by Harley Wylde
“I promise I’ll be careful with it,” I said.
“I think she’d have liked you.” He leaned down and kissed me softly. It was the first kiss he’d given me since Dagger left. I fisted his shirt and tugged him closer, pressing my lips to his again. I took a step back when I released him.
“Finish the bed later. Come eat before dinner gets cold.”
He nodded, but I noticed the corners of his lips twitched as if he fought back a smile. When I turned to go back to the kitchen, he reached down and took my hand. To some it might not have seemed a big deal, but for us it was. I had a feeling the three of us might blunder through this relationship until we found our footing, but it seemed to be off to a good start.
I fixed Guardian a plate and set it on the table before making my own. Pulling two sodas from the fridge, I set them down and got forks and knives from the drawer. He pulled out my chair and winked at me as I sat down, then he claimed his own seat. The moan that came from him with the first bite was enough to make my cheeks warm, and it filled me with happiness. I hadn’t had a lot of opportunities to cook since coming to this country, but it seemed I hadn’t lost my touch. Growing up in a large family, I’d learned to cook early so I could help with my younger siblings. It seemed those skills would come in handy with two large men to feed.
“Any word from Dagger?” I asked.
“No, but he’s probably focused on getting Luis. I doubt he has much downtime right now, and when he does, he’s probably resting. Considering the men who are with him, he’ll be fine and he’ll bring our boy home. I don’t doubt it for a second.”
“How long do you think he’ll be gone?” I asked.
“I don’t know, Zoe. Could be a few days, or could be longer. It depends if Luis is where we think he is. If he’s been moved, it could take some extra time to locate him. Then Dagger either has to negotiate, or find a way to extract him.” Guardian ran a hand through his hair.
Extract? That didn’t sound right. Just who had that woman given my son to? My brow furrowed and I pushed my food around my plate. Something didn’t feel right. I was missing an important part of all this, and I didn’t know what it was. Mostly because the men in my life wanted to keep me in the dark. I understood they were trying to protect me, but I didn’t like it.
“Who has Luis?” I asked. “And please don’t lie to me, Jared. I need to know.”
He set his fork down and studied me a moment. I started to think he wouldn’t tell me, when he finally spoke. “The cartel has him.”
It felt like all the air went out of the room. Everything spun and I couldn’t breathe. Dots swam across my vision and I felt my body sway. Before I could topple from my chair, Guardian had me in his arms.
“And this is why no one told you,” he muttered.
“Cartel,” I whispered. “Luis… the man who…”
Guardian sat back in his seat, cradling me against his chest. He smoothed my hair back from my face, and I saw the moment he understood. Digging into his pocket, he pulled out his phone and dialed a number, putting the call on speaker.
“No word,” said the man who answered.
“Pres, there’s something they need to know. Can you get a message to Dagger? I didn’t want to chance calling him in case he’s in a spot that requires silence.”
“Does it pertain to his mission? Or your woman?” Grizzly asked.
“Luis is the product of rape. I know we didn’t tell you because it didn’t matter. He’s ours like Zoe is, and that was that. Except when I mentioned the cartel to Zoe, she said the man who raped her was in the cartel. It’s possible Luis is with his sperm donor, in which case…”
“He won’t give him up willingly,” Grizzly finished.
“Right. The team down there needs to know what they’re walking into. If the guy knows about Luis, then he’s going to be pissed if Dagger goes down there waving around papers saying the kid belongs to him.”
“I’m on it.” There was a moment of silence. “Am I on speaker?”
“Uh, yeah. Sorry. I thought Zoe might feel better if she heard you were going to handle it. I know I shouldn’t have done that without saying something first.”
“We’ll talk about it later. Zoe, I’m going to make sure they know the man who hurt you is part of the cartel. It could be a coincidence they have Luis, or he could have been picked because of his connection to one of their men. Do you know the man’s name? Or his rank?” Grizzly asked.
