by Jana Leigh
out like this. For so long he thought he would be a lawyer fighting for the underdogs. He wanted to make his family proud so they would finally take notice of him.
Now he was going to destroy them. When they went after his woman they sealed their fate, never had he felt this much rage toward someone. It really was sad that it was his family.
Andres ignored the burning in his thighs thinking only of finding Ginny. He saw the contusions on Calli and the emotional baggage Bailey would carry with her forever knowing she had taken a life. Regardless if he was the scum of the earth, the thought of actually taking a life was something she was going to have to deal with.
Andres also thought that he was ultimately responsible for this whole mess. His family was the one who was causing these problems. He only hoped that Ginny would not blame him any more than he was blaming himself for this mess. If she were hurt, it would be his fault. He would make sure she never was hurt again.
They had traveled miles he knew. It had been more than six hours since the explosion at the house and more than two since they had taken off to find Ginny.
He could not imagine the thug could have made it this far away.
They took another break and regrouped. Rex and Steve were a little worried they had picked the wrong track to take. They figured they should have come across the pair before now. It was too late to turn back; they looked at the map and decided they would be able to intersect the other path if they continued on.
56
Andres grew frustrated over the „what if"s" and „maybe"s" they were talking about and was ready to explode when his friend looked at him in the eye and said,
“Andres, I will find her. I promise.”
Andres nodded and tried to calm down a little. They began the hunt soon after and Andres had more to concentrate on. He was looking at the ground when he saw it. It was her earring, he knew because he was the one who had picked them out this morning from the jewelers. They matched the ring he picked out for her.
She had been excited when he gave them to her and kissed her goodbye until the ceremony. My God, had that only been 12 hours ago?
Andres sucked in air, trying to settle his nerves and imagination. If anything happened to her, he would never forgive himself. He was not concentrating and when Dallas stopped in front of him, he ran right into his back.
“Shhh.” Rex whispered back to them when Dallas protested.
Andres came around and saw a small cabin in front of them about 500 yards away. There was a small window and they could see the flicker of light. He took another deep breath, hoping they finally found where Ginny was.
Steve motioned for all of them to find somewhere they could hide while Rex crept up to see who was in the cabin. He found a tree and held his breath while he saw his friend creep up to the window.
Crap, he was in the woods with a man he thought was dead, trying to find the woman he loved. What kind of strange alter universe was he in?
Rex peeked into the window, hoping he was going to see the woman his friend was looking for. Lying on the floor on her side was a woman, she was faced away 57
from him so he couldn"t tell what kind of shape she was in, but he did see her breathing. She was in the back room of a two-room cabin from what he could tell. Rex slid back and then crept around to the side of the house. The man he had been looking for was there, Bruno. The man was a wanted hit man with the Digrossi family, and one of the most wanted men in the United States.
Rex crept back to the others who were waiting to hear from him.
“She is there.” He whispered to his friend who closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I don"t know in what shape she is in.”
“We need to make sure Bruno is alone. If he has back up, we could be in trouble.
We also need to see if Ginny can get up and walk. She may be small enough to fit through the window.” Rex finished. He instructed Dallas and Noah to try to get Ginny to see them. Then he turned to Steve and had him go to the other side of the cabin to see if he could see if they were alone with Bruno.
Finally, he turned to Andres and put his hand on his friend"s shoulder. “Listen, I know you want to get her out, we just have to make sure we can without doing anyone any damage. You know Bruno, he is a big nasty son of a bitch, and he will go down fighting.”
Andres took a deep breath and nodded to his friend. “Okay, what do I do?”
“Go back about 500 yards and take the talkie. Let the others know where we are, I think we are going to need some help.” He said and turned back to see Steve come around the side of the building and hold up three fingers.
58
“Let them know we have three extra thugs along with Bruno. Have them bring some firepower. If I know Bruno, he is ready to hold up here as long as possible.” Rex grimaced and crept to where Steve was.
Andres went and did as he requested and then went back to the same spot he had been in. He saw Dallas and Noah tapping lightly on the window looking for any sign Ginny was responding, but he saw none.
After a few minutes of trying, Noah slid under the floor of the cabin and tried to knock under where her head was, as Dallas watched to see if she responded.
Dallas became very animated at one point then fell back like he had been struck.
In a flurry of movement, all the men came back to where he was but none of them would meet his eyes. It was going to piss him off, he could tell so he braced himself when Dallas finally looked him in the eye.
