Chasing Fire (The Fire Duet Book 1)

by Billie Lustig

  “Really?”

  “You think your dad is going to believe we just let you walk around without any restraints?” He shoots me a sarcastic look. “You? The girl who fought her way off a yacht against twenty mercenaries?”

  “I didn’t get off the damn thing,” I mumble while I grab the shackles and put them on.

  “No, but you would have if we hadn’t been surrounded by ocean.” He stops the car in front of the Jeeps and kills the engine before he gets out and walks around the back of the SUV to open my door.

  I feel like my heart is suffocating under the pressure of my anxiety, and I take a deep breath before my eyes land on his, waiting for me to get out.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll keep you safe,” he whispers, reaching out his hand to help me out of the car.

  My heart instantly weeps when I hear those words, reminding me of Kane.

  ‘I’ll keep you safe.’ That’s what Kane had said.

  The motherfucking lying asshole.

  I ignore Jeremy’s hand and jump out of the car with my hands shackled in front of me.

  “Showtime,” I murmur as I shuffle past the door.

  I softly hear him chuckle before he changes his stance and gets in his role.

  “Move it, Red.” He points his gun towards my head then gives me a shove forward. My feet stumble forward, and I glance back to give him a scowl.

  “Hola, abejita.”

  “Carlos, aren’t you too old for this shit?” I ask with a sarcastic grin when I look at my father’s best friend. He looks older surrounded by all these young men, but his age is accompanied by an authority the others lack. Standing next to him is Mateo, his raven-black hair styled in a faded cut as he gives me a small smile, presumably to comfort me. His hazel eyes meet mine, and he gives me a wink, just like he did when we were younger. My heart warms for a second, remembering how he always protected me from Junior and Fernando’s wicked ways.

  Maybe he still will now.

  “Did they treat you right?”

  “She is here in one piece, right?” Jeremy answers for me.

  “Can we have this conversation without a gun pointed at my brain?”

  Carlos scowls at the men who are gathered behind me while Jeremy presses the gun against my scalp.

  “Safety’s on,” he whispers under his breath.

  I sigh, pretending to be annoyed while my eyes never leave the man I once called Uncle.

  “Leave the guns,” Carlos growls.

  Jeremy huffs with a chuckle.

  “Yeah, not going to happen, old man.”

  I roll my eyes at Carlos and slightly shake my head before I pull a face. I open my jacket and show him the bomb belt that is wrapped around my waist.

  Yeah, Kane wasn’t kidding when he said he had something to keep them in line.

  I have no idea if it’s real or fake since bombs aren’t really my area of expertise and Kane refused to tell me, but I sure as hell am going to assume and act like it’s real. You know, to make sure I don’t accidently blow myself up.

  “Bring me to my father, Carlos. I’m done with this shit.”

  He nods in agreement, and knowing they will never agree to go in unarmed, he snaps his fingers behind him. Four of the men turn around to lead the way, then he jerks his head, telling us to follow them.

  Jeremy places his hand on the small of my back while he pushes me forward.

  I shrug his hand off, picking up my pace.

  “I know how to walk,” I bark at him while I walk behind the men.

  My heart is pumping painfully in my chest, and I feel more nervous about walking into these caves than I ever did when dealing with Ronnie Distucci. The thought of facing my psychopath brother freaks me the fuck out. Ronnie is a fucking walk in the park compared to Junior, who I suspect will have a trick or two planned.

  At least I know what Ronnie is after.

  At this moment, I have no clue if Junior will honor his word or pull a stunt that fucks everything up. My father is the boss of the Gitanos on this side of the mountain, but it’s not a secret that with my father’s consent, Junior has slowly begun taking over.

  The rest of my father’s men follow behind us as we continue up the hill. We walk in silence until the men in front push a bush to the side, revealing the hidden entrance of the first cave. To any outsider, it looks easy enough to remember and find again, but it’s not finding the caves that is the biggest challenge.

  It’s getting out of them once you’re in.

