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The Heist
The Heist Read online
The Heist
Title Page
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty One
Chapter Twenty Two
Chapter Twenty Three
Chapter Twenty Four
Chapter Twenty Five
Chapter Twenty Six
Chapter Twenty Seven
Chapter Twenty Eight
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty One
Chapter Thirty Two
Chapter Thirty Three
Chapter Thirty Four
Chapter Thirty Five
Chapter Thirty Six
Chapter Thirty Seven
Chapter Thirty Eight
Chapter Thirty Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty One
Chapter Forty Two
Chapter Forty Three
Chapter Forty Four
Chapter Forty Five
Chapter Forty Six
Chapter Forty Seven
Chapter Forty Eight
Chapter Forty Nine
Chapter Fifty
Chapter Fifty One
Chapter Fifty Two
Chapter Fifty Three
Chapter Fifty Four
Chapter Fifty Five
Chapter Fifty Six
Chapter Fifty Seven
Chapter Fifty Eight
Chapter Fifty Nine
Chapter Sixty
Chapter Sixty One
Chapter Sixty Two
Chapter Sixty Three
Chapter Sixty Four
Chapter Sixty Five
Chapter Sixty Six
Chapter Sixty Seven
Epilogue
THE HEIST
A Tainted Blood Novel
LJ HALKETT & RT LUCAS
The Heist
Copyright © 2014
Smashwords Edition
Published by Dark Hollows Press
About the eBook You Have Purchased
All rights reserved. Without reserving the rights under copyright, reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or any other means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
Distribution of this e-book, in whole or in part, is forbidden. Such action is illegal and in violation of the U.S. Copyright Law.
The Heist
Copyright © 2014 RT Lucas, LJ Halkett
ISBN 10: 1940756448
ISBN 13: 978-1-940756-44-8
Original Publication Date: June 2014
All cover art and logo copyright © 2014 by Dark Hollows Press
Cover Design by 3 Rusted Spoons
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
Dedicated to my Piston Hips - that pedestal I’ve always had you on? Well, Darlink it now reaches the sky!
L.J. Halkett
Dedicated to Sweetcheeks - The story is just beginning, yeah?
R.T. Lucas
Prologue
Fairy-tales…Where happily ever after exists.
Welcome to my world, where Vampires and defective DNA wolf genes are real and happening, nothing written down on paper to pass on and no stories to be recited for generation after generation.
If you read between the lines of the fables though, you’ll see lies and deceit coursing through every page.
One thing I despise more than not having a cherry lolly in my mouth? A Liar!
Chapter One
Alicia Carberletti lay on her bed staring at the ceiling, her brown eyes almost vacant as she lay motionless. Only when she blinked to stop the tears that were threatening to fall from her eyes did she give an indication of life.
The pint sized brunette had just returned from her childhood residence where she had come across an old journal. Naldina Carberletti’s every thought, emotion, and feeling that she had experienced was recorded on the paper. Alicia had flicked through the pages, her eyes scanning her Madre’s beautiful scripted handwriting. It was then that she saw the words that shattered her happy little bubble and changed her life forever…Mafia.
Her Papa, Alessandro Senior, was a very powerful Italian Mafia Don, both respected and feared by his men and other Families alike.
Naldina had documented how she vowed to keep Alicia sheltered from that life — it was not a way that she wanted her daughter being raised. She was a young lady and would court the finest of Italian men, marry and have a beautiful family...not the life that Naldina had. Yes the woman was wealthy, had a very loving husband and two children she would die to protect, but there was always a sense of danger looming.
The more Alicia read, the more upset she became.
For twenty-five years her parents had lied to her. The next entry in the journal hit her like a wrecking ball, causing the book to fall at the distraught female’s feet.
Her twin brother Alessandro Junior — it was his destiny to follow in his father footsteps. He was inducted into the Mafia world on 31 October, 1886, the year the twins turned sixteen.
Alicia cried, shouted and threw things about her London apartment for three days. She had read over the journal over and over, obsessively.
Her Madre’s last recorded entry was 1897, two years after her daughter's ‘sudden disappearance’. With her daughter presumed dead and her beloved husband and son assassinated by the Belcastro Dynasty, Naldina spiralled into a dark depression. Her beautiful daughter had never been found, she didn’t even have a body to bury. Naldina had nothing left to live for.
The devastation of reading her Madre’s journal consumed the pint sized Alicia, and that was when she vowed to herself that she would avenge her family by taking down the existing Belcastro bloodline.
