Chapter Fifty Five
Nicholas POV
We raced through downtown Chicago, tracking the SUVs that we previously saw parked outside the diner in University Heights. I am glad I had the forethought to have my men place a tracker on the vehicle. I was surprised that even with it being a rental, they'd drive it all the way back to Chicago. Perhaps Thomas Cain felt it too risky to fly Camilla back with him. I don't doubt that he has already landed in Chicago while his men make the long drive back. We are all exhausted from the trip ourselves, but fortunately, we had a bead on the Tahoe the entire time, and we had enough men to trade out driving.
I spoke to Frank on my way here. He and Grim have been watching this building since yesterday, waiting to give me notification if they see the Tahoe pull up anywhere near it. I wasn't surprised to receive a call as we made our way through the traffic. The Tahoe had tucked itself into the alleyway behind the high-rise condominiums. Frank had sent Grim in through a service entrance, and he was making his way through back stairwells, in search of the penthouse, where we knew Thomas Cain lived. Frank and Grim had been here for two months now and had grown very familiar with Cain's coming and going and where he laid his head at night. They had been waiting at my instruction, for an opportunity to rescue Mikes' sister, Jennifer. Unfortunately, they hadn't seen any sign of her since Cain had gone to Iowa.
Michael was somewhere ahead of me and indicated he was going to make contact and was sending his guys in through the front. We hadn't come up with a solid plan, so I wasn't sure what he was going to do. This made me nervous, mostly for the safety of Camilla. We knew what these guys were capable of. I just hoped she stayed right in the head and didn't give them any reason to try and inflict further harm.
My phone rang as we came around the corner just blocks from the high rise. I answered and Frank spewed intel as quickly as possible. "Grim's inside, I saw them drag Camilla in through an alley entrance. She looked alright but not in any condition to fight back. Looks like Michael Patron just entered through the same entrance they dragged her through, and he was alone. What do you want me to do boss?"
"Shit," I muttered. "Put eyes on him, do you have contact with Grim?"
"Negative. Patron had a couple of guys with him. They went in through the front. Looked like the door man tried to stop them, but they bulldozed right through and ran up the stairwell," he stated. "I can go after Michael, but what about the others that went inside?"
"I'm two blocks away, I will handle it." I disconnected the call and tapped on Jimmy's shoulder. "Pull over, we are running. We can't wait for this fucking traffic."
Jimmy whipped the car over and pulled up to the curb. Antonio was already unbuckling and sliding extra mags into his jacket pocket. The three of us bailed from the car and ran down the sidewalk, dodging pedestrians who flipped us the bird as we shoved them aside. Antonio pointed his pistol at a big, tattooed guy who tried to shove him back. The guy raised his hands in the air and turned and walked away. We made it to the high rise in seconds and pushed through the glass doors. "You can't just push your way in here," the door man said. "I'm calling the police."
I stopped and motioned Antonio and Jimmy on. "Look buddy, some asshole has assaulted a woman and is holding her hostage in this building. I'd suggest you let us do our job and save her, rather than wasting time by calling the cops."
The man looked momentarily stunned, then he raised a brow. "You're not with Mr. Cain. I've never seen you before."
"Actually, I'm looking for Thomas Cain, tell me where I can find him and I won't shoot you," I said with a sneer. The doorman noticed at that moment that I was now pointing my Ruger at him. He slowly raised his hands.
"Penthouse." He nodded his head towards the elevator. "You need a key card to get up there."
"Then you are coming with me," I grabbed him by the collar. "Let's go." I shoved the man towards the elevator. He used his access card to call the elevator. We were about to step on when the stairwell entrance was flung open and Grim stepped out.
"She's in the boiler room, boss," Grim blurted and then motioned towards the stairwell. "You want me to handle this?" he indicated the door man.
"He was just taking me to see Thomas Cain. You want the honor?" I asked as I shoved the man towards Grim.
