Chapter one- Back at It
The plane ride to Italy was not that bad. Kaylnda got to spend some quality time with her adopted father, Sullivan. They even got to catch up on somethings as they were flying. They even got to share some good laughs in as well. Soon, they landed the plane and went to go check into a hotel after they were done at the auction and got what they needed. Sullivan paid for three rooms and handed Kaylnda her key to her room. All the rooms were next to one another and she went into hers to get ready for the auction. Kaylnda got ready for the and did her hair and makeup before looking herself in the mirror and slipping on black flats. She made her way to the car, where Sullivan was waiting and headed to the auction.
They were waiting on Nathan and his friend. Kaylnda's very light blue eyes took in the surroundings of the room as Sullivan sat on the black leather couch. At the moment, she was wearing a royal blue dress that covered her feet. The top of her chest was exposed as the sweet heart neck line was connected to a long sleeve to like jacket. On her feet were black flats as she did not care for high heels. The boys were lucky that she even wore a dress. Kalynda's hair was fixed into a low ponytail with a black ribbon in, to hold the ponytail in place. She had her arms in front of her chest as she was waiting. Soon Kaylnda saw Nathan step in through the window and a small smile appeared on her face. She also noticed the man that came in after Nate. Kaylnda's eyes light up as she knew who the person was with Nathan, it was his older brother, Sam. Kaylnda thought that he had died 15 years ago and she was crushed when Nathan told her the news. She had fallen in love with Sam and he was her first love. Kaylnda never got the chance to tell Sam that she loved him. Nathan's voice brought her out of her thoughts.
"Sullie?" Nathan asked
"You know what I like about partying with a bunch of crooks?" Sullivan replied
"What's that?" Nathan adds
"Nobody cares if you smoke indoors." Sullivan chuckles and so does Nathan.
"It's been awhile." Nathan replies as he opens up his arms. "Too long boyo." Sullivan adds as he hugs Nathan. Kaylnda shakes her head as she looks at them and chuckles. She places a hand on her heart as she looks at Nathan.
"I can't believe that you forget about me. The one that you look to as a little sister." Kaylnda hums
Nate chuckles and shakes his head as he heads over to Kaylnda and hugs her and then kisses her forehead. "It is good to see you, Big brother." Kaylnda smiles as she pats his shoulder.
"I haven't seen you since my wedding and the whole mess with Marlowe and Talbot. What have you been up to?" Nate hums
"A lot of things, but now is not the time to catch up." Kaylnda giggles
She notices that Sam is looking her up and down as she is talking to Nate. It sends a chill down her spine and she feels her attraction for Sam again. She nudges Nate and nodes her head towards Sam. Kaylnda returns to her place next to Sullivan as Nate turns towards the other man.
"You remember my dead brother, right?" Nate questions
"Victor." The man greets
"Well I will be god damed. It's been fifteenth years." Sullivan says as he walked towards the man. "Yep." The man replies as he tucks his hands into his pockets. "Good to see you alive, Sam." Sullivan says as he shakes Sam's hand. While Kaylnda watches from the corner of her eye.
"Let's try keeping him alive by getting this cross, Ok?" Nathan adds
Sam looks over her way and their eyes meet. Nate clears his throat and Sam looks right at him. Nate wraps his arms around her and looks at Sam.
"Sam, you remember Kaylnda Derek. The woman who is like my sister and has always put up with our shit." Nate explains
Sam smirks at her and Kalynda looks at him before heading to the door. "Come boys. Some things have changed our plans." She said as she opened the doors and walked out. They stood on the second floor and looked out towards the stage, where the auction was being held.
"Take-a-look." Sullivan says
There set the cross that the clue was needed to find Avery's treasure. The cross had been moved up in the auction and it was brought out.
"That's Avery's Cross." Nathan added
"They brought it out it out of storage. Just before you guys got here." Kaylnda hums
"They change the lot order," Sam sighs as he places his hands on the railing.
"Take a whole pile of cash to make that happen." Sullivan adds
"Alright how long before they start the bidding?" Nathan asks
"Ten, fifteen minutes tops." Kaylnda answers
"Well. there's got to be some way we can grab it." Nathan shoots back
Nathan and Sullivan have a discussion of how to grab the cross, getting the idea to create a diversion. Kaylnda could feel Sam's eyes on her once again and a chill ran up her spin. This was an odd sensation that she really missed and it had been a long time since she had felt it. She craved to have Sam touch her and she wished that he would make a move, but she had to focus on what was happening right now and how they were going to help Sam. Sam chuckled and Kaylnda turned her attention to the boys.
