Passion (Mafia Ties: Brandon & Carly Book 3) (2 page)

“Please don’t shoot me,” I whispered as I neared him. It galled me to do so, but I placed my hand in his free one and let him help me out. As I straightened, my eyes narrowed on Greg as he climbed back into the front of the limo, tossing me a smug grin through the window. The bastard had been smart enough to leave the reception hall with me, which meant Brandon wouldn’t have any leads on my whereabouts.

The same limo driver who’d picked me up this morning stumbled out of the small office, buttoning up his pants and then swiping a finger under his nose. A scantily clad woman followed behind him, teetering on a pair of ridiculous heels as she tottered over to where Sean and I were standing.

“You need me for anything else?” Her eyes dropped to the crotch of his pants while she licked her lips, making it blatantly clear exactly what she thought Sean might need her to do for him.

“Run along now,” he instructed, giving her a swat on the ass as she walked past us to an older Ford parked outside the hangar.

“Not sure how you can turn an offer like that down. Her mouth is like a Hoover vacuum.” It seemed the limo driver had a hell of a time while Sean used the car. At least he had the grace to blush when his startled eyes landed on me before he hurried to the driver’s side door.

“You’ll wait until the plane takes off ta leave, just in case anythin’ goes wrong,” Sean ordered.

“Yes, sir.”

The stupid bastard didn’t even question what kinds of things could go wrong. He probably assumed Sean meant something mechanical with the plane, and not my husband coming to my rescue with guns blazing. Speaking of the plane...

“You’re kidnapping me in my own plane?”

“It’s not yours anymore. It’s mine,” he boasted, nudging me in the back with the gun to get me moving towards the steps that led up to the open door. “Ya fecked up, choosin’ to dump the traffickin’ and the drugs. I stepped inta the gap ya left behind. Some of your men aren’t like the blind idiots who’ve chosen ta follow ya. They want ta keep the money rollin’ in, an’ they’ve made sure I’ve had what I needed to ensure their pockets remained well-lined.”

Information. Access to me. The plane. Greg might have been the traitor who’d turned me over to Sean, but he couldn’t have pulled all this off himself. He wasn’t smart enough, or high enough up the ladder, to get Sean everything he would have needed. There had to be more of my men involved.
Fucking shit.

Seeing no other option that wouldn’t put the baby at risk, I boarded the plane. Sean didn’t waste a moment, instructing the pilot to take off immediately. I stared out the window, praying Brandon would somehow manage to find me before that happened. The odds of my survival dropped even lower once we got in the air. Minutes ticked by as the pilot readied the plane before we taxied to the runway. When the wheels left the ground and we were already in the air, I saw several black SUVs racing towards the limo. Tears streamed from my eyes, knowing Brandon had done the nearly impossible and tracked me down, even if it was a couple minutes too late to rescue me.

Pressing one hand to the window and the other to my stomach, I watched as one of the SUVs plowed into the limo. The tears kept falling, but I stayed silent, not wanting Sean to know Brandon had gotten there in time to capture Greg. I waited until they were out of sight, and then I brushed the tears away and turned away from the window.

“Enough o’ that, now,” Sean chided. “It won’t be all bad. Once we arrive at our destination, we’ll get your marriage ta that dago annulled. Then you’ll marry me an’ we can go on as though your stupid decision never happened.”

“That’s impossible,” I whispered, but not softly enough because he heard what I’d said.

“It’s going ta’ happen, Carly. I caught ya before the marriage could be consummated, and a lucky thing too. I’ll have what was promised ta me, one way or another.”

“I’ve already given it to my husband, and I’ve got a baby in my belly to prove it.” In my fury and fear, I tossed the words at him.

His eyes turned ice cold. “Well, then, I guess I’ll just have ta find another use for ya.”

“G
et me a flight to Haiti. I don’t care if you need to steal a fucking plane, I want to be in the air in thirty minutes or less.” My hands clenched and unclenched, in my attempt to hide the shaking, as I instructed Aiden and Conor.

They nodded and took off to complete their assignment. Their faces were a mask of anger and fear. My gut told me they weren’t part of the mutiny against Carly, but it was obvious Greg hadn’t acted alone. I wasn’t sure who to trust, but I couldn’t turn to my family completely, or I would lose what little ground I’d gained with Carly’s.

