Dominated: The Enforcers 2 (The Enforcers Series) (27 page)

“How sure are you that we can trust the Luconis?” Drake asked grimly as he and his men positioned themselves outside one of the butcher shops the McDuffs owned.

How appropriate that the McDuffs had several family-owned butcheries as their “family business,” since they were little more than butchers themselves.

Maddox shrugged beside Drake. Maddox and Silas had insisted on taking position with Drake, more likely to sit on him and keep him from losing his shit than for any real need for their help. The other men had paired up, and surprisingly, the eldest Luconi and appointed leader of the family had sent several of his men to assist Drake in the takedown of Charlie McDuff.

“They’re very keen to see Charlie go down,” Maddox said as they waited for go time. “The timing is pretty good, not that I’d say there was ever a good time for Evangeline to be abducted.”

Maddox’s face contorted into a black scowl, his eyes flickering with fury before he continued.

“Turns out, the Vanuccis struck at the Luconis a week ago and the Luconis want blood. Rightfully so.”

Drake and Silas turned to Maddox in question.

Maddox sighed. “It’s pretty horrifying and, well, after hearing of it, I’m not sad that we’re backing the Luconis to take the Vanuccis down for good. The Luconis may not be Boy Scouts, but I’ve never known them to do this kind of shit. They have a code of sorts, one that excludes women and children. The world won’t miss the fucking Vanuccis. They’re all a bunch of pond scum.”

“Tell me,” Drake barked.

“Jacques Vanucci targeted the elder Luconi’s granddaughter. She was only twenty fucking years old. Young, innocent and very beautiful. The Luconis aren’t complete assholes. They shield their women completely. No knowledge of their business practices. The women in that family are cherished and absolutely protected by every single male member of the family.”

Fuck. Maddox had referred to the Luconi granddaughter in the past tense. Drake didn’t have a good feeling about this at all.

Maddox sighed and continued on. “It wasn’t pretty. He wooed and courted the girl for months. Made it all out to be a modern-day telling of
Romeo and Juliet
. Two people, forbidden from one another by rival families. Told her all kinds of shit, about how he was in love with her, wanted to marry her and how he’d take her away from both families so they could live a happy life. He has money of his own. Told her she’d never want for anything he could give her and their children.

“She resisted at first. Wanted to finish school and get her degree, but the bastard was persistent. She finally agreed, left her parents a note outlining the entire sordid tale and went to meet her boyfriend.”

Maddox shook his head. “I’m sure you can guess the rest. He raped her. Let his men take turns. Recorded the entire disgusting thing, and in the end, he killed her then sent the video to the elder Luconi with a message saying no Luconi was safe, man, woman
or
child. Luconi has declared war,
and he was extremely eager to count you as an ally. It surprised him at first that you were trying to get Evangeline back, since he believed your show that she meant nothing to you, but when I told him they kidnapped a pregnant woman, it actually pissed him off. It’s a well-known fact that the old man has a soft spot a mile wide for pregnant women. He hates Charlie McDuff. Said he was a bad seed. Had too much liking for violence and he hates women. Given the Luconi sentiment toward their women, I can well imagine why he didn’t last long working for them. The old man told me he was already on the chopping block, but then he tried to corner the old man’s sixteen-year-old granddaughter. I’m surprised Charlie isn’t six feet under, to be honest. I think only because the Luconis didn’t want to risk outright war with the McDuffs, given their imminent war with the Vanuccis, did Charlie live. But the way I hear it, he wasn’t seen in public for months after the beatdown he got when they pulled him off the granddaughter.”

Drake’s mouth twisted in disgust. “Jesus,” he whispered. “And Evangeline is right in the middle of this giant clusterfuck. An innocent pulled between warring factions, and she’s in McDuff’s hands even as we speak!”

He pounded the dashboard with his hand, a sense of wretched helplessness tearing him apart.

“What are we waiting for?” he seethed. “Every minute we sit on our goddamn hands is another minute she’s in
his
.”

“Keep a cool head,” Silas murmured. “You know this has to be done by the book, man. One mistake and Evangeline pays with her life. McDuff is batshit crazy and highly unstable. If he even
thinks
things aren’t going the way he planned, he’ll kill her. At this point he has nothing to lose.”