"What if they don't see us? Jesus, you guys act like you never spent time in prison. If you want something dirty done. Then you wait." Sam explains
"You wait until lights out. Everything happens when lights are out. A place like this probably has a backup generator, so it will not give us much time to grab the cross. We need to find the power room." Kaylnda answers
Sam's eyes were on Kaylnda once again and he smirked at her. Nathan and Sullivan began working up a plan to get the cross. Nathan pulled out the lay out of the building from inside his suit and unfolded it onto the small table. The boys gathered around it as Kaylnda kept watch. The plan was to grab the cross when the lights went out and someone had to be right next to the cross when it happened. Sam looks over his shoulder at Kaylnda and smiles at her as she was now standing behind him. Sam was impressed because he never heard her move or saw her.
"Scusate, signoori, Antipasti?" A feminine voice calls as a waitress comes up to the group. Nathan and Kaylnda decline. "Hi. How you are doing?" Sam asks the waitress as she turns away and replies with a chow. Sam watches her walk away with a stupid grin on his face. Kalynda rolls her eyes as she puts her arms under her chest. Her breasts perk up.
"Would you focus." Nathan says as he whacks Sam on the arm. "A waiter wouldn't get noticed," Sam replies as he shoves the snack into his mouth.
"That could work." Sullivan adds
"That will work." Nathan replies
Nathan and Sullivan go back to putting the plan into action by having Nathan turn off the power, Sam being the waiter, and Sullivan and Kaylnda on the floor on the lookout. The group then follows Sullivan as they head to the cellar. So, Nathan and Sam can cut through it. They walk past the gusts and Kaylnda was the very last person in the group. She could hear Sam talking to Sullivan and telling that he looked good and the years had been kind to him. Then, she sees Sam go out onto an outside balcony as Nathan and her, continue to follow Sullivan.
"Cellar's just through there. Let's go." Sullivan says
"Oh this place is fancy. Of course, they play douchey European techno." Nathan mumbles
"You sound a little jealous, Nate. I should take you to a Comic Con, when I have to be on a panel and take you to the after parties they have." kaylnda giggles
They finally make it to the cellar door and Sullivan stands off to the side as Kaylnda stands behind Nathan.
"Alright. let's do this. Miss me, Sweetness." Sam whispers and Kaylnda can feel his warm breath on the back of her neck. "You wish."Kaylnda teases as she looks over her shoulder at him as Nathan pulls and twists on the handles. The door does not open at all.
"Oh, hell. Its locked." Nathan says
"Shit, it was open earlier," Sullivan replies as he tries the door.
"Well, now what? Can we pick it?" Sam asks
"No, it's electronic." Kaylnda answers
"We're gonna have to find another way in." Sullivan says as the door beeps. The group acts like they are hanging out when a waiter in a golden vest walks out with a bottle of wine in his arm. They notice the card in his hand and watch him put it into his back pocket.
"You see that?" Sam asks
"Key card, back left pocket." Sullivan whispers
"Yep." Kaylnda hums
"I'm on it." Nathan says
"Oh, whoa, whoa. You sure you want to do that? There is a lot of eyes out there." Sam butts in
"I think I can handle a simple lift," Nathan shots back as he pats Sam's arm
Kaylnda watches as Nathan misses getting the key card twice and giggles. She watches as Sam walks up to him and she follows closely behind.
"You ah.. Need some pointers?" Sam asks
"No, just warming up that's all." Nathan answers
"Let me show you boys how a woman does it." Kaylnda says as she grabs a bottle of wine and walks to the waiter by the sculpture on the table. She sends a charming smile at the waiter. She mixes into the crowd and sneaks behind the waiter and grabs the card before heading back to the boys. She hands Nathan the card and can feel Sam's eyes on her once again. Kaylnda smirks at him and goes to stand beside Sullivan.
"She had you beat there, boys. It is nice to see professionals work." Sullivan chuckles
Nathan opens the door and Sullivan hands them all ear pieces so they can stay in contact with one another. Kaylnda places the ear piece in her ear and watches Nathan go through the door. Sam grabs Kaylnda's right hand and places a kiss on it before letting it go. "See you in a bit, Gorgeous," Sam says as he winks and smirks at her. He then walks through the door and closes it. Kaylnda rolls her eyes as Sullivan and her walk into the party.
