All the doors to the jeep slam shut, bringing me out of the haze I’ve been in since we left my apartment. Justin went over the plan with precision, a true leader. We’re now back at the house where I first found Emma, probably one of Javier’s many drop points, but we’re certain someone knows where he would take my girl.

Justin had me come and find a spot, just in case. Lucky for us, for a couple hundred bucks the people on this block will do just about anything. So here I am on the roof across the street, waiting. I fucking hate waiting, I should be doing something. Anything to make sure we get to Little Bit as soon as possible. I tighten my grip on my rifle and take a deep breath. “Calm the fuck down, asshole,” I say to no one in particular. Getting angry about the situation isn’t going to help anyone.

“Stick to the plan, Old man. In and out. We get the information we need and then go and get the girl,” I hear Justin’s crackling voice over my earpiece.

“Got it, Kid. I got your six. Anything in or out is good and dead.”

I watch Justin signal to the rest of the team and file into the house with precision. I catch glimpses as they clear the house room by room, finally coming to the bedroom where I found Emma. There’s some asshole sleeping on the bed, cocaine and needles spread all over the bed, my finger itches to pull the trigger, “We need answers asshole, not bodies,” I say to myself.

“I heard that no shots fired until we get the information we need. Honestly, I’d prefer no dead bodies period. Less questions,” Justin responds over the mic.

“I make no promises. Now get that asshole and find my girl,” I growl back in response. He needs to stop fucking around, my patience is running thin. I need off the roof and Emma in my arms sooner rather than later, or I’m going to snap.

The team goes crashing through the door, I hear shouting in both English and Spanish as they rip the asshole off the bed and drag him out of the house. Yay for me, I have a better shot if things go south.

Once in the front yard, Charlie forces him to his knees as Charlie and Danny set up a perimeter, I take a long look down both ends of the street.

“Clear,” I say over the mic. “Time to get this party started.”

Justin gives me a wave to let me know he heard me. “Hey asshole, where’s my sister?”

Our captive begins rattling off in Spanish and gets a smack with the butt of Charlie gun. “English, dickhead. We don’t have time for this shit, either answer the question or get dead. Either way, we will find Emma, and your boss is going down. Your choice whether you’re going to go with him.”

The boys chuckle as the guy looks around, weighing his odds. “The warehouse on Hickman and Copley. That’s where he takes people to talk. You can probably pick her body up,” he responds with a smirk on his face.

Without thinking, I pull the trigger, putting a bullet right between his eyes. “Didn’t I say no dead bodies?” Justin says calmly over the mic.

“Your point? You got your info, and I got to shoot something. It's a win-win. Now bury the body and let’s get moving.” I respond as I begin dismantling my rifle to get moving. As I climb off the roof, I pull another hundred dollar bill out of my wallet and stuff it in the back door. Nothing says you ain’t seen nothing like Benjamin Franklin.

I reach the truck as Danny is pulling a shovel out the back, “It’s your fault that we have to bury a damn body. The least you can do is help.”

I pull the pistol I have stuffed in my waistband and press it between his eyes, “Do you want to rephrase that?” I pull back the hammer and wait.

“I’m going to go dig that hole,” he turns on his heel and heads back toward the house. Probably not one of my finest moments, but I have no patience for him and his bullshit. My girl is waiting for me, nothing is going to stand in my way.

I pull up outside a warehouse, the perfect place to hide a body. Drawing in a shaky breath, I clamp my eyes shut tightly, I will not think the worst. She is in there, waiting for me to come find her.

“Jimmy, I need you to stay here,” Justin says through the open window.

I shut my truck off and climb out. “I’m sure I didn’t hear you clearly, there is no way in hell I’m sitting here while Emma is in there.” Charlie approaches the two of us. I’m sure my anger is coming off me in waves, but I could give two shits. I will go through him and this entire team to get my girl.

“Calm down Jimmy, LT is just looking out for you and Emma. He is doing what he thinks is best.”

“I was running missions while all of you were in diapers. I could do this with my eyes closed. Get out of my way,” I growled between clenched teeth.

“You're a loose cannon Jimmy, I can’t count on you.”

Anger clouds my vision as I step closer to him, invading his space. I feel Charlie reach out and grip my shoulder. Without thinking I quickly grip his hand and flip it behind his back, pulling the pistol from the holster at his hip. Once I’ve disarmed him, I step back and grab the pistol from my waistband, pointing one at each of them.

Taking a deep breath. “Look, I don’t give a shit what you think. Either I’m going in there with you or through you. Which will it be?”

The two men share a look as Danny chimes in from the back of the Jeep. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to deny him, but think of it this way. If it was your entire world in there, would you stay outside?”

I pull the hammer back on both weapons and wait for their response. I won’t shoot to kill, but I’ll be going into that building, even if that means going through two of my friends.

Justin sighs. “Just stay the fuck out of the way. If you get yourself killed, Emma will be heartbroken.” He turns on his heels to give the other guys some directions as I lower my weapon.

“Can I have my gun back now?” Charlie questions with a raised eyebrow. For kicks, I quickly dismantle his pistol and hand it back to him in pieces. “Fuck, Jimmy! It’s going to take me a whole three minutes to put this back together.” He starts reassembling his pistol. “Next time you’ll think before getting in my way,” I say over my shoulder as I head toward the front door.

As we finish the final checks on ammo and weapons, a blood-curdling scream comes through the walls. I take off running, no doubt in my mind that was Emma. No more waiting, it’s time to end this and get my girl.