He hugged me back, chuckling. “Always, Jiji.”
Breech pulled me back into his arms, gently touching the side of my face that was swollen. “Are you ok, doll? Did he hurt you anywhere else?”
“He didn’t do this, Breech; Manny did when I attacked him after he shot you. That asshole spanked me and tied me up, but that’s all he did. I’m fine.”
Before he could ask me any more questions, Murph yelled from the door, “Incoming—look out!”
A shot rang out, and Breech pulled me down and under him. His gun was in his hand and he returned fire immediately.
The room erupted in chaos, everyone scrambling for cover. Sonny had a woman covered, and the rest scattered.
Men came through the door, but they were no match for the Devil’s Wind. They worked together like a well-oiled machine and quickly disarmed the intruders. Fists were flying, but in short order the men were down, groaning. Murph pulled zip ties from his pack to tie them up with.
A woman came up to me, holding out a T-shirt and pair of sweats. “Hi, I’m Gia; I found these in a bedroom up the hall. They will be huge but it smells clean and it will be warm.”
I accepted them gratefully. “Thank you, Gia, I’m Jiji.”
She turned her back so I could slip the T-shirt over my head in privacy, despite my whole rescue squad already getting a view of my goods. It came to the middle of my thighs, but at least I was covered. Putting on the sweats, I pulled the drawstring as tight as I could to hold them up and rolled the bottoms up so I wouldn’t trip. My feet were still bare, but Gia produced a pair of thick socks from her backpack.
“These will have to do for now. I didn’t think of bringing a pair of shoes,” she said.
“Breech, Brom is on the move. He’s heading for the garage; we are going to head him off before he gets away. Send reinforcements,” Danko’s voice sounded over the com link.
“Jiji, you ok to move?” Breech asked.
“More than ready, I want to go home,” I said.
“Dukes and I will take point, you girls are in the middle, and Sonny and Murph take the rear.”
As a group, we moved to the door; Dukes looked out the door carefully, the hallway was clear. “Move out,” he said. Swiftly we made it to the back staircase and headed down. The house was unnaturally quiet.
The sounds of gunfire came from outside. “Danko, report—are you okay?” Breech demanded.
Danko’s reply came back almost immediately, “We have him pinned down in the garage; he’s got three bogeys with him, but they can’t shoot for shit.”
“You’re tellin’ me and my fuckin’ coin. We’re on our way, hang tight,” Breech replied.
Maria appeared at the bottom of the staircase. “If you follow me, I can take you to the door that connects to the garage.” She turned, beckoning us to follow her. We hurried after her, following ‘til she came to a doorway. It led to a breezeway between the house and the garage beyond.
“Maria, thank you; please stay in the house so you don’t get hurt. We got this from here.” Pulling a second piece from a holster inside his jacket, Breech handed it to me. “I know you know how to handle a gun; if any of those men come through that door, shoot first, ask questions later. Keep Gia and Maria safe, and we will be back once we take these guys down.”
Dukes slipped a com unit in my ear. “So you’ll be able to hear and communicate with us.”
Breech grabbed me and kissed me hard on the lips. “Be the badass I know you are, and keep the ladies safe ‘til we get back.”
I smiled, “Flattery will get you laid, big boy.”
He chuckled. “See, badass. Be back as soon as we take these guys out. Stay low and watch each other’s backs.”
Twenty-Five
The guys slipped through the door and headed to the garage. “Danko, we’re coming from the north side of the garage. There is an entrance from the house; keep them occupied with cover fire and we’ll sneak up on them from the rear.”
“Roger,” Danko answered. Shots rang out from the front of the building—the men inside were returning fire.
We split up into two groups, ducking around some cars and working our way forward. All four men were occupied, squeezing off shots at Danko and Murph; they never heard us moving ‘til we were right on top of them. Dukes hit the first one in the back of the head with the butt of his gun, and the guy went down like a ton of bricks.
Sonny had the second guy in a headlock, cutting off his breathing ‘til he dropped the gun on the floor, tapping out on Sonny’s arm. When he blacked out, Sonny finally let him slide to the ground. Murph clocked the third guy when he tried to run for the open door—that left only Brom.
He stood to the side, unconcerned that all of his men were down. “There is no reason for violence, gentlemen. I have done nothing wrong for you to storm my home and incapacitate the men in my employ. Please take yourself off my property and I will not press charges.”
I moved out of the shadows and Brom lost a bit of color. “You did nothing wrong? You did not have your employees shoot me and leave me for dead on the side of the road, kidnap my woman, tie her up, and whip her for your enjoyment?”
Brom’s face turned white and he pulled a gun from inside his jacket, but before he could fire, I knocked it out of his hand. It went skidding across the garage floor. I didn’t stop; my fist flew and hit Brom in the jaw; he tried to counter, but I was faster. I followed the first punch with one to the body and all the air left Brom’s lungs. I attacked, hitting him again and again. Dukes and Sonny had to pull me off the prone man.
“Breech, stop, you’ll kill him,” Sonny shouted.
I struggled against the men holding me. “He’s a piece of shit, he deserves to die. Fucking let me finish the job,” I spat.
