Part 12 (1/2)

”How the f.u.c.k is that possible, Harris?” Roth said, snarling. ”I thought you had this place more secure than the Pentagon?”

”I did,” Harris said, his voice a little too calm. ”About an hour ago they set off some kind of low-tech EMP bomb that fried our circuits. At the same time, they hit my guys on the beach as a distraction. Lucas and Thresh both took heavy fire. Lucas is down but not out, and Thresh is-well, I'm pretty sure Thresh could lose a limb and still wreck s.h.i.+t, so I'm not worried about him. They also went after the Eliza, which, along with the the beach hit, was just a distraction. While that was going on four men infiltrated Layla's room and took her. Dane gave pursuit and took out two of them, but received a wound to the throat in the process. Not sure he'll make it. They had a launch waiting down by the beach, and by the time we had comms up and running and could coordinate with each other, they were gone. This was a pro hit, Roth. These weren't Vitaly's usual half-a.s.sed gorillas with AKs. It was quick, precise, and coordinated, and done by serious professionals.”

I was having trouble processing what he was saying. ”Hold on, Harris. You-you're saying someone kidnapped Layla? And someone is dying? Why did the gunfire not wake us up?”

Harris lifted his a.s.sault rifle. ”Suppressors. Ops like this, you can't have machine guns going off in the middle of the night or the local government would be all over our a.s.ses.”

”People were killed?”

”Vitaly's guys lost six men and one was injured. Lucas took a round to the thigh and will be out of commission for a few months. Thresh took two rounds, one to the shoulder blade and one to the bicep, two more direct hits on his body armor, but that'll leave nothing but bruises. Dane took a single round to the throat. He's alive for now, but I don't like his chances.”

”What about-what about Layla?” My voice cracked as I said her name.

”Before he lost consciousness Dane was able to communicate that she was unhurt.” Harris's jaw clenched, his molars grinding. ”It's both good and bad that we're dealing with Vitaly directly now rather than his crazy-a.s.s daughter. You did the world a favor when you took her out, Kyrie. Vitaly has a different approach than his daughter. He doesn't do things rashly out of pa.s.sion. He won't kill her or even hurt her unless it benefits him. If he wanted her or all of us dead, he would have just hit us with an airstrike or something. If he knows where we are and chose not to wipe us off the face of the planet, he has something else in mind. So that works in our favor. He won't kill her unless he has to, because he really wants you two-” he pointed at Roth and me with a sweep of his index finger, ”but we know he will kill her, which works against us. We don't know where he has her, or what his long game is, which also works against us.”

Cal cleared his throat. ”Hold on a f.u.c.king second, people. I have so many questions I don't even know where to start. Who took Layla, and why? And when you said Kyrie 'took her out', what does that mean? Who did she take out? Kyrie...killed someone? And-”

I left Roth's side and put my finger to Cal's lips, silencing him, although I had to reach up to do so. ”Calvin, little brother. Do me a favor, okay? Shut the h.e.l.l up.”

”Don't tell me to shut up, Key. Layla is gone, people are dead, and now I'm hearing that you killed someone? How did I not know about this? You've got to tell me what the h.e.l.l is going on!”

”Cal, look-”

Roth stepped forward and put himself between Cal and me. ”It's a very long story, Cal, and we don't have time to fill you in. The short version is this: I've got enemies you don't want to know about-for your own good. My enemies are Kyrie's enemies now, which she found out to her detriment several months ago. She did what she had to in order to stay alive, the details of which are her story to tell, not mine. And because my enemies have become hers, they've also become yours. Which means I've had-or rather Harris has had-men watching you for nearly a year now. Every move you made, every date you went on, every night spent studying or f.u.c.king or partying, they've been there out of sight, watching and protecting. You never knew, because you didn't need to. But now that Layla has been abducted, you've been forced into a more serious situation. Going forward, you will be given information on a need-to-know basis, and you'll stay here in this bunker under guard and you'll keep your mouth shut, because it's for your own good. We'll have you returned to Chicago as soon as we deem it safe to do so, which could be a matter of days, or a matter of weeks. Months even. All of your needs will be seen to. I've been paying for your tuition and room and board for months now, and I will continue to do so for the foreseeable future, because you are important to your sister, and thus you are important to me. But, for now, what I need from you is for you to step back and shut up. Got it?”

Cal's mouth snapped shut and his eyes glittered. ”Got it.”

Roth turned to Harris. ”Contact Ella and tell her-”

”Already done. I've got a man on her as we speak, sitting in her living room, watching the exits. I've got visuals on Robert, your parents, and Kyrie's mom as well, and I've heightened security on all of them. s.h.i.+t is locked down.”

Roth crossed the room to stand in front of Harris. Roth had two inches on him, and used them to good effect, staring down at him with anger in his eyes. ”Swear to me right now that this couldn't have been prevented, Harris.”

Harris stared back, chin lifting. ”It was a calculated strike, Mr. Roth. It was f.u.c.king surgical. The whole thing with Layla took less than three minutes from first contact to when Thresh lost visual on the Zodiac. There was nothing else we could have done, sir. I've got two wounded and one dead or...as good as dead.”

