Arielle Immortal Fury (The Immortal Rapture Series Book 6) (33 page)

Sebastian eyes narrowed. “They’re about to find out,” he said through clenched teeth. Glancing between his friends, his lips curved up.

“I’ll be involved in the next phase of this assignment. If Gaulle doesn’t comply, there’ll be hell to pay,” Daniel continued.

Sebastian cursed inwardly, at the sound of Daniel’s words.

“I’ll–” Daniel started to say.

Gustaaf interrupted Daniel midsentence. Annunciating his
words,
he said, “I’m sure that my extortion packages will make him
understand that we mean business.” He glanced between Frans and Daniel, and then his gaze settled on Daniel as he continued his ranting. “I firmly
believe that we won't have to move to the next phase. The proper
wording will put the fear in Gaulle.”

His comment made Daniel smile, but the man remained quiet. “I have my own ways of persuasion,” his voice was barely audible, but it traveled to the immortal ears just as clear as if it he had shouted at the top of his lungs.

“I have to agree,” Frans said. “Gustaaf has the ability to motivate
anyone to act sensibly.”

Daniel glanced between them and chuckled. “But what if he
doesn’t act sensibly?”

Gustaaf’s lips twisted, heated emotions flashing like a blaze in
his
eyes. He crossed his arms over his muscled chest and glowered at
Daniel. “I’ll hurt the girl if I have to.”

Troy and Nathan tensed at the words, and a harsh oath escaped Sebastian’s lips.

“I’m sure you can unleash great fear in your victims to advance your reputation,” Daniel said amusingly. Whether he meant that or not didn’t make any difference. It was good enough to make Gustaaf blissful. “There is beer in the fridge if you want something to drink,” Daniel said and motioned them to the door.

“I could use a beer right now,” Frans replied.

Daniel eased away from the bench, turning to walk out of the
room and down the stairs. Frans and Gustaaf followed him to the kitchen where he opened the fridge and handed each a beer can.

Daniel was a tall man with an impressive physique. His hair was blond and looked as if it hadn’t been washed or combed in a week. His face was hard with chiseled lines. His thin lips held a stiff look. He popped the top and took a long sip, letting out a satisfied sigh.

Troy, Sebastian, and Nathan moved quietly and crouched
behind
the window that was looking into the first floor. They peered
carefully
into the room. All three men were standing around the kitchen
counter.

 “I’ve a small assignment for tonight. Do you want to come
along?” Daniel was asking. “I could use your help.”

“Yeah!” Gustaaf and Frans exclaimed. Their excitement was
palpable. “Where are we going?”

“A government office that holds intelligence files.”

“What for?”

Daniel drew in a breath and stared at the beer can. “I don’t know and I don’t care. I’m to destroy all the files and anyone who tries to stop me. The big boss says they're important. I don’t ask questions. I just do the job.”

“Are we going to use those explosives?” Frans asked, waving his arm toward the room upstairs.

“Yes,” Daniel replied.

“Do you ever think of the power you hold over people’s lives?” Gustaaf asked.

Daniel shook his head thoughtfully. “Yes, quite often.” They
lapsed
into a short silence. Then, Daniel spoke again. “What’s really strange
is that I get a sense of fulfillment that I can’t explain. It’s a high that
gives
me immense pleasure.” He stopped talking and looked out the
window as if he was trying to understand why he felt that way.

“I guess it’s the end of the line for the folks working in that
building tonight, right?” Frans said mockingly.

“Yep, their time is up,” Daniel chuckled.

Nathan glanced between his friends, noticing the tensed jaw
muscles, the pressed lips, and the disgust spread across their faces. He knew that the discussions about Arielle and Gabrielle had them on edge.

“I wonder where they find sick people like them,” Troy
whispered, reacting to the conversation.

Nathan glanced at him. His lips curved up. “I wonder how they would feel if they knew that their time was up.”

“I assure you, not well at all,” Sebastian said through clenched teeth.

