Word travels fast. I walk out of the Colonel’s tent to wait for the cart, and immediately all eyes are on me, the female Rebel captain who just ordered their Colonel around. These Texan squaddies are a sad excuse for an army. All they do is sit around playing cards and drinking like a bunch of proper tosspots. They’re all drunk by the time the sun goes down, but that doesn’t stop the angry stares directed my way.
To them, my team and I are the Rebels who attacked their cities, which they only heard about after the fact down here on the border. To them, Adrian is Tia Cole’s errand boy, who used to deliver dispatches to the border. They weren’t in favor of the treaty with the Mexicans and they want to fight their war, but I really don’t give a shite.
A young soldier stumbles toward me. I hear laughter and turn to see his friends watching from a distance.
“Hey pretty lady,” he slurs. “You up for a good time?”
I stand and walk toward him. His eyes light up with the thought that his ridiculous advance may be working. I get real close to him and press my body into his. He smells like piss.
“I’m always up for a good time,” I flirt, sure to be loud enough for his friends to hear.
“Do you like it rough?” he asks, and I roll my eyes, but he can’t see that in the dark.
When he tries to smell my hair, I bring my knee up wicked fast, connecting with his crotch. I step back as he doubles over, holding his balls. Next, my fist connects with his eye socket and it feels good. He falls backward, and I deliver one final kick as he lies on the ground.
“I had a good time. Did you?” I ask sarcastically as I shrug and walk past his friends who are now howling with laughter.
“That was awesome,” Dawn says when I sit back down.
Lee tries to look at my hand to make sure it’s okay but I pull it away.
“Just getting warmed up,” I respond.
“Yeah,” Drew chimes in, “Well, I for one can’t wait to get to Mexico where everyone likes us.”
His sarcasm lightens the mood a bit and we’re still laughing when Travis pulls up ready to go. We climb into what he calls his cart. Really, it’s just a car with no roof. There’s a flagpole in the front where a white flag hangs with a light that illuminates it so the Mexicans can see that we’re not a threat. When the treaty was signed, both sides pulled back to create a strip of land that serves as a buffer between the two armies that hate each other. We can see the lights of the Mexican camp as we drive across the expanse.
The cart is surrounded by soldiers, yelling in Spanish, as soon as we pull to a stop. Travis says something to them in Spanish, and then tells us to get out slowly and take our gear with us. As soon as we do, he gets back in the cart and heads back to the Texan camp. He said he didn’t want to be here any longer than he had to.
“Raf,” I say. “What are they saying?” For whatever reason, he stays quiet. It’s almost as if he fears these people.
Then Lee steps forwards unexpectedly and says, “Elia Cillo.”
“What are you doing?” I whisper harshly.
“Does anyone speak English?” he continues. “I need to see Elia Cillo.”
“What is your business with Elia?” a man with dark features asks, stepping forward.
“Luis,” Lee says, acknowledging the man with a nod.
“Lee,” he responds coldly.
“How do you know these people?” I ask urgently as the two men stare at one another.
“I was down here for quite some time working on the treaty,” Lee explains, not taking his eyes off the man in front of us. “Luis tried to convince his soon to be father-in-law not to sign it.”
“I still think it was a mistake,” Luis states as his eyes scan the rest of us. “What are you doing here Lee?”
“I’ll be happy to explain that to Elia and her father,” Lee snaps.
“You can’t just come here and expect a meeting,” Luis growls.
Lee is about to say something else, but I pull him back.
“We’re here on a special mission. I have a letter for your leader’s eyes only,” I say.
“And who is this?” Luis asks, looking from Lee to me and then to my hand that is still resting on Lee’s arm.
He steps closer.
“You’re a pretty one, aren’t you? For a Brit that is,” he sneers.
“And you’re a dumb one,” I spit. “That fits with what I’ve heard about Mexicans.”
“You must either be really brave, or really stupid to say that when you’re standing in the middle of a Mexican army,” he says, cocking his head to the side in amusement.
