by Amy Cecil
“Once we figure out where the ladies are and the safe, we make our move. Ricco also said that from what he gathered, Romeo would not be there, but I’m telling you plans change, and every one of us goes in as if he’s there. Ice, you take out the two guards at the gate. Rebel, Ryder, and Spike, I’m counting on you three to take care of the guards at the house and then Spike you will need to take care of the house alarm system and cameras. I’m told the main hub is housed in the guard’s station at the main gate.”
“Ryder and I can handle the six at the house, Sainte. There’s no need to waste Spike’s time. He can go straight to the alarm once Ice takes out the guards at the gate,” Rebel says.
“You sure about that? You’ll only be two against six,” I say to remind him.
Rebel looks at Ryder and says, “We’ve handled worse. We just recently broke my parents out of Maghaberry Prison in Ireland. Trust me, we got this.”
I turn toward Ice, and he nods to confirm. “Okay, that works. If you guys got this, who the fuck am I to question you.” I shrug. “So once we clear the guards, I’ll go in and get the wife and niece. Ice, you find the safe and clean the mother fucker out. And remember what I said about Romeo.”
“Got it.” He nods and then says, “What if Romeo is there? What if I encounter him?”
“Assess the situation. If you can get the money and get out, then you don’t touch him. Shit, I know that’s wishful thinking, but I’m also betting that Romeo will be more interested in saving his own ass, especially once he realizes we have taken over his house. He will run. I can almost guarantee it.”
Ice nods. “Gotcha.”
“No detours, no changes to the plan. I mean it.”
“We know!” Ryder states, and they laugh. I need to have my head examined joining with these guys, but I have to say, there is something about them that makes me glad I did. I’m sure I’m gonna fit in just fine.
If this place is anything like most Mexican cartel compounds, it’s not gonna be easy, but at least we know what to expect. Usually these places consist of the main house, a few guard stands, and perhaps a servants’ quarters. They try to keep the cartel business away from the residence, so hopefully that will be the case for us. Ricco couldn’t confirm anything other than we he gave us, so for the rest, we’re winging it.
“Let’s do this!” I state as the plane taxis down the private—I guess you could call it a runway. Michael said we’d be landing on some remote airstrip and that he’d have a Jeep waiting for us. The driver is on the Vitali payroll, and if we are ready to go back within the forty-eight hours, he will ensure to drive us back to the plane.
“Always ready, Sainte, you know that,” Ice replies.
Once the plane comes to a stop, I realize we are in a hanger. I didn’t even notice when the plane pulled inside. We get our things together and our guns, and we quickly deplane. Just as Michael said, there is a Jeep waiting. We make our way there, and I introduce myself to the driver.
“Nick Saintero. I’ll be your contact. You can call me Sainte,” I say, holding out my hand for him to shake.
“Manuel Garcia, a pleasure. I am at your disposal, Señor Sainte,” he replies as he gets in the Jeep. The rest of us throw our gear in the back and pile in. “Where to, sir?”
I give Manuel the address, and we drive off. Two hours later, we pull up to a gated property just like I was told. The guard house at the gate is small, and there are two guards posted. We can’t see the house from the gate as we drive by. I instruct Manuel to drive down the road about a quarter of a mile.
“You wait here for us,” I tell him.
Manuel nods, and we get out of the Jeep.
“We’re going to scope out the situation, and we’ll be back. We’ll probably be a few hours,” I say.
“Sí, señor,” Manuel replies. “I do whatever I can to help Señor Vitali.”
We get out of the Jeep and head back toward Romeo’s estate on foot. We get to the property and walk the perimeter. It is completely gated, with the front gate being the only way in and out. That could present a problem.
We find a spot on a hill next to the compound where we can see the main entrance to the house. We count five guards. Where is number six? After watching the activity for about two hours, we see a limo arrive at the gate. It pulls through without being checked and proceeds toward the house. Once the limo comes to a stop, the driver, who is fully armed, gets out. There’s number six. He opens the back door, and a woman emerges, followed by a young girl. Romeo’s wife and niece. Good.
