Page 25 of Paradise Ties

Zack seemed unsure. “I’d prefer to go in too. We have no idea yet how many men are inside or exactly how many hostages. If K can get the equipment, all five of us go in and K can run it. He has less experience with direct team assault and more knowledge on the ground in case we need it.”

Daniel walked back to the group. “Lopez is on it. He said he should have a live feed in ten minutes.”

Zack looked at them. “Let’s get down to the beach and see about getting our family out of there.”

Chapter 11

Never in all Lucy’s years as an assassin or over the years working for Fortis had she been so close to throwing up. The adrenalin would often leave her with a desire to fuck or fight, but this was different. So many people she loved were in this room: Aubrey, Will, Drew, Celeste, her partner in crime Zin, and then there was Jace.

The only man she’d ever loved, the man she lived for, who had brought her back to life when she thought her sister was dead. The man who’d helped her deal with her guilt about her mother’s death and Megan’s disappearance. He’d allowed her to forgive herself and help her heal enough to be a doting aunt to Zoey and to welcome Megan as her bridesmaid.

She’d never found herself in this situation before, and she wasn’t sure how to handle it. She knew Will would never recover from Jack’s death, should it happen. More than that, she knew Jace wouldn’t allow it to happen. He and Zin had been getting ready to move when the Princess spoke. Selfish as it was, losing him was not an option. She would rather take her chances and die with him than lose him.

It’d been fifteen minutes since the call and the kidnappers were getting antsy. She could feel it and sense it with the hushed conversations between the leader and the bold Ukrainian. She counted fifteen men in the room which seemed overkill to her, especially with bombs on the doors. But then, they’d kidnapped the daughter of the richest man in the world. He probably had an army at his disposal. These men weren’t stupid though, and they also knew by the time enough people were mobilised to stop them, they’d be long gone.

She glanced at the peach coloured watch Will had been updating so that, at a glance, they looked less like smartwatches and more like a regular cheap watch.

She needed to get as much information to Zack as she could. There was no way in hell he was waiting this out. He’d have something planned, and the best thing she could do was pass him as much information as she could. She looked at Drew who was holding on tight to Mara’s hand, offering support.

“Luce?” Jace spoke in her head as if sensing her unrest.

“We need to get info to Zack.”

“I know, but how when they’re demanding silence?”

“We need a distraction.”

“Luce...”

She could hear the tone of caution in his voice. “Jace, we both know they’re not letting us out of here. If they pay the ransom we die, and if they don’t, we die. I’d rather die and give Zack and Dane the chance to save us than sit here and wait.”

She saw the struggle on his face from across the room. He knew she was right, but she also knew it was tearing him in two. It was heart-breaking to watch him come to the same conclusion, his grief was palpable. The connection they shared was more than just love, it was ineffable.

“They’ll come up over the cliff face, so we need to let him know about any threats in that area.”

“Okay.”

“Luce, I love you.”

“I love you, too—always. Where you go, I go.”

If that meant they died together, then she was sad for all the things they’d never get to have. Sorry for her family who had been through so much already but Jace was her whole world. She was about to start whispering the information Zack would need into the mic when Jace began to sing.

“Fifteen bottles of beer on the bar, fifteen bottles of beer. You take one down, you pass it around, fourteen bottles of beer on the bar.” Lucy watched as the leader with the scar spun towards Jace, moving quickly towards him and staring with hate-filled eyes.

“Shut up!” He pulled his arm back to punch Jace when Zin began to sing as well. The same song but now down to fourteen bottles of beer on the bar. The man hit Jace, who was smiling. His head flew back as blood poured from his mouth, but he smiled through bloody teeth.

He was causing a distraction so she could get info to Zack. She hated that he was putting his life on the line to keep attention away from her, but she owed it to these people and her friends to step up. Lifting her arm closer so it looked like she was holding her neck in fear, she spoke.

“Fifteen men, armed, automatics. Bombs on doors. Bar area near the pool is rigged. The perimeter has tripwires but doesn’t look rigged.” She went silent as one of the men moved closer to her and prayed it was enough. Jace gave her a desperate look that made her freeze. He never told her not to do something. He respected her, knew she needed to be his equal, and never asked her to change. But now he was begging her not to do any more.

He and Zin were dragged towards the middle and shoved face down next to Jack.

“Please, Luce…please. Just wait. I can’t bear the thought of them hurting you.” Tears filled her eyes, making the back of her throat burn with unshed tears. She blinked, determined not to let them fall, and slowly nodded. She would give him what he needed, even if it went against every instinct she had.

* * *

Dane looked up at the cliff face, his hand shielding his eyes from the sun’s glare. “This’ll be fun!”