“Look,” I start. “I am Captain Nolan of the Rebels. Your boss is going to want to see me.”
“Fine,” he says, looking at me intensely. “But I am not letting all of you in to see him.”
“That’s fine,” I say. “I’ll come by myself.”
“No!” Lee and Dawn object in unison.
“You can come too, Lee,” Luis says with a sigh. “Elia will be cross if she hears that you were here and didn’t see her.” He spits on the ground and uses his boot to rub it into the dirt before saying, “Vamanos.”
The three of us wind our way through the camp in the dark until two heavily armed men stop us.
“You can’t bring weapons in,” Luis explains.
Unsure, I look to Lee and he nods. I huff as they take my gun and then begin to pat me down. They find every weapon. When I’m unarmed I feel vulnerable and I hate feeling vulnerable. That’s why I’m already irritated when a woman walks out to greet us.
She’s beautiful with dark hair and piercing dark eyes. Her movements are fluid as she walks toward us in a simple soldier’s uniform.
“Elia,” Lee greets her.
She grabs his shoulders and plants a kiss on each cheek.
“Uh, hi,” I butt in, unable to stay quiet any longer.
I don’t know who this chick thinks she is.
“Elia, this is Gabby,” Lee tells her.
I ignore the fact that he didn’t tell her my rank as I step in front of him and extend my hand. She takes it and pulls me toward her, kissing my cheeks as well.
“Buenos noches,” she says. ”Come.”
She disappears into the tent and we follow her. Luis follows us in without an invitation.
“Elia and I worked together for weeks on the treaty,” Lee explains in a hushed voice.
I picture them huddled together in a tent for weeks on end. I don’t like it.
As if he can read my thoughts, Lee says, “we also worked with the rest of the Rebel team and the Mexican team. There were a lot of us there.”
He gives my hand a squeeze before we take our seats.
In walks a man whose very appearance oozes authority. “Buenos noches,” he says as he calmly shakes Lee’s hand and pats him on the shoulder. “It’s been a long time, my friend,” he says before he turns to me and asks, in perfect English, “And who is this enchanting creature?”
“Gabby, this is my father, Martin Cillo,” Elia introduces us. “Father, this is Rebel Gabby Nolan.”
“What can I do for you, my dear?” the Mexican leader asks, cutting to the chase.
“We need safe passage through your lands,” I say.
Sitting on the corner of his large desk, he lets my words sink in.
“Safe passage, you say,” he restates what I said as he rubs his chin. “And why would I grant you such privilege?”
“For your people and for mine,” I say, handing him Adrian’s letter.
Chapter 59: Dawn
When Gabby and Lee return, I can see they are arguing.
“Gabby don’t,” Lee says dangerously. My sister doesn’t take the warning.
“It just seems like you two are really close,” she pauses. “You know, all those weeks she mentioned where you worked together.”
“And her fiancé,” Lee states. “We were friends. Like you and me apparently are. Friends. Besides, we don’t have time for your jealousy CAPTAIN.”
; He emphasizes the last word to get his point across. She stares at him as her eyes regain their focus. Message received. She walks off. He stares after her and shakes his head.
“You guys okay?” I ask Lee.
“No,” he answers before changing the subject. “We’re staying here tonight,” he says. “Come on.”
We follow him to a tent that has been made up for us. I wish we didn’t have to stay. This place makes me nervous. After everything I’ve heard about the Mexicans, I hate being surrounded by them. As wary as I must look, though, Rafael is downright jumpy.
“What’s wrong, Raf?” I ask him.
“The Cillos aren’t known for welcoming other cartel members,” he says, his eyes shifting to the side as he quickly enters the tent.
I hadn’t even considered that. From what I’ve been told, most of the cartels don’t play well with others. They probably think Raf is a spy.
“Dawn,” Jeremy grabs my arm and pulls me to where Drew is standing, away from the others.
