Ravenous Kingpin (Kingpins of the Syndicate #4)

36. Killian

CHAPTER 36

Killian

M y jet, filled with my allies—Liam, the DiLustros, Danil Popov with his right-hand man, Soren, and our men—reached Venezuela shortly before nightfall. We landed in a little private airport in Puerto La Cruz with one asphalt runway for landing and one gravel one for takeoff.

My abdomen and leg hurt like a bitch, but I was pumped on adrenaline and medication, ready to find my wife and bring her home. I refused to let anything, least of all my wounds, hold me back.

Four days had gone by since I stormed Danil’s private penthouse with the DiLustros, ready to level the entire building if he didn’t find a way to get me his father’s location. He was able to trace him to a village in Venezuela, but then his trail had gone cold.

So here we all were, dressed in black military garb to help us complete our mission incognito. There were fifteen of us in total, and as we descended the jetway, we were met with the local contact of Soren’s that knew Venezuela like the back of his hand.

The moment we hit the tarmac, he strode our way, a scowl on his face.

“This is your idea of peaceful and under-the-radar in-and-out operations?” he asked, gesturing to all of us, armed for combat. “Will the US Special Ops and Marines be joining us as well?”

I jerked my head at Danil and Soren, who had secured us a way in. Danil kept refreshing his data on Atticus, hoping he would appear and this cold trail wouldn’t be the only thing we had. Soren’s contact would point us in the right direction, and a trail was a start—cold or not.

“You won’t even know we’re here,” Soren assured him. “Rodríguez, this is Killian Cullen and Basilio, Dante, and Priest DiLustro.”

Rodríguez paused, taking us all in. “I’ve heard of you all.”

“Likewise,” Basilio growled. “Switching sides and fucking people over. If a single piece of hair is missing off my sister’s head, you’ll regret the day you were born.”

“You’re on my turf; I’ll have you skinned alive.”

Muttering a curse, I stepped between them with a hardened stare. “If you two are about done here…?”

That seemed to conclude their testosterone competition.

“Any word on the woman?” Danil asked.

“No, but the sooner you guys find her and leave, the better.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” Stepping around him, I glanced at my phone. “Now, let’s get moving. I want to get to the last known location while we still have the cover of the night.”

“Do we know the best way in?” Dante asked.

“Carúpano is a town in the far north. The property that Atticus Popov visited stretches along the coastline. Sneaking in via the sea is advisable,” Rodríguez recommended.

“Do we have a layout of the property?” I asked.

Rodríguez shook his head. “Unfortunately not. The owner has taken every precaution to ensure no one gets in—or out—easily.”

“How long will it take to get there?” I demanded.

Danil jerked his head at the waiting vehicles. “Depending on the state of the roads, we’ll either arrive in a couple of hours or disappear down the side of a fucking cliff.”

Even that wouldn’t stop me. I’d crawl to Emory if I had to. I’d promised to protect her, and I intended to keep my word.

“Should you change your bandage?” Soren asked, eyeing my leg.

“No, I’m fine.” Or I would be, once I got my wife back.

We walked toward the row of Land Rovers and Jeeps, tension marring every one of our expressions. It was a chilly, starless night. I prayed it wasn’t a sign of darkness to come.

Putting the car into drive, I led our caravan of SUVs up and down the narrow, dark roads. There was no doubt in anyone’s minds that we were bringing rage and revenge with us.

About a hundred miles out, Danil’s drone alerted us to an imposing high-security electric fence, and the vehicles came to a screeching halt before they could intercept us.

I jumped out of the car and made my way to the fence, surveying the area and the main source of the power.There was nothing but miles of forest all around us. No voices. No animals. No people. Just us.

“Jesus Christ,” Basilio grumbled, following behind me.

“There’s enough power here to light the entire country on fire,” Priest said dryly.

The winding road disappeared beyond the electric fence, and that’s when I knew.

She was here. And I planned to infiltrate, no matter the cost.

“Maybe we should do what Rodríguez recommended?” Dante questioned. “Take the ocean route?”

“Or maybe that’s what they expect from us,” I muttered, pulling out my phone and typing furiously as I worked on hacking the grid and ignoring the throbbing ache in my leg. “We should take this route. Just give me a minute.”

In response to my suggestion, the DiLustro men shared a look as the moon hid behind the clouds that’d materialized in the past hour, providing us the cover we so needed.

Seconds stretched into minutes as my fingers flew across the screen, attempting every angle that would allow us to enter this compound without being detected.

