Sure, it was a man who was terrible, but still, she’d killed him, and she doubted she’d not do it again if placed in the same situation.
Mia took a deep breath and glanced over at Tycho. Yes, she’d do it again in a heartbeat to save him. When she’d seen the men struggling and Dmitry’s red eyes, she knew she had to do something. She still didn’t understand what had happened to the mob boss, but it didn’t matter, as much as the truth that she would kill Dmitry for Tycho.
More than that. For Tycho, she would kill anyone who threatened his life.
As if he felt her eyes on him, Tycho glanced over to Mia. His large fingers threaded through her own, and some of the tension melted away at the contact.
“It will be okay,” he whispered. “Everything will be fine now.”
Mia nodded. She knew they would make it to her sister in time. The hybrids had come in force. She hadn’t trusted them, but they’d helped save Mia and Tycho.
“Okay, listen up,” Maximus shouted. “We don’t have much time before police swarm this place. Our next objective is to locate and rescue the remaining Vestals. As with this operation, lethal force is authorized, and the main target has still not been neutralized.”
Mia frowned and pointed to the covered corpse in the corner. “Main target? But that’s Dmitry over there.”
The large man shook his head. “Dmitry was just a tool. We’re looking for Matthew Lowe.”
She glanced over to Tycho who seemed just as confused judging by his face. “Why is Matt the primary target? I thought he was just someone Dmitry hired.”
Maximus set a tablet on the table and turned it their direction. Mia and Tycho leaned toward the device. From what she could tell, it was a record of a recent deposit to an account controlled by Matt for five million dollars.
The hybrid shook his head. “This guy Matt is a double-crosser. He went to the Russians behind Dmitry’s back. They already knew he was done, and they just wanted Matt to collect the useful resources left for them, hybrid and Vestal.”
Mia frowned. “I thought they disapproved of that sort of thing. I thought they were big into family ties and all that, but they’d pay some outsider to steal from one of their own men?”
Maximus shrugged. “Maybe the Russian Mafia, but the Russian government doesn’t give two shits about family connections, and even if we’ve smoked most of the Horatius Group influence out of the US, but they have ties over there, too. They are looking for the best buy, and apparently what Matt was offering them was worth a whole bunch of money.”
Her mouth dropped open. “Me,” she whispered. “Dmitry wanted to make us both hybrids. That must have been what he was ranting about. Matt was going to wait until we both turned and then sell us off.”
She glanced back over to the blood-soaked cloth again. There was a small part of her that felt a little bad for him. For all his arrogance and bravado, Dmitry had been played and lost in the end. It actually might have been worth it to see his face when Matt double-crossed him, the big man not just being betrayed but sold off just like he’d intended for Tycho.
Tycho snorted and shook his head.
Maximus nodded. “There’s supposed to be a shipment getting picked up based off a transmission we intercepted earlier. That’s what those numbers were you sent us. Frequencies matched with times. We don’t have much time if we want any hope of saving the Vestals. If they get them to Russia, they might stick them somewhere we can never find them.”
Maximus opened a map on the tablet as the other hybrids leaned in around it. “We know it must be near here.” He circled one section of the screen.
Her heart sank. It was too large an area for them to canvas themselves. At least, not in the time they had to do it.
He looked between Mia and Tycho. “Do either of you have any knowledge about where the women are being held?”
Tycho shook his head. “I was never taken there.”
Mia cleared her throat. All eyes turned to her.
“My sister,” she stuttered. “I went to see her there, but I don’t know where it is. They blindfolded me.”
Maximus grunted. “Any clue you can give us might help narrow down the search area.”
In her mind, she tried to remap the turns and timing of the turns. She found the position on the map and followed her finger along where she thought they had driven, sending a silent prayer that she was remembering correctly. Her sister’s freedom depended on it.
Mia nibbled her lips as she moved her finger along and stopped, her eyes widening.
She remembered a sweet smell. That was where they had turned. “The bakery.” Her finger continued to move along until she found the railroad tracks she believed were responsible for the bump in the car. She sighed. “Here. I can’t do better than that.”
There were three warehouses at the end of that road, but it had to be one of them.
“Works for me.” Maximus looked up from the map. “All right. We’ll move in ten minutes. Get the clean-up ready.”
Tycho frowned as she looked at him, his hand now laced with hers once again. “Clean-up?”
Maximus ushered them both out the back door as the men set to work dumping a pungent liquid all over the place.
He nodded. “We can’t leave any traces. No more chances for scientists to get any ideas. In the end, this will all look like a turf war between criminal gangs.” He glanced back over his shoulder as they stepped toward and into a waiting black SUV waiting there. “Or, at least, it will look that way to forensics when they get here. Now, let’s roll before the locals get involved.”
Mia watched as the men made their way out of the place. Smoke already poured out the front door, and the flicker of light from the blaze inside cut through the night. Another man climbed into the front seat and handed her yellow purse.
“Thought you might want this.”
Mia glanced down at her now red-stained white dress. Just looking at it made her ill. Not caring just who was watching, she slipped on her jeans under the dress. She tore the horrid fabric from her body and slipped her warm sweater over it.