“Do you know where Gabby went?” he asks.
“No, but I’m sure she’ll be back soon,” I answer.
“I don’t like the looks we’ve been getting,” Drew says, putting a protective hand on my back.
“Gabby can take care of herself,” I say, suddenly defensive.
“We all know that,” Jeremy agrees. “But no one should go off by themselves while we’re here.”
Before I get a chance to respond, Gabby appears, walking with Linc.
“See,” I say. “She’s not as reckless as you think she is.”
Thankfully, the rest of the night is uneventful. No one bothers us and we eventually get a few hours of sleep.
“Lee,” I hear someone say as I wake to the sounds of hushed voices and roll over to see who it is.
Elia has woken Lee.
“You need to get going,” she says.
“It’s still dark,” he protests groggily.
“Yeah, but my father wants you gone before most of the troops wake up,” she replies.
“Good idea,” he finally agrees.
“You know where you’re going?” she asks.
“We have a map and a guide,” he answers.
“The Carlita man?” she asks, a hint of disgust in her tone.
“How else do you expect us to get through Carlita territory?” he asks. “They’re even worse than you Cillos.”
“I don’t think we’ll see each other again,” she says suddenly.
“No,” Lee responds sadly. “I don’t think we will.”
“Then good luck, mi amigo,” she replies.
“Thank you,” he says, and then she’s gone.
Lee rouses the rest of us and we are out of the Mexican camp before the sun comes up. I feel like I can breathe much easier now but I also know that I probably shouldn’t feel that way. The easy part is over.
The sun finally makes an appearance as we reach the top of a hill. To the east, the sky is brilliant. The clouds are outlined in pinks and oranges as the light bends around them. To the south, the direction we are heading, the sky is still dark as heavy storm clouds rumble against each other.
“Shite,” Gabby says. “This is just perfect.”
We follow her down the hill and into a valley. If the weather is our only problem today, then I’ll call it a success.
Chapter 60: Jeremy
It starts to rain about midday but we keep going. Rafael says that we should be off Cillo land in two days. Even though we have permission to be here, we keep an eye out for trouble.
“They don’t have the men for armed patrols,” Linc says. “All their fighting men are at the borders.”
“How do you know that?” I ask.
“I know how these things work,” he says. “Trust me.”
“That’s asking a lot when you won’t explain how you know,” Drew says, backing me up.
“Shut it, guys,” Gabby snaps.
I don’t get why she isn’t asking him to explain. The General said Gabby is the only person in charge on this mission. Then he sends Lincoln. He may not out rank Gabs but that doesn’t mean he isn’t going to act like it. Gabby and I escaped the slave camps in Floridaland together and I trust her with my life. I barely know Officer Lincoln.
“Telling information without much explanation is something officers do,” I say. “Lincoln can’t treat us like subordinates anymore.”
“He’s never treated me like a subordinate,” Gabby says, getting angry.
“You were one of his prized snipers,” Drew says with a shrug. “We were told that we would be equals on this mission. That’s all we want.”
“That’s enough!” Gabby snaps. “You guys quit this right now.”
“Is that an order?” I ask indignantly.
“Yes,” she growls. “It is.”
“We’re all on edge,” Dawn says. “Let’s just chill.”
She takes Drew’s hand and he immediately relaxes. I move to the back of the group and fall in step with Lee.
“You’re surprisingly quiet back here,” I say.
“I don’t like that storm,” he says pointing to the sky. It seems to be getting darker, if that’s possible. The air has stilled and the clouds roll and crash into each other.
“Look!” Dawn yells as we crest over another hill.
In the distance there is a house. I squint and we move closer. It isn’t just a house. It’s a village.
“Why would there be a village so close to the border?” Gabby asks.
“They have to put the villages where the fertile land is,” Dawn guesses. “They don’t really get much of a choice in where they live.”
“We aren’t going to be welcome there,” Lee warns.
