by Shaw, LK
Fucking federal government. This meant we were on our own. “And there won’t be time to get some type of back up if we do confirm it’s Álvarez.”
“Which I’m sure is his intent.”
Something had been driving me crazy about this whole thing from the beginning. “What purpose does it serve him to take Estelle? Also, what about that rumor regarding Raúl Escobar? Can you confirm Álvarez was behind it?”
She hesitated. “I really shouldn’t share—”
“Landon,” I interrupted.
“Let me finish.”
I sighed in frustration.
“I shouldn’t be telling you this, but Álvarez was involved. It would seem that there was a minor uprising within the Sinaloa Cartel.”
“What kind of uprising?”
“I don’t know all the details, but from what our agent on the inside is reporting is that a woman by the name of María Luisa Velasquez has taken Escobar’s place.”
Well, that was one hell of a surprise. “Since when does a woman become one of the biggest drug suppliers in Mexico? And why the fuck would Álvarez form a partnership with her?”
“Since she was the one who killed Escobar. Apparently, our friend María Luisa is the much younger half-sister of Emilio Salazar, who runs the Sinaloa Cartel here in the States. Salazar sold her when she was fourteen to one of his associates. She was not treated well. Three months ago, she murdered her husband and turned on the cartel.”
Christ. “So, she betrays her half-brother’s organization by joining forces with Álvarez. She then kills Escobar to prove her loyalty and to take his place.”
“That’s essentially the gist of it. Our inside agent says that Señora Velasquez made a lot of powerful connections while under her husband’s roof. He was not a well-liked man with plenty of enemies.”
“That still doesn’t explain why Álvarez would take Estelle.”
Landon’s laugh was humorless. “Loyalty is the cardinal rule within the cartel. You break that rule, you’re dead. Brody and Ines broke that rule. Law enforcement or not, to Álvarez, they were a part of his syndicate. Part of his family. They betrayed him, which means they have to pay.”
She paused for a moment before delivering the final blow. “Álvarez has no plans to stay in Chicago permanently. He won’t risk imprisonment. His chances of staying hidden and running his business from Mexico are much higher than if he returned. Like you said, he’d be arrested, mostly likely convicted based on the evidence, and sent to a maximum security prison like Pablo Escobar. He won’t take that chance. Álvarez is here for one thing, and one thing only. To kill Ines, Brody, and anyone else that stands in his way of retribution.”
“Son of a bitch.”
“Look. On the record, there’s nothing I can do.”
“And off?”
“I was barely out of Quantico when I was assigned to be Brody’s handler. I didn’t understand a fucking thing about what being deep undercover meant. Yet this guy, one who didn’t know jack shit about me, entrusted his entire life to me. He may not work for this organization anymore, but there’s not a chance in hell that I’m going to let him down now. Whatever help you might need from me, I’ll do whatever I can.”
I hadn’t expected that. “Thank you. We’ll call you when Brody and Ines get to town. We’re supposed to get a phone call with instructions before the trade.”
“You best start getting ready now, then. You’re going to need some major firepower. There’s no telling how many men Álvarez has with him.”
“We’ll handle that.”
“You got it. I’ll be around, just call me when they get here.”
“Will do.”
Finding Estelle may not be a priority for the D.E.A., but it was priority to me. We’d find her with or without them. I had no idea how, but failure was not an option. Álvarez wanted Ines. He must not have learned his lesson when Alejandro tried to get rid of Brody. You hurt someone we love, you weren’t just up against one person, you were up against all of us.
Chapter 29
My legs had fallen asleep ages ago. The pain of pins and needles each time I tried to move was excruciating. My arms and hands didn’t feel any better. Gooseflesh dotted my skin, and I couldn’t stop the chills that raced through me. I didn’t think there was any heat in this place. If there was, it certainly wasn’t in this tiny room. I hadn’t thought it could get worse than that, but I really had to pee too.
Álvarez had been absent since I’d been brought here, but I also hadn’t heard the warehouse door open. It was possible he was still out in the building somewhere. Or the room they were holding me in might just have drowned out the sound of it. The not knowing was driving me crazy. Then again maybe being unaware was a good thing.
Shortly after I’d been tied to this chair, Gladstone had come into the room with a tripod and an old handheld video camera. He hadn’t spoken a word to me while he set it up. Once he’d finished, he turned, his gaze running up and down my body causing a different type of cold chill. Especially when he paused at my chest. I’d swallowed back the bile threatening to rise. He didn’t touch me, but he sent me a cocky grin. One I wanted to slap off his face. Or see Victor do it. Then, he left and hadn’t been back since. I’d sat here, alone, cold, and terrified. Manuel had been coming over to stay with me until his brother got back from his call. How long after I’d been taken had Manny shown up?
A rattle sounded across the room. My eyes jerked to the doorknob before it opened and Gladstone stepped through. He was alone, which made me nervous. I swallowed hard.
“How you doing? Hanging in there, I see. It’s showtime, so I hope you’re ready for your cameo.”
