Counter Strike

by Beth Rhodes

  Unless she was dead. She isn’t dead.

  “Shit,” he hissed as his hands fumbled on the ties around his wrists.

  “Jamie?”

  “Missy,” he breathed and worked the ties on his wrists loose. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes,” Missy said, her voice sounding strong and pissed off. Good. “Nina is here too.”

  He didn’t know if he should be grateful or just as angry.

  Jamie moved to get up but got caught where his feet were tied off to the wall. “Damn it.” He ran his fingers around the rope, tugging at the tight bonds, and swore silently. Someone more careful had been tasked the binding of his legs.

  He could see better now that his eyes had adjusted to the dark and found the glint of her gaze on him. “I feel pretty good since I was sick in their backseat. They weren’t happy, but I have to admit, it satisfied. The ride didn’t take too long. Pretty sure we’re back at Martinez’s compound.”

  “Bobby and Kiana are here. Tan and Andrea?”

  Missy hesitated, and his heart fell. Jesus, had they been killed in the street?

  “Andrea got away—” Missy’s voice broke.

  He blew out a breath as one of the ends began to come free. “Good. That’s something. She’ll have contacts,…but how did she get away?”

  “She dropkicked the guy before he had a chance to get hold of her.” Pride rang through Missy’s voice. “It was beautiful, really. I screamed at her to run. She did.”

  “How are you doing, Nina?”

  “Fine,” she said from a corner further away.

  “Are you hurt?”

  Nina scoffed. “Just sore.”

  Jamie grinned, and it made his head hurt. God, he loved these two women, more than he knew. He tugged harder at the ropes at his feet and felt it give, a hint of movement against his ankle. He took a break, his fingers cramping. “I’ve got good news, Nina.”

  “Jamie,” Missy said with a half laugh.

  He hesitated, knowing the new baby was more her news. But Missy must have known what he was thinking. “Go ahead.” Her voice was soft, but not upset or angry. “Tell her.”

  He didn’t want to waste any time. In his heart, he knew anything could happen. He wasn’t stupid enough to think they were out of danger yet. Despite Martinez’s obsession with her, even Missy had a target on her back. Jamie was starting to understand what it meant to seize the day, to not let any moment go. He’d felt that in Colombia. Now here.

  It wasn’t the same as wanting to slow down, like he’d thought, but moving forward to something new as fast as he could. “You’re going to be a great-grandma next year.”

  “I knew it,” Nina said with a sniff.

  Missy did laugh then. “You did not.”

  Her grandma huffed. “Well, you are young and so is he, and in love, too, which is where it all starts, yes?”

  He wished he could see Missy’s face. She might be rolling her eyes. “Are you happy for us?” she asked.

  “Of course. You will bring the baby to see me.”

  “I will make sure you get to meet your grandbaby, yes.”

  Taking a break from the rope, he ran a hand through his hair, messing it up royally, most likely. He hadn’t had a cut or shave in weeks. God, he needed a shower. His eyes had adjusted to the dark, though, so he could see the outline of his bindings. He pulled at the knot, first one way and then the other.

  Nina sat on a chair. Missy was on the floor, like him, leaning against the wall cattycorner from him.

  A door opened somewhere outside their cell. Footsteps came closer. A key rattled in the cell door.

  Jamie grunted as he gave one last tug on the damn rope.

  “You okay?” Missy asked.

  “Fine,” he answered, tightlipped as the rope finally released its hold. “Thank you, Jesus…just getting us out of here.”

  He froze when the steps stopped outside their door. He looked around for something, anything, to defend them. The men had taken everything but the clothes on their backs.

  The lightbulb above their heads switched on.

  “Come in,” Nina spoke up, as if she owned the place.

  “Abuela,” Missy spoke sharply, also surprised.

  “Que? Estos hombres no me harán daño.”

  “Yeah, well…I’m glad you are so confident in your safety. I am not as sure.”

  The door opened, and Antonio stepped in.

  Jamie crouched where he’d been tied. But he was ready, in an instant, to do anything he needed to get Missy out of here—include take out dear uncle Antonio.