Troy raised his eyes to Sebastian. “We can’t let them harm
another
soul. We have to stop them from carrying out this murderous
assignment. Eliminating these three scum and the rest of the mafia assassins is crucial, am I right?”

Sebastian and Nathan nodded in agreement. “But let’s wait a few more minutes. I would like to find out the names of the people that Daniel will be working with on the next phase of their
assignment,” Sebastian said. “I’ll never give up the company documents.”

They remained quietly under the window listening to the men
carrying on their criminal conversation.

Daniel stood in the kitchen with one hand in his pocket and the
other holding a can of beer. He was slurping his drink and sharing
the
details of his assignment with Frans and Gustaaf. He clarified how
he
wanted the job to be carried out tonight. He also provided
alternatives in case they encountered any roadblocks. “The result will have to be a complete success,” he said fanatically.

Daniel drained his beer before pushing away from the kitchen counter. He climbed back up the stairs two at a time. He reached the top of the landing and then looked down, gesturing for Frans and Gustaaf to follow him. They finished their drinks and moved with
leisurely strides as they ascended the stairs. Daniel was already
bending
over the bench, working on a device in front of him when the two
came into the room. He motioned for them to take a seat. “I need to finish this,” he said with a throaty laugh. He pointed at the devise.

Frans and Gustaaf took a seat across from the bench and
watched Daniel work.

“Who are the guys assigned to the next phase? Do you know?” Frans asked.

“Rainer told me that they decided to go with Borowski’s people at first, but they changed their minds.”

“Why is that? Borowski is great at his job. I have had a couple of assignments with his guys,” Gustaaf said, a smile on his lips.

“They are too brutal for this assignment,” Daniel said. “They
don’t want to hurt the bargaining chip, and you know how things happen when Borowski’s guys are involved.” They all laughed.

“So who is going to get the responsibility?”

“Vasily from Belarus. He called me already and gave me the
names of the guys I should be expecting. They’ll be coming here if you can’t persuade Monsiuer Gaulle to give up the documents,” Daniel said, and turning around, he locked his gaze with Gustaaf. Silence lapsed.

“So who are the guys?” Frans asked again.

“Ivan Davidovich and Kirill S’vitka. They are in their early thirties with several years of experience in their pocket. They have a perfect success record, so I’m happy they are taking the lead with the abduction phase.”

“I’m sure it will be fine to get your hands on the Gaulle girl and her friend,” Frans said with a smirk on his face.

“Vitorio did say that she and her friend were very beautiful. I’m
looking forward to an assignment like that,” Daniel replied with a
throaty laugh. “I will make sure I have my fill before we let them go,
if
we let them go.”

Gustaaf made a displeased noise. He pinned Daniel with an
offended
gaze. “Remember that we are still on the first phase of the
assignment, and I haven’t failed yet,” he said balefully.

Daniel’s jaw tightened. He wasn’t accustomed to being
challenged, but he remained poker faced as he stared at Gustaaf. Daniel stood motionless and contemplated a retort, but instead he turned around
and went back to finishing his device. He heard Gustaaf light a
cigarette and inhale deeply.

“I think if anyone gets a shot at those girls, it’ll be me,” Gustaaf said slowly, meaningfully. He blew smoke toward the ceiling. “I’ll be in Brighton before you have a chance to even blink.” His voice was filled with resentment. Daniel didn’t look up, didn’t acknowledge his statement. He pretended like he didn’t hear a word Gustaaf had just said.

Chapter 21

A COLD BLAST
of anger had surged through Sebastian. His
breathing
quickened. Gustaaf’s statement infuriated him. He glanced at Troy
and noticed the sharp look in his eyes. He recognized the battle
waging inside him to try and squash his fury.

Frans gave a stifling laugh and started to say something, but Gustaaf told him to shut up. The minutes ticked away, and the silence became deafening. Something was preventing further
discussion in the upstairs room. Sebastian thought about how Gustaaf was trying to impress into Daniel’s mind that he was the one that possessed more skillful abilities and filed that information away.

