by Anna Blakely
Chapter 19
Gabby’s head felt like it was going to split wide open. She tried opening her eyes, but even the slightest sliver of light sent a splinter of pain shooting through her throbbing skull. So she kept them closed, for now.
She could feel the warmth of her own blood on the back of her head and neck, which would explain the mind-shattering headache. But for the life of her, she didn’t remember how she’d been hurt.
Keeping her eyes closed, she tried to remember where she was and what had happened. When Gabby heard a man’s voice, it was as if someone had suddenly pressed the fast-forward button on her memories.
Flashing through the day’s events, she pictured waking up in the hotel room with Zade. Seeing him in that mouthwatering tux and fighting the need to rip it from his incredible body.
Gabby remembered arriving at Hector Andino’s home, being at the auction, and waking up on the couch inside his office. An image of her climbing out of his window filled her mind’s eye right before she saw Kole being brutally gunned down without any chance to defend himself.
Finally, Gabby remembered Andino and his muscle forcing her to drive through the trees. To a tiny shack in the field behind his house.
A flash of pain, and then…she was waking up, here.
She opened her eyes a tiny smidge at a time. Forced herself to push past the pain and adjust to the bright light.
Even though she could see Andino and Eduardo standing nearby, Gabby’s first instinct was to try to run. To get as far away from them as she possibly could, and to find Zade and Samantha.
God, please let them be okay.
She tried sitting up, but the leather restraints around her wrists and ankles prevented her from moving more than a couple of inches off the cold concrete surface. The movement was enough for Andino to notice.
“Welcome back, mi amor .”
The certifiable man stepped closer. Staring down at her, his eyes filled with a sympathy she didn’t buy for a second.
“I apologize for Eduardo’s rough behavior toward you.”
He raised a hand toward her face, but Gabby jerked away as best she could. She squeezed her eyes shut when the move sent another shard of pain slicing through her.
Looking displeased, Andino lowered the hand back to his side. “However, I did warn you. You must learn to behave yourself. Otherwise, I will have no choice but to let him hurt you again.”
“You’re crazy.” Gabby looked at Eduardo and back to Hector. “You’re both sick, crazy bastards, and I can’t wait for the day someone sends the two of you straight to hell.”
She should probably play nice. Not poke the bear and all that, but she’d done enough acting around this man to last a lifetime.
At this point, it wasn’t like he’d believe her, anyway. So why bother?
“I was hoping maybe Eduardo’s earlier reminder would have tampered that ugly temper of yours. I see you may need another one.”
“I thought you liked my feistiness, Hector. Wasn’t that what you said earlier tonight…right before you drugged me?”
Rather than respond right away, Andino turned and walked over to a shelf attached to the wall a few feet away. Her eyes fell on more tables like the one she was currently strapped to. She hadn’t noticed them before, and she really, really wished she hadn’t seen them now.
Their bases were a crude but sturdy wooden frame. The tops, a two-inch, concrete slab. Each had a few dark, rusty stains that looked a lot like dried blood.
Oh, shit.
“We don’t have time for this now, Hector,” Eduardo hissed.
This?
Her gaze rose to the shelf where Andino stood. Arranged neatly along its smooth surface were several shiny knives and other lovely things the monster probably used to convince the girls to go along with his nauseating operation.
After what appeared to be much consideration, Andino picked up one of the larger knives and turned back around. He began walking toward her, his steps slow. Intentional.
Gabby’s heart began to race wildly, her breathing quickly becoming shallowed.
Don’t let him see your fear, Gabby. This is all about power. Men like him get off on that sort of thing.
The words were of her own mind’s making, but it was almost as if Zade were right there, talking to her. She could almost feel his presence, though she knew that was simply wishful thinking on her part.
But that’s what she did, right? It’s how her brain had always coped with being terrified.
Whether it be one of her mom’s too-handsy boyfriends, getting caught in a bad part of town, or having to live with the foster brother from hell…anytime she was so scared she could barely speak, Gabby’s mind took her someplace else.
Someplace safe.
She couldn’t imagine a safer place to be than in the warmth and comfort of Zade’s strong, protective arms.
With her eyes still on Andino and that damn knife in his hand, Gabby reached deep within herself to find a calm she most definitely did not feel. Almost instantly, her mask fell into place.
Her heart rate slowed, her breathing became close to normal. She could take whatever Andino was about to do to her. She was strong enough.
At least that’s what she kept telling herself as he closed the distance between them.
“There she is.” He smiled. “See, Eduardo? I told you she was special. My Gabriella is such a strong, brave woman.”
“I’m not your anything, you sick freak.”
“The bitch isn’t worth it, Hector.” Eduardo glared down at her from his dutiful post at her feet. “She’s already caused us enough trouble as it is. Let’s leave her here and move the hell on. I don’t have a good feeling about being here with those men still swarming around the house upstairs.”
He was talking about Zade’s team and Ghost and his men.
They’re still here.
Gabby opened her mouth to scream for help, but Hector pressed the blade of his knife to her cheek.
“You can scream, mi amor , but no one will hear you. We are deep underground and the walls and ceiling are soundproof. No one upstairs even knows we are here.”
