Chapter 152

Willa

“Let’s go and see what the others found,” I say, walking past Maxim and heading for the door.

He grabs my wrist to stop me, and I tilt my head back to look up at him.

“We’ll find them, I promise you that. Like I told you, because you're my wife, my family takes this as a direct attack on us. These people won’t go unpunished.” His eyes stay locked on mine for a long moment as if to further show he means every word.

I lift up on my toes and kiss him. “I know.”

He nods, and we walk out of the office. We head down to the next doorway to find Lan on a computer. The room is empty, except for one desk, chair, and computer. It looks like someone set something up quickly and abandoned it when they left. Odd since the equipment doesn’t look cheap, and why not destroy it so that we wouldn’t find it?

“Lan? Did you find something?” I ask, moving to stand behind him.

“They wiped the computer but left one file. It has a basic encryption, which tells me they want it to look like they’re trying to hide something, but make it easy enough for me to break through.” He says.

“Why?” I ask.

“Most likely to mess with me, but more likely that they are simply toying with us.” Lan seems unmoved, but the fact that Luca is messing with him.

Suddenly, the screen fills up with an image. When it starts to move, I realize it's a video. The screen is completely black at first, but then light appears and someone steps into view of the camera. A combination of a gasp and a cry comes from me when I see my brother being held by Luca. I can see the fear in my brother’s eyes.

“Willa. Looks like a little mouse squealed, but don’t worry, he’ll be taken care of real soon.” Luca says with a laugh.

The sound of his voice seems to echo around us, and it doesn’t take long for Sebastian to appear. He rushes over to us and looks at his father on the screen. I can feel the fury rolling off him, but he moves closer to me and wraps an arm around me, pulling me into his side.

“Son, I’ve enjoyed our little games, but it’s time for them to end. If you come to me, I’ll let the girl's family go. If not, then I’ll happily make an example of this little guy.” Luca holds a gun to my brother's head.

My brother cries out, and I cover my mouth before letting out a whimper.

“Let’s end this, son. No need for more death. Come home, and this all can end.” The video cuts out, and my legs buckle when I hear my brother cry out one more time.

Sebastian’s arms tighten around me when I start to cry. My heart tightens in my chest as the image of my brother’s scared face plays over and over again. Please, god, don’t let him be taken away like this. He has so much life to live.

“He told me to come home. He must be at the family house in New York.” Sebastian says.

“There is a location embedded in the video file that correlates with the house. I’ll check flights.” Lan pulls out his phone and gets to work.

“Willa.” Luke’s voice comes before his strong arms pull me away from Sebastian.

He holds me tight to his chest while the others talk behind us.

“We’re going to get them back, baby.” He whispers against my head. “Luca wouldn’t be stupid enough to hurt them. He has to know that it would put a bounty on his head.”

I know he’s right, but until my family is together again, I won’t be able to stop worrying.

“There is a flight leaving in a few hours,” Lan says. “A personal plane would be more ideal, but we don’t have time for that.”

“What about weapons?” Luke asks.

“My family will take care of that. I’ll make sure we have some men meet us at the airport.” Maxim pulls out his phone and steps out of the room.

He’s been keeping his dad updated about what’s been going on, and I know they’ve been working just as hard to find my family, but it's time we all work together. It will also be interesting to meet my new father-in-law, although I wish it were under better circumstances.

Luke reluctantly lets me go when I take a step back from him to catch my breath. I move a few feet away from the guys so I can calm down a bit. I’m worried, but I’m also pissed as hell. I’m sick of Luca manipulating us. I swear, when I get my hands on him, I’m going to make it hurt. I won’t be the only one, so he’s in for a shit ton of pain.

“Let’s go. There isn’t anything else for us here.” Lan pulls out his gun and shoots at the computer.

“Was that really necessary?” Luke asks.

Lan shrugs. “It felt good. Let’s go.”

He walks past Sebastian and Luke but grabs my hand before heading for the door. Maxim meets us on our way out, giving us a nod.

“Everything is in place. Luca no doubt has an arm waiting for us, so we need to be ready. My father is calling in more of the family, but what about you, Lan? Can you get some guys together?”

“I’ll make sure of it.” Lean passes him and leads me outside.

A couple of hours later, we have our bags packed and we’re headed for the airport. The flight will be a few hours, which gives Luca more time to prepare, but we are building an army of our own.  Two of the biggest criminal families are going up against the only living Don. The Don they used fear to gain loyalty from the other families. They have the numbers and are cold-hearted. Sebastian said that normally, women and children go unharmed, but with Luca in charge, no one will be spared.

The flight feels so long. I don’t say a word the whole time. The guys seem to realize I'm in no mood to talk, so they talk amongst themselves. Still, Maxim has his hand tight in mine the whole time. They literally flipped a coin to see who’d get the seat next to mine.

When we arrive, Maxim keeps hold of my hand the entire time we’re in the airport until we walk outside and find a man all in black, who looks even bigger than Luke, waiting for us next to a large SUV. There’s another one parked in front of it, and the doors to that one open, and several more men step out. Two of them take our bags and load them into the trunk while the others open the doors for us.

“Let me go in first,” Maxim says. “We need you between us in case something happens.”

I nod and let him slide in first before I go in next. Luke takes the remaining seat. One of the men takes the front passenger seat while the other guys ride in the other SUV. I don’t like us being split up, but none of them object, so they must have a reason for the seating arrangement.  The first car pulls out, and we follow. As soon as we are far enough away from the airport, the man in the front seat turns and holds a gun out to me. He locks eyes with me and says something in Russian.

“What does that mean?” I ask Maxim.

He smiles. “It means boss.”