by Laura Marie
“You will not speak unless I ask you a direct question. Your punishment still awaits you, Elloisa.” He practically snarled at her.
* * * *
Jack and Salvatore were in communication with all the units. On their command, the raid would begin, and all units were on standby. They had undercover officers monitoring arrivals, and thus far, there had been no departures.
“Are we missing anyone?” Jack asked his brother.
“No, unless you count Avalar.”
“One asshole down and about a dozen more to go,” he replied.
“I can’t believe this is going down like this. I would feel a hundred percent better if Elloisa was under our protection and with us.”
Salvatore acknowledged his brother’s statement.
“She thinks we’re dead, Jack. Man, she must be so scared right now. He’ll control her, and she won’t fight him.” Salvatore stated his concern.
“I know. The guys found the video camera and everything right across the street on the roof. He planned the hit. It had nothing to do with the bounty.”
“He’ll use our assumed deaths against her, and then he’ll probably threaten to kill Mom and Dad, then Mathew.”
“The asshole won’t get a chance. Not with Gustavo and his team. He’ll find her, and we’ll do our part.”
Jack looked at his watch before he locked gazes with Salvatore and stated, “Five more minutes.”
* * * *
Armando pulled Elloisa to him and kissed her. He grabbed her backside then her breast before shoving her away.
“Do as he says or suffer. I’ll be back shortly.” Armando stated, then wiped his mouth and walked away.
Ramos stared at her. Her shirt was ripped open, and her jeans were dirty and torn.
She assumed her cheek and lips were swollen since they throbbed continuously.
Flashes of Jack and Salvatore being shot rang through her mind. She felt weak and feared for her parents’ lives. Then she thought about Gustavo, and her belly clenched. He was gone. He had died trying to protect her. Armando was too powerful. She would always be his prisoner, and she would never be free.
“Move back.” Ramos commanded as he encroached on her space. Just a few feet farther and she would be in complete darkness. The steam-filled pipes released some smoke, sending a sizzling sound through the air.
“I don’t know why he has kept you this long. You couldn’t be that good in bed,” he whispered as he reached for her hair and purposely touched her bruised cheek.
She turned away from him. Fear clenched her gut.
“Stand still,” he ordered, and she froze in place. He eyed her breasts and licked his lips. Immediately she thought of Rosalie. Ramos was not a man to reckon with. Surely he wouldn’t touch her intimately because of Armando. But Armando wasn’t here, and if Ramos did something to her, she would have no proof. Not that Armando would care at this point. He had yet to issue her punishment for leaving him.
Ramos grabbed her neck and hair then pulled her to him. He covered her mouth with his own as she fought him off of her. His hands groped her body, and she again thought about Rosalie and how he abused her then killed her.
“Get off of me,” she yelled as she struck him in the face. She kicked and scratched at him until he retaliated. He struck her in the face once, twice, and she could have sworn she saw stars. Her eyes zeroed in on his weapon and she lunged for the gun.
He was quicker than she as he took possession, aimed, and fired.
He hit her in the shoulder as she scratched her nails across his face.
As she cried out in pain and fell to the ground, Ramos pulled out the rope and dragged her toward the darkness. He tied her up then covered her mouth so no one would hear her screams.
“I should kill you, but Armando wants you alive.” He shoved her head down to the ground then left her there.
The pain in her shoulder radiated through her body. She felt her mind drown in thoughts of fear and disappointment. She was going to die or Armando was going to take her back to Mexico. With thoughts of Gustavo and her two brothers being killed, she closed her eyes and wished death upon herself.
* * * *
They all heard the shot as Gustavo, Zach, Mathew, and his crew of agents entered the building. Across the way, undercover agents raided the warehouse, inundating it with smoke bombs and rapid fire.
A trained stealth fighter, Gustavo searched for Elloisa with Zack and Mathew sweeping every floor.
“She’s not in here,” Mathew stated.
