by Elle James
That gave them six hours to contact El Chefe to arrange the trade. Six hours to get the Deltas in place to support them.
The DEA guys had a hand-drawn diagram of the exterior of the compound and the likely locations of guards posted outside. They’d pulled a satellite image that gave a birds-eye view of the buildings within the compound. The main building appeared to be a large white house, and there were barracks-like buildings at the rear of the walled compound. Several smaller buildings were on either side, possibly for storage. Jungle surrounded the compound on all sides with a gravel road leading in. The trade would have to be made somewhere along the gravel road.
“We don’t send Alejandra in until they send Briana out,” Rafe said.
“The trade has to be made outside the compound,” Hank agreed. “To have any chance of bringing both women back, we need them to be where we can see them. If they get Alejandra inside the compound, it’ll complicate her extraction.”
“Don’t worry about me,” Alejandra said. “We need to get Briana out alive. If I go in, take Briana and get the hell out of El Salvador. El Chefe cannot be trusted.”
“The compound is two hours out of the city,” one of the DEA agents said. “You need time to get there and get in place. We’ve arranged for a couple of produce trucks to get your advance team to within a couple of miles of the compound. They’ll go in on foot from there.”
The Delta Force team gathered their weapons, protective gear and communications equipment then loaded their duffle bags into the back of the truck. They wore civilian clothing, having agreed that arriving in uniform would alert the cartel to their presence sooner than they wanted.
One of the agents made a call, and minutes later, trucks pulled into the hangar loaded with boxes of produce arranged so that the soldiers could climb into the back, hunker down amid the boxes and not be seen from the road.
“Great. Let's get this party started,” Hank said. “I have a wife and little girl waiting for me back home.”
“And I have a baby girl I hope to see again,” Alejandra said.
“If all goes according to plan, you should see your daughter soon,” Hank said.
If.
Rafe prayed the operation that night went according to the plan. At the very least, he hoped they got Briana and Alejandra out alive. Trading one woman for another didn’t sit well with him. He preferred to go in with just the team and duke it out. Having the ladies in the line of fire made it trickier and more dangerous.
After his week in the mountains with Briana, Rafe didn’t want their time together to end so soon. He liked her a lot and could be well on his way to loving her. Rafe wanted more time with Briana to get to know her even more. At the end of the day, he hoped they’d have that chance.
Briana spent the day working on the legs on the bed, trying to break a leg free. The metal didn’t bend, and the screws were in tight, holding the legs to the frame. She needed a screwdriver and a wrench to free the bolts holding it together. Since she had neither of those two items, she moved on to the other items in the room. The bed had no sheets or blankets she could use to throw over the guard. The toilet had no lid she could use to hit the guard with, but the food tray was made of metal. If she could get the guard far enough inside the room, she could hit him with the tray and make her escape.
Getting the guard to open the door would be the first challenge.
Briana stood to the side of the door holding the empty tray. She moaned loudly. “I’m sick. Please, get me a doctor. I’m so sick.” She moaned again.
When the door didn’t open, she pounded the wooden panel with her fist. “Please, I’m sick and need help. Por favor.” She stopped and dropped to the ground with as loud a thump as she could manage and not hurt herself. As soon as she hit the floor, she quietly crawled to the side of the door, lifted the tray and stood, ready for when the guard might finally open the door to check on her.
She waited silently.
And waited.
Just when she thought the guard might not even be on the other side of the door, the lock clicked.
Briana’s pulse quickened as she raised the tray over one shoulder, her arms cocked and ready.
A guard pushed open the door with the barrel of his AK-47 and looked inside.
Because it was so dark in the room, he had to push the door wider to let in some light.
Holding her breath, Briana waited for the man to cross the threshold.
When he didn’t see her in the triangle of light shining across the floor, he stepped into the room.
Briana swung the tray as hard as she could, slamming it into the man’s face.
The man released his hold on the AK-47. It clattered to the hard tiles.
Briana would’ve dived for the weapon, but the big guard dropped to his knees, landing on the gun. Instead, she hit him on the back of the head and leaped over his shoulder, landing in the hallway. She ran as fast as she could, aiming for the only door she knew led out of the building.
When a man stepped into view in the grand foyer ahead, Briana ducked into an open door that led into a sitting room with dark wood tables and brightly colored sofas. French doors on the other side of the room lured her to the outside light. She ran across the room and had just reached for the door handles when a shout rang out in the hallway.
Grabbing the handles, she yanked open the French doors and ran out into a garden. Unfortunately, the garden was a courtyard, surrounded by four walls. Each had French doors leading onto the garden, but which one would bring her closest to exiting the house? She ran to the door directly across from the one she’d just passed through. More shouts echoed throughout the huge house. If she hoped to escape, she had to do it soon. The door on the opposite side led into a bedroom with a solid wood, four-poster bed with a white eyelet lace comforter that seemed incongruous for a drug lord known for killing.
Footsteps clattered on the paving stones in the garden behind her. Briana dropped to her belly and rolled beneath the bed, wishing she’d had time to close the garden door. Alas, someone was running toward her, giving her no time to hide anywhere but beneath the bed.