His words struck a chord with her, creating a nagging feeling almost like she’d forgotten something. Something important.
Nate picked you up with his drone. We know exactly where you are.
Gabe’s recent words rang through her pounding head. They do know she’s here. They’re on their way…should be closing in at any moment.
I need to keep him talking.
“How is it no one has found this place before now?” She spoke carefully as to not get cut. “You’ve been the subject of how many federal investigations? How have you not had this place searched from top to bottom?”
“You forget, my sweet Gabriella.” Andino slid the knife down her cheek, lightly tracing her jawline with its tip. “We are not in your country. Without the cooperation of my government, your people have no jurisdiction here. And my government”—he chuckled—“well, I am my government. I own them. I provide for them so they can give their families food. Shelter. Those are men who will never turn on me.”
She wanted to pull away but didn’t for fear the blade would pierce her skin. “So why keep me here? Why not just kill me and get it over with?”
An image flashed behind her eyes. A different house. Different restraints. A very different man.
God, had it only been three days since she’d said those same words to Zade?
A lot can happen in three days.
He slid the knife along her collar bone and over her bare shoulder.
“Don’t listen to her, Hector,” Eduardo chimed back in. His angry voice echoing off the walls. “We need to leave the bitch here and be done with this!”
The tip of the blade pricked the skin covering her upper arm. “You forget who is in charge here, Eduardo. I will kill her if and when I am ready to and not a second before.”
He continued to cut her, the blade leaving a trail o
f fire in its wake. Gabby sucked in a breath, pushing back the scream begging to be set free.
She refused to give him the satisfaction,
“Damn it, Hector, stop!” Eduardo’s booming demand surprised her. “You’re not thinking rationally!”
No, really? You don’t say.
“This woman will ruin everything you have worked so hard for.” Eduardo’s voice raised. “Everything we’ve worked for. Let’s leave her and go!”
The blade left her skin as Andino pointed it toward his trusted enforcer. Gabby tried not to look at the fresh blood dripping from its tip.
“She is mine. I will do whatever I want with her, and I will not have you or anyone else telling me what I should or should not do.”
Eduardo, who’d moved over to her right side so she was between the two men, continued to face off with his boss. Not a smart move, if you asked her. Although…
The longer they argued amongst themselves, the more time it gave the others to show up.
“You brought me in six months ago because you needed my help, remember? You came to me because you heard I was the best at what I do. I’ve proven that to you over and over again.”
Gabby’s self-induced calm went right out the window when she saw Eduardo pull his gun from his waistband. He kept it loose at his side.
“I’ve nearly died for you,” Eduardo continued on with his rant. “I killed a man for you tonight, for fuck’s sake! But I will not hang out here and be taken down over the sick infatuation you have for this woman.”
Eduardo raised his gun. He pointed that gun…right at her.
“You do not want to do that, my friend,” Andino warned him.
“I’d listen to him, Eduardo.” Gabby was suddenly more than ready to be on Andino’s side. “You know what kind of man your boss is.”
His eyes slid down to hers. There was a strange look in them. One Gabby couldn’t quite put her finger on.
“Yes, I do. Which is why I have to end this. Now.”
It was as though everything began moving in slow motion.
Eduardo curled his finger around the trigger as the door on the wall facing them crashed open. Two gunshots echoed deafeningly, their explosions nearly simultaneous making what sounded like one, loud boom.
Gabby squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the pain to strike, but it never came. Something else happened then. Something incredible and miraculous.
She heard Zade’s glorious voice.
“Put the weapon down, Andino! Or I swear to God, I will drop you where you stand!”
Her eyes flew open, Gabby’s heart nearly bursting from relief when she saw him. Zade was there.
He’s really here!
“Zade!” she breathed his name.
Looking like a cross between James Bond and Jason Bourne, he stood in his tuxedo, arms stretched out in front of him. His gun was pointed directly at Andino’s head.
Wait. What about...
Gabby turned her head to the side, wincing when a stinging pain hit her neck. Eduardo was on the floor, his back propped against the wall to her right. Blood oozed from a wound in his right shoulder.
“Sonofabitch,” he growled, his voice strained with pain. “You shot me!”
Because you were going to shoot me, you idiot!”
“Make a move toward that gun, and the next one goes in your head.”
Gabby spotted Eduardo’s gun over in the corner, well out of the man’s reach. She assumed it had gone flying when Zade’s bullet hit the guy’s shoulder.
“I mean it, Hector.” He returned his focus to the man behind her. “Drop the fucking knife, or I will drop you. Your choice.”
Knife? Zade’s first words when he entered the room sank in. But Andino had moved the weapon away from her when he and Eduardo were talking.
Confused, Gabby’s gaze returned to Zade’s, the movement bringing another quick flash of pain making her wince.
“Baby, you’ve got to stop moving your head,” he spoke to her for the first time since bursting through the door like her own personal action hero. “You’re already bleeding too damn much as it is.”
Drop the fucking knife, or I will drop you.
Keeping her head still, Gabby slid her eyes to the left. Between the guns firing, her thinking she was the one getting shot, and seeing Zade again…she hadn’t noticed the knife was now pressed again her neck.
