Page 46 of Ma Belle Marguerite (Hidden Secrets #1)

“We found Cole’s current location. We aren’t sure if Amara is with him, but I feel if we can get him, she won’t be too hard to find.” It seems Josh is on top of everything. “Bella and the kids should be good to go about their day as long as they stay away from where we will be.”

“Okay, let's get this show on the road. I want him in my basement asap.” I sit at the desk in the corner of the room with all the security camera footage on the screens. I look to see if I can spot Bella, even though I should be paying attention.

Josh briefs us all on the location we’re heading to, including all the blind spots we will have and potential places Cole could escape if we aren’t careful. He did a great job getting this set up without me, and I will owe him big time after this is over. He’s really gone above and beyond.

The drive is only about five minutes away from here. This asshole has literally been under my nose this whole time. There’s no blueprints for the old warehouse he has been using. We are essentially going in blind.

I jump into an SUV with Josh and a few men who I recognize but don’t remember their names.

One of them is Josh’s understudy; he’s barely legal age, but he tried to hack our systems when he was fifteen.

Rather than kill a teenager who didn’t really know what he was doing, I decided to recruit him instead.

I don’t know if I will make a good boss since this has been happening for years, and I had no idea. Although, my father has no idea either. How can I ask men to follow me when I will be putting them in danger with my lack of awareness?

I feel a hand on my shoulder, drawing me from my thoughts. Fuck, I must have zoned out. “You ready, boss? You can sit this one out. You have a family to think of now. No one will blame you.”

I will not be the one who hides safely while my men run into danger. “I’m ready when you are. Just need a gun.”

“Here’s your go-bag, boss,” one of the men in the back passes me my bag.

“Thank you.” I quickly grab my gun and a spare clip and notice my knife in the bottom of the bag. I grab it and the sheath and put it in my boot. Nodding to Josh I get out of the SUV.

We round the back of the vehicle to put on bulletproof vests. My men are trying not to show shock on their faces and are failing as I put one on too. I used to run into situations and not care. I have others to think of now, finally something to live for.

It’s time to get my head in the game. They aren’t here—they are safe. Goal: find Cole and bring him ‘home’. I need to put an end to this bullshit.

Once we’re all geared up we spread out to our planned places. I have three men with me. This needs to end today. I want their blood dripping on my basement floor before lunch today. An example will be set: it doesn’t matter who you are, you will not harm my family and live to talk about it

I hear the sound of the duck call to tell my men to head in. It may be a strange signal, but it shouldn’t alert Cole or anyone with him, as people actively hunt around here. It isn’t duck season quite yet, but not everyone follows the rules.

I start a timer on my watch. The plan is to wait five minutes, and then start to head in as long as we don’t hear the signal to retreat. We will follow the first wave of men in and grab Cole and, hopefully, Amara. If we see anyone else we shoot to maim, not kill.

This has been the longest five minutes of my life, I keep checking my watch to see if it’s go time yet. Patience isn’t my best quality. I silence the alarm as it finally goes off, although they know by now that we’re here. I don’t want to give away our exact location just yet.

We keep to the edge of the bushline as we approach the warehouse. It looks more like an old, dilapidated shack. I can admit it is a good cover; I never would have expected that he would be here. It doesn’t even look usable.

As we enter the broken-in front door, we can hear yelling and guns going off below us. I signal to my men to spread out; we’ll need to find the entrance to the basement. The fact Josh couldn’t find blueprints bugs me that I was unable to check it out beforehand.

I hear a whistle to my left up ahead. I motion to the men behind me to follow. As we get closer the noises from below get louder. One of my men is standing in front of a kicked in trap door with his gun drawn.

I step up beside him and tap his shoulder before he heads down the stairs. I’m right behind him. This part looks like it was more recently renovated.

Once we reach the bottom, it is chaos.

My men seem to be winning. A quick glance through the brightly lit room shows that it is mostly my brother's men laying on the ground. It is hard to concentrate with the sounds of gun shots and men screaming. I spot Cole in a corner in the back hiding behind a couple of men that look familiar. They were at the bar with him the night of D’s birthday.

Cole’s always been a coward, willing to let all his men die while he hides. I hear a grunt beside me and look to see one of my men clutching his shoulder but still firing with his wounded arm.

I push him towards the stairs to retreat but he shakes his head at me and keeps pushing forward. I need Josh to make sure we reward him for this if he makes it through.

I catch movement out of the corner of my eye and look only to see Cole trying to crawl towards a large vent nearby. This is my chance. I take aim and shoot his shoulder, hoping to maim him enough that he can’t get far.

He looks around scared, which he should be. He will die soon…but not yet.