Liberty At Last (The Liberty Series)

by James, Leigh

  You should be worried, I thought. If Angel gets wind of this, you’re so dead.

  We took the weathered truck to meet Sofia at a run-down house outside of downtown. She had lots of guns, and they paid her lots of money.

  I was tired of guns.

  “We’re not going to the compound,” John said a little while later, as we drove towards the other side of town. “We’re going to Angel and Catherine’s house.”

  I shot him a look as Matthew took over, explaining the layout to the guys. “It’s two miles outside of town. There’s a security system, and he always has at least a dozen armed guards on the premises. This isn’t going to be pretty,” he said. “The good news is, there’s a pool area out back that the house opens up on. So we need to get back there. That’ll be our entryway.”

  “Shouldn’t we wait until tonight?” Corey asked from the back.

  “We should,” John said. “But I’m worried Ian won’t make it that long. Your direct orders are to shoot anyone you come into contact with. I don’t care how many.”

  We were all quiet after that, as we bounced along the hazy, dusty streets.

  I cringed at the idea of shooting the guards, but for once, I didn’t object. What the hell did I know anyway? I wondered. I’d wanted Darius and Cruz to have a sit-down, and Matthew almost got killed. Matthew and a whole lot of other people. Some people couldn’t be reasoned with. As far as I knew, Angel Morales was evil to his core. He ran an empire that brought terror to the land. He’d kept Catherine from her family for years, he’d beaten her, and now Ian was missing.

  What could there possibly be to talk about?

  I shuddered against myself. I didn’t want to be this person. I didn’t want to be a person who acknowledged that there was a need for violence. Who agreed that some people were beyond rehabilitation. That seemed savage to me, and I didn’t want to be savage.

  But here I was.

  I shook a little as we drove. I hadn’t ever expected to come back here, to this place that was so filled with misery and fear for me. And the thought that Ian might be here, poor, kind, loyal Ian. Seeing me with my arms curled around myself, obviously agitated, John put his hand briefly on my leg. “Are you okay?” he asked. I nodded at him.

  “I’m just worried,” I said, looking out the window at the green, scrubby landscape rolling by. We were woefully outnumbered and the stakes were very, very high.

  “It’s gonna be okay,” John said, his jaw set. “We’re leaving with both of them. What happens after that, I don’t know,” he said, shrugging, and I knew he was talking about Catherine. I nodded and went back to looking out the window.

  We drove to the outskirts of town, earning plenty of funny looks from the locals. Five white people in a beater of a truck, heading out of town. At least they couldn’t see our guns, which were flat in the truck bed.

  Angel probably already knew we were here. The thought caused sweat to pour off me and I could hear my heartbeat pounding in my temples. There was no sign of life on the road as we left town. We drove slowly and I could see a large building on a hill up to our right. It looked more like a stucco bunker than the mansion I’d imagined; we drove past it, about a mile further down the road when a closed-top jeep appeared, going the opposite direction. John grabbed a pistol and slowed as the jeep pulled up to him. When the driver rolled down the window, Jake, Corey and Matthew popped up from the back and aimed their rifles at him.

  “Mierda, mierda, mierda,” he cursed.

  “Turn your car off!” Matthew hollered and hopped down. The jeep went off as Matthew put the rifle against the guard’s forehead. The other guys surrounded the jeep. “Who else is in there?” Matthew asked, but the guard shut his mouth. “Out you go,” Matthew said, pulling him out roughly. John got out and cuffed him as Matthew patted him down, pocketing his cell phone and wallet and taking his pistol. Just then I heard shots coming from the other side and Corey screamed in pain.

  “Fucker!” he yelled, and there were more shots as John raced to him.

  “One more,” John called. “Corey got him.” Jake and John came back around, dragging the limp body of the other guard, and I had to close my eyes as I watched them toss him to the side of the road. The guard who was still alive didn’t blink. Corey hopped back into the truck, his shoulder bleeding through his camouflaged shirt.

  “Are you okay?” I asked, stupidly.

  “I’m not going to bleed out, so yeah, I’m fine,” Corey said, checking his shoulder. We didn’t have a medical kit with us. I didn’t even know if it would have helped.

  Matthew was about to place masking tape over the guard’s mouth. “Solo tiene que disparar me,” the guard said, looking up at Matthew resignedly.

