Chapter Thirty-Five
Moon
Madison is up to something. The strange feeling persisted while she dressed and then at breakfast. Sending her off to the service without me was nearly impossible. The fact is, I need to get my head out of my ass and take care of Fernandez once and for all. The thought of him taking Madison again is eating me alive.
While she’s at EE, I can focus on what it takes to keep everyone safe. The Frontera Cartel is out of the picture and now we can focus on one man. I have everyone but our outside security in the conference room. Austin joins us too.
“How do we bring him out in the open without risking one of our women as bait?” I ask the men. It didn’t matter how much Madison complained, there was no way I would give into her plan.
I’ve never reached my current level of frustration as we debate the best scenarios. Alex hasn’t said a word since entering the meeting, which surprises me. When I look at him, his eyes are on the door leading to the hallway.
“What has you worried?” I ask him when there’s a break in the conversation.
He shrugs. “I have that strange feeling in the pit of my stomach telling me the women are up to something.” He rubs the back of his neck and gives a small grimace. “Celina wasn’t upset when I told her she’s remaining on lockdown. She was too accommodating if that makes sense.” He points at his head. “My Spidey senses are working overtime right now trying to pinpoint what the hell’s going on.” He glances at the door again.
“Melina was acting strange too,” Austin adds and scratches his neck.
I’m not alone in the uneasy feelings, which means something is up. “I’ll handle the meeting. You go check on the ladies,” I urge Alex. “Join him if you want,” I add for Austin’s benefit.
“I’ll stay. That bastard needs to die and I’m tired of doing nothing.”
Alex walks out without a backward glance. I look at my phone and think about calling Madison but decide against it. She’s been doing better mentally and I figured it was the thought of getting out of the house and back to work. Normal things. I might be wrong about what’s causing her good mood, though.
The meeting resumes and the uneasy feeling stays with me. Cal has a lead on a taxidermist with a client looking for large predator animals. It could be our best option to draw Fernandez out if it’s him. Alex gave me a rundown on who the men are dating and we might have a lead from there as well. He hasn’t returned when we start talking about a team heading to Mexico with the latest shipment of guns for training. Those weapons are still on hold in New Mexico, but they need to move. Alex should be here for this and now it’s me looking at the door.
A loud bang turns everyone’s attention to the same door. We’re half out of our seats when the explosion rocks the house. I tear out of the conference room first.
The front doors are partially open with two of the perimeter guards taking cover behind them, their rifles pointing outside. Their job is to keep intruders from getting into the house if there’s an outside wall breach. “Where are the women?” I call out as I move behind the door, which is bulletproof. Austin hunkers down next to me with his gun drawn.
“They were at the pool a few minutes ago,” one of the guards says.
The pool is in the back. I can’t activate the metal safety shutters unless I know they’re inside. Before I tell Austin to see if the women are safe, a large white truck drives past the wrought iron fence at the gate. It looks like Sofia driving and she has the other women with her. Alex runs after the truck and then walks back to the gate shaking his head. Fuck. His hands go up and he kicks the dirt at his feet. He turns to the house and yells, “It’s clear,” but Austin and I are already running toward him.
Before I get there, Alex runs back toward the downed wall. When I’m close enough, I see a man on the ground and he isn’t one of ours. Someone in the control room electronically opens the gates before I can punch in the code.
Alex is standing over the man. “That damn, crazy Sofia ran over his ass and picked up the women,” Alex snaps angrily. “The SUV hit the wall and exploded a few seconds later. This guy must have jumped before impact. There’s no sign of anyone else.”
The man rolling on the ground with two mangled legs looks like the description Madison gave of Fernandez’s man Goose.
“Get him in the house,” I yell at Blevins. “Get the truck completely inside the wall and barricade the fence with one or two vehicles. The explosion was too loud and the police might be coming.” With the luck I’m having today, they’ll show and we’ll be tied up with them for hours. “We’ll load this guy into one of the vehicle trunks and try to get out of here before the police arrive. Cal, you’re in charge. Say nothing, and I’ll have our attorney here soon.”
I take out my phone, send a text to the attorney, and then call Caleb. Madison is part of whatever the women have planned and I need to be sure she’s safe. Scratch that thought, Madison came up with the fucking plan. Damn woman. “Never marry a cop,” I say under my breath when Caleb’s phone rings.
He tells me he’s looking at Madison as we speak, so I have no idea what the hell is going on. “Get her into the safe room, the outer wall of the house was breached by a vehicle then the vehicle exploded. The good news is we have one of Fernandez’s men. We’re heading to the warehouse before the police arrive.”
I press End and decide to wait to call Madison until we’re off the property. Somehow those women found Fernandez’s location; it’s the only explanation and the only thing that makes sense. With Madison in the safe room, I can breathe easier and maybe the women will stop whatever the hell they’re up to with her out of the picture. We’ll discover Fernandez’s location from the piece of shit Sofia ran over and take down Fernandez today.
