The Key To Micah's Heart (Hell Yeah!)

by Sable Hunter

  At first, the blame was attributed to random crime or family violence, but when it became apparent that most were raped before their death, the investigation changed. This reporter has learned that the majority of the women are mutilated. The most common attribute of the mutilation is the slicing off of a nipple or a whole breast.

  The women sacrificed in this horror have some things in common. They are all young and all are poor. Many have been questioned, but the only arrests that have been made are some low-level cartel members. Whoever is behind this terror is higher up in the organization and the deaths of the women are largely ignored, except by their families. Pink crosses have sprung up all over the city, memorializing the innocents who have been caught up in this web of disaster.

  Accusations of incompetence abound and many are whispering of torture being used to gain false confessions. The city is paralyzed. No one wants to go out, all afraid they’ll be the next one picked up to disappear as if they’d never lived.

  Authorities have gone so far as to blame the women themselves, saying that the girls dress provocatively and act like sluts. This is just an excuse. Some have said that the fact the women are offered low paying jobs in factories, preventing men from having those jobs creates an atmosphere of tension in this land of machismo.

  This reporter is afraid, also. She was led by a grieving parent to the site where her daughter’s body was found. The mother cried and told how she looked–beaten, her breast missing, her body covered in scratches and bite marks like she’d been mauled by a wild animal.

  Wild animals are afoot in Juarez. Men who think they can do as they please, take what they want, and kill on a whim. Information is being gathered on the identities of these men, these serial killers who are treating women like they are disposable, like trash.

  This is an open letter to those men. We know who you are. There are people rising up against you. People who are brave enough to walk the paths these women trod, to take some to safety, and to expose you as the monsters you are. We know you are from Juarez and Veracruz. We know you think you are safe. Rich. Connected. Protected. That you can sit in your safe houses and watch a woman’s life snuffed out like an animal. Blood-sport.

  You are wrong.

  We are watching.

  “Damn,” Micah said. “Can we get the names from her? Do you think this has anything to do with Noah’s mother?”

  “Yes, to both questions. Marisol is convinced one of the men is the Jaguar.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Micah’s World

  “Easy, boy, you’re going to enjoy this.” Micah led his Appaloosa stallion to the corral behind the barn where the vet was waiting with a mare in heat. His prize purebred was about to impregnate Jacob McCoy’s pride and joy.

  “When this baby is born, we’ll be practically family, Wolfe.” Jacob stood to one side, ready to help if the need arose.

  “You’re so strange, McCoy.” He’d just got off the phone with Kyle. After reviewing what he, Saxon, and Tyson had uncovered, there was a new urgency for Noah’s mother to be found. They were putting off, until the last minute, to reveal what they’d discovered to Noah. Micah dreaded it, but he’d been commissioned to tell Jacob. Jacob would know how best to handle his younger brother.

  There was some good news, however. First, he needed to get the bad out of the way.

  “Where do you want him, Doc?” he asked the veterinarian who looked as calm as a cucumber. Micah loved the animals, but he also knew they outweighed him ten to one. He’d rather put this job into the hands of the professional.

  “Give him to me, my assistant will hold the mare.”

  Gladly, he handed over the App. “Jacob, how’s Jessie and the family?”

  “Good. My lady was a bit off this morning. Carrying a baby is no easy task.”

  “I can’t imagine.” He did know their first child had a rough start in life with some congenital defects. “I hope this baby is big and strong for you.”

  “Yea, me too.” Jacob leaned on the fence. “You know, after Joseph and Cady lost their little boy, we’re all on pins and needles every time one of the girls gets pregnant. Avery is expecting, you know.”

  “Haven’t you guys figured out what causes this problem, yet?”

  “Yea,” Jacob grinned. “But it’s so much dang fun. You ought to try it sometime.”

  Micah shook his head. “I’ve been giving it some dry runs,” he said with a deadpan expression.

  “I just bet you have. I’ve heard what a player you are.”

  Micah didn’t say anything to contradict Jacob’s opinion. All of his friends thought he was Don Juan–and not just because it was his penname. His cocky attitude and the way he flirted with every woman he came into contact with only reinforced their belief. “Listen, Jacob…” He began and the seriousness of his tone wiped the smile off the big McCoy’s face.

  “What? Did you find something out?”

  “Yea, we did. From all indications, Noah’s mom is helping girls escape their captors, and by that, I mean she’s risking her life to take them off the streets and maybe even out of the hands of a serial killer.”

  “You’re fucking with me.”

  “No, I’m not. Two things. One, we have a friend who’s a journalist. This was the woman who’s very important to Sami. Some of her family was killed by the cartel, so she’s spent months and months trying to bring them down. She thinks some of the kingpins and a couple of other idiots with more money than sense are conducting some kind of blood-sport, like snuff films.”

  “You mean they’re murdering these women for amusement?”

  “Yea, to put it bluntly.” Their attention was drawn momentarily to the horses when they heard the triumphant cry of Micah’s stallion as he scored. Neither commented, their conversation was just too serious. “She thinks she knows the identity of a couple of the men and she’s working to expose them.”

  “Well, that’s good.”

