CHAPTER FIFTEEN
I didn’t know what to do with myself. I wanted to run back to her, I was desperate to have her back. I loved her, but I couldn’t trust her and I didn’t know how to forgive her. Feeling her again, having her shaking in my arms was a feeling I knew I would never have again, with anyone. The last words I said to her haunted me every night since I left her. And a few weeks later those same words came rushing back, hitting me hard, right where it hurts.
“Cain!” Seth’s voice rang out across the club. “Cain!”
As I ran out of the back office I spotted Riggs and Diesel hovering over something.
“What the hell’s going on in here? What is that?”
Seth came up to me and put his hands on my chest, holding me back. “Don’t do anything rash, bro.”
“What is it? Who is that?” I tried looking over his shoulder, but he kept holding me back.
“This is not going to be good!” He yelled out to Diesel.
“Let him go, man. He needs to know.”
Seth released me and I quickly made my way to the center of the room. Lying on the floor was Sophia, or at least what looked like my Sophia. Her shirt was torn half off her chest, her skirt was filled with dirt. But it was her face that put me in shock. She had blood running down the side of her temple, bruises were starting to darken her cheeks, and her rosy lips were split in half.
She groaned and I dropped to my knees beside her. “Help me,” she whispered.
“What the fuck? What the fuck?” I crawled over to her and tried cradling her, but she only cried out in pain.
“Call an ambulance!” I screamed and grabbed her by the hand. “It’s okay, baby. You’re gonna’ be okay.” I kept whispering to her and stroking the hair from her face.
“I’m sorry,” I said to her as her eyes fluttered shut. “I should have protected you. I’m so sorry.”
“They’re on their way!” Seth shouted.
“It was Ramon. I shouldn’t have left. I wanted to see you,” she whispered, groaning in pain.
I thought she was safe with the Death Row Shooters, they fucking guaranteed me she would be protected at all times. I had spoken to Ryan nearly an hour ago, checking in on her. She had been fine a fucking hour ago!
“Where was she?”
Seth leaned in. “I found her outside leaning against the door.”
Diesel’s voice rang out. “I just checked the cameras,” he paused.
“And? Goddammit!”
“And it was Tuco and his men. I think they purposely left her here to die so you’d find her.”
Anger boiled inside me and all that came to my mind was murder. Cold, calculated, murder. I looked up at Riggs who was kneeling on the other side of her.
“Take care of her. Make sure she makes it to the hospital.”
“What are you going to do, Cain?”
“What we should have done a long time ago. I’m going to fucking kill that motherfucker.”
As I stood up, Diesel stepped in my way. “I feel like you’re going to do something stupid, brother.”
“Get out of my way, D.” I clenched my fists as I prepared to take him down if I had to.
He raised his hands up in surrender. “I’m just sayin’. Wouldn’t want you to go alone, is all.”
Seth came up and nodded. “I’m coming too.”
I headed out the door with both of them close on my heels. Getting on our bikes we looked at each other knowing that maybe this time, one of us may not come back.
“You don’t have to do this,” I told them.
Diesel shook his head. “Can’t let you go in alone, brother. This is enemy turf we’re talkin’ about.”
Seth just shrugged. “Hey, I’m with D. Besides, Hell’s Lovers don’t ride alone. That’s your rule, big brother.”
I sighed and put on my helmet. We revved our engines as we flew down the few blocks that lead to Tuco’s Mexican restaurant. As we dismounted I pulled out my gun, making sure it was loaded. Diesel and Seth did the same. Seth threw me an extra loaded magazine.
“What about you?”
“I’ve got an extra one.”
We made our way into the restaurant finding it empty. I looked around and a girl stared back at us from the counter. I pressed a finger to my lips and she raised her hands up, moving towards the front entrance.
Raising our guns, we made our way through the empty building and headed towards the back where the offices were. We heard Tuco’s voice, pleading, and then he was screaming in pain. We spread along the hallway, crouching low so we wouldn’t be seen. As I leaned against the doorframe, I heard a man’s voice, holding a deep Hispanic accent.
“I told you, to get me my money, Tuco!”
“I swear that’s what we were doing!” Tuco screamed as his arm was yanked back by a big thug wearing a black suit, typical.
“That is not what my men have told me.”
“I swear…”
“Stop fucking lying to me!” The man yelled.
I looked over at Diesel but all he did was frown at me. Slowly, I turned towards the room and I got a clear view of the man behind the voice. He was tall, slim, looked like he might be in his late forties. A thin, dark beard covered his tanned features. He was wearing a gray suit that looked expensive. On his right hand, I could see a gold ring with a green emerald encrusted in the middle, on his left wrist a gold Rolex glimmered. This fucker definitely had money, and a lot of it.
