Page 92 of Gangster's Empire: Leeza & Havel

Someone picked up and when no one spoke, she figured she got the person she was looking for, then he texted.

What do you want?

A momentary pause, then,

Leeza, they have Havel.

“I know. It’s why I’m calling. I have a plan for Havel’s extraction, but I need to be there on the ground for it.” She waited breathlessly for the verdict. She got what she'd expected.

No fucking way. You are not putting yourself in harm's way.

She paused, her mind nimbly working. "You can't say 'no' to me. I don't work for you. Besides, I have a bigger stake in this than you do. What if it were Shaun in trouble? Would you sit idly by letting others get her back?"

Not the fucking point, Leeza. It's too dangerous.

She pulled out her trump card. "I think you're missing my point, Jozef. I'm going to do it with or without your approval." She pulled in a shaky breath. "I'd rather have your approval and support."

A minute ticked by, then Jozef texted,

Do it, then. What do you need?

Yes! “Since you have the jet, I’ll need an airplane and I need Ayaan. She can meet me…”

They continued to plan, Leeza speaking while Jozef texted her instructions. Ali was in the background working on the details, making sure everything was ready for Leeza’s departure.

She was going to fly into a war zone and rescue her husband.

After the details had been hammered out, Leeza got to her feet. “I need to change.”

“There’s a driver out front to take you to the plane as soon as you’re ready.”

Leeza touched Ali’s shoulder. “Thank you for your help.”

Though his expression was still troubled, his gaze softened. “Do me a favour? When you get the boss back, don’t tell him my part in this. He’d going to murder everyone complicit in you stepping foot in that country.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

Havel had been in the prison for over a day when the General came to see him. He’d heard the name, one of the few words he recognized when his captors spoke. Havel knew the man.

Jean-Pierre Mbengue.

Havel and Jozef had provided the General with weapons in the past and had even taken a contract to clear out a rebel group holed up in the southern part of the country. The General was good for an infusion of cash, but otherwise Havel despised the man.

He was self-important, arrogant, and narcissistic in a way that made Havel want to snap his neck every time they met. Granted the things Havel hated about the man were common characteristics among the type of people who hired mercenaries, but this guy was worse than the others. He was needlessly cruel.

The General stood aside as his soldier unlocked Havel’s jail cell. The two men studied each other.

“So, it is you,” Mbengue’s voice boomed throughout the building they were holding him in. “My old friend, Havel Tsotsarov. We find ourselves on opposing sides. Such a pity.”

No fewer than seven men surrounded Havel as the General stepped up to him. Havel waited in silence as the General circled him, as if sizing up his prey. The move was ineffective. Havel had been in worse situations with men much more menacing that this man would ever be.

“What gives you the right to come into my country and steal my prize?” Iron infused the General’s tone, any joviality gone. “You were very stupid to allow yourself to get caught.”

“It’s not your country,” Havel grunted. “It belongs to the people. Or isn’t that the bullshit you’re trying to sell the ignorant locals?”

Mbengue roared and lifted the butt of his rifle, driving it into Havel’s abdomen.

Havel remained on his feet, unmoved by the hit. It would’ve sent anyone else to their knees, but he couldn’t show weakness here. He needed these men wary of him.

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