Page 22

21

SEVEN

“ T hese glasses have a built-in camera, mic, and earpiece.” Rooks sat in the chair with his arms crossed, and he looked like a deer in headlights as Shep stood over him, adjusting the thin-framed glasses on his face. “We’ll see what you see, hear what you hear.”

“Which means don’t fuck around and try something stupid,” Grim warned.

“You don’t have to worry about that.”

“Keep your head straight, and don’t touch them.” Shep stepped back. “If you start messing with them, they’ll know something’s up.”

“Got it.”

Once Shep had the glasses where he wanted them, he stepped back to his laptop and checked the feed. “Looks good.”

“Remember, keep it simple.” Grim had already laid it all out for him but felt the need to repeat, “Get in, give him what he wants, and get out. No small talk, no hesitation.”

“I’m not planning on staying for dinner, man. I want this thing done just as much as you do.”

“Somehow, I doubt that,” I grumbled under my breath.

Rooks met my gaze, something unreadable flickering in his expression. I didn’t care what he had to say. We were in this fucking mess because of his bullshit, and he damn well better fix it or there would be hell to pay. "Let's move."

Without another word, we headed out to the SUVs. I slid into the driver’s seat and waited as Shep climbed into the passenger side, laptop balanced on his thighs. Grim took his spot in the back, checking his weapons like he expected things to go to hell fast. It wasn’t exactly a bad assumption. None of us knew what we were getting ourselves into.

I glanced up in my rearview, and I saw Goose, Memphis, and Rusty piling into the second SUV. As soon as Rooks started for the gate, we all followed behind, tailing as close as possible. Prez and the rest of the brothers were holding tight and would be sitting on go if things went south.

The drive was quiet. Shep had the surveillance feed open and was watching through Rooks’ glasses as he drove toward the Volkov estate. When we started getting close, I slowed the SUV and parked across the street while Goose parked a few houses down.

When Rooks started through the gate, I leaned over to the laptop’s mic and said, "Rooks? You good?”

“Yeah.” His voice came through the earpiece, steady but sharp. "Just ready to get this over with.”

"Good," Grim muttered. "Now, don’t fuck it up."

We all watched as the gates eased open, and two guards stepped out to meet him. They motioned him forward, and he drove on to the house.

This was it.

He drove up to the front and parked. He killed the engine before announcing, “I’m going in.”

“Good. Now, remember what we said,” I warned. “If you fuck this up…”

“I know. I know. Damn,” Rooks huffed. “I’m not gonna fuck it up. They’ve got my sister in there, and I’m not leaving without her.”

“Then get to it.”

“You sure you can hear and see me?”

“Crystal.” He was wearing a pair of glasses that Shep had fitted with a hidden camera and earpiece. Shep was a master at technology, so we knew unless Rooks fucked it up, we had a birds-eye-view of inside the house. “Relax. We’ve got you covered.”

With that, he opened his car door and got out. As soon as he started up to the estate, two guards came over and started patting him down. “You carrying?”

“No weapons.” He lifted his laptop. “Just my computer.”

One of the guards took it and motioned for him to follow as they started inside. The house was massive and reeked of money. Every inch of the place was decorated with the finest of everything.

The screen shifted as the guards guided him through the house and down a long hallway. They finally stopped at a steel door. One of the men punched in a code, and the lock clicked open.

“Where the fuck are they taking him?” Grim muttered.

“I don’t know.” Shep exhaled sharply. “Looks like the garage.”

The feed flickered as Rooks stepped inside. The second the camera adjusted, my blood ran ice cold.

Tallie was hanging in the middle of the goddamn garage with her wrists bound over her head, and her body was completely limp. Her chin was down, and her hair was covering her face, making it impossible to tell if she was dead or alive. Seeing her so out of it sent me into an immediate rage. “What the fuck! I’ll fucking kill them!”

“Easy, brother.” Shep kept his voice steady as he said, “We don’t know that she’s hurt.”

“What the fuck are you talking about? Look at her!” I motioned my hand toward the screen. “To hell with this. I’m going in.”

Grim caught my arm before I could move. “Wait.”

“Wait?” I jerked free. “She’s fucking hanging there, Grim! She?—”

Then Rooks' voice cut through the feed, “What the hell is this?”

“This is what happens when you try to play games with me.” Rooks turned slightly, and the camera caught the man standing just a few feet away. “I don’t play games, Mr. Warren. I simply do not have the patience for it.”

“I’ll give you whatever you want. Just let her go,” Rooks pleaded.

“She’s fine.” The man glanced over at Tallie. “I did this for her benefit.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Imagine how terrified she would be if she was awake when I had her hung from the rafter.”

“Why the hell did you have to hang her from the rafters in the first place?”

“Because if you don’t give me what I want, this will end badly for you both. I like her. I wouldn’t want her to suffer.” His face was void of expression as he growled, “You, on the other hand.”

“Understood.”

My eyes were still locked on the screen as I told them, “That’s gotta be Sergei. He’s the one in charge.”

“I was thinking the same,” Shep agreed. “And yeah, he’s clearly running the show.”

The guy looked calm, but not in a good way. His calm made my skin crawl. His eyes were cold and showed zero emotion as he said, “Do you have the code?”

“I don’t know about a code. I have everything that I set up for my father, including all the offshore accounts and passwords.”

