Cold Day In Hell (22 page)

"You have people tracking them."

"Of course."

Enrique pointed to the smaller of the two buildings where Lina and Pablo Cisneros    were housed. "Those two, you have plans for them?"

"I'd thought to offer a trade, to use them to lure the woman out in the open. Now I'm not so sure." An idea hit him, sending his blood racing. "Are you up to some sport before we eat?" The boy needed to let go of some tension, and playing with his dog always did the trick.

"Always."

"Get Diablo. I'll bring the camera."

"May I kill the man and woman?" Enrique smiled, making Manny's heart ache with pride. His son was as deadly at seventeen as Manny had been at twenty-one.

"We'll see how it goes."

He went to the patio and waited. Diablo was the most docile of pets until given the correct commands. Enrique and the trainer had worked for nearly a year, honing the dog's skills and the boy's ability to control the animal. He liked nothing more than to show off for his papa.

Manny's thoughts kept drifting back to today's failure. According to his bought-and-paid-for police detective who'd responded to the call, the woman and her party were on the run again.

He'd spent a lot of money tracking Ana Cisneros. Too much money. He'd hoped that now that she was in Colombia, he'd hang her body from the overpass. That would prove his strength to his competitors. He couldn't move on until she and her hired hand were dead. First, Carlo had let him down. Today, he'd suffered another failure.

There were ways to make her crawl to him on her knees. Or she'd be so angry she'd make a mistake. Either way, she'd walk right into his trap soon.

The sounds of footsteps and the dog's nails clicking across the paving stones banished his disappointment.

Chapter Eighteen

Ty sat on the rickety steps of the run-down shack. Ana's uncle, whose name they'd learned was Rodrigo, or Rod for short, had given them an old, beat-up station wagon that coughed and wheezed. He'd directed them to this well-hidden house inside the national park. They'd move to a different location every day. Granted they'd be less noticeable in the rusted-out wagon, but getting into a high-speed chase wasn't an option. 

He listened to the sounds of the night. Marcus was out there somewhere in the dark taking the early turn at standing guard. Damned if Ty could spot him. 

Nothing had gone right since he'd driven to the library in Hill Top to check on Ana. Truth was he was the reason her life was in danger. This entire clusterfuck rested squarely on his shoulders.

How had it all unraveled? He'd never had an op turn into a bigger mess. Ana had warned him Ortega had a long reach. This was way past a leak. Somebody who knew their every move was on his payroll.

He ticked off the people in his head who were aware of this joint-sanctioned mission. Nate, Marcus nor Ty had leaked shit. Naturally, the feds knew everything and they kept the Colombian government informed. So where in those two links was the mole hiding? That was the person Ty had to ferret out. He considered Jack for a second but ruled him out. Jack could've faked an attack today and killed Ana easily. He was a pain in the ass, but that was all Ty could pin on him.

The screen door creaked. Soft footsteps told him Ana approached from behind. He didn't have to look to be sure. Her presence sent the hair on his arms tingling, his skin warming as if she were touching him. Allowing those feelings was definitely not a smart move. Hell, he could imagine the lecture he'd get if Marcus had known Ty had let things get out of hand.

"You're supposed to be asleep." He kept his voice low since Jack was sleeping on one of the makeshift cots inside the two-room house.

Small hands gripped Ty's shoulders and kneaded his muscles. "So are you. I happen to know this isn't your watch."

Her thumbs pressed the tendon in his neck eliciting a moan. "You might not be very big, but you've got strong hands."

"I'm five-six. That's not short. Just because you're a foot taller makes me seem that way."

"You're giving me too much credit. You missed the mark by four inches."

She sat next to him, and he put his arm around her, moving her closer. No way could he turn his back on her family, kill that bastard Ortega and then go home. She'd never forgive him. Even though they'd be in different countries, he couldn't deal with the thought she'd hate him.

She leaned into him, no doubt mentally and physically exhausted after today. He breathed in her clean scent. She'd showered and wore jeans and a long T-shirt. Her long, damp hair was pulled back into a braid that trailed down her spine.

Having her tucked under his arm felt good. Felt right. Fuck Marcus and his lecture.