He moved across the room and adjusted the angle of the video camera. His face disappeared behind it for a second before resurfacing. “This little home movie is for Victor’s viewing pleasure. After he receives this, he’s going to get a short phone call. I hope your friend and her boyfriend hop in their car or on the first plane and get here soon. If not, you’re not going to be quite so pretty for my old friend Vicky.”
I stared at the camera, waiting for something to happen. A little red light blinked, signaling it was recording. I held my breath. Was there going to be some type of performance? Gladstone wasn’t wearing a mask. There was no way he would want his face shown in connection with this video. It was the only thing that gave me any consolation. So long as no one else joined the show.
My focus centered on that blinking red light, waiting for it to go dark. I started counting— one Mississippi, two Mississippi, three. I tried not to shift or fidget in any way. Especially if this video was going to Victor. More than ever I wanted to appear strong for him. To show him that, at the moment, I was okay. Sixty-Mississippi. The red light went off.
Gladstone rose, pulled out the memory card, stuck it in his pocket, and left the camera where it was. The sick feeling in my gut returned with a vengeance the closer he got to me. He traced a path down my cheek with his finger, and I jerked away. If the gag hadn’t been in my mouth, I’d have tried to bite the digit off. I didn’t see the back of his hand coming, he moved so fast. My head snapped to the side and a stinging pain spread across my face.
He grabbed my hair and jerked my head back. Goddamn it, enough with the hair pulling. I roared out my pain and rage behind the gag. The sound turned to a choked cry when Gladstone roughly squeezed my breast. Tears poured down my face. His breath smelled like stale coffee.
“This can go really easy or really hard for you. It all depends on how nice you are to me.”
He eased off both punishing holds he had on me. Instead of painfully squeezing, his touch gentled and he began kneading my breast in almost a caress. I whimpered at his touch. Gladstone’s hand drifted lower and lower. My breathing sped up, and I squeezed my eyes shut. A buzzing noise screeched across my eardrums. Then he was no longer touching me. Fuzzy voices filtered through until finally I could hear them clearly.
A man stood in the open doorway,
yelling at Victor’s partner in Spanish. Gladstone barked something back, shot me a heated glare, and stormed past the other man. After sending me a look of disgust the second man closed the door behind him. Left alone, I broke down sobbing.
Once I was all cried out, I steeled my spine. No way was I letting that piece of shit break me. No matter what he did to me. The only thing I had to do was survive until Victor got here.
Chapter 30
The sound of raised voices drew me out of sleep. I’d fallen into bed sometime around two or three this morning. Only because I knew that if I was going to be of any use to Estelle, I needed at least a little bit of rest. I rolled out of bed, threw on the pair of jeans I’d tossed over the back of my gaming chair, and headed downstairs. A glance at the clock said Brody and Ines should be here any minute. Unless the sound I heard meant they were already here.
I followed the voices, one of them definitely Ines’, toward the den. The entire family was present, including my sister and her boyfriend. My father and Ines paced, while Brody, Manuel, and Pablo were seated. Ines had never looked so frazzled. Not even while she’d been undercover looking for Ernie. It was obvious from the bags and dark circles under her eyes, she hadn’t slept much either.
“Hey,” I greeted them.
Ines spun and ran into my arms. “I’m so sorry, Vicky. This is all my fault.”
I squeezed her hard, before pulling back. “No, it’s not. None of us could have guessed how this was all going to go down.”
“So, does anyone have a plan?” Pablo spoke up.
“Álvarez has specifically asked for me. I'm going in first.”
Brody rose from his seat. “No, you’re not. We already talked about this.”
My gaze darted between the two of them who were facing off against each other.
“No, you talked about this. I should be the one. Then he’ll have two women who he most likely will underestimate.”
“Exactly,” he raised his voice in exasperation. “Álvarez knows that we’ll do anything to protect you both if he has you under his control. That makes you a liability.”
Hurt dashed across Ines face. Brody was right though.
“Besides,” he continued. “You can’t think that any of your family is going to let you go first after they find out you’re pregnant.”
“You’re what?”
Ines’ hurt glare bore into her partner. I’m sure that wasn’t the way she’d wanted us to find out. She turned her gaze to meet all of ours. “I’m only about three months. Just because I’m going to have a baby doesn’t mean I’m not capable of taking care of myself.”
Jesus, she was a stubborn woman. But a baby? I was going to be an uncle.
My father made his way over to Ines. Despite why we were all here, there was so much joy on his face. He cupped Ines’ cheeks. “I’m so happy for you, conejita. Yo, un abuelo?”
Ines grinned. She’d always been our father’s little bunny. “Si, papá. You’ll be the best abuelo ever.”
“Which means we need to keep you and el bebé safe.”
It killed Ines to admit our father was right.
I stepped forward. “That’s settled then. We still need a plan.”
My grandfather had served in the Vietnam War as a military strategist. He’d taught my father how to play chess when he was a kid. Strategy was something my father excelled at. It made him the most equipped to come up with a game plan.
“We have no idea where he even is yet. We also don’t know many men are with him. He’s not going to call until the last minute. Which means we need to come up with several options. Brody,” my father turned to the man in question. “You know Álvarez the best. What can you tell us?”