It was time she got to work…
Chapter Two
His neon green eyes scanning the busy nightclub, Commander Xavier Raige ignored for the most part what his best friend and Lieutenant was saying to him as he drank down his Scotch and kept a very close counsel. He was a formidable looking man whose six foot seven frame overshadowed that of his companion. There were few people that Commander Raige actually liked in this life, and even fewer that he trusted with his life. Shuggie was that rare breed that he liked, respected and trusted.
But even that could be put to the test on occasion.
“Ah’m tellin’ ye Commander, ye dinnae want tae get involved with the Belcastros — they’re nowt but bad news.” In the darkest corner of the club, Shuggie shouted his words over the thud-thud-thud of the music whilst the lights blinked. Xavier side-glanced him quickly then sunk back his glass of Scotch.
“And I’m telling you Shug to fucking drop it, yeah?”
For the past three hours the two men had been discussing the latest job that Xavier had just been offered. Xavier Raige was ex-Special Ops and
had an unrivalled record in mercenary work around the world, which had earned him the reputation of being the best that money could buy. Ruthless, direct and focused — he was practically married to his work. No family, no ties. The only responsibility he had was to himself and to his unit of specially trained, handpicked soldiers. He had skills that those with money and connections with ‘interests’ that were outside of the law were more than happy to pay a premium price to hire.
The Belcastros were a notorious Mafia family who had relocated to the heart of Mexico. Legend had it they were exiled from Sicily back in the day after what had been considered dodgy dealings — even within the Mafia world. Xavier knew that if they were having problems dealing with their latest situation in-house, then it had to be some major shit that was going down. His best guess was that if word got out they couldn’t deal with it themselves, it would be a sign of weakness. The other Families might take that as a green light to go against them and claw back some of the territory and business that the Belcastros had ‘relieved’ them of through the years.
“Ah dinnae trust them, Commander. How’d they get yer name anyway? If ye asked me fur ma opinion, it’s no a coincidence that we were in Mexico when the call wis made. The Belcastros kin deal wi’ their ain shite. We dinnae need the job, and it’s meant tae be oor downtime after the last mission.”
Shuggie chugged back on his bottle of beer, unhappily. The hint of red behind his blue contact lenses glinted as the strobe lights lit up their corner of the club. He had learned through the centuries to mask his true nature when amongst the humans. That was something that Xavier understood, although it still amused him to see the huge warrior fiddle like a female trying to put the damn things in his eyes every day.
“I didn’t ask for your hairy highlander’s ass opinion,” Xavier thought wryly to himself as Shuggie lifted his hand to beckon the waitress over to order another round of drinks. Xavier knew that Shuggie was like a dog with a bone and wouldn’t let the subject drop. Scrubbing a hand over his face, he grimaced as he realised the stubble scratching his face was more hobo than designer — he might be a hardened soldier, but he was fuck handsome and prided himself on his looks. Xavier leaned forward, jutting his jaw as he was forced to address Shuggie’s concerns.
“You really think that I’d be dumbass enough not to have researched the Belcastros before I agreed to the job?” Xavier’s tone was gruff as he regarded his friend with a steely look that would have had lesser men losing control of bodily functions and whimpering like a baby.
“Aye, ah dae, Commander,” Shuggie leaned back, spreading his arms along the back of the seats, a small smirk starting to form on his lips. “That’s why ah already done ma ain investigation into them.” Shuggie’s broad Scottish accent was almost indecipherable to most, but Xavier had known him for longer than he cared to admit and could often translate for the uninitiated — if he could be bothered, that was. Shuggie was armed with the knowledge that he’d just scored a point over the Commander, and yet he still owned just enough self-preservation instinct to know not to blatantly crow about it. His smug expression was all that was needed between the two friends to know who had the upper hand.
Xavier was irked by Shuggie’s comment but kept his facial features impassive.
“Well, are you going to sit on it like a whore on a cock or are you going to actually tell me what your investigations found out?” He gave a derisive snort as he drew his eyes off of Shuggie and reached over to take the fresh drink the pretty young waitress with the perky smile and perkier tits had just brought over for him. She smiled and winked as he tipped her well, but the smile faltered when he turned his head away to continue his conversation. The waitress hovered about their table, trying to look seductive. She was completely unaware that she had in reality been blanked by both men. Shuggie reached into the inside pocket of his biker jacket and handed Xavier a flash drive with all the Intel he had on the Belcastros.
The dilemma for Xavier sat heavy on his broad shoulders. Did he take Shuggie’s advice and leave well alone, or did he drag his Unit into Mafia business? It wasn’t like they needed the money — they didn’t do it for the financial gain. Well, that’s not true. In the early days that was the only motivating factor, but nowadays they had more than enough money banked and invested to keep them for the end of their days. No, nowadays it was all about the adrenalin, the challenge, the rush.
