Disclaimer:
I do not speak Albanian so parts of this chapter were brought to you via Google translate.
It would appear that Mr. Arrogant has a fear of flying, which has been entirely amusing. Torey played it off like he was cool with it but I could see the set of his jaw, the sweat on his brow. The moment we'd landed in New York he visibly relaxed. Dani, on the other hand, was fine during the flight but her anxiety spiked the moment the jet's landing gear touched the runway.
When she tried to cling to me for comfort I had to remind her where we were, that she could no longer do that. Torey and I were off-limits while we are here and I hate it. I hate that I can't be her person, especially now that we're walking into one of her father's hotels.
It's his main one, the one where he does the majority of his business, where he'd hired me. Dani squeezes my hands after we enter and I have to whisper under my breath, "Dani, there are security cameras everywhere." She immediately clasps her hands behind her back without another word. "Remember what we talked about."
No touching. No affectionate glances. No nothing. It could get us killed.
A large, much older man steps out from a door behind the front desk. "Torey, you're back sooner than I thought you would be." He assesses me and then looks at Dani. After a moment his eyes widen, "Daniela!?" Several people on the perimeter's eyes flick to her at the man's exclamation. "Is it really you?"
"Po, jam une." I have never heard Dani speak Albanian before. The way it rolled off her tongue was so natural. "Goodshtë mirë të të shoh, xhaxha."
"Nuk mund ta besoj!" He walks around the desk to stand in front of her, placing a hand on each shoulder. Then he grabs ahold of her braided hair. "Cfare keni bere me floket tuaj?"
"I thought it needed a change." She pulls her dyed-blonde locks out of his hand and he frowns.
"Your father won't like it."
"We don't have time to deliberate hair colors, Asdren." Torey added in a terse manner. "I thought you were heading back home with your brother."
"Best to talk business in private, no?" The man doesn't give another backward glance before striding off to where the elevators are. Once we're all inside there's a tense quietness. It's uneasy, uncomfortable and I know that means we're walking into something dangerous. I've felt this way many times before a mission I wasn't sure I'd be making it out of. The most unnerving thing is that the man hadn't asked who I was which I'm gathering is because he already knows who I am.
The doors chime open and we're walking down a long, carpeted hallway. I make a mental note of where the staircases are when we round a corner and continue walking. There's a supply closet which I'm assuming is not really a supply closet. I doubt any guest is allowed on this floor. I'm sure behind that door are a bunch of armed men watching security footage. I make note of the voices on the other side. Yes, definitely a security team. We finally reach a room that has the man swiping some sort of badge over a device. Another mental note— lift an identification badge in case things go south.
"I see you brought home the stray kitten." Agelos' deep accented voice said. "Even though I specifically gave the order not to." He's sitting at a wide desk, leaning back in a leather chair. "At least Tatyana will be pleased."
"I followed a lead, one that also lead me to Daniela." When the uncle goes to leave the room I make sure to subtly snatch his identification badge. Torey continues after the door closes, "She was nearly killed twice by the same people who attacked the syndicate and your family. My assumption is that Katya was working for him as well."
He shoots up from his seat and pins Torey with a hard look, "Who? Who is it?"
"A Turkish diplomat named Burak Polat." He curses under his breath before launching his drink across the room, smashing it against the wall. "I would take it you've heard of the man?" Because Torey didn't know about him for some reason, which still doesn't sit with me right.
"You—" He points at Dani before walking around the desk. "This is all your fault. Your family is suffering because of your decision. My business is suffering because of your weakness." He's directly in front of her now, looking over her murderously. I eye Torey uneasily but if he's worried he's doing a Grade-A job of masking it. He grabs her braid and looks at it disdainfully. "What have you turned into?" He gives her hair a harsh tug which has her crying out slightly. "A whore— is that what? Because that is what got us into this." I clench my fists at my sides wanting to hurl one directly into his face. "Who was it? Which one of my men was it?" He jerks her hair one more time. "Kushe ishte?"
"Baba, të lutem ndalo!"
"You want me to stop? You should have thought about that before you ruined yourself for your future husband. You don't want to tell me the man's name? Okay." He takes one step back from Dani and then delivers a hard backhand to her that leaves her sprawled out on the floor.
I whip my gun out and aim it directly at him. "Get away from her." The words leave my mouth with a calm that I am most certainly not feeling. I hear the cocking of a gun beside me and don't have to look to know it's Torey. When I quickly glance over I'm astonished that the gun is not on the man in front of us but on myself.
