by LC Lehesaho
"There they are." Puma points through the windshield.
At least eight cars are parked side by side towards the tall building, which looks more ready than the others. Wolf's Silverado is next to Pronto Muerte's boys' sports cars and looks like a fucking T-Rex surrounded by velociraptors.
There's a safe distance between the cars and the building, so they won't stand there like targets, but right now, I want to drive this fucking car inside the building—channel my inner green guy because they've really made me angry, and I'm ready to kill them all.
But Leo stops the Dodge next to Wolf's monster, and everyone sneaks out of their cars, keeping heads down while gathering together. I jump out, counting the headcount. Havoc has twelve guys with him, all heavily weaponized with plenty of ammo. Right now, I could kiss the guy for showing up. Pronto Muerte's guys are brutal and ready to kill without blinking an eye.
"What's the plan, boss?" Havoc asks from Leo, who glares towards the building over the hood.
"Have you seen any movement?"
Wolf moves beside Leo, wearing a similar black tight long sleeve as his father and black cargo pants with combat boots. He has a rifle strapped across his back, knives on both biceps, and handguns on his waist. He's already prepared with the light bulletproof vest, and the black cap on his head makes him look like a member of the SWAT team. We all look like a bunch of amateurs next to him.
"They've pulled back deeper into the building," he says shortly, not letting any emotions out of him.
"Hey, asshole." Bear appears next to me as I stare at the east corner of the building, trying to see if there are any signs she's already there. Wolf, Leo, and Havoc go through the plan, but I turn to Bear.
"What the fuck now?" I grunt back, feeling the need to punch him in the face. I'm wired to the edge of snapping and beating him for a starter would go for a nice warm-up.
"Put this on." He slams a bulletproof vest to my chest. "Everyone else is already dressed up."
"Yeah, you look dressed up." I give him a dulled look, while I strap the vest on.
A smug smirk spreads to Bear's face. "Busy morning."
He is wearing only the vest, no shirt under it, and black jeans with similar combat boots as Wolf. His arms are covered with blood, and the baseball bat he holds isn't any cleaner. It's probably the reason he has no shirt. Bet it's been soaking. I'm pleased this time he is prepared with a gun too because usually, the bat is the only thing he carries.
"Okay, listen up," Leo says, the authority of his voice making everyone alert. "Cobra is heading to the east corner of the top level. Beasts and I will go get her, and the rest of you will cover us by killing everyone you see. Make sure we can get down too, are we clear?"
Everyone nods, loading their guns.
"Good." He turns his gaze to Bear and me. "Tiger, Bear, and Puma, you'll go from the back, and the rest of you will come with me from the front door."
Puma throws me a thumbs up from the other side of the group and starts to make his way to us. Looks like the painkillers he took are starting to ease his back, which is good because we need his A-game.
"Yo, wankers!" Falcon whistles and sends us a flying kiss. "See you on the flipside, brothers of mine."
I see Havoc leaning closer to her and whispering something in her ear, which makes her wink at him. If the place would be different, I'd find out what the fuck was that about, but now, I don't give a shit.
All I care about is that my baby is in that building and we're gonna get her out, even if we have to blow the whole place up.
With Puma on my one side and Bear on the other, we start to make our way around the buildings, avoiding open spaces. There are a lot of trucks, which gives us a perfect cover.
Just when we get to the backdoor, all Hell breaks loose on the inside. Gunfire echoes through the double doors, and Puma takes it as a sign, shooting the lock. He gives us a meaningful look, getting us ready before pulling it open.
Bear pokes my side with his elbow. "Happy hunting, bros." At that, the bastard runs inside like a bat out of hell.
"Fucking Rambo!" I yell at his backside and take a run after him to the long hallway. I hear Puma's steps right behind me as he curses.
"You two wackos, this is not how we were supposed to do this! You're gonna get us all killed!"
One commando with a rifle jumps out of the doorway just in front of Bear. Before he even has time to raise his weapon, the baseball bat swings in a wide circle through the air, straight to the guy's head. Bear makes a complete three-sixty spin, hitting his bat now lower because the guy is already going down. The bat collides with his spine and finishes what the first hit started.