“Breech, he’s not worth it, let it go,” Jiji’s voice came over the com link. I calmed at the sound of her voice, shaking off Duke and Sonny; they let me go.
Murph had turned Brom over and zip tied his hands behind his back. The other men were in a similar position. Murph dragged the men over to the side of the garage and handcuffed them to an exposed pipe.
Sonny dragged Brom over and did the same to him; he groaned and Sonny said, “Shut up, asshole, it could have been worse. We could have let him kill you.”
Opry’s voice came over the com, “Clear behind you.”
“Clear in the garage,” Dukes responded. ”Let’s regroup near the cellar doors; these guys aren’t going anywhere.”
We moved to the back of the garage, to the door leading to the carport. “Jiji, coming to you, do not shoot us,” Dukes said into his com.
“Aww, what fun is that?” she replied. I knocked on the door and Jiji opened it. “What’s the password?” she asked.
“Smartass,” I replied.
“That will work,” she quipped.
I couldn’t help but smile. All the shit that happened to her in the last few days, and she could still joke about it. She didn’t cry and complain; she just adapted and moved on.
Dukes and Sonny took point again, with the girls in the middle, then me and Murph bringing up the rear. We went through the butler’s pantry into the kitchen and down to the cellar through the kitchen entrance. When we got to the bottom of the steps in the cellar, Opry and Danko were waiting.
Gia spoke up, “Maria told me we should check beyond the wine cellar before we left. I don’t know what’s she’s talking about, but we owe it to her to take a look.”
Dukes nodded his head. “I agree. She helped us, so let’s help her.”
“Roger that!” Opry replied.
“Good by me,” Sonny said.
“I’ll take point,” Danko said.
“Let’s roll, brothers,” I finished.
Danko moved off down the hall, checking doors as h
e went. They opened into stock rooms, pantries, and furniture storage. The wine cellar was locked and had thermostatic control on the outside. He rattled the door but it didn’t open. Continuing down the hall, his voice came over the com. “Sonny, get up here, I need you to open a barrier door, it’s locked.”
We moved to the side so Sonny could get past us. He withdrew a tablet from his backpack and went to work. A couple minutes later, the lock beeped and the door opened.
“Open Sesame,” Jiji quipped.
Sonny smiled and winked at Jiji. “Your wish is my command,” he said. She laughed as he pocketed his tablet, waiting as he went through the door behind Danko.
“You girls hold up here with Murph; Dukes and I are going to back up Sonny and Danko. Stay sharp ‘til we get back,” I commanded.
The hallway was dimly lit and cold as hell. We came to another door which Sonny opened, and the four of us continued on. The temperature had dropped sharply and it smelled dank, like mold and urine.
The hall was lined on both sides with wooden doors; each one had an electronic lock on the outside. They had a slide on the top and the middle. The hair on the back of my neck slowly rose; whatever was behind those doors, I knew it wouldn’t be good.
Dukes stepped up next to me with his gun drawn. I positioned myself near the slide and gave Dukes the signal to be ready. Sliding the panel back in a rush, I ducked while Dukes got ready to fire. Nothing happened. Peering through the panel, I could see a dingy room with a pile of rags in the corner. Other than that, the room was empty.
Then the rags moved!
I saw a pair of eyes staring at me in fear and I backed up.
“That fucking scumbag—it’s a woman, Dukes. He’s got a woman locked in there. Sonny, get to work on this lock.” Shortly the panel beeped and the lock released.
The door swung outward and Dukes entered. The woman huddled in the corner, trying to get as small as she could. Dukes tried to act as non-threatening as possible, but due to his size that was next to impossible.
“Jiji, Gia, get up here—we need you,” I said into the com. Within a minute, Gia and Jiji came through the door.
“Oh my God,” Jiji whispered. Holding out a hand, she slowly approached the woman. “Hello, my name’s Jiji, and the girl behind me is Gia. These guys might look big and scary, but they really are harmless. We are here to help you.”
The girl shook her head, huddling into the corner. “No habla inglés,” the woman whispered, keeping her eyes on the ground.
“My name is Jiji, we want to help you, no one here will harm you,” Jiji replied to her in Spanish.
She looked up at her questioningly. “The bad man will be back, he will hurt you too. Run away while you still can.”
“He will never hurt you again. These men have taken care of him. What is your name?”
“My name is Estella, how are the others?”
“Others, there are more?”
“Yes, I’m not sure how many, but I can hear them crying at night.”
Turning to me, Jiji said, “She says there are more women down here… She’s not sure how many, but she can hear them crying.”
My hand curled into a fist. “Sonny, there are more down here, so start opening doors—let’s get them free.”
“I need you to follow me. We are going to get you and the others out of here.”
She replied in broken English, “I go with you.” She stood up and started to move forward. Dukes raised a hand to help her and she shrieked, hiding behind Jiji.
“Dukes, she’s afraid of you—I got this. You go help Sonny and Murph.” Dukes dropped his hand, backing up slowly.
“This is Gia, she will stay with you while I go help the men get the other girls.”
“No, I go too! Speak to girls, tell them no afraid,” she said.
