Lonzo: Book 2 (Tycoon Series Book 2) (18 page)

“I’m doing everything—” he said.

“I didn’t ask you to be here—” she snapped.

He grew extremely annoyed.

“Dio!
Whether you like it or not, she’s also my child! Can’t you forget our differences for a moment until we have her back?”

A knock on the door prevented her from replying.

Lonzo went to open the door.

It was the detective he spoke to earlier.

“Did they make contact, detective?”

The man shook his head. “They haven’t. And it’s past the period they gave us.”

“What does it mean?” Jordana asked.

“It means… we have to wait,” he said.

“Wait?! Wait until they’ve killed my poor daughter?! Damn it, just give them the money so we can have her back!” She was crying earnestly now, hot tears streaking her cheeks.

It broke his heart to see her upset.

“We cannot just give them the ransom, miss. Protocols and procedures have to be followed—” the detective answered for him.

Lonzo drew her into his arms.

“Let me know as soon as they give a ring,” he addressed the police officer.

“Will do, Mr. Vitale—” the man replied as he turned to leave them.

With a nod, Lonzo led a grief-stricken Jordana inside the room. He made her lay on the bed and didn’t leave her side until sleep claimed her.

He rubbed his reddened eyes and slumped to the chair beside the bed, watching her sleep. His mind was trying to figure out how to deal with the situation as best as he can. His gut told him that if he wanted to see his daughter alive, they had to move now.

Lonzo’s mind was made up. He would deal with this his way, with minimal involvement from the police.

Thirty minutes passed before Blackwell called him.

“Yes?”

“We got their location. It is a small villa fifty miles from Knightsbridge. We had intercepted their plan. They will ask that the money to be transferred tonight, but they also made arrangements to move her to Palermo.”

His hunch was right. Those filthy bastards had no intention of giving his daughter back. They intend to use her as a cash cow. If he refused to cooperate, they would have no qualms killing her.

“They will call you on your mobile any moment. They know Ms. Jordana’s house is full of cops and will not risk the police getting involved.”

“I’ll take care of the police. We stick to the original plan.” He went on to discuss with Blackwell their planned course of action.

True to his word, his mobile phone rang after he had spoken with his security guy. The number on the screen didn’t register. He knew it was Camorra.

“Vitale,” he answered.

“Signore Vitale. How are you?” the person who called spoke in fluid Italian.

“Camorra. I gave you my mobile number so you can send me a picture of my daughter.” he answered back in Italian. “You still owe me a picture.”

“Ah, yes…sorry I may have overlooked that. Been busy with business. I’ll send you a picture as soon as this call is finished.”

“I would appreciate that,” he answered, switching back to English.

“About the money—”

“We trade. The money for my daughter.”

The man on the other line chuckled. “You have a lot of nerve, Vitale. I could just as easily slit her throat.”

Lonzo almost exploded. He wanted to get his hands on this man’s neck and squeeze the life out of him.

Stay cool, Vitale. He’s trying to rattle you.

He would not lose Gianna. He would get her back no matter what.

“You’re not stupid, Camorra. Do that and you will lose you biggest windfall,” he said smoothly.

He heard Camorra chortle, amused. “Man, they were right. You do have balls. Okay, we will have a fair trade.”

“I want my daughter safe before I transfer the money.”

Camorra became silent, weighing his options.

“Fair enough. You can have your brat back… but one wrong move and both of you will be dead.
Capisce
?”

“So it’s a deal, then?”

“Yes. You got yourself a deal,
signore
.” Camorra went on to give him the address of the villa that Blackwell mentioned earlier. “Be here in two hours. And remember not to invite the cops, else—”

“I’ll be alone,” he answered before the line went dead.

“You’re not. I’m coming with you.”

He turned to find Jordana wide-awake, her face determined.

Merda!
She heard everything!

Lonzo was pissed at her.
He tried to reason with her, pointing out that she was adding fire to an already precarious situation.

But she was adamant. Though she knew of the danger, her instincts as a mother were stronger. She wanted to see her daughter. Danger be damned.

Lonzo got another call from the kidnappers. The exchange would finally happen. They had to make their move now if they wanted to reach the place on time.

They were so pressed for time that they couldn’t even afford to argue about it.

“Alright. You can come...but no heroics. I want you to calmly walk the hell out of there after you got Gianna. You understand?” Lonzo’s voice was clipped with anger.

“Crystal,” she replied.

Getting out of her house without arousing suspicion from the police had been tricky but they were allowed to leave when she pretended to be hysterical. Lonzo said, he’d take her to the hospital. The police bought their ruse and allowed them to go out.

It took them another hour to reach the drop-off place.

It was near the riverbank and surrounded by a thick wall. The place was heavily-guarded. Several sentries can be seen walking along the perimeter.

Jordana swallowed as fear began to set in.

Lonzo gave her a sideways glance.

“You don’t have to come. You can stay inside the car and wait for me here—”

“No. I’m coming with you.”

He rubbed his temples, unhappy with her answer.

“Remember what I told you. These are dangerous men,” he said in a very serious tone.

She nodded.

He drove the car carefully behind a huge tree.

“This is it. No heroics,” he warned her again.

“I won’t do anything stupid.”

“You’ll be the death of me,” she heard him say before they left the security of their car.

