Page 115 of Lucky Boys
“Working on it,” Diego came through. “Hang on.”
I was standing in the middle of a staff hallway in a ruined Alexander McQueen suit, with a merc dressed like a waiter. We weren’t exactly inconspicuous. But Diego was quick with his shit and soon had instructions on the best way for me to get there without being noticed.
“There’s an out of service staircase in that room that’s for employees only. It leads right outside to an alley. Mav and Skye can pick you up there.”
“What about Luca?”
“Luc can handle himself, Brooks,” Maverick told me, “You focus on getting the kid.”
I hated this. I didn’t want to leave Luca in the middle of the viper nest, even if I knew he could take care of himself. But I also understood he’d be pissed if I had the opportunity to get Matty and didn’t take it.
“Okay,” I whispered.
“Good, Brooks. I trust you to do this,” Maverick said, his tone so fucking serious, even I believed him. That was when I realized I wasn’t hearing Luca at all anymore.
“Why can’t I hear Luca?”
“I blocked his channel for now,” Diego told me, “You don’t need to hear that. I’m monitoring it. Don’t worry, B he’s safe.”
I didn’t want to know. Diego sounded strained, and I hated that he had to deal with all of this on his own. Wes was there, but the hacking and computer stuff wasn’t his strong suit.
“Yo, Daniels, what the fuck are you doing in here?” Both me and Luca’s guy jumped at the sound of another guy, dressed similarly to Luca’s guy. Daniels I guessed was his name, who was standing at the end of the hallway, his arms crossed and looking pissed.
“Sorry, boss. I was just helping our guest get cleaned up there was an accident.”
The guy frowned. “Well hurry up. Mr. Andreev is on his way down. It’s all hands on deck.”
“Yes, sir.” The guy left, muttering under his breath. Daniels looked at me. “I gotta go. Are you good?”
“Uh, yeah.” He knocked my shoulder in an encouraging gesture and left, leaving me alone.
“Brooks, you have to hurry up before Andreev gets Matty. This will be a lot harder if we have to extract him from the middle of the party.” Maverick informed me calmly.
Right. I took off down the hallway, following Diego’s instructions on where to find him.
I stripped my soaking wet jacket off once I was out of the main area and stashed it behind a plant. It wasn’t the best hiding place, but it was slowing me down. I threw out a silent apology for fucking up a suit that cost more than I make in a year, then tossed my tie with it before running off.
“Well I’m glad we put your camera in your necklace and not on your jacket.” Diego said, his tone dry.
Oops/ I honestly forgot all about it but was glad I insisted on the choker like necklace. It felt like a collar, even if it wasn’t one, and I wouldn’t end up ditching it accidentally like I just did with the jacket.
I turned down another hallway, and into the utility room, still following Diego’s instructions. I was going the long way, but hopefully I’d avoid everyone and end up inside the small room behind the kitchen.
It took way longer than I liked, and my anxiety was ramping up. I was sure by the time I got there Andreev would’ve moved Matty and we’d be screwed. I picked up my pace.
“Okay, B, there should be two doors to your right.”
I glanced over there. “Yup.”
“One of them isn’t labeled. Go into that one, but be careful.”
Crouching in between the doors, I quietly started to open it, half expecting a booby trap or something. But nothing happened when it creaked open. No alarm went off, no one came running.
I reached for the knife I didn’t have. We couldn’t bring any weapons in. I felt so fucking naked. I took a deep breath, and stayed crouched as I creeped through the opening of the door.
My eyes locked on the cage immediately. It was across the room in a corner in the dark. I could just make out someone cowered in the corner.
“I see him.” I whispered. The room looked empty besides the cage, and the only sound was the low sobs coming from the cage.
