Page 62 of Fatal Temptation

Lucas

As he listened to Diesel and Kuroki talk, all he wanted to do was storm in there. He wanted to shoot his way through Kuroki’s men. He wanted to drag Akio straight out of there, but he couldn’t. He had to wait.

Tahir was in the van, making sure the recording was running smoothly through the wire Diesel wore under his shirt. It was being broadcast through their earpieces as they waited.

Diesel had caught Gemma as she’d tried to leave without anyone noticing. He’d already known about her and Akio’s plan and had added his own spin to it.

When Diesel told him he’d let Gemma and Akio go ahead with the stupid plan Akio had cooked up, he’d slammed his fist into the man’s face. Diesel had given him a deadly look and told him that was the only hit he would ever land.

He’d cursed him all to hell until Chris told him to shut up and listen. The plan was solid, except for the fact that Akio was in the line of fire. There was nothing he could’ve done to change that by then, so he’d gone along with it.

Ryder and some of his guys had agreed to be the retrieval team, ensuring Gemma’s niece’s safety and rescue. They would take out the bastards that were delivering her to them, but Sanchez and the team wouldn’t know anything about that. It was criminals killing criminals, so he didn’t bother feeling bad about it. The legalities didn’t matter to him. Not when Akio was involved.

When Akio had asked him what he would do if it had been him instead of Gemma’s niece who’d been taken, he’d never thought he would be in that exact situation. Akio was right, though. He would tear down the whole fucking world to ensure Akio was safe. He would gladly lose his job, his career, if it meant Akio got to live. If he had to spend the rest of his life in prison to do it, then so be it. Fortunately, it seemed he wouldn’t have to.

His team was there with him. He’d called Edmunds who’d put him on speaker with Sanchez and the second he’d told them what was going on, Sanchez had been the one to ask where Lucas needed them. He’d seen the betrayal in Sanchez’s eyes over Gemma’s actions but there was empathy there, too, and he knew the SSA was thinking of his daughters and what he would do for them. They were all thinking that. They all had someone they would sacrifice everything for.

Mo and Evan were geared up and ready for some action. Chris had told them where to shove it if they thought he wasn’t going in after Diesel and Akio. No one had argued, especially when they learned he’d been a cop. They’d all just agreed that when they were writing their reports later, Chris simply hadn’t been there.

“I appreciate you all doing this for me,” Lucas said, voice low and less steady than he would’ve preferred.

“That’s what this job is all about,” Evan said. “We do it for anyone but especially team members.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Tahir said, and Mo gave him a nod.

“Still. I appreciate it more than you know,” Lucas said.

A hand on his shoulder had him looking at Sanchez.

“Let’s go get your man back.” Sanchez’s gaze hardened. “And our girl.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Akio

ALL HE could do was hold his breath as he watched Diesel and Kuroki stare at each other. He knew things were about to get ugly. There was no way around that. Kuroki couldn’t let Diesel live. Not when he’d practically stolen his heritage. Even though Diesel sure as shit wouldn’t want it, letting him live was not an option for Kuroki. It certainly wouldn’t have been an option for his father, and Daichi Kuroki had taken it upon himself to become the son Kaito Yokota had always wanted. He was just as ruthless if not more so.

He hoped Diesel had thought of a plan before showing up here. While both Gemma and Diesel were armed, they wouldn’t stand a chance against Kuroki and his men. There were too many of them and not enough places to hide in here.

“Unfortunately, coward or not, you’re in my way.”

“Is that so?”

“How did you think this would go?” Kuroki asked, smirking at Diesel.

Diesel returned his smile, and Akio felt a shiver rock through him at the malice in Diesel’s voice as he spoke.

“Exactly how I want it to.”

As if on cue, a loud sound had Akio jerking and dropping into a crouch.

People were shooting, the sounds, the flashes, he could barely focus. Could barely breathe.

A hand grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and dragged him backward. There was an opening between the rows of shelving units and Diesel shoved him through it, following while he shot his gun toward Kuroki and his men.

He didn’t know where Gemma was. Hopefully, she was still alive.

A sob tore through him, and he knew he was close to having a panic attack, his body shaking and his lungs seizing.

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