Slow Release (Ebony and Ivory Book 1) (20 page)

Damon

Antonio Wayne didn’t have to arrange a gun run, but he did have to rearrange the deal he already had scheduled. The guns were supposed to be going to the Colombians, but in order to help me, he made a deal with the Irish instead.

Though I wasn’t involved in illegal matters, I knew enough about weapons dealing to know those who bought them also bought into the idea of solidarity. In other words, they didn’t play nice with each other and liked having sole access to the seller’s goods. No one wanted to worry about the guns getting into their enemy’s hands. It all boiled down to one thing: I would owe Antonio Wayne in ways I didn’t want to owe him. This was the first time in my life I could remember ever wishing I had mob connections. Even from the grave, this girl was causing me more problems than I cared to deal with. I’d gone out of my way to try and help her when I agreed to hire her if she would stay on her meds, and now it was coming back to bite me in the ass.

This was the exact reason I put potential models through such rigorous background checks. I didn’t want a criminal element anywhere near my business. Now, because this son of a bitch had my woman, I was getting in bed with the most notorious gangster in New York City. To be honest, though, I would have sold my soul to the devil to get Skye home safely. I may have done just that by dealing with Antonio Wayne. This guy had ties that went all the way up into the government in several different countries. I could only hope I hadn’t made a decision Skye and I would regret for the rest of our days. I knew I needed to get some sleep with that shipment coming in tomorrow, but I also knew I wouldn’t rest easy until I had the woman I loved back in my arms.

Skye

I woke up the next morning after a night of fitful sleep. I immediately jumped through the shower in preparation to make my escape. Aedan informed me that his housekeeper would be here to see to my needs. Though he tried to scare me by telling me I was under surveillance, I knew I had a window of opportunity to escape. As far as I was concerned, he could watch the tape of me running out the door when he got back. I’d led him to believe I was scared of him and even though it was true, my need for survival and the fear of being taken to Ireland against my will terrified me much more than any ass beating I’d get for trying to run away.

I quickly dressed in jeans and a t-shirt and put my plan into motion.

I pushed the button on the speaker to address whomever had been left to keep an eye on me. I sincerely hoped it was a female housekeeper and not some burley bouncer type, or my plan wasn’t going to work.

“Hello? Is anyone there? May I please have some coffee?”

“One moment, dear.” The answer came back quickly. A mixture of relief and guilt flooded through me for what I was about to do, but I had to get the hell out of here.

I waited behind the door for the woman to bring what I guessed would be a tray of food and coffee and willed my heart to stop beating so frantically.

The sound of a key being inserted in the lock alerted me that it was now or never if I didn’t want to end up being a very dangerous man’s captive in a foreign land.

“Here you go swee…” was all I heard before I lunged from behind the door, grabbed the tray, and slammed it into the side of the poor woman’s head. The coffee carafe flew through the air, sending the hot beverage sailing and splattering all over the pristine wall. I quickly leaned down and grabbed the keys she had placed in her apron pocket.

I had the thought that someone else could be in the house, and it sent a surge of fear through me. I quickly ran down the long hallway and flew down the steps that led to the foyer. My hands trembled as I tried various keys in the lock. There was a lock on the door that had to be unlocked to get in or out, and it made me wonder if I wasn’t the first woman he’d kidnapped.

After what seemed like an eternity, one of the keys finally worked, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Unfortunately, the respite was short-lived. I could hear the growls of dogs as I ran down the long driveway towards my freedom. I wished I hadn’t looked over my shoulder when I viewed two large German Shepherds quickly gaining on me.

Winded, I finally made it to the end of the driveway where I was greeted by a huge iron gate. There was nothing I could step on to help me climb over it, so I went for the next best thing and scaled the concrete wall. Pain shot through my leg as one of the dogs lunged at me and mercilessly clamped down on my leg. Blood immediately soiled my jeans and only seemed to spur the animal on. As vicious as they were behaving, I wouldn’t be surprised if these dogs were actually rabid. Now that the creature had smelled and tasted my blood, he was going in for the kill.

Pure fear gave me the strength to push through the pain and finish scaling the wall. I threw my body over with such force that it knocked the wind from me when I landed on my back. I was free, but walking was going to be difficult at best. Not only had the dog torn the denim material from my body, but he also ripped the flesh from the back of my upper thigh.

