Page 31 of Forbidden Eyes

“I believed that we were in partnership with Vico. We’ve certainly profited from his business over the years, but he takes it too far this time.My son.” He stalks towards me, and the creaking of the chair grows as I struggle more and more, fear pulsing through me at his words. He reaches me and crouches down to whisper in my ear. “How much will your daddy pay to get you back in one piece?”

In a flash the knife that was attached to his belt is in his hand. He runs the tip over the profile of my face, down to my neck, and then hands it to another man and backs away a few feet.

“Please…” I don’t know what I’m asking, but the fear of what he might do overrides anything else I might want.

The other guy comes in closer, tilting my head back as the older one looks on. “Please, what?” he says, watching as the tip of the knife is dug under my chin to lift my head to his eyes.

“Please let me go,” I whimper.

“Sorry,” he says, his face smiling to reveal shining white teeth. “That’s not going to happen.” He takes another step back and nods, and the tip of the knife shifts from my skin. I feel a trickle of warm liquid snake down my throat instantly and try to rip my hair out of the man’s hold. “Doesn’t that look pretty,” the older man says, nodding again. “Red really is your colour.” The knife comes back and this time the one being ordered to hurt me runs it down my chest, the pressure growing with his stroke.

“No…. argggghhhh.” My scream pierces the room as the pain slices through my bravery. A throbbing pain emanates from the top of my clavicle down to my sternum.

“I don’t think your father will mind a few scratches, do you? Something to show him Chelico is serious.”

I can’t see the mark, but I can feel the heat rushing to my chest and a few dark marks staining my dress. Only my imagination can fill in the blanks of what he’s done to me.

“No,” I sob, my face dropping as tears fall into my lap.

“Good. Stay silent like a good girl and everything will work out.”

Nine

Ilost view of them a mile or so back, choosing to take the left fork in the road to get here instead of following too closely. The second I veered off, I killed the lights to travel in darkness rather than have them see me coming. If there’s one thing these boys aren’t, it’s dense. They’re damn good at what they do. Something I know well from time spent with them. I ease the car around the corners, careful not to knock plumes of the dirt track up into the sky, and finally pull up under some trees. The only advantage I have here is surprise, and I don’t know if that’s enough against this crew, let alone Anchov, but I’m damned if I’m waiting for backup.

The car door closes quietly behind me, and I hurry to the outskirts of the boundary walls, pulling my gun to get ready. Jesus, of all the fucking times for something to go wrong at a deal. What the fuck was my conscience doing bringing her into the middle of this? Idiotic. And then I left her in the goddamn car as I tried to sort out the mess she’d created? More stupidity. I should have known they’d be watching the deal, keeping it covered from all angles.

I keep on going past the elaborate gardens of the vast white Chelico estate, hugging the walls to stay out of the line of any cameras. Luckily enough, I was here last year—yet another fucking favour for Vico that involved me being neck deep in drugs—so at least I know the house, know the security systems they have here. They’re all top of the line, but the cameras also leave a two-foot gap skirting the perimeter. That’s hopefully enough for me to get through without anyone knowing I’m here yet.

I crouch when I reach the old palms and sneak a look through the railings up towards the main house. Where the hell they’ve taken her is a mystery, but she’ll be in there somewhere. There are six guards up on the terrace near the entrance. I duck and change angles to see two more at the back by the pool. A ruckus brings my attention back to where I was originally looking. The main doors swing open, Anchov Chelico himself stepping out onto the patio and looking around the grounds, three more guards crowding him. He lights a cigar and stares into the distance, hatred written all over his aged, tanned face. That’s aimed at me, regardless of the fact he doesn’t know I’m here yet. Killing his son wasn’t the best fucking move, which I guess he now knows, but pissing off Vico by not protecting Fia would have been more dangerous to all concerned. Cane included.

And so, here we fucking are.

He walks back into the house, some of his men going with him, and I shake my head and concentrate back on the fact that I have to get to her somehow. My eyes search the sparsely lit top levels of the property for more cameras. From what I remember, there weren’t any internally other than at the two entrances. That could have changed in a year, but I can’t see anything and don't have the privilege of time on my side. I loosen my tie, a slight smile coming at the thought of some real action. It’s been a while since I’ve had to engage, and whilst this is fucked up, they’re not going to do any damage to her yet. She’s worth too much. Far too much. Too much time, though, and a phone call will be made to Vico, a bargain offered for her life because of the death of Pierre. Last thing anyone needs is Vico involved. Certainly not me. Not until I'm prepared for it, anyway. That phone call will only be made when Anchov himself is prepared, for the exact same reason—fear.