Something other than his libido stirred this time. Not that his sexual desire didn't wake with a roar when she was near, but something visceral rose from down deep, multiplying the need to protect her.

"I'm worried about Lina and Pablo." Her voice drifted in the wind, soft and trembling.

"I won't lie to you. So am I."

"You really think they're at Ortega's house?"

"Yeah. Tomorrow, Marcus and I will go over the wall. If they're there, we'll bring them out." Instead of the tension easing from her, Ty felt her stiffen. "What's wrong?"

"What about Ortega?"

"One step at a time. We'll take care of him, but we have to know if your parents are in that building. Two of the guards will leave with them in the limo. As soon as he and the boy drive away, we'll go in. Besides, it gets the kid out of the house. It's not his fault his dad's a drug-dealing murderer."

She lifted up and kissed Ty's cheek, surprising him. "What was that for?"

"Because you don't kill innocents."

That she remembered something he'd said so long ago touched him and worried him at the same time. A long-term relationship was out of the question. There wasn't room in his immediate future for a permanent anything. He'd never wanted a wife or a family with two-point-five kids and a dog. Surely, she understood that. He couldn't allow her to get too attached.

"Listen." He figured he might as well clear the air. "We need to talk about—"

"No, we don't." She shot to her feet and moved behind him. "There's no need to analyze or dissect what happened. We were two consenting adults blowing off steam."

The sound of the door closing put a period on the conversation. She'd done a good job keeping her voice steady right up to the end when it broke slightly. Ty sat staring into the night, knowing he'd handled that all wrong. And with a witness.

"Nobody ever said you knew how to handle women," Marcus said from the darkness. He walked to the porch and leaned against the support post.

"She needs to cool off. That's all." No way was Ty discussing Ana with Marcus or anybody else.

"I heard. What are you going to do with Jack?"

"Leave him here to protect Ana."

"Again? He's not going to like it. He'll probably call...what's his boss' name?"

"Dalton Murphy. Let him, it can't be helped. Somebody has to go with me, and you won the coin toss."

Marcus chuckled. "I think you just paid me a compliment."

"Don't let it go to your head." Ty knew it wasn't a compliment. It was a fact. Marcus had nerves of steel, the stealth of a ghost, and the calm of a sleeping baby.

"Anything else before I turn in?"

"Only that it bothers me to leave them without transportation, but I can't figure any other way. They can't wait in the station wagon. Wearing the clothes Rod gave us and driving that junk heap, we should be able to stay under the cops' radar. We gotta get in and out in a hurry." Ty rose and stretched the kinks out of his spine. "Get some rest. We'll leave early."

Marcus stepped up on the porch. "You fucked up the heart-to-heart talk. Bringing her mom and dad to her tomorrow might dig your ass out of that hole."

****

Ty breached the wall first, landing behind a row of dense shrubbery behind Ortega's house. Marcus dropped next to him. The limo had pulled out of the driveway. They banked on everyone inside having their attention focused up front for the next few minutes.

Marcus moved first, fast and low to the ground. He skirted the property. For one brief thirty-second run, he was wide open and vulnerable. Ty had him covered, but sighed with relief when it was his turn to hit the opening.

That short distance would seem like an eternity if Lina or Pablo had to be carried.

With a single nod of his head, Ty moved to the door to the building with the blacked-out windows. This had to be the right place. If not, they'd wasted another day. Marcus turned to face the opposite direction, protecting Ty from any surprise visitors.

The doorknob turned in his hand. The hair on the back of his neck vibrated. He tapped Marcus on the shoulder and mouthed the word "open." Why would Ortega leave the building unlocked? Had they walked into a trap?

Fuck. Nothing to do but do it. Ty signed he would go high, and Marcus should go in low. The door swung in, and the two of them rushed through the opening, ready to fire. Ty did a visual sweep of the building. They'd found a torture chamber complete with chains suspended from the ceiling and chairs bolted to the concrete floor. Whips, a bat, and a couple of dog toys lay in the middle of the floor.

"Shit, man," Marcus muttered as he rushed to the two bloody bodies on the floor and held his finger to the jugular vein on the woman and then the man. "That's why the door's not locked."

"Dead?" Ty asked.

