Confessed (Vargas Cartel #3) (6 page)

Chapter Eight

Ryker

“This is it. We’re here,” I said.

I pulled the black SUV over to the side of the road. As planned, the two SUVs behind us followed suit. I had divided us into three teams. Noah and I would hike up the side of the mountain and enter through the back door. Rick would wait here until I contacted him. He and his team would neutralize the men guarding the driveway. Eric and his team would hike up with Noah and me, and enter the safe house through the front door. Eric would engage and kill anyone in the building. Noah and I would find Hattie.

We had less than thirty minutes to accomplish everything once we broke down the doors. If we didn’t make it out by then, we were fucked. Juan’s reinforcements would show up, and the helicopters lifting us out of the remote location would flee or risk being shot down.

I picked up my gun from the center console and slid it into the holster around my chest. I slipped on the tactical headset. Then, I opened the car door and looped an X95 assault weapon around my shoulder. The X95 had quickly become my go-to gun. Israel Weapon Industries created the gun to combat modern terror threats.

“Ready?” I asked, tipping my head in the direction of the hill in front of us.

“Yep,” Noah answered as he slipped a grenade into his black vest.

“Let’s move.” I motioned to Rick’s SUV. He saluted. Then, I waved Eric and his team forward. “No talking on the headsets until we’re inside.”

Without further instructions, we disappeared into the foliage next to the street. We all knew our roles. We all knew what was at stake. No one could leave until we rescued Hattie.

Every step over the dense undergrowth sounded like a land mine detonating in my ears. My hands twitched. My heart thrashed inside my ribcage like a feral animal from a sickening concoction of fear and excitement.

In the past, I wasn’t personally invested in the outcome of any mission. Sure, I wanted to be paid, and I wanted my client to be satisfied. After all, if things didn’t work out, it’d look bad. But none of that compared to the emotions simmering like lava through my veins as I hiked up the hill. If I didn’t walk out of the safe house with Hattie alive and well, I’d lose my shit. I’d kill every last member of the Alvarez Cartel, their family members, their friends and neighbors.

As I ate up the distance between Hattie and me, my insides festered with raw anger and my fingers itched for revenge. I forced every errant cell in my body to stay focused on the end goal. I conjured an image of Hattie in my mind.

Her soft smile.

Her topaz eyes.

Her long legs.

Her crisp, clean scent.

Her flawless skin.

She captivated my thoughts. She possessed my heart. She owned me. She’d always own me.

And I fucking ruined her. I abducted her. I manipulated her. I tainted her with my love, but not any longer. Once I rescued her and healed her, I’d set her free. I’d give her anything and everything she needed to have the perfect life she deserved. Then, I’d sever every last connection so she wouldn’t have to worry about who’d come after her next.

My heart seized and then shriveled two sizes at the thought of living without her, but love meant sacrifice. I accepted it and tomorrow I’d embrace it. I pushed thoughts of the future out of my head and concentrated on the present.

I paused at the edge of the tree line, just out of the line of sight of the safe house. Dim yellow lights flickered from the windows, taunting me. I held up my open hand, signaling for everyone to stop. I crept forward, keeping inside the shadows, surveying the exterior of the building. After I had made a circle around the entire perimeter of the house, I lifted my hand, signaling that four people were outside the safe house. Then, I raised my arm above my head, pointing my index finger straight up and my thumb parallel to the ground, indicating the guards had rifles.

I didn’t know what we’d encounter inside, but for now, we outnumbered them. I sucked in a gust of sticky, humid air, struggling to unravel all the twisted emotions and thoughts flitting through my mind. Conflicted emotions and dread of the future would only cloud my judgment. I needed to be unfeeling. Mechanical.

If Hattie were dead, I’d be irreversibly broken. Life wouldn’t be worth living. If Hattie was alive, I had to destroy us, and I’d live the rest of my life without her. Either outcome would suck. At least if she were alive, I’d know I had done everything I could for her. She’d still be breathing the same air and inhabiting the same world as me. That had to count for something.

With a flick of my hand, I waved my piecemeal army forward.

Crouched low, I gripped my X95 and mentally flipped my middle finger at the angel of death. My soldiers flanked me in a u-shaped formation. I pointed toward the breaker box at the back of the house. Noah would flip the breaker, blanketing the safe house in darkness before we fired a single shot.

We moved stealthily forward, our black clothing and camouflage face paint blending into the inky night. Sweat prickled my skin. The hair on the back of my neck stiffened. My ears devoured the noise of every branch crunching under our booted feet, every exhalation whistling through the air, and every rustle of fabric against fabric as we forged ahead.

Time to get Hattie.

Time to destroy the Alvarez Cartel once and for all.

I’d kill every last one of them until I didn’t have any strength left in my body.