  We all walk into the white stone cave where the air instantly feels cooler and has an earthy scent. I suddenly feel like I’m suffocating, and for the first time in my life, I feel like I don’t belong in these caves. I was raised in these caves, and I know the tunnels like the back of my hand, but this is the first time I actually feel out of place.

  Like I’m walking in to the lion’s den. Trespassing.

  I hunch down with my hands on my knees, trying to get a full breath.

  “Todo bien, cariño?” Carlos asks as he places a comforting hand on my back.

  I shake my head and hold up my hand, silently telling him to give me a minute while I suck in a few deep breaths to calm myself down. When I feel my body settling down, I get back up and look straight at Jeremy who is giving me a questioning look.

  Ignoring him, I turn my head the other way and start walking, reading to get this over with.

  I feel the small stones crack under my Timberland boots, and it only takes my eyes a few seconds to adjust to the lack of light. I’m used to these surroundings, but nonetheless, I’m relieved to feel the steel barrel of the gun tucked into the back of my jeans.

  In case Junior pops out of these tunnels unexpectedly and scares the shit out of me.

  We walk about twenty yards until Mateo intentionally knocks over a stone on the ground and a side door opens. The door is undetectable by the visible eye, totally blending in with the white stone walls, but I can detect it without effort. We follow them through the door into another long hallway carved out of the white stone with eight doors. Eight gray doors that lead to different tunnels inside this cave. Some lead out of the hills, some lead to other areas in my father’s cave kingdom, and some lead to dead-end cliffs to throw people off when they try to escape. I know where every single one of them leads to, but if you don’t, you can be lost within seconds.

  “How big is this place?” I hear Jeremy murmur behind me.

  I glance at him, then answer under my breath, “Think mansion hidden in a cave.”

  His brows raise up.

  “Seriously?” Despite his low voice, the surprise in his words is easy to hear.

  I nod and look into his panicked eyes as though he just realized he is totally surrendering to the mercy of the Reyes family.

  “I’ll get you out of here,” I mouth, meaning every word. Whatever happens, I’ll make sure Jeremy gets out.

  Hoping he will spare my life when all of this is over.

  Mateo opens the last door on the left, and we follow him into the large living room where I spent half of my childhood.

  My father’s quarters.

  When I was younger, I would lay on the polished stone floor for hours, reading a book and enjoying the way the cold stones calmed my muscles.

  The concave ceiling is high and as irregular as the tunnels. When all the lightbulbs on the walls aren’t illuminated, this room is pitch black.

  I glance around the spacious room, looking for any traces of recognition while I take it all in. I haven’t been here in years, and clearly nothing changed. The area is still divided by a colossal, U-shape red couch with a stripper pole in the middle. On the left side is a five-yard long bar carved out of the white stone wall. This is where they held their infamous cave parties.

  I hated those nights.

  Junior has always been a shitty brother, but when he starts to drink, he becomes even worse.

  I look to the right where my dad’s office sits a bit higher than the rest of the area. I
walk up the three-step stone stairs leading to his massive colonial desk standing in the middle of the stone deck. My father is sitting in his leather desk chair, leaning back with a whiskey in his hand. The sideburns of his brown hair are starting to gray, and the wrinkles on his face prove he’s fatigued. He looks older than the last time I saw him, but his hazel brown eyes are still as vibrant as ever.

  “Hi, Daddy,” I say with a coy smile as I saunter towards him, not waiting for permission.

  “Hola, cariño, que tal?” he replies with his smoky voice.

  “I’ve been better.” I lift my handcuffs up in the air.

  “Ah mi hermana contained. If only they would have gagged you. That would make you the perfect sister.” Junior is standing behind his chair with his arms folded in front of his body, his black tank top hugging his lean torso. My aggravation immediately peaks just by hearing his gruff voice. His thick Spanish accent seeps through, making him sound even more stupid. The black hair on his head matches my father’s color, but that’s where their similarities end. Junior is much better looking. He’s very handsome.

  But compared to the Carrillos, he is a scrawny, ugly son of a bitch.

