Page 102 of The Capo

Then I felt the space around me move. We were moving. We were going out to sea. I could feel it. Oh, God. No. No!

As the tears continued to fall, I threw my head back and screamed. “Francois!”

Fifteen minutes earlier…

Francois

“Go faster. Faster!” I yelled at Maddox who was driving, speeding through the streets, forced to weave around tourists and residents.

“He’s doing the best he can,” Arman said as he snapped a fresh magazine into his Glock.

“Yeah? Well, the goddamn ship is set to sail in less than ten minutes.” I kept one hand wrapped around my weapon, a semi-automatic placed in the seat beside me. It wasn’t often that cargo ships were allowed to dock in Key West, various concerns by the residents limiting the cruise ship functionality as well.

That meant the Russian captain knew someone on the Port Authority.

While the ships regularly docked in Miami, if I had to guess, I’d say a distress call had been issued, the only reason the harbor master would have allowed the man to claim a berth. If I was right in my assumptions, that was the reason Rocco hadn’t discovered the ship in the first place. If he had, we could have prevented this very situation from occurring.

“We’ll get there,” Maddox assured me.

I rubbed my exhausted eyes, glaring out the window of the vehicle. Sunrise was only an hour away, but the darkness was just enough for the ship to sail without any fanfare, barely noticed in the warm waters. “Did you send a cleanup crew to the motel?” My question was directed at Rocco. While I hadn’t intended for the interrogation to turn so bloody, it had taken almost a full hour before Slade had cursed in Russian, giving away enough of the information he’d been made aware of to make calculated guesses.

At least I had the best cleanup crew in the business, something Arman usually didn’t like talking about. On this night, he’d seemed to enjoy himself tremendously.

Like father. Like sons.

Yeah, our father would be proud.

“Any sign of Alturo?” Arman asked from beside me.

“Nothing yet. My guess is he made the decision to remain in South America,” Rocco suggested.

Using the Russian ship had been brilliant, Slade’s connections likely the reason. I was disgusted with myself for not widening the search in the first place. As Maddox made a wide turn into the port, the back end of the SUV spun from one side to the other. However, the man was firmly in control, his driving skills top notch.

We had six cars following us, all filled with soldiers. We’d round up any stragglers later, including those determined to derail the Thibodeaux regime in any way.

That included Quince, who would learn that it didn’t matter what side of the country or the world he was in, if there was treachery involved, one of us would find him. First things first.

Detaining the ship. There was no mistaking the ship looming in front of us. Another reason it hadn’t drawn any attention was its size, a little over one half of what a typical transatlantic cargo would be.

Every detail had been planned out, Alturo likely gloating from wherever he was perched. I had to remind myself that tonight wasn’t about getting to the South American. That might take days. Weeks. Although he would face my wrath at some point. All that mattered was rescuing Delaney.

And I would stop at nothing until she was in my arms.

“Remember that some of the crewmembers likely have no clue what’s going on,” Arman said as Rocco cut the lights, rolling to a stop before anyone on the ship was able to detect our presence.

“Then they won’t get in our way. Anyone who does pays the same price.” I didn’t bother waiting, stepping out and holding the rifle in both hands. As the other men climbed out into the darkness, they crowded around us. They’d already been instructed how to board, the ship in question blasting their horns. I motioned for several of the men, who would enter near the stern. We’d take the bow.

We were all dressed in black, keeping our arrival undetected for as long as possible.

As we raced toward the ship, the first horn blasted. We’d almost missed our window. Another blast happened the moment we were positioned at the ladders. There was no time to waste.

I scrambled up one-handed, feeling movement. The final blast occurred the moment I reached the surface, hopping on board. The others followed quickly and so far it seemed our presence hadn’t been detected. That would change within minutes.

We crouched low, uncertain where she would be. It was possible she’d been taken to one of the cabins below, but I had a feeling she wouldn’t be allowed any creature comforts. It was another gut feeling, but I would raze the entire ship in order to find her.

What little we’d found regarding the layout of the ship allowed us to fan out, Arman and Rocco with me, Maddox leading another group to the other side.

We’d been on the ship for almost four minutes when I heard a voice.

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