“Yeah, let’s go.”
They made their way up the carpeted spiral staircase and across a lavish corridor. It was a clean and modern house, but there was an eerie feeling of tension in the air, which was irritating Ivan, making him feel tetchy. As they approached the door to Langdon’s office they heard raised voices from within – someone was making demands; someone else was trying to wriggle out of them.
“Sounds like that limo owner’s not too happy,” Ivan said. “I don’t want trouble – I just need Samira’s passport.”
“Let’s go in and hand over the coke,” Jake said. “I can take care of things if it gets too intense.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Jake drew back his shirt and flashed his gun.
“Holy shit, Jake, what did you bring that for?”
“I know what sort of person Langdon is, Ivan. He’s a killer – and he’s in trouble. He’ll lash out at whoever he can.”
Ivan sighed. “Alright, well try not to shoot anyone.”
Ivan kicked the door open and they both strolled in with the suitcase.
****
Samira had to admit Joseph looked pretty sexy flying this plane with his pilot’s headset casually slung over one ear. He was still wearing his trademark shades and leathers, and she knew most of the female population of the music-loving world would be envious of her right now. But she was more than happy with his eldest brother. The three-hour journey here had been a great opportunity to get to know him better, and one thing was for certain, he adored Eleanor.
“We’re just approaching the airfield now,” Joseph said – pausing from talking about Ellie for a moment. “Should be landing in a minute, then we can take a taxi to the ranch and hopefully save the day.”
Samira chuckled. She loved Joseph’s levity and optimism. “So you were just about to tell me how you and Ellie met.”
“Oh yeah.” His face lit up as it did whenever he spoke about his fiancée. “She was trying to get an exclusive on me. And it worked.”
“She seems really nice.”
“She’s one in a million – so supportive of my music. And I’m totally supportive of her work too, of course.” He smiled, then opened his mouth to continue singing her praises, but something on the navigation console bleeped like an ear-splitting alarm.
Joseph stared at it. “Uh oh…”
Samira’s body tensed. “What do you mean ‘uh oh’?”
The plane suddenly juddered, then swerved downwards.
“Shit!” Joseph shouted, as he struggled to stay in control.
“What’s wrong?”
“We’re falling…”
“No shit!”
The engine clunked again, and Samira realized they were falling fast.
“I thought you knew how to land this thing!” she shouted above the racket of the squealing engine.
He tried to remain calm. “There’s something wrong with the landing gear. I’m gonna make an emergency landing. That field down there should do… hold on!”
Samira could see he was working hard to stop them from crashing, but as the plane landed, it bumped along at an immense speed, hurtling past startled cows and through hay bales. Samira gripped the seat tight, praying she wasn’t about to die – but she was being shaken wildly by the impact of the wheels on the ground… They ripped through a fence and eventually slowed to a halt near the staff cottages.
Staff cottages… they were on the ranch!
She breathed, trying to discern whether the worst of it was over. Even though she was completely stunned, her thoughts turned to where Ivan and Jake could be right now. She hoped they’d be safe…
****
Langdon was sitting behind his desk flanked by the two biggest Mexicans Ivan had ever seen – they looked as if they could easily snap Langdon’s wiry body apart. One of the Mexicans was holding an ivory-handled knife over Langdon’s hand – which the other guy was pressing against the expensive desk. Ivan realized with dread that he and Jake had just interrupted at the point where Langdon’s fingers were about to come off, one by one.
“Welcome to the party, gentleman,” a voice opposite Langdon said. “I didn’t know we were expecting anyone else.”
Ivan turned and saw a middle-aged well-bred man dressed in a stylish suit, with cowboy boots, and a smart ponytail. His face was pockmarked from too many fights in his youth, and he spoke with a heavy accent that Ivan couldn’t quite place – but he had a bad feeling it was possibly Columbian. Or Sicilian.
He’d obviously come to find out where his cocaine was. But actually, this could work out perfectly – Ivan decided they could simply hand it over in exchange for Samira’s passport and get the hell out of here.
