What the hell just happened?
Somehow, I feel as if I have been pulled in a little more into Ice’s world when I barely finished promising Brooke I would stay firmly away.
Chapter
15
Ice
I should have kept my ass upstairs. Watching Morgan handle Brooke with kindness, compassion, understanding while remaining firm—damn, just damn. I am a man who can recognize a good woman, and Morgan Powell is a good fucking woman. Too good for me.
Do I send her away? Nope. I love to torture myself with exactly what I want yet can’t have.
My phone rings, providing me the exact escape I need from the estrogen filled kitchen. After too much time around Morgan Powell, I feel the need to reach down, grab my dick, and make sure I still have my balls. Not that I am too worried about her giving me sass. The woman likes to throw her no nonsense prim and proper attitude around when she feels the need to get bossy; however, that doesn’t mean I will stand here and take it.
She may have enough attitude to try and tell me off, but I have no problem with simply throwing her over my shoulder and finding some really creative ways to show her who holds the reigns around here. The problem is, I shouldn’t want to get that sort of creative with her. That sort of creative means naked body parts, time with her, and me caring about showing her just how much of a man I am. Therein lies the problem—caring means I am getting attached. I have no business caring for a woman like her.
Fuck, what have I gotten myself into?
Making my way out into the backyard, I answer the blocked call. “Ice.”
“Good morning, compañero de negocios,” Sandoval greets through the phone.
“What?”
“Word has it that you are looking to expand your options in your house of whores.” The greed he has is evident in every word.
“Possibly. I have room for more should an opportunity present itself. The last girls we got are working out well,” I lie. We are still trying to sort out the women’s identities. They were hooked on the drugs so long the detox almost killed them. Their memories are fuzzy at best, for the time being, and patience is a virtue, one I don’t have. In my line of work, it is both a blessing and a curse.
“Three more. Price is the same. Meet me tonight at the hangar, ten sharp.” He disconnects the call without another word.
This is just the break we have needed.
Rushing inside, I try to push aside the laughter I hear from my daughter only a few rooms away. When is the last time she really relaxed and laughed? Clearly, she doesn’t do this enough. Making a mental note to work on this, I continue to my room to get dressed while making a call for the boys to come in for sermon.
A quick change, goodbyes, and I am out the door in less than fifteen minutes. Arriving at the bat cave, I have everyone waiting on me.
“Sandoval is ready to do more business. We get three girls tonight. Screech, get on it. Track every single one of those fuckers we can. All damn day. They have to pick the girls up from the warehouse.”
“On it, Ice,” he replies while clicking madly on his keyboard. The screen switches from the live feed of the girls to a map with blinking lights for each phone he has a lock on already.
“He just made the wrong move in his very own game,” Coal says with a smirk.
The adrenaline in the air rises with each moment shared between me and my boys. We are so close; we can’t fuck it up now with a hasty decision. It is time to get prepared for war, something each and every man in this room is more than familiar with.
“Prep time. Meet me in the armory,” I order.
“Checkmate, motherfucker,” Hammer says, heading out the door to do what he does best—ready our weapons and load up.
The day passes in a whirlwind of checking and double checking our weapons. We know tonight is a make it or break it meeting with Sandoval. If all goes well, we will buy three more girls from the man we are now confident is behind the missing women and pinpoint where he is holding the others. If Screech can give us that information, we will launch a mission tomorrow to rescue the remaining women.
When night finally falls, we arrive at the hangar five minutes early. All except two of my men come with me. Inside, three of Sandoval’s men are waiting for us. One of them speaks into a walkie-talkie, and it is an easy guess that he is informing his boss of our arrival because, a mere minute later, Sandoval walks in from the hangar’s back door.
Me and every one of my men are on edge tonight. For them, it is because they know we are close enough to the end of this job. They can almost taste victory. For me, it is because I know that, if everything goes well, I will be bringing Madyson home to Morgan and Brooke tomorrow.
Just because we are ready to end Sandoval, does not mean we are cocky, though. If anything, we are that much more vigilant to any move, threat, or possibility that could put our mission in jeopardy.
All of us are ready to end this fucker.
The hangar is no different tonight than any other night. Although Sandoval should change up his meeting locations, I have information showing he has some of the patrolling officers of the area on his payroll. Add to it being privately owned, and you get the result that the security checks are scheduled rather than random. Lazaro Sandoval may have made his biggest mistake in finally becoming too comfortable.
With his trademark smarmy smile, Sandoval strides slowly over to me. “Your asere here is insatiable, no?” He glances over to Coal and gives him a wink. Referring to my brother as insatiable whether in Spanish or English is so far from the truth.
My VP may be a seasoned warrior, but a man can only take so much before he snaps. I don’t want to take the chance that Sandoval’s ribbing pushes Coal beyond his limits.
Shrugging to our seller, I reply nonchalantly, “What can I say, I like to keep my men in pussy. If I take care of them, they’ll take care of me.”