“She has to be. The signal is weak, but it is indicating that Elloisa is in this building.”
“The basement,” Zach stated, and they all headed downstairs.
“The back entrances are covered. No one can get in or out of here,” Mathew replied as he followed Gustavo and Zach down the staircase.
As they entered the basement they head a scuffle and saw movement.
“There!” Zack whispered into his receiver. Mathew was closest and moved in to capture the person running.
The individual turned and fired a gun at him. He fired back, hitting the person in the chest.
Mathew and two other agents ran forward and identified the person.
Mathew spoke into his headset. “I got Ramos. He’s dead.”
Gustavo and Zach slowly made their way deeper into the basement and boiler room. It was hot and steamy in there.
“Did you hear that?” Zach asked as they both paused.
“A door slammed closed. I hear running,” Gustavo replied as they squatted down low.
“There.” Gustavo pointed to a person running farther into the darkness.
* * * *
“Get up. Get up now.” Armando growled at Elloisa as he undid her bindings and pulled her to her feet. She immediately fell back down to the floor and cried out in pain.
“What is wrong with you? He yanked her by her hair and pulled her into the light.
“Ramos shot me,” she whispered. Elloisa felt herself losing consciousness. Her body ached, and the blood oozed from her shoulder.
He shoved the gun against her ribs.
“Move now or die here.”
“Die here,” she whispered, and Armando grabbed her hair and began to drag her through the basement. She screamed and cried out in pain.
“Freeze!” someone yelled, and Armando shot his gun.
Two more shots rang out then Armando fell to the ground.
Elloisa was hysterical as she lay on the ground unable to move.
“Elloisa! Oh, God, Elloisa!” Gustavo yelled as he fell to the floor on his knees and looked her over.
“I’m in heaven.”
“No, you’re not. You’re alive.”
“But you’re dead.”
He chuckled as he caressed her hair out of her face and smiled.
“Armando lied, Elloisa. I’m alive, and so is your family.”
She swallowed hard then saw Gustavo’s image disappear.
* * * *
“I think she passed out,” Zach stated as he stood above Gustavo.
“We need an ambulance,” Gustavo told them.
“Already called it in,” Mathew yelled as he appeared behind them. He fell to the floor and looked at his sister.
“She was shot in the shoulder. It looks like a flesh wound,” Gustavo informed Mathew.
“She looks pretty beaten up to me. Thank God you got to her in time.”
“The raid is still going on. Let’s get her outside. We can leave this piece of crap right where he is,” Zach added as Gustavo and Mathew looked at a dead Armando Santorez.
It was Gustavo that picked up Elloisa and carried her out of the building.
Epilogue
It had been two weeks since Elloisa had been released from the hospital. Her shoulder was healing, and she no longer needed the arm sling. She absorbed the rays of the sun as she sat on a bench near the gardens outside her parents’ home. Guests continued to arrive for the family barbeque, and the
aroma of food filled the air. Everyone appeared to be having a wonderful time. There was no more danger, and Elloisa was safe.
She inhaled the smell of roses as she thought about Gustavo for the umpteenth time in weeks. Once he ensured that she would recover from her injuries completely, he left the hospital and hadn’t returned.
Her brothers told her that John said that Gustavo was called into another mission. It hurt her inside to think that he could leave so easily and without saying good-bye. Had their time in Lake Luzerne meant nothing? Half the time she found herself cursing him out. The other half of the time she cried herself to sleep thinking about him and worrying that she would never see him again.
She smiled at the little kids running in the yard. The sounds of their laughter made her smile as she rubbed her small belly. In seven months, she would officially be a mom. The tears stung her eyes as she thought about Gustavo again. Would the baby look like him? Her fantasy of somehow having a family and a husband who loved her disintegrated with every day that passed without word from Gustavo. He obviously didn’t love her, or he would have said good-bye.
The sound of a Mexican love song filled the air as the small band entertained the guests.
