And now they were also backed into a corner.
He lifted his rifle to his eyes and activated the night vision, then scanned the area. Diego’s men were easy to spot, all of them behind one container in a cluster of red heat. He scanned the area around them and finally found Diego two containers away.
Figures. He was working his way back to the car, ready to bail on his men.
“Want to help me take this sick bastard down?” he asked Farrell.
“Why else would I be here?” Farrell asked drily.
He motioned to Sanchez and his men that they were going after Diego, then gestured for them to take the remaining three men. He waited for Marco and Elia to start firing again to move, then hurried around the container. Farrell came around the other side, the two of them working in practiced concert as they closed in on Diego. They were almost to him when he made a break for the car.
Farrell went to the left while Luca went to the right. Diego made it to the car, but Luca got there before he could shut the door on the driver’s side. He tried to fight right up until the moment Farrell slid into the passenger seat and put the barrel of his AK up against Diego’s throat.
“I’d stop moving if I were you,” he said in his proper British accent. “I’ve heard these things have a sensitive trigger.”
Luca would have laughed if Sofia’s life wasn’t at stake. He dragged Diego out of the car instead.
It was controlled chaos around the containers. Diego’s men were on the ground, hands behind their heads. Sanchez’s men and Marco and Elia had their weapons trained on them, but they didn’t look in any hurry to run. Sanchez and Luis were cracking open the lock on one of the containers. They disappeared inside a moment later.
Luca lifted Diego off the ground by the front of his jacket. “Where is Sofia, asshole?”
“Let me go,” Diego said. “Then I’ll tell you.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, you have a gun pointed at your head. You’re not exactly in a position to negotiate.”
Diego laughed, and Luca was taken back to his violent outbursts and manic mood swings. “I have what you want. That makes me in control.”
Luca cracked the butt of his weapon against Diego’s face. “Do you feel in control right now?”
Diego touched his hand to the blood dripping down his forehead. “You want Sofia. I want to go free. Give me what I want and I’ll tell you where she is.”
“I’m not letting you go until I know Sofia’s safe,” Luca said. “And I’ll beat it out of you if I have to."
“I’d be more than happy to help,” Farrell said, eyes gleaming in the dark.
“Hear that?” Luca asked Diego, landing a punch to his face. “You better start talking.”
Diego shook his head, spit onto the pavement. “Not until you let me go.”
Luca was losing his hold on his temper. Sofia was out there, maybe alone, probably scared. Isabel was home, waiting to hear that Luca had kept his promise. And this bastard had hurt them both. Would keep hurting them if Luca didn’t stop it. He was hardly aware of moving in Diego’s direction. The next thing he knew he was landing punch after vicious punch to Diego’s face, all his rage at what Diego had done to Isabel contained in the fist he drove into his nose, his jaw, his cheekbones. He was vaguely aware of the crunching bone under his hand, the wet slap of muscle on meat, but he had no idea how much time had passed when someone finally pulled him off Diego.
“Leave him alive enough to talk now,” Farrell said casually.
Diego was barely moving, moaning on the pavement.
“Did you get what you want?” Sanchez asked, joining them from the container they’d just inspected.
“No,” Luca said, breathing through his rage. “I didn’t.”
“That’s a shame,” Sanchez said, inspecting Diego dispassionately. “I did.”
“That wasn’t our deal,” Luca said.
“Maybe not,” Sanchez said. “But it is not my fault he’s not talking.”
Luca turned away, stalked to the relative privacy of the shadows, his mind rebelling against everything that was happening. They finally had Diego, and he wouldn’t tell them where Sofia was. Sanchez wanted his turn with Diego, and Luca had no doubt that Diego wouldn’t be alive to give them Sofia’s location when Sanchez and his men were done with him.
And there was no way in hell he was going back to Isabel without her sister.
He stalked back to Sanchez and nodded toward the open container, indicating that he wanted to speak in private. Sanchez joined him while Farrell and Luis kept an eye on Diego, still on the ground.
The container was cavernous, boxes stacked to the ceiling, all of them labeled COFFEE — FAIR TRADE CERTIFIED.
Luca turned his attention back to Sanchez.
“I need to get the location of the girl,” Luca said softly. “She could be in danger. She could be alone, with no one to feed her or free her until Fuentes comes back.”
“I am very sorry about that.” Luca was surprised to find that Sanchez did look sorry. “But that is not my problem.”
Luca sighed. “I know. And you could take Diego right now and I wouldn’t blame you. But I’m asking you for some help here.” He searched his brain for an argument that would move the other man. “Do you have a sister?” His face remained impassive. “Kids?”
A flicker of interest.
“If someone had them, someone who would hurt them or starve them or leave them in the cold, wouldn’t finding them be more important than revenge?”
“If they were my blood, yes,” Sanchez said. “But this girl is not my blood.”
“But she’s someone’s blood, and she’s already been through too much. Just… let me pretend to let him go. We’ll tell him he has to leave the country. I have people who can track him. Good people. The best. They can tell you exactly where he is, and once I have the girl, you can do whatever you want with him.”