Agelos lets out a sharp noise full of disdain at me. "You were paid to protect her, Brooks, but not from me. You work for me. Now put the gun down." I don't which makes his eyes blaze in fury. "She will tell me, even if I have to beat it out of her."
"Baba..." Dani cries on the ground clutching the side of her face. When I see that her nose is bleeding all I can see is red.
"Dani, come here." I call out to her, beckoning her to come to me.
"She's not going anywhere." When she goes to make it toward me he reaches down and clutches her hair before dragging her to her feet. She continues to cry and ask him things in her language. She's begging him. "Who was it?" He asks the question over and over in their language and in ours. "Who was worth the death of our family? The death of my men? Tell me who it is so I can stop this madness!" Because in our world death only stops with death. If she gives up Torey he will kill him and deliver his dead body to Polat himself. "TELL ME!" He roared in her face.
"I can't!" She cries out repetitively. "I can't! I can't!" Because he is the father of her child and for many other reasons, I can see it all over her face. Tears pour down her cheeks rapidly. "I can't, please."
"Ti mundesh!"
"Baba..." She grabs ahold of his hand with both of hers, trying to relieve the death grip in her hair. "E dashuroj atë. Ju lutemi ndaloni këtë!"
"Because you love him?" He spits on the ground like the word left a horrid taste in his mouth.
I look back to Torey who is just staring at me stone-faced, gun pointed in my direction. I shake my head incredulously thinking about how she just admitted the fact that she loves him still and he's doing nothing about it. He pins me with a desperate look and I know exactly what he means. Undercover. He's undercover. His eyes flick to the gun in his hand and I immediately understand. I make quick work of disarming him. He fights back somewhat but no where near what I know he's capable of. He lets me land a hard punch that knocks him flat on his ass and sends his gun flying away from him. No more than a second later am directly in front of Dedaj. "Let. Her. Go. Now." He drops a crying Dani and I catch her with my free arm. She clings to me, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Where are you going to go, huh? You are in my hotel. The moment you leave this room my men will swarm you." Torey gets back on his feet but before he can reach for his gun I back us out of the room. "Come on, Dani, we have to run." I grab ahold of her hand and begin sprinting toward the door that's just around the corner, leading toward the staircase. "Come on, baby, make those feet move faster."
"I'm trying!"
Two shots whiz right by my head from behind and I don't have to look to know that it's Torey. The shots were purposefully wide. I hear loud voices calling out soon as we reach the door that have me whipping out my security card and scanning it quickly. I bust open the door and drag Dani with me before slamming it shut. I shoot the security device several times, praying that it jams the door.
"Three flights. We go down three flights."
"I feel like I'm going to puke." Dani said once we go through the door that leads to a hall of hotel rooms. I slow my pace and hide my gun upon seeing regular civilians. "Why are we not running?"
"We're almost to the elevator." I pull her aside as I watch the elevator open, revealing a happy couple exiting. "Come on. I snatch her hand and hurry our pace again." Once inside I punch the button for the parking garage. I swear under my breath every stop it makes on the way down but thankfully we aren't met with any of his men.
The doors open to a dimly lit garage and I spot my next target— a sporty Honda Civic. It takes me no time at all to break into the vehicle and get it going. With Dani already in the passenger seat I put the car in drive and make my way out of the parking garage, checking the rearview every now and again to make sure we aren't followed.
"So much for things going smoothly." Dani lets out an exasperated noise. "Thank you for saving me."
"There's nothing to thank, Dani. I love you. When he hit you..." My jaw clenches at the memory and my hands threaten to break the steering wheel. "A man should never hit a woman."
"He's never hit me before." Her voice is low, almost unrecognizable. "When I left I thought he didn't know about—" Her sleeping with someone else. "I just thought when I left he let me go. I'm so stupid." She begins to weep into her hands. "Everything in my life has been a lie. My world, the way I grew up believing my father was a good man. To think that Torey was and that you are. You are all apart of that world." She's sobbing and laughing at the same time now. It's an interesting occurrence. "I am so stupid. If what had happened between Torey and I hadn't happened I would be married off to another man who would probably treat me worse than my father just had."
"You're probably right about that." Not that I think Torey would've actually let that happen. If he'd known about her arranged engagement he probably would've shot the man himself, made it look like some kind of accident. The man was entirely too possessive.
"Where are we going?" She asks as I pull into another garage.
"Somewhere safe."
A/N:
Sooo that was an intense chapter. How's everyone feeling?