Bull smiled. “I think I’m falling in love with you,” he whispered softly so only she could hear his words.
“I think I’m falling in love with you too,” she whispered back. “If we survive this will you do something for me?”
“What’s that?” he kept whispering, so the guys wouldn’t hear.
“Take me somewhere and make love to me for a week. I kind of sort of liked what we did before in that little room right over there.”
Bull smiled. “I kind of sort of liked it too. It would be my pleasure. I was going to do that anyway.”
The men in the room waited as they kept whispering.
Charlie leaned forward and rested her forehead on his briefly. Pressing her lips on his she broke contact and said, “Let’s get this done.”
“Okay, show us where this tunnel starts,” Hawk suggested. He had printed off a map of the area and Charlie took the next few minutes to show them where to go. Rolling up the map Hawk asked, “How are you going to make contact with this Paolo jerk?”
Charlie shrugged. “Don’t worry about that. If one of his men sees me walking around, they’ll call him and he’ll come to get me. Then he’ll want to take me where he won’t be disturbed to ‘talk to me.’ ”She made quote signs around the phrase talk to me. The guys didn’t like it but it was her plan and they needed her to get caught in order to get inside the barn and get the other players in place.
“How do you plan to get Bane out to the barn?” Bull asked. “What if he doesn’t show?”
Charlie smirked. “Oh, he’ll show up. I have something he wants and he wants it badly.”
“What? What do you have that he wants that bad?” Bull demanded.
“I’m not going to tell you that.” Charlie shook her head. “All you need to know is that I have something he wants to get back at any cost. That’s all you need to know. Don’t worry, he’ll come.”
“OK we need to leave now, so we can get into place.” Judge ordered his men. “We need to be there by the time they bring you in. I’ll have to wait outside until everyone else gets there but a couple of these guys will already be in place. We want to be able to take down everyone in the group.”
“Have your people come in from the back and go through the woods. That should give them some cover until you storm the barn,” Charlie suggested. “If they come from the road, they’ll be seen and you’ll lose the surprise.”
Judge tightened his lips but didn’t say anything.
Bull wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her to the stairs. “We’ll be up checking the cameras to see where the Ratz are hanging out.” Bull hustled her up the steps.
Hawk chuckled under his breath.
Judge snapped his head around to glare at the man. “Show me where we’re going so I can pass the info along to FBI and ATF.” He growled.
Hawk pointed out the way to the barn and how to come in the back way. Then he pointed out strategic places to set up shooters to keep everyone contained in the barn. “Ok who’s going in and who’s going to be outside?” Hawk asked.
“I think Bull, Tank and Wild Child should go in and the rest of us stay outside,” Judge told them. He looked at the two men standing there. “Just remember, they will have guns and they will shoot back.”
Tank and Wild Child nodded.
When Bull and Charlie came back down Judge told him he’d be inside with the other two. Then he looked over at Charlie. “Did you find them?”
Charlie nodded. “Yeah, I know where they are. How long before your friends get here?”
Judge checked his watch. “About two hours now.”
Charlie exhaled. “Then let’s get the show started.” Turning to Bull she said, “You’re going to hear some shit in there when I confront Paolo and he’s gonna get pissed. He’ll probably hit me but don’t jump the gun. Wait for your cue from the rest. It could get ugly before the end. I’m just warning you.”
“I think I can handle it,” Bull assured her.
She shrugged. “Ok.”
“Come on, let’s roll,” Judge announced.
* * * *
A little bit later, the car rolled to a rolling stop and the back door opened. When Charlie stepped out of the vehicle, the car pushed off, disappearing down the street and around the corner. Charlie’s mouth was dry and no matter how much she swallowed. Glancing at her watch, she knew she had to give them time to get into place so she ducked into the shadows of a nearby doorway. From what she’d seen, she knew the two Ratz wouldn’t be going anywhere anytime soon.