“No. I only know he was part of the cartel because there was a tattoo I could see before he covered my face.” I felt sick thinking about my poor boy down there with those monsters. If they hurt him, I’d never forgive myself for leaving him behind. Just the thought of what he could have seen, or been forced to do…
I bolted off Guardian’s lap and ran for the bathroom, barely making it before I threw up. I heard booted steps rushing toward me, then Guardian was on his knees, the heat of his body pressing against my back. He pulled my hair back and wrapped an arm around me while I emptied my stomach until there was nothing left.
“I’m sorry,” I murmured.
“You have nothing to apologize for, baby. You have every right to be worried or scared, but I promise you that Dagger won’t come home unless Luis is with him. There’s no way he’s leaving that boy down there. You hear me?”
I nodded. “I’m worried he’ll get hurt, or that the cartel may have harmed Luis already. They’re so evil. They rape, murder, and profit off other peoples’ pain and suffering. I don’t want our son exposed to that.”
“Let’s focus on bringing him home right now. When he gets here, we can get him whatever help he needs, baby.”
I knew Guardian was right. I only hoped Dagger came home in one piece, and brought Luis with him. If anything happened to either of them, I’d never forgive myself. Once again, I’d kept something to myself and it had put someone in danger. If Dagger had known when he left that the man who’d raped me in Mexico had been part of the cartel, then he would have been better prepared.
“He’s going to be angry,” I said.
“Who? Dagger? Why would he be angry?” Guardian asked.
“Because I didn’t tell him everything. Again.”
He hugged me tight. “Baby, he’ll probably spank your ass, and he might be upset, but there’s no damn way Dagger would ever hurt you. And I know he couldn’t stay mad at you for long. You’re just too damn sweet.”
I didn’t know if Guardian was right or not, but I’d have to wait and see. With some luck, Dagger wouldn’t be gone too long, and he’d bring Luis with him. My son hadn’t seen me since he was a baby, and I doubted he’d know who I was. Infants didn’t retain enough for him to remember me, did they? It was going to hurt, being a stranger to my own child, but I’d brought it on myself. I should have fought harder to bring Luis with me, or remained in Mexico and made the best of it. But if I’d done that, I may have never met Dagger and Guardian.
Please bring them home safely. I closed my eyes and prayed, and hoped someone was listening.
Chapter Eleven
Dagger
My wife was going to have a red ass when I got home. I’d have still come down here to get Luis, even if I’d known his biological father might have him, but not walking into that blind would have been a big help. Thankfully, Grizzly had gotten word to us before I’d marched in there and started demanding shit. Like my boy. Not knowing which of these fucks had sired Luis didn’t help matters any.
“New plan?” I asked Specter and Casper.
“More like option two,” Casper said. “We knew you didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of walking out with the boy. Even if he’s there by coincidence, they won’t release him. You could possibly buy him back, but that’s not much fun.”
I stared at the man, and the creepy ass Specter who was grinning. Not in a happy way, but in an I can’t wait to fuck shit up kind of way. I should be thankful these two hadn’t already started a bloodbath. They weren’t exactly known
for leaving men standing. Someone got in their way, don’t bother looking for them. You’d be lucky to find a few pieces. Unless they wanted you to.
“Anyone ever plan on telling me about option two?” I asked.
“We’ll create a diversion, then you and your men go in and grab the boy,” Specter said.
A diversion. Christ. I wasn’t about to fucking ask what that meant. With these two, I had a feeling it would end in a high death toll. Granted, they were taking out the cartel’s men, so I was okay with that. Long as my brothers made it back home, and I was able to get Luis out of there, that’s all that mattered. Going home empty-handed, or in a body bag, wasn’t an option.
“When are we doing this?” I asked.
Casper looked at his watch. “In about fifteen minutes. Everything should be in place by then.”
Fifteen… I narrowed my eyes at them. “You two had this planned all along. You knew your option two would be the only option, didn’t you?”
Casper shrugged and looked away, but a smile spread across his face. The fucker. Everything would have been simpler if they’d just laid out this plan from the beginning. I went to tell my brothers we needed to move fast, except I wasn’t sure what to expect. I had four Devil’s Fury members with me, and Casper had arranged for some of his acquaintances to help as well. Although, they were missing at the moment, which meant they were probably a big part of his plan.