“How do I know you will honor your word?”
“Because you’ll cut off my balls if I don’t. And because I don’t want any part of this anymore. I just want to save this little girl and live a life where I don’t have to fucking look over my shoulder anymore.”
Luca held his breath while Sanchez considered his offer. Finally, he nodded and walked away.
“I will expect your call, Mr. Cassano.”
Luca wasted no time returning to Diego, still sprawled on the ground.
He knelt down, pulled him up by the front of his jacket. “Good news, carnal. You get to go free. But only if you tell me where Sofia is — and only if she’s safe and sound.”
“How do I know…?” he croaked out through split lips.
Luca faced him toward Sanchez’s men, now locking the container. Another SUV had appeared. Diego’s men were loaded into it, and a moment later, both vehicles started out of the parking lot. They would be back for their cargo. They would need a much bigger car.
“See that?” Luca said as their taillights disappeared around the corner. “That’s the bullet you just dodged. Now you’re going to give me an address, and I’m going to leave you here with two of my men. When I call to tell them that I have Sofia, they’ll let you go. And if you don’t cooperate, I’m going to make whatever Sanchez was going to do to you look like a trip to Disneyland.”
“How do I…?”
Luca punched him again. He couldn’t stand to hear one more word out of his mouth. Not unless it was an address where he would find Sofia.
“13354 Northeast Tenth,” he gasped. “But you better not be fucking with me, Cassano.”
He rose and turned to Marco and Elia. “Don’t let him move until you hear from me.”
They took up position over Diego while Luca and Farrell hurried for the car.
62
Isabel woke up on the sofa, her phone buzzing from the coffee table. She’d worked frantically on her list of things for Sofia. She’d paced the house a thousand more times. She’d tried to eat, then scraped her food into th
e trash when she couldn’t get down a single bite. She hadn’t meant to fall asleep, but the tension of the day must have caught up with her, and she sat up with a start when she saw Luca’s name flash on the screen of her phone.
“Luca,” she breathed into the phone. “Do you have her?”
He hesitated, and she braced herself for bad news. “Not quite yet. But I’m going to get her.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, fighting the panic that threatened to boil over.
“We got Diego, but he wouldn’t give us Sofia’s location until we agreed to let him go.”
“But… what about Sanchez?” she asked, pacing the floor again. They had an agreement with Lorenzo, and if he was anything like Diego, he wasn’t about to get sentimental about a kid when money and revenge were on the line.
“He agreed to the terms," Luca said.
She sensed something in his pause, some kind of information she wouldn’t want but needed to hear. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“I can’t guarantee Diego’s safety after the fact. We’ll let him go like we promised, but Sanchez will go after him, and I told him I’d give him the information he needs to find him. I’m sorry, Isabel. It was the only way.”
She thought about her brother. Not the little boy who had played with her on the lawn or searched the beach with her for seashells, but the man who had imprisoned her. Who had abused her and allowed others to abuse her. Who had taken their little sister from a place of safety and security and exposed her to cruelty and violence.
“I don’t want to think about that,” she said. “Getting Sofia home safe is the only thing I care about.”
“I’m in the car now,” he said.
She grabbed an envelope and a pen off the end table. “What’s the address?”
“Isabel… You can’t be part of this.”
She paused, pen poised over the paper. “I am part of this. It’s my sister that you’re going to save, remember?”
“I know that, but we have no idea what we’ll be up against, if there will be men guarding the house or some kind of trap, or… anything. We just don’t know. It’s too dangerous.”
“It’s not too dangerous for you,” she said.
They were close, so close to Sofia. She had no idea what condition her little sister would be in when Luca got to her. She’d already been through a horrible ordeal. Isabel wanted to be there when she was rescued to tell her everything would be okay.
“That’s different.” His voice was hard, and she knew he was digging in his heels. “I’m armed and trained to handle this kind of situation. You aren’t.”
She chewed her lip. He was right. And she didn’t want to be a burden on him, something else for him to worry about.
“I can wait outside. In the car.” He didn’t say anything, and she took advantage of the opportunity to continue making her case. “Please, Luca. Sofia will be scared. She’s going to need me.”
She heard her victory in his sigh. “Okay. The address Diego gave us is 13354 Northeast Tenth in North Miami. But you need to be there in ten minutes. We’re going in right when we arrive.”
“I will,” she said, already moving toward her bag by the front door.
“And Isabel?”
“Yes?”
“You promise to stay in the car?”
“I promise,” she said breathlessly. “I’m leaving now.”
She disconnected the call and left the house.
63
“Will she be alive?” Farrell asked from the passenger seat.
Luca kept his eyes on the road, trying to work the traffic lights to get him to the house faster without attracting the attention of any patrol cars in the area. “Yes. She has to be.”
“She has to be?” Farrell repeated. “That’s not the kind of answer I’m looking for.”
