Dinara
She had to do this. It was a risk she could take for Beau. Whatever information she gleaned from him, she would share it with her brother right away.
Despite her bravado, she trembled. Questioning if she was doing the right thing.
Danger lurked in the shadows. Maman had always drilled in her head that predators dwelled in the darkness. It was midnight.
She was waiting at the estate's perimeter for half an hour and growing restless. Anytime she will be found by Dominic's security.
Why did Arturo want to meet here? His letter was vague. All it said was he had something very important to tell her. About Beau's enemy. Why did her sister have enemies? She was an angel and as harmless as a person could be.
Dinara was a whole lot dangerous compared to her. She was trained very well by her maman. Knives were her specialty. And she was holding one right now. One wrong move from the Mexican commander and he's dead.
"Brrrr... it's getting cold!" Where the fuck was he?
"Mafia princess," She twirled around and came face to face with an unfamiliar balding middle-aged man. She palmed her knife and relaxed her stance.
"Not even the slightest movement, princess. We wouldn't want to ruin your Mickey mouse shirt." Dinara glanced at her chest. A red beam was pointed at her. Some fucking hitman had her in his sight.
"Where is Arturo?" Her voice was hard. Not a hint of fear laced it.
"He's compromised. Maybe dead."
Now was the time to be afraid. She had just helped organize her own kidnapping. And their Mexican guest was a spy for the enemy.
Their loyal men were constantly patrolling if she kept stalling this one, they were bound to find her.
"I know what you are thinking, princess. It's wise to come with me instead of Antoine Lemonte. You wouldn't want to know what he will do to you. What Samuel and I want is money. After that, you are free to go."
He was lying. They would never free her once they got their hands on her. She would rather take her chances.
What happened next was a blur, she crouched down and slashed the man's calf with her sharp knife but the sniper shot her shoulder and she hit her head on something hard.
It fucking hurts! This was a stupid idea overall. Her head was vibrating from the impact and she felt blood soaking her cute Mickey Mouse shirt. Her vision blacked and she was lost.
Stupid stupid Dinara.
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Beau
Fuck! She was nervous. And Lizzie was wringing her hands and tapping her foot. Both of them looked at several screens, monitoring their men.
Bulletproof SUVs were cruising around San Francisco despite the hour. Stopping at warehouses on docksides and dubious buildings heavily armed with men one only saw in gangster movies. Thankfully none of the bosses was brave enough to tangle with The Butcher and the Cartel Leader. All willing to provide information.
It was midnight. There were supposed to be in bed. Yet Dominic and his men, including Rafael Montero was hunting. And she was their virtual eyes and ears.
Dr. Lizzie Hope was on standby just in case someone from their team got injured. "If Alec got so much as a scratch on him..." Her friend muttered, her green eyes flashing.
"He can take care of himself, Liz. Stop pacing. You are making me dizzy." Beau jested.
Her thick glasses perched on her slender nose, she squinted at the screen. An old habit. She scowled.
The team had stopped at an imposing building. Men were quickly moving in position.
"There are five armed men on the first floor, my love. Same number on the second and third floors. The rest of the building is clear. Three moving bodies at the top. Be careful."
"Copy, detka."
She could hear and see them silently communicating and she continued to scan the building for booby traps. If there was a bomb somewhere she could stop it remotely.
Beau had never been so grateful for her abilities. She could do this.
"You can enter the building anytime. No decoys or bombs in place."
"Thanks, my love."
Once the snipers were strategically in place, Dominic and his men, a trained elite force stormed the facility. Fires and gunshots everywhere. Grunts and groans, filled with pain were easily heard. Enemies were writhing on the floor.
She held her breath. Watched everything unfold before her. Praying to every god known to men Dominic and his men won't get hurt.
"First, second, and the third floor cleared. We are going to the top. Snipers, cover the rooftop. Shoot anyone that moves not from our side."
Reaching the last floor where the man Dominic was searching for was located, they crouched down. The room located at the east corner was made of thick glass. She was guessing it was bulletproof too. With a silencer, someone from their team shot the heavily tinted door. It didn't do anything.
She would need the building's software mainframe to unlock the doors.
"Alec, find me a computer that's working. I will unlock the doors from the inside. The thick fiberglass is bulletproof, you won't be able to shatter it."
"On it, tzarina."
She waited for the general while he retrieved a laptop from a nearby office station and nodded approvingly.
"Can you see the tiny numbers written on the button at your wrist?" He nodded.
"Open a browser and type it and hit search."
Beau was typing furiously on her computer. Reconfiguring the software through the IP address sent to her. Searching, she found the passwords for the electronically locked doors. Bingo!
"It's done, Dominic." She announced breathlessly.
Screams and shouts reverberated as they barged into the main office. The noise was drowned by a blasting stereo.
What the...!
An old, balding, very naked man was caught on a threesome with budding pornstars. Obviously, flying high with cocaine, the women stared lustfully at the armed men filling the room.
She could see Dominic's and Rafael's lips curled in disgust and Alec was busy strangling the naked boss.
"Send the women home and put Samuel in the trunk. Let's go home."
Beau gave a huge sigh of relief. They were going home.
But what about Antoine Lemonte? Hopefully, they would get more information from that Samuel guy.
***
Feeling a bit relaxed, she waited for Dominic to join her in their bedroom. She knew he was somewhere on their property interrogating the prisoner.
It was dawn and the sun was about to peak at the horizon. It's been hours since the last time they saw and held each other. Fuck! This pregnancy was making her clingy.
She was feeling restless. Again. More like uneasy. Her gut was clenched and something was nagging at the back of her mind.
Donning her silk red bathrobe, she decided to go back to her workstation. Maybe she had missed something significant. Or maybe she could scout the estate's perimeter and locate weak points to share with Dominic later.
She needed to do something!
Her stomach rumbled. First, she needed food. Her baby must be hungry.
Caressing her slightly curved belly, she murmured some endearments in Russian. Dominic had always loved it when she spoke in his native tongue.
With a bowl of fresh blueberries and sour cream, Beau sat at her desk. Humming, she accessed the cameras on their property. This might be a bit boring after the successful raid earlier but at least she was doing something.
They should be installing more heat sensors and state-of-the-art surveillance cameras around the fences. And a room with techies always on duty. She would make sure to organize one.
Beau stopped, her eyes narrowed at the movement on the screen. Dinara. Easily recognizing her sister-in-law, she smirked. Was she meeting someone? But who? She knew for a fact she didn't have a boyfriend.
She glanced at the time stamp on the screen, 12:15 AM. That was hours ago.
Alerted, she sat straight. A man was standing a few feet away from Dinara. What's up with bald men these days? They were talking. Fuck! And she couldn't hear anything because the cameras installed around the property were dinosaurs.
From the serious expression on her sister-in-law's face, she was talking to a stranger. A beaming light was pointed on her chest.
Beau gasped. "Dominic." She whispered.
Then she watched in horror while Dinara crouched down and sliced the man's leg, at the same time someone shot her on her shoulder and she fell on a huge garden rock.
For a few seconds, Beau forgot to breathe, witnessing helplessly as two more men came out of the shadows and carried Dinara's unconscious form.
Before she knew it, she was running out the door, screaming. "Help!"
"Maman!"
"Dominic!"
"Papa!"
Losing strength, trembling from fear, Beau's body slumped at the bottom of the grand staircase.
"Child?" Dominic's mother was looking down at her. Worried. Concern was written all over her face.
"Dinara was taken, maman. She was taken."
And it was all her fault.
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