Page 35 of The Collector's Temptation

“Oui,” I croaked out of my bone-dry mouth.

“If she is as important to you as Vivienne is to me, then you have my permission to do whatever it takes to get her back.”

My shoulders drooped as relief swept through me. “Merci.”

“Take one of the enforcers for backup.”

“Oui.”

He pointed at the door and raised his brow. “Don’t just stand here.Andare.”

I did as he ordered and hurried out of his office, sending a text to Marco, Rafa’s brother. He was a fucking genius, especially when it came to technology. If there was anything to be found, he would dig it up.

Then I reached out to Damiano Caruso, one of our enforcers. He was also an assassin for The Family. He agreed to meet me at Kerrigan’s apartment. We’d figure out what to do from there.

By the time I arrived, Marco had already reviewed the feeds from every security camera with a view of the parking lot. The van she’d been taken in was white, without any distinguishable markings, and one of the most common makes and models on the market. It was also stolen. However, he’d caught a glimpse of one of her kidnappers.

“His face was covered, but I’ve been following this guy for a while. I’m pretty sure he’s a hired gun named Bill Hickens. I’m sending Domenico the home address so he can check it out with Alec. You and Damiano can head over to the few random buildings he has a lease for.”

Odds were good that the guy wouldn’t take his kidnapping victim to his home, but it still needed to be checked. I was relieved that Alec and Domenico would take care of that whileDamiano and I went to the first building in the direction the van had gone.

When we pulled up outside, I made sure my gun was loaded and put it in my hip holster. Then I wrapped a small sheath around my ankle that had a very sharp, wicked-looking knife in it.

Damiano had the same type of weapons, plus some others that he preferred to carry.

Once we were ready, we exited my car and stalked up to the front door. Damiano silently counted to three on his fingers, then kicked the door in, allowing me to enter first. The building looked empty, but then I heard muffled voices down a hallway on my left. We crept up on a room that had four men sitting around a table playing poker.

One of them stood and informed the others that he had to piss, then left the room.How convenient.The second he walked into the hall, I slit his throat and passed his limp body off to Damiano. Then we casually strolled into the room, Damiano’s guns trained on two of the remaining men, and mine on the other.

“We’re looking for Bill Hickens,” I growled. “I’m in a hurry, so I’m going to count to five, and if I don’t have an answer, one of you is going to die.”

Their eyes darted around, and Damiano tsked. “Attempting to go for weapons will negate the countdown, and I’ll go ahead and put a bullet in your skull.”

When I reached five the first time, I had already gauged the weakest link, so I shot the one with the stubborn expression right between the eyes.

The other two men paled and shifted nervously. “Do you think I’m fucking around?” I growled. “Bill has something I need, and I will kill every fucking person who gets in my way, so I suggest one of you gives me his location.”

I counted again, and neither of them answered quickly enough, so Damiano grinned and shot the man who looked the least likely to talk. First in the groin, then in the head.

“What the fuck?” the last guy screeched, his hands quickly covering his crotch. As though that would make a damn difference.Connard.

“Last chance,” I grunted. “One. Two. Three?—”

“Okay!” he shouted, crying like a little bitch. “I’ll tell you. But you can’t let him know it was me.”

“It won’t matter,” Damiano drawled.

“What do you mean?” he asked nervously.

“I don’t have time for this bullshit. Write down the fucking address!” I roared.

He quickly complied, and I snatched the paper from his hand and shoved it in my pocket.

“Okay. I did what you asked. You won’t kill me, right?”

I rolled my eyes and pulled the trigger.

“Stupid motherfucker,” Damiano muttered as we jogged out of the warehouse and over to the car.

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