Carlos and Miguel had never been very ambitious and tended to watch from wherever they were standing. She’d been there for about twenty minutes when she decided enough time had passed and she knew she had to move or run away. Taking one step then another and another, she found her way to the corner.
She had two more steps to go when she heard the two men talking. They were right around the corner. Each step she took, took her closer to them and with each step the fear inside her grew. She stopped at the corner.
They were coming closer to her and she knew she had to do something. Right or wrong, she couldn’t take the tension anymore. Without a second thought, she stepped into their line of sight. She turned her head and looked at them then turned around and started to run but the Carlos and Miguel were on her before she could get very far.
Carlos grabbed her by the hair and pulled her back. Charlie screamed as loud as she could at the pain but her voice wasn’t very loud. “What’s the matter honey? Can’t scream very loud with a slit throat?”
They both laughed as Miguel twisted her arm behind her back. “Paolo is gonna want to talk to you bitch.”
Carlos reached for his phone and called Paolo. “Hey boss, we got her. We found her walking down the street like she had nothing to fear. What a dumb bitch.” One looked at the other and nodded. “Paolo wants us to bring her out to the warehouse. He said he would meet us there. He don’t want no interruptions for their little chat.” They both laughed. They knew just like she did that Paolo’s little chats usually involved more pain than words.
Twenty minutes later, Carlos drove to the dooryard of the barn they had fortified into a warehouse. Miguel opened her door and dragged her out of the back seat.
They had bound her hands behind her back with duct tape when they got to the car. They hadn’t bothered duct taping her mouth, as she couldn’t speak very loud anyway.
Miguel dragged her along behind him not caring whether she stumbled or not. When they got to the doorway Charlie knew she didn’t dare look around in case she gave something away, so she kept her eyes on the floor until Miguel threw her down to the ground.
She ended up down on her face in the dirt. Without being able to break her fall, she ended up slamming down hard. The breath had been knocked from her lungs and as she struggled to breathe, she saw a pair of fancy cowboy boots come to a stop in front of her.
The boots nudged her over onto her back and she found herself looking up into a pair of cruel dark eyes.
“I’m so glad you could join us again puta.” Paolo growled. He looked up and motioned for a couple of his men to get her to her feet.
Charlie tossed her hair out of her eyes and glared at Paolo. She stared at the man without fear as he pulled a knife out of his pocket and flipped out the blade. “What do you want Paolo?” she asked almost bored.
“I think you know what I want chica,” Paola stated. “The same as I wanted the last time.”
“If I didn’t tell you then what makes you think I’ll tell you now? What makes you think I have anything to tell you anyway?”
Paolo nodded. “Oh, I know you have something to tell me.”
“Oh yeah, why is that?”
“I have you on film. After your last break in, we put in security cameras and we got you on film inside the warehouse. Now all you have to tell me is where the drugs and cash are. I told my boss I would recover the merchandize and I will.”
Charlie smiled. “A
nd what if I told you I destroyed it? I don’t think your boss would appreciate that. He’d be out way too much money.”
Paolo sneered. “There’s no way in hell you destroyed it. I think you still have it.”
“How about if I trade you for it?” Charlie asked. “You’re right, I still have everything I took from here but I want something in return.”
Paolo laughed and several of his men laughed as well. Then he stopped suddenly and gave her a look. “What do you want?”
“Information. All I want is some information.”
“What kind of information?” Paolo frowned.
“About four and a half years ago, one of your men kidnapped a little girl off the streets. She was only fourteen when he took her. He beat her and raped her and left her for dead on a garbage heap.” Charlie flipped her hair again. “I’ll tell you where the stuff is if you tell me the bastard’s name.”
Paolo smiled. “Why do you want to know his name puta?”
“Because I’m gonna kill the bastard.” Charlie glared at him.
Paolo threw his head and laughed. “You amuse me chica.” He told her when he was finally able to stop. “Why do you want to know?”
