Bound through blood, p.1
Bound Through Blood, page 1
Bound
Through
Blood
The Underground Series Book 2
Kasin and Amara
Nichole Watson
Dedication
HGA, Chat you held me accountable. I couldn’t have done it without you.
Chapter 1
Kasin
“She is gone.”
Three fucking words that had my heart stop beating and air unable to fill my lungs.
For someone who had put rules in place to keep emotions out of everything, it sure seemed like I was sitting right in the middle of an emotion tsunami. The tentacles of this emotional monster had wrapped themselves around me since the moment Isabella had been brought into the house.
When those whispered words tumbled out of Isabella’s mouth and her hands gripped at my arms, I saw red.
Red.
That damn color that seemed to follow me everywhere. The color surrounded me, and I attributed it all to my brother. The same brother that put Amara in this situation. He might not be on the wrong side of the line with this whole thing, but his line still got Amara and Isabella taken.
The volcanic lava churning inside me had all bets off. Reaching out, I made purchase on the bottle of liquor I had grabbed on my way back to the spot I was currently perched in.
There was no hesitation as I spun the top off the bottle and brought it to my lips. As I tipped it, I welcomed the burn of the alcohol. When I pulled it away, I was surprised to see that it was half gone.
That benefited me. No one would say a word to me knowing how much alcohol was now mixing with my blood. While the room was still filled with members of the team, Drew was noticeably absent and upstairs with Isabella. Roark’s on-the-payroll physician, the son of the one our father had used, was giving Isa a once over.
I found the fact that the son had followed the father interesting. Maybe those roles were passed down just like Roark’s had been? Rolling my hand, I watched as the contents in the bottle sloshed around. My patience waned with each minute that ticked away.
While I was grateful for my sister being back home and safe, my mind remained occupied with thoughts of the one person missing from the equation.
Amara.
Speaking to Isabella about the multiple questions taking purchase in my head would be the only way to stop the drowning of my thoughts. Admittedly, I knew that Isa needed rest to heal, but I also knew time was something we didn’t have. I didn’t give a fuck what Roark was planning, once she was checked by the doctor, obtaining answers would be occurring.
A glance at the clock showed they had disappeared upstairs over an hour ago. My best friend refusing to release Isa, even when Roark attempted to reach for her.
Tick
Tick
Tick
The clock had become the enemy of my patience.
From the corner of my eye, movement caught my attention. Remaining seated, I watched Roark approach the doctor before escorting him to the front door.
With his attention directed to the doctor, this was my chance to make my way upstairs.
I raised the bottle to my lips and glanced around the room finding the other occupants engrossed in tasks they had been assigned. Just as I was about to get up and slip out of the room, I felt a hand on my shoulder.
With a wobble of my head, I shifted my focus to the person that was standing next to me.
Rachel’s eyes met mine with a warning glare. I hated her right now because I knew what she was going to say.
Granted, she would have a point, but every minute of unanswered questions risked Amara being taken farther away. Was it harsh that I wanted to push Isabella so soon after what she had been through? Yes, and it would probably come off like I didn’t care. I really did care about her. She was my fucking sister, my blood, but Amara was my everything.
It took her being thrown into this shitshow for me to really admit that to myself because I was an idiot. One thing was certain, I wouldn’t be able to breathe without her.
I leered back at Rachel.
The exhale of frustration she let out said it all without saying anything.
“Look, you know what I’m going to say, and I know what you want to say back to me but storming up there is not going to get the result you want.”
“With all due respect, Rachel, I really don’t give a fuck what anyone else thinks. She is the only person that knows what happened. She’s also the only person that knows where they were kept.”
Rachel removed her hand from my shoulder and sat down in the chair next to me. With reflexes of a ninja, the bottle was slipped from my hand and placed on the coffee table in front of us. In the mood I was in, I shocked myself by not fighting her like I would if it had been Roark or Drew.
“Don’t you think that Roark is thinking the exact same things you are? That he doesn’t want to ask those questions? But he isn’t, because he knows that will only result in her shutting down or giving incorrect information under the pressure. She’s going to need her big brother, not an interrogator. This is going to have a lasting effect on her. Marching up there will only drive a wedge between the two of you.”
“You think I don’t know that? Half the reason I grabbed that bottle was because of that fact. But you know just as much as I do that time is not on our side.”
“Of course, I know that, and Roark knows that as well. I also know Isabella, and right now she probably feels guilty.”
“What does she have to feel guilty about?”
“That she is here, safe instead of Amara. Whatever the circumstances are for her being here can’t be easy for her to process. Even if it was a living hell back there, being here without Amara is another form of hell.”
I watched her eyes as they shifted next to me. I had no idea how long he had been standing there; my concentration had been fixed on the conversation with Rachel.
Roark’s voice cut through the silence that had fallen between Rachel and me.