Further in the hallway, another one appears on sight, gun already raised.
A shot booms beside my head like a gong going off, but it's not from the enemy's gun. Puma's precise headshot drops the guy, and the big body hits the floor.
"Nice one, bro," Bear hollers before disappearing into the room where the first guy came.
"This is gonna be a clusterfuck with that asshole," Puma murmurs now from my side, an angry scowl on his face. "He is like a coke headed squirrel in traffic, thinking he is fucking invincible."
"He has nine lives, don't worry," I retort, and peek into the room where Bear went. It's some kind of storage, but there's no brother on sight. "You good there?"
He comes behind the corner, wearing a grin on his face. "Worried about me?"
"I'll shoot you myself if you don't follow the protocol, you shit." Puma throws him a middle finger, pointing a gun to the hallway with another hand. "No more running around like a headless chicken."
"Suck a cock, pothead, I do what I want."
"Both of you shut the fuck up," I growl at them. "Cobra is somewhere in this building, and if you two fucks can't get along to save your sister, then be my fucking guests, and stay here comparing your dicks. I'm gonna go find her now."
It makes them gather themselves up, and both nod, pushing their egos aside. Fucking finally.
We make our way to the staircase at the end of the hallway, no more Crusador's commando's jumping around the corners. I can hear the gunshots echoing from the different levels, but we keep ourselves out of there because it's not our mission.
My heart is thundering out of my chest, racing harder than I thought was even possible. Three steps at the time, we go up, up, up, and it feels like we've ended into a limbo where these motherfucking stairs just won't end.
Bear and Puma are jogging behind me, keeping quiet for once in their life.
The hotel looked ready from downstairs, but more and more we go up, it's starting to look like work in the process. Walls are not painted, floors uncovered, and there are plastic covers on the doorframes. Buckets and tools all over.
When we get to the fourth or fifth floor—I didn't count—I see the first body. A man lying on the floor, face down, and there's a hammer in the back of his head. A few feet further is another one filled with bullet holes.
"Oh, hell no," Bear growls, poking my side. "Cobra must be injured."
My stomach drops to my knees when I see what he saw. Bloody footprints go up the stairs and bloody handprints follow on the wall like she's been taking support from it.
"Jesus Christ, let's keep going," Puma says, blowing out a breath. "We need to hurry."
I pick up the speed, my head dizzy from the fear on her behalf. There are more bodies in each floor we pass, and clearly, she's run out of ammo again because most of them are killed with different tools from the hallway.
"There's the top floor," Bear huffs, and I see it too. The staircase comes to an end, and I turn to the left towards the east corner without wasting a second by looking around.
Should've known better.
I get tackled instantly, flying backward, knocking Bear on the way. My gun goes airborne as I slam to the floor with a fucking rhino on top of me. Black and white dots twinkle in my eyes, and the pain in the back of my head makes my vision blur. Someone's hand is c
rushing my windpipe, and like it's not enough, a fist pumps to my face like a piston.
Using the two working brain cells to find a way to get me out of the situation, I buck the fucker off me. Fail epically. The guy's knee knocks me straight to the face—blinding me even more—while he flies over my head. Blind as a fucking bat in daylight, I scramble after him.
Grunts and thuds tell me that others have their hands full too, and gunfire echoes off the walls. I get a hold of the guy's feet and jump on top of him, blinking my eyes back to the same universe. Pulling my knife from the holster, I jerk his head back and slit his throat. Not wasting a second longer on this asshole, I sway back on my feet, picking my gun from the floor.
Bear is in the middle of the stairs, wrestling with one guy, and looks like he is handling his shit. Just when I locate Puma with still a bit blurry eyes, he pulls the trigger and paints the wall with someone's brain. He is further in the hallway, closest to the east corner when thuds on the staircase warns that someone is coming up.
"We got more company!" Bear shouts, tossing the limp body over the railing, aiming at the ones who are coming up.
My heart screeches to a halt when I hear a loud scream from a distance. It comes precisely from where she's supposed to be—the east corner.