Roth stepped back. ”What are we doing to get her back?”

”I will rip this planet open to find her,” Harris said. ”I swear on my immortal soul I will find her, and I will end the life of every motherf.u.c.ker involved in taking her.” The vicious look in Harris's eyes sent s.h.i.+vers down my spine.

”Get her back, Harris,” I said. ”Please get her back.”

Harris moved to stand in front of me. ”I'm so sorry, Kyrie. You have my word. I got Roth back, I got you back, and I'll get her back. I promise.”

Roth took me by the arms, turning me to face him. ”I hate to have to say this, love, but I think we have to postpone-”

I cut him off. ”You think I'd get married when my best friend is missing? Really? I love you more than life, Roth, but I'm not getting married without Layla. She's my family. So get us aboard the Eliza and get us out of here.”

Harris pointed at Alexei. ”Alexei, you're with them, Sasha, you too. You are to maintain direct visual at all times. Guys, I'm sorry, but privacy is going out the window until this is over. Either Alexei or Sasha will be in the room with you twenty-four hours a day. We've got the s.h.i.+p refueled and stocked, so you won't be making landfall anytime soon.”

”Are you going after Layla alone?” I asked.

”h.e.l.l no. I'm bringing Thresh with me. I'd rather have him at my side than a dozen other men. Thresh is...well, he's one of a kind. He makes the Terminator look like a p.u.s.s.y.”

Harris turned to scan the monitors, and then keyed his mic. ”Eliza, prepare to receive primary. Immediate departure, emergency profile Zulu-Echo-Romeo-Oscar.” He turned back to us. ”You guys are gone. Cal stays here. I'll send an update when I can, but don't expect word from me for a few days.”

We were out the door in a matter of seconds, Alexei in front, Sasha behind. I glanced back and saw a man lying p.r.o.ne on the roof of the building, holding a sniper rifle.

Harris stood in the doorway, ball cap turned backward. ”I'll get her back.”

”You better.” It was all I could say.

I didn't even say goodbye to Cal. I saw a glimpse of him over Harris's shoulder, and he looked pale, even a little green. His usual bravado was replaced with an embarra.s.sed silence.

Layla. G.o.d, Layla.

Be safe, hooker. Stay alive. Harris is coming for you.

Part Two:.

Layla.

9.

KIDNAPPING IS FUN.

f.u.c.k. f.u.c.kf.u.c.kf.u.c.k. I do not like being kidnapped. I don't recommend it.

I've seen some pretty gnarly s.h.i.+t in my life, but that scene? I'll have nightmares for the rest of my life, that's for d.a.m.n sure. One second I was sleeping and having a nice little dream about Harris-although I'd deny that if pressed-and then the door was exploding and four dark shapes surrounded me. They tossed a black bag over my head, jerked my arms behind my back and wrapped zip-ties tight around my wrists, and shoved me forward.

The a.s.sholes didn't even let me put on my f.u.c.king pants. That's right, they kidnapped me wearing nothing but a thigh-length white V-neck T-s.h.i.+rt and my favorite red thong. No shoes, no pants, no bra.

Then they forced me into a run, one guy on each arm, pretty much carrying me across the courtyard. I couldn't see s.h.i.+t, because it was nighttime still and because they'd put a d.a.m.n sack over my head. This was a legit third-world mafia kidnapping. I heard something behind me go poppoppop-poppop-poppoppop. And then there was a wet thwack, a grunt and the hands on my left arm fell away. Someone had been shot, I realized. Different hands grabbed my free arm and lifted me, carried me in a flat-out run.

Poppoppop-poppop; this was a different weapon, similar silent clicking, but a different tone. The good guys were getting closer. My kidnappers were firing back with everything they had. Then I heard a gurgle from behind.

”Dane! s.h.i.+t!” A voice, male, low, American.

That wet gurgle, then the voice of someone calling out to the guy who'd clearly just died trying to help me...nightmare fuel right there.

I felt my feet hit the sand, and I heard the surf followed by the quiet rumble of an outboard boat motor. I was lifted clear off the ground, and a gust of wind kicked up, tossing my T-s.h.i.+rt up to bare my a.s.s cheeks and a good portion of my naked t.i.tties.

This was not lost on my kidnappers: I heard them exchanging what I a.s.sumed, judging by the tone of their voices and the lecherous laughter, were disgusting guy-comments about how s.e.xy I was. I didn't need to speak whatever barbarian language those f.u.c.kers spoke to understand what they were saying. So I did the only thing I could. I started thras.h.i.+ng and kicking, biting at whatever flesh was closest to me.

”LET ME GO YOU f.u.c.kING f.u.c.kS!” I screamed. I felt my foot connect with bone, and I kicked again, as hard as I could. I heard a grunt and a curse. ”I'll kick all ya'll's f.u.c.king a.s.ses. Put me the f.u.c.k down!”

Something hard, cold, and round touched my temple. ”Shut up, c.u.n.t, or you die. Be still, or you die.” This was in a thick accent, Greek, or Italian, or-who the h.e.l.l am I kidding? I don't know one foreign accent from another.