Raging Fire (Guarded Secrets Book 4)

by Sara Schoen

  The sun basked down on me as I stepped outside, gathering my bearings as the gun shots suddenly picked up again from the front of the compound. I had no way of knowing how the fight was going or if my friends had made it to their secondary posts okay, but it would be over soon one way or another. They’d be able to handle a few cartel members without a problem, but CIRA would have another war on their hands if I let Harley get away.

  I glanced around, looking for which way Harley had gone, but I couldn’t see him or his posse. Hopefully I wasn’t too late. I took off in the general direction I saw Harley and his men retreat in. If I had to guess, I’d say those three were his next in command, meant to be ready to take over if he died or help him remake the cartel if they survived. I wondered if they even thought it was possible for them all to die today. Doubtful. They think they are invincible, I thought as I sprinted through the trees, glancing around occasionally, in hopes of catching sight of Harley, but I didn’t see anything as I traversed the woods. There wasn’t much out this way, especially not when the trees started to thin out. In the distance I could make out four figures walking away from me and toward a lone helicopter coming from the north. It approached from the opposite direction the CIRA helicopters had, which gave me an inkling that this was their escape route.

  “Not on my watch, Harley. You don’t get to make it out of this alive.”

  I rushed forward, uncertain of what I’d do once I caught up to him, but a four on one fight wasn’t completely out of the odds for me. I’d been through worse, including a ten to one fight, which had been close until backup arrived. I had managed to hold my own then, so I was sure I could handle this alone. Though without backup, I’d have to do it systematically. Eliminate his guards first, then finish him off. He’s bound to have some kind of training, but as the leader he should never have to use it. Hopefully that meant I had the advantage and he would be out of practice.

  As I neared them, whoever was in the helicopter must’ve alerted them to my presence because they turned to face me in unison. His guards raised their guns, prepared to take me down before I had the chance to even touch Harley, but Harley gestured for them to hold fire. They didn’t lower their weapons, but they never fired a shot as I neared them. It made me stop, mentally and physically. What was he planning?

  “Good to see you again, Grayson, or should I say Spit Fire?” His voice was just as I remembered it, dark, low, and seeming to promise the world with a simple breath. No wonder mom and I had been fooled by him. He made it so easy for us to fall under his spell. “Such a silly name for such a beautiful girl. What on Earth made you pick that one? It sounds like something a child made it up. Though you were just a kid when your siblings died. Color me surprised when I learned you were still alive. I had hoped you would be dead and that the rumors weren’t true. At least that’s what I paid for. They got off easy though, you on the other hand will have a hard time killing me before you’re shot dead yourself.” A cruel smile curved at the corners of his mouth, only to be met with a knowing gleam of his hard eyes.

  “How could I have known you were actually responsible for their deaths?” I asked, the sarcasm heavy in my tone. My jaw clenched tight, knuckles turning white as I fought to hold back my anger. He was baiting me, he wanted me to attack. I didn’t know why, but I didn’t want to find out either. Fighting my anger was a lost cause though. I just needed an opening. “I always knew you were responsible; I’m just surprised you admitted it. You killed my mom too, didn’t you? All because she figured out what you were! I bet she hated it, and I know she hated that you sent her kids away. Sure you made it seem as if it was for our protection, but it was all for you. You wanted to get rid of us all along so she’d have no one else but you. You didn’t even love her, you just wanted a way into the cartel.”

  A surprising flash of anger filled his eyes. That definitely wasn’t something I had been expecting. He shouldn’t care, at least I had assumed he didn’t, but maybe in some twisted way he did care for my mother. My stomach churned at the thought. This sick bastard’s form of caring involved a bullet to the head for my mother and her children, but if I could use it against him I would. My gaze met the helicopter, approaching quickly, before flicking back to his men. They were tense, ready to spring into action should it be needed. Little did they know it wouldn’t do them any good. I would wait for the right time. Eventually they’d slip up.

  “Don’t try to fake me out. You’ve tried long and hard, and even took on a new identity. You make fun of the name I chose to keep people from my past life in the past and keep my actual identity safe, but you go by Harley Sanchez. Is that even your real name, or was the one you gave my family real? Maybe neither of them are.”

  A genuine smile wiped away his smirk. “I guess you’ll never really know for sure. I don’t intend on letting that slip or anything else I’ve done. Nice try though.” He chuckled, only fueling my anger. I must have figured something out without realizing it, and he seemed pleased by that. Besides the obvious, what was he hiding from me? “You’re just like your mother, too smart for your own good. That’s why I let the word out about you and your friends. Everyone who needs to knows about CIRA now, so getting rid of me won’t fix your problem. Someone else will just take up the cause of getting rid of you guys.”

  “I don’t care about that.” I took a few steps forward, carefully watching his men for their reaction. Once again they didn’t shoot, but they tensed and one looked too trigger happy for my comfort. I changed direction to make it seem as if I was pacing, but they didn’t ease. I wouldn’t be able to get any closer to them without one shooting prematurely. I’d have to start the fight from a few feet away, and with the helicopter closing in I’d have to do it soon. “I just want revenge for my family, who you had killed for one reason or another! After that, I don’t give a fuck what happens to me. I’m going to kill you and then my job is done. That is, unless you want to tell me you didn’t actually kill them and I have the wrong guy, though I know that’s not the case so don’t waste your breath on anymore lies.”