Ivan drew on his inner-alpha. “Lost something, Langdon?” he asked.
“Where is it?” Langdon hissed, trying not to show his fear.
“Right here.” Ivan held up the suitcase.
“Then you’d better give it to Mr. Andreas. He’s not to be messed with.”
“I will. But I want Samira’s passport.”
Langdon chuckled sinisterly. “Is that all?”
“That’s all.”
Langdon moved toward his desk drawer, but Mr. Andreas held up his hand. “I told you not to move a fucking muscle, Langdon.”
One of the burly Mexicans squeezed Langdon’s fingers. “Ow! He’s got your fucking coke… I told you – these idiots got involved by mistake.”
“And what’s this passport you want?” Mr. Andreas asked Ivan coolly.
“It’s my wife’s,” Ivan said, relishing calling her that. “And I’m not giving you this suitcase without it.”
Mr. Andreas chuckled. “Big talk. You know we’re all heavily armed and could just shoot you, I assume?”
Ivan shrugged, refusing to be intimidated. He was sure he could get away with this. One passport for one suitcase…
Mr. Andreas nodded, then he turned back to Langdon. “Give him the passport.”
Langdon started to move toward the drawer.
“Not you,” Andreas said. “You could have anything in there. Juan, you get it.”
Juan grunted and opened the drawer. He pulled out a few pieces of paper and some documents, then he grabbed the passport and leaned over the desk to hand it to Mr. Andreas, who opened it.
“Iranian, hm? Oh, she’s pretty. Samira… very nice.”
“Give it to me,” Ivan said, keeping his nerve.
“Not so fast,” Andreas said. “How do I know I can trust you? Open that suitcase, then you get the passport.”
“Sure.” Ivan set the suitcase down on the wooden floor and unzipped it. He flung open the lid… and the world shifted nastily around him as he was confronted with yellowing family photos, postcards, and some old lingerie. He reached down in a trance and picked a well-worn garter belt. “Oh shit…”
“Not quite the idiots you were expecting, Langdon,” Andreas said impassively. “More like double-crossing motherfuckers if you ask me.”
Still crouching in front of the suitcase, Ivan frantically tried to think of how to get out of this alive. He glanced up at Jake who was staring at Andreas, seething.
As Langdon started trying to back-peddle to Andreas, Ivan signaled to Jake, then toward the door – hoping they could both make a run for it. But Jake continued glaring at Andreas as if he hated him to hell and back.
“Jake,” Ivan said through gritted teeth. “What’s wrong?”
Jake spoke loudly, silencing the others who were arguing. He didn’t take his eyes off Andreas. “You’re the asshole who shot me. I’d hoped we might meet again – but I thought it would be in hell...”
Andreas laughed. “I don’t remember you, sorry. I shoot a lot of people.”
“I was a cop. You ruined my life.”
He cracked his knuckles. “Good. I hate cops.” He reached inside his jacket. “But you’re still alive, so I obviously didn’t ruin your life quite as well as I should’ve. Allow me to finish wha
t I started. No one screws me over – accidentally or otherwise.”
He pulled out his gun and aimed it at Jake. Ivan frantically glanced around for a way to save his brother, but suddenly everyone’s attention was seized by the boom of roaring engines outside – thundering through the room in a deafening blast.
“What the hell’s that?” Langdon asked.
“Sounded like a fucking plane,” Andreas said, pointing his gun at Jake, but looking out the window.
Jake took the opportunity to pull his own gun. “Drop it, asshole. I’m not a cop anymore and I’d gladly kill you for what you did to me.”
“Don’t be an idiot,” Andreas said. “Now where was I? Oh yeah, about to kill you.”
Andreas stood and fired, but Ivan grabbed Jake’s arm and pulled him toward the door – saving him from the bullet. Jake turned back and fired, getting Andreas in the hip – which was poetic revenge for what he’d done to Jake last time they’d met. Andreas flew backward with the impact and shot the ceiling fan, so – while he was incapacitated – Langdon grabbed Andreas’s gun, as the two heavies looked confused now their boss was flailing in pain on the ground.