He gave a nod, and I hurried through the door he just came through. There was a steel door in the wall, boiler room clearly marked on the outside. As I opened it, I heard shouting and then shots fired. That was all the information I needed as I pulled the door open and quietly crept into the dark. I slid quietly along the wall and came around a corner in time to see a man barreling towards me. He was one of Cain's men. He looked like one of his bodyguards we had seen at the diner. I raised my pistol. "Stop right there or I will shoot you now," I warned. He couldn't see me, but he heard me clearly. He came to a stop and swung around looking for where my voice had come from. He looked down and it was then he noticed the red dot on his chest from my sights. He raised his own pistol towards me, and I fired off a round and threw myself to the ground before his weapon went off. A round pinged into the cement wall above me and then the big guy dropped to the ground, groaning. I turned on my gun light, kicked his pistol away from him and walked in the direction he had come. I was certain he would not walk away from that as I watched the blood pool under him from the bullet that had entered and pierced his heart.
"Michael," I called. "It's Nick, don't shoot." I hollered down the corridor.
I got no response, and it had become eerily quiet. Somewhere, a door banged open and shut, and light briefly drifted in from outside. When I rounded the corner, I found a trail of blood that disappeared into the recesses of the room and another small puddle with drag marks leading to the door outside. I debated only briefly before walking outside into the sun.
I was not prepared for what I found when I walked outside. Michael was bent over Camilla; he held pressure on her neck while talking to someone on the phone. When the door opened, he raised his gun towards me and dropped the phone. "Fuck, I almost shot you," he yelled. "Help me, she's hurt."
I looked up and down the alley before moving towards them. "Her head is bleeding," I said as I noticed blood under her head, matting her hair.
"I fucking know that, and he cut her neck. I don't know which is worse. One of my guys is bringing a car around so we can get her to the hospital."
"Okay, let's stay calm," I advised. A black Suburban squealed into the alleyway and stopped short of us. I watched as Michael's bodyguard, John, climbed out of the driver's seat and threw the back door open. Together, we lifted her and slid her into the back seat. Michael held her head in his lap, continuing to keep pressure on her neck wound. Camilla looked pale, and I hoped the blood loss wasn't as bad as it looked.
"Michael, is that all her blood?" I finally asked as I climbed into the passenger seat.
"No. Some of it is mine. I caught a bullet in my arm. I am pretty sure I hit that guy somewhere, though. I saw his blood on the floor as I was dragging her outside."
"I think so too, I killed the other one on my way from the lobby to you," I told him. "I saw a trail of blood in the other direction, but I took my chances on you and Camilla being outside."
John blared his horn and sped through traffic as he tried to make his way to the hospital. "I fucking hate Chicago," he growled. "I think my GPS hates it too," he nodded towards the screen that was advising him which way to go.
"We are close, though, so that's a good thing," I told him. We screeched into the Emergency Room Ambulance unloading zone. A security guard walked towards the car to try and tell us to move, but John intercepted.
"We need a doctor and a stretcher, we have a woman who's been hurt badly," he glared at the security guard, begging him with his eyes to tell him to move again. Fortunately, he didn't. He ran inside and came back a few seconds later with a nurse, a gurney, and two medics close behind. I helped Michael get Camilla out of the backseat, and we placed her on the gurney.
"You're hurt too," the nurse commented to Michael as she made a quick head-to-toe sweep with her eyes. "But she's worse," she pushed the gurney towards the door. "Either of you her family?" We both said yes and then looked at each other.
"I'm her brother," Michael said.
"I'm her fiancé," I stated firmly. It wasn't true, but it would be soon enough. Michael didn't call me out, just gave me a look before turning to the nurse.
"Do anything it takes to make sure my sister is okay. Her name is Camilla Patron, but I don't want anyone to know she's here," Michael advised the nurse. She didn't argue, just told us to follow her. Once inside, the nurse directed a medic to attend to Michael and pushed the gurney into the nearest trauma bay. I hadn't even noticed that she had taken over holding pressure on Camilla's neck during the quick exchange, until her bloodied hand waved a doctor over.
I attempted to follow, but was blocked by the security guard. "I'm sorry sir, but you are going to have to wait in the waiting room. We can't have anyone interfering in the care of the patient. You look like a guy who is used to getting his way, but I have a job to do and that's to make sure the nurses and doctors can do theirs without interference." I had to give it to him; he had balls. I was quite a bit bigger than him and could easily take him down, but this wasn't about me trying to prove that I'm a tough guy. This was about saving Camilla's life. I gave in and allowed him to lead me out, my last look at Camilla was a nurse hanging a bag of blood as someone else shoved an I.V. into her arm.