The conversation began again after a few minutes of silence, this time on a lighter note. The men discussed things unrelated to the assignments at hand.

It had been more than two hours since they first leaned against the wall behind the thick hedges. Sebastian, Troy, and Nathan decided that
they wouldn’t wait around any longer. They had been closely
following the exchange between the goons upstairs, and they were sure that
there was nothing more to learn. It had started to drizzle, and the
wind had picked up, swishing through the trees. Now was the perfect time to move and finish what they started.

“I think we’ve heard all that we are going to hear from them,” Sebastian, said, turning to look at both Troy and Nathan. “Don’t you think it’s time to move inside the house?” he asked, and they both nodded in agreement.

They scanned the woods behind them, and slowly they inched
toward the side of the house, keeping their backs against the wall. They stayed focused on the sounds that came from upstairs. Just as they started to round the corner, the roar of an engine sped up the narrow lane. It died as a car came to a screeching halt right in front of the house. For a short moment they froze. Sebastian turned and
stared at Troy
and Nathan who looked just as surprised as he was. He waved them back. Car doors opened and shut. In a matter of seconds, fast footsteps crossed the front yard, and a loud rap at the door brought the conversation upstairs to an abrupt halt.

Daniel, Frans, and Gustaaf glanced at each other, a startled look on their faces.

“Are you expecting someone?” Gustaaf asked cautiously.

“Nope,” Daniel replied, alarmingly staring at the door. The
rapping became louder and harder. Daniel never had unexpected visitors. His body tensed, and his jaw muscles clenched as he moved toward the stairs.

“Come i–” he started to call out, but his voice was cut off as the door burst wide open. It bounced against the wall. Two men stood at the threshold holding machine guns. Daniel’s jawline tensed at the sight of the guns. A nauseating sensation settled into the pit of his stomach, and his mouth went dry. He frowned and didn’t blink for a long moment. Gustaaf and Frans simply stared.

The realization that something horrible was about to happen
made them gasp in panic. Daniel looked at the men closely. They were tall with light hair, masculine bodies, and unpleasant faces.
They appeared to be in their early forties. Their dress was immaculate. Daniel could not help but notice that their eyes were blazing.

“Who the devil are you?” Daniel asked, finding his voice.

“Never mind who we are,” one of the men said. His finger
pressed
tightly around the trigger. “Which one of you is Daniel Tarasov?”
the man continued.

“I am,” Daniel replied with authority in his voice. He placed one foot on the top step while the other remained on the landing. “Get
out of my house!” he demanded.

The two men looked at each other with amusement. “Not before we deliver a message to you from Von Housan,” the man replied, a smile wedged across his lip line.

“Who the devil is Von Housan?” Daniel grunted.

“You killed his daughter two days ago,” the man stated through clenched teeth. He took another step inside the foyer. The second guy followed.

 The words shocked Daniel, and his mouth went dry. Bile pooled at his throat as he desperately sought to appear composed. “I don’t know what you are talking about.” Daniel said evenly, though the man’s words sent his mind whirling wildly.

He was very familiar with Von Housan. A couple of days ago, he
had received explicit orders to place powerful explosives at Von Housan’s residence. Van Housan was a diplomat from Luxemburg,
and he had
uncovered damaging information about Daniel’s boss, Rainer
Heinrich. Von Housan was getting ready to expose the man in public, which would destroy him and his organization. Daniel set surveillance at the residence and had been assured that there were no people inside the residence when the explosives went off. He didn't mind killing,
but his orders were to make it look like a gas leak. Dead bodies would result in too much scrutiny. He hadn’t been following the
news, so he
had no idea that Von Housan’s daughter was ill. Apparently, she
had remained at home that day with her nanny.
So these guys were here for revenge.
He knew that he was trapped. He saw the determination in their eyes and had to think fast. It would take all his strength and cunning to get out of this situation.