Drake’s phone rang and he tensed. They’d been expecting Charlie to call. Drake had expected to hear from him hours ago with his demands. Every minute that had ticked by that Drake hadn’t heard made his heart
die a little more. Why had he waited? Had he taken his time, abusing Evangeline before he called Drake with his demands?

Drake didn’t recognize the number, and typically he let such calls go to voice mail and either called back later or not at all. But he answered it on the second ring with a terse “Donovan.”

“Drake Donovan,” Charlie McDuff drawled smugly. “I believe I have something that belongs to you.”

“Yes, you do at that,” Drake said softly. Dangerously soft.

Charlie obviously picked up on that note in Drake’s voice because he didn’t sound nearly as smug or confident when he spoke next. There was a distinct edge to his voice and he sounded rattled. And unstable, and that worried Drake. It scared the fuck out of him and he knew he had to tread very carefully and give the man no reason to hurt or kill Evangeline.

“If you ever want to see her alive again, you’ll do exactly as I say. You have two hours to complete the transaction and not a minute longer.”

“What do you want?” Drake snapped.

“Twenty million should be nothing for a man of your means,” Charlie said, some of the nervousness gone at the mention of the amount. “I’m being very generous. I know you could afford more without even noticing it was gone. But I can be reasonable. I’m going to text you the wiring instructions and the account numbers. As I said, if the funds aren’t in my account and verified in the next two hours? Your lady is dead. But not before I enjoy a taste of her. She is rather beautiful, but then I’d expect nothing less from you, Donovan.”

“Let me be clear on something, Charlie,” Drake said, making no effort to disguise his loathing for the little worm. “You know my reputation. You know I don’t fuck around. You know that if I make a vow, I’ll die before breaking it. So know this. If you touch Evangeline, if you hurt her, if you frighten her, if there is so much as a bruise or scratch on her when she is returned to me? You’re a dead man. Take
that
to the bank.”

There was a long pause. “Just make sure the money is wired and you won’t have to worry about the condition of your woman.”

Then the line went silent. Mere seconds after the call ended, a beep alerted Drake to the incoming text with the account number.

He wanted McDuff’s blood. The man was going to die, even though Drake had made it sound as if McDuff would walk away if Evangeline was returned safely. The minute he touched what belonged to Drake, he’d signed his own death warrant.

“We now have two hours, but I don’t trust that little bastard,” Drake said behind clenched teeth. “I refuse to leave her there a minute longer. He doesn’t know we’re here. He thinks I’m chasing my tail in the city and nowhere near Brooklyn or his fucking butchery. I’m not waiting one goddamn second longer. With or without you, I’m going in.”

“And get Evangeline killed?” Silas’s slashing gaze pierced through Drake. His enforcer was smoldering with rage, every muscle in his body coiled like a deadly snake ready to strike.

“We’re almost in position,” Maddox said, holding his hand over his earpiece to hear more clearly. “Let’s go. We need to find the best way in from this side. The others are taking their spots now. Jax did recon so we’d know what we’re up against.”

“Did he get a bead on Evangeline?” Drake demanded. “Did he see her? Is she all right?”

“McDuff has her tied to a chair in the room where the beef is hung in the back. He said she looked okay, just scared to death and freezing her ass off. Motherfucker has her in the cooler and keeps telling her he brought her there because with the bone grinders no one will ever find any sign of her body. That he’ll chop her into tiny pieces and feed her to the buzzards.”

“He dies,” Drake said in a voice almost too quiet to be heard.

“Oh yeah,” Maddox vowed.

The men scrambled out of the car. Drake was thankful for the cover
of night as they darted into the shadows cast by the building. There was a window that, if their scan of the building specs was correct, was closed off from the cooler where sides of beef hung. And where Evangeline was being kept.

Silas took a step back and then ran up the wall, hooking his fingers on the ledge of the window before expertly swinging himself up so he clung to the window frame. He worked with the window a few moments before it slid upward with a noisy creak.

He froze, as did Maddox and Drake, and waited several long seconds to see if their cover was blown. When no one appeared, they breathed a collective sigh of relief. Maddox spoke softly into the mic, telling the others they were going in and for them to do the same.