The guard/driver follows them into the house, and after a few minutes, he comes back outside to stand post.
About thirty minutes later, another limo arrives at the gate and proceeds right through without being checked. Who the fuck is this? We watch as the limo makes its way to the main entrance. The driver gets out, unarmed from what I can tell, and opens the back door. And to my surprise, Romeo emerges from the limo. Fuck.
“That’s Romeo,” Ice whispers. “Now what?”
“We wait and watch,” I reply, and that’s exactly what we do.
Just as the sun is setting, we see Romeo emerge with the same driver as before. The driver is carrying a duffle bag. The two of them get in the car and leave the estate. Perfect.
“I say we make our move tonight,” I say to the men.
“I’m all in,” Ice replies. The other guys nod.
“Spike, go back to the Jeep. Let Manuel know of our plans while we continue to keep our eyes on things here. We’ll strike as soon as it’s completely dark, so make your way back as soon as possible.”
“Got it, Sainte.” Spike leaves and we remain at our post, making sure Romeo doesn’t return and the women don’t leave.
About thirty minutes later, Spike returns. The sun has now set, and darkness has taken over the evening sky. Lucky for us, there is no moon visible tonight. Just another thirty minutes, and we’ll be ready to go.
***
“Okay, boys, let’s move. We’ve got the element of surprise on our side. Let’s keep it that way.”
“Ah, I think once I take out the guards at the gate, we’ll lose that,” Ice states.
“That’s why we have silencers,” I reply smugly.
“Fucker,” Ice says under his breath, and I can’t help but chuckle. It’s killing him not being in control, but he promised. He knew that if I agreed to allow him to be a part of this, he had to do things my way.
We get down the hill and position ourselves just outside of the guard stand. “Ice, you got this?”
“Oh, fuck yeah. I’ve been waiting for this for a long time.” He creeps toward the two guards, and we follow behind. Next thing I see, both guards fall to the ground in the darkness. Spike stops inside the guard stand, and the rest of us continue toward the house.
“Give me five minutes,” Spike says, and you should be cleared to enter.
Hell, it’s gonna take us more than five minutes to get to the fucking house. I swear all these cartel leaders are alike. They have these huge fucking mansions with all these ostentatious gold statues and fountains everywhere. Having the gaudiest house must be a fucking prerequisite when you make it big in the drug business.
“When you’re done, meet up with Rebel and Ryder,” I tell Spike.
“Got it.”
When we finally get to the house, Rebel and Ryder split and move toward each side of the house. Rebel takes out the guard at the front as he goes by. Damn, these guys are good.
I see another guard drop while Ice and I rush toward the door, which is now clear. I pray Spike has disarmed the alarms by now, but I don’t have to time to wait any longer. We burst down the front door and walk inside. The gaudy décor extends inside as we are greeted with a huge plantation-type staircase and a fucking fountain in the main entryway.
Just as we’re about to climb the stairs, a woman dressed in a maid’s uniform comes running into the entryway, yelling in Spanish. I can’t understand a word she is saying, but I can te
ll she is scared.
Ice approaches her and grabs her by the arm. “Cállate, maldita mujer. Si quieres mantenerte vivo, vuelve a la cocina o desde donde vengas. Dile al resto del personal también. Permanece oculto, y no serás lastimado.”
By the look in her eyes, she’s scared, but she stops yelling and nods. He releases her arm, and she quickly turns away and rushes out of the entryway.
“What the fuck did you say to her?” I ask.
“I told her to shut the fuck up. Go back where she came from and to let the rest of the staff know that as long as they stay hidden, they won’t be harmed.”
“Fuck, Ice, thanks. I didn’t know you speak Spanish.”
“See, it’s a good thing I came along,” he says as we proceed up the stairs.
I shake my head. I wonder whose ego is bigger, his or mine. When we get to the top of the stairs, I say, “Let’s find Marina first. She’ll know where the safe is, and she may even know the combination. Could save us a lot of time.”
