Mason
When we launched the attack on Ruiz’s headquarters, we were surprised by the sounds of fighting from inside the warehouse. Ruiz’s men seemed unsure as to whether they should be inside helping or outside fighting the Ghost Riders’ assault. I waved for the men on my left to move forward, then I opened fire to give them some cover as they made a run for a supply truck that had gotten caught up in the conflict. The driver had ducked out and run off as soon as the gunfire started.
Diesel landed beside me out of breath. He leaned his shoulder heavily against the pickup I’d taken cover behind in the warehouse parking lot.
“We’ve got some guys in at a side door. Looks like the Cartel’s merchandise got out of their cages. It’s a madhouse in there.”
“Sounds like Ruiz bit off more than he could chew,” I mused. “Are the men inside?”
He nodded. “Yeah, I told them to make finding the girls their priority.”
I reloaded and nodded at Diesel’s words.
“Come on, let’s get in here. I think the boys can keep them busy out here.”
I waved over to a spiky-haired man who was busily loading up a rifle.
“We’re going in, Marshal. Keep those assholes entertained.”
Marshal grinned. “My pleasure.”
He snapped a fresh magazine into the rifle and was swiftly on his feet, firing at the men directly in front of the main doors. Diesel and I took the opportunity to make a run for the side of the warehouse.
When we hit the side of the building, Diesel leaned against the wall and looked back at Marshal, who was laughing wildly as he fired off round after round at the Cartel’s men.
“You know,” Diesel said, jabbing his thumb toward Marshal, “that guy needs a hobby.”
I laughed as I moved toward the side door. There were some men there, but they were ours. Some women were with them. I narrowed my eyes at the commotion the women were making.
“What’s going on?” I asked the first man I got to.
He shook his head.
“What do we do with them? They just keep coming out the door.”
“Take them to the road away from the fight,” I said and waved him off.
One of the women grabbed my jacket.
“They saved us. I don’t know where they came from, but they got guns and keys and let us out. They’re still in there.”
“Who?” I asked in confusion as I pried the woman off.
She frowned.
“I don’t know. One had red hair and one brown.”
“One called the other one Liz,” another woman offered.
The first woman nodded.
“That’s right! Liz.”
I waved my hand to the man behind the women.
“If you’ll follow Rodriguez, he’ll take you to the road.”
They nodded with relief at the thought of getting away from the fighting. Most of the women were dirty and covered in bruises, and several were carrying weapons that they laid down as soon as they came out of the warehouse.
Diesel leaned in to murmur in my ear.
“Whatcha thinking? Liz and Cassie?”
“Well, Liz never did take direction very well, and Cassie…” I frowned. “Let’s go see if we can find them.”
Diesel nodded and we shouldered our way through the side door.
A woman came running toward us.
“Behind me!” she screamed.
She was out through the door before what she’d said registered with me. One of the Cartel’s goons rounded the corner with his gun aimed straight at us. It was the last thing he did. I shot him before I even thought twice about it.
“Bastard,” Diesel muttered as he stepped over the dead man.
The warehouse was in chaos. The Cartel’s men were so distracted by the confusion that they never saw us until our bullets hit them.
We were looking out across the warehouse floor when a woman jumped on Diesel. She was wailing like a banshee. Diesel cursed as he tried to sling her off. I grabbed the woman by the waist and hoisted her off of him.
She turned on me, all teeth and nails.
“We aren’t Cartel!” I shouted
“Crazy bitch,” Diesel growled as he touched a scratch on his neck.
The woman wilted and started crying.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
I shook my head. “The door’s just down the hallway, over there. Go!”
She took off. Diesel and I looked at each other and shook our heads.
We held our guns at the ready as we made our way through the warehouse. There was a lot of smoke. I couldn’t pinpoint where it was coming from until we got closer to the offices. Right outside the offices – a trash can with its contents on fire. Luckily it was metal, so the fire was contained.
“Go help the boys. I’m going to find Cassie and Liz.”
“I’ll give you a yell if I find them first,” Diesel said as he turned to leave. He hesitated and added: “Careful of Ruiz, Boss. He has very little to lose.”
I nodded. The psychopath was likely to be even more unstable than normal, which made him all the more dangerous.
I stalked off into the offices to hopefully find some sign of Cassie or Liz.
“Cassie?” I called her name softly.
I wasn’t sure who’d be in earshot, and I’d make a nice target for any Cartel men or Ruiz himself. I’m sure lots of them wanted me dead.
“Cassie,” I called again this time a little bit louder.
Further down the corridor there was a loud thud, as if something heavy had been turned over. I frowned and made my way down the passageway. The door on the right at the far end was open. It could be Ruiz, the girls, or even some of the boys taking a bit of time to loot. By this point, I was willing to expect anything.
There was a woman’s scream, and my pace quickened. It sounded like Liz.
When I got to the door, I raised my gun and rounded the doorframe. The man in the room stopped mid-swing. He had one of this hands around Liz’s arm, and the other was raised to hit her. From the blood on Liz’s face, it didn’t look like it was for the first time .
Liz dove to the side and I took the opportunity. I squeezed the trigger. He didn’t make a sound. His face just went slack, then he dropped to the floor.
Liz was on her feet in an instant. She came over and gave me a hug
“I’m so glad to see you, Mason,” she sobbed. “He’s got Cassie. He took her to the roof.”
Our eyes met briefly. There was no need for her to say who had taken Cassie. I knew she meant Ruiz.
I nodded.
“Get to the side door. The boys are all over the warehouse floor, so just book it.”
Liz scooted from the room.
I went out into the corridor and looked around. I saw a sign for the stairwell and checked the ammo in my gun.
“You want to play, Ruiz? Then let’s play,” I growled as I shoved the stairwell door open.