  “Nah, I’ll let your own people shoot you,” Matthew said and slapped the tape over his mouth. He cuffed his feet, too, and then picked him up and unceremoniously threw him next to the dead guard on the side of the road. “In the jeep, people,” Matthew said. “I think we just got our lucky break.”

  Jake and Matthew grabbed the guns out of the truck and Corey climbed into the jeep. John grabbed the dead guard and Jake helped him toss him into the truck bed, they did the same with the guard who was still alive, who didn’t bother to struggle. John hopped back into the truck with me and drove it down the road about a half mile and parked it in a ravine. Matthew pulled up in the jeep right behind us. John looked at me. “Can I convince you to stay here? With Corey?” he asked.

  “Corey is okay to fight. You can’t spare a babysitter,” I said. “I can stay here by myself.”

  “Absolutely not,” John said. “You’ll come with us. Just stay with me. Promise you’ll do exactly what I say.”

  “I promise,” I said.

  We hopped into the jeep with the others; Jake was checking Corey’s wound. “He’ll live,” Jake pronounced. “At least until he gets shot again.” They all laughed and I looked at them like they were crazy.

  “Call Ethan,” John said to Jake. “Tell him to be ready, and to circle the house if he can. Tell him to shoot anyone he sees and also to toss his cell phone, just in case it’s been traced.”

  “What’s the plan?” Matthew asked, scanning the house as it came back into view.

  “Like you said, this jeep is our ticket in. We’re going straight up the driveway, just like those guards would have done.” He turned around and looked back at us. “We’re basing this on an insurgent strategy that’s worked in the past. They’re expecting us, but not right this minute, not in this car. So we have a limited window of surprise, and we’re going to maximize that. We’re going in there, and my orders are to shoot anyone and everyone that you see, immediately, except for Catherine and Ian. Make sure your silencers are on. Ethan reported that there were always several guards out front, so Jake and I will go out there and take care of them while you three enter the house through the back. Liberty,” he said, looking at me, “you stay with Matthew. Do what he says, and I’ll meet you inside.”

  I nodded at him, my heart thudding with adrenaline and fear.

  “Do we have any idea where they are in the house?” Corey asked. He looked pale and sweaty, but he also looked determined.

  “Ethan said that other prisoners were brought here from the compound. He said he couldn’t see them through the windows after that, and that he never saw any of them come back out. Which makes me think there are holding cells here, maybe below ground.”

  Awesome, I thought, but I kept it to myself.

  The driveway was quickly approaching. There was a closed gate at the bottom and a security camera. Matthew rolled down his window and shoved the guard’s ID at the camera. The gate rolled open, and none of us knew if it was because the ID worked or they were waiting to kill us. “Get ready,” John said, as we ascended. “As soon as he puts in park, move out.” I saw at least three guards wearing sunglasses and wielding machine guns at the front of the house, standing at staggered intervals. And there was one in the driveway. My heart stopped. And then
before I was ready, with my heart thudding and the light too bright, we’d made it to the top and Matthew threw the car into park behind another jeep and some trucks. “Now,” John said, calmly, and he popped out of the car and shot the guard in the head before he had a chance to raise his weapon.

  And then he and Jake were gone. Matthew grabbed my hand and dragged me around the back of the house as I watched in horror as John’s back disappeared around the front. I didn’t even have time to pray for his safety, because there were three guards out back and Corey and Matthew were shooting them, all of them. I stood frozen in the harsh sunlight, looking at the gorgeous infinity pool and enormous potted palms, and the world got a little black around the edges.

  Matthew put his arm around me and propped me up. “Nice house, huh?” he whispered to me, trying to be normal. “Business up front, party in the back.”

  “Ha ha,” I whispered back, trying to regain my composure. I held up the gun John had given me and followed Matthew and Corey inside. Angel’s home made the Byzantine look like a shack. There were marble floors, soaring ceilings, and large stone statues of lions. It was opulence beyond comprehension. I heard more shots and a few screams, coming from around the corner, and my heart stopped — but then then Jake and John came around, moving quickly and quietly, and I said a silent prayer of thanks. All of the guys had their guns drawn and they were scanning the house, ready to shoot anything that moved.

  “There’s a staircase over there,” John said, motioning to where he’d come from. “Our first priority is to get Ian. Then Catherine. Feel free to shoot Angel Morales,” John said, looking at the guys. “I think he’s proven he’s not suitable in-law material.”

