Chapter 20 20

Chapter 20 20

Caelum's POV

An icy-hot current of fury surged through me, clean and focused.

Nikolai had crossed a line. Civilians were always a no-no in our world. Always. You didn’t touch family, you didn’t touch innocents who weren’t involved in the business.

But he had stolen Celine’s best friend. A college student who had nothing to do with any of this except bad luck and loyalty to the wrong person.

“Play it again,” I commanded Kent.

He called up the video on his tablet. I stared at Maddie in terror, listened to her wails and gazed at the bruises already appearing on her skin.

Celine was at my side, pale and scared. Her hand was hard on mine; she hurt me.

“We are getting her back,” I said, firmly. "Whatever it takes."

"How?" Celine's voice shook. "He wants me. That's the trade."

“Then we let him have it. I turned to face her. "But on our terms. With our rules."

Kent cleared his throat. "Boss, you're still recovering. You can barely lift your arm. Perhaps we should hesitate, plan this out—”

"We don't have time. Nikolai tell us we have a day. Maddie could be dead inside of twenty four hours. I looked at Celine. "We use you as bait. But this time, I have control over everything. We’ll have you wired so that we can hear everything. Armed with a gun and knife. Every exit, every window, every way out. For one second you won’t be alone.”

“And if he doesn’t honor the trade? If he attempts to kill us both?”

"Then my men take him out. And everyone loyal to him. We end this tonight, either way.”
Celine nodded slowly, her jaw locked into place in grim determination. "Okay. Tell me what to do."

\---

The next few hours we were packing.

I taught Celine how to fire a gun, almost laughable if the consequences weren’t so dire. She was a crappy shot, flinching at the end of every pull of the trigger, wildly off-target.

“Stop closing your eyes,” I said, standing behind her, repositioning the gun in her hand. “You can’t hit what you can’t see.”

"It's loud!"

"It's supposed to be loud. Again."

She fired and then missed the target by three feet.

"Better," I lied.

She turned and gave me a dirty look over her shoulder. "You're a terrible teacher."

"I'm an excellent teacher. You're just a terrible student."

Despite everything, she laughed. It was a short sound, an authentic sound, and it loosened something deep within my chest.

Kent wired her in, a little mike nestled in the lining of her collar. “Don’t touch it, don’t fix it, don’t even accept that in any way. “You don’t have to yell at me, you can speak normally and I’ll hear everything.”

"What if they search me?"

"They will. That’s why the wire is made to resemble a bra underwire. They won’t find it unless they strip search you, and if they do that, we’re coming in right away.’”

I gave her a knife, small and sharp, meant to be hidden in a boot. "Last resort only. If something goes wrong, if my men can't get to you, use this. Aim for soft tissue. Throat, stomach, eyes."

With trembling hands, she accepted it. "I've never stabbed anyone before."

“Well, hopefully you don’t have to start today.

I was also the one who fitted her with a tracking device, hidden in the ring I had slipped on her finger. "Don't take this off. No matter what. If they ever insist, decline. That’s where we’ll find you if something goes wrong.”

She gazed at the ring — plain silver with a small stone. It is almost like a diamond ring.

"Caelum—"

"I know." I drew her close with my good arm, mindful of my bad shoulder. "I know this is insane. I know I'm asking too much. But I need you to trust me."

"I do trust you." She nuzzled her cheek against my chest. "I'm just scared."

"Good. Fear makes you sharp, keeps you alive. I lifted her face, bringing her eyes to mine. “If anything goes wrong, you get the hell out of there. Don't look back. Don't be a hero. Don't try to save anyone. You are a runner and you run.” You don’t stop until my men catch up with you. Promise me."

She was silent for a long time. "I can't promise that."

"Celine—"

“If there’s an opportunity for me to save Maddie, I’m going to take it. I won't leave her behind."

I wanted to argue. Wished to issue an order for self-preservation. But I recognized that stammer in her eyes. What had originally attracted me to her, the dogged determination.

“You’re going to kill me, man,” I mumbled.

"Then we'll match." She put her hand on my bandaged shoulder. “You scared the hell out of me too.”

I kissed her on the forehead and took in a whiff of her smell, etching this in my mind. "I can't lose you. Not after everything."

"You won't. We’re going to find Maddie and figure out how to make all of this stop with Nikolai, and then we’re going to figure out what normal looks like for us.”

“I don’t know what normal is.”

“Then we’re going to make it up as we go along.”
\---

The parking garage downtown was the designated meeting place. Neutral ground, not mine or Nikolai's. Five levels of concrete, shadows and pure ambushability from either side.