  I shoot my brother a glare while I stare into his green eyes. People think they are mesmerisingly gorgeous, but I know better. They are the eyes of a snake, filled with venom. Ready to make you suffer as much as possible while he slowly suffocates you with his sadistic ways.

  “Fuck, someone still hadn’t blown your brains out, Brother?”

  The corner of his mouth rises, and his eyes dilate. I can feel a shiver run through my spine just looking at him.

  How the fuck is he related to me?

  “No one dares to kill a Reyes, Hermanita. You should know that.”

  “Except a Reyes.” I shoot him a mocking grin, and his expression flattens at my threat.

  “Be nice, both of you.” My gaze moves to my father who is now leaning forward, resting his elbows on his desk.

  “It’s good to see you, abejita. Sorry for the circumstances.” The lingering smell of the cigar in the ashtray next to him enters my nostrils and makes me crinkle my nose.

  “Where is your boyfriend?” Junior asks.

  “Shut up.”

  “What? Is it not true you were sleeping with the enemy?” I glance at my dad, who looks at me with disappointment.

  Like he has a fucking right to have an opinion about this.

  “Yes, I slept with him. Before I knew he was going to keep me hostage on a superyacht. Before I got wrapped up in this shit show. Thank you very much, by the way.”

  I have no desire to tell them the truth; admitting my feelings would just give Junior more reason to keep me on a leash. Besides, admitting that would also make me look stupid.

  Falling for a crime lord? Silly girl.

  “Oh, we can make a show, Hermanita. If that is what you want?”

  “I’ll pass, thanks.” I make a face before I move my gaze towards my father. My hands reach for the hem of my jacket, and I pull it up to show him the bomb belt.

  “They are not fucking around, so please do me a favor and give them the real diamonds.”

  “Fuck,” Junior mutters, realizing he needs to abort whatever plan he thought he had.

  “Get that fucking puta thing off of my sister! NOW! The agreement was to give her back to us alive,” he shouts at Jeremy.

  “She is still alive, isn’t she, pretty boy?” I can hear the smile on Jeremy’s face. “And she will stay that way if you hold to your end of the deal.”

  He holds up his phone and presses the green button before we all hear the dial tone.

  After three rings, Kane’s voice comes through the phone.

  “How are you, Frank?”

  Unintentionally, my heart jumps out of my chest with joy just by hearing his voice.

  “Why are you not here, Carrillo?”

  “And give your nutcase of a son an easy shot? Nah.”

  “I can shoot your brains out anytime, puta!” Junior barks, his face turning red from anger.

  “I’m sure you could if you learned where on the body the brain is located, you stupid motherfucker. Anyway, here’s how this will go. I have the detonator to that pretty belt around your daughter. Fuck me over, and I won’t hesitate to push this little red button and blow you all to pieces. Your daughter wants to live, and I’m assuming you don’t have a death wish either, so I’m using your daughter as the expert. Give her the real stones, and I will release her as soon as all of my men are out of the caves in one piece.”

  “What makes you think Callie won’t fuck you over with the diamonds?” My father’s eyes are focused on mine, silently telling me to play along.

  “Because I have Imogen.”

  My head jerks back to Jeremy while I suck in a shocking breath.

  “What the fuck? Are you serious?” I search Jeremy’s stoic face.

  This is not what we’d discussed, and I have no idea if he’s bluffing or not.

  “I trust you, baby girl.” Kane’s voice is husky, and it feels like every word he says has a deeper meaning. Like he’s telling me I should trust him, like he’s trusting me.

  I want to, and I would have without hesitation if I hadn’t overheard their conversation.

  But now I can’t.

  My brain is working overtime trying to figure out what the fuck I should do. If he really has Gen, I’m fucked. My heart tells me he’s bluffing, but even if he isn’t, I only stand a chance if I give him back his diamonds.

  “Give him the diamonds.”

  As my father reaches into one of his drawers, all of the Carrillo men raise their guns, the air as thick as mud until he pulls out a small, black, velvet bag and throws it on the other side of the desk.

