There was still one glaring question hanging in the air. How come she didn't show up on the radar. "And you are?" I reached out my hand for hers and she finally focused on me up close and personal. My gut went into a spin and I nose dived right into the abyss. She was fucking gorgeous. The tears in her eyes made them shine like some otherworldly creature. There was a look in them that made my heart melt in my chest. Sadness, fear, confusion. I drew her towards me before I could help myself. "Ariel!" She said her name like a whisper on the wind and I heard chiming bells and waterfalls. "Ariel!" I didn't realize I'd said it out loud until I heard it come back to me on a whisper. Behind me the others were putting her name into one of our little toys to look her up. I only heard Mancini say one thing, "nothing", which was all the answer I needed. She wasn't in anyone's database. I looked back at the others again as my mind tried to process. I don't think
I honest to fuck had no idea what was happening to me. I tried recalling all the shit my brothers had griped about in the beginning of their relationships, but nothing would come. I was on my own with this one and it scared the shit out of me. I focused instead on the here and now. On keeping her safe. I'll deal with whatever else comes next when my mind wasn't pulling me in a hundred directions at once. *** When the plane landed I waited for the others to file off leaving just Quinn in the cabin with us. "I'll carry her don't wake her up." He smirked and held his hands up in surrender as he backed away. Ass! I carried her from the plane to the waiting car and she still didn't wake up. I caught myself before I buried my nose in her hair as I held her close to my chest. My brothers kept giving me questioning looks which I ignored, I had some of my own. But they'll have to wait. Right now I was more interested in her story and why she didn't seem
"Hello boys, It looks like I left you in a bit of a quandary didn't I? I guess you can look at it as our last Op together." He grinned that infectious grin that only a few ever had the pleasure of seeing. It was a jolt to the system seeing him like this, almost as if he were here with us. "I have a lot to tell you, but not a lot of time so why don't we start at the beginning. If you're seeing this I guess you know about the general and the fuck up by now." "I bet you didn't know I knew you called him that huh. Fucking hemorrhoid should've never seen the inside of the white house, asshole." The anger was plain to read. "Don't be too hard on my old friends, they had no idea what they were getting into when they agreed to help me all those years ago and now they're paying for it." He took a deep breath and looked away before facing the camera again. "Alright let's get down to it shall we. This is about Khalil. I took something from him, or at least somet
"As you know I've had my foot in Khalil's ass forever, not only because I didn't want him to get the girl, but because he is a genuine first grade asshole." "I never found out how his father knew about my part in taking the baby, and it really doesn't matter. All that matters is that he never gets his hands on her." "I'm depending on you to make sure she stays safe. It's obvious that they caught up with me if you're seeing this. It's my fault, I lost my head and confronted the general. Asshole!" "I'm pretty sure I didn't die of natural causes so if that's the shit they're selling don't buy it. The general's specialty is heart attacks, if that's what you were told, don't believe it; and don't trust the general whatever you do." Mancini and the others were taking it all in and I personally was trying not to lose my shit. I didn't know which I wanted to do first. Go find the general and put one in his head. Or go find this girl wherever she was. "Now for
We were at that shit for hours. Piecing shit together, moving things around to come up with the answers. Once we found the right thread and begun to tug, it became easier to connect the dots and the picture that was painted was not a pretty one. "So here, twenty years ago, Khalil was still a kid, but his old man started the search for the girl. It looks like they didn't know who exactly had taken her, so it took them some time to whittle it down to the commander." We'd only got this far because of Mancini and his connections who he'd called for some information going back all those years. It was tedious work because we had to follow the general going back twenty years and then moving forward again to see when exactly his path had crossed with Khalil's. Once we found the connection it wasn't hard to pull in the politicians and see their part in the whole filthy mess. "It was all about money for them. I wonder, did they know who the fuck this guy
"Mancini when are you going to make that call?" He checked his watch. "They're seven hours ahead so it's what, ten in the morning? I say we get some rest and come back at it in a few. I'll make the call then." We all agreed and the men got to their feet to leave. Mancini pressed some buttons and the board slid into the casing on the wall and disappeared. "Just in case the girls should find their way in here." Not sure how they would do that seeing as how the shit has more security than Fort Knox, but he was right. These women are resourceful if nothing else. As the rest of us headed back to the cottages leaving Lyon and Mancini in the mansion, the tension was heavy. "You know they killed your CO right?" Ah damn Law, not now. "The rest of you really think I don't want to end these fucks? But what happens if we go after them before we get those girls back? Did any of you think of that?" That's why he's our fearless leader, because he thinks about
The raw emotion she brought out in me was confusing. That soft gentleness about her makes me want to wrap her up in something soft and protect her from everything. Where did she learn to be that fucking angelic? If that wasn't enough, she's so fucking beautiful it's crazy. She has that kind of rare beauty that once you've seen it it's hard to forget. The thought gave me fucking agida. Did other men see her the way I do? Yeah Dev, you're not in love or anything. So why the fuck, do you want to kill imaginary men just for looking at her, for having seen her beauty? Go to sleep Devon, just go the fuck to sleep, you're not making any sense. I felt a cold shiver run down my spine and straight through to my gut. Is this how it starts? Quinn that asshole has been acting kinda squirrely since he met Kelly on the beach. It's like he's there, but his mind isn't. I have no doubt that each of my brothers and the men who'd joined us could and would do the job, but
I must've dozed off because the next thing I knew there was movement coming from the bedroom. I sat up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. It was ten o'clock local time. I'd had five solid that was good enough. My first thoughts were happy, she was here, and then I remembered that I couldn't have her. "Fuck!" I headed into the shower and got myself together letting the water beat down on me, clear my head. It was obvious she'd already been in there because of the used towel that was neatly folded over the rack and the condensation on the shower door. I stared at that towel like a freak for a solid five seconds before shaking myself out of it. I took my time in there shaving and puttering around, afraid to go out there and face her. Shit, I didn't think to get my clothes from the bedroom. I looked at the clothes I slept in with distaste, no fucking way. Who are you getting pretty for Dev? Fuck you! Swear to fuck my subconscious laughed at me. I