I had thirty men spread through the building. Snipers on the adjacent building rooftop. Kent and Ryker at my side, positioned on either side of Celine as we strolled toward the middle of the third level where Nikolai awaited.

He was next to an SUV, and Maddie was in the window of the vehicle. She was bound, gagged and her eyes were as wide as plates in terror. When she spotted Celine, she began to thrash against her restraints.

"Morano," Nikolai said, his voice bouncing off the concrete walls. "Right on time. I appreciate punctuality."

“Drop her,” I repeated, with a levelness that was almost merciless. "That was the deal."

"The deal was a trade. Girl for girl." He gestured to Celine. "So trade."

Celine started walking toward him. I seized her arm and held her back.

"She goes first. "You let Maddie come to us, and then Celine comes to you."

Nikolai smiled. "You don't trust me? I'm hurt."

"You're a sociopath. Now release her or this is going to fall through.”

He looked me over in silence for a while, considering his choices. But then he motioned to one of his men, who opened the door to the SUV and sliced Maddie’s restraints.

She stumbled out crying and ran toward us on unsteady legs. Kent grabbed her falling form and pulled her behind our line of protection.

“Now you,” Nikolai told Celine.

She looked at me once more. I could tell she was scared but trusted me. She believed I'd protect her.

I couldn't let her down.

“Hands visible, no sudden moves,” he shouted as she stepped slowly forward. Nikolai’s men stepped in front of her, frisking her for a weapon. The gun I had given her, the knife in her boot. Missed the wire, missed the tracking device in her ring.

Good.

They brought her to Nikolai. He seized her chin roughly, turning her face to examine it.
"Pretty thing. "I can understand why Caelum's turned into a marshmallow over you. He let her go and turned to me. "You've gone soft, Morano. Love makes you weak."

“You're going to learn exactly how weak I am.”

He laughed. "Am I? Well from where I'm standing you're outnumbered, outgunned, and the love of your life is standin' in the cross hairs.” A gun appeared and was placed against the temple of Celine. “Did you really believe I’d stand by this? You know I'm not like that.”

My world stopped.

All that plotting, all that scheming it would be for nought – if he pulled that trigger.
"Let her go, Nikolai. Your fight is with me."

"But killing her would do more harm to you than just killing you. That's poetry. That's—"
A gunshot rang out.

But not from Nikolai's gun.

He took a step forward, the mark of blood blooming on his shoulder. His weapon clanked onto the sidewalk.

Amaya emerged from behind a support pillar, her gun smoking.

“Uncle,” she said, her voice shaking but firm. "I'm done being your puppet."

Chaos erupted.

Nikolai’s men pulled weapons, but they were paralyzed between protecting their boss and wondering who’d just gunned him down. My soldiers took the opportunity to rush in and crowd them.

Running toward Celine, I tried not to pay any attention to the burning in my shoulder, to anything except getting to her.

Took her hand and dragged her back into the fold on our side. "Move!"

Gunfire exploded around us. Celine and I dove, and I threw my body on top of hers while bullets pinged off the concrete.

Amaya was still firing, putting shots in her uncle’s men with steel nerves. She I caught my eye through all the chaos.

"I'm sorry!" she screamed to Celine. "For everything! I'm so sorry!"

Then she was consumed by gunfire and sank behind the SUV.

I didn’t pause to see if she was all right. Didn't stop for anything. Then I ended up running with Celine in my hand, Kent and Ryker covering fire as we sprinted for my Ford.
We made it. Somehow, amid a hail of bullets and the chaos that ensued, we made it.

I pushed Celine into the back of the seat, got in behind him. Kent drove with Ryker beside him, and we exited the garage tires screaming.

Behind us, the firefight continued. Sirens could be heard in the distance. Police called to shots fired.

Let them come. Let them discover Nikolai bleeding on concrete and his empire in tatters.
I clung to Celine as she shook, the adrenaline crash finally hitting. "You're okay. We're okay. It's over."

My phone rang.
I almost didn't answer. But the number was Nikolai's.

I picked up.

His laugh crackled through the phone, wet and intense but genuine. "This isn't over, Morano. I’m going to take everything you love. Starting with her."

Then the line went dead.

I glanced at Celine and saw the terror coming back into her eyes.

"It's not over," she whispered.

"No," I concurred, as I drew her closer. "But we're together. And together, we'll end this."

The only thing I prayed was that I would be able to keep those promises.

Because Nikolai had been right about one thing.

Love had made me weak.

And in my reality, weakness got people killed.