The offending dress lay on the floor now. More than anything, she wanted to watch it go up in flames like Dmitry’s gilded cage for her. Maybe later she’d have her own fire just for the dress, after she had her sister back, and they were all safe.
Chapter Seventeen
Mia frowned at Tycho as they bumped along the road on their way to the warehouse. They had gone over it several times, and she wasn’t thrilled with the idea of waiting in the car while the hybrids went in to free her sister. She’d made it clear that she’d not come this far to not be there at the end, but he needed to convince her.
“You know I can use a gun,” Mia said. “I’m not afraid to shoot someone.”
Tycho shook his head and turned to look at her. “It’s not that.” He sighed.
The frown on her face only grew. “You think I’m a liability?”
Tycho reached over and pulled her hard against his chest. “That’s not it at all. You don’t understand.”
“Then make me understand.” Mia looked up from where she was pressed against him. He knew she wanted more than anything to rush in and save her sister. They had been talking about it for ages now, but she also didn’t seem to realize just how close to death she’d come. An out of control Dmitry could have easily killed her.
“I can’t lose you,” Tycho murmured. “The only thing that kept me going was the thought of returning to you. If anything happened to you, I don’t know what I’d do.”
The woman in his arms relaxed slightly and leaned into his embrace. She sighed.
“We don’t know what we’re walking into here, and I have to know you’re safe,” Tycho continued. “I thought I’d lost you tonight. That Dmitry had won and I’d never see you again. I can’t do that again. I just can’t. I’m not strong enough.”
A lone tear slid down Mia’s face. Though their feelings had grown over months, they had been tested and put throug
h so much in just one night. He wasn’t sure how much more either of them could take, but he needed to free her sister and the other Vestals, as well as take care of Matt for good. He owed the son of a bitch for his part in all of this.
There was also no telling just what the Russian government was up to trying to collect all those Vestals, but he knew it wasn’t going to be good. If remnants of the Horatius Group were helping them, they could cook up something very nasty.
“We’re here,” Maximus called from the front.
They pulled into the lot. The scents of Vestals hung thick in the air. They wouldn’t have any trouble locating the right warehouse.
Maximus pointed to the warehouse in front. “That one. No question.” He pulled out the radio he had in the front. “Full loadout. No grenades. We don’t know who’s waiting inside, and I want to make sure there’s nothing we can’t handle, but this is a rescue mission, and I don’t want to risk collateral damage from explosives. We go in five.”
Several men signaled their understanding over the radio.
Maximus then turned to Tycho in the back. “You coming, or you sitting this one out?”
“No way in hell I’m sitting this one out..” Tycho nodded as they stepped out of the car. He turned back to Mia who had shifted away from him slightly.
“Come back to me,” she whispered. “Promise.”
“I will.” Tycho pulled her in and pressed his mouth to hers in a brutal kiss. When he pulled back, he could see the tears in her eyes. “I’ll be back with Mya. Trust me.”
Mia nodded. “Always. I’ll always trust you.”
Tycho nodded and opened the door. Outside, Maximus and his men lingered, their rifles already ready.
Maximus nodded to a hybrid standing next to him. “This is CJ. He’ll keep watch here to make sure she’s safe and take out anyone who comes along.”
Tycho nodded to the younger man and looked around at the crew. These men were professionals. All this time he’d been working with thugs and the occasional rogue hybrid, it was strange to see a team decked out in tactical gear and ready to take charge.
Maximus pulled out a syringe and handed it to him. “Inject that.”
Tycho frowned and bit back a growl. He’d had quite enough of needles these past few weeks. “What’s this?”
“It will help counter the shit they gave you. If you want to come along, we can’t have dragging ass.” Maximus nodded toward the car. “Or you can stay. Your choice.”
Tycho injected the needle into his arm.
“It will take a bit to work,” Maximus said.
Tycho nodded and stepped over toward the rest of the men.
Maximus cleared his throat. “Okay, ready up. Our primary objectives are to take out Mathew Lowe and to save the captured women. We have an evac transport already in route. We’re on a time crunch. Our estimates are that local police will be here within twenty minutes from the first gunshot. Keep it tight and quiet for as long as we can.”
Tycho nodded. This worked just fine for him. He worked just as well with his hands as he did with a gun.
Maximus gestured toward the warehouse. “Now move out.”
They crept through the darkness. Tycho wondered if the thugs even expected them to be able to find the place. That was if they had made it in time. There was no telling. It really depended on what Matt’s plan had been. Dmitry might have been an arrogant bastard, but Matt was a far slicker little viper.
When they reached the door, Maximus waved for two men to go in first. A hybrid threw open the door. A second rushed inside.
A wide-eyed guard fumbled for his gun. He didn’t even get a chance to shout before the hybrid snapped his neck and let his body thud against the cold tile floor.
Maximus nodded. “Move in. Squads take opposite sides.”
The hybrids stayed tightly packed as they rushed through the dark halls, their hybrid vision making it trivial to see. The Vestal scent clung to their nostrils. The farther in they moved, the more sounds they heard.
“Keep moving,” Maximus said. “We’re almost there.”
They turned a corner, and the halls widened, both squads arriving at the same location from opposite sides. The low red light at their feet cast an eerie glow.
