Wreaking Havyk (The Hounds of Zeus MC Book 4)

by Faith Gibson

  “You didn’t mention a dog,” Spyder whispered.

  “It must have been in the house.” Before they could discuss next steps, the dog turned their way and started barking. “Fuck, that’s not good.” Hayden loved all animals, and he didn’t want to hurt this one, but he wouldn’t let it give away their presence.

  “No! Come back,” Mateo shouted and took off after the dog. That caused a chain reaction of Tomás following Mateo and the woman following Tomás, both calling after the boy to stop.

  “Up!” Hayden said, releasing his Lion’s claws to help climb the nearest tree. Devon and Spyder followed suit, and the three of them clung to branches while the dog barked and ran between the trees. It stopped at each one, putting its paws on the trunk, growling into the night. Tomás managed to grab Mateo before he reached the dense brush and handed him off to the woman.

  “Mateo, no. It is too dangerous.” The older woman was stronger than she looked. She turned back toward the house, holding onto the child, who was squirming to be let down.

  “You were trained better than this. It’s probably a squirrel,” Tomás scolded in a clearly American voice. “Platz.” The dog, now focused on the man, sat down. “So ist brav. You’re a good girl. You did your job and treed whatever it was. Let’s get back to the boy.” The man bent and gave her a couple ear scritches. “Go, Lina. Geh raus.” At the last command, the dog took off toward the house.

  When Tomás turned to follow, Hayden jumped, landing on the man’s back. The thirty-foot drop would have hurt had he not called forth his Gryphon wings to slow him. His T-shirt was shredded, but that was better than his body taking the brunt of the landing. Hayden figured he’d knocked the man out, but he still told him, “Don’t move.” When Tomás remained still, Hayden rolled off. Spyder held out a fist, and Hayden bumped the other male’s knuckles.

  “I’ve got him if you two want to go after the boy.” Spyder placed his leather boot on the man’s back.

  Hayden looked toward the house. “What about the dog? From that command, I’d say it’s highly trained.”

  Devon grinned. “I’ll voice it, and if that doesn’t work, I’ll shift and show it who’s boss. Come on.”

  Hayden followed his nephew out of the trees. When the dog became aware of them, it started barking.

  “Sitz,” Devon commanded in both his Gryphon voice as well as what Hayden thought sounded German. The dog, Lina, sat, to Hayden’s amazement. While they were watching the dog, they should have been paying attention to the older woman, because when they finally noticed her, she was holding a gun and pointing it their direction.

  “Put the gun down,” Devon said, still using his shifter voice.

  The woman lowered the gun, and Hayden crossed the few feet to take it from her. When Hayden noticed Mateo was crying, he turned on his Gryphon’s voice. “Mateo, my name is Hayden, and your mama sent me. She’s worried about you, and I’m going to take you to her.” Mateo nodded, and his sniffling turned silent.

  The older woman frowned, and Hayden returned his attention to her. “Who are you?”

  “Elena.” So the cook.

  Hayden didn’t want to have this discussion in front of the child, but he would wipe his mind later.

  “Why did you take Mateo?”

  “Porque su padre es el diablo.”

  Little Mateo sucked in a breath, but Hayden had no idea what the woman said. “In English,” he commanded.

  “Because his father is evil.”

  “But his mother isn’t. Why leave her the way you did? Why not take her too?”

  “She’s done nothing to protect Mateo for five years. If she were innocent, she would have taken Mateo and run.”

  “Do you honestly think she had the means to do that? She might be his wife, but she didn’t have access to his money. She has no friends. No way of getting her son away from the house.” Elena just stared at him. “If you believe Alvarez is a monster, why work for him?”

  “I didn’t have a choice. I worked for Señor Dominguez before he went to prison. When Juan Carlos took over, I remained so I could watch over Antonia, but it didn’t matter. Juan Carlos’s influence was greater than mine. He turned her into something just as bad as he was.”

  “So you and a couple guards decided to kill the others and take the boy?”

