Page 43 of Mafia Pregnancy
Radmir
I ’m reviewing security reports in my office when Andrei bursts through the door without knocking, his face grim and a phone clutched in his hand like a weapon.
“Sir, we have a problem.” He crosses the room in three quick strides and places his phone on my desk, the screen facing me.
“This came from an anonymous number three minutes ago.”
I look down at the image, and world stops.
Danielle sits unconscious in a chair, her head lolled to one side and her hands bound behind her back with plastic zip ties.
A strip of duct tape covers her mouth, and there’s a small bruise forming on her neck where someone injected her with something.
The timestamp in the corner shows the photo was taken less than an hour ago.
The rage that floods through me is so pure and violent that I have to grip the edge of my desk to keep from destroying everything within reach. Someone has taken my pregnant girlfriend, the mother of my children, and is using her as bait to draw me into whatever trap Luca has prepared.
“Where?” The word comes out as barely more than a growl.
“Unknown location. The background shows a residential interior, but nothing distinctive enough to identify.” Andrei retrieves his phone and starts pulling up contacts. “I’m mobilizing all available teams.”
“Do it.” I stand and move to the safe behind my desk, entering the combination with hands that are steadier than they have any right to be.
“Send protection details immediately to retrieve Leo from his preschool and Molly from her house. I want them both at the Orange County safehouse within the hour.”
I remove my Sig Sauer and two spare magazines, checking the weapon with automatic precision while my mind shifts into the cold calculation mode that’s kept me alive for fifteen years in this business.
“What about Carmen?”
“Bring her here first. She might have information about where Danielle was going today.” I holster the gun and grab my jacket. “Luca took her to get to me, which means he wants something specific. He won’t hurt her until he’s made his demands, but we need to move fast.”
Andrei nods and heads toward the door, already making calls. “Teams will be ready to move in twenty minutes.”
“Make it fifteen.” I check my watch and calculate how long Danielle has been missing. “ This concludes today, whatever it takes.”
He disappears to coordinate the operation while I finish arming myself and try to process the image of Danielle unconscious and helpless.
The bruise on her neck suggests they drugged her, which probably means she walked into a trap rather than being taken by force.
Luca’s people must have used some kind of deception to lure her somewhere isolated.
The realization makes my chest constrict with guilt and fury.
After the shooting at the ice cream shop last week, I’ve been more diligent about tracking Luca’s movements and eliminating his network, but I haven’t made enough progress.
I underestimated how reckless he’d become, and how far he’d be willing to escalate this conflict.
Every moment I spent trying to anticipate his long-term strategy instead of striking immediately has led to this. Danielle is paying the price for my caution.
My phone rings with a call from the head of my tactical team. “Sir, we’re mobilized and waiting for coordinates. What’s the target?”
“Unknown at this time but prepare for urban assault. Full tactical gear, and assume heavy resistance.” I walk toward the garage where my armored SUV is waiting. “This is a rescue operation with extreme prejudice authorization.”
“Copy that. Teams are standing by.”
The next call is to my contact in the county sheriff’s department, a man who owes me enough favors to ensure cooperation without questions. “I need helicopter support and traffic coordination for a tactical operation. Can you make that happen?”
“How much firepower are we talking about?”
“Enough to level a city block if necessary.”
He hesitates. “What kind of situation is this?”
“The kind where someone took something that belongs to me, and I’m taking it back.” I end the call before he can ask more questions or confirm. I already know he’ll come through.
Twenty minutes later, my estate has transformed into a military command post. Six black SUVs are parked in the circular drive, each one loaded with armed men wearing tactical gear. The main conference room buzzes with activity as team leaders coordinate routes and communication protocols.
I’m studying aerial maps of North County when Carmen arrives with two of my guards, her face pale but determined.
She still wears her work uniform, suggesting Andrei pulled her directly from her duties.
“I came as soon as Andrei sent for me. Is it true? Did someone really take Danielle?” Her voice shakes with barely controlled fear.
“Yes.” I show her the photo on my phone, watching her face crumple with horror. “We’re going to get her back, but I need information. Where was she supposed to be today? What job was she working?”
Carmen stares at the image of her best friend bound and unconscious, tears streaming down her face. “I don’t know, but she might have stopped by the staffing agency.”
“Which agency?”
“The same one that placed her here originally. San Diego Domestic Staffing.” Carmen wipes her eyes with the back of her hand. “She’s looking for something that pays well and fits around Leo’s school schedule.”
I turn to Andrei, who’s already making notes. “Get me everything on that agency. Client lists, recent placements, and phone records. I want to know if anyone requested Danielle specifically.”
“On it.” He steps away to coordinate the investigation.