Just then, Ice’s phone beeps. He takes it out of his pocket and looks at it. “Just got a text from Rebel, the outer perimeter has been neutralized. No casualties on our end.”
“Thank fuck,” I say.
We approach a set of double doors, which I am assuming is the master bedroom and hopefully the place where we will find Marina. We open the doors and find a woman lying on the bed in a fetal position, crying. What the fuck? She glances up at us as I approach, and I am appalled by what I see. Her face has been badly beaten. She has two black eyes and blood running down the side of her head. Holy shit, that SOB beat her!
“Marina, we mean you no harm.” I quickly try to reassure her as she inches her way up the bed in an effort to get away from us. She winces as she moves, which makes me realize there is more damage to her than what I see on her face. “It’s okay, sweetheart, we’ve come to save you from this hellhole.”
She looks at me curiously and then toward Ice. She’s scared, but when she speaks, I’m surprised to find out that when she speaks, it’s in English.
“Who are you?” I can see she desperately wants to believe us, but there is hesitation, and I think it is fair to assume she isn’t used to trusting many people. I can’t say I really blame her. We’re a couple of big scary dudes, not to mention the guns we are carrying.
“My name is Sainte, and this here is Ice. We’re Americans. We’ve come to take down Romeo, but our first mission is to get you and the young girl safely out of here.”
She eyes me warily as she sits up to get a better look at us. “How do I know what you are telling me is true?”
“You don’t. You have two choices, you either trust me or you remain here and suffer Romeo’s wrath when he returns.” She looks around the room as if she is saying good-bye to her surroundings.
She slowly gets up from the bed and says, “Get me and Katie the fuck out of here.” She may or may not trust us, but if there is any glimmer of hope for her to get away, she must be at the point where she wants to take it.
“Where can we find Katie?” I reach for her hand to steady her when she stumbles a little.
She looks up at me with gratitude in her eyes. “She’s in the next room. I’ll take you there.”
“Before we get Katie, we need one more thing from you, Marina.”
“Anything,” she replies.
“Can you get us into Romeo’s safe? We’re cleaning him out.”
She smiles. “With pleasure. Follow me.”
She leads us to a huge closet. We get inside, and the fucking thing is as big as my living room. Nobody needs this many clothes and things. Nobody. In the back corner is a separate closet. She opens the door, and standing before us is a huge floor-to-ceiling safe.
“Do you know the combination?” I ask.
“Yes, it’s my wedding anniversary. Nineteen, zero, nine, zero, nine.”
Perfect. “Ice, you got this. I’m gonna take Marina and go get Katie. Meet you at the top of the stairs.”
“Got it.”
Marina and I leave the room and head toward Katie’s room. “Let me go in first,” Marina says. “Can you wait out here?”
I look at her warily but agree. I quickly see by the look in her eyes that she’s on our side. She’s tired of being Romeo’s whipping board, and right now, I’m her salvation.
A few minutes later, Marina comes out with Katie. I’m horrified when I see the young girl. Her bruises mirror Marina’s. It makes my stomach turn to see how this fucking pig treats the women in his life. It’s bad enough he beats on his wife, but Katie is a child.
Fucking cocksucker. All I have to say is that he’s lucky he’s not here ’cause fuck what Michael said. He would die tonight. I have no patience for men who beat on women and children.
We walk out into the hallway just as Ice is leaving Romeo’s bedroom. He’s got both oversized duffels full, and the zippers are pulling at the seams.
“Holy shit, Ice, that bag is overflowing.”
“Shit yeah… There’s an easy two mil in there, all in hundreds.”
“Did you get it all?”
“Yes, barely.”
“Good, let’s get the fuck out of here.”