  “Havyk,” Spyder interrupted. “We have a problem. Well, a couple actually.” Spyder turned to Elena. “Sit down, don’t move, and don’t speak.” Elena did as commanded. Mateo was still staring with wide eyes and shivering.

  Hayden knelt in front of the boy. He hated using his voice on a child, but it was necessary. “You are safe, and you will forget this conversation.” When Mateo nodded, Hayden stood and turned to Spyder. “What is it?”

  “Tomás was supposed to check in with the other guard, and when he didn’t, the other guard would have left his post to head here. Oh, and Tomás is undercover. The other man is not, nor does he know who Tomás really is.”

  “What did you tell Tomás?”

  “I told him that five armed men came in and overpowered him and the woman, then took off with the boy. That will keep them looking for a while. It will also help Tomás keep his cover from being blown.”

  “How did he convince the other two to take the child?” Hayden picked Mateo up, ready to get the hell out of there.

  “He didn’t. The other guard and the woman are brother and sister. It seems they’ve been devising a plan for a while. They needed help, and Tomás had proven to be protective of the boy, so they took a chance and included him in their scheme.”

  “And a cop agreed to killing the other guards?”

  “He states he knew nothing about the attack, so unless he’s lying, the timing was coincidental. What do you want to do with her?”

  “The way I see it, they were trying to do something good by getting Mateo away from his father. I say let Tomás and her brother deal with her. The siblings will probably go on the run, and Tomás will go back to being undercover. Not our problem right now.” Hayden turned to Elena. “You will only remember that you were caught from behind then tied up, but you don’t have to worry about Mateo. He’ll be safe.”

  “You sure you want to tell her that? Five bad men were supposed to have taken him.”

  “Yes. She took the boy at risk to herself. She deserves to feel he isn’t in danger.”

  Spyder inclined his head. “Yeah, okay.”

  Devon took Elena by the arm. “Come with me.” He came back a few minutes later. “I used a phone charger to tie her hands behind a chair. I also gagged her.”

  “Good job.” Spyder clapped him on the shoulder, then took off toward the woods.

  The dog started whining, and Devon commanded, “Bleib.” Lina remained where she was.

  “I didn’t know you spoke German. That was German, right?” Hayden asked as he and Devon followed Spyder.

  “Yes. I’m not fluent, but I know enough to get by. I am fluent in Spanish and French. I know a little Italian as well. Nora has cooking to keep her busy, so I took up learning languages as a hobby.”

  When they reached Tomás, he was lying on the ground unmoving. Spyder toed him with his boot. “I had to hit him to make it look realistic. He’ll come around by the time the other guard gets here. Probably. Maybe.”

  They left him lying there as they made their way back to the SUV. Hayden placed Mateo in the back seat and secured the seatbelt around his small frame before sliding in next to him. The boy should’ve been in a booster seat, but there had been no time to grab one. Hayden wrapped his arm around Sadie’s son, and the boy snuggled into his side. Hayden’s heart did a little skip at how right that felt. Maybe not because of who Mateo was, but because Hayden wanted a child of his own. Sadie and Mateo couldn’t be his, though. Once they took out Alvarez, Sadie would be reunited with her own family and Hay would go back to New York.

  “Don’t worry, Havyk. I’ll make sure we aren’t pulled over,” Devon said from the driver’s seat. Hayd
en gave him a small smile in the rearview mirror. Hayden was happy they had rescued Mateo, but they still had bigger hurdles with Alvarez being in California and Tomás being undercover.

  “Did Tomás say how long he’d been on the case?”

  Spyder turned sideways in his seat. “I didn’t ask. Once I found out Jose, the other guard, was on his way, I knew our time was running out. If Alvarez trusted Tomás to stay at the house with Sadie and Mateo, I’d say he’s been with him a while. Once Alvarez figures out which guards are dead and which ones are missing, Tomás will probably have to leave the area, but that’s his problem.”

  “What does that do to our contract? If the cops have someone undercover, they’ve been watching Alvarez closely, and that won’t change just because Tomás is no longer on the case.” Hayden’s previous contracts had been quick in-and-outs. He had no idea how to proceed, or even if they should.