  “Tio—” Missy started but Antonio cut her off with a wave of his hand.

  “It has come to this.”

  “You could have stopped this years ago.” Power vibrate through Missy’s words.

  “¡Silencio!”

  Jamie tensed. “Do the right thing and let us go.”

  Antonio started pacing, not seeing that he was walking a thin line between good guy and bad guy…and survival. He hesitated and shrugged; his long suffering sigh had Jamie standing up straight.

  Antonio’s eyes widened when he realized Jamie was free.

  “One way or the other, it’s time for us to go,” Jamie said and took a step forward.

  Antonio pulled his gun with a shaky hand.

  “Tio, no!” Panic coated Missy’s words.

  Jamie walked over to Missy and crouched in front of her, purposely putting his back to the enemy, daring him to make a move. He caught her gaze, filled with tears, and kissed her forehead. He undid the ties at her wrist and ankles.

  Antonio made no move to stop him.

  “I have worked to help my people,” Antonio’s voice had a hollow ring to it—defeat. The soul could only take so much. A glance behind him, showed Antonio standing there as if lost, his arms hanging at his sides.

  Missy rubbed at her wrists. She’d gone from uncertain to assured on this journey. She’d wanted to please her family and had wondered if she owed them. She’d been scared. But she wasn’t now. She was strong. She could handle herself. “The people need a leader, Tio. Be that leader.”

  God, he loved her so much. Jamie turned to Nina—last but not least. “Your turn,” he said with a smile.

  “I’ve played my part, but today, my part has changed. I knew it when I discovered he’d taken you, Mama.”

  Nina looked up in surprise. Antonio opened the door, exited first, checked the area on the other side of the door, and waved them to come out.

  Jamie double checked before letting Missy and Nina out.

  “Follow me,” Antonio said. When Jamie hesitated, he scowled. “I will not lead you into danger now. The man who runs the vehicle shop is a friend of the Patriot Union. He will help us.”

  “Us?” Jamie asked.

  “Missy must go and make her testimony against Martinez.”

  “Missy already gave the photos to her friend.”

  Antonio glanced back with a sharp, surprised look on his face. “Who?”

  “Andrea,” she said, taking Jamie’s hand.

  “Damn it. We have to hurry.”

  “What do you know?” Jamie asked and grabbed his arm.

  Antonio jerked from his grip and opened the next cell door. A foot attached to a very angry leg came through the doorway and kicked into Antonio’s chest, shoving him back into the wall. With a grunt, he went down, clasping at his chest.

  “Tan,” Jamie blocked his captive teammate and scowled at Antonio. “He’s with us.”

  Blood dripped down the side of Tan’s face, his wrists scored by rope burns. He’d taken a beating from one of Antonio’s men. “Bobby and Kiana?”

  “Over here!” Bobby shouted and pounded on a door behind them.

  Antonio got to his knees, stood, and rubbed at the spot on his chest. But he didn’t apologize, merely opened the other door. “I had to show I was in charge. People watch me for Martinez. It was you or him,” he said to Jamie.

  Jamie scowled. “Great.”
<
br />   “Greater good,” Antonio answered succinctly.

  “Yeah? Where has that gotten you in the last twelve years?”

  “Not far enough,” Antonio admitted. “Let’s go before we’re noticed.”

  Finally, something Jamie could agree with.

  Nina limped along, and Missy held back to support her. “She okay?” Jamie asked.

  “She is an old woman who has been sitting in the same seat for two days,” Nina answered for herself. “She is fine.”

  “I can carry you,” he said. “How far is it?”

  Antonio glanced back. “Not far. Just around the corner here.”

  They went out a door into a courtyard…

  Filled with gun-toting men.

  “Shit,” Bobby said.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Antonio knew all of these men. They were his friends.

  But the way his heart pounded against his sternum was a sign of just how far he’d come from favor, from being part of the resolution instead of the problem. These men could kill them all right now, and he would be helpless to stop it.

