Delta Force Rescue - Elle James Page 0,56
down.
Rafe got out and held the door for the two women. He’d stripped out of his bulletproof vest but wore a shoulder holster with his Glock. With El Chefe loose, he could have his mercenaries make another attempt on Alejandra or Briana. He’d had enough time to make some calls while they were in the air.
Hank led the way up the stairs to the porch, shaking his head. “It’s not like Sadie to leave the lights off. At the very least, I would’ve thought Maddog would’ve left one on. He was in charge of ranch security while we’ve been gone.” When he reached for the door handle, it turned without resistance. Hank held up a hand with his fist clenched, the sign for his team to stop. He pulled his weapon from the holster beneath his jacket, stood to the side of the door and nudged it open.
“Both of you get behind the SUV,” Rafe said to Briana and Alejandra. He pulled his weapon from his holster and climbed the porch steps, moving to the opposite side of the front door.
Hank nudged the door wider and dove in, rolling to one side and to his feet in a hunched position behind a table in the foyer.
Rafe dove in as well and remained in a prone position on the floor.
A light blinked on, illuminating the living room.
Hank cursed.
Sadie sat in a straight-back wooden chair, her arms secured behind her, duct tape across her mouth.
In a playpen beside her lay her little girl, Emma, sound asleep.
Sitting in a wing-back chair beside them was El Chefe, holding Alejandra’s baby, Bella, in his arms, a gun pointed at her little head.
Two of his men stood behind him, AK-47s in their hands, pointed at Hank and Rafe.
“It took you long enough to get here after you destroyed my home,” the cartel leader said. “I don’t forgive transgressions easily.” He shrugged. “Actually, I don’t forgive transgressions at all.” The man glanced down at the baby in his arms. “I get what I want. Every. Time.” He glanced toward the door. “Is that not correct, Alejandra?”
Alejandra entered through the front door, her eyes rounded and shaking her head. “I’ll go with you. Just don’t hurt her. She’s innocent. She’s your daughter.”
“I thought as much. Another reason for her to return to El Salvador with her mother.” He brushed the baby’s hair back with the barrel of the gun he held. “It would a shame for her to die for no reason but that you didn’t care enough about her to stay where you belong.”
Alejandra looked from El Chefe to Sadie, Hank and Rafe. “Leave these people alone, and Bella and I will go with you. Now. This minute. No argument.”
“You’ll go with me no matter what I do with the rest of your friends.”
“Please, they only wanted to help me,” Alejandra begged.
“As I told your beautiful friend, Briana, I didn’t get where I am by being kind to strangers. I take my business seriously. When people interfere in my business, they pay.” He pushed to his feet.
The baby whimpered.
“Let me hold her.” Alejandra walked forward, her arms out. “She’s probably hungry and hears my voice.”
As if to prove her mother right, Bella’s whimpers turned into soft cries. She stretched and raised her arms, as if seeking Alejandra.
The cartel leader quickly became impatient with the baby and struggled to hold onto her and his gun at the same time. He almost dropped her.
Alejandra rushed forward to catch Bella.
El Chefe let her have the child and grabbed her instead, shoving his gun up against her temple. “Now, we are going to walk out of here, and none of you will stop us. If you do, I will kill the woman and the baby.” He held out his hands. “The keys to your vehicle.”
Hank dug in his pocket and pulled out the key fob, tossing it at the cartel leader. The fob landed at his feet.
“Get it,” he told Alejandra.
Balancing Bella in her arms, Alejandra bent to retrieve the key fob.
El Chefe held the gun to the back of her head the entire time until she handed it to him. He pocketed the key fob and hooked his arm around Alejandra’s neck, again pointing the gun at her temple.
With the keys to the SUV, the man was about to walk out of the ranch house with exactly what he’d come for. Alejandra and her baby.
Rafe’s heart skittered to a stop and then raced. He prayed Briana had headed for the