  Spyder glanced at Mateo. “Let’s wait and discuss this once we have Mateo back with Sadie. We can call Ryker and get his opinion.”

  Mateo fell asleep against Hayden’s chest a few minutes later, and the rest of the ride back to Devon’s was made in silence other than Devon calling Nora to tell her they had Mateo. As Devon parked, Mateo woke when Hayden unbuckled him. The boy was confused, and when he looked up at Hayden, he blinked quickly. “Mateo, you’re safe, and your mama is waiting for you.” When Hayden pointed, Mateo turned and looked out the front window where Sadie was standing on the porch with her arms wrapped around her waist. As soon as Hayden opened the back door and helped Mateo to the ground, Sadie ran down the steps and didn’t stop until she had her son in her arms.

  The reunion brought a knot to Hayden’s throat and a smile to his face. Sadie picked her son up and hugged him tightly, murmuring against his hair. When she got herself under control, she leaned the boy back so she could look at him. Devon had already told Nora Mateo was safe and unharmed, but Sadie had to see for herself.

  Hayden took the T-shirt Devon held out for him and slipped it on. Once covered, he approached Sadie, and she smiled at him through teary eyes. “Thank you. I owe you everything.”

  “You owe me nothing. Let’s get Mateo inside.” Hayden placed his hand on Sadie’s back and urged her toward the house.

  Once they were in the living room, Sadie put Mateo on his feet and tugged him toward the sofa. She sat down, and Mateo climbed onto the seat beside her.

  “Donde estamos, Mamá?”

  Sadie pushed Mateo’s dark hair off his forehead over and over. “We’re at Miss Nora and Mister Devon’s home.” Sadie pointed to the couple standing at the doorway to the kitchen.

  Mateo gave a small wave to the couple, then looked around. “Where’s Papá?”

  Sadie looked at Hayden, so he sat down on the coffee table. “Your papá’s away on business. This is my family, and you and your mama are going to stay with us for a while. Are you hungry?”

  Mateo frowned and asked Sadie, “Is it time for supper?”

  “You can eat whenever you want to. Miss Nora will make you something if you’re hungry.”

  “Is she the cook?”

  Nora laughed. “I sure am. I can make whatever you like, whenever you like. We don’t have strict rules about when we eat.”

  “Really?” Mateo’s eyes were wide as he looked back and forth between Sadie and Nora. Hayden realized the child had a lot to learn about being in what Hay considered a normal household.

  “Yes, really. Plus, I make a mean pizza. Your mama told me you’ve never had pizza.”

  Mateo scrunched up his face. “Why is the pizza mean?”

  The adults laughed, and Sadie pulled Mateo into her arms. “That means the pizza is really good. Would you like to try it or maybe a hamburger? The food Miss Nora makes is like what I ate when I was your age. You get to try all these amazing new foods while we’re here.”

  “What if I don’t like it?”

  “Then I’ll find something you do like,” Nora told him. “But I’ve never met a little boy who didn’t like pizza.”

  “Can I, Mamá?”

  “Yes, Mijo. I could go for some pizza too. I haven’t had any in a long time.”

  Hayden stood and held out his hand. Sadie smiled at him and let him help her to her feet. She then took Mateo’s hand and led him to the kitchen.

  “Let’s go to the office,” Hayden told the males. Once they were behind closed doors, he walked over to where Devon had a line of liquor bottles and poured four glasses of whiskey. After passing them out, he took a sip and relished the burn down his throat. “We need to call Ryker and fill him in on what’s happening. He’ll know how to proceed, and if he doesn’t, he can call Quinn and talk to her about it.” His oldest brother was in charge of dealing with the handler. All their mercenary contracts came through to him, and he passed them out to the Hounds.

  “I agree.” Spyder sat in one of the armchairs, dangling his tumbler over the side. “I’ve taken a lot of contracts over the years, but I’ve never come up against anything like what we’re facing.” Spyder filled Jericho in on what they found out while they’d rescued Mateo.

  Jericho leaned against his father’s desk. “You not only have Alvarez hiding out in Cali, but you have his sister who is a wild card. Then you also have the Feds involved. What a huckabuck.”

