“Put these on,” Mack said tossing a pair of Lucy’s high tops at Jane. Lucy had left them in the truck when she’d changed shoes after getting off work. Jane took them gratefully and kicked off her heels.

“You sure we got the right place?” she asked, eyeing the seemingly abandoned apartment complex with boarded up windows and covered in spray paint.

Mack nodded and opened his door, climbing out. “Let’s get this over with,” he said, handing his partner a gun. She took it and checked that it was loaded. Eyeing the dress that hugged her curves he handed her his leather coat. “Here, put this on.”

Jane took the coat and pulled it on. It dwarfed her, covering her nearly to her knees, but it gave her better coverage than she had before. She gave Mack a sharp nod and they strode toward the building together, glancing around for other entrances. There appeared to be only the one. Jane suggested going around to the other side, but Mack shook his head.

“No time, she’s been gone for hours already. Let’s get this over with.”

They opened the door, a heavy metal fire proof door that was barely hanging on its hinges, and slipped through.

It didn’t take them long to find their prey. He was sound asleep on a dingy mattress, exactly where Mack’s contact said he’d be. Mack studied him for a moment. Definitely Mexican. The arm flung over his head was covered in gang tats that screamed cartel affiliation. Mack glanced over at Jane who nodded sharply. Mack kicked the guy hard in the ribs, waking him.

“What the F-” He flew up, reaching for the shotgun tucked under his mattress.

Mack stepped on the barrel of the gun, trapping the man’s fingers between the metal of the gun and the dirty concrete floor. He screamed in agony then tossed his head up, glaring, only to come face to face with the barrel of Jane’s gun pointed directly at his nose.

“Where’s my sister, asshole?” Jane snarled.

The guy blinked stupidly at her and tried to squirm out from under Mack’s hold. “The fuck you talkin’ bout, bitch?” he demanded, his voice high-pitched with anxiety, but his attitude on full force.

Jane, who never had much patience to begin with, ran out completely. She belted him across the face with her gun and asked again, “Where the fuck is my sister, Lucy Miller? Tell me now or I’m going to start shooting pieces of you off and I’m not picky about what pieces go first!”

The guy’s eyes flared in panic and he looked frantically up at Mack for assistance. Mack raised an eyebrow and shrugged. He wanted a piece of the guy, but thought Jane was doing a pretty good job on her own. She was feral on a good day, which is why he tolerated her as a partner when he barely tolerated people in general. He didn’t know what it was about these Miller chicks, but they were decent people.

“Don’t know what you’re talking about, I swear,” the guy grumbled yanking his head away from Jane’s gun.

She crouched in front of him and got right in his face. Mack grabbed a fistful of the back of his jacket and yanked her back just as the asshole lunged toward her in an attempt to take her down and grab her weapon. Of course, Jane was smarter than that. She grabbed him by the balls and jammed her gun right up under his chin. The man yelped in agony, but she held on tight and got right in his face again. Mack sighed and shook his head.

“She looks like me only prettier, motherfucker,” Jane snarled. “See, we got a tip that your kind grabbed her and her friend right off the street, then you found out who she belongs to. Now I’m a bit worried you idiots are going to do something desperate in a bid to get rid of the evidence. Like killing my goddamn sister. You wanna know what happens if you get rid of my sister, asshole?”

When he did nothing, Jane tightened her hold on his crotch. The guy gurgled, his face whitening. He shook his head. “What happens?” he gasped.

“Sitnikov goes to war,” she said through gritted teeth. “He wipes out your little cartel.”

Mack bent over top of Jane and pressed the barrel of his gun against the man’s temple, his icy eyes promising death. “You heard of Mackenzie Hudson?”

The guy nodded slowly, his eyes widening. Jane eased back and glanced up at Mack in surprise. Mack ignored her and continued to stare death at the man they were crouched over top of. “You know what I’m capable of then. You know what I did to your rival.”

Mack was responsible for placing the current Mexican cartel at the top. He’d been paid a lot of money to take out the leader of the opposing cartel and create a power vacuum that was ripe for the taking. Power had shifted, this cartel had stepped up and ultimately the Russians had settled on top. Which made Lucy’s capture a very dangerous power play for the Mexicans.

“Did you know who you took?” When it looked like the guy was going to play dumb, Mack gently maneuvered Jane to the side, ignoring her protest, holstered his gun and took out a blade. Opening it, he held it to the edge of the quivering man’s eye and growled, “Answer.”

“It wasn’t me, bro!” The guy finally spat. “I didn’t take them bitches. It was Manny and two other guys.”

“Did your fucking guys know who they took?” Mack roared, losing patience.

“No man!” The guy shook his head frantically. “Not until that Maria bitch told us we had a Sitnikov.” His eyes flickered to Jane. Clearly, he knew exactly who she was.

Mack laughed, sinister and low in his throat. “See, you think I care that your guys took a Sitnikov. I don’t.” The man under his knife stopped breathing, his eyes flying up to Mack’s face. “You took my woman.”

Mack dug the knife into the edge of his eye socket, slicing until it flowed blood. The guy shrieked and flailed, but Mack kneeled on his arm until he felt bones grinding into the concrete. Still it wasn’t enough to satisfy the rage and bloodlust welling up inside him. He felt a hand land on his shoulder. He pulled the knife out and twisted so fast he nearly took jane’s hand off, stopping millimeters from her soft skin.

She didn’t even blink. “Don’t you think we should ask a few pertinent questions before you fuck him up?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

“You’re a good one to speak,” Mack grunted and turned back to his somewhat mangled prey. “Fine,” he snapped. “You get one chance, friend. Tell me where Lucy is, and I’ll only take one eye. Fuck around, and I take both eyes, your tongue and your dick before I slit your throat. Got me?”

The guy nodded frantically.

“Speak now, make it quick, don’t even think to pretend you don’t know where my girl is at because we both know you’re Corny’s right hand, and don’t fucking piss me off.” Jane quirked her other brow. Mack grunted. “Any more than I already am.”

“She’s at the scrap metal yard,” the guy answered instantly.

“Dead or alive,” Mack snarled from between gritted teeth, making it very clear there better be only one answer. When no answer was instantly forthcoming he jammed the knife into the man’s shoulder, directly underneath the bone.

He screamed and reached for the knife, but Mack grasped his hand and wrenched the fingers back while Jane watched emotionlessly. She didn’t care what it took, she only wanted to hear the fate of her baby sister.

“Dead or alive?” Mack asked again.

“I don’t know,” he howled. “They put her in the container alive, but that was a while ago!”

Mack glanced up at Jane a chill slithering down his spine. They didn’t have any spare seconds to waste, they needed to get to the metal yard. Jane jumped on the dingy mattress and searched until she came up with a phone while Mack, true to his word, gave their friend a make-over and took his eye. It took about fifteen extra seconds and was worth the effort.

They walked away leaving the man passed out in a pool of his own blood.