“Get after them!” Andreas shouted as Ivan and Jake darted into the hallway.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Ivan asked, as they pelted toward the stairs.
“I got him in the hip – now we’re even.”
“Don’t shoot anyone else.”
Ivan pulled his brother down the stairs, leaving behind the chaotic shouts from the Mexicans, Langdon, and the wounded Andreas in the office. They took the steps two at a time and reached the front door as the others chased them. Ivan ripped open the door, pushed Jake out in front of him, and darted into the sunshine – slamming the door behind him as one of the Mexicans fired off a few rounds – shooting the door and – thankfully – missing him and Jake.
“Where to?” Jake shouted. “Driveway’s too exposed.”
Ivan glanced around. Jake was right – if they started running down the driveway now, they’d be picked off easily by Andreas’s men. And they still didn’t have Samira’s passport…
“This way,” Ivan said, already running toward the back of the house. “We can cut through the woods and scale the fence at the far end of his property.”
Jake ran beside him. “Flag down a car when we reach the road?”
“Yeah… hopefully.”
Running as fast as he could, Ivan opened his mouth to tell Jake they should meet at the airfield if they got split up, but he closed it again as he heard bullets showering behind them. Ivan’s heart thumped hard as his lungs gasped for air – which felt as if glass shards were stabbing them with every step.
“Shit!” he shouted. “They’re gaining on us.”
“Keep going,” Jake said.
“I’m good in a fight, but not against a goddamn gun.”
“Maybe you should’ve let me shoot them all then.”
“Oh sure,” Ivan said, panting as another bullet flew past his shoulder. “You could’ve taken out all four of them, huh? We would’ve been dead in that room if I hadn’t pulled you out.”
“So I owe you my life,” Jake shouted. “But it won’t be worth much if we don’t get the fuck out of here.”
Ivan pushed Jake toward the wooded area, making him stumble, but he recovered and they ran onward into the forest with the Mexicans hot in pursuit. Ivan prayed they could shake them off in here, but then – through a gap in the trees – he caught sight of the plane that had just crashed. It wasn’t too badly damaged…
“This way,” Ivan shouted. “We’ll be able to lock ourselves inside and radio for help. Or maybe we can even fly outta here.”
Jake gasped for breath as they ran. “You know how to fly a plane?”
“No idea. But it can’t be that hard, huh?”
“Sure, sure. Tell it to the goddamn pilot who just crashed that one.”
Ivan could hear the Mexicans shouting in their own language as they continued to chase them. Langdon was with them too – Ivan could hear his voice. They’d stopped shooting now – because the trees were blocking their aim – but Ivan knew as soon as he and Jake ran out into the field, they’d start again.
“Come on,” Ivan said, as they reached the edge of the trees. “Ready to sprint? Give it all you got – one last push, right.”
Jake nodded and dashed out into the open field toward the plane. Ivan ran fast too, and – as predicted – the bullets started up, but thank god neither of them got hit as they fled behind the plane, taking shelter there.
“Now we just need to get round to the other side and open the door without getting killed,” Ivan said. “After that… we’re plain sailing.”
****
Samira breathed hard and tried to get a grip, feeling ecstatic just to be alive and back on steady ground. “You okay, Joseph? I think you saved us!”
She turned to face him and her heart sank. He was bent over the controls, unmoving. He looked dead… Oh god…
“Joseph!” She reached out and shook him. He groaned. She could see that his forehead was bleeding where he’d hit it hard against the console. But at least he was alive.
She scrambled up out of her seat – driven by a desire to get off this stupid plane to find help – so she grabbed the suitcase, and slowly opened the silent plane door, letting in the gloomy air.
The scene before her made her blood freeze with fear. Ivan and Jake were there, with two heavy-set gangster types she didn’t recognize, seemingly ready to fight. It looked as if the two guys had chased Ivan and Jake here. This must be something to do with Langdon and her passport…
The gangsters were both holding guns, and pointing them directly at Ivan and Jake.
