Control is Everything: Protected, #2

By Belinda Wright

Control is Everything (Protected #2)

She's gone.

Daleylah Martinez has been taken and it's my fault. I knew the second she came into my life it would mean trouble. Agreeing to protect the daughter of a crime boss is a job with danger written all over it. I should never have accepted it, that was my first mistake. Now she's missing because I let my guard down.

I fell for her. That was my second mistake. I tried to fight the attraction, but her long dark hair and the way she looks at me with those innocent dark eyes, had me from the first moment I walked into her house.

My third mistake was thinking that belonging to me gave her protection. Everyone knows me, no one would take from me, I thought. I let people know she was mine but made her a target by doing so.

Well I know who's taken her. I'm going to get her back and then make him pay. If he has touched even a hair on her head, death will be a mercy he'll beg me for...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Belinda Wright
• Release date: Sep 12, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201328467

Belinda Wright

Thank you for reading. I'm a mum of two girls and a lover of books; both reading and writing them. I hope you love my books as much as I do. Belinda x

Book preview

Chapter One – Slater

Ispin around, eyes open but seeing nothing.

She's gone.

I was an idiot to let her go to the graduation ceremony alone. I stride the perimeter of the main university building, searching the quad, checking the other entrances, checking through the windows.

She’s gone.

If she was here, she would have picked up her diploma. She didn’t. I dropped her off two hours ago. That’s a long time. My chest feels tight, I struggle to breathe as I fight to keep control of myself. I know who has done this. I know who has taken Dale and he’s going to die for it. She belongs to me.

The tyres of Bram’s car screech as he stops in front of mine. He gets out, leaving his door open, runs to me. I only called him a few minutes ago, he made it here fast.

‘Slater?’ My brother’s face is contorted into a grimace of concern.

‘She’s gone, Bram,’ I tell him, walking past him to my own car.

‘Where?’ He spins and follows me. He’s still in his training gear, a sleeveless top and shorts, perspiration staining the back of his vest.

‘He’s taken her.’

‘Who has?’

I shake my head and suck a breath in over my teeth. ‘Bana.’

‘Bana? Are you sure?’ Bram runs a hand through his hair. ‘What happened? Did you check inside? Are you sure she’s not somewhere around?’

‘She’s fucking gone, Bram,’ I shout at him, anger exploding in me, Bram the only one here I could vent at. ‘What part of that don’t you understand?’

‘She couldn’t have just walked off or something?’

‘She didn’t just walk off.’ His suggestion is absurd and only makes me angrier. ‘She wanted to graduate. It’s all she’s talked about. She didn’t pick up her degree, Bram. She wouldn’t have left here without it.’ I open my car.

‘What we gonna do?’

‘I’m gonna fucking find her, get her back, even if I have to drive to Warsaw to do it.’ I drop down into the driver’s seat but Bram holds my door as I try to close it.

‘You’re going to drive to Warsaw? And then?’

I look up at him. ‘And then I’m going to slit Tomek Banasinski’s throat.’

I pull at the door, but Bram blocks it with his body.

‘Let’s go back to the gym. Call a meeting, we’ll figure out how to handle this.’

‘Handle this?’ I get out of the car to push him backwards.

‘Yes, Marcel. We’ll fix this, we can fix anything.’

My hands rest on his shoulders and he places his over them.

‘We’ll get Dale back, but we have to be smart.’ His tone softens. ‘We just need to think it through. You can’t drive to Warsaw and hope to bump into them, you’ve no idea where they’re going. We have to find another way.’

I stare at him, fury burning through my veins, but what he’s saying makes sense, although I still want to hit something, to hurt someone and just ... get her back. If anything happens to her... The thought makes my face twist in agony.

As if reading my mind, Bram grabs my neck. Holding my head between his hands and pulling my forehead to his, he looks into my eyes.

‘We’ll get her back, Slater. I promise. We’ll find her. And we’ll make whoever took her pay.’

My nostrils flare. I stare at him, breathing heavily, fighting through the chaos of my mind.

‘We just have to act smart.’