As Shuggie firmly but politely told the waitress to sling her hook, Xavier gave a short nod to him and stood up, putting the flash drive in his back pocket, then fixing his shades and pulling his gold-blond hair into a tight ponytail with a leather tie. As he made his way out of the club the crowds parted like the red sea, his boots pounding the floor, his eyes straight ahead and focused.
Outside, the cold night air hit him like an arctic blast. He took out a cigarette, flicked his lighter three times before lighting and took a long hard pull of the coffin nail. Exhaling slowly, Xavier knew what he had to do. He wanted this job. He couldn’t resist the cat and mouse of tracking down perpetrators and bringing them in. It also intrigued him as to why Ricky Martinez, the spokesman and right hand man of Snr Belcastro, had approached him — it was highly unusual for any Mafia family to bring in an outside contractor. Why had these thieves eluded the Mafia family’s own security teams? Were they merely incompetent, or were the thieves just too good?
As Xavier kicked the stand away from his customised Ducati and started the engine, his thoughts were his own. He headed towards the Martinez mansion to accept Snr Belcastro’s contract and start the hunt for their elusive band of thieves.
Chapter Three
The stakeout was boring, but had to be done.
At the same time every nightfall for the last week the Martinez crew’s movements and routines had been observed — all of their comings and goings, when Martinez was heavily guarded and when he was most likely to be alone. It had paid off though, as Ricky Martinez had left town on business and would be away for a week.
Two of the crew’s places had been done over already — fine expensive jewellery and artwork taken. It was the guns and other weapons that were the object of desire for this next job.
There was a feeling of unease between the Mafia families. Word on the street was there was a skilled thief at large and that the Belcastros were employing security before said thief reached the Don’s mansion.
Well, wasn’t that little bedtime story coming closer to becoming a reality?
A figure emerged from the shadows, making his way up the long driveway. As the final light was switched off in the large four bedroomed property, the modern day mansion was plummeted into darkness. Being careful not to make a sound on the loose stones that covered the asphalt, the intruder walked on the grass. A mist was falling, which in return coated the grass in moisture, ensuring that there would be no trail of footprints.
Of course, having custom made boots with no treads also helped.
This was a professional at work who knew every move the security teams made, the tests they carried out, and the equipment they used to do so.
The front door was a heavy one, manufactured to a high bulletproof specification, as were all the windows. High dense plastic had been made to look and reflect like glass — after all when you are a Family of the Underworld you shouldn’t expect enemies to come knocking at your front door.
A ten lever locking system adjourned the red main entrance, four cameras alone surveying different angles. The intruder disabled the cameras with ease, a trick even the nerdiest of I.T. boffins would drool over. The springing of the locks was the nail biting part, even for a veteran thief like this one. There was always those five minutes of ‘will someone hear and wake up?’ Not that the confrontation part mattered — it was more the inconvenience of someone getting in the way and wasting precious minutes of time!
Once the intruder was inside, the interior decor opened up. The reception area was nothing to write home about — marble staircase, high polished black
floor and generations of pictures that were strategically hung on the walls. It was the love this family had for their precious children and ancestors that made this task too easy!
The safe was a wall-mounted one which was hidden behind a canvas of the children of Ricky Martinez.
“Fucking Bingo!”
Chapter Four
Weaving his bike at the sharp bends in the narrow road on the way to the Martinez mansion, Xavier mulled over the fine details of his agreement to their job offer. He didn’t notice the vehicle hurtling towards him in the opposite direction, and he hadn’t factored in that the sun was just rising. He most definitely didn’t expect that the driver of the other vehicle seemed to have a death wish.
The rising sun bounced off the windshield of the oncoming vehicle, blinding Xavier momentarily. As he swerved to the right he felt his front wheel dip, and he flew over the handlebars of his bike as it slid under the front wheels of the offending vehicle. Lying in the bushes at the side of the road, Xavier checked himself over to ensure he wasn’t bleeding or broken and slowly stood up. Making his way over the now stationary vehicle, he curled his hand into a fist and punched through the driver’s window, pulling out the driver. As he was about to make chowder out of his face, he noticed that the driver’s feet were dangling off the ground.
He then noticed that he was a she. A very small she.
“What the fuck do you think you are playing at, female? You could have fucking killed me!” Narrowing his eyes, Xavier dangled the female in front of him.
“I was driving my car. You fucking crashed into me, you fucking prick, so don’t ask me what I was playing at!” Alicia glared at the huge male that had her suspended in the air, her boots hovering as he gripped her tightly by the shoulders.