Page 59 of Ruthless Passion

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LUCA

"Iwant a headcount," I tell a soldier as we rally in a warehouse not too far from Trips. I came here as soon as I left Jo at the school to meet with Sonny and Agent Shaw who's supposed to have backup with her.

"It's going to take a while for tactical to get here." She sighs.

"Why? Did you tell them there's a kidnapped child involved?" I ask her.

Guilt overrides her expression. "This investigation went on for about three weeks longer than it should have. My superiors want local PD to handle it."

"We're on our own, then," I confirm. "That's fine, but Quinn, you're not an agent on this."

"I'm still federal law enforcement. You can't think I'm going to turn a blind eye while you all break and bend the law however it suits you."

"You do," Sonny quips. "Being detained without proper cause is a violation of my rights."

"Enough you two."

Agent Shaw speaks up. "I was able to pull a layout of the building. The renderings show the back of the club is halfway underground."

A soldier comes jogging back with information. "There's two women, one kid, and about a dozen guys hanging around with Vito. Six of those dozen are working a set, arguing with the two women."

My heart races, pulse pounding because my gut is telling me that Jo's inside that building even though I left her at the school.

"Identification on key players?" I ask the soldier.

"Yeah, Duke Everett is inside. I can confirm the kid is Jett Hansen."

"The two women?" I ask him, begging to gods unknown that it's not who I can already feel it is.

"Monique Shewster and Josephine Hansen." The soldier confirms my worst nightmare.

Sonny grabs me by the shoulder, spinning me to face him. "Cool it. We need Cool Hand Luke for this one, alright? Not the guy who showed up last night. You don't want to scare that kid."

I nod, turning to the soldier. "Is there any way I can slip inside that building without being detected?"

'Yeah. They're moving film equipment around and trying to sober one of the actresses up. That girl, Monique, is as high as a kite," the soldier says.

"Okay people, listen up," I call out to everyone in earshot. "I'm going in. Sonny, you call the shots out here once I get inside. I want every exit covered. The only person out of Vito's crew that we need alive is Vito. Everyone else is on the menu. It goes without saying the women and child need to be rescued without injury. Pop it."

The gleam in the Marzano soldier's eye is a familiar one as he pops the trunk of one of the cars to show an array of weapons. It's an arsenal on wheels.

"Are all of those guns registered, Mr. Devlin?" Agent Shaw asks, peeking over my shoulder.

"Yes, they are registered to their owners. If you're going to give me issues about saving my family on this, we can toss you in the trunk with the guns for you to verify." My warning to her is absolute and she takes a step back.

The men load up and we make our way toward Trips in the middle of a bright Friday morning. They only stop to give me enough time to sneak inside while Vito's film crew shuffles equipment in and out of the club's side entrance.

It's quiet out front, but I hear the sounds of Jo in the back area. One guy approaches, but before he can say anything to alert the others, I get behind him. With one arm hooked around his mouth to muffle his pleas, I squeeze him in a chokehold until his body goes limp. I drag him into an empty women's bathroom, leaving him in a pile by the stalls.

All seems quiet when I poke my head out and sneak to the back area of the club that's just as spacious as the front. There are tons of lights shining down on a massive bed where Jo's sitting with her arms folded across her chest. Vito's bandaged and sitting in a director's chair with her asshole of an ex, Duke, standing off to the side. Duke has a firm grip on Jett's shoulder even though the kid is tiring himself out struggling to get away. When Duke jerks Jett to stop moving, I have to keep my rage bottled up inside to not give away my position.

"I need a SAG rep on set right now," Josephine states. "These are unacceptable working conditions. My co-star is blitzed out of her mind."

"Yes, I am," Monique slurs. I realize she's lying on the bed behind Jo as she points a finger in the air before letting it drop lazily beside her.

"You know, Josephine." Vito sounds like he's in a lot of pain and that makes me smile, but I'm still going to kill him. He speaks candidly in front of all these people. "I have to eat my lunch, dinner, and breakfast through a fucking straw thanks to that shithead boyfriend of yours. I think your character would get billions of views if I let Duke shove his co?—"

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