands. I’ll look into it, and the Desert Riders will be instructed to turn back, unless of course you want some extra help. My understanding is that Dominic wants your woman,” Ryker says, gesturing to me.
My jaw tightens, and I’m not near as diplomatic as Sal has been through the course of the negotiations. “You accepted a job to kidnap my wife?” I ask, because if he and his crew signed on to take Serena to Dominic’s men, he will be a dead man before he’s had time to walk out of this goddamn building.
“No sir, Mr. Larussio. Our job was to move product, but we understand a rival gang from California is riding in to make trouble on the Strip and capture your wife. We were heading into town ready to deliver product, no doubt about that, but we didn’t learn about Dominic’s plan until just shortly ago. Like I said, if your teams need help, I’ll offer my crew’s assistance,” Ryker says.
Capone doesn’t look pleased with the idea of playing nice with the Desert Riders, and he’s glaring at Ryker with pure disdain, but he knows where his orders are coming from and remains quiet as Sal and I silently consider the options.
Sal looks to me to see if I want to take lead, but I shake my head, urging him to continue. He has a good head on his shoulders for this work, just like our great-uncle, and in more ways than one I wish he had been the older of the cousins and were next in line for don of the Family.
Sal starts to speak just as I glance down at an incoming text from Jay. I cut Sal off with trembling hands and a tightened chest. “Serena and Sasha have both been taken. I think we’re going to need your help, gentlemen,” I say to both of the motorcycle gang presidents and their leaders.
Jay
A text comes through from Nate just as an alert comes through my phone that the HVAC system has been compromised in the penthouse tower, where he and the others are guarding the ladies.
gassed
Son of a bitch! I alert our intel to turn on the cameras in the penthouse and get our other teams into the systems double time. In less than three minutes I have eyes on the entire penthouse, and I and all of our team grab our protective gear and double time it across the resort to storm the room.
he ladies are seated around the table, and their heads are lying on the table. I don’t know if they’re dead or alive, and I only count three: Kate, Jenny and Marenah. My chest tightens at the realization that both Serena and Sasha are missing.
I instruct intel to make a sweep of the entire condo while I check the pulse on Kate and Marenah, call for an ambulance, and help our team carry the ladies out of the gas-filled condo while we wait for reinforcements to arrive.
Antonio and Nate are both passed out on the floor, one gripping a cell and one with his cell out and right in front of him on the floor, along with the others. The men drag them out to the hall.
I still don’t see the other women, the one my team and I have been hired to protect, and the one that means the world to me.
I instruct intel to do a walk-through of every single hall and escapeway while I send a message to Gio and Chase, letting them know that Serena and Sasha were taken and that the other ladies were left unconscious but not hurt. Then I connect with Giovanni, who is in the middle of negotiations with the president of the Desert Riders.
“Where the fuck are they?” Giovanni roars, and I feel the same intense fear that I know he’s going through knowing that some deranged psycho has our women, but we don’t have the luxury of time or explanation if we’re going to get them back.
We have no time, that will come later. “Put me on speakerphone and include the presidents,” I growl, and Giovanni does as I ask without hesitation. “I need all exits and entrance points to the city blocked. No one gets in or out right now, shut this fucking city down,” I roar, knowing goddamn well that Sal and his cousins will have already started sending out instruction to the teams they have on standby throughout the city.
Ryker is the first to speak, and I don’t need a confirmation from Capone, who I know is already passing the instruction to his crews as we speak. “I’m sending the order out now,” Ryker says.
“Roger that! Next, the airport and every helipad in this town. I need a mass infiltration, a huge diversion. Set those goddamn runways on fire if you have to, but no one gets in the air!”
“Ryker and I will cover that together,” Capone says, letting me know that he and his men are willing to work side by side with the Desert Riders.
“Next—Sal, I have no quick jurisdiction in the prison systems. If you do, I wouldn’t wait for Vicenti to take Mancini out, I’d get to the fucker right the hell now and use every means necessary to find out where our women are.”
“I’ve got that shit covered. He’ll be taken in less than five minutes, and you can bet your ass he’ll fucking talk,” Ryker says, and if he hadn’t already earned my respect with the way he handled the product situation and the meeting about it, he certainly has now.
“Roger that, just keep him alive! Everyone stay at the warehouse, give directions from there, and keep the family safeguarded,” I say to the motorcycle leaders and my own team. “I need to disconnect and handle intel. We will get the ladies back,” I say, disconnecting before Gio or his wild-ass cousin have a chance to intervene.
In less than three minutes, the cycles can all be heard howling through the city. All exits, main thoroughfares, and even side streets are filled with riders. I get the message that all the helicopter pads are covered, a gang war has erupted at the airport, the runways are on fire, and all flights have been grounded. They’ll think we think they’re trying to head out of town, but I know better.
The motherfucker we caught on camera and just ran facial recognition on is none other than one of Gio and Salvatore’s oldest cousin’s best friends. The only way the cousin stayed off our radar was to have someone else do his dirty work, but it’s over now. The trackers the ladies wear allow me and my men to follow them right through the HVAC system and toward the other end of the resort.