“Because she was my friend,” Charlie said. “She was a gentle child and whoever took her destroyed a big part of her soul. Whoever the bastard is that took her and used her deserves to die a slow and painful death.”
“She was woman enough to take my monster.” Paolo ribbed as he grabbed his crotch.
“It was you?” Charlie screamed. “You did that to Maggie?”
“If she was just a little girl with long dark hair and green eyes, yeah I did her,” Paolo admitted. “And she liked it well enough. I had her begging me.”
“How many times did she beg you to leave her alone? Did she beg you to let her go? Did she beg you not hurt her anymore?” Charlie asked.
Paolo shook his head. “Actually, after the first time, she didn’t say much at all. All she would do was cry and carry on like I was killing her. The dumb bitch.”
“Untie me you bastard.” Charlie growled. “Give me one good shot and I’ll tell you what you want to know.”
Paolo just glared at her for a moment then nodded to one of his men. Someone stepped up behind her and cut the duct tape that held her wrists. Charlie stepped away but didn’t go to where Paolo was standing yet. Instead, she moved away from him but still kept staring at him.
Paolo motioned for her to come closer. “I thought you wanted one shot at me chica. Why you walking away from me? I’m standing right here. My men won’t stop you. Come get me puta.”
Charlie smiled. “I know you plan to kill me after I tell you what you want to know. Maybe I just want to live a few more minutes.”
Paolo shrugged. “Won’t do you any good but I’ll give you a few more minutes.”
“Good.” Charlie nodded. “Cuz maybe I got more to say, but not to you.”
“What you got to say to anybody else?” Paolo sneered.
“Your boss, Mr. Conrad Bane. I got something to say to him and believe me when I say, he’s gonna want to hear what I gotta say.”
“How the fuck do you know he’s my boss?” Paolo frowned. “Nobody knows who runs this business.”
Charlie laughed out loud. “You really are a dumbshit if you believe that.”
“How you know it’s Mr. Bane?”
“Everyone knows Conrad Bane backs the River Ratz. They know he deals in drug and gun running too.” Charlie assured him.
Paolo stared at her for a moment then reached for his phone. He spoke briefly the waited for a minute. Looking over at Charlie he said, “He wants to know what you got to say?”
“Ask him if he’s missing a beautiful blue diamond necklace. It used to be in a clear glass case on a shelf behind his desk.”
Paolo paled as he relayed her message. He had seen that same necklace in his office. He knew what the necklace meant to his boss and he remembered well the rage that Bane had in his heart when he noted it was missing. When he hung up the call, he shook his head at her. “Chica, you just signed your death warrant. Do you know who that necklace belonged to?”
Charlie shrugged. “Don’t know, don’t care.”
“You will when he gets here.” Paolo warned. Then he cocked his head and asked, “Why the hell did you take the necklace anyway? You had to know what he would do to you when he found out you took it.”
“What difference does it make if you kill me or he does? I’ll still be just as dead.”
Paolo smiled. “Oh, I’m not gonna kill you. Not now. I’ll leave that to Mr. Bane.” Shrugging his shoulders he added, “He wants his property back first though. That necklace belonged to his mother. She gave it to him before she died.”
“I don’t really care who it belonged to,” Charlie stated.
“Don’t you care who he is?”
“He’s a maggot, nothing more than a bottom feeder.” Charlie scoffed. Then pain exploded as someone behind her slammed a pistol alongside her head. Charlie dropped to her knees and grabbed the top of her head.
“Now Jose,” Paolo scolded his man. “Mr. Bane wants her alive when he gets here. I do hope you didn’t hit her too hard.”
Charlie tipped up her head and glared at him. “He hits like a little girl. I’m fine.” As much pain as she was in she knew she had to get up. She wouldn’t let the bastards win. Slowly she struggled to her feet and while she swayed, she was able to stand. The whole room spun for a moment but then finally settled down.
Paolo began to clap. “Well done chica. You got some real kahunas I’ll give you that.” He shrugged. “But you’re gonna need more than that when Mr. Bane gets here.”