“Rachel, can you give us a minute. I need to talk to Kasin privately. Tell the group to get organized. Our go date just changed.”
Rachel patted my leg before getting up.
“Sure thing, I’ll make sure everyone is ready to roll.”
He nodded in acknowledgement, and she walked away. Stepping around the coffee table, he took a seat in the chair that Rachel had just vacated. For a moment he didn’t say anything, just let out a deep sigh. That sigh said more than any words he could. This was all weighing on him.
As I glanced in his direction my thoughts went to the fact that he dealt with shit like this most likely daily.
Did that make me feel pity for him?
No, it most certainly didn’t.
Did it make me realize he was human just like me?
It did.
For the first time since we were kids, I realized something. He needed me. Would he voice that?
I doubted it.
He reached forward and grasped the bottle, taking a long pull of the liquor before setting it back down again.
The silence was unbearable, so I finally broke it.
“Is Isa, okay?”
He nodded in response before leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees.
“She has a sprained ankle, some bruises, and is suffering from exhaustion, but nothing of major concern injury wise. The doctor gave her something to sleep, and Drew is sitting with her right now. That was a new development for me. Did you know about that?”
It was my turn to nod at him.
“He told me in not so many words a couple nights ago.”
“Well, that’s something to process later. I know you’re waiting for information on what Isabella said.”
“You think?”
“Don’t be an ass, Kasin.
The fucker was trying to test me. Not a good idea.
“Yes, Roark, go ahead and tell me how to act, considering none of this would be happening if you would have pulled her like I wanted you to.”
He drew in a deep breath before responding.
“She chose to stay.”
I pushed myself up out of the chair and stumbled a bit. Maybe I had hit the bottle a bit more than I should have. I stepped in front of him and leaned down in his face.
“The fuck she did. There is no way she would have stayed.”
“Apparently, she made a deal, at least that’s what Victoria and that Sterling asshole hinted to. She’d stay if they let Isa go.”
Victoria
I straightened up at the mention of her name.
“So, Victoria did play a role in all of this?’
“She baits them by becoming friends with them before they are lured off.”
“What’s the plan now? We can’t just leave her there with that sick bastard.”
Roark stood and looked me directly in the eyes.
“We go to Conrad’s even though the place will be empty.”
“What do you mean, the place will be empty?”
“Victor let a bargaining chip go. The minute Isabella landed on the front lawn; they were clearing out of his estate. Only a rookie would stay there.”
“So, why even go?”
My heart was beating so loud, it surprised me no one else could hear it. The alcohol buzz previously flowing through me had quickly disappeared.
He maneuvered himself in front of me, placing his hands on my shoulders to stop my pacing.
“We go, because even the best make mistakes. As much as they think nothing useful was left behind, there is alwa ys something. We’ll get her back, and remember she isn’t as weak as you make her out to be. Once Isa rests, the questions you want answered will be. But for now, we stick to the plan. I have a question for you.”
“And that is?”
“Are you sober enough to execute the plan we had in place?”
Shooting him a glare, I gritted my teeth with my response.
“Sober or not, there’s no way you would be able to stop me from going. But yeah, I’m good.”
With my statement, his hands dropped from my shoulders, and he faced the room of people.
“Alright, listen up. With the new developments, this operation is no longer a recovery mission. When we get there, it won’t be to extract anyone. Based on new information we have, the players have moved on, but if you come across any of Conrad’s staff, you take them out alive. Dead people can’t talk, and we need them to talk. Let’s load up.”
Everyone grabbed their things and moved toward the front door to load up. I followed Roark out of the room but the figure on the stairs made me halt my footsteps. He looked like shit; his hair that normally laid flat was currently sticking up in multiple directions, and when his eyes met mine, I could see the apology in them.
His expression caused emotions to rise in me that I couldn’t deal with now.
“Kasin.”
Having known Drew for as long as I had, there had never been a time he had looked and sounded as vulnerable as he did right then.
He glanced up the stairs behind him before turning back to face me.
“You know I want to help get Amara back, but…”
Bringing up my hand, his next words were silenced.
“Take care of Isa. It will help Roark and me concentrate on getting my girl back.”
A look of relief washed over his face before he turned and went back up the stairs. On a deep breath I forced my feet to follow the rest of the team out of the house. As I stepped out of the door, my last words rang in my head.
Amara was my girl.
We would get her back.
Chapter 2
Kasin
Once in the SUV, Roark reviewed the floor plan to Conrad’s Estate on his phone. While he did that, I inserted an earpiece and dialed Ryan’s number. I had sent him an encrypted file of the plan that I was supposed to be executing with Drew. With him back with Isabella, I needed to have someone in my ear to walk through the plan.
The task of disarming the security system I was more than capable of completing. The same for hacking the feed. But a second set of eyes would make the task a lot quicker. The beep in my ear indicated that Ryan had connected the call.