"Go!" I yell at Puma, who's closest. "It's Cobra!"
He spins around, running faster than I've ever seen him moving. I want to run too, get to her as fast as possible. But we'd be fucked up if I leave Bear alone to handle this. "Fuck!" I reload my gun, positioning myself ready to shoot the motherfuckers heads off. Bear is prepared too; this time, he has a gun in his hand, pointed in the same direction as mine. My stomach lurches as I see Puma disappear to one of the rooms. I feel like I'm sitting in an ants nest in the middle of Hell.
Bear glances at me, his bloodstained face furrowed and promising death to everyone who's coming his way. "Go, I can fucking handle this."
"You sure?" I ask, already jumping up.
"Do I look like I'm kidding, asshole? Go!"
Enough for me. I break world records with speed as I make my way to the last door. Bursting in, I take in the scene.
Puma is straddling a monstrous guy on the floor, turning his face into a bloody mess with his fist, looking almost like Leo when he loses his shit.
"Tiger..." Cobra's pained voice calls me, and I locate her. She's sitting on the floor, leaning her back against the wall, but looks like she's going to pass out any second. What makes my heart stop beating is the fact that she's covered in blood—I was expecting it, but seeing it is a fucking different thing.
Cursing on the way, I jump over the dead bodies on the floor, panic lingering in my veins and making me tremble. "Baby?"
I drop on my knees next to her, and my eyes shoot wide when I see the screwdriver in her thigh. Her hand comes to my cheek, turning my gaze to hers.
"I missed you so much," she whispers, taking jagged breaths. Her hazel eyes fight to stay open, but still, she smiles at me. A mixed wave of relief and worry floats over me, but at the same time, sweat breaks out of my pores as I try to figure out what the fuck I should do so I don't hurt her more.
"I missed you too, baby." I brush the strands off her face to the back of her ear. "I'll take the screwdriver out, okay?"
Cobra sways in her place, eyes starting to look foggy, and the smile still lingers on her face. "You found me. I knew you'd find me."
"Yeah, baby, but listen." I pull the belt off my jeans, strapping it on her thigh. "I need to take this out so I can move you, and it's gonna hurt."
My stomach turns to knots as I take hold of the screwdriver, but Cobra just keeps smiling. Clearly, she's going to lose her consciousness because she's on edge already.
"I'm sorry, baby girl." At that, I pull it out with a quick move. Her scream echoes in the room and gets cut off in a snap of fingers when she collapses.
She'll be okay.
She'll be okay.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
"You're sick son-of-a-bitch! Burn in Hell!" I scream from the top of my lungs, anger making me shake on the wall. Shackles rattle as I jerk my hands, but still, Joe presses the blade back to my stomach—carving the letters i my skin.
"Shush, little slut." Crusador waves a dismissive hand and blows out a thick cloud of smoke. "The daddy's came out pretty, so stay still that the rest of them come out in the same font."
Stinging pain spreads from my stomach to my entire body, tingling all the way to my fingertips. The warm blood drains down to my thighs, even the underwear won't stop the flow, it bleeds so much. Deep cuts tend to do that. I clench my teeth together to stay quiet, not letting them have the satisfaction of my pain. But I'm only so strong.
When Joe takes the cloth from the bucket next to him and sweeps the saltwater over the open wounds, I scream. It burns so fucking much. Like poison absorbing into my intestines and burning my skin off.
"Fuck you!" I spit in Joe’s face, screaming and yanking the shackles. "I will kill all of you!"
"Joe, teach the little firecracker some manners."
At that, Joe's meaty backhand slams into my cheek, spinning my head to the side. I taste the blood in my mouth and swallow it down, turning my head back to him, flexing my jaw.
"Is that the best you got, huh?" I pull on a grin decorated by blood. "My sister hit harder than you when she was ten."
"Joe."
And again. My skull feels like it's going to explode from the pressure, but I bite it down. He can go fuck himself because I'm not going to break. Fuck them.