"No, I got a weak pulse on both of them. But I'm betting they will be soon if we don't get them help."

The man moaned a soulful, gut-wrenching sound. His hand flailed until it rested on the woman. Their wrists and ankles were raw from being bound.

"It's all right." Ty knelt beside the male and tried to reassure him. "Ana sent us to bring you to safety." Ty's mind was going every different direction.

What the hell had happened to these two? Clothes in tatters, both covered in blood, their flesh had chunks missing. Their skin looked torn, not cut. It was hard to find a place to hold without hurting them.

The man tried to speak so Ty leaned close.

"Save her."

"How about we take you both to a hospital." Ty grabbed the small man by the underarms and hoisted him firefighter-style over his shoulder.

Marcus had the woman in his arms. He shook his head. "I don't like this at all. Could be we walk out that door and meet a couple of Uzis."

"We can't stay here." Ty paused at the door. The male was the larger of the two, but he was thin, and Ty knew he could get him over the wall. "When we get to the top, give her to me. Once you're on the ground, I'll hand them down."

With a nod, Marcus was gone. Ty ran to the shrubs, keeping an eye out for a guard. He'd timed their rounds and one should've already been by. For the second time, the hair on the back of his neck stood.

For a minute, he'd thought Marcus was right, and they'd walked into a trap. But nobody seemed to be watching Lina and Pablo. Getting in and out was too fucking easy. Either Ortega believed both of them were dead, and he'd pulled the guards off, or he'd wanted Ty to find them.

He couldn't shake the feeling that they'd been had. He helped Marcus load the Cisneroses into the station wagon and pushed the speedometer on the old vehicle to the max. He rolled into the emergency entrance at a run-down hospital he'd seen on the way to Ortega's house, left the wagon running, and Ty and Marcus carried them inside.

Marcus's knowledge of the language was excellent. He spoke to the attendant, giving fake names for Lina and Pablo. The staff immediately went to work on them, and while they were busy, Ty and Marcus ran to the car. Ty felt like shit for dumping those poor people and then leaving, but it had to be done.

"Something is wrong. Bad wrong. I feel it in my gut." Marcus slammed the car door with such force the window rattled.

"Call Nate. Tell him what went down and to start digging. No way should we have walked in and out of Ortega's so easily. We should've met some resistance."

"We were expected." Marcus's tone was cold and hard.

"Damn right. They might as well have held the door open for us. We need to figure out why."

Ty doubled back, took side streets, and did it all over again. He wanted to let Ana know her parents were alive. The news would have to wait until he was sure they weren't being followed.

Marcus finished the call and slid the cell into his pocket. "Not but a handful of people are aware of our activities. Nate's pissed and ready to pull us out."

"Not happening," Ty said.

"That's what I told him. We'll go home after we finish the job."

"I'm surprised nobody's killed Ortega. I especially understand why Ana wants him dead. She's going to freak when she sees us. And want to kill me for not calling, but I'm not telling her what we found over the phone."

"You're right to tell her face to face. She's going to want details, and that's not something you describe over the phone. I witnessed some nasty shit during my stint in the military but nothing like that." He dragged his hands over his eyes. "It looked like they'd been attacked by a wild animal."

"I think they were and not by anything wild. Some of those were bite marks that had been inflicted on command." Ty could almost see the wheels turn as Marcus let that sink in. He knew, just didn't want to believe.

He slammed his fist on the dash. "That dog we saw taking a dump the first time we were at Ortega's house. They trained him to attack and then turned him loose on the Cisneroses."

Ty forced himself to slow down. The heat gauge on the wagon was steadily rising, and they couldn't afford to break down. Not only were they both heavily armed, they were covered in blood.

"Keep your eyes peeled. I'm going to double back a few times to make sure we're not followed. But we've got to get out of town. We get stopped like this and nobody will have enough pull to get us out of jail."

Convincing Ana she couldn't go to the hospital would be a major undertaking. She could call her uncle and let him go. Ty's mind ran scenario after scenario of ways to sneak her in, but nothing was safe. The cops would be there asking questions. Cops that could belong to Ortega. Ty hoped Ana would be reasonable. Bottom line, she wasn't risking her life on his watch.