Dagger
My wife was going to have a red ass when I got home. I’d have still come down here to get Luis, even if I’d known his biological father might have him, but not walking into that blind would have been a big help. Thankfully, Grizzly had gotten word to us before I’d marched in there and started demanding shit. Like my boy. Not knowing which of these fucks had sired Luis didn’t help matters any.
“New plan?” I asked Specter and Casper.
“More like option two,” Casper said. “We knew you didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of walking out with the boy. Even if he’s there by coincidence, they won’t release him. You could possibly buy him back, but that’s not much fun.”
I stared at the man, and the creepy ass Specter who was grinning. Not in a happy way, but in an I can’t wait to fuck shit up kind of way. I should be thankful these two hadn’t already started a bloodbath. They weren’t exactly known for leaving men standing. Someone got in their way, don’t bother looking for them. You’d be lucky to find a few pieces. Unless they wanted you to.
“Anyone ever plan on telling me about option two?” I asked.
“We’ll create a diversion, then you and your men go in and grab the boy,” Specter said.
A diversion. Christ. I wasn’t about to fucking ask what that meant. With these two, I had a feeling it would end in a high death toll. Granted, they were taking out the cartel’s men, so I was okay with that. Long as my brothers made it back home, and I was able to get Luis out of there, that’s all that mattered. Going home empty-handed, or in a body bag, wasn’t an option.
“When are we doing this?” I asked.
Casper looked at his watch. “In about fifteen minutes. Everything should be in place by then.”
Fifteen… I narrowed my eyes at them. “You two had this planned all along. You knew your option two would be the only option, didn’t you?”
Casper shrugged and looked away, but a smile spread across his face. The fucker. Everything would have been simpler if they’d just laid out this plan from the beginning. I went to tell my brothers we needed to move fast, except I wasn’t sure what to expect. I had four Devil’s Fury members with me, and Casper had arranged for some of his acquaintances to help as well. Although, they were missing at the moment, which meant they were probably a big part of his plan.
I should have known something was up when they all walked off.
“Watch for the signal,” Specter said. “I’ll cover you from above.”
I glanced around and didn’t have a damn clue where he planned to hide. As long as he kept me from getting shot, I didn’t much care. Although, I was a little concerned about the payment Casper would expect. I already knew what Specter wanted, but Casper VanHorne? The man didn’t do anything out of the goodness of his heart. Fuck, I wasn’t even sure he had a heart.
“I don’t like this,” Wolf said. “It feels wrong.”
I knew exactly what he meant. The hair on my nape pricked, and I hoped shit wasn’t about to go sideways. The ground rumbled, and then an explosion had us covering our ears and ducking our heads as debris rained down. The gate and surrounding walls were nothing but rubble, but before the men inside could rush in our direction, another bomb went off. At least, I assumed that’s what was causing the damage and noise. As I rushed toward the gate, my brothers were at my back.
A man charged me, his arm raised and a gun in his hand, but before he got a shot off, crimson stained the front of his shirt and he fell face first onto the ground. Each man that came for us met the same fate, and I knew Specter had kept up his end of the deal. I entered the cartel’s compound and didn’t have a fucking clue where they would hide Luis. Wolf came with me, while Steel and Colorado went the other direction.
I entered the building on the left, my gun in my hand, as I cleared each room. A man yelled as he saw me, taking aim and getting off two shots before I took him down. He’d missed me, for which I was thankful. But the distraction cost me. Another seemed to pop up out of nowhere. He got off five shots, one of which clipped me in the shoulder. I heard Wolf grunt, then the man dropped with a hole in the center of his forehead. I glanced back long enough to make sure my brother was fine. He gave me a slight nod and we kept moving.
Wolf watched my six as we made our way through each building. Steel and Colorado were standing in front of the last building when we approached it. If they hadn’t found Luis, and we hadn’t either, he was in the building in front of us. Unless he’d been moved before we even made it to Mexico. The only thing working in our favor right now was that these assholes didn’t know why we’d hit their compound. They had no clue what we wanted. If they knew I wanted Luis, I had no doubt they’d either move him again, or kill him.
“If he’s not in there…” I let the thought just hang there. Honestly, if he wasn’t in this last building, I had no fucking clue what to do next. The cartel could have moved him anywhere. For that matter, they could have sold him and he could be long gone from Mexico. I couldn’t go home without him. It would destroy Zoe.
“He’s there,” Steel said. “And if he’s not, we’ll find someone who can tell us where they moved him. We’ll get your boy.”