I should have known something was up when they all walked off.
“Watch for the signal,” Specter said. “I’ll cover you from above.”
I glanced around and didn’t have a damn clue where he planned to hide. As long as he kept me from getting shot, I didn’t much care. Although, I was a little concerned about the payment Casper would expect. I already knew what Specter wanted, but Casper VanHorne? The man didn’t do anything out of the goodness of his heart. Fuck, I wasn’t even sure he had a heart.
“I don’t like this,” Wolf said. “It feels wrong.”
I knew exactly what he meant. The hair on my nape pricked, and I hoped shit wasn’t about to go sideways. The ground rumbled, and then an explosion had us covering our ears and ducking our heads as debris rained down. The gate and surrounding walls were nothing but rubble, but before the men inside could rush in our direction, another bomb went off. At least, I assumed that’s what was causing the damage and noise. As I rushed toward the gate, my brothers were at my back.
A man charged me, his arm raised and a gun in his hand, but before he got a shot off, crimson stained the front of his shirt and he fell face first onto the ground. Each man that came for us met the same fate, and I knew Specter had kept up his end of the deal. I entered the cartel’s compound and didn’t have a fucking clue where they would hide Luis. Wolf came with me, while Steel and Colorado went the other direction.
I entered the building on the left, my gun in my hand, as I cleared each room. A man yelled as he saw me, taking aim and getting off two shots before I took him down. He’d missed me, for which I was thankful. But the distraction cost me. Another seemed to pop up out of nowhere. He got off five shots, one of which clipped me in the shoulder. I heard Wolf grunt, then the man dropped with a hole in the center of his forehead. I glanced back long enough to make sure my brother was fine. He gave me a slight nod and we kept moving.
Wolf watched my six as we made our way through each building. Steel and Colorado were standing in front of the last building when we approached it. If they hadn’t found Luis, and we hadn’t either, he was in the building in front of us. Unless he’d been moved before we even made it to Mexico. The only thing working in our favor right now was that these assholes didn’t know why we’d hit their compound. They had no clue what we wanted. If they knew I wanted Luis, I had no doubt they’d either move him again, or kill him.
“If he’s not in there…” I let the thought just hang there. Honestly, if he wasn’t in this last building, I had no fucking clue what to do next. The cartel could have moved him anywhere. For that matter, they could have sold him and he could be long gone from Mexico. I couldn’t go home without him. It would destroy Zoe.
“He’s there,” Steel said. “And if he’s not, we’ll find someone who can tell us where they moved him. We’ll get your boy.”
Chaos surrounded us as Casper and Specter waged war on the cartel, keeping them busy while we searched for Luis. Anyone got close, and Specter took them down. Or maybe one of Casper’s men did it. Hard to say since they were all like fucking ghosts and I didn’t see a damn one of them.
Steel kicked in the door ahead of us and we went into the building, guns drawn. Steel took point with his AR-15 and I followed, a Glock in one hand and my knife in the other. Wolf backed me up and Colorado took the rear. We systematically cleared the building, saving one place for last. The tower. As we made our way up the stairs, I hoped like hell we weren’t walking into an ambush.
Steel pushed the door open and stepped inside. I was right on his heels and drew up short when I saw the man holding a gun on a room full of young boys. It seemed Luis wasn’t the only one they’d bought or taken.
The man started speaking in rapid-fire Spanish. “You’re not taking our children.”
“Not your kids, asshole. I just want my son,” I said.
He hesitated and scanned each of us. “¿Hijo?”
“Yes, my son. Luis.” I scanned the boys behind him and noticed a pair of blue eyes were watching me. I held out my hand to him. “Luis, your mom misses you. I’m taking you home.”
I saw his eyes flare and knew I had his attention. He might not remember his mother, but it was clear he wanted to see her. I only hoped he didn’t think the bitch who’d sold him was his mom. It would gut Zoe. She had to expect a bit of resistance from Luis, or at least some distance. The kid didn’t know her, or me for that matter. With some luck, he wouldn’t put up a fight.