  He saw Alejandro in there, whose son worked in the cutting rooms. The same cutting rooms where three children had died just last week.

  And Izan, whose daughter worked in the cotton mill, instead of going to school.

  Dario’s wife cleaned up the main house…often under the scrutiny and wandering eyes—and hands—of Martinez, who was harsh with his people and paid them little for their loyalty.

  “Will you fight me today? Fight with me instead, please.” Antonio lifted his hands. “Join me against Martinez. We don’t have to stand for his tyranny anymore.”

  The men looked to each other, still uncertain.

  “Manuel, just last week, your brother lost a month’s pay. For what?”

  Manuel twisted the hat in his hand. “He was sick after working the harvester. The dust from the plants gets in his lungs.”

  “We all work with no insurance and no escape. Prisoners. Fight for him, Manuel…and his wife and kids. For your kids.”

  “This face,” Antonio patted his own, scarred cheek, “has failed you until today. Now, I will stand with you…against him.”

  The murmuring grew as the men seemed to listen and to consider their options.

  “We need to go, Tio,” Missy spoke.

  Antonio shook himself. “Yes. We will go now. It is done here.”

  They would back him, or they would betray him. He took her hand. “Let Jamie take you home.”

  “No, I will go with you to the rally and stand up to him.”

  “Jamie, tell her.”

  “Ah, well,” Jamie cleared his throat. “I would love to help you convince her, but I made a promise. We would do this together—put the past to rest. Diego died, and she barely escaped. Today, justice. I will protect her.”

  Antonio scowled. “Fool.” But he was done arguing. “Let’s go.”

  He’d brought her back—perhaps just as foolishly—hoping to change the tides.

  The tides had changed, just not in the way he’d expected.

  What he was about to do would transform his life, if it didn’t kill him first.

  ***

  Jamie lead their band of patriots into the garage.

  “Two cars, Juan,” Antonio said as they entered the bay.

  So many nooks and crannies and places to hide. He noted the exits, three of them.

  Juan approached, hands twitching nervously in front of him. The man opened his mouth to speak, but a gunshot rang out. A bullet slammed into the side of Juan’s head, and he went down.

  Missy screamed.

  A door slammed.

  And Martinez walked in and stood in front of Antonio as his gaze found Missy.

  Jamie didn’t need psychic ability to recognize cold hatred in the man’s eyes.

  He was supposed to be at the rally…

  “You have done it,” Martinez said, sending a sidelong glance at Antonio. “Finally.”

  Antonio put himself between Martinez and Missy. “No—”

  A shot rang out. A bullet struck Antonio—left shoulder, and he fell to the ground. Nina rushed to his side.

  “How did you know?” Jamie said to Martinez, who turned with a look of disdain.

  “I know everything that happens in this town.” He sniffed and snapped his fingers. A woman walked from the side entrance, strutting really.

  “Andrea.”

  Martinez grinned and pulled the woman in her killer’s attire—heels, skin-tight dress, earrings dripping from her lobes—to his side. She leaned in to kiss Martinez’s cheek and handed off an old black case of rolled film.

  “Why?” The pain in Missy’s voice broke Jamie’s heart.

  “I guess what they say is true, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.”

  “But we worked so hard—”

  “We did nothing! You left—”

  Tan shifted to the left—again, positioning himself closer to Martinez. Bobby and Kiana had stayed back, guarding their six.

  “—without a word. With no thought for anyone else. And Martinez saved me, rescued me that night that you slipped away.” The sharp bitter words held Martinez’s attention. Thank you, Andrea.

  Shock covered Missy’s face, her brow furrowed, even as anger flashed in her eyes. “That’s not what happened—”

  “Liar!”

  Tan moved again, closer still, and in the corner of Jamie’s vision, another figure appeared behind Martinez. And another. And another.

  Antonio’s men had made their decision, and now they circled the garage, guns and gazes trained on Martinez.

  Andrea strode towards Missy.

  Jamie side-stepped and blocked her path.

  Andrea sneered at him. “You.”

  “Enough.” Martinez spoke softly—too softly.