Carmen grabs my arm. “Wait. I might be able to help.” She pulls out her phone with shaking hands. “Danielle and I both use a location-sharing app for safety. If her phone is still on, I can see where she is.”
Hope flares as she navigates through the app. After several seconds, a map appears showing a blinking dot in what looks like the Mount Soledad area. “There.” Carmen points to the screen with a trembling finger. “That’s her current location.”
I study the coordinates and cross-reference them with the tactical maps spread across the conference table. The location sits on a residential street with expensive homes and limited access routes, which explains why Luca chose it for his operation.
“Andrei,” I call across the room. “We have coordinates.” He approaches with a tablet showing satellite imagery of the target location.
“Mount Soledad, high-end residential area. It has modern construction and was probably built within the last five years. There are multiple exit points, but the property backs up to a canyon, which limits escape routes.”
“Security systems?”
“High-end residential, but nothing our technical team can’t handle.” He makes notes on his tablet. “The bigger concern is civilian presence. There are occupied homes on both sides, though they’re spaced far apart.”
“Then we go in clean until we’re not clean anymore.” I check my watch and calculate response time. “How long until the teams are in position?”
“Thirty minutes for full deployment, fifteen for advance reconnaissance.”
I turn back to Carmen, who’s still staring at her phone screen as if she can will Danielle to safety through sheer force of concern. “I need you to go to the safehouse with the protection detail. Monitor that app and call Andrei immediately if her location changes or goes offline.”
“I want to help.” Carmen looks up at me with desperate determination. “She’s my best friend. There has to be something more I can do.”
“The most helpful thing you can do is stay safe and keep monitoring her location.” I place a hand on her shoulder. “Leo and Molly are being taken to the same safehouse. Danielle will need to know they’re protected when we bring her home.”
Carmen nods reluctantly. “Promise me you’ll get her back.”
“I will.” The words carry the weight of an oath. “I won’t come home without her.”
After Carmen is escorted away, I turn my attention back to the tactical planning.
The satellite imagery shows a two-story house with a three-car garage and extensive landscaping that could provide cover for approach routes.
The property sits on approximately two acres, with neighboring homes spaced far enough apart to minimize collateral damage concerns.
“Primary objective is extraction of the hostage,” I address the assembled team leaders. “Secondary objective is elimination of hostile forces. I want Luca alive if possible, but not at the expense of the primary objective.”
“Rules of engagement?” asks my tactical commander.
“Anyone who raises a weapon against us is considered hostile. Anyone who gets between us and Danielle is considered hostile.” I meet each man’s gaze in turn. “She comes home alive and unharmed. Everything else is negotiable.”
My phone buzzes with a text from an unknown number containing only an address that matches the coordinates Carmen provided, with no demands or threats. It’s pure arrogant confirmation that Luca wants me to know exactly where he’s holding Danielle.
“He’s expecting us,” I tell Andrei. “This is a trap.”
“Obviously. The question is whether we’re walking into it anyway.”
I study the photo of Danielle one more time, noting the way her hands are bound and the careful positioning that suggests she’s been displayed specifically for the camera.
Luca isn’t just holding her hostage. He’s making a statement about his power and ability to reach into my life to take what matters most.
“We’re walking in prepared for war.” I tuck the phone away and check my weapon one final time.
The next fifteen minutes pass in a blur of final preparations.
Routes are confirmed, communication protocols established, and backup plans rehearsed.
Every man in my organization who can hold a weapon is either heading to Mount Soledad or protecting the safehouse where Leo, Molly, and Carmen will wait.
As I climb into the lead SUV, I think about the last conversation I had with Danielle, and the ultimatum she gave me about choosing between her and the bratva. The pain in her voice when she said she couldn’t raise children in a world where violence was a constant threat haunts me.
She was right about the danger and the risks that come with loving someone in my position. Today proves that beyond any doubt. The question now is whether I can get her back safely and find a way to eliminate those risks permanently.
I’ve spent years building an empire based on patience and sharp-witted strategy. Today, strategy goes out the window. I’m operating on pure instinct and the kind of rage that could turn an entire room of trained thugs into a graveyard.
Luca wanted to send me a message by taking Danielle. The message I’m about to send back will be written in blood and fire, and it will be the last communication we ever have.
The convoy pulls out of the estate at exactly 9:33 a.m., six vehicles carrying twenty-four armed men toward a confrontation that will end with either Danielle safe in my arms or half of San Diego burning.
As we speed through traffic toward Mount Soledad, I make the same promise to myself that I made to Leo in my thoughts: I will bring her home, and Luca will never threaten my family again because he made a critical error when he went after the woman I love, who is carrying my daughter.