I knew it was bad. The wound was deep; the dog’s teeth had gone past flesh and into my muscle. Though it hurt like hell, I didn’t give a fuck if I had to drag myself to freedom; I was going to accomplish exactly what I had set out to do and escape that madman. At this point, I knew if I didn’t succeed, I’d be in even more danger just for making the attempt, especially after being so thoroughly warned against it. God forbid he managed to get me out of the country too. I’d never be able to escape him then. I wasn’t just dealing with some random psycho with a penchant for stalking. No, this guy was a member of a lethal organization and was, no doubt, trained to kill.

Damon

I knew it was ludicrous to go to the docks and meet that shipment, but I had no choice. I couldn’t just sit back and do nothing. I knew Antonio Wayne would lose all respect for me if I didn’t show up because, to him, it would be a sign of weakness. He was the type of man who would torture anybody who so much as looked at his woman the wrong way. Antonio didn’t understand that not everyone was like him, not everyone had that vicious bone in their genetic makeup. In his sadistic mind, everybody should enjoy watching their enemies be tortured. Me? Well, I always pictured myself as the type of guy who would get it done quickly if I had to exact revenge. A bullet in my adversary’s brain would suffice, and then I’d be done with it. Until now, I’ve never been put in a situation where I had to make that decision, though, so I’m unsure how I’ll react when the moment comes.

The thought crossed my mind that I could pay Antonio to do this for me. He’d be willing to torture Skye’s stalker for a price. Hell, he might even do it for free. After all, he was known for his ruthlessness, and the idea of watching Antonio make this man pay for abducting Skye was definitely a temptation. Though I wasn’t a man given to sadism, Aedan had pushed my limits, and for the first time, I wanted to see someone suffer. The only thing stopping me from asking Antonio to set it up was the fact that I was already going to be indebted to him. Changing the gun run so I could get to Aedan was huge, and if I let him do my muscle work as well, it would be another debt in his favor. Besides, I wasn’t entirely confident I could stomach watching Antonio at work. The stories about him were legendary and revealed not only did he get off on his victim’s pain, but he also loved finding new and unique ways of subjecting them to it.

I would have to hide so Aedan didn’t see me, but it was doable. What might prove not so doable was resisting the urge to put a bullet between that son of a bitch’s eyes when I saw him. The only thing saving him right now was the fact that I needed him alive to lead me to Skye’s location.

My lifelong friend, Jerome, wasn’t crazy about me going down to the docks either, but being the good friend he has always been, he was onboard with the plan and insisted on accompanying me. One thing was for sure; neither of us would be wearing our trademark suits today. No, today we were going in dressed for battle.

The Stalker

I’d been trying to get Antonio Wayne to do business with the IRA for years. A deal this huge was going to put me on my superiors’ radar.

I wasn’t shocked when I arrived at the location and saw that there was no activity. I knew Antonio Wayne owned these docks, and people who would normally be here would’ve been paid to disappear for the day. The Colombian cartel Antonio worked with had connections that reached high in the government hierarchy and included customs officials. My superiors were going to be very happy that I secured this deal. With how quickly everything went down, I didn’t have time to call in for backup from out of the country, but in a way, that was for the better. I wanted to surprise my higher-ups that I sealed this large of a gun run deal on my own.

After looking around and assuring myself I wasn’t in any danger, I got out of the van. I made my way to the back of my vehicle and pulled out a large black duffle bag. This money was going to ensure me a new connection, a new beginning, and a new life with the woman of my enemy.

It took two hands for me to carry the heavy bag over to the warehouse door that someone left open for me. I entered the building and immediately saw Antonio Wayne himself. He was dressed in a high dollar, tailored suit and leisurely sat back on a crate while he toyed with a toothpick in his mouth. He nodded in his bodyguard’s direction, a signal for him to retrieve the bag from me, and for the first time, a wave of fear rolled over me.

The cocky look on Antonio’s face was not reassuring me, and he still hadn’t spoken yet. I watched as he unzipped the bag and eyed the money inside. He then nodded to another man to take it out to his vehicle.

At first, I thought nothing of it when I heard footsteps behind me. I just assumed they must belong to more of Antonio’s men. That was, of course, until I heard the unmistakable sound of a gun cocking and recognized a voice I knew all too well.

“Where the fuck is my woman?”

The smirk on Antonio’s face clearly let me know there were no guns to be traded.

“I think he asked you a question. You should probably give him an answer. He looks pretty pissed off, though I can’t say I blame him.”

I cringed as I felt Damon reach in the back of my pants and retrieve the one firearm I had in my possession. This whole thing had been a set-up between the two of them from the start.