  Hayden thought the situation was far more fucked up than that, but he sighed and agreed, “A huckabuck, indeed.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Sadie

  When Nora told Sadie the men had found Mateo and he was unharmed, she had been beyond relieved. Now that he was safely at her side, Sadie couldn’t stop touching him. She wanted to ask her son about being taken, but she also didn’t want him to have to relive the experience. Sadie watched Mateo as he watched Nora. The woman was patient as she explained what she was doing. She even let him help sprinkle the cheese over the sauce. Nora happened to have a couple pizza doughs in the fridge, and she admitted that it was one of Devon’s favorite meals, so she made sure to keep dough ready for whenever he asked for pizza.

  “Mamá, do you think Papá will let me have a dog? One like Lina?” Mateo was on his knees, staring through the window of the oven door as the pizzas baked.

  “Who’s Lina, Mijo?”

  “Tomás’s dog. She likes to play fetch.” Mateo looked up at her with his big, brown eyes. “Can we get one?”

  Sadie was torn. She wanted to tell her son yes, he could have anything he wanted. What she couldn’t tell him was he would probably never see his father again. That their lives had been irrevocably changed the day before. On one hand, Sadie was grateful to be away from Juan. It was something she’d dreamed of since the day she went to live with him. On the other, she was fearful. Scared Hayden would never catch Juan. Scared her husband would find her and Mateo should Hayden fail. Scared Antonia would exact revenge if she found out Sadie was with the man responsible for Juan’s death if Hayden succeeded.

  “We’ll have to wait and see. While the pizza bakes, let’s go look at the new clothes Miss Nora got you.” Sadie held out her hand, and Mateo scrambled to his feet.

  “Why did I get new clothes?”

  “Because your old ones are at home, and we can’t go back to get them for a little while.” If ever, but she wasn’t going to tell him that.

  “Why can’t we go home? Is it because of the bad men?”

  “You remember what happened?”

  “Uh huh. There were lots of loud noises, and Elena took me to the kitchen. Tomás told me to hide my face when he picked me up, but I peeked.”

  “Where was Ana Marie?” Sadie led Mateo into the room they were sharing. Once they were inside, she released his hand and picked up one of the shirts Nora had purchased.

  “Hiding in the… the little room in the kitchen.”

  “The pantry?” Sadie helped unbutton Mateo’s shirt, then pushed it down his little arms before replacing it with the new T-shirt.

  “Yeah, that.” Mateo looked down, pointing at the
superhero print. “This shirt’s silly.”

  “It is. Do you like it?”

  Mateo nodded, but he looked up at Sadie with wide eyes. “Papá won’t like it,” he whispered. No, Juan wouldn’t like it. He insisted Mateo dress like a mini adult. The only time he was allowed to wear something casual was when he was swimming or asleep.

  “Papá’s not here, Mijo. You and I are on vacation. That means we don’t have to dress the way we do at home. See?” Sadie pointed to her own clothes. “I’m not wearing one of my dresses.” She understood her son’s reticence at wearing something different. Sadie had changed from the sweatpants and too large T-shirt into shorts and a matching tee Nora picked out for her. Sadie never wanted to put on a dress again.

  “Here. Let’s try these shorts on.” Sadie waited for Mateo to remove his shoes and pants, and when she handed him the shorts, he held them out.

  “Are these to sleep in?”

  “No, Mijo. They’re to wear around the house. Go ahead.”

  “But where’s the button?” Mateo’s little face scrunched up as he inspected the elastic waist. They did look a bit like his pajamas.

  “No button. They’re what boys wear when they want to play ball or just lounge around the house.”

  Mateo pulled them on and wiggled his butt, fluttering the wide legs around his knobby knees, making Sadie laugh. Mateo glanced up at her, cocking his head to the side.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “You laughed,” he stated as though it was something that never happened. When Sadie tried to remember the last time she had laughed, she came up short. Surely, she had been amused by her son at some other point in time. Then again, Mateo was the perfect child according to how Juan expected him to behave.