BRANDON“Huntress. Do you copy?” Wolf repeats the signal three hours later while in surveillance outside the Le Fiasco. In the driver seat of my car sits Cary, and Stan is in the back. I hold a tablet showing the events going on inside.
We bugged and implanted a camera in Arianna’s purse. She’s fully aware of this, of course. The auction went on for two hours, and the party proceeded for another hour.
But the Huntress is patient and skilled. She knows exactly what she is doing. From the moment she spotted Silvanus, she approached him as smoothly as only an expert could.
She first introduced herself as Phoenix’s friend and built up some brilliant history about the items Silvanus was after. Spoke to him alluringlyRight now, they’re on their way to his “CopyAlayna tried to stop me from coming tonight, but I have to be here. I needed her to understand that I must be present. I won’t let anything happen out of my sight like the night Oliver got kidnapped.
Tonight is a turning point for everyone.
We watch until the last person leaves the building, and I spot Arianna in a Dolce and Gabbana royal-blue evening gown, clinging to the arm of my dullard cousin, who is wearing a stylish tuxedo. I genuinely admire Jason’s forbearance in watching his sister with a person who beats up women. I wouldn’t be able to stomach seeing Casey in the same situation.
But Wolf is right. Only a woman can pull this off.
Silvanus lets Arianna step into the limousine like a gentleman, sliding in after her. Jason’s car takes a turn and tails them.
“Cary, follow Wolf’s car in five minutes,” I instruct. I monitor the camera view, and I can now see the inside of Silvanus’s car.
“A drink for the most beautiful lady tonight?” Silvanus offers, and I can only see his hand reaching out for a bottle of champagne.
“You’re so sweet, but just tonight?” Huntress’s high-pitched voice is almost singing.
“Greedy, sweetheart. Greedy. Of course, you’re the only woman for me.” He pours one glass of champagne for her, and when she is about to take it, he pulls it away. “Oops.”
Arianna fakes a gasp. “Oh, why?”
“You have to kiss me first.”
She giggles. “Sure!”
I have to keep from covering my ears at the awful sound of mouths meeting and moans in the background. It’s almost enough to make me hurl.
“Damn.”“Don’t tell Alayna.” Jason’s tight voice echoes in my earpiece. I esteem his restraint even more.
“Don’t worry. I wasn’t going to,” I answer. “But does she normally have to do this?”
“Not normally, only when needed,” he growls. “But that’s the extent of it. The last person who tried to force her ended up in a hospital with broken legs.”
Relief floods through me. I don’t think I’d be able to answer Alayna if she asks me about her sister, knowing that my cousin might have slept with her. Even the sound of it makes me recoil in disgust.
“Where do we head?” I ask.
“They’re approaching the Holland Tunnel.”
“They’re headed to Jersey,” I tell Carmelo.
“Ah, so that’s where the fucker hides,” he says.
In typical cases, the twins could just get the proper authority to arrest Silvanus on the spot. However, with the three elite mobsters involved, it’d end up in chaos. Not only would we lose our alliances, but there’d be a chain reaction. Our names and reputations would be on the line too because I work with one of them.
Besides, Silvanus could quickly get away from the law as always, and he is still holding Oliver captive. There is no way he will surrender Oliver to us either, and there is no concrete evidence pointing to him as the kidnapper.
We just know“But I don’t think that’s the hideout,” Constantine says.
“Or we don’t need to know his hideout anymore,” Jason replies.
“What do you propose?” I ask.
“I have a plan, but right now the mission is to get the phone to Silvanus.”
I’m not sure how the Huntress will do that, but when Silvanus picks up the phone, we will connect him to Pauline to send him our message. My answer to his bargain.
I’ll give him his fiancée back in exchange for Oliver.
He will think that it’s a trap because it is, indeed. So, Pauline will say something I know no Katrakis can resist—one of the family rules he cannot ignore. A Katrakis impregnating a Stavros or a Dragoumis before marriage automatically leads to a binding responsibility. An absolute law no one can escape from. Pauline will announce that she is pregnant and that he is the child’s father. It’s a sham, but we will deal with the consequences later.