“He’s smart. He’ll be someplace where, if anything does go wrong, he can get away quickly. There will be a car waiting for him nearby. It’s also even more likely that he’ll have a boat waiting. No one would expect that escape route. Which means wherever he’s stationed himself, he’s probably going to be close to the lake or a river.”
My father continued. “Okay, so let’s assume that he’s holding Estelle in one of the many warehouse districts along the lake. From the time he calls, we’re going to have a tiny window of opportunity to get there before the exchange is supposed to occur. Which means we need to start preparing now. Manny, we’re going to need eyes and ears.”
My brother nodded. “I’ve got some S.W.A.T. equipment in the trunk of my car.”
“Good.” My father paced along the carpeted floor again, brainstorming out loud. “Manuel can work on getting that set up. Brody is going to need to be mic’d. No doubt Álvarez will find it, but the more intel we can get before that happens, the better off we’re going to be.”
I piped up. “Based on what Manny and I saw in the video, Estelle is being held in a room somewhere, possibly in one of the warehouses. I don’t know if there are any windows in there or not. The picture was too grainy to get a clear indication of the lighting. Plus, it was getting close to twilight, so it's possible that the rest of the buildings were blocking any light coming through anyway."
“If she is in there, she’s probably going to have at least one guard on her," Brody added.
“What happens once he’s inside?” Pablo asked.
We all turned to our father. “We have to assume that Álvarez is going to double cross us and has no intention of letting either of them go. Brody, do everything you can to get Estelle as close to you as possible. Once she’s within reach, grab her, and run. We’ll cover you.”
Fuck, there were so many things that could go wrong. What if there wasn’t anywhere for the two of them to hide? What if Estelle was hit by a stray bullet? No, I had to trust Brody to protect her.
I glanced at the clock. We had less than five hours before our deadline. Which meant we had at least three or four before Álvarez would call.
“I talked to Landon. She’s offered to help us however she can. I don’t know how far the offer extends, but it was inferred that if we needed an extra hand, she’d be here. I just have to call her.”
“Okay. Give her a call. Have her meet us here. We’ll fill her in on our plan and then we just have to wait for Álvarez to call.”
I was going crazy with waiting already. Ines reached for my hand. “We’ll get her Vicky.”
“I know.” There was no other option.
* * *
Less than an hour later, Landon had arrived at the house. She and Brody had shaken hands and he’d introduced her to us all. Since then, Brody and Ines had been cuddling on the couch, whispering to each other. I knew they both had to be worried with him being in front of Álvarez again. They knew how ruthless he was.
Dad and Pablo had been religiously going over everything and planning for any contingencies. Manuel sat in one of the chairs, eating. Said that was when he did his best thinking. Landon had taken a position in the corner of the room. She looked thoughtful, but also slightly guarded. I’d checked in periodically with my Captain, letting him know we still didn’t have a rendezvous point for the exchange. He’d said he’d try to keep the men prepped and ready to go at a moment’s notice, but we were shorthanded as it was. He’d also tried locating Jonathan, but he was M.I.A. For now, his hands were tied. I’d hung up and since then, I’d done nothing but pace. The minutes felt like hours as time slowly ticked by.
The ringing phone jarred us all to attention. A quick glance at the clock said it was almost thirty minutes before the exchange. Fuck, it was cutting it close.
“Hello?”
“Hola, Señor Rodriguez,” the caller greeted me like we were friends.
“Where is she?”
“So impatient. Has your sister arrived?”
“Yes. Now, where is Estelle?”
“You will go to the Steelworkers Park along the lake on the south side of the city near South Works. I will call you in twenty-five minutes and give you an exact location. I wouldn’t be late if I were you.”
“That’s not e
nough time.”
There was no response.
“Fuck. Come on.”
The six of us raced to the garage. Earlier, we’d packed two cars full of weapons, ammunition, AV equipment, and bulletproof vests. Brody, Ines, and Landon all rode with me while my brothers rode with our father. Chicago traffic on a good day was a mother fucker. With blue lights flashing, we sped down the interstate, weaving in and out of cars, blaring our sirens to get them to move.
With barely enough time to spare, we made it to the park. Within moments of our arrival, my phone rang. I put it on speakerphone.
“Across the north slip are six warehouses. Seńorita Rodriguez will go to the third one. Upon her arrival, she will knock on the east side entrance. She will come alone. If anyone arrives with her, I will kill everyone. Once the exchange is made, the other seńorita will walk out the same door. She will have one minute to get out of range or she will be dead. You have ten minutes.”
Before the call even ended, we all took off running. Breathless, we darted through the warehouse parking lot, weapons drawn, ducking behind dumpsters and stacks of pallets, staying low, trying to remain hidden. We all skidded to a halt against the west wall of the second warehouse.
“Here, put this in your ear,” Manuel shoved a small earpiece at Brody, who complied. Then he clipped a tiny gadget to the button on his shirt. “This is a camera. I’ll be able to hear and see everything you do.”
“Brody? Victor?”
We all spun, weapons aimed in the direction of the whispered voice. What the fuck?
“What in the hell are you doing here?” Brody barked.