“We don’t really have much of a choice,” Gabby says, making the decision as the wind begins to blow harder and the rain continues to pound. “We can’t just stay out here in the open.”
She takes off at a jog and we follow her. My overstuffed pack slams against my back with every step. As we get closer, the ground turns to mud.
“There’s a barn,” Dawn says, gesturing toward a small structure.
Having no other choice, we follow Dawn through a side door into the barn. Lee and I have our weapons drawn in case we aren’t the only people in here. I walk the perimeter but we are alone except for the horses. Dawn walks right up to the nearest one and runs her hand along its nose.
At least we have a roof over our heads. The wind and the rain can’t reach us here but every clap of thunder shakes the shoddy walls and makes me jump. It is not an easy night for any of us.
Chapter 61: Gabby
The next few days were surprisingly uneventful. The storm gave way to the hot sun by the time we woke in the morning and the rest of the day was quiet and muggy. It seems Linc was right about all Cillo fighting men being mostly at the border because we haven’t seen any. Leading is hard and lonely. I was warned that it would be tough- making the decisions and ordering my friends and even my sister around.
The hardest part has been keeping my distance from Lee. I can’t sort out any of my feelings, so I just focus on the mission. I’ve only ever had feelings for two guys before. Drew, in London, was fun and dangerous. I was just having a good time. Jeremy was comfort in a harsh place. I wanted to be there for him after his sister died and it just turned into something more.
All of this walking has given me way too much time to contemplate how much I hurt the people I love. Lee was right. The sound of grass crunching underneath my feet snaps my focus back and I sigh. If we don’t make it out of this mission, none of it will matter anyway.
“Stop!” someone yells in front of us and we are quickly surrounded by men on horses, their guns drawn.
We’d been walking through an overgrown pass and had our guard down. I swing my gun around and rest my finger on the trigger, but Raf pushes aside my barrel as he steps forward, yelling something in Spanish. The man in front replies and then orders his men to lower their weapons.
>
“We’ve reached Carlita territory,” Raf says. “This is my brother, Carlos.”
My gun is lowered but I don’t take my finger off the trigger.
“They’ve been sent to get us to the Moreno border,” Raf assures me.
I want to object. We don’t know the men looming before us. I glance to Jeremy on my left and then to Lee on my right.
“What if we decline the escort?” I ask Raf.
“We can get there much faster with them,” he responds. “The Carlitas have as much to lose as the British do if this mission fails.”
I nod and let out a long breath before responding.
“Okay,” I say. “Let’s go.”
Raf’s face relaxes as we are helped into saddles. Each of us is riding double. I hold onto the man in front of me as we take off at a gallop.
“You are the leader?” the man asks, having to yell over the wind that whips past us.
“Yes,” I answer.
“We’ve been watching for you for days,” he says.
I don’t respond. I am lost in the sound of hooves racing across the hard ground and the movement of the horse beneath me.
I crane my head to check on my sister. Dawn looks much more comfortable than I feel. She gives me a small wave and I send her a tight smile.
We cover more ground in a day than we would in a week on foot, only stopping to rest and water the horses. Raf and his brother Carlos know the land so we find water and cover easily.
By the time we stop for the night, the moon is high overhead and my body is stiff. I slide from the saddle and start setting up our camp. I just need to move. I am staring into the fledgling flames of the beginnings of a cook fire when Dawn walks up beside me. She puts her arm around my shoulders but doesn’t say a word. As we get closer to Moreno territory, dread fills my heart. I am not the only one. I see it in the eyes of every person on this mission. I lean my head on Dawn’s shoulder until Shay interrupts us.
“Raf and Carlos want to talk to you,” she says to me.
Dawn drops her arm and I go off to find Raf. They are sitting on the ground in deep discussion when I walk up. Raf offers me a bit of food and I take it as I sit across from him.
Eve of Tomorrow (Dawn of Rebellion Series Book 3) Page 16