  “Yes, but all of these questions and attention is making the situation even more dangerous. We also found what we think is a call for a hit on Angel Rubio. She must be getting a little too close for comfort.”

  “Oh, my God.” Jacob took his hat off and raked his hand through his hair. “You know, when I first found out about this woman, I was under the impression she was just a whore.”

  “Well, I’m not saying she’s guiltless.”

  “Yea, she seduced our Dad.”

  Micah didn’t comment on that. “Whatever she’s done in the past, I think she’s more than made up for it. I think we mentioned a contact, Santiago, in El Paso?”

  “Yes, I remember that.” Jacob blew out a long breath.

  “Good. Well, Santiago is bringing in some help. I don’t know if you’re acquainted with Rogue Walker and Elijah Bowman, owners of Lone Wolf Oil?”

  “I’ve heard the name.” Jacob nodded, his eye going to where his mare was dancing out of the way of Wolfe’s amorous stallion.

  “I don’t fully understand all the details, but this woman named Lucia was brought to the United States by a man who stole Rogue Walker’s identity.”

  “Shit.”

  “Yea, anyway, it all worked out. She’d fled Juarez because her sister was one of the girls killed and she’s done some investigating herself and made a lot of noise. When she was threatened, the offer to come to the US to marry a man she met over the internet seemed to be the answer. The groom didn’t stay the same, but true love won out and she’s married to Bowman.”

  “I think you’ve lost me.” Jacob crossed one booted foot over the other.

  “Those details aren’t important, what’s important is that she’s coming to help find Angel Rubio. She still has contacts in Juarez and Lucia thinks she can find out where she might be hiding.”

  Jacob smiled. “You could’ve led with that information.”

  Micah shrugged. “I could have, but I enjoy being difficult.” His face softened with a smile. “I don’t know how much you want to tell Noah,
but I know Kyle has someone updating him hourly and the first hint we have of where to find her, we’ll be on our way.”

  “I appreciate that and I know Noah will too. This has been hard on the whole family, but even as close as we are, I can’t imagine how my little brother’s feeling.”

  Micah didn’t say anything more. He had some idea. Some of his friends, like Kyle and Saxon, knew the whole story–the rest just thought he was a cold wiseass. He’d learned how to wear a mask, to lock up his emotions so no one could know how deeply Micah Wolfe could feel. Losing his mother to cancer, his father to suicide and his childhood friend to the streets where he was murdered had forced Micah to develop a shell, a protective shell where no one got too close–where he touched no one and no one touched him.

  Madison’s new day…

  For Madison, one day stretched out to two. That second day extended into a third and then a fourth and her unwanted houseguests were still at her apartment. At least Rudy hadn’t been drunk or high during this time or she would’ve been too afraid to sleep at home. As it was, Madison came home from work every night and locked herself in her room, doing anything she could to avoid her unwanted guests. When she’d lie down, she jammed a chair up under the door knob. The only respite she had would be when Rudy would go out to visit friends, she didn’t know who they were or what they were doing, she was just glad he was gone. During those times, her mother would tap on the door and they’d watch television together in the living room, Madison only returning to her room when she would hear heavy boot steps coming down the hall.

  When he was home, Rudy seemed to enjoy finding ways to annoy her. It seemed he took it as a challenge–watching television with the volume through the roof, making late night phone calls, even having people stop by her apartment late in the evening so he could either buy drugs from them or sell them drugs. Whatever the scenario, Madison wasn’t sure. All she knew was that she needed them gone and soon. If not, she’d start looking for her own place and just let them have hers. Of course, without her footing the rent, they wouldn’t keep it long. Then, they’d probably show up at her new place.

  On the fourth night of torture Madison’s phone rang. She flipped it open and hit answer. “Hello?”

  It was Sonya. “Hey honey. How’ve you been?”

  “Oh hi, Sonya. I’ve been okay. How about you?”

  “Good. Is your Mom still there?”

  “Yes.”

  “Listen honey. I hate to do this to you, but there’s another cold spell on the way and I need that locker you have your bag in to be empty by tomorrow night.”

  “Oh, my goodness, Sonya. Of course. I’m so sorry. I’d forgotten all about it. I’ll come get it right now.” Truthfully, Madison was glad for an excuse to leave the apartment.

  “No, no, wait,” Sonya insisted. “I’m not at the shelter tonight. Phil is, and to be honest, he might get a bit pissed at me if he found out I let you use that locker for a few days without staying there. You know how much of a stickler his is about the rules.”

  “You’re right. He certainly is a stickler. Can I come by tomorrow after work? Around six?”

  “Six sounds perfect. Maybe you could stay and help with dinner.”

  Dinner at the shelter? Madison had done her best not to think about Micah for the past few days. She hadn’t been very successful, often finding herself lost in a daydream at work, thinking about him. Sonya’s call was now dredging up even more vivid memories of their time together. Which made no sense. The brief dalliance with her dream guy had been just that, a brief moment in time–one that would probably never be repeated. Heck, he probably hadn’t given her a second thought. “I’ll be there, Sonya. You can count on me.”

  “Good, I’ll see you then. Take care.”