Chaos surrounded us as Casper and Specter waged war on the cartel, keeping them busy while we searched for Luis. Anyone got close, and Specter took them down. Or maybe one of Casper’s men did it. Hard to say since they were all like fucking ghosts and I didn’t see a damn one of them.
Steel kicked in the door ahead of us and we went into the building, guns drawn. Steel took point with his AR-15 and I followed, a Glock in one hand and my knife in the other. Wolf backed me up and Colorado took the rear. We systematically cleared the building, saving one place for last. The tower. As we made our way up the stairs, I hoped like hell we weren’t walking into an ambush.
Steel pushed the door open and stepped inside. I was right on his heels and drew up short when I saw the man holding a gun on a room full of young boys. It seemed Luis wasn’t the only one they’d bought or taken.
The man started speaking in rapid-fire Spanish. “You’re not taking our children.”
“Not your kids, asshole. I just want my son,” I said.
He hesitated and scanned each of us. “¿Hijo?”
“Yes, my son. Luis.” I scanned the boys behind him and noticed a pair of blue eyes were watching me. I held out my hand to him. “Luis, your mom misses you. I’m taking you home.”
I saw his eyes flare and knew I had his attention. He might not remember his mother, but it was clear he wanted to see her. I only hoped he didn’t think the bitch who’d sold him was his mom. It would gut Zoe. She had to expect a bit of resistance from Luis, or at least some distance. The kid didn’t know her, or me for that matter. With some luck, he wouldn’t put up a fight.
“Not your son,” the man said. “Juan’s boy.”
Juan. I wondered if that was the man who had raped Zoe, or if he’d merely claimed Luis as his own after purchasing him. I slowly reached into my pants pocket and retrieved a copy of the official documents showing Luis belonged with me. No way I’d give this fucker the real thing. He could rip it up, and then I’d be screwed.
“I have paperwork saying otherwise.” I held it out as far as my arm would reach. “Take it. See for yourself.”
He snatched the papers and looked them over, before throwing them on the floor and spitting on them. It seemed we weren’t doing this the easy way. The only good news was the gun no longer pointed at the boys. He’d been distracted enough to drop his guard. I saw Steel’s finger gently squeeze the trigger and the man staggered as the bullet ripped through his shoulder.
Wolf and Colorado moved fast, making sure the guy went down and stayed down. As much I wanted to slice into the asshole with my knife, I sheathed it and hurried over to Luis. He trembled and his shoulders hunched as I got closer. I dropped to my knees, hoping if I seemed smaller he might not feel threatened.
I doubted he knew English, or much of it, so I made sure to use Spanish when I spoke to him. “Your mother is at home waiting for you. I’m her husband. Your father. Will you come with me, Luis? I’ll take you somewhere safe. Your mother has been worried about you.”
He slowly reached his hand for mine. With his fingers wrapped in mine, I stood and walked to the door, but I hesitated. Glancing at the other boys, I had to know.
“Anyone else not belong here?” I asked in Spanish.
Five more boys came forward, all ranging in size and age. They left with me. I saw Wolf shadow us as we went down the steps and made our way out of the compound. Dead bodies littered the ground, and I hoped the sight wouldn’t give these kids nightmares. I didn’t know what they’d been exposed to already. Luis tightened his hold on my hand as we left the compound. Casper was standing just outside, hands in his pockets, as if he hadn’t a care in the world.
“That your boy?” he asked.
I nodded. “These others said they don’t belong here. Any way you or your men could find their homes? Or see that they get somewhere safe?”
He looked at them and smiled. A genuine one. “Yeah, we’ll see they’re taken care of. I’ll remain behind to handle it. The jet is fueled and waiting.”
“Steel and Colorado are tying up a loose end. There’s more kids in the building too,” Wolf said.
“Get your boy out of here, Dagger. Don’t wait for the others. When the jet gets back to Georgia, they’ll refuel and come back for us. I promise your brothers will come home, just not right this minute. They can help me get the kids settled where they belong.” Casper straightened. “It’s not negotiable.”
I didn’t like the idea of leaving anyone behind. I looked over my shoulder and saw Steel and Colorado coming out of the building, the kids following behind them. I waited, needing to hear from them that they were all right with the plan. I wasn’t heading back without them any other way.
Casper told them the same thing he’d said to me, and Colorado shrugged. Steel eyed the kids behind him, then my boy. When his gaze met mine, I knew he was fine with the plan.