Kaylnda keeps low and blends into the crowd. She had a feeling that something was coming that was going to cause problems for the group, it was a feeling in her gut. She watches Sullivan in the corner of her eye and hums as she took a ship of her wine. She then recognizes the woman that was talking to Sullivan, Nadine Ross. Nadine had come to her for hire to help her with one of her partners she was working with at the time, but Kaylnda turned her down. Then, she notices her old partner that she worked with walk into the picture, Rafe Adler. It made her blood boil as she saw him, he was nothing but a thorn in her side when they were working together to find Avery's treasure. Rafe was always so demanding and wanting everything done his way, not to mention his anger issues. Kaylnda hums as she took a sip of her whine. She moves her way in between the crowd and found a spot over by the side, where you were not in the spot light and in the shadows. At all times, she would glances over at Sullivan, to keep track of Rafe and Nadine. She knew that they were here for the cross as well as she listens to the conversation on the mics in her ear. Just then, she feels a hand on her lower back and jumps a little. Kaylnda looks over her shoulder and sees Sam, a soft smile on his face.
"You seem a little on edge. Is it because of the company we have hanging around?" Sam hums
"You could say that. I have somewhat of a past with the both of them." Kalynda growls
Sam wraps his arm around her waist and pulls her into his side with a small smirk on his face. Sam leans close to her ear and she could feel his breath on her neck again.
"You feel a little tense as well. Maybe when this is over and we are back at the hotel, I can give you a massage and there is no clothes necessary rule." Sam whispers
"I am sure I am not your first choice for a woman for you to offer that deal to." Kaylnda replies
"There has only been one woman out there for me and I have been thinking about her for 15 years as I was rotten in a prison in Panama. I just wonder if she thought about me at all?"
"Are you sure that she is the right woman for you, Sam? She is rough around the edges and has had a hell of a life with what shit that has happened to her."
"That is what she needs to find out."
Sam winks at her before kissing her temple and moving into place so that when Nathan was ready to turn off the lights. He could grab the cross and they could get out of this place. Kaylnda made her way to the door and as soon as she made it by the doors that were the exits. The power was shut off. She hears the harsh whispers of the guests as they are worrying over the power being turned off so suddenly. Kaylnda hopes that Sam can grab the cross fast because they only have a small window of time to grab the cross. She can hear Sullivan through her ear piece that he is going to grab a car. She quickly opens the door and gets out of the room. Kaylnda is by the gates and lifts up her dress a little and pulls out her Para 45 out of its holster and hid behind a pillar as she hears shouts coming from inside. She sees the guards aiming at the door and she is glad that she has the silencer on her gun. A couple of the guards falls down as she shoots them in the leg and her eyes lighten as she sees Nathan running out. Sam is running behind Nathan and her eyes twinkle as she looks at him. Sullivan swings the car around for them to get in as the guards continue to fire at them. Kaylnda slides in the car first in the backseat. Nathan gets in the front and Sam slides in next to her. Bullets start to hit the car as Sullivan hits the gas heading out the gate. Kaylnda's window glass breaks and she dives into Sam's side and he lifts up his arm. He gently rubs her back as they head to the hotel and tries to calm her down. She looks up and him and starts to settle down. Kaylnda had to admit that she felt safe in Sam's arms. Just like when Nathan and her dated, but she felt that way when she had dated Harry Flynn as well. Harry had betrayed Nathan, when they all worked together. Harry was charming as well and she never knew that he betrayed Nathan until Nathan told her. After Harry killed himself, Kaylnda had met and decided to work for Rafe, only for a year and a half. Due to Rafe being unbearable to work with and have everything done his way, along with his anger issues.
Kaylnda slowly removes herself from Sam's side as Harry's last words ring through her head. He had admitted to falling in love with her and stated that she had helped him see the error of his ways. That this was not like the movies and she was not going to reform the villain. Kaylnda wished that he was not so bull headed. She sighed as the car stops in front of the hotel and gets out. Nathan is behind her and puts a hand on her shoulder.
"What's on your mind?" Nathan asks
"How do you know that I am thinking about something?" Kaylnda replies
"Kay I know you and we dated for five years. I can read your body langue very well."
"That was a long time ago and we were in our late teens into are early twenties. I am just thinking of past ghosts, Nate."
"You are thinking about him again. You know what I thought about him and what he did, along with breaking your heart."
"I know Nate, but it took me a while to move on from you. After we broke up."
Nathan hugs her and they head up to one of the three rooms that Sullivan got for them. She can feel Sam's eyes on her and she starts to wonder if that Sam coming into her life is something that she needs or not. She always wondered about her future if Harry did not kill himself. Would they still be dating or would they have gotten engaged and then married? Would they have settled down and had kids or would have Harry left her and found someone else. Kaylnda would never know and Nathan had told her that Harry would have betrayed her some way in the end if he lived. Nathan had told her it was in his nature to be manipulative and that he would use people to bend to his own will. She just had to see what fate was going to throw her way as she was on this adventure with her friends that were more than her family when she looked at it.