My phone rang and I dug it out of my pocket to see Nic’s name flashing across the screen. I hit accept and he started talking before I’d gotten my mouth open.

“Our last shipment came into the airport you’re at. Enzo and the guys are unloading our merchandise, then he’ll fly you to Haiti. I’ve got the jet fueled and a flight plan filed, get your ass to hangar eight, pronto.” I was never more grateful for the tight circle of my family than at that moment. Someone had kept Nic up to date and he had my back, like always.

I hung up the phone without a word and started running, yelling for Aiden and Conor to meet me at the plane. Ewan started to follow, but I didn’t know what kind of condition he was in after the collision and couldn’t take any chances that he would slow us down. Luckily, I had the perfect job to entice him to stay behind.

“Ewan, I need you to stay here. I need your help. I’ll call you once we are in the air. For now, get to a fucking doctor and then back to O’Reilly’s. Call in
everyone
.” That pub was where we’d held the wake, the largest by far and where we held most of our meetings.

I didn’t wait for his response, sprinting out the door and into an unattended airport vehicle. I didn’t stick around to see who it belonged to and less than thirty minutes later, we were in the air.

Conor and Aiden sat across from me. Thomas, who’d shown up as we boarded the plane, occupied the seat next to me. As pissed as I was, I knew I could trust him, and considering our situation, I needed as many trustworthy guys with me as possible. A mix of Italians and Irish were scattered throughout the rest of the jet. I made the call to Ewan and told him to find me the fucking traitors. Each one had a noose with their name on it.

***

S
lowly, my men slipped along the outside of the high stone wall surrounding a yellow, Haitian villa. The small guard shack at the gate hadn’t been a deterrent. The motherfucker who owned this place clearly had a monumental ego if he thought a pathetic, little rent-a-cop would keep his ass safe. One bullet to the head and we had access to all of the perimeter security.

Aiden and Conor had been more involved in the drug trade, but they were in the loop enough to know the key players involved in the trafficking of women. It made the most sense that Sean would hole up with their contact, Josué, a cabinet member in The Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I prayed Carly was with him because every minute she was gone, the chances of finding her diminished.

Nic had left enough weapons on board to outfit us and somehow found us a place to land where we wouldn’t run the risk of alerting anyone of our arrival. Particularly the government since they weren’t likely to appreciate our undeclared and illegal cargo.  We stayed clear of Josué’s private hangar to stay off of his radar as well.

A contact met us when we landed, providing transportation, money, and a map of Josué’s compound. I didn’t know who the fuck he was or how he got the info, but I wasn’t about to question it. He was more than likely one of Brecken’s contacts.

We’d finally mounted up and made our way to the crooked politician’s villa. Conor stayed at the guard booth to watch the monitors so we had eyes on the perimeter, giving us an early warning of other security, and keeping us off camera. We weren’t ready to enter just yet, preferring to scout the place from outside the walls. When the time was right, Conor would let us in.

“They’re here,” I heard Thomas whisper over his comm. “Sean is pacin’ on the patio and havin’ what looks like a pretty heated conversation with Josué.”

“Carly?” I asked.

“Not yet.”

I tensed the muscles in my arm, barely keeping myself from punching the stone. Where the fuck was my woman?

“I’ve got a twenty on her,” one of Nic’s men informed me. Air rushed from my lungs, making me almost dizzy with relief. We weren’t clear by any stretch of the imagination, but at least I knew she was here. “She’s in a small structure out back, looks like a guest house or servant’s quarters.”

“Is it visible from the pool deck?” I inquired as my mind raced over our options and attempted to formulate a plan.

“Partially, but from what I can tell, the room she’s in isn’t.”

“Bran, ya got company,” Conor growled in my ear. “Security is makin’ the rounds.”

“Armed?” I asked.

“Looks like pistols only.”

Conor gave us the location for each of the three guards and one by one, we picked them off before they could sound an alarm. Then two of the boys dragged them into the bushy area across the access road.