I know he’s right. My little brother is normally the hothead and I’m the one to talk him down, but since Dale came into my life things have been out of my control. And I cannot stand that.

‘Let’s get back to the Take Down. I’ll call Carl, get him and Sepp there, and we’ll figure this out.’

He lets go of me. I get into my car without saying another word and pull away from the kerb.

Chapter Two – Slater

Ishould never have let her go there. I can only blame myself. I knew it was too soon, especially after the conversation we had with Bana last night about pulling his dodgy gear off the market. I should have known he’d try to get back at me. And considering I told him the other day to keep his hands off Dale, I practically put a sign above her head saying This is Slater’s Weakness .

There’s no way he’ll be living when I’m finished with him. Should have snuffed him out long ago. That was my mistake. He was never any good for this city. I should have sided with El Patron from the start.

If he so much as puts a finger on her...

The image of Bana is fixed in my mind. His dirty white T-shirt, the same one he’s worn for days in a row, his shapeless jeans and cheap, shitty trainers. He’s the polar opposite of me. I wear a suit when I’m working, unless I’m at the gym. I take about three showers per day with the amount of exercise I do, I hate feeling dirty. The thought of her in the vicinity of his filthy body makes me sick.

My knuckles ache from gripping the steering wheel so tightly and my head is pounding from tensing my jaw. My car won’t go fast enough, despite the accelerator pressed flat to the floor. I jump all the lights as I speed through the city; every second that passes is time wasted. Time that I’ll never get back.

Carl and Sepp are pulling up at the gym as I screech my car into the slot beside Dylan’s. Bram arrives behind me. There’s a look of concern on each of their faces. Bram’s briefed them, called them on the way here. Taking Dale from me is a direct attack on all of us. Our crew. None of us speaks as we walk inside. Dylan is finishing up a class. His gaze raises to meet mine through the window of the training room. He reads my expression, sees my brothers and Sepp following me, and I know it won’t be long before he joins us in the meeting room attached to my office.

The first thing I do, after I push through the door, is remove my suit. I unbutton the shirt and hang it and my trousers up, fighting to stay calm. Carl and Sepp sit down at the table, Bram paces, but nobody speaks. They won’t, not until we’re all here. I pull on a pair of shorts. I can feel their eyes on me, all of them on edge as I focus on keeping my temper. I don’t have time to put on a T-shirt, I’m losing it. I head straight for the punchbag in just my shorts. I don’t see anything, just a blur of red as I hit and kick the soft leather.

When I eventually stop, my heart is pounding and I’m struggling to draw air into my lungs. I look around; my crew’s waiting for me, Dylan included, all sitting at the table in silence. My body is wet with perspiration and all my muscles quiver. I go to the table and stand in front of my chair at the head, unable to sit yet.

‘I’m going to kill him, D.’ I look my friend in the eyes as I speak. Dylan, my best friend since birth, will understand. He’s the only one of us five who’s had a serious girlfriend. He’s the only one who can begin to understand what this is doing to me.

‘What happened? Someone fill me in?’ Dylan looks around the table for answers, knowing I’m in no state to be able to clearly explain anything.

‘Dale’s missing. She didn’t collect her degree, after Slater dropped her off at the uni. Someone grabbed her.’

Bram, my middle brother, is the one to explain.

‘Bana.’ I say the name through gritted teeth.

‘Bana,’ Bram repeats.

‘We know it was him?’ Carl, my youngest brother, asks.

‘Who the fuck else? We told him to get that shit off the street yesterday. He didn’t appreciate it. He was fuming. He knows Dale’s mine, guess he figured she’d be an easy target. To get at me.’

Sepp drums his fingers on the table. ‘What we gonna do?’

‘We’re going to get her back.’ I growl the words.

Sepp looks at me, then his eyes move to the others at the table.

‘Any ideas?’

‘We last saw him yesterday?’ Carl asks.

‘I called him this morning, to check he was working to get his shit off the streets. He said he was driving to Poland for another delivery,’ Bram says. ‘Said he had something to do first then he was heading off. If I’d known he was going after her...’ He trails off.