“Hey, Boss, I got everything up on the big screen. GPS is connected; once you’re there I can track you.”
“Did you do a thermal scan with the drone?”
I could hear him moving around and the clicking of keys on a keyboard.
“I just ran another one. I have a heat spot. I just sent you screenshots of the scans for the location. Doing this by drone is different than being there directly. I can’t tell you for sure if the heat spot is a person, but I can tell you it hasn’t moved.”
Drew had been smart in suggesting we place a drone within flying distance of Conrad’s estate. One of Roark’s men had placed it there yesterday. The docking station allowed for the battery to remain charged and disengaged once the device was powered up. Originally Drew would have been the one to fly it prior to us arriving, but the device was designed so that Ryan could fly it even though he was back at KP.
“Thanks, Ryan. At least we have some idea of what me might be walking into.”
I glanced at the security system schematics even though I could see them with my eyes closed.
“You’re about fifteen minutes until the destination. I can’t detect any movement on the grounds. There are no vehicles in the open, but they could be parked in the garage.”
“Keep checking. I’m going silent until we get there.”
“Got it, Boss.”
Glancing next to me, I found Roark was staring in my direction, a smirk on his face.
“What?”
He shook his head.
“As much as you hate me and what I do, you run your ship just as tight as I do.”
I didn’t know how to take what he had just said, so I didn’t respond. Instead, I went back to reviewing the image on my phone. Being on edge was something I experienced before every job, granted my jobs normally didn’t have me hacking into systems.
“Are you good to do this by yourself? I should have had someone else shadowing you and Drew. so if one of you was down, there was a backup.”
With my eyes still on my phone, I responded, “In this case that person would probably have gotten in my way. I’m better working with Ryan in my ear. At least with him, he knows the process.”
Our conversation was cut short when Maxim spoke from the front of the car, “ETA is five minutes.”
Roark turned to face the front of the vehicle. It helped relieve some of the anxiousness I was feeling. He tapped the earpiece that was positioned in his ear.
“Look alive everyone. We are minus five minutes to the destination.”
I glanced over to see Roark checking the gun in his hand. Once he seemed satisfied, he holstered it.
My gaze drifted out the window taking in the seclusion of the area. The houses were few and far between the closer we got to Conrad’s estate.
As the SUV slowed down, I took a couple deep breaths to calm my nerves. Nerves meant room for mistakes, mistakes that couldn’t be made. When the vehicle came to a stop, I reached up, tapping my earpiece to make it live again.
“I’m up and ready, Boss. Nothing new to report.”
“Thanks, Ryan. Talk me through the plan when I tell you to. I probably won’t be able to talk.”
His silence meant he understood. Reaching down and unclasping my seatbelt, I made to exit the vehicle but was stopped by Roark’s hand on my arm.
“If anything goes south, abandon what you are doing. Aim and shoot and get the hell out of there. You hear me, Kasin? I can’t do what I do if I am worried you are in the crossfire.”
I looked him in the eye and nodded. With that he released my arm, and we both exited the vehicle, keeping to the tree line surrounding the estate. If there were still guards on the property, the trees wouldn’t offer much cover, but it might allow us to stay hidden a bit longer. No one spoke as the extravagant house came into view.
The voice in my ear startled me.
“You are 20 feet from the main box for the system.”
Looking ahead to the gates to the estate, a guard shack came into view. The guard shack was where the security system main box was located. From there it appeared that the shack was currently unoccupied which would make my job easier. I took another step, but Roark’s arm came across my chest.
“Let them clear it first.”
With a nod of the head, he indicated to where Maxim and another man were creeping in the shadows to stay out of sight. After a few moments Maxim gave a thumbs up indicating it was clear. Roark dropped his arm signaling it was clear for me to proceed.
Approaching the location, I shrugged the strap of my backpack off. I took out the equipment I needed. It only took a few seconds to have the cameras tapped and on loop. A few minutes later I had Ryan connected to the real time feed.
“I’m viewing the feed now.”
He knew I wouldn’t respond while lost in the zone.
I just needed to disconnect the security system so that the house could be safely entered.
Each job was unique, but the process was the same. A few minutes later, I raised my arm giving Roark’s team a thumbs up.
While they moved forward, I scanned the area for a location where I could hide. Immediately my attention went to the trees near the gates. It would allow me to see all points of access from the road. It would also keep me out of sight. Not many people looked up when they approached an area. Instinct would have them looking forward or to the side.
In my ear was the narrative of what was happening behind the doors of the estate.
There hadn’t been any gunshots or shouting, which meant Roark was right. The house was empty. This was an information mission not an extraction mission.
If the house was empty, why the fuck was I out here hanging on to a tree branch, instead of being in the house?
If the house was empty, there wouldn’t be any harm in me going in. Plus, another set of eyes would be beneficial in getting information. I wouldn’t be in the way since the lower level had been cleared based on the update from the voice in my ear.