  His eyes darted to the helicopter, most likely gauging how much time he had to waste before he could escape. He must have decided he needed to waste more time because he started talking again, just as I hoped. “I’m not going to lie. I killed them by ordering those men to take you and your siblings out. They got off easy, I made sure there was little pain, but when your mom fought back about marriage and tried to leave by threatening me, I killed her myself. She was supposed to marry me after she lost you three. It was supposed to make things easier. If only she was able to ignore what I did for a living then she would have lived a nice, comfy lifestyle, but she couldn’t and it got her killed. I never cared for you or your siblings, and just like Camden, I didn’t care who the girl was. We were in it for the job. Not that it mattered anyway since I still got the job in the end, even without a wife.” He shrugged, fixing me with a devious look. “Lucky for me, I can still get rid of you in the end too.”

  I laughed loudly as gunshots neared our location, drowning out my laughter slightly. It seemed like the CIRA agents had some of the cartel members on the run. I didn’t want any help, but with his men scared, he was screwed. He’d have to fight alone and I’d eventually beat him and get what I came here for—revenge.

  Harley began shifting uncomfortably and an angry expression crossed onto his face. I guess he didn’t like being kept out of the joke as he had done to me. “What’s so funny?” Harley questioned as the fighting moved closer to us. His eyes flitted from side to side as his gaze darted through the trees whenever cartel members ran past, going in the opposite direction. None of them even stopped when they noticed their beloved boss standing face-to-face with a CIRA agent. His own guards were so distracted by the commotion that they didn’t see me pull the two guns from my pockets and take aim.

  I pulled the triggers simultaneously and eliminated Harley’s protection detail swiftly, without wasting a single bullet. They went down with two bu
llets each, one for damage so they couldn’t fire back and the second being the killing shot. It was brutal and an impersonal way to kill with a gun, at least to me, but they got off easy compared to what I had planned for Harley. He would die slowly and painfully just so I could watch him suffer. The knife I had concealed for emergencies would get in a few rounds with Harley before I finally relented and slit his throat. I wanted at least a few deep gashes for each family member he had killed. It would be a terrible way to go. His men got off easy, as he claimed my siblings had, and now he’d get it the hard way.

  “Let’s finish what we started, Harley. You’re in for one hell of a beating. Payback is a bitch.” I tossed the guns down to my side and sprang toward him.

  Chapter 28

  I leapt head first at Harley, closing the remaining distance between us in an instant. Without his backup he was as good as mine, and I intended to make sure he’d never get the chance to start up this cartel ever again. The blade of my knife poised in a striking position as my feet planted into the dirt, holding me firmly in place. I swiped at what I hoped would be his chest, but my blade met nothing but air. When I looked up to figure out why I hadn’t landed a hit, Harley landed a blow of his own. His kick was shift and connected with the side of my knee, breaking my stance and threatening to break my leg. This wasn’t a good start.

  “So much for your supposed training, Grayson. You must be one of the lower agents I’ve heard about. Camden said others fought expertly and were skilled in many aspects, at least that’s what he saw during the short fight he encountered in Georgia. I guess you weren’t one of the agents he met. Have you fallen short all these years?”

  I growled in annoyance before leaping at him again. Once again he dodged me expertly and left me swiping at nothing but air. Suddenly, I wished I hadn’t dropped the guns. I could have ended this with one bullet and walked away, but he didn’t deserve such an easy out. Harley deserved the most painful death I could muster for him, even if it took a few tries. He was stalling so the helicopter could land and he could be saved, but if it came to that, I’d retrieve the guns and shoot him. He wouldn’t escape, one way or another he’d die by my hands today. I leapt again, and the process repeated until I managed to slow him down. He had the skills to survive in a fight, but not the stamina. I wore him down until he faltered and then swiped his side deep enough to draw blood.

  He groaned and stumbled slightly, finally losing his footing and coming to realize I was a threat. I wasn’t playing around with him anymore. This was it.

  I stood off a few paces away from him, watching the fear finally seep into his eyes. Footsteps neared us, but none ever came into our fight. Eventually the helicopter even turned around, the rhythmic beating of the blades droning out as it left him behind. His eyes frantically darted between me and the helicopter’s retreating silhouette. He was finally realizing he was alone, and he didn’t have backup coming or anyone to save him from his fate. He’d have to face me.

  “I could ask the same thing of you, Harley.” I paused to let him remember his comment about me being subpar. “You must be one of the lesser leaders of the Cardoza Cartel. After all, you did only take over after the rightful leaders were killed. They had their men fighting with them until the end. That’s why I didn’t get to meet Camden until I had the pleasure of killing him. I had to distract his protectors so we could get rid of his father and him. There are more aspects to be skilled in than just fighting.” I tossed one of the knives and landed it in his upper chest. His eyes went wide as he looked down at the knife, stumbling slightly as his knees began to buckle. “Though it does help to know how to fight.”