She moved to the center, praying whoever it was would run straight through the room to the other side, searching for her. That might give her time to find another way out.
Booted feet entered the room and ran for the door as Briana had hoped. The door opened, but the boots didn’t pass through it.
Briana couldn’t see what he was doing but guessed he was peering out into the hallway. He called out in Spanish to someone passing by. That person responded, and the man stepped out into the corridor.
Briana held her breath, waiting for the man to leave the room. With the house in an uproar to find her, she knew she wouldn’t make it out of the compound without being captured. The thought depressed her, but she wouldn’t give up. This was her first attempt. She would try again.
Easing out from under the bed, she crawled out the open French door into the garden and sat on a bench beneath a tree and pulled in a deep breath. She stared at a bird bath, waiting for the guards to find her and return her to her prison.
Footsteps on the paving stones made her stiffen. She wouldn’t fight this time. Not with all the cartel’s minions searching for her. But she was prepared to duck if one of them decided to take a swing at her.
“You’ve upset my staff,” a voice said behind her.
Briana didn’t turn toward El Chefe. “You have a lovely garden,” she said.
“I like to come out here to read when I want peace and quiet,” he said, walking around to stand in front of her. “You know, you can’t escape.”
“So you say.”
“Even if you’d gotten out of the house, you wouldn’t have made it past the wall.”
“You could be right,” she said. “Then again, no one likes to be held prisoner. Some are just more determined than others to be free.”
He stared at her, eyes narrowing. “Are you talking about yourself or Alejandra.
”
Briana pushed to her feet. “You are not a king or a god. You cannot control the lives of others with your money.”
He dipped his head. “No, but I can control them with my army and the mercenaries my money can buy.”
“And does it make you happy?” Briana stood in front of the Devil Boss, her shoulders back, her face set in grim lines. “Are you happy controlling other people? Don’t you wonder if it’s all worth it?”
He spread his arms wide. “I have all this.”
“Things,” she pointed out. “You have things. What about love and kindness? The people in your life should be what make you happy, not the things. Things don’t have feelings.”
He snorted. “Things don’t stab you in the back or steal from you.”
“Is that what happened to you? Did someone you cared about turn on you? Was it Alejandra?”
“No!” he shouted. “It was not Alejandra. She is but an employee, who knows too much about my business to let go. You know nothing about me. And you never will.” He looked past her shoulder and said something in Spanish.
Two guards appeared. One had blood drying beneath his nose and a bruise on his cheek. They gripped her arms and half-carried her back to her cell. The food tray had been removed. There was nothing else in the room she could use as a weapon. Her heart sank into her shoes.
Briana could have wallowed in her despair and let loose the tears waiting to fall, but the thought of maybe seeing Rafe again kept her going. They’d had so little time together. She liked him. A lot. She could even see herself falling in love with the man—if given the chance.
The next time the door opened, she’d have to be ready to throat punch the guard and make sure he didn’t yell for help as soon as she ran.
If she got another chance, she’d take it.
Chapter 12
With Brotherhood Protectors Hank, Swede, Boomer, Taz, Chuck and Bear by his side, and his old Delta Force team supposedly in place around the compound, Rafe dared to hope all could go well once they arrived with Alejandra to make the trade. They didn’t try to sneak in like the Delta Force team. Their job was to be there for the trade. The Deltas were there to cover their sixes and make sure El Chefe didn’t try to take them all out and keep both females.
Hank’s men gave the Delta Force team plenty of time to get to their positions and for the sun to sink into the horizon. Two hours out from the designated time, Hank handed Alejandra the burner phone to make her call to the Devil Boss.
She set the audio on speaker and spoke in Spanish, repeating her words in English. “I’ll be there in two hours. We will make the trade outside your compound. We will see that Señorita Hayes is well and uninjured before I step out of the vehicle. Understood?”
“Si. We will have bullets reserved for Miss Hayes if anything goes wrong during the transfer. Understood?”
Rafe’s lip curled back in a snarl. He personally wanted to kill El Chefe with his bare hands. To watch him choke to death slowly. How a man could torture and kill innocent people on a whim was beyond Rafe’s comprehension. Men like the cartel leader needed to be eliminated from society completely.
After Alejandra made the call, they loaded the team into three SUVs then lined up for the drive out to the compound. Taz, Chuck and Boomer took the lead. Hank, Alejandra and Rafe rode in the middle vehicle. Swede and Bear brought up the rear. The Brotherhood Protectors were fully equipped for combat, wearing bullet proof vests, helmets with radios, rifles, handguns, grenades and night vision goggles.
The Delta Team would be in place with a sniper on either side of the entrance, ready to pick off anyone who might try to take out Hank and his team.
They drove in silence to within a mile of the coordinates the DEA agents had given them and slowed to a stop, where they performed a communications check with the Delta Force team. Once everyone was accounted for, the procession continued on to the turnoff. The sun was well on its way toward the horizon, casting the surrounding jungle into deep shadows.