The idea was to surround the cooler and plan the best method of attack, one that ensured that
no
harm came to Evangeline and that she wouldn’t be caught in the crossfire.

Silas eased inside the building, took a few moments to ensure that they were undetected and then leaned out the window and motioned Drake and Maddox up.

“Here,” Maddox said, making a step for Drake with his hands. “I’ll give you a boost up.”

Drake put his foot into Maddox’s hand and on the count of three he jumped, along with Maddox’s forceful push, and it propelled him up the brick wall to grasp the ledge with his fingers.

He swung himself up and then he and Silas leaned as far as they could out the window, hands extended to grab on to Maddox’s. Seconds later, they pulled him through the window and shut it firmly behind them.

Now that they were in the same building where Evangeline was being held, it was all Drake could do not to charge into the other room and take out every single one of the bastards. Every nerve in his body
was firing. At the moment, he could take on thirty men and rip every single one of them apart with his bare hands.

They crept into the hallway, on alert for any movement, anything that would betray their presence. Drake had confidence in all his men. He trusted them with his life. But the stakes had never been this high before. They were all fighting, not just for Drake’s safety and his life. They were fighting for his entire
world
.

Evangeline.

At the end of the hall where Silas had crept on stealthy feet, there was a muffled sound and then a body hit the floor without a shot being fired. Silas motioned to Maddox, and Maddox dragged the body into the room where they had entered through the window.

“Let’s go,” Maddox said grimly. “Justice said things are getting heated inside the cooler. McDuff is pissed.”

Drake’s heart lurched, and they turned and ran.

There were four possible entrances to the cooler, and after taking down the guards circling those entrances, Drake and his men crouched at the doors, surveying the number of heavily armed men.

Drake cursed to himself when he saw that every single gun was trained on Evangeline. McDuff stood in front of Evangeline, taunting her. She wouldn’t even meet his gaze. She was pale. Too pale. Her hair was tangled and he saw the red streaks on the side of her head, bold against the golden blond color.

Her head was bowed, her hair falling over her cheeks, and she sagged in the chair. Her chin rested against her chest and it felt as though someone had just driven a knife through Drake’s heart when he saw the damp trails of tears down her pale flesh.

“I’ve got Drake by the balls now,” McDuff crowed. “He’s a stupid man for believing I’d let him off for twenty mil.”

For the first time that he’d seen, Evangeline lifted her head, though
her stare was unfocused and bleary looking as she looked in McDuff’s general direction.

“You’re the stupid one,” she said in a monotone, without a trace of emotion. She spoke to McDuff like he was a complete simpleton. And then Drake’s heart nearly stopped when she said the rest. “He cares nothing about me,” she said in a dull voice. “He won’t do anything to rescue me. He won’t give you what you want. He won’t give in to blackmail. When has he ever given in to blackmail? You’re dumber than I thought if you think you’re going to bring him to his knees over one of his whores he already tossed out and made clear he wanted nothing more to do with. Or didn’t you get that memo?” Sarcasm laced the last of her statement, and she stared defiantly at McDuff as if daring him to do his worst because the worst had already been done.

Drake wanted to weep for the hopelessness he heard—
felt
—in her every word and action.

Uncertainty flashed over McDuff’s face, followed closely by rage. He lashed out, slapping Evangeline’s unprotected face, whipping her head back. Her hair was in disarray all over her head, but Drake saw the blood at her nose and mouth and he surged forward.

Silas and Maddox both jumped on him and held him to the floor. “Stop!” Silas hissed in his ear. “The rest of us want to kill the little bastard for touching her as well, but we have to play this just right and stick to the plan or the asshole will kill Evangeline on the spot. Get it together, man. Think, for God’s sake.
Think!
”

Drake slowly shook them off, but he was bristling with fury like he’d never known. Waiting the final few minutes for his men to carefully circle and cut off all escape routes and ensure Evangeline’s safety was hell. If that bastard inflicted a single injury, Drake would kill him. Fuck that. Evangeline had been injured. Physically and emotionally. The bastard had hit her,
drawn blood
, not once, but
twice
now. And God only knew what she’d been subjected to
before
he and his men arrived. Drake had to
turn it off and stop torturing himself with all that his angel had endured or he’d go insane.