  “And what makes you think I don’t have men out here right now?” He questioned through clenched teeth.

  “Where are they, Harley? Where are they?” I gestured around us. We were surrounded by trees, not cartel members. “Face it, they’ve left you. I killed the only people who would have stood by you, and the only reason they would have done that is because they wanted to take over eventually. You’re all alone.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong.” His voice turned dark, tingling with a murderous laugh I couldn’t understand until I caught sight of a lone figure peeking out from behind the trees to my right.

  I stood still for a moment as I processed the scene. I saw the glint of a gun move between the trees where the figure was standing before I took a few quick steps toward the cartel member and fell to the ground to avoid the bullets flying overhead. Once the gun went off, and I was able to recover mentally, I flung the last of my knives in the shooter’s direction before running at him. Harley’s would-be savior managed to dodge the knife, but I was right on top of him before he could react further. My hand instinctively reached for the gun and broke it out of his grasp before turning it to aim at him. His eyes met mine momentarily, just before I pulled the trigger, and even then I didn’t feel anything about killing him. He was just another cartel member added to the long list I had already killed. The list that Harley would soon be at the top of.

  At the thought of Harley, I turned back to finish our fight only to see he had vanished. I glanced around, looking between trees for any sight of movement. Nothing moved, no sticks snapped, and no leaves crunched beneath someone’s weight. Where did he go? He couldn’t have gotten far. As the thought crossed my mind, I heard leaves rustle from the tree line. I lifted the gun in the direction of the sound before a shadow darted between the trees.

  “If that’s anyone other than Harley, you better identify yourself before I shoot,” I said just loud enough to let it carry, but the figure didn’t stop. If it had been one of the other agents, they would have replied. They must still be fighting the cartel members near the compound, otherwise one of them would have come looking for me. Unless they were all dead. I pushed the thought from my mind as I caught sight of the shadow again.

  Harley didn’t leave the safety of the trees so instead I took off after him. He had a slight advantage of knowing the landscape, and most likely had another escape route ready just in case he was caught, but he’d underestimated my determination to kill him. The only downside was that I had lost the chance to make it slow and painful. Once I got a clear shot, I’d have to kill him. It wouldn’t be nearly as satisfying as letting his blood run from his wound and watching the light leave his eyes. Now it would have to be short and quick unless I wanted to risk losing him.

  I glanced around, chasing after his figure in the distance before darting in another direction. I wanted to confuse him while I cut him off and blocked his escape. Without knowing exactly how he’d react I vanished from his field of vision and made my way toward him from a different direction. Sticking to the trees and shadows, I approached him easily. He had slowed down, but hadn’t stopped. Occasionally he would glance around to look for me, but I always stayed just out of sight. I remained close enough to see the panic etching its way onto his face and the fear residing in his eyes. He wanted to know where I was and where I’d show up next, but I couldn’t reveal myself yet. I wanted to give him time to squirm before I shot him.

  I smiled as I sprinted forward and passed him. He didn’t seem to notice since he followed after me for a short distance, but as soon as I cut him off he skidded to a stop. He stumbled through the fallen branches to maintain his balance, and eventually came to meet my gaze. His chest was heaving, his eyes darting from side to side to look for an escape, and his body rigid and tense. I wondered if he knew how a caged animal felt now, and more importantly, how he made my family feel before they were killed.

  A cruel smile curved at the edges of my lips as the thought crossed my mind. “Good bye, Harley.”

  “Wait, please!” His pleading fell on deaf ears. The panic in his features told me he was about to run, and I didn’t have time to chase after him again and again. My teammates needed me; my family needed me. He was wasting my time while they were dying.

  I pulled the trigger without a second thought and watched the bullet pierce his chest.
Unaffected, I shot him twice more and watched him fall to the ground. Blood was rushing in my ears, blocking out the sounds of the gun going off. My breathing remained heavy as I waited for him to stop moving, and my hand stayed clutching my gun tightly as if he’d get up and come after me again. That’s what all monsters do, they get up and come again, but not this one. I had finally ended him—put him down like the dangerous animal he was. I checked to make sure he was dead. I had to be sure. I was finally able to breathe easy when I felt that he had no pulse and there wasn’t a final breath escaping his lips. When I was satisfied, I turned and left him there to rot.

  My other family needed me now and I wasn’t going to let them finish this fight alone.

  Chapter 29

  Slowly my senses came back to me, and I found a twisted enjoyment of the silence around me. Harley was gone, dead and not coming back. The weight I had been carrying around for years finally lifted off my shoulders. For a moment I felt peace and happiness for the first time in years. It didn’t last long though.

  From the distance I could hear screaming, guns firing off rapidly, and a faint order being yelled. The fight with the cartel members was still going strong, which meant agents were still getting injured or dying. I took off toward the fight, silently praying I wasn’t too late. More gun shots went off as I ran full speed back toward the compound. I passed a few cartel members, who were attempting to escape, and shot them dead. The few I didn’t kill would hopefully never join another cartel again because they wouldn’t get away from me a second time.