From Manhattan with Revenge (The Fourth Book in the Fifth Avenue Series) (21 page)

Instantly, the warehouse was plunged into
a darkness so thick and black, she couldn’t see anything but her own memory of
the space.

She scrambled to her feet, held the gun
out in front of her and moved blindly behind one of Katzev’s cars. The pain
roared in her dislocated left shoulder. She bumped against the car and winced.
Would the alarm go off? It didn’t. She hid behind the car. She listened and she
waited.

In spite of the dark, he’d come for her
now. So would his guard.

But she had a plan for that, too.

CHAPTER TWE
NTY-SIX

“Max,” Babe said after the knock came at
the door it. “That will be Vincent. You know what he looks like. Check the
security monitor and make certain it’s him before you open the door. He’ll want
to be off the street quickly, so let him in as soon as possible and bring him
to us.”

Max nodded and left the room.

Babe looked over at Carmen with concern on
her face. “I feel as if you need us,” she said as Carmen and Jake stood. “I
don’t think we’ve done enough. I don’t like this idea of you going in alone
with Vincent—and not because of Vincent. But because Katzev is
duplicitous. We both know it’s not going to be just him and another guard
wherever you’re meeting him. He’s going to have a team waiting for you. This is
a setup. Doesn’t that concern you? I know you’ve thought this through.”

“Of course, I have,” Carmen said. “But
what can I do? Gelling is dead. Gone with him are the names of the syndicate
members he was trying to compile for me.”

“Have you thought of calling Gelling’s
assistant, Frank? You know, that enormous man with the watch that covers his
bum eye? He’s been with Gelling for years. He might know something.”

Carmen looked defeated. “When I used the
restroom a moment ago? I called Frank. He says he has no knowledge of any
list.”

“That’s just bullshit,” Babe said.
 
“That man knows everything about Gelling.
He wiped the man’s ass, for God’s sake. I don’t believe it for a minute.”

“Neither do I. But without his help and
without that information, I have nothing to blackmail Katzev with. He has the
upper hand with Chloe. He knows I’ll do anything to keep her safe. Like it or
not, as neutral as all this is supposed to be, he’s running the show.”

“But you have Liam,” Babe said. “You have
Katzev’s family right in the palm of your hand. Certainly, that’s something.
One call to Liam and their lives are on the line. That’s got to trouble Katzev.
Liam could kill the man’s mother, for God’s sake.”

“I don’t think he cares for any of them,
Babe.”

“Why?”

“Because they aren’t the syndicate, which
is his world. It’s what he built with Jean-Georges and what paid off so well
for them. You saw Liam’s video. As rich as Katzev is, his family is struggling.
His mother was begging for help. The house behind them was in need of repair.
There wasn’t a single one of them who looked affluent.” She held up a finger.
“But wouldn’t they if Katzev was helping them? For whatever reason, he’s not. I
think he made a conscious decision to distance himself from them. When it comes
to saving the one thing that’s made him the wealthy man he is today, they don’t
mean a damn thing to him. They come last.”

At that moment, Spocatti was ushered into
the room. Carmen looked over at him and couldn’t help feeling relief. He was
dressed in a black T-shirt, black jeans, and a black jacket to hide whatever he
was carrying. He wore black shoes with the sort of soles that could dig into
pavement or concrete or hardwood, while giving him plenty of traction to run
should he need to.

She hadn’t seen him in a while, but age
hadn’t touched him. He still had the masculine face of a boxer, which he used
to be in his youth, and the dark brown eyes she remembered so well because they
seemed to reflect the darkness of everything he knew and had created during his
lifetime. His full head of dark hair gleamed with whatever product he had in
it. He was fit and tanned from his time in Capri, and, seeing him now, she
thought he was a force. The presence he brought into the room was something few
possessed, but which he came by naturally.

He nodded at her.

Before she could return the gesture, Babe
said, “Vincent.” She walked over and moved aside his extended hand so she could
give him a fleeting embrace, during which time she kissed him on each cheek
before parting from him. There was something about the way she leaned into him
with her right foot raised behind her that told Carmen everything she needed to
know about their relationship. Here was the young assassin with whom she said
she once had an affair. Here was the man who opened her eyes to the dangerous
life she had led for two decades.

“How was your trip?” she asked.

“Busy.”

“And Capri?”

“Busier.”

“You look well.”

“We’ll see how I look tomorrow morning.”
He looked across the room at Jake, who was standing in front of one of the red
chairs. “Jake,” he said.

“Vincent.”

“In some trouble yourself, I hear.”

“I’d like to join you tonight,” he said.
“I’d like to help. Katzev also came after me. Carmen can take him out, but I
want him to see him die.”

“Can’t. It’s just me and Carmen. That’s
the promise I made to get to Chloe. But I appreciate the offer.”

“It’s not just going to be the two of
you,” Babe said.

“I’m aware of that.”

“Then let him help. He has very good
reasons for wanting to see Katzev dead.”

“It’s not going to happen, Babe. Besides,
Carmen and I can handle Katzev and the boys. We’ll get Chloe out and then deal
with the rest of them.”

“Who’s going to collect Chloe?” Jake
asked.

“She’ll be told to run.”

“If that’s the case, wherever you’re
meeting them, I can be parked along the street and get her when I see her.”

“But you won’t stay in your car, Jake,” Spocatti
said. “We both know that. We both know you want your own revenge against Katzev
and the syndicate for trying to knock you off. I get it. They came after you.
They nearly killed you. But this is Carmen’s night. If anyone puts a bullet
through Katzev’s face, it’s her.”

“I won’t interfere. I just want to watch.”

