Atonement (The Protectors 6)

Magnus nodded and then we were out of the car. It took only a few minutes to hike to the edge of the property. I was pleased to see there weren’t as many security cameras along this side of the house. But there were enough that if Aleks came to the fence line to talk to us – and that was assuming we could even get his attention – whoever was monitoring the cameras would see. And since there was no gate and the fence was too high for Aleks to climb, he’d be a sitting duck if he was discovered. We just couldn’t risk it.

But we needed to get his attention somehow. Getting him out of the house without his help would be impossible.

“If we can get the security system offline for a few minutes, we can get in and get him out,” I said. “But we need to know what room he’s in in case he doesn’t have free roam of the house at night.”

“How are we going to get the security system offline?”

“I know someone who can probably hack it.”

Magnus was quiet for a moment. “We should call Memphis and Ronan…get some backup.”

I shook my head. “It will take too long to get someone here and up to speed. We need to get him out of there, Magnus.”

“Dante-”

“Please, Magnus. The idea of him spending another night in that place…” I hated how desperate I sounded, but I couldn’t hide the anxiety crawling through me. Now that I’d seen my brother, my sole focus was getting him out this place. The thought of whoever was holding him captive putting his hands on him made me want to vomit.

Magnus finally nodded.

Relief mixed with tension as I said, “We need to get a message to him. If we can get him to turn on a light in his room tonight or something…”

Another nod from Magnus. “Stay here,” he said and then he was heading back towards the car. I couldn’t see Aleks anymore since he’d gone into the greenhouse, but I was pleased that no one had come out to check on him. I scanned the house, but didn’t see anyone watching him from a window either. Magnus returned within a matter of minutes. “Here,” he said as he handed me a pen and small piece of paper. “Write him something he would know was from you. Tell him to leave the light on in his room tonight.”

I quickly wrote the note in both English and Portuguese and then watched as Magnus searched out a small rock. “Old school, huh?” I said with a smile as I watched Magnus wrap my note around the rock. He pulled the hair tie I’d been using to hold my hair back and then wrapped it around the rock, securing the note in place.

“I ever tell you I was on the baseball team in high school?”

“Were you any good?” I asked as I tried to ignore the anxiety in my gut.

“We’re about to find out. See that open window?”

I nodded when I spied the open window at the back of the greenhouse. It was up high and small and presumably had been left open to let fresh air into the small structure. It would be a tough shot and if Magnus missed…

I couldn’t let myself think like that so I held my breath while Magnus got into position and then let the rock fly. I was sure I’d hear the sound of shattering glass, but there was nothing and I watched in disbelief as the rock sailed through the window.

We waited several long moments and I was sure it hadn’t worked until I saw Aleks come out of the greenhouse. I’d warned him not to look in our direction since he’d be in view of the security cameras, but as he headed towards the house, he cast a glance over his shoulder and scanned the fence line. When his eyes came to rest on us, I froze and I swore my heart stopped beating. The encounter lasted mere seconds, but it was enough. And even if I hadn’t been certain that he’d seen the note, his slight nod just before he turned and went into the house would have told me all I needed to know.

My brother knew I had finally come for him.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Magnus

“Okay, Daisy, do it now,” I heard Dante say into his phone. The light had come on in one of the lower windows near the same side of the house the greenhouse was on a few minutes earlier. We’d lucked out when the IT girl who worked for Ronan had discovered that not only could she hack into the system controlling the security cameras, but that the entire security system was interconnected and in addition to controlling the cameras, she could control the gates permitting access onto the property as well as the security pads for all the doors.