Page 69 of The Mafia's Omega Queen

But first, the bathroom.

The convoy comes to a stop about a mile from the compound where Haylee is being held. Even from here, it doesn’t look like there’s anything in that direction for miles, but Caleb’s words ring in my head, reminding me that there’s something, in fact, there.

We’re currently twenty vehicles deep, each one filled to capacity with people ready to help us get Haylee back. Not one person protested, not even those who were up all night with us on the raid at Archibald’s place. They’ve accepted Haylee as a leader, and they’d do anything to get her back.

Vincenzo, Hunter, Gavin, and I are all immensely grateful for their dedication, and we plan to reward them all for their hard work.

Car doors slam outside the SUV, the clearing filling up with not only our guys but also Kali’s and Thane’s. To say I was surprised that Thane showed up with so many people is an understatement, but I should have known better. They are all loyal to Haylee, the heir to their enterprise. Of course, they’d come to help get her back. Even if it means flying across the U.S. to do so.

Thane is already barking orders as I open the door, directing his troops into their teams. Kali is doing the same on the other side of the SUV, her face pinched in worry but also in confidence that we’ll get her back.

The moment Vinny’s feet touch the ground, he’s right there next to Thane, his voice full of grit as he commands our people on what they need to do.

Hunter moves to the back of the SUV with Gavin and pops it open, passing out gear. Each vehicle was equipped with what we would need, along with a nasty little surprise for Lionel and the fucks who thought they could keep Haylee from us.

Caleb slinks through the trees with his group that came out here earlier, his hands raised when numerous people turn their way, guns poised to take them out. Vinny barks for them to drop their weapons, which they do, and then he joins Caleb to find out what he’s learned.

Snatching my laptop from the SUV, I slam the door shut, then make my way around the back, setting up in the open area, right next to Birdie. Birdie being the homemade bomb Hunter threw together with Ryker’s help.

When Hunter told us he named it Birdie, we were all struck stupid, wondering why the hell he chose such a dumb name. But he gave us the simplest explanation.

Bye-bye, Birdie.

Thane snorted so loud at that, even Rebecca was stunned to hear such a sound come out of the man.

Jameson comes over with a box and places it next to Birdie, lifting the flaps for Hunter to see the inside. The guys thought it might be smart to get some Molotov cocktails made up so we can herd the people inside outdoors. But only if we need to. We don’t want to do anything to put Haylee’s life in even more jeopardy. Our hope is that Birdie will draw enough attention when we blow the gate that they won’t be needed.

“Comms on!” Thane shouts as Rebecca finishes giving them out. That was a fight in its own right. He didn’t want Rebecca anywhere near this mess, but that woman has a death glare that even made my balls shrivel. It wasn’t long before he gave up and gave in, but with stipulations, to which she agreed.

She’s to stay with the SUV until we get the threat neutralized, then drive in so we can get Haylee out of here. We don’t know what shape she’s going to be in, so it’ll be a quick extraction while everyone else cleans up the mess.

My mind flits to Haylee, as it has every few moments since we woke up and found her missing. She’s so close yet so far away. I hope she’s hanging in there and doesn’t think we’ve given up on her. I’d rather die a thousand deaths than give up on my sweets. She’s my mate, my heart, my forever. I’d never give up on her, just as she’s never given up on any of us. She’s strong as fuck, strong than even most men. She’ll make it out of this; I just know it.

And if there are some broken pieces from her time here that we have to glue back together, well, I’ll just change my name to Gorilla Glue. I smack myself upside the head, causing Hunter, Gavin, and Jameson to shoot me odd looks. God, that sounds so stupid. Something like Hunter would say. Not me. It’s because of that omega that’s stolen my heart that has me thinking weird shit like that.

“Alright,” Vinny’s voice comes through the comms, so reminiscent of the night before. “We’ve laid out the plans to everyone more than once. There’s no room for error here. Haylee’s life is on the line, and we will get her out of here. Do you all hear me? We will. Not might. Not maybe. We aren’t leaving here without her.” His words end with a growl.

“My daughter would do the same for all of you if situations were reversed.” Thane takes over, walking up and down the line of people waiting to head out. “While she’s been trained how to handle situations like this, there’s no saying that fucker doesn’t have a few tricks up his sleeve.”

“If you see something, anything, call it out.” Kali’s voice rings clear in the comms, her squeaky persona pushed to the back, her gang-leader face on. “If you aren’t sure, call it the fuck out.”

“The moment the dust settles after Birdie explodes, we go in. I don’t give a fuck if your grandma is on the other side of that gate. She dies. They all die,” Vinny growls, causing the crowd to cheer. “We’ll handle flushing the rest out and getting in the main door.”

“Roll out!” Thane shouts. Rebecca pulls Thane into a hug and murmurs something too low for the comm to pick up, but he nods his head after. Once he steps away, she hugs Byron, too, then retreats to the SUV, getting behind the wheel.

I double-check the tracker, find Haylee in the same place, and work on breaking through their cameras, which only takes me a few moments, and fix the feed to constantly play the same clip over and over again. The only ones I’m really worried about are the ones surrounding the exterior of the gate since that’s where we need to set up.

From what Caleb told us, there really is no guard shack; they just manually come out and open and close the gate by hand. It seems like overkill, but I guess it helps keep suspicion low if there’s no activity so close to the front.

But then again, this place is out in the middle of nowhere, so maybe it’s his way of making sure there isn’t an easy out with the push of a button.

A few key clicks later, I slam the top of my laptop shut and turn around, finding all the main players still waiting for me. I nod, letting them know my job is done, and we head out.

The trees surrounding the compound are full of life, bright green leaves blotting out the sun as it continues its ascent into the sky. It’s crazy to think that at this time yesterday, we were cleaning up our mess at Archibald’s place, ready to go home and celebrate our win. Now, we are trudging through the forest to get our girl back.

Animals call out in the distance, warning their brethren that there are bigger, badder predators among them and that it’s best to steer clear of our group.

Fifteen minutes later, we happen upon the outer fence of the compound, most consisting of brick except for the metal gate at the front, padlocked up tight. I guess it’s a good thing we have Birdie. We’ll just blow a damn hole in the concrete and make our own entrance.

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