Lonzo was furious at Jordana for endangering herself like this.
But it was no use arguing when she already made up her mind. He had to discuss the change of plans with Blackwell. Originally, three of Blackwell’s retainers would penetrate the vicinity for the takedown. The rest of the team would remain outside the villa in case he didn’t return after the prescribed period.

But because Jordana got into this, they had to add three more snipers so they could be covered.

Blackwell tried to convince him earlier that the place was easily breached. His security team had studied how the villa was guarded. Blackwell also checked the number of bodyguards Camorra had.

“This operation will be a textbook op, boss. We can handle it,” Blackwell reassured him.

Blackwell was the best in this business but Lonzo was beginning to question his reasoning because Jordana was with him.

Two clicks at his rigged ring would be the signal for the takedown.

Lonzo checked his watch. Ten more minutes. He and Jordana slowly made their way toward the guards manning the gates.

They were expecting him.

They frisked him for guns and then allowed him inside. One of the guards was leering at Jordana, intending to frisk her as well.

“You touch her and I will kill you with my bare hands,” he warned the man in Italian, holding Jordana close to his side.

The man stepped back a bit, grinning. “Apologies,
signore
. Can’t help but admire a woman as fine as her.”

He didn’t answer, scowling at the man while leading Jordana forward to the main courtyard, toward the dilapidated mansion. So far, everything was going according to plan.

His eyes studied the structure. He knew there were two doors at the back of the mansion, near the pool. One or two snipers were positioned there.

Camorra’s group would come from the kitchen, where a connecting door led to the cellar. His men also had that covered. The kidnappers won’t be able to escape through that exit.

All these fucks would die tonight.

Lonzo checked the time. Five minutes before the designated time.

When he looked up, he saw Camorra approaching with his three hired muscles. One of the bodyguards was carrying Gianna.

“Gianna!” he heard Jordana sob at his side.

“Shh. Don’t show any weakness in front of these bastards,
cara
. Hold it in. We’re minutes away from getting her back.”

“O-Okay.”

“Stay behind me.”

Jordana nodded and did what she was told. He returned his attention back to the approaching party. He masked his emotions. These men fed on the weaknesses of others. He had to be calm and calculating like them.

Don’t lose your grip, Vitale. Your woman and child depend on you.

“Signore Vitale! Welcome to my humble abode!” Camorra’s booming voice called out to him in his native Sicilian, his manner deceivingly friendly. But Lonzo could see right through this piece of shit.

“We thank you for your hospitality. But you have something that I want back,” he remarked casually while looking at his daughter. “You never even sent me that picture.”

Camorra grinned, his cold eyes looking behind him, at Jordana. “It seems you brought extra company.”

Lonzo shrugged, despite the trickle of fear he felt. “Can you blame her? She misses our daughter.”

That made Camorra snigger. “Okay, so let us get down to business. Shall we begin?” the man said before signaling one of his men.

One of three bodyguards approached, carrying a laptop. It was already switched on and connected to an offshore bank in the Cayman Islands.

“I want my daughter in Jordana’s arms before I make the transfer,” he insisted to Camorra.

“Come on now. I’m a businessman—” Camorra appeared like he was about to disagree.

“As I am,” Lonzo pushed.

A few seconds ensued before Camorra grinned like a mad dog.

“Ah, Mr. Vitale. You know how to drive a bargain,” the man said before turning to the guard carrying Gianna.

As his daughter was being given to Jordana, he almost gave a sigh of relief. His finger was itching to press his ring.

Not yet.

Gianna raised her small, chubby arms when she saw her mother.
Lonzo saw how Jordana snatched their child from the arms of the criminal.

Jordana held Gianna and hugged her tight, her tears flowing freely again, her love for their child unmistakable. He was deeply moved, strengthening his resolve to get them back to safety.

Lonzo went back to the task at hand. After entering his account details, he transferred the amount to Camorra’s.

The transaction was finished in less than twenty seconds.

He showed Camorra the proof of the transaction.

The leader barked an evil, sinister laugh that made the hairs on his neck stand up. He sensed something was about to happen…

He was about to walk back to Jordana and Gianna when he heard the sound of guns being cocked behind him.

He froze in his tracks.

He faced the ring-leader.

“Vafanculo!”

Camorra gave another low, devilish laugh.

“Forgive me, Signore Vitale. I have every intention of returning your daughter scratch-free. However, bringing her—” he pointed at Jordana, “—made me think that I must have a taste. She’s one fine morsel.”

Jordana whimpered.

“Lonzo—?”

His eyes narrowed in fury. “Over my dead body,
porco dio
!”

He pressed his ring to give the signal to Blackwell and the boys.

“Oh, you will be…I promise you,” Camorra threatened before dropping the order to his three minions. “Get the woman, kill him and the b—”

Camorra wasn’t even finished talking when his men went down. Dead with bullets holes on their foreheads.

“What the...?!” Camorra exclaimed, taken aback.

Lonzo took advantage of the Sicilian’s surprise to make a run for Jordana and Gianna.

He saw Camorra run for one of the exits. The criminal pulled a pistol from his jacket and aimed the gun toward Jordana and Gianna’s direction…and fired.

“Nooo!”
Lonzo shouted as he jumped to shield them with his body.

Everything came in slow-motion. He heard Jordana’s screams behind him.