As soon as our men get the tracer on, we have the entire tower surrounded, and before they even come out of the system that winds its way through the complex, we have the door surrounded. Two men walk out holding Serena and Sasha’s listless forms in their arms, meaning to head directly into the condo to the right. The very same unit that was reserved with a credit card that led right back to Giovanni and Salvatore’s cousin’s best friend, one of the fuckers standing in front of me holding my angel in his arms.
The Larussios have just lost the right to kill these fuckers themselves, and with two quick shots to their heads, they fall to the floor. Cole catches Serena before she falls, knowing she’s with child, while I catch Sasha. The other men are surrounding us, and I order a sweep of the entire HVAC system.
“Tell me Serena’s alive,” I say to Cole, feeling Sasha’s faint but rhythmic pulse under my thumb as I stroke her neck.
“She’s alive, just sleeping like a baby,” he says, and my heart finally seems to start beating again.
I slide down to the floor and just hold Sasha in my arms, and Cole checks Serena for any other injuries while I get Giovanni on the line. “We’ve got the ladies. They’re still out cold, but they’re breathing and haven’t been harmed. We’re on the way to the urgent care facility on-site. If you want your doctor to examine Serena, we’ll be there in less than ten minutes, otherwise I can call someone else in,” I say.
�
�No, her doctor is on call this entire week because she’s here. Take her down and we’ll meet you there, but the entire city is a nightmare. It will take us a while to get to the other side of the city in this mess,” Giovanni says.
“I know boss, I know. Have Ryker bring you in, all the trafficways are congested. He’ll get you here the quickest,” I say, and smile broadly because our ladies are safe and the thought of Giovanni Larussio on the back of a motorcycle gang bike is something that I would pay a great deal of money to see.
Gio
“Jay said your crew should get us to the resort,” I say, looking at Ryker, and Capone looks shocked that our security team would want me to ride back with the Desert Rider president and not himself.
“You have something to say?” Sal asks him.
“No, we have every exit blocked, but the main streets are a nightmare, and the Riders actually know Vegas like the back of their hands. You’re safe with them,” Capone says.
Ryker’s cell phone buzzes and he glances down at an incoming message. “We’ve got Dominic and he’s starting to talk. Let’s get you to the resort and reunited with your woman, and we can talk about what comes next once we’re there,” Ryker says, walking toward the back and returning with two helmets. He throws one to both Sal and myself. “One rides with me; one rides with Capone. We go in united,” Ryker says, and our own president looks at him with newfound respect and nods his head in agreement.
Sal looks to me with a big grin. He’s enjoying this shit just a little too much. I narrow my eyes at him as we’re escorted out the door and both hop onto the back of the huge Harleys and they roar to life. The bosses of both crews lead the way, and both presidents follow them with us on the back. There is a wall of stalled traffic—cars, buses, and tourist vans, along with a sea of bikers—congesting the streets of downtown Las Vegas, but the men weave easily in between vehicles to continue our way forward.
Ryker’s crew heads down back roads that lead to more back roads, avoiding the main thoroughfares, and pull up to the back of The Larussio emergency ambulance entrance that is right around the corner from the urgent center at the resort.
I get off the bike and shake hands with Ryker. “I owe you a debt of gratitude. Hang around the city, we have much to discuss,” I say, before racing into the entrance with Sal on my heels and making our way down the long hall and into the medical facility.
There is a receptionist on duty, but I don’t even stop, leaving Sal to deal with formalities as I burst through the doors that I know she’s behind. Jay is on the other side of the room, hovering over Sasha, who is lying on one of the hospital beds.
Serena’s own physician, Dr. Palento, has already arrived and is taking her vitals while Cole stands next to her with his hand on her pulse. I nod to him, and he moves aside. I place my own finger on her pulse with one hand and just shake his with the other because speaking at this moment is not something that I can do.
Her physician glances up at me. “Your head of security alerted us to the fact that Mrs. Larussio is with child, in case we needed special services. She and the baby are fine,” she says just as Salvatore bursts through the door and stalks over to us.
“How is she?” he asks gruffly, taking in Serena’s pallor and body’s stillness.
“She and the baby are fine,” I say, taking in the slow expanse of his chest and the quiet exhale of his breath. As tough on the exterior as Salvatore is, family means everything to him.
“You can’t just burst in here like that. You could cause either of the ladies to scare as they come into consciousness, and we need to keep Serena calm. She’s with child,” Dr. Palento says, turning from us and putting her stethoscope to Serena’s chest. She finishes her exam, and Sal’s still standing next to me. “Serena will be waking up shortly. Anyone that’s not family should vacate the room so she’s not overwhelmed when she wakens. I don’t want her blood pressure any higher than it is,” she says, glancing pointedly at Sal.
Salvatore glares at her. “I’m family and the godfather to their child,” he says, and I raise my eyebrows since we haven’t even talked about that yet.