Currently, he’s as unprepared as I am.

I scale the wall and drop softly in behind the palm trees, immediately hurrying through the dense undergrowth to get closer to one of the back windows. None of the guards move from their locations, meaning I’m still unseen. I hurry further around, past their viewpoint, looking for a line of entry. The pool house is attached to the main house by a glass tunnel leading through to the staff quarters. That’ll do. I grip the gun and run faster, ducking and dodging the outlying trees to get to my goal. The second I set foot on a secluded part of the terrace, a guy comes out of nowhere. I keep moving into him at speed and then yank him backwards into the shrubs, my hand closed over his mouth. My knife is out and stuck into his neck before any sound is made, blade twisting and my hold keeping him still under the attack. He eventually slumps in my hold, and warm blood seeps over my fingers as I drag him further into the bushes. Good. One down.

Another run and I’m through the doors, the smell of chlorine instantly assaulting my senses. I hover, watching the blue hues for any movement and thinking of the pool back home, her body rising out of it. All this is because of her, and nowforher. I wish that only meant me being bothered about Vico, but it's not. I'm pissed they've taken her from me. Annoyed that they'd dare. And now I feel protective of her and the feeling that’s arisen for some goddamn reason. No woman's ever given me that sense of meaning, not even come close. I've seen some shit over my life, heard screams under duress at the hands of men like the ones I'm closing in on. They touch a damn hair on her head and I'll kill every one of them, no matter their power.

I shake myself back to the here and now, trying to get my head back in the game rather than let her distract me again. It’s quiet. No one here. Goddamn windows run the entire length of the block, and I’ve got to get past them quietly. I glance at the two guards still up by the house, watching as they talk and turn, and then scout for any others in the area. None that I can see. I could take them out, but that might cause noise I can’t afford until I’m within touching distance of her.

Fuck it.

I move quickly along the side of the pool, hoping they don’t see my shadow moving as I run, and grab for the door handle into the tunnel. It’s silent on the other side of the door, but yet again, more fucking windows run the length of the glass structure into the building. I squint again at the guards and try calculating the distance between me and wherever she might be in the house. She’ll be too far in for this to be easy. The place sprawls; no fucking way am I getting through this tunnel with the guards so close to it.

All in.

My gun is quickly aimed at both of their heads, silencer still in place so I don’t cause too much commotion other than the smashing of the window I’m about to shoot through. I fire twice, cleanly and effectively. Both bodies drop, and I’m opening the door and sprinting the tunnel before I give a fuck who else might be around to hinder me. Two more doors and I’m through into the main house, listening for anything useful to me. Metal rattling to my left makes me ease back into the shadows by a room, and I watch a servant coming through, food and plates being pushed on a trolley. I skirt through empty rooms the moment he’s gone by, gun aimed around any door I pass through, but there’s nothing but luxury and decadence on show. No people. Certainly, no Fia.

I wait for a moment, straining to hear anything that might give me a steer. It’s too quiet, not even the sound of Anchov’s whores cackling like they were last year. Maybe she’s not in the house? Garages? Stables maybe. Or upstairs? I nod to myself and carry on searching the rooms in the vicinity quickly, then head through more corridors until I creep towards the grand staircase through the library. Voices sound instantly, three of them talking lowly. My head whips back around the door I was going to walk through, back braced on the wall opposite where they are.

She’s definitely up those stairs.

And that reeks of fucking problems.

My eyes close, drawing in a long breath to help me stay calm. These three need putting down before anything happens. It’s a fucking problem because the moment a shot is heard, all hell’s gonna break loose and I still don’t know where she is. Upstairs is a big goddamn place. My hand reaches into my pocket, pulling out my knife, and I listen to them talk, hoping for a steer in her direction. They chuckle and chat in Spanish, something about which one of them will have their fun first. And that’s enough to rile up the blood I was managing to keep at bay.