“Not your son,” the man said. “Juan’s boy.”
Juan. I wondered if that was the man who had raped Zoe, or if he’d merely claimed Luis as his own after purchasing him. I slowly reached into my pants pocket and retrieved a copy of the official documents showing Luis belonged with me. No way I’d give this fucker the real thing. He could rip it up, and then I’d be screwed.
“I have paperwork saying otherwise.” I held it out as far as my arm would reach. “Take it. See for yourself.”
He snatched the papers and looked them over, before throwing them on the floor and spitting on them. It seemed we weren’t doing this the easy way. The only good news was the gun no longer pointed at the boys. He’d been distracted enough to drop his guard. I saw Steel’s finger gently squeeze the trigger and the man staggered as the bullet ripped through his shoulder.
Wolf and Colorado moved fast, making sure the guy went down and stayed down. As much I wanted to slice into the asshole with my knife, I sheathed it and hurried over to Luis. He trembled and his shoulders hunched as I got closer. I dropped to my knees, hoping if I seemed smaller he might not feel threatened.
I doubted he knew English, or much of it, so I made sure to use Spanish when I spoke to him. “Your mother is at home waiting for you. I’m her husband. Your father. Will you come with me, Luis? I’ll take you somewhere safe. Your mother has been worried about you.”
He slowly reached his hand for mine. With his fingers wrapped in mine, I stood and walked to the door, but I hesitated. Glancing at the other boys, I had to know.
“Anyone else not belong here?” I asked in Spanish.
Five more boys came forward, all ranging in size and age. They left with me. I saw Wolf shadow us as we went down the steps and made our way out of the compound. Dead bodies littered the ground, and I hoped the sight wouldn’t give these kids nightmares. I didn’t know what they’d been exposed to already. Luis tightened his hold on my hand as we left the compound. Casper was standing just outside, hands in his pockets, as if he hadn’t a care in the world.
“That your boy?” he asked.
I nodded.
“These others said they don’t belong here. Any way you or your men could find their homes? Or see that they get somewhere safe?”
He looked at them and smiled. A genuine one. “Yeah, we’ll see they’re taken care of. I’ll remain behind to handle it. The jet is fueled and waiting.”
“Steel and Colorado are tying up a loose end. There’s more kids in the building too,” Wolf said.
“Get your boy out of here, Dagger. Don’t wait for the others. When the jet gets back to Georgia, they’ll refuel and come back for us. I promise your brothers will come home, just not right this minute. They can help me get the kids settled where they belong.” Casper straightened. “It’s not negotiable.”
I didn’t like the idea of leaving anyone behind. I looked over my shoulder and saw Steel and Colorado coming out of the building, the kids following behind them. I waited, needing to hear from them that they were all right with the plan. I wasn’t heading back without them any other way.
Casper told them the same thing he’d said to me, and Colorado shrugged. Steel eyed the kids behind him, then my boy. When his gaze met mine, I knew he was fine with the plan.
“All right. I don’t like it, but I agree I need to get Luis home sooner rather than later,” I said.
“There’s one thing you need to know. Something you won’t like,” Steel said.
I braced myself, wondering what the hell he could have found out in the short time since I’d left with Luis. Had the man he’d shot decided to talk?
“Juan isn’t in Mexico anymore,” Steel said. “The woman who sold Luis to him reached out when Zoe sent money from a new return address. He’s going for your woman. I couldn’t make heads or tails of the rambling, but it seems he plans to use her as a breeder for more kids. Guess he liked the looks of Luis or something. She didn’t know when he left. Could have been today, or he could have been in our territory for a while now.”
I growled and my body tensed. No fucking way would he get his hands on my wife. I’d show him exactly why they called me Dagger if he even thought of harming her. Lifting Luis into my arms, fire spread through my shoulder from the bullet wound, but I ignored it and I headed for the vehicles. Casper had arranged for us to use a few Humvees, and I was grateful right now. I climbed in with Luis while Wolf got behind the wheel. It seemed he was coming with me, and I was glad. If we ran into trouble, I didn’t want to face it alone.