Chapter 31
Michael
It’s been a long day. This morning, Manuel contacted me to inform me the plane landed in Mexico. Sainte and his men have been taken to their target, and that was the last I heard from anyone. I have spent the rest of the day and well into tonight waiting for word. Sainte knows he needs to make contact as soon as he can. I’m not worried he won’t but more worried he can’t. He’s never failed on a mission, but there is a first time for everything.
I walk to the bar in my office and turn toward Alex and Ricco. “This waiting is fucking nerve-racking.” I pour myself another drink. “You boys want another one?”
They both nod. It’s well after midnight, and Zaira has long since gone to bed. Why can’t I just fucking go to bed with my wife just one night? Though, I quickly remind myself, When this shit is all over, and Romeo is six feet under. That’s when.
My phone rings, and when I look at the caller ID, I see it’s Sainte. I answer. “Thank fuck you’re safe,” I say into the phone. He laughs.
“Did you doubt me?”
I’m not in the mood for his teasing right now. “No, but I’ve been worried sick.”
“Okay, first, we’re all fine. We got the ladies and the money.” He exhales audibly. “But before I give you all the details, I need to tell you Zach and Jake didn’t take point on this mission like you wanted.”
“What the fuck, Sainte? You went in alone?”
“No, I didn’t fucking go in alone. Damn, Mikey, have a little faith. Ice and his boys went with me.”
“That’s not what we agreed on, Sainte.”
“I know, and I told them you would have my ass if you found out, but all went well. Romeo is still alive, and we got what we wanted. No harm, no foul.”
“Nobody got hurt?”
“Nobody—well, except for the ladies,” he says.
“What happened?”
“Apparently Romeo uses them both as punching bags when he wants to blow off steam. They didn’t resist at all and went with us gladly. I guess even the unknown is better than what they have been living in. You should see them. They are badly beaten, Mikey. I swear, if Romeo had been around, I would have killed him myself.”
“Oh, fuck. Where are you taking them?”
“We just landed in Erie. We’re gonna take them to the clubhouse and have the club doc look them over. If he thinks they need more care, we’ll get them fixed up. Once they are on the mend, I send them wherever you want. Until then, they will remain under the protection of the MC if that works for you.”
“Can the MC protect them?”
“Honestly, I think the MC is the best place for them. If Romeo starts looking for them, the first place he will go is to you. He has no idea of your association with the Knights, and I doubt he would be able to eve
n find the connection.”
“Yeah, you got a point. Ask Ice if they can stay with him for a while.”
He’s quiet for a minute, but I can hear him talking in the background. When he gets back on the line, he says, “Yeah, no problem. We got them.”
“How much money did you get?”
“We haven’t counted it, but Ice is guessing close to two mil.”
“Holy shit. You and the MC split one million and give the rest to the ladies so they can get on their feet. I’ll cover the cost of passports and new IDs. Just make the arrangements. We’re giving them a whole new life.”
“You got it.”
“Another job well done, Sainte,” I say into the phone. “I’m sure as hell gonna miss you around here.”
“I know, Mikey, but you know you can always count on me and the MC if you need us for anything. We’re just a short ride away.”
I have to ask him. “Are you sure this is what you want?”
“Yeah, it is. I gotta do this, Mikey. I’ve got to get to know Emma. The last time I saw her, she was an infant, then all that shit went down with my parents, and fuck, I just walked away. It’s time she knows I’m here.”
“When I talked to Ice last, he said you all were gonna tell her after the funeral. Hawk is buried now, so does she know?”
“Not yet. We left right after the funeral, and Ice didn’t want to tell her and leave. The last thing he wanted to do was upset her, especially since she’s pregnant.”
“Yeah, I get that. Well good luck. You’re gonna do well with the MC. They are lucky to have you on their team.”
“We’re all on the same team, man. You know that.”
“Yeah, I know. Thanks again. I’ll be in touch when it’s time to make our move on Romeo.”
“Okay, thanks.” He disconnects the line, and I turn toward Ricco and Alex.
“It’s done. The MC has the ladies and the money.”
“Fuck yeah!” Alex says. “Another job in the success column.”