I crack my neck from side to side and clue my eyes this time to Crusador. There's a smile on his face as he looks at me from his fucking armchair.
"Go on with the letters, Joe," he declares and lifts his ankle to his knee, those fucking loafers shining like diamonds. No wonder he keeps himself so polished because he is rotten to the core.
Joe continues to carve my skin, but I keep my eyes on Crusador.
"I will enjoy it when I make you a new tie from your tongue," I tell him through clenched teeth.
He laughs. "You little whore, you really think you can make it out of here alive?"
Fuck him.
"I will send pieces of you back home in beautiful little packages and save the best part for Christmas." He taps the ashes from his cigar to the floor. "Your daddy will get your head at the Christmas table."
I spit in Joe’s face again, and he glares at me, not saying a fucking word. "You know what? Before I give you a new tie, Silas, I will cut off this idiot's hand and fuck you in the ass with it. You can finally feel something else in there besides his sloppy dick."
Crusador frowns, tendons on his neck bulking. "Joe."
This time it's not backhand. It's a fist size of a football that hits my face, and everything blackens.
Sweat drenching my skin, I startle awake. Dread floating over me like a tsunami, I blink to take in my surroundings. Before I can realize what's happening, a hand lands on my cheek.
"Shhh, baby, it's me." The voice is like Xanax to my system, and I let out a relieved sigh.
A lamp comes on, lightening the room dimly. A pair of dark eyes look down at me, concern oozing out of them. His big body is leaning over the bed, hovering almost on top of me.
"Are you real?" I ask, voice hoarse from the parched throat.
"Yeah, I am," Tiger caresses my cheek with his thumb, batting his long lashes, eyes glistening. "Fuck." He wipes his other hand over his eyes. "I'm so fucking relieved you're home. Are you in pain?'
I focus on feeling my body for a while. Everything is just… smooth. "No, not at all." I squint my eyes thinking back what happened before this. Okay, yeah. "Good meds, huh?"
Tiger's lips curve up into a small smile. "Yeah, just in case. Can I hug you then? I don't want to hurt you."
"A hug?" I almost giggle, and it makes me realize the meds are really kicking and hard. I feel like I'm high.
"Yeah, a hug—"
I cut him cold, grabbing hold of
the collar of his hoodie, pulling him to me, and crashing our lips together. Tiger won't resist. Instead, he opens up to me, letting me sweep my tongue inside him. I need to know it's him—feel his lips on mine—nobody else's.
Even though I started rough, Tiger turns the kiss into a gentle caress. His lips are soft, like a flawless juicy peach, as he devours me in the most delicate way. I'm home.
He pulls back, placing a tiny kiss on top of my nose before glancing around. I can't take my eyes off him. All I want is to throw my arms around him and never let go.
"We're not alone," Tiger whispers as he turns back to look at me. Now his dimples are flashing, making my stomach do backflips.
Then I realize what he said. Eyes wide, I look past him.
"Oh," I gasp, looking at my sleeping family.
Bear is sleeping on the couch, Falcon tangled to his side. Wolf is on the armchair, and Puma is hugging pillows on the other hospital bed in our room. Clearly, Tiger had been sleeping on the chair next to my bed.
My heart melts from seeing them all.
"Leo was here too, but he had to go to meet Ramiro. Something about the aftermath of the… you know," Tiger says, finding my hand to his.
"Did anyone get hurt?" The brick of worry drops into my stomach.
"Just bruises and a couple of stitches for some of us." The Adam's apple bobs on his throat as he swallows. "And well, two guys from Pronto Muerte died. That's why Leo had to go for a visit. You know how he is."
I nod, wishing I could be there with him. Dad always pays a visit to the families of the lost ones if they've died in our missions. It's not like he walks to the door and says condolences and that's it. Usually, he stays there for hours and does his best to help them out, especially if there are children in the family. Sometimes it's talking with them, listening to them, and sometimes it's something as mundane as cooking. Whatever people need when they grieve, he gives it to them.
That's one reason why people respect the shit out of him. He is not his father, even though he can be cruel and unpredictable, but he is not a cold-hearted monster.