“You’re too hot right now. I don’t believe
that.”

“Why are you shutting me out?”

“I’m not shutting you out. I made a deal
with Katzev. He agreed to see me and Carmen—period. This is not personal,
so stop behaving as if it is.” He looked at Carmen. “When we tell Chloe to run,
do you think she’ll be all right? On the streets, I mean. Will she be safe?”

“She’s tougher than she should be at her
age, but nothing will help her if he has men surrounding the place, which is a
possibility.” She looked over at Jake. “Maybe we need to rethink this. What
he’s proposing isn’t a bad idea.”

“It’s just us, Carmen.”

She felt another sting of worry for Chloe.
She was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with how this was unfolding. She
tried again. “I think we should reconsider.”

But Spocatti held firm. “I don’t. Here’s
why I’m fine with it being just us. Katzev has been told that if anything
happens to either of us—or to Chloe—that I’ve contacted friends who
will track him down and take him out at once. These people are loyal to me.
I’ve saved their lives. They’ll do it without hesitation. I’ve told Katzev
that. I think we’ll be fine, but I agree. We need to be prepared if he does
something stupid.”

“Prepared how?”

“We need to be alert.”

“That’s all?”

He didn’t answer.

“Where are we meeting them?”

He looked at Babe and Jake. “No offense to
you two, but I need to tell her in private.” He checked his watch. “Get your
gear. Babe has everything you need in her basement. We leave in ten.”

“You two go to the basement,” Babe said to
Carmen and Spocatti. She wasn’t used to being shut out so harshly and she
looked angry because of it. “Take what you need. I’m having a drink.”

* * *

When Carmen and Spocatti left eight
minutes later, loaded with concealed guns and pockets full of ammunition, they
thanked their hostess, who stood to walk them to the door, but they said
nothing to Jake, who sat in one of the red chairs, pointedly looking away from
them. He was furious with them. It was clear. It wasn’t until Spocatti and
Carmen left that Babe immediately swept back into the parlor in a hurry.

“That girl is headed straight into
danger,” she said. “Where are you parked?”

“Just down the street.”

“Perfect. Max!” she called. “Grab my
running shoes. Quickly.”

She started to kick off her shoes, but
kept her eyes on his. “They’re getting a cab,” she said. “We have moments
before we lose them. I’m assuming you have useful things in your car? Things
that will be meaningful if pointed at someone’s face?”

“I have a trunk filled with just that.”

Max entered the room with her running
shoes, which she stepped into.

“I don’t say this lightly, but I don’t
agree with Vincent. I don’t know why he’s being so unreasonable. Somebody has
to be there to grab that girl when she’s released from the building. Otherwise,
I don’t know what will happen to her. And what’s the point of all of this if
somebody doesn’t help her?”

“We get the girl,” he said. “They get
Katzev. I just want to be there when it happens. I want to know that he’s
dead.”

“Then let’s go while there’s still time to
follow them. Come on. We might have already lost them.”

CHAPTER TW
ENTY-SEVEN

In the darkness she created, Chloe Philips
waited.

She could hear footsteps, some so close,
she began to sweat along her brow and down the small of her back. They were
searching for her. Eventually, they’d find her. Then what? Shoot them? If her
life was on the line, she’d have no choice.

“Chloe,” the Russian said. “Come out.
Now.”

He was off to her right. Close enough that
she started to tremble. Her dislocated shoulder was becoming too much for her
to bear, but she forced herself to push through it. She was crouched low behind
one of his ridiculous sports cars and held the gun tightly in front of her in
her cuffed hands. She anticipated him to make a move at any moment. Could he
hear her breathing?

She could hear him breathing...

“Don’t be stupid, Chloe. Why die when you
have every chance to live? Carmen is on her way to settle things for you. You
still have hope if you decide to reveal yourself to us and behave. Otherwise,
I’ll make a call and ask the men waiting outside to come in and sweep this
place for you. It won’t be pleasant.”

Earlier, she had crept away from the
center of the warehouse, where the bathroom and water fountain were, knowing
that they’d look for her there first, which they had.

Now, she was nearly at the warehouse
entrance. She’d run for it, but it would be fruitless. There was no way that
warehouse door was unlocked. She’d need to wait it out for Carmen, if she was
indeed coming, which once again raised the question about why Carmen was
involved in this—whatever
this
was. It didn’t make sense to her.

“It’s so dark in here,” the Russian said.
“Pitch black. Can’t see shit, which was her point, I suppose. But it doesn’t
have to be that way, does it, Michael? We are, after all, surrounded by dozens
of cars that have something she didn’t think of. You know, things like
headlights.”

He stopped walking. There was a swishing
sound, as if he suddenly turned around, perhaps because he thought he’d heard
her, but then a moment passed and he continued to walk away from her again.
“Michael,” he said, “why don’t you start turning on headlights and we’ll get
this over with before Carmen and Spocatti arrive?”

To her far right, all the way to the rear
of the warehouse, where the guard called Michael must have been resting
earlier, she heard a car door swing open. Within an instant, headlights flashed
and flooded that end of the warehouse with a blazing, neon-blue light that cut
through the gloom.

“Turn on all of them,” the Russian said.
“Find out where she’s hiding, but be careful. She still has the gun.”

She heard footsteps walk across the space
to the car directly opposite the one whose headlights were shining. A door
opened, there was the sound of a click, and more light beamed into the room.

Now, even from where she was crouched low,
she could see the faint outline of things she hadn’t been able to see before,
including the Russian, whose gun was poised in front of him while he looked
around the room for her. What a fool she had been. She’d never thought about
the headlights. It wouldn’t be long before they found her.