Page 44 of Saving Scarlett
With trembling hands, I crept away from Delacroix’s office. Claustrophobia made my skin tingle, the windowless hallways like a tomb closing in around me. Doing my best to ignore my fear, I kept moving through the maze of corridors, sticking to the shadows. My pulse pounded as I slipped past mobsters standing guard, knowing one wrong move and I would be dead.
Finally, I spotted it—a door that had to lead outside—hanging open as someone outside smoked a cigarette. Heart leaping, I peered through the crack to see a loading dock, leading out to a quiet side street. It was my way out, if only I could get there unnoticed.
Waiting until the nearest guard turned his back, I darted forward, my bare feet silent on the concrete floor. I was steps away from freedom when—
“Hey!” A shout rang out behind me, forcing me to stumble. “Where do you think you’re going?”
With my jaw clenched, I turned to face the angry guard storming toward me, one hand reaching for his radio to raise the alarm. As he got close, I exploded into motion, my elbow smashing into his nose with a sickening crunch. Before he could recover, I grabbed his radio and pistol, sprinting for the exit.
Freedom was just steps away as I lunged for the door, only to find myself staring down the barrel of Victor’s revolver, the weapons in my hand slapped to the floor.
“Nice try, princess,” he sneered, pointing to the men closing in behind me. “But did you really think it would be that easy?”
My heart sank into the ground beneath my feet, but I lifted my chin in defiance. I glared at Victor, refusing to show the fear churning inside me.
“That was a very stupid thing to do,” Victor said, his gun aimed at my chest. “You’re lucky I don’t put a bullet in you right now.”
My mind raced, assessing my options. The gun was only a few feet away—if I could get to it, I might have had a chance. I tensed my muscles, preparing to dive.
Victor seemed to read my intention, pressing the gun forward until it was only inches from my head. “Don’t even think about it,” he warned. “On your knees. Now.”
With no choice, I slowly sank to the concrete floor, my skin crawling at the forced submission. Victor grabbed my arm and wrenched me forward, shoving me toward his men.
“Tie her up,” he ordered. “And make sure it’s tight this time. No more chances.”
Rough hands seized me, binding my wrists and ankles with coarse rope. I bit back a cry as the fibers dug into my abraded skin. Once I was secured, Victor grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at him.
“Your little escape attempt changes things,” he said, his voice ice cold. “I wanted to use you as leverage with your father. But now...” His eyes hardened, filling me with dread. “Now you’re nothing but a liability.”
Chapter 38
The Savior
Sitting in my parked car in an alley near the distillery, I took a deep breath, trying to rein in the rage threatening to overwhelm me. My laptop sat on my lap as I waited for Phantom to send blueprints to me. I’d parked a few blocks away from the structure, and my window tint was dark enough no one would be able to see me inside, even if Victor’s men were to venture down the street.
After taking care of the snitch, I’d set the warehouse ablaze and driven straight to the distillery. There was too much nervous energy inside me to return to my apartment and stew. If I was lucky, the fire would be a distraction for the police, and for the gang Vinnie belonged to, taking some of their attention away from Scarlett and my attempt to save her.
“Okay, I’m in.” Phantom’s voice pulled me from my thoughts, his signature tapping slowing as my eyes flicked back to the screen. “Looks like there’s three main buildings, all interconnected, and a big central courtyard with just one access point. The building has been vacant for decades. How’s it look from the outside?”
Tearing my eyes away from my computer again, I glanced back out into the darkened night, my muscles twitching with the need to get out of the car and find my Little Red. I needed to be prepared first, but I didn’t want her with them any longer than she already had been. “Like all the other abandoned buildings in this city that should have been torn down ages ago—a magnet for nothing but rats and crack addicts.” And where the bodies are buried… but I didn’t say that aloud. It was the last thing I wanted to think about with my girl still inside.
As I returned my attention to the laptop, I brought up the blueprints and studied the layout of the property. My jaw clenched. It would be difficult to get in and out undetected, but not impossible. It was a fortress, but I’d infiltrated fortresses before.
“Any way to cut power to the security system?” I asked, double checking the magazine of my gun and sliding it back into its holster. “Even for a few minutes?”
As rain pounded the blacktop, I stared back out the window, listening to Phantom hum as he worked on his computer. The longer I sat in the car, the more difficult it was for me to focus on only one thing. “I might be able to trigger a temporary blackout, but they’ll have backup generators kicking in fast. It won’t give you more than about five minutes—if that.”
My mind raced, calculating variables, weighing options, but at the end of the day, I needed to trust my instincts. It was risky, but it would have to work. I would make this right. I would tear New Orleans apart brick by brick if I had to. Delacroix’s men would pay for taking Scarlett.
“Alright,” I said, turning off the ignition and closing my laptop to slide it beneath the seat. “I’m going in, so give me a few minutes before you shut them down. It’ll have to be enough.”
The cool rain soaked my black hoodie as I slipped out of my car and into the darkness, each step deliberate. The dilapidated Mob hideout loomed before me like the monster it was, a decaying fortress of corruption and violence. Years of working in the shadows taught me to let my instincts guide me, but tension still tightened my chest. My sole mission was to find Scarlett and get her out of this hellhole, but I didn’t know where she was or what shape she was in, and that made it impossible to approach the situation in my usual manner. The stakes were too high, as were my emotions, making it impossible to go in with a cool head.
With the rain making heavy splatters on the ground, my boots were silent against the concrete as I crept along the outer wall of the compound. The place was a crumbling relic, all peeling paint and rusting beams that groaned under their own weight. The brick was weather-beaten and in chunks on the ground.
In the distance, a door creaked open, echoing through the night. The snap of a cigarette lighter, a flare of flame, and the acrid scent of tobacco drifted my way a moment later. I pressed myself into the darkness, holding my breath as I peered around the corner. One of Victor’s men was on a smoke break, and he was just the thing I needed to get into the building.
Under the cover of rain, I waited, counting the seconds, listening to the rhythmic inhale and exhale of nicotine. On the sixth puff, the exterior light above the door went out, telling me Phantom’s temporary blackout had been successful. As the unsuspecting thug cussed under his breath and reached for the door handle, there was a wet gurgle, a thud, and then two hundred pounds of dead weight hit the pavement by my feet.