  I walk up to the desk with Jeremy close behind me and reach out to the bag while my hands are still shackled. Fortunately, the handcuffs aren’t too close together, so I am able to pour the contents in the palm of my hand and take in the $150 million that apparently I’m worth.

  The Rustenburgs, the Griff, the set of Ocean Blues, two rings, and a necklace.

  The Russian jewelry doesn’t look as impressive compared to the other diamonds, but they are worth an insane amount of money, nonetheless. I run them through my hands, letting my fingertips feel their surfaces before I bring them up to my mouth and try to fog them with my breath. When no vapor appears on the diamonds, I let out a satisfied breath.

  “They’re real,” I report before I put the diamonds back in the bag and give it to Jeremy, who hangs up the phone. He puts the bag in his back pocket then reaches in another one to pull out a set of keys which he uses to take off my handcuffs.

  Rubbing my wrists, I look at my dad before I glance at Junior.

  “Did you know?” I ask.

  I force down my feelings so my face doesn’t show anything, but I know they can see the fire in my eyes.

  “What do you mean?” My father asks.

  “About Mom?”

  “What about her?” His face is inscrutable, telling me more than he wants me to know.

  “You know what? Never mind.” I spin around and walk down the stairs towards the door while Jeremy and the rest of Kane and Liam’s men follow my lead.

  “Callie, where are you going?” Junior yells at my back.

  This is one of those situations where I should listen to the angel on my shoulder and keep walking instead of blurting everything out that is on the tip of my tongue.

  But I never listen.

  “I’m getting the fuck out of these damn caves because I’m done being used as livestock. You’re nothing more than a sadistic psychopath, and you,”—I point my finger at my father—“you never gave a shit about me, anyway.”

  “Callie, Cara, I’m sorry you went through this again, but you know I always get you out.”

  “That doesn’t mean shit if you’re the one who is putting me in these situations in the first place. If you keep stealing from men who are above you. They are going
to keep using me as leverage!”

  “The Carrillos are not better than us.” Junior huffs.

  “Yes. They. Are.” I glare at him, expressing my hatred for him through my eyes before my gaze moves back to my father. “They have more money than they can ever spend. Do you think they give a damn about those diamonds? They don’t. They just want to toy around with you because you decided to fuck with them. And while you were tucked away in these damn caves, I was the one trying to survive. You were lucky they didn’t smoke you out of these caves after that stunt you pulled with Cristina, but now you’ve pushed too far. They are coming for you.” I cross my arms in front of my body and look at my big brother.

  “I bet that was all you, wasn’t it? Convincing Cristina to participate? Where is she anyway?” I spit out my accusations but don’t wait for his answer. “Never mind, don’t answer that. Doesn’t matter. I’m done. Goodbye, Dad.”

  “Where are you going, Callie girl?” my father asks, confused.

  “Home.”

  “You really are a Carrillo bitch now, si?” Junior spits.

  “He sure as fuck did more for me in a few weeks than you ever did. By the way, Fernando says hi.”

  “What the fuck did you do to him?” Junior moves towards me, but Jeremy steps in front of me protectively.

  “Don’t worry, he didn’t suffer. Much.” I shrug before I move into the hallway.

  “GET. HER!” Junior shouts to his men, and I just chuckle at the sound of his anger.

  I stop in my tracks, determined to turn around with a big grin on my face when I spot Jeremy’s face.

  “Get us out of here, now. They want to keep you in these caves,” he says rapidly with worry in his voice.

  “What the fuck?” I ask, confused.

  “Move, Callie!” he barks before he shoves me forward, giving my feet the signal to run.

  We sprint to the door that opens to the quickest route out of the caves before gunshots ring out in my ear. The adrenaline pumping through my body fuels me to keep running while I reach behind my back and pull out the gun. I cock it without losing any speed, then I glance behind me to make sure Jeremy is still following me.

  “What the fuck is going on?” I yell.

  “There is a lot you don’t know, Callie. I’ll tell you all about it if you get us out of here and we’re back on the boat.”