He resisted the urge to slam his fist against the steering wheel. Farrell was a practical man. A man of reason. He was putting his life on the line to rescue Sofia, and he wanted to know the odds.
“I think she’ll be alive,” Luca said. “Diego’s a twisted fuck, but I don’t see him killing his little sister.”
“And the other stuff?”
Luca knew what he was asking; had Sofia been abused? Had she been hurt?
“I think she’ll be scared,” he said honestly. “And I think it will take awhile for her to really be okay, but I don’t think Diego did anything to her. That’s not his game.”
Farrell seemed to settle more comfortably into his seat. “Good. Let’s go get her.”
Isabel pulled up next to the curb behind the SUV, just out of range of the nearest street light. They were a couple houses down from the address he’d given her, but she assumed that was no accident. She waited as Luca emerged from the driver’s seat and made his way to her, trying not to weep with relief. She’d been so focused on Sofia she hadn’t realized how scared she’d been for Luca. But he was alive. And now they were going to get her sister, and everything would be okay.
She lowered the window and he leaned down, touched his lips to hers. “You okay?” he asked, running knuckles dried with blood down her cheek.
It was so like him. He’d been at the dock all day waiting for Diego, and his knuckles spoke volumes about what he’d been through since she’d last seen him. But he was asking about her. Worried about her.
She lay her palm against his cheek. “I’m fine, querido. How are you?”
“Fine.” He shook his head, calling himself on the lie. “I don’t like that you’re here.”
She tipped her head in understanding. “I know, but it’s for Sofia. You’ll save her, and I’ll be here to make sure she knows she’s safe when it’s all over. We’re a team, my love. Do you understand?”
He hesitated. “I understand,” he finally said. “I just need to know that you’re safe.”
“I’ll be right here,” she promised.
He withdrew a gun from its holster inside his jacket and handed it to her. “Use it if you have to. The safety’s here,” he said, indicating a tiny hammer at the back. “Point and shoot.”
The gun felt heavy in her hand. She didn’t want to hurt anyone, but she wouldn’t hesitate to kill someone to get to Sofia. She leaned out, kissed his cheek.
“Go. I’ll be fine.”
He looked at her for a long moment, his blue eyes piercing hers. Finally he stood. “See you soon.”
She tried to smile. “See you soon.”
He walked away, joining Farrell who stood next to the SUV.
The house was small and seedy, with crumbling brown stucco and bars on the windows. Overgrown bushes blocked the front windows, and half-dead palm trees lined the side of the property. Luca heard rats scurrying in their fronds as he made his way to the back of the house. Farrell would take the front. They would meet inside.
The soft blue glow of a TV shimmered against closed curtains toward the back of the house. Did that mean someone was inside? Someone besides Sofia?
He had no way of knowing. On the one hand, if someone had been left behind to keep watch over Sofia, the house probably wasn’t booby-trapped. But if they had, Luca and Farrell would have to get through them to get to Sofia.
So be it. He’d taken one of the AKs from the arsenal at the dock. He would do what needed to be done.
He skirted the back of the house, staying low under the windows until he turned the corner. He stepped onto a cracked concrete patio leading to a sliding glass door. It wasn’t ideal. If it was locked, he’d have to shoot the glass, and that meant a lot of noise.
And a lot of warning to whoever was inside.
But it couldn’t be helped. It was now or never. He tried the door and was surprised to find that it was unlocked.
He slid it open as quietly as he could and stepped inside.
Isabel tapped her fingers on the steering wheel, her gaze straying to the gun on the console. She was surprised to find that it made her feel better. She’d never shot a gun before, but she knew
now that she could do it — would do it — to save her sister.
Or Luca.
She looked through the windshield at the house farther down the street. The house holding the two people who mattered more to her than life itself.
She looked at the gun again. She could go. She could peek through the windows or stand outside, waiting to see if they needed help.
She shook her head. It would only be a distraction to Luca if he were to see her, and she needed all his focus to be on saving Sofia and getting out alive.
She settled back into her seat with a sigh and continued tapping her fingers.
Luca stepped onto a peeling linoleum floor and followed the sound of the TV to a room at the front of the house. He stopped outside the living room, instinctively raising his weapon when a figure moved into the shadows beyond the room.
He lowered it when he realized the man was Farrell.
He dared a glance around the door frame into the room and saw the back of someone’s head — dark hair, a little long — on the sofa. He leaned out and pointed to Farrell, then into the room. Then he pointed to himself and the long hall leading to the bedrooms.
Farrell nodded and moved into position while Luca headed down the hall. The sound of the TV grew fainter as he got farther away from the living room. There were five doors — three on one side of the hall and two on the other. One of them was open — a bathroom. The others were closed.
Bedrooms, he guessed. But which one was Sofia in?
He slowly turned the knob of the first one, then raised his weapon as the door swung open.
Empty.
He kept his breathing steady as he moved down the hall, stepping carefully on the linoleum, trying not to make any noise. When he got to the next bedroom, he reached out and slowly tried the knob.
[2016] Muscle Page 23