Checked.

Checked.

Ace – Point of View

I needed us to get this done in the next two days, which was why Spades, Caine and I got on a flight this morning, and now, we are in Barcelona. Dmitri was here. He left immediately after Konstantin’s death broke out. He thought he could outrun us, outrun me, after he took my Dad from me. He was in for a rude awakening. There was nowhere I couldn’t find him.

“You’re quiet.” Caine’s voice came through the comms, and I sighed.

My mind was a mess. The conversation I had with Marlene was ringing in my head. I was haunted by it, by the truth of it. I didn’t want to die in this endless circle. I wanted to be free. I feared that after all these, after killing them all, I still wouldn’t be happy.

“He’s probably meditating.” Spades teased, and I smiled, warmth flooding me.

Barcelona was beautiful. Dmitri was in the Penthouse, and according to our informants, he was fucking around with women, blow and alcohol, which made it easy to send one of Armani’s agents, a young, stunning woman. She was our way in. Dmitri probably thought he would be safe here. I was excited to shock him in many ways.

Lee was missing. We hadn’t been able to find him. We had looked everywhere for him. It was like he’d disappeared. We were going to find him. Cateleya, back in Florence, was doing everything to find him. She was a tech wiz like I was. She was also chipping away at Ashley’s restraint. We were going to find him, or take his daughter, but we all knew that he didn’t care about his daughter. He just wanted to win.

“This place is a nice vacation spot. We should come back soon.” Spades suggested, and I scoffed.

“I doubt you’d want to set foot here when we are done with Dmitri.”

“We can make anywhere romantic. Fuck Dmitri.” Spades retorted arrogantly, and I grinned, looking at him. He was seated across from me. I had sunglasses on and a stupid shirt with shorts. I was taking away attention from me, blending in. Dmitri had men around. We couldn’t let him know that we were here.

“I’m in. Make your way upstairs.” Diana, Armani’s agent, voice came in through our earpiece, and I exhaled softly.

“Alright, boys. Let’s cross a name off the list.” I got up, taking the champagne bottle. I hated what I was wearing. I needed something with a bit more coverage, but that would only attract the wrong kind of attention. So, I would have to make do.

Carefully, as inconspicuously as I could be, I made my way out of the restaurant, if it could be called that, and headed for the penthouse. A resident was throwing a party, so anyone could enter. The music was loud, shaking the group. I could practically feel it vibrating. It was sultry, and I could feel it in my veins, intoxicating, alluring. I wondered if Spades and I would have time to fuck around before we got on the jet.

I got in the elevator and began the journey to the penthouse floor. The elevator stopped, and I frowned. I reached for my gun, but smiled when I saw it was Spades.

“You are early,” I said as he stepped into the elevator.

“Couldn’t wait.” He murmured, cupped my face and kissed me softly. I gasped softly, and he slid his tongue into my mouth. The sounds muffled all around us. I could hear the beat of the music, but it was hard to tell if it was the music or our synced heartbeat.

I threaded my fingers through his hair, pulling at the roots, pressing him against the wall.

The elevator came to a final stop, and we pulled apart instantly, breathless and panting.

“Let’s get this over with so we can continue without interruptions.” He said, and I nodded, highly motivated.

We stepped out of the elevator, our guns drawn, but saw none of Dmitri’s guards. Instead, they were on the ground, in pools of their own blood.

“How’s it going?” Caine asked, and I frowned.

“They’re dead.”

“Who’s dead?” He asked, confused.

“The men. Looks like we underestimated Diana.” Spades whispered as we crept into the room. We walked further into the room and found Dmitri chained to a chair, with Diana seated on the bed, a bloody knife in her hand.

She smiled at us, “Mission concluded.”

I looked around the room. It was a mess, but I was glad to see none of the women were harmed.

“Has he said anything of interest?” Spades asked her, pulling out something from his bag, which turned out to be black gloves. He handed it to me, and I smiled, warmth spreading through my chest.

“He has cried like a bitch. Tried to pay me off. Threatened to strangle me to death. Then cried again. As you can see, I had to tape his mouth, then knock him out because he was becoming irritating and I couldn’t kill him quite yet.” She explained, waving her knife in the air.

“Wake him,” I said, and she nodded. I watched in satisfaction as she punched him hard, jerking him out of his sombre.

He was disorientation, then his eyes widened when he saw us. He thrashed, but she bound him firmly, restricting his movement.

“This is very simple – I’m going to ask you a question and you are going to answer. You know why I’m here. You killed my Dad. You are going to tell me why you did that, then you are going to tell me where Lee is.” I spoke, my voice devoid of emotions.

“Don’t bother screaming or calling for help. Diana is very excited to cut you up.” Spades warned calmly. He was as calm as a loaded gun could be.

Dmitri started crying, and I sighed. It took an hour. An hour of crocodile tears, begging, confessing, more begging. It was humiliating for him, and not as satisfying as I wanted it to be, but Diana had fun.