“I swear Señor Cruz, I was trying to get your money back.”
The man crouched down beside Tuco and smirked. “By fucking with the wrong people? I’ve got the cops on my back now because of your indiscretions.”
“They killed my brother!” He cried out.
The man grimaced and gritted his teeth. “I don’t give a shit about that piece of mierda! What I care about is my money, Tuco!”
Tuco nodded. “I know, Senor. I promise I’ll get it for you.”
The man stood up and nodded at his goon who stood at Tuco’s back.
“You know what, Tuco? I don’t think I’m going to need your services anymore.”
“Please!” Tuco stared back at the man behind him. “Please!”
“I’ll take over from here,” he turned and walked out.
The goon took out his gun and before any of us could react, the sound of the trigger blasted through the empty building and Ramon Tuco Moreno’s body lay limp on the ground. Blood seeped across the cement floor and towards the door where we lay hidden.
The goon reholstered his gun and started moving towards us. I signaled for the boys to back off. Quickly, we made our way back to the front of the restaurant. I stared through the glass window, glad that we’d parked our bikes across the street and out of sight.
Crouching down behind the bar I pressed a finger to my lips, signaling silence. We waited until the goon walked out. Seth was the first of us to speak.
“Who the fuck was that?”
Diesel responded fairly quickly, making me once again wonder who his connections were. “Juan de La Cruz. He’s the leader of one of the largest Cartels in Colombia.”
“What the fuck is he doing here?” I asked.
“He owns half the port. It’s how he smuggles in the pallets. He’s bought nearly everyone down there, money always talks.”
I shook my head. “Simon came in a few weeks ago declaring the same bullshit. Let’s get back. We need to inform Wolf and I need to make sure Sophia’s okay.”
“What about Tuco?” Seth asked, looking back.
“Fuck, Tuco! Motherfucker got what he deserved. I’m actually fucking pissed I didn’t get to him before they did!”
“Better him than us,” Seth stated as we walked out.
No words could be truer than those.
AN HOUR LATER, we were back at Ravenous. An emergency meeting had been called and even Grayson was on speakerphone as we discussed what we had witnessed.
“You mean to tell me you went over to Los Perdidos territory without informing me!” Wolf was seething in anger.
“I took Diesel and Seth with me,” I stated matter-of-factly.
Diesel grunted. “More like we followed him.”
I glared over at him and then looked back at the Prez. “Look, I know what we did was wrong, but shit, it was worth it! We have input on who’s behind this now. We’ve got Ryan Simon backing us up. I think we should get the cops involved.”
“Are you fucking kidding me? Do you not remember what happened last time? Grayson nearly got put in jail and Tuco’s gang was still wandering the streets!” Wolf leered at me. “I only trust one cop on this, and he has nothing to do with the Miami PD.”
“We’ve got a fucking Colombian Cartel on our ass!”
Wolf raised a hand. “They want to come after us, let them. I’m done fucking around. Tuco and his brother are gone. That means Los Perdidos have lost their leaders and the Colombian Cartel is in charge. Nothing’s going to stop them from coming after us. We just need to be smarter than they are.”
Wolf scrunched his eyebrow and squeezed the bridge of his nose. “I can’t wrap my head around all this bullshit right now. Scarlett’s in the hospital and I need to get back up to Washington.”
He stared me down and then looked from me to Diesel. “If I put both of you in charge, I need you to make sure nothing goes down out here. If this Cartel actually shows up, let them know that no decisions are made without me. If they insist, then we’re done being good guys. One wrong move on their part and they get a bullet in the head. We’ll be back as soon as possible. Seth, you’re coming with me!”
“Prez, are you sure you should be leaving now?”
He turned and glared back at me. “I’m not fucking sure about anything anymore! So I need you to get your shit together and be here where I need you! Do you understand?”
I nodded and kept my mouth shut. Wolf was pissed off and I knew better than to push him. I may have been his Sargent at Arms, but he was still my leader and I’d respect that until the day I died. On top of that, Gray and Scarlett weren’t around to calm him, and when he was like this it was best to leave him be.
“Yes, sir.”
As soon as Wolf walked out, I turned to Riggs. “Where is she?”
“She’s being taken care of at the hospital. As soon as they took her away they started asking questions. I told them I just found her, but the cops were called in and I had to keep away.”
I nodded. “It’s good that the cops showed up. At least they’ll protect her.”
“Hey,” he patted my back. “She’ll be fine. She’s a strong woman.”
I nodded. “Yes, she is. She definitely is.”