Page 59 of Corrupt Desires

Taking the position directly behind Kayden, I clasp my hand on his shoulder and signal to him that I’m ready. We make our way through the basement, going around crates and boxes before coming upon the breakers. Kayden cuts the power to the entire house, Franklin reassuring us their cameras have back up batteries. Once he confirms the cameras are still up and running, we continue making our way to the stairs. Kayden signals his men to go ahead of him. Once again, on the count of three the men swing the door open and rush into the room, rifles ready.

“All clear, boss,” says Donovan through the comms. Aleks and Donovan were going to wait inside the vehicle that would bring Emilia home, but they both insisted on being part of the rescue mission.

“Let’s go, James,” says Kayden, signaling me forward with two fingers.

The large open room looks like it’s currently being used as housing as there are two beds across from each other on opposite sides of the room. Just as we move to the other side of the room, the door swings open revealing a man holding a flashlight. Aleks takes a quick shot, shooting the man directly between the eyes. Holy fuck that was fast. Two of Kayden’s men come forward and pull the body further into the room and out of our way.

As the men peer through the open door into the next room, I come up behind Kayden and ask, “How many men do we think are in the house? We’ve taken out four already if we count the three outside.”

Kayden looks around at his men before answering, “Alright, men, listen up. We are pretty sure there are five more men in the house, and that includes our main target, Anthony. We go quietly, eliminating all targets as we go. The goal is to get all the women out of here alive, so that means if we run into hostage situations, I expect each of you to cleanly and efficiently take out their captors. Make it count, boys.”

All the men give the affirmative, their orders clear and understood. These men are all retired Special Ops from what Kayden told me, so they have extensive experience with these situations.

We make our way through the next room, which is all concrete. The floor is stained red and a single chair sits in the center of the room. This has to be the room that Emilia was brought into. The fresh blood on the ground makes my stomach turn, my rage turning my vision red.

“Fucking hell. Do you think all that blood is Emilia’s?” I ask Kayden as we make our way into the room and inspect the chair and the blood.

“It could be. Matteo said he was kept in a room that fits this description, which is probably why we had no idea that they had him. The old blood on the floor makes me think Emilia and Matteo aren’t the first ones to be brought in here, though.”

“We need to get to her, Kayden. I have a bad feeling.”

Kayden nods his head, understanding my sudden sense that something isn’t right.

“Let’s keep moving. Franklin, how’s the hallway looking outside of this wing of the house. See anything on the cameras?”

“Hey, Kayden, there’s a man walking up and down the hallway with a flashlight, but other than that, it’s clear. The bedrooms holding the girls are on the second floor, so once you go down the hallway, you’ll want to make a left to go up the stairs. Anthony just went into Emilia’s room, but they must be off to the side. I can only see the one woman on the cot.”

“Fuck. Alright. Let’s move out, men,” orders Kayden. The men make their way into the hallway, and I hear three silenced shots go off, before a large thump of the man’s body as it hits the floor.

“Kayden, Lorenzo is making his way down the stairs, he heard the commotion. He has a gun,” says Franklin in our earpieces.

“Men, keep this one alive. I repeat, do not shoot to kill.”

As the light starts to appear at the end of the hallway, Kayden’s men take up defensive stances in the open doorways of the numerous rooms off the hallway.

“Steady… steady…” whispers Kayden through the comms.

As the light comes around the corner, we are all momentarily blinded. Shots ring out from Lorenzo’s weapon, spraying into the walls. If Anthony didn’t know we were here before, he certainly does now. Two of Kayden’s men pop out from behind the doorways, each taking a shot at Lorenzo’s knees. He cries out, crashing to the floor. “Arrgghhh.”

“Tango down.”

Two more shots ring out from Lorenzo’s weapon as he lies on the floor, and cursing erupts from one of Kayden’s men. Although the night vision optics are super helpful, I still can’t tell who’s been hit.

“Fucking shit,” a voice whispers down the hallway. “It’s Donovan.”

“How bad is it?” asks Kayden over the comms.

“He got my fucking shoulder, sir,” comes Donovan’s voice in our ears.

“Alright, someone get him out of here, back the way we came. Medevac is waiting on standby, get him there,” Kayden orders. “According to my count, there should be no more bullets left in his gun. Go now.” The man with Donovan, I think his name is Eric, steps out of the room they’re currently huddled in and slings Donovan’s arm over his shoulders, making his way back down the hall and into the rooms we came through.

“Alright, men, look alive. We have three more of these fuckers to take out, and then we can get the fuck out of here,” says Kayden, already making his way down the hallway to Lorenzo’s form laying on the ground. “Someone come grab this piece of shit, and bring him to that room we just came through with the chair.”

Two men grab Lorenzo, who is still spitting expletives, and make their way to drag him down the hall and back into the concrete room.

Kayden clasps a hand on one of the men’s shoulders as they pass. “Rough him up a bit for me, would ya?” The soldier gives an affirmative before disappearing through the doorway.

“Kayden, can you hear me? Kayden,” comes Franklin’s voice through our comms.

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