  Antonio groaned.

  “I wanted you once,” he said quietly.

  “You wanted my mother,” she spit out.

  Jamie tensed, wishing she wouldn’t provoke but she’d waited a long time to have her say.

  “Perhaps, but you would have made an inspiring second. Too bad, though. Now, you do not even have the photos to back your elaborate story.”

  Worry came to Missy’s eyes. Trusting Andrea had cost her, and them.

  “Yes, unfortunate, isn’t it?” he said with a sly grin. “I could have made you into something. One of the top reporters in the country.”

  “Now hold on a minute,” Andrea said. Martinez chuckled, lifted his arm, and shot.

  Jamie grabbed Missy and took her to the floor.

  Another shot rang out, and Jamie waited for the pain to sear his back. When it didn’t come, he scrambled up and pushed Missy into the space between two toolboxes.

  He turned.

  Nina stood over Martinez with Antonio’s gun, her hands shaky on the grip.

  Martinez was dead.

  “You bitch!” Andrea lunged at Nina, who was just coming out of her hiding spot.

  Kiana stepped in and side-armed her, stopping her in her tracks. The woman screamed and fought back, but Kiana turned her over as if she weighed nothing and secured her hands behind her back. She looked up at Jamie when she finished—and grinned.

  Jamie just shook his head with a smile.

  Tan was already over Antonio, stemming the flow of blood. “He’s going to be okay. Needs a doctor.”

  Jamie walked over and stared down at Missy’s uncle, the cold of indifference washed through him and made him feel guilty. Her uncle wasn’t dead; the man had that going for him. He was Missy’s family. But he’d caused a lot of trouble.

  Antonio groaned and pushed himself up to sit.

  “Take it easy,” Tan said, stopping the man from moving. “We’ll get you out of here and to a hospital.”

  Jamie glanced up. “Bobby?”

  Bobby shook his head. “Police aren’t coming this time, boss.”

  Jamie expected as much. “Call an ambulance then. We’ll do
things by the book. Let’s find a set of keys and get the fuck out of here.”

  Bobby began a search of the workspace, going through drawers.

  “Malcolm and Marie checked in at the Rívoli. We can meet there.” Bobby picked up a set of keys and looked around. “Over here.”

  Jamie turned to Missy as Bobby started to load up and got on the horn with the locals.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  Missy nodded, but her chin trembled, and her eyes filled with tears.

  He went to her and circled her in arms tired and heavy from the exhaustion of the last several days.

  Bobby came over and took the gun from Nina. He disarmed it and patted her awkwardly on the shoulder. “Ambulance is on the way…what do you want to do with the girl?” he said, addressing Jamie.

  “Leave her for the police.”

  “Don’t you dare!” the woman yelled at him.

  “You’ll be home by dinner,” he said dispassionately.

  Nina crouched over Antonio. They spoke quietly. And then Tio stood.

  Jamie kissed the top of Missy’s head, gave her hand a squeeze. “You’re more than welcome to come with us, Nina,” he included Antonio with a nod but wasn’t surprised when Missy’s uncle shook his head.

  “No, it is time.”

  The team watched as mother and son got into one of the big, black SUVs and left the building.

  Jamie looked from one team mate to the next and then he shrugged. “Can we go home now?”

  With Bobby driving, they found their way to the front gate—what was left of the front gate—and drove off the compound uncontested. A virtual ghost town.

  Veracruz had become a kitten, compared to the hungry lioness they’d encountered on their arrival. The real world, surreal was a better word at this moment, was quiet and peaceful.

  In an instant, Martinez was gone, after all these years.

  “You okay?”

  “Where do you think they went?” Missy asked.

  Bobby navigated their way to the hotel on the coast. Malcolm would have flights for everyone back to Raleigh.

  “I don’t know.”

  “What’s your guess, though,” she insisted.

  “He won’t leave the people hanging,” he admitted. As much as he didn’t like Antonio or his tactics, the man had maintained vigilance over the people. “We’ll go and wait for them to call.”