It was time to breach, but I hesitated, torn between going to Carly and dealing with the scum who had taken her. I knew Carly would kick my ass for choosing her when Thomas or Aiden could just as easily do it. But, my heart ached to see her, to know she was alive and unharmed. However, the thought of her safety in the long run, and our determination to shut this faction of the business down, was what made the decision.

“Thomas, take three guys and secure my wife. Aiden, you’re with me, we’ll meet back at the rendezvous point.” Thomas started to argue, wanting to switch places with Aiden, but I cut him off, commanding him to do as I said. I needed someone calm and logical to counter balance me. Thomas was too close to Carly, and I was afraid our rage would make both of us irrational and easily provoked into doing something incredibly stupid. He huffed in irritation but dropped the issue.

I entered the compound through a side entrance in the gate, followed by Aiden and five other guys who immediately spread out, staying hidden. The others would wait at the back until I signaled for them to make their move. Sean and Josué would be dead by the time I left, but I wanted Carly far away and safe before we got aggressive. We would serve as a distraction while they got her out.

Aiden and I snuck up the concrete steps leading to the pool deck, pausing near the top to listen in on the squabble being had.

“She’s no good ta me now,” Sean whined, “I’ll have ta take the territory by force instead of gaining it through marriage. Which means I’ll need capital.”

“What do you expect me to do, estipid?” Josué asked in a thick Haitian Creole accent. “She’s too old to fetch much of a price, even if she weren’t pregnant.”

Fucking hell.
How did they find out about the baby when Carly hadn’t even admitted to being pregnant yet?

“Why don’t ya keep her? It’s not like ya care about their condition as long as they’re strong enough ta be broken. She’s a feisty one, she’ll fight harder than the other girls. An I’ll only charge ya half the fee.”

Rage consumed me and I could barely see the steps as I tried to barrel up them. They were talking about my wife. I was yanked backward before I could ascend even one stair.

“They’ll get what’s comin’ to them, Brandon,” Aiden hissed. “But, you’re no good to Carly if you go rushin’ in thoughtlessly an’ get yourself killed.”

He was right. I hated that he was right. But, it was why I’d brought him with me in the first place. We needed to find out where they were keeping the girls.

“Oke,” Josué said, his tone somewhat gleeful. “If you’re right, maybe she’ll be enough to entertain me for a while.”

Dead man. Dead man. Dead man.

“Just make sure she disappears when yer done with her,” Sean snapped. “Now, send someone to load up the shipment, I need to get the feck out o’ here.”

It was exactly what we needed. I motioned for one of the men with us to turn around and go back. He’d heard the discussion and knew what I wanted.  A few of them would follow their guy to what was most likely a local brothel and clear it out.

Before I broke eye contact, I gave him one more order, my voice deadly. “Burn it the fuck down.”

“N
o fecking way!”

I’d recognize that voice anywhere, had heard it for most of my life. I still kept my eyes closed for a moment, terrified I might be imagining my childhood friend was here to rescue me, just like I’d expected Brandon to be standing in front of me when I’d opened my eyes after dreaming of him. Pushing down my terror, I lifted my head, opened my eyes, and found Tommy standing in front of me with three of my men behind him.

“Out!” he roared. The guys tore their gazes away from me and hurried from the room.

“It isn’t as bad as it looks,” I chided. “It’s not like I’m naked.”

It was pretty damn close, but I was partially covered. The barely-there slip I’d worn underneath my wedding gown left little to the imagination.

“Fecking hell, ya might as well be.”

“I guess Sean figured since he wasn’t going to marry me, then I didn’t need to keep my wedding dress on.”

“I’m gonna tear the bloody eejit’s bollocks off.”

His thick brogue was a sure clue to how pissed off he was. “Careful, your Irish is showing.”

“Jaysus, Carly. You’re the only woman I know who’d make a joke at a time like this.” He rubbed his face in exasperation and hissed in pain when his fingers brushed his bandaged and bruised nose, clearly having forgotten about the injury.

“You want to tell me how that happened?”

“I shouldna’ left you alone.”

Yeah, I knew exactly who had broken his nose. Considering I’d been taken while he was supposed to be watching over me, I guessed I should be relieved that’s all Brandon had done to him. “How about we call it even if you untie me and find me something to wear?”

“Shit, sorry,” he murmured, rushing forward to work on the rope wrapped around my hands.