You’re already bleeding too damn much as it is.
She felt the blood. Not from her head or arm this time. New, fresh blood was dripping down the side of her neck.
Suddenly moving was the very last thing she wanted to do.
“You try to shoot me, she dies,” Andino warned.
“Move that blade a fucking millimeter, it’ll be the last thing you do.”
Gabby held her breath and did her very best not to cause the knife to do anymore damage to her skin. She also tried to ignore the light-headedness that was starting to set in, probably from the blood loss Zade had been worried about.
“Eduardo, don’t just sit there!” Andino ordered his man. “Get your gun and shoot this son of a bitch!”
“Don’t do it, Eduardo.” Zade kept his eyes trained on Hector. “This piece of shit isn’t worth it.”
“I…know,” the wounded man grunted. “That’s why…I was about to shoot…his ass.” From the corner of her eye, Gabby could tell the man on the floor was shifting to sit up straighter.
Wait. What?
Gabby started to shake her head but stopped. “Your gun was pointed at me. Not him.”
“I only wanted him to think I was going to shoot you. Needed him to stop…cutting.”
Zade scoffed. “Like I’m going to buy that shit. This isn’t my first rodeo, dumbass, so don’t even fucking try to play me like it is.”
“Not…playing. Name’s Sawyer. Sawyer…Drake. DEA.”
Gabby noticed the man’s thick, Hispanic accent had completely vanished.
“You’re a cop?” Andino yelled.
He was behind her, so Gabby couldn’t see his face. But she imagined the veins in his head were popping out right about now.
“Yeah, I’m a cop.” The man spoke between grunts of pain. “And you’re under…arrest for distributing illegal substances across state and national borders, human…trafficking, and a fuck ton of other charges I can’t think of right now because my shoulder feels like it’s…about to burn the fuck…off.”
Gabby’s mind whirled with all kinds of what-the hell thoughts. First and foremost, was the guy even telling the truth?
He couldn’t be. Not after what he’d done to Kole.
“Don’t believe him, Zade,” she spoke carefully. “He shot Kole. I watched him do it.” Her voice cracked at the end. A warm tear ran down her temple and into her hairline.
Anger and disbelief flashed across his hardened face. His eye slid over to Eduardo’s. “I will fucking end you!”
“He’s not dead!” Eduardo, or whatever his name was, put up a bloody palm. “The guy was wearing a vest. I felt it when I pulled him out of the car. That’s why I shot him in the chest and not the head.”
Hope bloomed inside her own chest. Could Kole really still be alive?
Zade shook his head. “That’s a good cover, but it proves nothing.”
“I’m telling you the truth! Look, man. I can prove it to you, later, after we take this piece of shit down.” When Zade still didn’t look convinced, the man said, “I get it. I’ve been where you are, but it’s not like I carry my badge and real I.D. with me while I’m on the job. Shit!” He shifted again, the movement apparently causing the man more pain. “I’m telling you, I’m Special Agent Sawyer Drake with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration.”
“You’re right.” Zade shook his head slowly. “You can’t prove shit, and I don’t have time to dick with you right now.” His focus returned to the man with the knife. “Drop the goddamn knife and step away.”
Andino didn’t respond right away. Instead, Gab
by lay there listening to the man’s ragged breaths as he contemplated his next move.
Please put the knife down. Please put the knife down.
“I trusted you,” he spat the words at the man on the floor. It was pretty clear Hector believed the guy’s story. “I brought you into my business. Into my home.”
“Your business is to abduct and sell young girls and women for a fucking profit. You hand them over to people who do unspeakable things to them. Not to mention the drug deals you oversee.”
He pushed himself up off the floor, his left hand pressing against the gushing wound on his right shoulder. Gabby expected Zade to shoot him again, or at least warn him. Maybe he was starting to believe the man’s story, too.
“The shit you put out on the streets kills thousands of Americans every year,” Eduardo/Sawyer continued on. “Most of those under the age of thirty. My sister was one of them.”
Okay, now she was starting to believe him, too.
“You’re a waste of fucking space, Andino, and I hope like hell this man does us all a favor and kills you where you stand.”
Gabby’s eyes shifted to Zade’s. His expression was guarded, but she could tell he no longer felt the man next to her was a threat. At least not as much as the man still standing behind her.
“Unbuckle her clasps.” Andino finally spoke again. The order was to the man she was starting to think of as Sawyer.
“Fuck you.”
The knife pricked her skin again, and a tiny grunt escaped before she could stop it.
“Release her or I slit her throat from ear to ear.”
“Do what he says, Drake,” Zade barked loudly.
“At least you finally believe me.”
Using his good hand, Eduardo, A.K.A. Sawyer Drake, began to unbuckle the restraints on her right side. First her wrist, and then her ankle.
Keeping the knife precariously close to her jugular, Andino shifted around to her right side as the other man began working on her left ankle.
“What’s the plan, Hector?” Zade asked. “There are agents and teams all around you. There’s nowhere to go.”
“They won’t hurt me. Not while I have an American woman as my hostage.”
When Drake released the final restraint, Andino ordered her to stand.