With every step, anger sizzled in my veins. My lips curled up over my teeth as I inhaled through my nose. The thirst for revenge rippled through my muscles. I smashed every civilized thought from my brain. I courted the Vargas beast inside my soul until inhumane savagery pumped through my body.

The lights in the house disappeared, steeping us in total darkness.

It was show time.

Chapter Nine

Hattie

With my hair still damp, my eyes popped open. My heart fluttered. Springs dug into my back. I pushed onto my elbows. I didn’t know what had woken me. I didn’t know whether it was day or night. I recalled climbing into the cot wearing a threadbare, dingy robe when I finished showering, but after that, nothing.

I scrambled to my knees. My ears throbbed, desperately searching for the faintest noise. I scanned the room, diving in and out of the shadows looking for something. Anything. Anyone, but the room was as empty as I remembered.

Rubbing my eyes, I tipped my head to the ceiling. Then, I remembered Raul’s phone.
Shit!
I forgot to turn it on.

I scrambled to my feet and darted across the room. My body buzzed with adrenaline as I unzipped the pocket of my shorts, pulled out the phone and powered it on. Air rocketed out of my lungs when I saw Ryker’s text.

I’m coming for you tonight. Be ready.

Clutching the phone, I ran to the window and shoved the curtains to the side. I couldn’t see anything. Crosshatched bars obscured the view and the miniscule rectangles of sky between looked like segmented inkblots. I ran back to the bathroom and slipped on my stained running shorts under my robe and waited.

At first, I thought something dropped on the floor. Then, the sound happened again. Rapid-fire gunshots exploded one after another outside.

Pop, pop, pop.

Pause.

Pop!

It was happening. Ryker was here. He came just like he promised.

Minutes crawled like hours, as I huddled next to the door waiting for Ryker to find me. I used the light from Raul’s phone to illuminate the room. Gunshots blended into one long, deafening roar of violence. I twisted my hands in my robe over and over until the seam along the side split. My chest heaved in short bursts. I should’ve made an effort to regulate my breathing, but I was incapable of doing anything except staring at the door.

Then came the shouts, screams and cries of pain. Incoherent Spanish curses floated up the stairs. For the hundredth time in the last three or four months, I wished I had taken Spanish lessons instead of French.

“
Pudrete en el infierno.”

“Chingada Madre.”

Fleetingly, I wondered what would happen if everyone died. Would I be stuck in this room until I died of starvation? Nobody except Ryker knew I was in Mexico. I told my parents I’d taken a road trip to clear my thoughts. Would the police or somebody else eventually show up? Or would the foliage grow over the building, entombing us in vines?

I surveyed the contents of the room, looking for a weapon. I flipped over the cot and kicked at the metal bars trying to free something. Nothing budged. I ran to the bathroom and switched on the light. Nothing happened. My hearted squeezed. Somebody had cut the power.

Squinting, I located the showerhead, then jumped and yanked on the metal arm protruding from the ceiling. Hanging on with all my body weight, I swung back and forth. The pipe creaked, and then I stumbled to my knees with the showerhead in my hand.

Pain radiated up my legs. Water exploded out of the pipe, spraying from the ceiling, drenching my clothes. Wet strands of hair slid in front of my eyes. Water leaked into my mouth.

“Fucking hell!” I screamed, shaking my head from side to side.

I crawled across the floor, back to the bedroom. I settled into the corner and curled into a ball. Water dripped from my robe. I squeezed the excess water from the ends. I could’ve slipped on my t-shirt, but wearing a transparent robe was infinitely more appealing than being covered in Raul’s blood, my sweat, and days worth of dirt.

Then, I heard loud footsteps echoing down the hallway. The door handle rattled.

“Hattie,” a voice I didn’t recognize yelled.

I didn’t answer. I scrambled to my feet and ran across the room. Standing next to the door, I raised the showerhead above my head preparing to strike whoever entered the room.

“Hattie,” the man shouted again. “Are you in there?”

A few shouts echoed down the hallway punctuated by two gunshots.

“I’m with Ryker. He sent me to find you,” the man persisted.

I shifted on my feet. “Prove it.”

“Back away from the door. I’m going to shoot the lock.”

“Where’s Ryker?”

“He’s taking care of some people downstairs. Move away from the fucking door. I don’t have all day,” he demanded.

“I’ll wait for Ryker.” I couldn’t trust anyone except him. For all I knew, this guy could be a member of the Alvarez Cartel or some other cartel wanting to get in on the action.

“Goddamn. What the hell is wrong with you? We need to get the fuck out of here. I’m not standing outside this door waiting for someone to kill me.”

“I don’t trust you. I don’t trust anyone except Ryker.”

“You’re going to get us killed. Vargas,” the guy screamed as heavy footsteps burst down the hall. “She won’t move away from the door.”

“Hattie, it’s me,” Ryker said. “Move to the right side of the door.”