“That’s what I wanted to hear.” Sergei glared at him for a moment, then pushed, “Where the hell are they?”

“On the computer.” Rooks motioned his head toward the back of the room. “Your guard took it from me.”

Sergei snapped his fingers, and the guard brought over the laptop. Sergei snatched it and handed it over to Rooks. “You better make it fast. We don’t want the girl to wake up and wonder why her brother caused her to be in such a state.”

“I didn’t…”

Rooks stopped himself from saying something he would regret and turned his focus to the laptop. He opened it and immediately started typing. We could see the various accounts and all the money held within them, and it wasn’t just a couple hundred thousand. It was millions. Now, I got why Sergio had gone to such lengths to get it back.

Rooks turned the screen to face Sergei as he announced, “Okay. Here it is.”

“It’s all there?”

“Every penny. It’s just like you left it. I just need to know what you want to do with it.”

“I want it to stay right where it is.” He turned to one of the guards and motioned his head toward Tallie. “Get her down.”

“So, that’s it? That’s all you wanted?”

“Yes, and you would’ve known that had you answered any of my calls or emails.” I could see them lowering Tallie’s arms, and I was so focused on trying to make sure that she was okay that I almost missed it when he said, “I must say, I found it rather odd that you were avoiding me.”

“You killed my father. What did you expect me to do?”

“You know I didn’t kill him.”

“And how would I know that?”

“Because you were behind it.” Sergei’s face was stone cold. No emotion. No anger. No annoyance. Just cold and matter of fact. “And don’t waste my time by trying to deny it.”

“I wasn’t even in the country when he was killed.”

“Hmm, there you go running in circles again. I told you I didn’t have patience for games.” Sergei gave a quick chin lift, and one of the guards rushed Rooks, securing his arms behind him. “I never said you killed him. I said you were behind it.”

“But I had no reason to kill him.”

“Ah, I’d say you had about four million reasons.”

“I have my own money. I have no reason to try and take his, or yours, for that matter.”

“You’re right. You did have your own money until you lost it all trying to launch your own company.” Sergei shook his head with disgust. “Your father tried to warn you that it would never work, but you wouldn’t listen. And when he wouldn’t bail you out, you killed him.”

“Dad was a lying asshole! He deserved what he got,” Rooks roared. “But that doesn’t mean I had anything to do with his murder.”

“Enough running in circles again. It’s one thing to try and steal from your father.” Sergei leaned in close, “It’s another to try and steal from me.”

“But I didn’t. I wouldn’t.”

“But you did, and now, you will pay.”

“No, wait! You have to believe me! I didn’t try to steal your money!” The guard tugged him over to where Tallie had been hanging and secured his hands over his head. “It’s all right there. You can see it in black and white.”

Once Rooks was secured, Sergei stepped in front of him. His face was completely void of expression as he looked directly at Rooks. But he wasn’t actually looking at Rooks. He was looking into the glasses.

Damn.

The fucker knew.

Hell, he’d known all along.

Sergei tilted his head slightly, a ghost of a smirk playing at the corner of his mouth. “You can transfer the girl out front.”

Sergei’s face was filling most of the screen, but I could see the guard who was holding Tallie. Her body sprawled across his arms like a broken doll. He gave Sergei a nod, then started for the door.

I was still watching the guard when Sergei said, “I want my driver and my guard back. You have until midnight.”

He paused, letting the weight of his words sink in before adding, “Or there will be consequences.”

Then, before any of us could react, he reached up and pulled the glasses from Rooks’ face. The screen jolted, and you could hear Rooks call out, “Wait! Don’t!”

A sickening crunch echoed through the speakers, and then, the video feed went black. The only thing left was Rooks’ muffled voice, pleading, begging to be let go before the line went dead.

Silence.

I was still staring at the blank screen when Shep announced, “He’s coming out with Tallie.”

I looked up at the front door, and I held my breath as I watched the guard step outside with Tallie cradled in his arms. Her head was leaning back on his shoulder, and she was still out cold. Without saying a word to the others, I threw the truck into drive and gunned it toward the gate.

As soon as it opened, I punched the gas, barreling through before they could think twice. The guard barely had time to react before I was on him. I slammed the truck into park, threw the door open, and jumped out, closing the distance between us in seconds.

He hesitated for a second. Then, without a word, he carefully placed her in my arms. I exhaled sharply, adjusting her weight against me. She was warm, and her breathing was soft but steady. Whatever they had given her was still running through her system and keeping her under.

Grim got out, and I didn’t argue when he ordered, “Get in the back with her.”

I climbed into the truck and held Tallie against my chest. He was about to close the door when the guard stepped over and handed me a wad of letters and a set of car keys. “She’ll want these.”

“Where’s the car?”

“Around back.”

“I’ll get it.”

Shep got out and grabbed the keys, then rushed around back.

Grim got behind the wheel and slammed his door. Knowing he and Shep had things under control, I turned my complete attention to Tallie. I brushed a strand of hair from her face, checking for any sign that she was waking up, but nothing. She might’ve been out cold, but my girl was in my arms, and she was okay. That’s all that mattered.

Shep’s voice came from the front seat. “What are we gonna do about Rooks?”

At first, there was nothing but silence. Then, Grim shook his head and answered, “It’s too late for him. He made his own bed, and now, he’s gotta lay in it.”

Nothing else was said, so Shep tore out of there, leaving nothing but darkness and death in our wake.