“This song goes out to Señorita Elloisa from her soldado,” the band leader stated, and Elloisa immediately turned around, hoping to see Gustavo.
Her parents stood near the patio with numerous guests and her brothers. They smiled at her, and she gave a small smile back.
Did she imagine the dedication? Had she officially lost her mind?
“May I have this dance?”
Elloisa felt as if her heart dropped in her chest and hit her belly. She turned to find a handsome and very well-dressed Gustavo standing before her.
She had to fight the urge to jump into his arms. She played coy as she crossed her legs and then her arms in front of her chest.
“Do I know you?” she asked him as she eyed him from head to toe. Her insides quivered with desire as she absorbed his body. The white button-down shirt accentuated his muscular, tan chest. His big brown eyes shown with specks of green against his very tan complexion, indicating that he had spent some time in the sun.
Had he been with someone? A jealous feeling filled her gut.
“Sí, Señorita, you know me well. We have met before, or did you forget?” He smiled at her then placed his hands on his hips.
“Perhaps,” she replied as he reached his hand to her again.
“May I please have this dance?”
She took his hand and rose from the bench. The music played in the background as Gustavo pulled her close and inhaled against her hair.
“I’ve missed you, Elloisa.”
“Where did you go? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I had one last mission to go on.”
“What do you mean one last mission?” she asked, pulling back from him so she could see his eyes.
“I changed my position in the agency. Chose something a bit less dangerous.”
“Why? You love your work.”
“Things have changed, my Señorita. I want more.”
“Like what? I don’t understand.”
“Like you. I love you, Elloisa, and I want you to marry me.”
She felt the tears reach her eyes as she smiled at Gustavo.
“Are you proposing marriage to me?”
He seemed to read her mind as he slowly knelt down on the grass in front of her.
“Elloisa Givani, will you make me the happiest man in the world and be my wife?”
“Yes,” she replied, and he lifted her up in the air as the guests around them cheered.
He held her to him and they kissed. When he finally released her lips, they smiled at one another.
“No more missions?” she asked.
“No more missions, Elloisa.”
“You will always be my Soldado Gus.”
“And you will always be my Princesa Española.”
He pulled her closer against him as they danced to the music.
She loved the feel of his strong arms around her. He would always be her love and her protector.
“How is the shoulder?” he asked with seriousness.
“Still a little sore but getting better.”
“How about the bruised ribs?” he asked as he gently caressed them with his strong hands.
She giggled as she felt him tickle her.
“What’s with all the questions?” she teased him.
“I just want to make sure you’re recovered from your injuries. We’ve got some things to work on.”
“Like what?”
“Like a family.”
She felt her cheeks warm at his statement.
“I love you, and I want to marry you, have a family, and live happily ever after like characters in some corny novel.”
“In that order?” she teased him.
“Well, I think we can start working on babies tonight,” he teased.
“I think we have that covered.”
He raised his eyebrows at her, not understanding what she meant.
Elloisa took Gustavo’s hand and placed it over her belly.
“One baby on the way and then one wedding to plan.”
“Really?” he asked as his smile lit up his entire face.
“Really,” she replied, and he kissed her before he lifted her up and twirled her around in a circle.
THE END
WWW.LAURAMARIEHENION.COM
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Laura Marie is an imaginative dynamic author of suspense and romance fiction. She is a member of the Romance Writers of America.
She has obtained many of her ideas and accurate information from family members, friends and law enforcement personnel. She has always had an interest in the law enforcement field and enjoys creative writing.
As a young adult, she created short stories and poetry to share with her family and friends. Laura integrated her creative writing skills in her professional career as both a sales center manager and a social worker.
Laura is also the office manager for her husband's business and a Mom of three. She loves working with people and believes this stems from both her Bachelors Degree in Social Work as well as her strong, law enforcement family background.
These factors add to the authenticity of her stories and the true to life qualities of her characters.
Also by Laura Marie
The Miss Series 1: Miss: Never Gonna Love Again
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