The closer they got to the compound, the faster Rafe’s heart beat. He wanted to see Briana, to know for sure she was alive and well. And he wanted to kill El Chefe for taking and hurting her. The woman only wanted to do right by people, to ease their suffering. She’d helped Alejandra because she couldn’t stand to see a woman and her child exposed to the elements and afraid to seek assistance lest she draw attention to herself and be discovered by the man she’d escaped.
Briana had a big heart and courage like no other woman he knew. Yes, he could be falling in love with her and, for the first time in his life, he was okay with that. He wasn’t tempted to return to the Delta Force teams. He realized he wanted a life outside constant deployments to war-torn nations where he could be shot at, blown up or tortured if caught. No, he wanted more in life. He wanted someone like Briana to come home to at night, to explore the mountains with and maybe raise children of their own. Not like Briana. He wanted Briana.
As they came to a halt fifty yards from the compound’s gate, the lead vehicle stopped, and the men climbed out, standing with their doors open, providing a little protection from potential gunfire.
The gate opened, and several of El Chefe’s men emerged.
Rafe held his breath, waiting for the most important person to come out of the compound. When she did, he let go of the breath and tightened his hand on his rifle.
Briana stood between two large men, each holding one of her arms. Behind her stood a man with black hair and a black mustache, wearing a white guayabera shirt and dark trousers. He stood with his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes narrowed, surrounded by his men who would take bullets to protect him should anyone decide to start shooting.
Alejandra squared her shoulders, her face pale beneath her naturally dark complexion. “It’s time.” She leaned close to Hank. “Thank you for helping me. If this plan does not work out, promise to take care of my child. She needs a good home and the love of a family.”
“We’re going to get you out of this,” Hank said.
Alejandra stared hard into his eyes. “Promise.”
Hank nodded.
Alejandra turned to Rafe. “I will do my best to make sure your woman gets out alive. Be ready to grab her and get her out of El Salvador. El Chefe does not forgive or forget when someone crosses him. If he lives through this, he will seek his revenge.”
“Our goal today is to get you and Briana out of here alive,” he said.
She cupped his cheek and gave him a gentle smile. “You love her, don’t you?”
He nodded without realizing it.
“In some ways, you are like him.” She jerked her head toward the compound. “You care enough to go after her.”
Rafe frowned. He never wanted to be compared to the cartel leader.
Alejandra raised a hand. “The difference is, you would let her go, if that was what she wanted.”
He wouldn’t like it, but he couldn’t keep someone who wasn’t his.
Hank got out of the driver’s seat and opened the back door. Rafe got out of the back seat and held out his hand to Alejandra.
She took it and let him help her out. Once her feet were on the ground, she leaned up on her toes and kissed his cheek. “Thank you for coming with me.” Then as she stepped away, she plucked one of his grenades off his vest and smiled. “Be ready.”
“What the—” Rafe took a step after the woman.
Hank caught his arm. “Let her. She has a plan. We need to be ready.”
He glared at Hank. “You knew?”
He tightened his jaw and nodded.
“What if it goes off when she’s near Briana?”
“She knows how to use it.”
Rafe shook his head. “It’s too dangerous.”
Alejandra called out in Spanish, and then in English. “Let her go. We meet halfway. Alone.”
The Devil Boss said something to his two men.
They released their hold on Briana and stepped back, forming a wall between El Ch
efe and the Americans.
Hank and Rafe passed the other Brotherhood Protectors standing behind the doors of the front vehicle and stood ready to help in whatever way they could.
Alejandra and Briana walked toward each other.
Rafe prayed the cartel men didn’t see the grenade or they might shoot her before she got close enough to make the grenade count. If she’d already pulled the pin and they shot her, the grenade could kill both women.
Rafe’s muscles bunched. He’d be ready to run in and grab Briana as soon as she got close enough.
God, he didn’t like this. His breath caught and held in his lungs as the scene played out in front of him in excruciatingly slow motion.
He’d been involved in a lot of high-risk, high body-count battles, but this one had him the most on edge because he had very little control over what might happen. All he could do was be ready to respond and hope the Deltas were in good positions to pick off the cartel members before they could pick off Briana and Alejandra.
Briana had spent the afternoon pacing in her prison. Time dragged so slowly she thought she might go crazy. She even did pushups and sit-ups to keep fit while confined. If she stayed much longer, she considered making marks on the wall to count the days.
She’d finally laid on the cot and closed her eyes, hoping to fall asleep so that time would seem to pass quicker. Sleep wouldn’t come. Not long after she laid down, the key clicked in the lock, and two guards appeared, glaring at her as if daring her to try something.
They took her by her arms and propelled her down the long hallway to the front entrance and out into the yard of the compound.
Briana looked around, wondering if she could break free of the big men and make a run for it. Or was this what the Devil Boss had been after all along…the trade?
Hell. Briana hoped it wasn’t a trade. Alejandra needed to be with her baby, not this lunatic. He would make their lives miserable and possibly end them without a second thought. Because she’d made a run for it, he might even torture her before he killed her.
Torture.