“Damn right we will, boss,” Hammer says. “So, where are the goods? My boys are ready to have a little party tonight to break them in.” He rubs his hand over his dick through his jeans to illustrate his point.
Sandoval barks a laugh, shaking his head in amusement. “I thought about asking your Vice President for another show since the last one was so enjoyable. Any man who can take two women like that knows what he is doing, yes? Unfortunately, there is no free time for such pleasurable activities tonight. So, down to business it is.”
Raising his hand, he signals his man by the back hangar door who lifts his walkie-talkie and speaks into it. A few seconds later, the door once again opens, this time to reveal three women wearing nothing more than lingerie and heels. They are all drugged and wobbling so badly that, even with the help of the men escorting them in a relentless hold by their upper arms, they still struggle to walk.
“See? I gift wrapped them for you this time,” Sandoval laughs.
One of the women abruptly stumbles and crashes to land on the floor on her hands and knees. My chest squeezes a little as I watch her whimper in pain, but I stay stock still as if totally uncaring for her predicament.
Sandoval spits out some rapid fire commands to his men in his native tongue that I can’t understand, but the message is clear. He is not happy that the merchandise almost hurt herself before delivery.
One of the men roughly picks up the crying woman with one hand in her hair and the other on her arm. The unhappy Cuban drags her the rest of the way to us, ignoring her screams, until he throws her at Hammer, who manages to catch her just before she falls again.
Unable to soothe the frightened woman, I watch as Hammer throws her over his shoulder and smacks a hand over her ass when she starts to struggle. It is time to wrap this negotiation up before anything else is said or done that can set one of my men off.
Reaching back blindly, I reach my hand out for the bag of money Roy Boy is holding for me. Once it is handed over, I throw it at the dipshit that is standing next to Sandoval.
“Here’s your payment. Thanks for our pa
rty toys.”
The lackey opens the bag, quickly counts the money, and then gives his boss the signal that it is all there.
“It is good to do business with you once again, Ice. I look forward to your next order.”
I give him a chin lift when, honestly, I would rather give him a few bullet holes in that fuck-ugly face of his. Turning around, my boys and I walk out, though with our instincts on high alert to make sure we are not attacked from behind as we leave.
Once we get the women settled in with Doc and Crissy, we make a quick rendezvous back to Screech.
“Location found. Specs of surrounding area being determined now,” Screech immediately spouts off when we enter the room.
“Skid, BJ, Hammer, you’re on extraction points. Coal, you’ll ready the boxes. Rocks, make sure Crissy and Doc are ready for the rest of the women. Screech, have you tallied a rough count for us on how many they have?”
“Currently, we have seventeen in that particular facility.”
“He may have sold off some like he did with us, which I’m guessing is the most likely option since the Ex Ops Team found one of the missing women down in Mexico at the Rivera Cartel’s stronghold. He probably didn’t want to keep merchandise on hand for too long. Some may have died from the drugs or other unknown medical conditions. Or he may have another location,” Hammer replies, knowing the numbers don’t add up to cover all the missing women.
We spend the next two hours ironing out our plans for the next day. On any mission, you have a plan A, a plan B if shit starts to go south, and plan C, which is light up all your tangos and haul ass back to the extraction point because everything is fubar.
After securing our weapons, acknowledging our entry and exit points, we are ready to head home. I check in on Madyson on the screen one last time before leaving.
“Hang tight. I’ll get you home to your sister soon,” I say to the screen.
Adrenaline courses through me knowing that tomorrow is the day.
Arriving home, I struggle to wind down. When I enter the kitchen, the smell of cinnamon assaults my nose. My kitchen never smells this good.
“Fuckin’ cookies,” I say to myself with a smile. “Bakin’ fuckin’ cookies.”
“You know something?” Morgan asks, entering the space.
“You should be asleep.” I answer to avoid her question.
Morgan shakes her head, and I can see the faint tremble of her lip. “I can’t sleep knowing she’s out there, possibly hurt, sick, or someone doing things to her.”
Seeing the tears well up in her eyes, I go over and take her in my arms. She wraps around me in an embrace that feels like second nature somehow. She fits into me.
I hold her for a while, running my hands through her hair, neither of us saying a word. She doesn’t question me further, and I don’t offer any answers.
Morgan
Feeling myself being lifted, I start to wake up. My mind is fuzzy as I remember sitting on the couch, snuggled into Ice. After our moment in the kitchen, he wanted to eat and then watch TV. I joined him, and I guess I finally dozed off.
Opening my eyes, I see he is carrying me to his room, not the guest room.
“I can walk, you know,” I whisper.
“Always sassy, aren’t you? It’s more fun this way.”
“This isn’t the guest room,” I point out as he lays me on his bed.
“You aren’t a regular guest,” he replies with a chuckle.
“Yeah, I guess I should pay rent, huh?” I playfully give him his own words back.
“I was an ass,” he replies while he makes his way into his overly large closet and out of my sight.
“Yup, you are an ass.”
“I heard that. Go to sleep.” I hear him moving around and apparently changing clothes.
“Always so bossy. Where are you going?”