  Madison’s next day at work was long and tedious. She’d been asked to work overtime by her boss to file some title applications and because she needed the money, she’d agreed to stay until eight o’clock. Sonya would understand why she’d been held-up. When her shift was over, she freshened up in the bathroom at the realty office before heading downtown to get her duffle.

  As normal, she avoided the freeway. There’d been yet another rock-tossing incident, this time a woman had been injured, a piece of glass striking her in the neck when the big rock crashed through her windshield. The whole thing spooked Madison. When she had to drive under an overpass, she’d crane her neck trying to make sure no one was lurking overhead ready to drop a bomb on her.

  When she arrived at the shelter the back parking lot was dark, but Madison saw Sonya’s Toyota and pulled in beside it. There was another car on the far side of the lot and Madison noticed a man leaning on the hood, speaking on his phone. She couldn’t see him in the dim light behind the building, but the car he leaned against was pitch black and very intimidating. Offering a polite nod to the man, she headed toward the back door with her head down.

  “Let me give it some thought, Kyle. I’ll talk to Saxon and see if we can figure something out. Your police force is doing what they can, but maybe we can add some high tech monitoring. You’re right, we’ve got to stop this guy from tossing rocks on the freeway, someone’s going to get killed.” Micah watched the cute little thing walk across the parking lot as he leaned on his car. “Hey, let me call you back. I’ve got something here that needs my attention.”

  The back lot might have been dim, but the big bad wolf had good eyes and he liked what he saw.

  Madison felt the man’s eyes on her and she picked up her pace a bit. She’d seen too many episodes of Criminal Minds. Making it to the door, she knocked before looking back to see if the man was following her. He was! She hastily knocked again, a little harder this time.

  Micah could see the tension in the woman’s body as he approached. “I’m not going to hurt you,” he said when he was twenty feet away. “I just wanted to see who was rockin’ that pencil skirt.”

  His eyes had been locked on her behind the entire time as she’d walked quickly across the parking lot, her firm ass swaying with each step. Her long hair was draped over her shoulders and Micah was dying to see all of her–up close and personal.

  Madison could tell the man was speaking to her, but his words got lost in the echo of noise from the night. All Madison could make out was ‘pencil skirt’. Great–she’d taken the time to fix herself up before coming here and now she regretted it. If Sonya didn’t answer the door, she’d be out here alone with this unknown man.

  Micah came up behind her as if her long dark waterfall of hair was a magnet pulling him closer. “I’m sorry if I frightened you,” he said. “I just had to come over and get a better look at you.”

  Wham! Just like that, terror morphed to arousal. There was no way she didn’t recognize that voice. Cold or not, her body immediately reacted to his presence, her nipples hardening and poking against the lace of her bra. With her heart tripping in her chest, she turned to face him. “Oh…hello.”

  “Damn, baby.” Micah put a hand to his heart. “The front is just as nice as the back.” He offered his hand. “I’m Micah. Pleasure to meet you.” He looked her up and down with no shame and Madison started to get drunk off his gaze. “I apologize, Miss. Probably not the best thing to do, walk up to a random stranger in a dark back alley and start drooling. I’d rein in my tongue, but I don’t think I’m capable.”

  Madison’s cheeks turned rosy red and then it dawned on her.

  Micah didn’t recognize her.

  His smile was electric, it swallowed her up and Madison toyed with the idea of letting this go on for as long as humanly possible. He’d been flirty with her when they’d first met the other night, but this was different. She was in the midst of a full-on Micah Wolfe flirt and the experience was intoxicating.

  “We met the other night,” she finally said, her face beginning to hurt from smiling so much. She was glad to see him, no two ways about it.

  Micah froze for a moment. Not remembering a girl’s name was a dicey situation and one
he’d found himself in on more than one occasion in his life. She’d either be fine with it and laugh it off, or a smack was on the way.

  Staring at her lovely face, he calmed his libido long enough to think. Damn! “Fellows?” He finally said when the light caught her face just right so he could see the little freckles dancing on her cheeks.

  “Nice to see you again, Micah.”

  “My God. Give me a little twirl.”

  She clutched her purse in both hands. “What? Right here?”

  Micah’s engine was running red-hot. “If you want, I’ll do one too. But you go first.”

  Madison felt a rush of dread. She didn’t know if her confidence level was high enough to pull this off. But his attitude was so forceful, in a somehow respectful way, that Madison found herself making an awkward twirl on a set of steps that were far too narrow to do such a thing gracefully in heels. “Oh!” Her ankle twisted and Madison began to fall, her purse dropping from her hands. She grimaced with embarrassment and the anticipation of the pain that awaited her after she hit the ground.

  But the pain never came, Micah stepped up and caught her, scooping her up into his arms. “Whoops-a-daisy. I’d do my twirl now, but you made it look pretty dangerous.”

  Embarrassment would have to wait, all Madison could do was focus on how good it felt to be in Micah’s strong arms and be held this close to him.

  Sonya opened the door with a bag of garbage in her hand. “And all this time you’ve been telling me you weren’t ever going to get married. May I welcome you two over the threshold?”

  “She didn’t give me the option,” Micah quipped, but Madison noticed he hadn’t put her down yet.