His money. His hotel. His reputation.
“Hurt, but not killed. I want him to taste the retribution I have planned. But I need the child delivered to me in my limo in the front of the hotel as soon as possible. I don’t care what you have to do to make that happen. Get me the girl, unharmed, and we’re even. I’m calling all my markers on this one.”
“Nah, amigo. This one I’ll take care of for one marker. You are owed a favor per life saved. Tres vidas. Tres favores.” Three lives. Three favors. “I have men close to his hotel and paid contacts inside. My guys will bring the child. I’ll call when she’s in our care,” he said and abruptly hung up.
My phone rang seconds after. I noted it was Alan, one of the guards I’d left with Faith.
I groaned. Faith was not going to comply with my request to stay out of it. The woman wasn’t used to having anyone to trust or lean on outside of her father. All of that would change now that she was my fiancée. Bringing back her niece safely would go a long way toward securing her trust and loyalty.
“What is it? ”
“I overheard a phone call she made. She plans on trading herself for the child as you suspected,” Alan whispered.
“Of course she does. Just keep an eye on her. She’ll try to escape your protection. Let her think she has, but stay on her.”
“Got it. I’ll keep you posted.” Alan ended the call.
I inhaled fully, letting out a long, frustrated breath. We should have been on my jet right now, having a lovely brunch together. I’d wanted to get to know the child a bit prior to introducing her to my daughter, Penelope. Now I feared she’d be closed-off and scared, clinging to her aunt after dealing with such a harrowing experience at such a tender age. It made me want to call Diego back and tell him to do his worst. Alas, I’d get my revenge on Faith’s behalf. The man deserved a lot worse than a quick death at the hands of strangers. When that piece of scum took his last breath, he’d do so knowing that he deserved every last minute of misery. And that it was given to him because he’d abused and tortured a beautiful young woman whose only mistake was loving the wrong man.
Death was too easy for the likes of Aiden Bradford.
We rolled up to El Diablo, the huge hotel that boasted all kinds of sinful, hedonistic activities and catered to couples or singles wanting to partake of such debauched offerings. I wasn’t one to judge, as I charged incredibly high prices for the ultimate luxury experience, but there was something slimy and gritty about the business Bradford ran. It was as though the stench and rot of his location clung to the surface of one’s skin when leaving his resort.
“Will you be exiting the vehicle?” Carlo, my right-hand man, driver, advisor, and everything in between, asked.
I shook my head. “We wait for Diego’s men… Ah, there they are now,” I smiled wickedly as I watched six rough-looking men approach the lobby entrance of the hotel. Two wore impeccable, tailored black suits while the others looked like they’d just gotten out of prison. Tattoos covered their faces, arms, necks, hands, and anything that wasn’t covered by cl othing. One carried a metal bat over his shoulder as he whistled a tune. Another had an assault rifle hanging down the center of his back, clearly visible to the public. They simply didn’t care. The Latin Mafia was not to be messed with. If you lived in Vegas, you were aware of this information. Which was proven immediately when two of the hotel’s security guys backed up and walked away at first sight.
“Smart,” Carlo muttered as we took in the show. “Are you planning to follow?”
I shook my head. Diego had assured me he’d take care of it, and I needed to be on the other side of anything that occurred so I could secure the child.
“Excellent. I was hoping to get back to Amara in one piece.” He grinned, referencing his pretty wife back in Greece.
I adjusted the cuffs of my dress shirt but kept an eye on the lobby door where Diego’s men had disappeared. “Tell Amara that Faith and I will have you both over for dinner when things are settled back home.”
“She’ll like that. She loves to get time in with Penny. She’s been griping about having a baby of our own.”
I frowned. “Then give her one.”
Carlo rubbed at his face. “It’s a lot of responsibility, as you know.”
I nodded. “It is, but the rewards are far greater than the weight of the responsibility. I assure you of this. Penny is my light. My beacon. She is what I look forward to coming home to. And soon, I will have Faith and Eden too. A house full of love and laughter. It’s all I could ever want or need.”
“Do you think you could love again after Alexandra?” Carlo asked tentatively.
“Alexandra was my world. I loved her more than I could have ever thought possible. Then Penny came and that love shifted to add her to my heart. When I lost Alexandra, I believed for a long while that I’d earned only one great love of my life. And then I saw Faith, and something inside of me clicked. She was meant to be mine.”
“I see the way you look at her,” Carlo admitted. “She’s special.”
“She is.” There was no reason to deny it. I would never deny my love for Alexandra nor would I replace it with Faith’s. I would however allow space in my heart as my Alexandra demanded of me.
“I’m happy for you, Joel.” Carlo patted the back of the leather seat.
I was just about to thank him when my phone rang.
“It is done. We have the girl. She’s unharmed. Scared but on her way out to you.” Diego informed me of the news.
“Thank you, Diego,” I said while my gaze searched the entrance of the hotel, waiting for the child to be brought out.
“Anytime, mi amigo. I still owe you. This one was not only easy, but my men enjoyed hurting the mancha en la tierra.” Stain on the Earth. I’d learned European Spanish as I did a lot of business in Spain, but the Mexican or even Mexican-American phrasing was often my favorite. They had a flair for mixing words and slang that you didn’t hear in Europe.
He hung up, and my phone rang again. This time it was Alan, the head of the security team I’d left with Faith.
“She’s on the move. Tried to slip through the jack and jill bathroom at the hospital to escape us. We’ve let her think she’s gotten away. We followed her to the lobby where she stopped at the emergency entrance. She’s pacing back and forth in clear view of my team.”
“Excellent. Just in case, don’t let her get into any vehicles. I don’t care if you have to shoot out the tires. Whatever it takes.”
“There she is,” Carlo announced, and exited the vehicle.
I glanced up and noted a huge man of Latin decent with tattoos running up and down his neck and arms stomping his big, booted feet in our direction. He was holding Eden delicately, the little girl clinging to his neck like he was her personal Superman .
“We’ve got Eden,” I reported to Alan and hung up. Then I opened the door as the team of six men approached as a group of one.