She held her breath as Ivan raised his hands and started to walk toward one of the gangsters. “Listen,” Ivan said. “Before you shoot me, there’s something you really need to know.”
The gangster stared at Ivan with cautious interest as he continued to walk slowly towards him. “It’s about the drugs,” Ivan said. “I can help you get really, really rich…”
The gangster opened his mouth to reply as Ivan halted, but he didn’t get the chance to speak, because – in one swift movement – Ivan kicked the gun away from the now-shocked gangster and kneed him in the nuts, causing him to crumple to the grass in a heap. One down…
While ‘gangster two’ was distracted by his friend’s groans of pain, Jake launched himself and punched him in the face – grabbing the wrist of his gun-holding hand, and squeezing until he dropped his weapon. Ivan kicked the incapacitated ‘gangster one’ in the face – making sure he was definitely out – then he darted over to help Jake – punching ‘gangster two’ into unconsciousness, while Jake kicked his gun away.
“That was easy,” Ivan said, surveying the knocked-out gangsters.
“You’re not bad in a fight,” Jake said.
Ivan shrugged. “I guess we make a pretty good team.”
“I guess we do.”
Samira cheered with relief and pushed down the retractable steps so she could get off the plane. “Oh my god,” she said. “I can’t believe we crash-landed right in the middle of this!”
Jake and Ivan looked up and saw her for the first time.
“Samira, what the fuck are you doing here?” Ivan asked.
She strolled down the wobbly steps to the grass and held up the suitcase. “I tried to call you but I couldn’t get through. Joseph flew me here. You’ve got the wrong case.”
“We know,” Jake said. “We found out the hard way.”
Samira opened her mouth to reply, but she suddenly realized there was someone missing. She gazed down at the suitcase in her hands, and–
“Samira, look out!” Ivan shouted.
But it was too late. Langdon pounced and pulled her against himself, holding a gun to her head.
“Thanks for bringing a plane and the coke, Samira,” he said, gripping her tight. “Looks like I can still use you after all. Your
pilot can take us to Mexico and we can sell that cocaine. And who knows, perhaps I’ll even get a good price for you.”
She struggled against him. “Fuck you!”
“Hmm… And now that I know people care about you, I can charge a good ransom for your release. I’m sure they’ll do all they can to get you back!”
There was a loud crash inside the plane, and Samira glanced up to see that Joseph had tried to climb out, but he’d fallen over in the doorway from where he was still concussed.
Langdon tightened his grip on Samira, pushing the gun barrel into her temple. “Is that Joseph Quinlan? Jesus, Samira, you’re better connected than I realized.”
“Let her go, Langdon,” Ivan growled. “If you hurt her, I’ll fucking kill you.”
Samira saw one of the concussed gangsters twitching behind Ivan… the other gangster was still out cold. But now where had Jake gone?
Langdon opened his mouth to reply to Ivan, but there was a loud bang and he suddenly let go of Samira. She realized he’d been shot in the shoulder, and she saw Jake standing at the side of the plane, holding the smoking gun.
“He said leave her alone, motherfucker,” Jake shouted. “And he means it.”
Langdon pushed Samira out the way, raised his own gun, then – without hesitation – he shot Jake in the chest.
“No!” Samira shouted, as Jake flew to the ground, where he remained unmoving.
“You killed my brother, you asshole!” Ivan shouted.
Langdon was clearly in agony from the gunshot wound in his shoulder – he spoke through gritted teeth. “Your brother? Jake’s your brother?”
“Yeah. Funny who you bump into when you’ve got a psychopathic murderer in your life, isn’t it?”
Despite his heavily bleeding shoulder, Langdon directed the gun toward Ivan. “Well, now it’s your turn to join him.”
“Stop it!” Samira shouted, feeling all hope drain from her body. “Don’t kill him, please!”
Langdon’s finger twitched on the trigger, but Jake suddenly leapt up and shot Langdon again – this time incapacitating him. Samira grabbed his gun as he fell to the ground – writhing in agony from two bullets.
The Billionaire's Heir: Billionaire Obsession (Tycoon Billionaires Book 4) Page 16