“She has been beaten and she has been cut with a knife in at least two places. She is groggy but she knows we are here. She turned enough that I could see blood pooling under her. I think we need to get her out as soon as possible, radio for a doctor to be brought as close as we can get him.” Dallas said and pushed the radio back into his hands. “We will get her man, I swear we will.” Andres nodded, unable to speak because of the fear that was in his chest. He ran back and radioed Jolly again. The man was cussing up a storm when he was done with the transmission. Andres did not have the time or the luxury to wait and listen. He ran back to his position and tugged on Rex"s sleeve while the man was once again giving everyone things to do.
“I want Bruno.” He whispered and the man looked at him. After a few moments, he nodded.
59
“You are with me.” He whispered and then they waited for the backup, who were only a few minutes from reaching them.
It seemed to take forever before they had a plan of rescue. Andres just wanted it to be over and for all of them to be safe again. His father had a lot to answer for and he was damn well going to make sure he did.
Rex finally gave him the signal to follow him. They were the diversion. Rex and Andres together should be enough to set Bruno on edge.
They went around to the front of the cabin and Rex nodded and stood up. Andres followed him and they walked right to the front porch where Bruno was sitting with a shotgun across his lap.
“Well, what have we here?” Bruno drawled. “Andres, I didn"t think you had it in you, and Rex, where the hell did you come from? We all thought you were dead.”
“Yeah, I figured you did since you were the one who tried to kill me. Well let me give you little hint. When cutting someone"s brakes, you need to make sure the car is actually theirs. It was my girlfriend, dumbass. That alone is reason to kill you.” Rex snarled at the man.
Bruno laughed gleefully and grinned at the two men. “Have you told him then?” He motioned to me.
“What?” Andres whispered quietly.
Without answering him, Rex nodded. “Of course asshole, but have you told the old man?”
60
“He knew the whole time, why do you think ordered the hit? He did not want another little bastard around. Now, before I kill you, I think we should have a little reunion, don"t you?” He said slyly.
Andres was confused but refused to dwell on what the men were saying. He just wanted Ginny free and clear before the shit hit the fan. They were supposed to
be giving the others time to get Ginny out from the back of the house and for the back up to take out the guards Bruno had stationed in the woods.
“Hang on, Bruno; we have a little business to discuss before we get all involved in the blood shedding portion of the night.” Rex said coolly. “The family is going down. Right now, they are all being rounded up, and secured by the feds. The old man is being moved to a max security jail until this is sorted out. You forget, Bruno. Andres here gave us some great stuff.” Bruno grunted and motioned for Rex to tell him what he wanted to. Andres had no idea what the hell they were talking about, but it was buying them time so he would do what he had to.
“The old man sent you up here to get to Bailey, she did not even have the tip of the iceberg, and he knew you would never make it out of here alive. We have a lot more stuff, she just gave us the reason we needed to arrest you. Killing her or anyone is not going to do you any good now. He set you up, just like he did the rest of us, did you know all the accounts we have been investigating are in another family member"s name? We technically have nothing to charge him with.
He has set up this great big circle and none of it leads to him, instead it leads to all of his sons and their spouses. What a winner you have your loyalty tied to. As for the rest of it, I have come to terms with it, so has Andres. You can"t hurt us anymore, asshole.” Rex ground out, and then began walking a little closer.
61
Bruno raised the gun so it was pointing at them, ready if needed. “You know what I think? I think you are lying. If Andres knew the old man killed his mom and you were his brother, he wouldn"t be standing there so calmly. What do you say Andres, do you know all the family secrets now?”
“I really do not give a shit what you say. I am here to make sure you are dead once and for all.” Andres answered.
“Ouch, I am crushed, little brother.” He said grinning. “I bet he did not tell you that huh? Yep, I am another bastard brother. The difference is I am the only one the old man trusts, those other pricks he fathered never had to work a day in their lives; they had all the perks without having to get their hands dirty. They loved playing the mob bosses, but they never earned it. I have worked my entire life to make sure I was the old man"s right hand man. Now you all think you"re going to take that away? I don"t think so.”
“What are you going to do? We already have everything we need, dumbass.” Rex taunted the big man. “As for us being brothers, I think the old man dipped his dick into too many pussies for his own good. Jesus, has the man ever heard of birth control? I would be very happy if he was not my father. At least my mother admits to the mistake she made, what about yours? Oh yeah, that"s right, isn"t your mom his secretary? He could have married her at any time but he preferred to keep her dangling.”
Bruno stepped off the porch and raised his gun. “Don"t talk about my mom like that, asshole.”
“What? Does it make you realize you were just as big a mistake as me and Andres were? At least we can admit it.” Rex said softly. “The old man is going to leave his kids holding the bag and then he is off to sunny Florida to retire and live high 62
on the hog. Are you really, so stupid to think that right now all he is doing is cleaning up loose ends? That is all you are, a loose end, you know too much, dumbass. He knows you are so stupid that you will fight for him, we will kill you, and then he will have everything wrapped in a neat little package. God, you really are stupid, think about it. He sent you up here to kidnap three women, with all this firepower they have, you were a sitting duck man.” Andres was still trying to figure out what the hell was going on when he heard the roar. Bruno was pissed and he was ready to take it out on them. Rex was ready and tackled the man before he could make it to where they were standing.
