laughs. “Would you like another limp to go with the one I’ve already given you, Gomez, or shall I remove the leg completely this time?”
Four…
Three…
Gomez face swells up like a bullfrog. “You’ve grown weak and stubborn in the last few years, Se?or,” he accuses, moving his chess pieces from ‘foolish’ to ‘suicidal’. “Your pretty new wife has turned your head.” Heaving his trousers over his gut, he turns to leave as Dante and I both lift our guns in unison.
“Se?or Santiago! Se?or Santiago!”
Gabriela bursts into the room, making all of us spin around. She’s left her usual composure somewhere in the hallway outside, and her eyes are streaming with fear. Her forehead is bleeding, and the collar of her black shirt is torn.
“What the hell happened?” demands Dante, striding up to her.
“They attacked me! They took Viviana!”
“Who did?”
“Three men,” she cries, clutching at her chest. “I’ve never seen them before.”
“Fernandez,” Dante rumbles, his expression failing to hide his rage. “How the hell did they get in here? We have a hundred men patrolling this estate.”
But I’m already halfway out of the door. I take the stairs at a run, ignoring the blistering jolts in my shoulder. “Anna!” I shout as I reach the bedroom door. “Anna?”
No answer.
The room is empty. White curtains flutter at the open windows as all kinds of hell explode in the pit of my stomach. She’s gone. She’s fucking gone—
A gunshot rings out and I’m retracing my steps quicker than I made them. Gomez is sprawled out at the foot of the staircase with that prophesied hole in the back of his head.
“Caught him trying to sneak out while I was dealing with Gabriela,” says Dante, holstering his gun. “I think it’s safe to assume we found the leak. His petulance should have been the first clue.”
“Anna’s gone too,” I announce bleakly, watching his expression plunge even deeper into darkness. “I won't rest until I find her, even if I have to rip this whole fucking country apart.”
“Fuck!” he roars. “Fuck!” He stops pacing for a moment and runs his hand across his jaw. “Radio Reece outside. See if any of our men were harmed in this attack, and then get Gomez’s guys in here. Let’s see if he was working alone. Tell them the newly resurrected Santiago cartel just took control of their organization.” He takes a breath and catches my eyes again. He knows I don't give a shit about any of this. He knows my thoughts are fully focused on one thing, and one thing only. “We’ll get her back, Grayson.”
His cell beeps and he glances at the message.
Without a word, he chucks the cell to me. My world turns an even darker shade of black when I see the message. It’s Anna. Bound and gagged. Staring directly into the camera with the kind of fear I never wanted to see reflected in those river-deep eyes again.
My fingers clench around the device. Dante’s devil is raging through my veins just as much as his today. My resolve is cold steel and ice. It’s napalm and gasoline.
I was there to save her the first time.
I’ll be there to save her again.
The cell starts ringing, and I answer it right away.
“My terms are simple,” comes Fernandez’s harsh rasp. “I want Gomez’s entire operation and you out of the picture in exchange for one of the girls. I’ll let you decide which.”
Motherfucker.
“When?” I demand, switching the call to loudspeaker so Dante can hear.
“We keep the round table meeting tomorrow as planned, but there’ll be three seats instead of five. I’m sure you’re already aware of what’s happened to Perez and Hurtados. You can take the place of Gomez. Do what you like with him. He’s outlived his usefulness.” I glance at the dead body on the floor. We already got the memo. “My estate in Cartagena, tomorrow at sunset. No guns. No men. No nasty surprises. Once your assurances have been given, you can take the girl and go. I want you gone from Colombia, never to return.”
I catch Dante’s eye again. His terms are bullshit. We’re walking into a firing squad, and we both know it.
“You hurt them and the deal’s off,” I roar, losing my temper.
Fernandez laughs again. “Until I get my assurances tomorrow, El Asesino. I’ll do whatever the hell I like with them.”
31
Joseph
The same day my father blew a hole in my life, he cursed me and sent me straight to hell.
I say hell… It was more a purgatory; an icy plane