Page 116 of The Lieutenant

“Yes, well, shit happens.” I wanted to rake the man over the coals, but starting a war over this wouldn’t help bring her back.

“Yes, it does. However, you have people who care about you enough to call me on the carpet.”

I glanced at both my brothers, trying to decipher what he was trying to tell me. “Yes, they do. Why are you calling?” My voice couldn’t disguise my anger.

“I have a possible location here you might find Bernardi,” Coppola stated.

“Where?”

“He owns a house just north of Athens. In our discovery, we learned of it and its possible use as a homebase for attempting to come into your lovely country. Surely, he will know you have the borders shut down as soon as possible. He won’t risk attempting to leave for now. He’s not a stupid man. And your brother madeit quite apparent I owed you for the information you provided. He was right.”

“Which brother?”

“Christos. I understand he’s your Enforcer. You’re lucky to have such a caring family by your side.”

I swiveled around to face my desk, taking long strides until I was able to jerk out a drawer. “Give me the address.” As he offered the address, a series of lights flashed in front of my eyes.

“I hope you find her, Havros. I truly do. A woman who can make you happy is the greatest gift of all. I’ll be in contact.”

The call ended and I lifted my head, locking eyes with Christos. “Thank you.”

He smirked and nodded. “You’re welcome. It’s past time I take my full place next to my brothers.”

“What am I missing?” Dimitrios asked.

“I’ll tell you on the road. We may have found her.” I’d said it before, but nothing would stop me from rescuing and protecting her until the end of time.

Pop! Pop!

The gunshots I fired were muffled, the two soldiers monitoring the entrance taken down immediately. We fanned out, searching for more. From the drone we’d used with an infrared camera, we’d caught ten positioned on the grounds.

Now four were down, six more to go.

We were stealthy, the weapons equipped with silencers. We didn’t want Bernardi to have a single minute of advance notice.

Pop! Pop! Pop!I dropped and rolled, catching all three men who were at least twenty feet apart. They went down like rocks.

I moved closer to the house, constantly scanning the surroundings. As the others started to return from securing the perimeter, Jonas gave the okay that all ten men had been eliminated.

The house itself was set off the road, the entrance flanked by olive trees. The area was more rural, yet the location had been easy to find. Night had fallen, the darkness a perfect cover. Fortunately, Tobias had found the security system, his brilliant skills allowing him to disarm the system in less than thirty minutes with no alarm bells going off.

There were lights on inside the house, which meant someone was taking up residence. Although it was advisable to be cautious entering in case there were innocent people inside, I didn’t give a shit about protocol of any kind.

With a weapon in both hands, an assault rifle strapped to my back, I was prepared for an attack.

So were the other forty men prepared to invade the property.

“We’re all set,” Christos said, determined to lead the advance. I would be eternally grateful to him for making the call to Coppola no matter the outcome.

“Head to the back with half the men, Christos. There are two entrances there. One inside the garage and the front door.”

“Will do. Give us two minutes to get in place.”

“Two minutes.” I glanced at Dimitrios in the dark. I could sense his concern. We had one hope. One chance. There wouldn’t be another. “Jonas. Take ten men to the garage to ensure the fuckers don’t try and escape.”

The two minutes felt like a lifetime. When they were up, I raced toward the house, moving to the front door. There was no holding me back. I kicked in the thick surface with enough force it hit the wall. We charged in, immediately prepared to shoot.

The sound of assault rifles being fired caught our attention. Our enemies were aware we’d breached their security.

---