Of course Pauline was hesitant. It is dangerous, but we need Silvanus to buy this bargain. He has to.There’s really no upper hand between us. I know how significant Pauline is for him—not only because he is obsessed with her, but his father needs the Stavros family’s downright loyalty. Getting their loyalty means having their father’s approval, and his approval means greater access to their wealth.
“I’m losing their signal!” Jason says, sounding nervous. His line is suddenly glitching..
“Ours too. The camera is crashing. Can’t see them anymore.”
“Bad reception. It’s the tunnel. I’ll tail them. I’ll meet you later.” His call cuts off.
“God!” I rub my face in frustration.
“Uh-oh, what now?” Carmelo asks.
“Just drive. We’re only ten minutes behind.” But in that short moment, anything can happen. We head to the Holland Tunnel at a moderate pace to stick to the plan.
We stop discreetly in front of a coffee shop on Washington Street after finally receiving Wolf’s text. Although we completely lost the monitor of Arianna’s camera, her GPS points to Blackwater Heights. Jersey City is a joint territory of another mob and the Wolf, so there’s no way Silvanus is keeping Oliver around the area. It is just him.
I impatiently wanted to rush off there and beat my cousin to death to get this over with, but we’ve made it this far, so I’m keeping the rage to myself. We should not make any move that would cause us a disadvantage or something terrible might happen to Oliver if we do. But at the right time, I’ll make sure my fist will hit his fucking face.
After an hour of waiting, Jason’s line is back.
“I’m in. Executive floor, but he’s guarded. There are three armed men at the front door,” Wolf says after getting our reception back. “I’ll make sure Arianna is out in a few minutes. Be ready.”
According to the plan, we have to get to the building entrance to get his sister on time. Wolf will stay to make sure Silvanus is handicapped, and Arianna is safe.
“What happened?” I ask.
A few beats pass.
“It’s done! It’s done,” he hisses. “She’s coming out. I need to go!”
We hear his heavy footsteps, and a man’s voice sounds in the background. “Can we help you?”“Of course, you can,”“That should be our cue. Cary!” Constantine orders, and his brother revs up the car then heads to the hotel.
“Jason, what’s on your view?” I ask in a rush.
“I’m in. Bad cousin is unconscious. What did you do?” “He’s not dead.”“He’s naked!”“So what? As you can see, I’m perfectly clothed.”He grunts. “How about the phone?”“Don’t worry, he’ll call,”I sigh in relief, hearing the Huntress’s voice, which means I no longer have to explain that something happened to her sister. And there’s no time to ask what she did, so I urge them to keep moving. “Jason, hurry up!”
“Damn, yes! Ari, get out of here now!”“How about you?”“I have bodies to move out of the lobby. Security might come up soon.”“Oh my God! Did you kill them?”“No, of course not! I’ll just have to make sure they don’t get to their boss until he wakes up. Get the hell out of here now!”“Hurry up, J!”Shortly after, I spot Arianna in a black coat, hiding her face as she comes out of the building. Constantine opens the door in the back.
“Arianna, get in. Quick!” I shout.
She surveys the place first and slides into the car.
“Wow, isn’t this a freaking action-movie scene?” Carmelo smirks and pulls out onto the road.
“Is my brother still on the line?” she asks me while we drive away from the street.
“Yes, he’s fine.”
She nods, and her expression turns firm and assured. “I’m sure he is.”
“How did you get the device to him?” I ask.
“I simply asked him to call me on that“We got disconnected,” I say.
Constantine’s eyebrow shoots up. “But that’s it? No catch?”
“Uh, yeah, that’s it...”
“She’s lying,” Carmelo says, smirking. “I did hear you got him to lose his pants.”
She sighs. “Okay, that’s not just it, but you guys are disgusting if you think something else happened. Well... ishdanced“Wow,”I roll my eyes and tap my earpiece to make sure Jason is catching up. “Jason, we’re heading back to my house. Do you copy?”
“Copy,” his response is quick. “I’m heading out of the building.”
“And, guys?” Arianna adds. “You definitely want to hear what I found out from Silvanus....”