“Got it,” I hissed victoriously. Click. Click. Click . And just like that, the electric fence was no longer powered. I cut through the bolts, and the gates swung open. “Let’s move.”

Moving swiftly, we circled back to the SUV. I popped the back door open and started loading up.

“Wouldn’t it be faster if we drove all the way to the main buildings?” Basilio asked, although he was gearing up too.

“Yes, but we can’t risk them hearing us. This place is likely crawling with armed guards.” Loading my gun, I shot him a sidelong look. “This way, we have the element of surprise.”

My head started to swim, the lack of sleep and my still-healing body taking their toll. I was aching and agitated, but I refused to let it slow me down. There would be plenty of time to rest once I got my wife to safety.

“Everyone, use your silencers for as long as you can. Remain hidden, take the guards out without drawing attention,” I announced. “Take as much ammunition as you can carry.”

I reached for the adrenaline syringe and injected myself with it. Danil gave me a disapproving look but said nothing, and then we were on the move.

“This was the right call,” Basilio said as we took off at a sprint, our men spreading out across the property and moving like shadows in the night.

Time to get my wife home.

It took us twenty minutes to get within a hundred feet of the white colonial-style Antebellum South type of mansion that could have just as easily been plucked out of rural Georgia.

“This should be a piece of cake,” Basilio muttered beside me.

He went to take a step, but I grabbed his arm. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Going in?”

My grip tightened, and as he went to push past me, I yanked him back. “There are guards crawling everywhere. Look.” I angled my infrared detector so he could see the screen.

Wrenching his arm away, he pulled back and stood next to me. He surveyed the area with a narrowed gaze until he spotted them and grunted his agreement.

Sliding my gun into the waistband of my pants, I spoke into my earpiece. “Basilio and I are going in. Use a silencer to eliminate any guard that spots us.”

Zigzagging over the immaculate lawn, Basilio at my back, I kept my eyes peeled on our target, ignoring the commotion to the left. By the time we reached the front porch, I glanced around to find most of the guards at the front of the house dead.

At that moment, the front door opened and a guard appeared.

“This is private prop?—”

Realization lit up his face as Basilio and I trained our pistols on him, cutting him off by pulling the trigger. With two shots, we blew his brains out, staining the white siding.

Soon another guard appeared, and before Basilio could shoot him, I hissed, “We need information.”

“Fair enough,” he agreed, shooting the man in the thigh, dangerously close to his groin. Before the guard’s agonized scream could alert more people, I covered his mouth, but two more came charging at us from the left. And then right. The real show began, bullets flying from every corner. Soon more guards swarmed the front lawn and a spray of bullets followed, no doubt announcing our arrival.

Taking aim, I fired—sending one, then two men to an early grave and letting Basilio kill the rest.

“Where is the woman?” I snarled, shaking him by his skull.

He didn’t even attempt to hold out. “In the lab wing. They’re doing the organ transfer now.”

My heart froze before jackhammering into full-speed mode. I snapped his neck and took off running inside, shooting at anyone in my way. The atmosphere thickened with the steady pulse of urgency.

By the time I was on the second floor, Basilio not far behind me, I had to quickly reload my gun, slamming the magazine in place.

“Christ, they’re multiplying,” he shouted, waving his gun toward the hallway.

A bullet whizzed past, clipping my shoulder, but I didn’t stop. I had to get to Emory before they butchered her.

“We have to find her,” I shouted, my leg burning and my shoulder aching, but I refused to let it slow me down.

Basilio stopped to reload his gun when he was tackled to the ground by a guard.

“You go,” he shouted, wrestling him. “I’ll be right behind you.”

The first room I entered was empty and windowless, but there was a familiar scent lingering in the air. Emory . I stepped closer to investigate when a strong arm wrapped around my neck from behind and crushed my windpipe. Fuck.

“You’re too late,” leered a voice as he tightened his grip around my throat. “She’s being sliced and diced as we speak.”

A wave of red crashed over my eyes.

Pulling my arm forward, I sank my elbow into his ribs with all my strength. Then again. As he stumbled backward, I reached for my switchblade and swung my arm, making contact with his left eyeball. The man let out a tortured howl and the pressure around my neck released. I spun around to find him holding the blade shoved in his skull.

I’d love nothing more than to further mutilate this fucker, but my wife needed me. With that in mind, I aimed my gun at his forehead and pulled the trigger.

Leaving him to rot, I continued my search down a hallway of closed doors. Behind every one was a disappointment—no sign of my wife. But I continued on, images of Em being scared and alone seeping into my mind and taunting me.

Until I opened the right door.