“My right or your right?”

“Yours.”

With my body pressed into the wall, I scrambled to the other side of the door. “I moved.”

“Now listen to me…” Ryker kept talking, but I couldn’t hear him over the sudden roar of a helicopter over the house. With my eyes trained on the door, I cupped my hands over my ears.

“Who’s that? What’s going on?”

He didn’t answer.

Sparks ricocheted off the door. Then, it flew open, bouncing off the adjacent wall.

“Watch our back,” Ryker shouted, pointing to the man in the shadows.

In the darkness, I could make out the outline of Ryker’s body. I ran across the room and circled my arms around his strong shoulders. My fingernails dug into the back of his neck like talons. My knees sagged. Tears flooded my eyes. My breath came hard and fast until I started hyperventilating.

He wrapped an arm around my waist, and his fingers pressed into my side. “Relax, Hattie. I’ve got you.”

He rocked me back and forth for a frozen second, and I wanted to tell him I missed him, I loved him, I couldn’t live without him, and so much more. But the words wouldn’t come. Instead, I pressed my lips to his neck, drawing his essence into my lungs. He smelled like sea air, gunpowder and man, but somehow it was better than anything in the world.

“Can you walk?” he whispered, next to my ear.

Jumbled thoughts whirled through my mind. Incoherent words mixed with whimpers streamed from my mouth. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t talk. Walking was out of the question.

“Listen, baby. We need to get out of here right now. The helicopter can only stay so long before it draws too much attention.”

I lifted my head from his chest and nodded. “I can walk.”

“Hold on to the back of my belt and don’t let go no matter what happens.”

I clamped my hands around his belt, fusing my body to his. My swollen hand protested the movement, but I ignored the pain. “Got it,” I whispered, my throat raw from dehydration and crying for days.

“Noah,” Ryker said. “Follow us out of here.”

A tall, dark-haired man stepped out of the shadows. A flash of light from the bottom of the stairs lit up one side of his face. He had sharp cheekbones, a long angular nose and almond shaped eyes. He flashed a thumbs-up signal. “I’m on it.”

With his gun in front of him, we jogged down the stairs. Dead bodies and bloodied groaning men littered the floor. I floated through the room as if I were submerged in water, suffering from a nightmare I couldn’t wake up from. My vision tunneled. My entire body trembled so I hard I thought I’d collapse.

“Don’t look. Just keep your gaze glued to the ground in front of you and keep putting one foot in front of the other,” Ryker said without glancing at me.

I squeezed my eyes shut and plastered my body against his back. My fingers curled around the waistband of his pants. My lungs rattled with suppressed cries. I would’ve crawled inside him if it were possible. A warm breeze caressed my skin. We were outside. Relief poured through my body. I opened my eyes and lifted my head to the sky, drinking in the faint glimmer of the stars. Palm trees danced in the wind. Sea salt wafted through the air. On any other night, it would’ve been peaceful, but not today. With the roar of the helicopter blades slicing through the air, it felt sinister. Ominous.

Three guys barreled around the corner of the house, their guns pointed at us.
“Ya están aquí.”

Ryker shoved me away from him, and I stumbled backward. “Noah, get her the fuck out of here. Now!”

“No,” I repeatedly screamed, reaching for Ryker. Horror clawed at my chest, dragging me into a full-blown panic attack within a matter of seconds. I didn’t want to be separated from Ryker ever again.

Noah wrapped his arms around my waist and heaved me over his shoulder. “No. I’m not leaving him. Leave me here.” I slapped the corded muscles of his back until my hands stung.

“You don’t have a choice,” Noah growled.

“Please,” I begged, as my heart crumbled. “I can’t leave him. Not again.”

“It’s better this way.”

Noah ran to the helicopter, his boots kicking up a fine powdery dust that coated my lips. My head bounced against his back and blood rushed through my ears. Sobs clogged my throat. Acid gnawed at my gut. When we reached the door, he climbed inside and slammed it behind us. “We’re ready to go.”

“No. We can’t leave him.” I darted for the door, but Noah’s arms closed around my waist and he pulled me into his lap.

Sickness twisted my insides. My heart beat like a pogo stick against the inside of my chest. I kicked, bit and slapped him, but he wouldn’t budge.

“Shh,” Noah whispered next to my ear. “Stop fighting. This is what Ryker wanted. You’d only be in his way.”

“No.” I lurched forward and elbowed him in the ribs.

He grunted, but his arms didn’t relent. “For fuck’s sake, you need to relax and let us do our job. We know what we’re doing. Don’t make this even more of a mess than it already is.”

The energy drained from my body, and I slumped into his chest, my hands coiled into his black shirt. I didn’t want to leave without Ryker, but Noah was right. There’s nothing I could do to help him except do what he asked and get out of his way.