He emerges in black cargo pants, a snug black T-shirt that I swear should be painted on, and a shoulder holster with a gun secured in place. He looks like an assassin bad boy out of a Hollywood movie—scary and sexy all rolled into one sinfully delicious package.
“Sweetheart, you have no idea how bossy I am. I have some work to do. I don’t know when I’ll be home. Keep an eye on Brooke, and I’ll be in touch.”
Something in his eyes, his demeanor—I am not sure exactly what, but it tells me his work today involves my sister. There has been a change between us.
I don’t know why or what exactly overcomes me, but I quickly hop out of bed and make my way to him.
Looping my arms around his waist, I roll up on my tiptoes and tentatively brush my lips against his. I don’t know what I am doing; I simply let my instincts run me.
Boldly, I open my mouth ever so slightly, and with the tip of my tongue, I trace the seam of his lips. For the first time, I taste the essence that is the man who both confuses and arouses me. He growls against my mouth for a second, the vibration feeling as though it runs through my entire body.
Both of his hands come up to grab either side of my head when he finally gives in. The dynamic shifts rapidly from a sweet kiss to a passion-filled, lust-controlled demand. I am no longer in control as Ice ravages my mouth. It makes me wonder if he would ravage the rest of my body with such a sensual ferocity.
Our tongues dance while he seems to devour every crevice. His hands roam my body, causing me to moan as he squeezes my ass. I have never been kissed with such longing before, such need. I have never known a man could make a woman feel this out of control with such an animalistic hunger. My body melts helplessly against him as I become a ball of mush, giving in to my every desire.
As suddenly as I began our kiss, he is pulling away. Pushing me away from him, he makes sure I am steady on my feet before brushing one last kiss across my forehead.
“Get some sleep,” he orders before exiting the room without a look back.
What the hell just happened? Every encounter with this man seems to leave me asking myself this.
Yet, I still don’t have any damn answers.
Chapter
16
Ice
From the camera views, we expected to enter a warehouse since one may consider the space storage of some sort. Really, what the operation is set up in is an old hotel that has long since closed down. It is now considered a storage facility for a nearby deluxe spa for recovering patients of the same plastic surgeon who owns the hangar Sandoval uses for his transactions.
Apparently, Lazaro Sandoval spreads his money out to cover all his operations under the guise of truly legitimate commerce. Smart man. This is one of the reasons he has lasted as long as he has in such a brutal and unforgiving business.
After spending the night doing final preparations, we have men in place on the surrounding buildings’ rooftops. No one will exit the building and stay alive unless they are carried out by us. One might think broad day light wouldn’t be the time to do this; however, Sandoval has fewer men on guard during this time. Perhaps he thinks no one is bold enough to attack him then. Whatever his reasoning, it is an advantage we can’t ignore.
The location of the feeds narrowed the women to a service room for janitorial supplies, which has an underground parking garage next to it where we are able to drive the vans right inside. We can see the cameras as we enter, but Screech has scrambled their feed. Once he got a lock on the location, he was able to hack in and control their system. They have no guard on the garage because it would arouse suspicion on the building. Another mistake on their part that I plan to take full advantage of.
The biggest concern we have is that there is only one way in and one way out. Without the ability to exit from a different point, it creates a kill box that makes it easy for your target to pick you off one by one as you try to come and go. This means we will have to stay vigilant while we move through the building.
We have learned they were using the service elevator to bring the girls up to the hotel rooms to service the clients; therefore, Screech scrambled the upstairs
cameras, as well. Once the men inside realize all of the cameras are not functioning, they are going to spread throughout the building looking for trouble, and my men and I are ready to show them plenty.
Exiting the four vans, Coal and his team of five ready to make the assent using the stairwells to seek out any victims upstairs. Our intel shows Sandoval runs his operation from his office on the third floor. Knowing his God complex, we don’t expect there to be anyone on the couple of floors above him, but we have already discussed Coal and his team double checking them to be sure.
Hammer and his team spread out to surround the garage. He will be on stand-by to assist Coal if he gets upstairs and finds more people than we visually confirmed on the feeds. Otherwise, as we evacuate the girls, he will direct and aid in loading the vans. Once full, he and his team will take the vans out and switch to our back up vehicles to keep the flow of rescued girls continuous.
Throwing my arm up in a ninety degree angle, I hold up my fist in the stand by position as I ready myself for whatever may greet me on the other side of the metal door in front of me. Knowing there will be a barrage of bullets once they realize we are here, I say a silent prayer our Kevlar vests will do their jobs. I have a little girl I have every intention of going home to today, and I don’t plan on bringing home any of my guys in body bags.
My chest rises and falls as I listen intently through the outside of the door for any signs that Sandoval’s guys are clued in to us. Thankfully, I hear nothing abnormal, only a couple of muffled voices.
Giving Screech the low affirmative that we are in position, he begins our countdown. Five. I feel my men tense up behind me. Four. Readying themselves to head into action. Three. Inhale deeply. Two. Exhale slowly. One. It’s go time.
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