‘You couldn’t have known,’ Carl says.

‘He’s probably halfway to Warsaw by now.’

‘I’m going after him,’ I say.

‘Slater, that’s a bad idea. If we just charge down to Warsaw, we’re at a disadvantage. It’s his territory. We don’t know shit about Poland, we don’t know what sort of muscle he’s got down there, we don’t even know where to start looking,’ Bram says. He stands up and begins to pace the room.

‘We don’t even know he has taken her to Warsaw,’ Sepp adds. ‘Might be Krakow. Or fucking Romania, for all we know.’

‘I could call him and ask.’ Bram stops his pacing and rests his hand on the back of Dylan’s chair.

‘What you gonna say?’ Carl scoffs. ‘Where you taking Dale? Because we’d like to come pick her up, then kill you?’ He grimaces. ‘I’m sure he’ll tell you straight away.’

‘What’s your fucking idea then?’ Bram asks, and goes back to pacing the length of the table.

‘Make something up.’ Carl shrugs. ‘I don’t know, tell him we’ve got a big delivery for him. Something that can’t wait and has to be picked up today.’

‘And? Then what? When he turns up, grab Dale from his van?’ Bram pulls a face. ‘He’s hardly going to bring her to a meet.’

‘No, but we could follow him. See where he goes afterwards. Maybe he’d lead us to her,’ Carl says.

‘Not if he’s already dropped her off in Warsaw.’

Dylan holds up a hand. ‘It’s not a bad idea, Carl. Maybe we are assuming too much. Think about it; why do you think he’s taken her?’

Bram frowns. ‘To piss us off.’

‘To get at Slater, yeah. So he’s not going to take her Warsaw, why would he? What use would she be there? They bring girls to the Netherlands all the time to sell as sex slaves and God knows what-the-fuck else.’

I feel my throat tighten, my eyes on Dylan. Why did he have to say that?

‘He’s not going to take her back there,’ he continues. ‘What use would she be in Warsaw? If he wants to use her to get at you, Slater, he’s got to keep her here.’

‘So, we follow him and see where he goes. My guess is, wherever he goes, we’ll be pretty close to finding her,’ Carl says.

I pull out my chair and finally sit down. The plan gives me hope, although my chest is still tight.

‘We can sell him those pills that just came in,’ I say. ‘He won’t be able to resist. Make it a good deal and tell him if he isn’t here to collect them in three hours they’re going to Li’l Cesar.’

‘I’ll call him now,’ Bram says.

Chapter Three – Slater

There are five in my crew. My two brothers, Bram and Carl; my best friend Dylan, and Sepp and me. I’m the boss, I have the final say, although most decisions we take together. Dylan and I grew up together. He’s practically a brother. Bram, Carl and I look similar, tall, dark straight hair. D’s got shoulder-length dirty blond hair that he wears pulled back in a ponytail, and two full sleeves of tattoos. He and I had them done together. I only got one, though, I kept one arm clean.

D’s the manager of the Take Down, our main fight club or gym, where he, Bram and I are coaches. All three of us are trained fighters, mixed martial arts champions. We teach classes to kids, adults, anyone who wants to learn, and a lot of people do. Everyone knows we run the best fight clubs in Rotterdam, they’re not just a front for other stuff.

Sepp and Carl are accountants and both managers in our two smaller gyms. They spend most of their time working the books. They’re the best in the business and clean money faster than it can be made, which is why all the crime crews in Rotterdam come to us with their laundry.

Accountancy is where the majority of our money comes from. We’re not dealers ourselves. That’s what gives us the edge on the other crime gangs. Sometimes we get hold of a shipment, pills or coke, and we wholesale it to the different crews in turn. Sometimes we fence gear through the darknet, but mainly we just launder money. And run our gyms. We’re middlemen, we’re neutral, never take sides. We work with everyone, we’re good with everyone. They can trust us.

There are three other crews in Rotterdam. Bana’s in the east of the city. El Patron runs the north and Li’l Cesar, the south. Carl deals with Cesar, but El Patron will only talk to me, the boss, and Bram is Bana’s contact. Which is why it’s Bram who makes the call now.