“All right. I don’t like it, but I agree I need to get Luis home sooner rather than later,” I said.
“There’s one thing you need to know. Something you won’t like,” Steel said.
I braced myself, wondering what the hell he could have found out in the short time since I’d left with Luis. Had the man he’d shot decided to talk?
“Juan isn’t in Mexico anymore,” Steel said. “The woman who sold Luis to him reached out when Zoe sent money from a new return address. He’s going for your woman. I couldn’t make heads or tails of the rambling, but it seems he plans to use her as a breeder for more kids. Guess he liked the looks of Luis or something. She didn’t know when he left. Could have been today, or he could have been in our territory for a while now.”
I growled and my body tensed. No fucking way would he get his hands on my wife. I’d show him exactly why they called me Dagger if he even thought of harming her. Lifting Luis into my arms, fire spread through my shoulder from the bullet wound, but I ignored it and I headed for the vehicles. Casper had arranged for us to use a few Humvees, and I was grateful right now. I climbed in with Luis while Wolf got behind the wheel. It seemed he was coming with me, and I was glad. If we ran into trouble, I didn’t want to face it alone.
One of Casper’s men got in on the other side and gave me a nod. “Just going along for the ride. I’ll bring the Humvee back after you’ve boarded the jet. Might need an extra set of hands.”
It went unsaid we could run into trouble between here and there. It was likely someone had noticed the cartel compound getting hit. I was a little confused about something, though. I hadn’t seen any drugs, guns, or anything else the cartel could profit from. Except the kids. Were they dealing in children? Or had that place been something more?
Luis started to relax a little, and I hated to scare him, but I needed a few questions answered. I kept to Spanish when I spoke in case that’s all he knew.
“Luis, why did they have you at that place?” I asked.
He blinked up at me, but wouldn’t speak. The kid was two. Three? I couldn’t remember what the birth certificate had said, what Zoe told me before, or what was written on the papers Wire had provided to bring him stateside. Probably should check on that so I didn’t get tripped up if we were stopped at the airstrip. I didn’t think anyone would bother us, just because Casper seemed to have shit in hand.
“Kid’s scared,” Wolf said. “Give him some time, Dagger. That place is possibly all he’s ever known. Let’s get him to his mom and go from there.”
I knew he was right. We had no idea what they’d made Luis do, or what he’d witnessed while he was at that place. I pulled my phone from my pocket and shot off a message to Guardian. Coming home. Watch Zoe.
It didn’t take long to get a response.
What’s going on?
I didn’t want to say too much over the phone, not in a text, but I didn’t want to try calling right now either. There’s a man coming for her. Knows her current location.
When Guardian answered, it made me smile. Fucker isn’t taking our wife.
Damn straight he wasn’t. It sounded like maybe he and Zoe had gotten closer while I’d been gone, which was a good thing. I’d worried how they’d handle being alone together. With everything still so new, I’d wanted to stay longer. But Luis needed to come home. If I hadn’t come here when I did, we might have lost him. They could have moved him, sold him, and he could have possibly vanished without a trace. Time was of the essence.
At the airstrip, I waited in the vehicle with Luis while Wolf and Casper’s guy checked out the area. I didn’t want any surprises while I had precious cargo. The boy leaned into me, and I held him closer. I hoped he understood what was happening, and that he’d be safe where we were going. Even though Juan was apparently heading into Devil’s Fury territory, I knew my brothers would handle him. I didn’t have any idea how long ago he’d left Mexico, but if the man didn’t strike until I arrived, even better. My knives and I would love to have a little chat with the guy who’d raped my wife.
Wolf gave the all clear and I exited the vehicle with Luis in my arms. We boarded the jet, and I took my seat, buckling Luis next to me. I rubbed his back and tried to casually check the neck of his shirt for a size, in case we’d bought the wrong things for him. Once I had his size, I sent a quick text to Guardian so he could ensure Luis would have clothing ready. I gave my best guess on the size of his foot in inches and hoped they could figure it out from there.
I didn’t hear a sound other than the jet’s engine, but I didn’t breathe easy until we were in the air. Once the kid was calm, and the flight was smooth, I’d do something about my shoulder. It could wait for now. The flight would only be around three hours, but that was entirely too long when I’d already been gone for days. I couldn’t wait to see Zoe and Guardian again. To be home. I hoped they had everything ready for Luis. And I really hoped he didn’t tense up or hide when he saw Zoe for the first time. I knew it would break her heart. To Luis, she’d be a stranger, but she’d been waiting a long time to see her son again.