Andres jumped in and they struggled to restrain the furious man.
Andres took a few punches in the gut and face and he felt his nose break. Rex pretty much had the same injuries when all was said and done but they had Bruno restrained. The big thug was cussing and spitting in their direction while Rex bent over to try and catch his breath.
Steve came around the side of the cabin and grimaced. “We took care of the rest of them; Andres you need to get inside and get Ginny. Noah and Dal climbed in the window but they could not get her out.”
Andres gasped and ran for the door. He was embarrassed, for a moment he forgot about why he was there. Crap, there was so much going on. He pushed through the little cabin and found Dallas and Noah leaning over Ginny trying to bandage her as much as they could. He saw her eyes were still closed, but he could not tell if that was swelling from the black eyes she had, or if she was unconscious. My God, they beat the hell out of her.
63
His heart broke in a thousand pieces when he saw all of her injuries. She had two knife wounds in each of her shoulders, and multiple bruises. He fell to his knees in front of her and took one of her small hands in his.
“Ginny?” He whispered.
“Andres, we have not been able to wake her. We gotta get her back.” Noah said with tears running down his face.
Andres nodded and then gently gathered her in his arms. He would carry her down the mountain or to hell and back for that matter, but first he needed to get her to safety.
“Baby, let"s get you out of here.” He whispered to her. “You may have to rethink the strapless dress though. I think you are gonna be pissed when you see where the bandages will be.” He said softly trying to talk to her without breaking down completely.
Dallas, Noah, Steve, and Rex followed him as he moved quickly away from the small cabin. They made it part way down the mountain before they came upon the four-wheeler their back up had brought with them. Andres held her while Rex drove them quickly back down to the house. The sad part is that they had been hiking for hours and they were miles away, it was taking so long to get her to a doctor. Finally, he saw the lights from Jolly and Steve"s house.
Rex pulled into the courtyard and people trying to help him instantly surrounded him but he refused to let her go. He took her into the house and laid her on the dining room table. The doctor was there and started to assess her injuries.
64
Calli and Bailey ran into the room and cried when they saw their friend lying on the table unconscious. They stood to the side, watching the doctor and crying in each other"s arms. Jolly rolled in and with the help of his nurse he got as close to the table as he could.
The doctor pulled the bandages off and cleaned the knife wounds. He spoke quietly as he did it. “We really should get her to the hospital so we can truly assess the damage. Where is the ambulance?”
“Just pulled up.” Jolly said, unashamed of the tears running down his face.
“Let"s get her in.” The doctor said hurriedly and let the EMTs take over and get her ready for transport.
Chapter 6
Andres had never felt so helpless. He waited and passed the hospital waiting area while the love of his life was a few steps away fighting for her life. The knife wounds had made her lose a lot of blood. After the doctors patched her up and gave her a few transfusions it was a waiting game. She had already developed infections from lying on the cabin floor for hours before getting medical care.
Two days passed before she opened her eyes and smiled at Andres, it had been the longest two days of his life, but when she did open her eyes, Andres had wept.
The weddings had been postponed, obviously, but Dallas and Steve were getting everything ready for the Saturday Ginny was being released. Jolly had been 65
admitted back to the hospital so they could make sure he was healing properly, but that had only lasted for a day because he refused to follow the nurse"s orders.
Andres arranged for his stuff to be moved and put into storage until the loft Dallas had given Ginny was complete. He got to meet her family and was pleasantly surprised they accepted him so quickly. Her oldest brother had threatened to cut his dick off if he hurt her, but other than that, it had gone well.
Ginny improved quickly and was released from the hospital on a Monday. The week was full of wedding preparations and remodeling. Steve and Jolly repaired the outside of their house; Dallas and Noah were busy with Dangerous.
Andres had avoided thinking about what he had found out while at the cabin and until right now had been able to avoid Rex. Ginny asked a lot of questions but so far, he had told her only the minimum. His family was so fucked up he had a hard time even thinking of how to start to explain.
With a little digging of his own, Andres found out that along with Rex and Bruno, his father also had at least three other children that he had not known about. His two full blood brothers were arrested and were currently in jail with their father and Bruno. Bruno had refused to turn against the old man, even though the evidence was presented to him that the old man was trying to clean up loose ends. Bruno was a definite loose end.
Andres had not seen Rex since the cabin and he was not sure how to proceed.