“Bane can kiss my ass.” Charlie spat.
Paolo heard tires on the gravel drive and turned his head to watch a dark sedan pull up. Turning back to Charlie, he smiled. “I guess you’ll be able to tell him yourself that he can go to hell.”
Charlie turned her head and watched as Conrad Bane walked into the room. He was as tall as she remembered him to be and when he was standing right next to her and she got her first close look at him she could see for herself up close and personal his cold flat eyes.
She shuttered as she stared at his face. His lips were thin and cruel. His dark hair was wavy and cut short. The skin around his eyes was heavy and drooped a bit. Looking at him, she had to wonder what her mother ever saw in him.
“Who is this bitch?” he asked Paolo.
“She is the one who passed along the message I gave you earlier.”
“I want my necklace back.” He growled. His fingers curling into fists as he approached closer to her. When she didn’t say anything, Bane grabbed her throat and began squeezing.
“If you kill me the necklace is gone forever,” she whispered as he began cutting her air off. Her throat blazed with pain from his grip near her wound.
He threw her away from him. She slammed to the ground for the second time in a few minutes but this time she was able to break her fall. From where she landed, she glared up at him.
“She’s also the one who’s been breaking in and stealing product from you. She claims she will return it but she has yet to tell us where it is,” Paolo volunteered.
“Karma is gonna bitch slap you so bad, you won’t ever get up again,” Charlie swore as her voice strained. Turning her head to Bane she told him, “Your boy there raped little girls. There a fucking name for pigs like him.”
Bane shrugged. “I don’t care what the man does. His sex life is his own business.”
Charlie shook her head. “Wow, I never realized just how much of a bastard you really are. You bring poison to our streets and you don’t care who it hurts. As long as you get those almighty dollars in your pocket, you don’t give a damn about anyone else.”
“No I really don’t,” Bane admitted. “But I do care about that necklace. Now where is it?”
Charlie got up off the floor and shrugged. “I never said I had it on me, just that I k
new where it was,” her voice croaked from when he’d grabbed her throat.
“Where is the necklace?” Bane roared.
Suddenly, a single shot rang out and Paolo dropped to the floor. Before anyone else could move, more shots rang out.
Conrad Bane turned and ran to the nearest exit and the men around the room began shooting back. Only problem was they couldn’t see who was shooting at them.
Charlie dropped to the floor and covered her head with her hands. Curling her body up as small as she could get it, she prayed she wouldn’t get hit with a bullet.
Gunfire and screams could be heard from every direction. For the longest time, chaos ruled. The air grew heavy with the scent of gunpowder and the smell of fresh blood.
After a long few minutes, there was silence.
When the smoke finally cleared, Charlie loosened her arms from covering her head and lifted it just enough to look around. The smoke of the fire stunk up the air, as did the smell of gun powder. Coughing and holding her throat, Charlie pushed up further to look around the room.
She’d seen Jesse pull out his gun and shoot Paolo in the back of the head over the top of Bane’s shoulder and then the shooting really got started again. She quickly dropped to the floor and prayed no one would shoot her. Her bruised and battered body ached and blood ran down the side of her face where Jose had hit her with his gun.
Looking around the room, she saw the bodies piled up like cord wood flung out in a random order or no order at all. Then she saw Jesse. He been hit and was laid out on the ground. She could see the blood pooling around him. She tried to get to her feet but couldn’t stand up right. Her whole body just hurt. Her head pounded and she was dizzier than hell from the blow she took earlier.
Jose must have hit her harder than she realized. She crawled over to him, dragging her left leg behind her. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she noted just how bad Jesse was hurt. His shirt was torn and stained in blood. She could see at least three bloody wounds, one in his shoulder, one in his chest and one on his side.
His eyes were barely open but as she approached him, he watched her as she came closer. Weakly, he reached out for his hand and she tangled her fingers with his. “Oh god, Jesse, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for this to happen.” She sobbed.
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