Alex brings the car to the front. Austin jumps into the back and I take the passenger seat. I told the men to put Gabriella in our safe room until everything settles. She can cuss them out in Spanish, I don’t have time. Sirens can be heard in the distance and we need to be completely clear of the house before they hit the street that leads to my private road.
I’ve also notified additional men to meet us at the warehouse. As soon as we have Fernandez’s location, we’ll be moving out quickly. It suddenly occurs to me that Dax is totally out of the loop, so I dial his cell.
“You’re fucking kidding me,” he practically yells when I tell him his wife ran over a man and picked up the women. “I’m on my way.” Another call comes in and I look at the display. It’s Caleb.
“Start heading here with reinforcements,” I tell Dax quickly. “I’ll call as soon as we have a location. It won’t be long.”
The man in the trunk is moaning loudly. There are metal plates over the taillights and nothing he can do to get out until we open the back. Not that he could run far on two injured and possibly broken legs.
I switch the call to Caleb. He’s breathing heavily and he’s pissed off. “She locked me in the fucking safe room and took off. Cori’s with her.”
“Meet us at the warehouse.” I end the call because I’m too angry to say another word.
I let out a round of expletives before I can tell Alex and Austin the latest. “Madison and Cori left the agency and are on their way to meet up with the other women.”
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Alex says while beating on the steering wheel.
“We’ll find them.” I inhale deeply to control my anger. What’s done is done and thinking about shaking my wife until her teeth rattle won’t help.
“I’ll beat her ass black and blue when we do,” Alex grumbles. “They don’t have a fucking clue who they’re dealing with.”
Austin, who’s been silent up to this point, grunts. I turn to the backseat and give him my attention. “Melina knows exactly who they’re up against. She’ll be the death of me one way or another. I may lock her back in the basement for the next year.”
“When did they make these fucking plans?” Alex asks as we turn on the last street before we reach the warehouse.
I have that answer. “The book club meeting that they’ve never had before and wanted someplace private where they could relieve a little stress.”
“Fuck it, that took place in my apartment,” Alex groans. “I’m installing listening devices in there. She’ll never have privacy again.”
He won’t do it, but I understand where he’s coming from.
Alex screeches to a halt in front of the warehouse and jumps out of the car before I do. He races to the back and hauls the man out of the trunk, throwing him to the ground. Before the man can do more than scream, Alex begins dragging him to the door by one arm. I jog forward and put in the security code to unlock the warehouse. Alex drags the man straight to the back with me and Austin behind him.
We enter the closed-off section of the warehouse and I shut the door behind us. Alex continues dragging the man to the hook hanging from the middle of the ceiling. He lifts him with Austin’s help and loops the rope securing his hands over the hook.
Alex would usually change clothes at this point, but today he isn’t wasting time. He’s in pure kill mode. He walks rapidly to a cabinet in the corner and removes duct tape. He slaps it over the screaming man’s mouth and circles the tape around his head. The tape won’t help us get information, but I don’t stop Alex. He knows what he’s doing and we’ll have the information we need faster if I just let him work.
Alex pulls a knife from its sheath and the man screams louder behind the tape, though it’s more like a squeal now. His mangled legs won’t hold him up and he’s hanging by his arms, his eyes wide and fearful. Alex reaches up, brings the knife down and slices off his ear, which he tosses to the cement floor. The guy squirms on the hook and Alex starts using the knife to cut off his clothes. Small slices well with blood as Alex removes each piece with precise dexterity.
When the man is naked, Alex steps closer and grabs his chin. His squeals stop suddenly and more of a whining noise comes from behind the tape. “I want Fernandez’s location,” Alex says loud enough for the man to hear above his terror. “When I remove the tape, you will give me an address. If you don’t, I’m cutting off your dick and feeding it to you. After you swallow it, I’ll give you another opportunity to talk. If you don’t, it will be your balls next and then I remove your eyes. We’ll play this game until you give us the information we need. Don’t worry, though.” Alex grins and it’s crazy enough to freeze fire. “I won’t let you bleed to death until you’ve consumed half your body.”
He gives the man no time to think about what’s about to happen to him and rips the tape from his mouth in one pull.
The man, who affirms his name is Goose, starts talking.
“Pity,” Alex whispers after we have an address without cutting off anything more than an ear. “How many men?”
“Just Fernandez,” Goose blubbers through spit and tears.
I put the address into my phone. “It’s in Cave Creek. We need to go.”
Alex lifts the guy’s tied hands from the hook and he falls to the floor crying. “He’s going with us. If he gave us the wrong address, I will cut off his dick.”
I call Dax and give him the location. We’re about the same distance away and should arrive close together. “If you get there first, do what you need to do.”
My worry for Madison multiplies by a hundred as soon as we’re in the car. “Just let me hold her again,” I pray.