Prologue
NOVA
Iwoke up shivering with my cheek against the rough floor and every breath coming out in harsh gasps in the freezing air. A bitter cold paired with the metallic taste of blood, and the smell of damp earth accompanied the pain and fear I felt when my eyes opened on my surroundings. The room was dark, almost pitch black except for the smallest amount of light coming from somewhere at the bottom of the floor. The room was silent except for the harsh sounds of my breathing. The floor beneath me was hard, not wood, maybe concrete or stone from the way it felt like the material was siphoning the warmth from my body. Needing to conserve the little warmth I had; I attempted to pull my knees into my core but was stopped by the feeling of metal digging into my wrists and the nagging pain in my head. I attempted to reposition myself again, but the thick handcuffs fastened around my wrists kept me locked in place.
When I looked down, I noticed that the cuffs were anchored to the floor making it impossible for me to get too far away from my current position. I tried sitting up this time, but the room spun violently, like I was on a merry-go-round. And then panic hit me like a tidal wave as images of what happened to us hit me.
“Crew! Timberly!” I called out, my voice cracking, hoarse and dry.
Nothing, there was nothing. Where are they? Are they here too? At the thought my mind snapped into focus like the crack of a whip, before the memories came flooding back. The sight and sounds of the blacked-out SUVs surrounding us, the crash and crunch of metal. Then there was the feeling of being ripped from the car before the sharp sting of a needle turned my mind to mush. I could still hear the fear in Timberly’s voice as she screamed for Crew to save us from the back seat. The sound of her fear rang in my ears along with the pain in Crew’s voice as he called my name right as everything went black.
I had been taken. But I was alone, which meant that God willing, Timberly and Crew hadn't been taken too and were safe. I glanced around the small space I was being held in and almost cried. Kyle told me what would happen if he ever found me and now, here I was in a dank prison, the size of a tool shed. The thought of dying alone in this room was something that I had to consider now that Kyle had me, but as long as Timberly was safe, I would die happy. It just hurt that I would never get the chance to tell Crew about the new life we had created or how my feelings had changed for him.
I was in love with my husband, and I wanted our marriage to be more than just a business arrangement. Just as the thought crossed my mind, the light grew brighter as the door creaked open. Followed by a voice I hadn’t heard in over two years, the one that haunted every nightmare, every locked door, every gut instinct that made me look over my shoulder.
"Welcome home, Nova. Took you long enough to come back." Kyle laughed.
Crew
I stood in the rain staring at Timberly’s stuffed bunny, dirty and wet, and the pink fur soaked from the downpour. I closed my fist around it and squeezed, trying to ground myself in the aftermath of what had happened. Blue stood behind me surveying the area scrubbing the footage of the ambush. While Black paced near the wreckage, speaking low into his phone, pulling every old contact and extra man he had to spare. He was able to use his contacts in the local precinct, keeping the police away from the scene, so we could collect and clues before they fucked up the evidence.
Our SUV sat crumpled, empty, with bullet casings and glass all around. My heart hadn’t stopped pounding since the first bullet hit the side of the SUV with my family inside. Nova was gone, and our daughter was traumatized.
I had failed them both.
I stepped over the broken glass and twisted metal. The sound of my boots was heavy as they crunched against asphalt soaked with dried blood and oil. Ending his call Black stood quiet as always as we took in the scene for a few more minutes. The twins stood beside me like silent shadows, their thick arms crossed, both their jaws locked tight in hardened scowls. Blue moved firstlike a ghost kneeling beside a bullet casing; his fingers brushing across it with surgical precision.
“They hit us like they knew our every damn move. Knew where we’d be and how fast we’d be moving,” I gritted.
“Somebody insides talkin’. That nigga Kyle got his hands in everything.” Black said, voice flat and gravely.
“Are any of the men he brought local or have any connections to Timberline?” I asked.
“Nah, all out of town mercs for hire. The nigga that took Nova is the only one that got away. All the others have been taken to the cleaners or in our office right now.” Blue said, calmly tapping on his laptop.
"We need to find her," I growled, turning to Black. "Now."
Black nodded. "I've got men combing the whole city. We'll bring her home. We need to do this as quietly as possible. You still have a corporation to run. This could cause problems for you if word of this got out."
“I don’t give a fuck about none of that. Do whatever you have to do to help me bring my wife home. Nothin’ matters but my family. Fuck everything else. How did he get this close to my fucking family? Who could have turned on me? My people have been with me for years but right now everybody's a suspect.” I gritted.
At the end of the day Nova and Timberly’s safety was my responsibility. I already had my own team in place, but it was Black’s fucking job to manage them now that he was head of my security team.
“It was your driver.” Blue said nonchalantly like I should have known this shit. “He’s been fucking Kyle’s sister since she came to town. I pulled his call history and texts. They cloned his phone and been tracking his location for a week now.”
“I’ll have my men bring him to the office.” Black grumbled.
Fluorescent light filtered through a single overhead bulb hanging from the ceiling of the large, abandoned office building in the old industrial park. This was one of August’s properties that the twins used for interrogating and interviewing guests so to speak. The silence was thick, broken only by the heavy breathing of the three men tied to the steel chairs in front of us. The fourth still out cold in the corner, wasn’t gon’ be much use to anyone based on the amount of blood he had lost. I paced calmly behind them as they attempted to keep me in their line of sight.
“I had my wife and daughter in that truck. You aimed your shit, knowing that you were putting them in the line of fire. So I’ma ask this once. Where the fuck is Kyle?”
“Crew, man, I swear I’d never put you or your family in danger, please. You know me man.” Damon, my driver of five years, cried.
“You swear, huh? Was you swearing when you let Kennedy clone your phone and track your fuckin’ whereabouts for a week,” I spat.
“What? Crew. I didn’t know. Come on,” Damon screamed.
“Come on what, nigga? Your dumb ass put my family at risk. Nah nigga ain’t no come on.” I spit, pulling my Glock from its holster, I aimed and put two between that nigga eyes.