“I guess you can stay, but take care not to scare her,” Dr. Palento says, bustling around the table and then heading to the other side of the room to talk to Jay about Sasha.
“Whoa, is she intense,” Sal says, scowling, still taking in the physician as she marches across the room, intent on caring for both of her patients.
I hadn’t really noticed, but before I can say a word, Serena’s head moves from side to side and she takes a large gulp of air. “Gio, they’re here…”
Son of a bitch, the first thing she recalls is the horror of them overtaking her. The bastards will pay for the fear they’ve caused my dark-haired beauty. “I want that son of a bitch dead now,” I growl, low enough that only Sal can hear my wrath.
He nods, and I know it will be done as he walks over to where Jay and Serena’s physician are talking, leaving me alone with Serena as her eyes slowly begin to open. Her entire body jerks as she comes awake, and I place my finger back on her pulse, already knowing it’s beating faster than it should. I stroke her lips with my other finger. “Serena, it’s me, Giovanni. It’s over, Tesoro, you and the baby are fine,” I say, continuing to stroke her neck right over her pulse, hoping to calm her as she fully wakens and realizes what happened.
Her eyes open wider and she takes me in, and then her eyes fill with tears as she remembers. “The baby, our baby is okay?”
“Shh, Tesoro, our little one is perfectly fine. You, on the other hand, need to calm down. Your pulse is racing too fast, Serena.”
She nods, coming to even more. “Dammit, we were just having girl time, in our own house. Is this why you make me wear a tracker?” she asks, and I wish it weren’t so, but I can’t deny it. All I can do is pull her to my chest as the tears begin to fall and she sobs against me.
Her physician turns, noticing, says a few more words to Jay, and then walks back toward us. “She’s distraught, why?” she asks.
“Well, clearly because some lunatic has just kidnapped her,” Sal says, joining our group.
She glares at him and tosses her long blonde ponytail before pushing up the sleeves of the white Henley she’s wearing underneath the red Larussio scrubs. She adjusts the remote and raises Serena into a sitting position, and is checking Serena’s pulse and listening to her chest when Antonio and Nate burst in, both looking hazy and drugged, their eyes darting back and forth, taking in the bodies of Serena and Sasha.
Nate heads toward Jay and Sasha, and Antonio heads toward us and shakes his head as he looks down at her tear-stricken face. “I am so goddamn sorry. We never realized the gas was filling the room until it was too late,” Antonio says.
“It’s not your fault, it doesn’t even matter, because time and time again they will come for us and time and time again the Family will outsmart them. The Larussios will always win,” Serena says, taking me completely by surprise as her petite blonde physician glares up at both me and Sal.
An hour later, the ladies are cleared to leave the urgent care center. They are both anxious to go home and check on their friends, who are safely with their men, and Serena’s blood pressure has finally returned to normal. Sasha sits nuzzling into Jay’s shoulder as he holds her close and continues to text out orders to handle loose ends. The ladies are both placed in wheelchairs, and Jay and I push them out of the medical unit and down the hall, surrounded by a wall of our security, Sal, and our cousins who have joined us.
Sal looks to Jay, and I don’t have to be a mind reader to know what Sal’s thinking because the very same thing is going through my mind right now. Who in the Family can we trust, cousin after cousin? We thought we had them all, but are there more?
Jay sees us looking and understands our concern. He slows his walk and I slow mine to match his. “I can assure you, we have no more issues with the Fa
mily, we’ve made certain of that, Giovanni. We’ll talk,” Jay says, picking back up the pace when Sasha turns from her chair to look at him.
When we reach The Larussio tower, Jay swipes his fingerprint over the private elevator’s electronic security plate and the elevator doors close. It stops at the floor right below the penthouse suite, and Serena leans over and hugs Sasha. “We’ll talk tomorrow. I’m so glad you are okay,” she says, and Sasha hugs her back hard.
“Take care of her,” I say to Jay as he wheels Sasha out of the elevator and into their suite. The elevator rises to our penthouse, which has now been completely aired and cleared of all the toxins.
I lift Serena from the wheelchair, carry her to our bedroom, and settle her into bed. “I’m so damn sorry this happened. Will you ever be able to get past it?”
She grasps my face, one hand on each of my cheeks, and pulls me closer. “I’ve always loved your dominance, but when I first learned that you had a tracker on me, I absolutely deplored the notion. After today, I wouldn’t have it any other way. You saved my life and the life of our child, Giovanni, because of the control you and the Family wield. I love you so much, Giovanni,” Serena says.
Epilogue
(4 weeks later)
The Larussio Resort and chapel is all that I could have ever imagined it to be, a vision created in accordance with Carlos Larussio’s dream. Always a staunch Catholic, but one even more devout after his brush with death, he wanted the vacationing public to have a place to worship. It was his daughter, though, Katarina Meilers-Larussio-Prestian, who took his vision to a higher level and created not only a place of routine worship, but six different chapels where themed wedding events could be held in accordance to a couple’s wildest dreams or fantasies.