He puts the phone on speaker, the ringtone echoing in the meeting room.

‘Tak?’

The sound of Bana’s voice makes me seize a cardboard cup that is close to my fingers and crumple it. My throat is closing up again. An image of Dale beside him fills my mind. My Dale. She looked so beautiful today when I dropped her off for her graduation ceremony. I should never have let her out of my fucking sight.

‘Bana. Where are you?’ Bram asks.

‘Driving. Going to Poland. I told you this morning.’ The connection jumps and feedback fuzzes, making his words hard to decipher.

‘Oh yeah, I forgot you said that.’ Bram’s eyes are on the table and he’s drawing patterns with a fingertip on the polished wood. ‘We’ve just had a delivery come in. Something good. Can you get back?’

‘I be back in two days.’

His Polish accent is audible despite the dodgy connection.

‘Two days.’ Bram looks up. ‘Two days is too long. Has to be today. We need to shift this stuff today, it’s hot.’

‘What is it?’

‘Pills.’

‘Pills. I take them from you on Thursday when I’m back.’

‘No.’

My brother’s voice is hard, no negotiation.

‘Has to be today or they go to Cesar. They’re scorching, I need to get them off my hands. Great price.’

‘Not to Cesar.’

‘You gonna come back then? How soon can you be here?’

‘I send someone.’

‘No, it has...’

I put my hand on Bram’s arm, cutting him off. He looks at me and I motion for him to go ahead and arrange the meet. I’ve bought it that Bana’s not taking her to Poland. It doesn’t add up. We just need to know where their place in Rotterdam is, where she’s being kept. I don’t give a fuck who leads us there. If he sends someone, they can show us just as easily as Bana can.

‘OK, send someone else. Usual place in one hour,’ my brother says.

‘Tak.’

Bram cuts the connection.

I look at Sepp. ‘You can prepare it in time?’

He nods. ‘Sure. We can put a package together.’

Sepp’s only been with us since Carl met him at university, but I trust him as much as I do my brothers and D. He’s a computer whizz, and especially knowledgeable about the darknet. When we first met he was in some shit with a gang he’d met online, trading fake passports. He didn’t know how to get out of it. Carl brought him to us. We helped him figure it out.

The thing about us is, being fighters, we have no fear. We know we can handle ourselves, and better than most – better than pretty much everybody else, in fact. Which puts us in a position of power. We went with Carl and met the gang that was stitching him up. We explained the situation in the unique way that fighters can, leaving them unable to blackmail him further. Literally. Since that incident, our bond with Sepp has been strong and he’s been part of our inner circle ever since.

‘D and Bram will come with me to the meet. Carl and Sepp, you follow Bana’s guy when he leaves.’ I get up and lean over the table. ‘But once we find their place, wait. I want to be the one to go in and take her back.’

‘And Bana?’ Carl asks.

‘And Bana.’ I tap my fingers on the table. There’s no way he’s surviving this, but how I’ll take him out, I don’t know yet. Once he knows we’ve got her back he’ll be careful about coming to Rotterdam again. But he’ll have to. He won’t be able to hide from me forever and when he does show, I will rip him to pieces.

Chapter Four – Slater

We watch as the white van rounds the corner. Bram and Dylan are at my side but nobody speaks. My muscles ache with tension. Every second, every minute that passes puts me further from my little bird and the physical ache in my chest worsens. I promised never to let anything happen to her and it has. I failed to protect her. That was my job. I can’t forgive myself.

The van stops in front of us. I recognise Dex, the driver, but I don’t know the man beside him. He looks just like the rest of Bana’s soldiers: buzz cut, dirty T-shirt and trainers; the only thing in any way remarkable is the small gold hoop in his left ear. They both get out. Dex greets us with a gormless smile that makes my hands clench to fists at my side as I fight the urge to punch his teeth out.

‘Who’s this?’ I nod at the man beside Dex.

‘This Piotr,’ Dex