Footfalls and shouts sounded from further down both halls.
The first bullet ricocheted against a nearby wall. A hybrid returned fire, and a thug fell with a scream.
Maximus turned to Tycho and a few of his men. “Go with Tycho. The clock is ticking now. We’ll deal with these assholes.”
Tycho didn’t wait for more orders. He was already moving, the other men close behind him. They might have a well-trained team, but if there was on thing Tycho knew, it was how to knock some heads together.
The end of the hall opened into the main storage floor of the warehouse. The large space was clearly where the loading and unloading was typically done. Soft weeping and cries of mercy sounded from inside. Gunfire echoed from the hallways.
Tycho moved into the room, his eyes scanning for any movement. The woman sat on the other side in metal cages. Many reached through the bars as he moved to the front of the cage.
“Help us, please,” one cried.
Mya sat in the corner, her knees pulled up her chest, exhaustion covering her face.
“I’ll get you out,” Tycho whispered.
“Oh, I doubt that,” came a voice from behind.
Tycho turned around and found Matt staring at him smugly. A few more thugs moved into place.
“Nice face,” Tycho said. “You still look like you lost a fight with a floor.”
The smile on the man’s face fell for a moment. “Where is that bitch? I owe her one.”
The hybrid resisted charging. As much as he wanted to rip Matt’s throat out, he needed to play this smart, especially with a bunch of Vestals right behind them who might get hurt in the crossfire. He needed to set things up so no one got hurt. Well, none of his people got hurt.
Tycho shot a smirk at the other men. “So you tell the men you double-crossed Dmitry? That you intended to sell him out the entire time?”
The thugs standing around Matt turned to stare at the man they had been taking orders from. Clearly, they had also been left out of the loop.
Matt rolled his eyes. “Please, there’s plenty of money to go around. He’s just trying to trick you to save his sorry hybrid ass. Dmitry will be along shortly.”
Tycho snorted. “Not likely. He’s fried to a crisp back at the hideout. They all died, and now they’re fried. It’ll look like a local turf war according to local police.”
The men shifted from foot to foot. He knew these men. They knew how to fire a gun and how to knock in some teeth, but this was well over their heads.
“Listen, you fuck.” Matt pulled out a gun. “That’s enough out of you. The only reason you aren’t on the floor with a bullet is because you’re worth more alive.”
The other hybrids had all spread out along the corners of the room, their guns ready. The thugs pointed their weapons, but the women were still in danger.
Tycho took a step forward. He needed to push them into a better position. Being over near the women wasn’t going to help the team get a good shot.
“Oh, that’s right,” the hybrid said. “Since Mia and Dmitry didn’t follow through with your little experiment, you’ve got to make it up somehow to the Russians. One thing about the Russian government, they don’t have much a sense of humor, and if the Horatius Group’s involved, they are even bigger dicks. Hope selling out Dmitry was worth the risk to your own neck.”
Matt backed up some from the men around him as they eyed him. It was one thing to double-cross someone, but selling out their boss likely wasn’t sitting right with any of them.
A clang from outside the loading door rang loudly through the room. The door slowly rose. Matt kept his eyes focused on the door, excitement in them. He must have thought his ride was there and was hoping for the ultimate payout.
&nbs
p; Tycho wouldn’t let this end with the bastard getting paid, or even the bastard getting away. He raced forward and slammed his body into the rat bastard as the world around him erupted into gunfire, the trained hybrids’ precision aiming downing thug after thug in an instant. Matt fell to the ground with a groan.
The Russians at the back door didn’t even have time to step outside before they were backing up. Their tires screeched as they peeled away from the warehouse.
“No!” Matt screamed.
The gun he had been holding went off. Fire shot through Tycho’s side, and he hissed.
Matt scrambled to his feet and rushed toward a back corner and another door. “No, no, no!”
The world around Tycho began to spin. Although the shot from before had helped, he still wasn’t at one hundred percent, and it wouldn’t be long before Matt escaped entirely.
There was no way the hybrid was letting him go just for Matt to start the whole thing all over again, starting with torturing some other hybrid and capturing some other Vestal.
As he neared the back corner door, Tycho pulled out his gun he and fired two rounds. Matt dropped to the ground with a groan, gasping out his last breath.
Tycho’s hand dropped. The gunfire had stopped, and heavy boots sounded all around him. The sound of a jangling lock being opened and women’s cheers followed.
“Evac is here,” Maximus yelled. Tycho hadn’t even seen him come in. “Load up those women, and I need a medic.”
Tycho tried to look around. The faces all blurred together until finally one face stood out.
“Mia.”
“Shhh,” she whispered through her tears. “You just rest. They will fix you right up.”
Tycho nodded. “Your sister…”
Mia leaned forward and kissed him with her wet face. “She’s safe,” she said. “You saved her.”
Tycho glanced over his shoulder. Mya was walking out of a cage, a hint of a smile on her otherwise haunted face. She looked so much like her sister, even if she had a good five years on her.
He gave a small nod to Mia as the world around him faded away, his last thoughts of Mia as he sank into the darkness.
Tycho Page 9