“Thank you, Estella; that would be very helpful.”
We left the cell and she raised her voice, telling the girls to come out, not to be afraid, that we were here to help.
Twenty-Six
Sonny opened the cell doors one at a time. Some held two or three women, some five or six. All told, there were twenty-three held captive in the cellar.
“Dukes, we have to call the local PD in on this. This scumbag was trafficking women.”
Jiji spoke up, “Breech, the local Sheriff is a corrupt son of a bitch. He’s the reason we left here to run to my brother.”
Sonny’s voice sounded over the com, “I’ve got some contacts in the FBI; they can deal with the President’s Interagency Task Force.”
“Call them,” Dukes said.
Within an hour, the farm was swarming with officers. They rounded up the guys cuffed in the garage, as well as Lane, Manny, Dave, and Drake, whom Opry and Danko had taken out when we first got to the farm.
The women were scared and crying, but they handled being freed remarkably well. Estella came to Jiji and hugged her. “Thank you for my life back,” she said. “Tell them all thank you.”
“You’re welcome! Live your life, do not let this define what you are.”
She nodded her head. “If I can, I would like to help others who are in this situation.” An officer led her away, and she turned back and waved over his shoulder.
We were transported to the local field office and each of us had to give a statement. They kept us separated so we couldn’t swap stories. The local cops went to the airfield to bring back the crates of AKs we brought with us. They video conferenced with Sandra to corroborate the buying of the foals, the reason we went to the farm in the first place.
Maria, the housekeeper, had been with the farm for many years. She told the FBI of the parade of women that moved through the place. She directed them to a distant portion of the property. Using cadaver dogs, they located a pit deep in the woods containing several bodies in various stages of decomposition.
After a few high-ranking officials called and demanded to know why we were being held, they released us. We loaded into the SUVs and headed to the airstrip. Jamie was waiting in the hangar for us. We loaded onto the plane and strapped in for the flight back to New York.
Resting her head against my shoulder, I heard her say a prayer of thanks that we were together again. The Devil’s Wind swept in and rescued her from Brom, and in doing so had broken up a human trafficking ring. They were my brothers and I owed them her life—I would never forget it.
I whispered in her ear, “Boomer patched me up, gave me a transfusion with some additives to help me keep moving. He says when I crash it will be hard, and I’m starting to feel the effects.”
Turning around, she looked at my face. “You do did look a little pale, babe.” Reaching up, she laid her lips against my temple. “You feel warm but not overly so,” she said to me.
“Baby, I think your lips landed a bit north of my mouth.”
She laughs. “If you try anything remotely sexual, you’ll probably pass out. I’d be surprised if you could manage an erection.”
“Jiji, I’d have to be dead not to be aroused by you.”
“Speaking of dead, how come you’re not?” she asked.
“You know that half dollar I always carry?” She nodded her head. “The first shot hit the coin dead-center, protecting my heart and stopping the bullet cold. The second shot was deflected by my head and was mostly a bloody flesh wound. Manny could have done with some range time.”
She kissed my lips this time, cuddling against my body. “Well, I’m glad they suck at shooting and that you have such a hard head.” I leaned my head back against the seat as the plane gained altitude.
“I will wake you when we are getting ready to land, Breech,” Jiji said. I answered by rubbing her back, taking the time to rest while we fly through the night…
Gia was half asleep on the seat across from me. S
onny carefully adjusted her seat so she was lying more comfortably, covering her with a blanket. She snuggled into the blanket, let out a soft snore, and wiggled into a more comfortable position. Sonny smiled until he noticed Jiji and me watching, then he scowled and turned away. Jiji giggled but didn’t say anything. My hand moved in lazy circles across her back. “You see what I see, Jiji?”
“If you see Sonny showing interest in Gia, then yes, I see what you see.”
“Bingo.”
The plane hit a bit of turbulence, bouncing around in the rough air. My arm tightened around Jiji. Minutes later, the plane leveled out again. My arm relaxed and I felt myself sinking deeper into fatigue. The boost I received from the transfusion and B12 was wearing off and my body was screaming for rest. Before I gave in, I hugged Jiji hard and whispered, “I love you, Jiji, for all our tomorrows.”
“He’s down for the count,” Opry said from the other side of me.
Turning to him, I asked, “Is Sandra okay?”
“Why would you ask that?” Opry asks.
“Because I know her. She will blame herself for putting me in harm’s way even if it was unintentional. She’s a smart woman but she’s also blind when it comes to her friends,” I responded.
“Yeah, that about sums her up. She’s one of the smartest women I know. She’s warm and funny, sexy, with a heart as big as Texas. I talked to her, told her everyone was fine, just some bumps and bruises. She hasn’t been able to sleep and won’t rest until she sees you all with her own eyes and gets to touch you, hug you to that lovely bosom. And then once all of you go home, I get to rest my boyish head against said bosom and it goes from there.” He waggled his eyebrows at me. I couldn’t help laughing at his teasing.
“So, her not sleeping didn’t raise a red flag, Opry?”
“Babe, my flag hasn’t been raised in weeks,” he responded.
“Well, this news ought’a hoist your colors. Huh, Opry?”
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