  And then it was go-time. The knot in my stomach was more like a pile of boulders, making me feel like I was moving slowly. Everything took on an air of unreality then, like I was trapped inside a nightmare. But it was real, and we were really going down into the depths of Angel Morales’s house.

  Well, when you put it that way, my inner voice said, FUCK.

  For once, I couldn’t agree with her more. But this was personal. Like Matthew had said, when it was personal, people did crazy shit. Like this.

  We made it around the corner and down half of the staircase, moving so quickly that I didn’t have time to count the dead bodies on the kitchen floor. There were two more guards at the bottom of the stairs. One of them must have hit a panic button because a horrible, wailing siren filled the air; they started firing and I ducked, then watched as John shot one and Corey managed to shoot the other. When we made it to the bottom Corey managed to turn the siren off. I leaned against the wall for a moment, the world threatening to go black again. This was too much. It was all too much.

  But it was for Ian. It was too much, but we couldn’t just let Ian rot here with these monsters. I made myself take a deep breath and stand up straight.

  There were two hallways. Matthew went part way down one and then motioned for us to follow him. “I’m going to leave you here with Jake,” John said, briefly clutching my hand. “I don’t know how many of them are down there, but I need you to protect the stairs. Shoot anyone who comes down. Do you understand?”

  I nodded at him, not letting myself get emotional. “I will be right back,” he said. “And then I’m going to get you out of here. I promise.”

  My heart constricted painfully as I watched the three of them disappear silently down the hall. Jake paced in front of me, checking and re-checking his ammo, looking up the stairs, looking down the path that they’d taken. He was a big ball of nervous energy. Then we heard shots coming from the hallway where they’d gone. And screaming — screaming in pain and screaming in anger. I looked at Jake in horror. “You have to go down there,” I whispered, shaking. There were more shots. Jake looked down the hall. “Go,” I said. “Go now! I’ll guard the stairs. You have to make sure they’re safe,” I begged, miserably. They had to be safe. Please, god.

  “I have my gun,” I pleaded. “I’ll be fine — I swear. Just go!”

  Now it was Jake’s turn to look miserable. For one long moment, he stood there and the battle of what to do played out on his face, but then he nodded at me and ran down the hall. And then, there were no more gunshots. I didn’t know if that was a very good thing or a very, very bad thing.

  It was eerily quiet. And then I heard a low moan. It was coming from down the other hallway. I heard it again and it sent chills down my spine. There was something familiar about it. I had to go look. If I can keep John safe, and Matthew and Jake and Corey, it’s worth it, I reasoned to myself. I’ll just look — I’ll clear it. But my stomach was filled with the sort of dread that only a nightmare can bring. Like the dream knew what it had in store for you. You were the only one that didn’t know what horrors lay ahead.

  The hallway was long and dark. I stood, pressed up against the wall, and listened to the sound of my heart thudding in my ears. Just a little further, I thought. Just a little further and I’ll be able to put an end to all of this. I hoped.

  I made myself move down the hall. I heard a rustling — it was someone, something. I didn’t know who or what it was, but I knew it was waiting for me.

  I put my finger on the trigger and raised the gun. I could feel the sweat running down my palm.

  At the end of the hall was a room with a door slightly ajar. I could see some dim light spilling through. I heard another rustle, and then a moan. The voice was familiar. It was a person I loved. Another person that I loved, hurting.

  I was so going to end this. If I could just stop shaking. And sweating.

  I made my way down to the door and pushed it open a crack. I tried to look inside: the limited view was only of stone floor and bare walls. No one was visible. I took the safety off my gun and opened the door.

  I couldn’t believe what I saw. He was on the floor, bound, gagged and bleeding.

  “NO!” I screamed, going to him, throwing myself down on the floor next to him. “NO! NO! NO!”

  And that’s when I looked up. Into the cold, piercing eyes of my truest enemy.

  “No,” I whispered, shaking my head, tears falling down my face. This couldn’t be true. This couldn’t be happening, any of it.

  “No. You can’t do this, you can’t have him. He’s mine,” I said fiercely.

  That’s when my enemy laughed, and my whole world went black.

  I didn’t stay under for long. I didn’t know if that was a blessing or a curse, but when I opened my eyes, she was still sitting there, looking misshapen.

  I wanted to examine her ruined face but I turned to Ian first. He appeared to be knocked out, or asleep, I couldn’t tell. He’d been badly beaten, and there was blood running out of the corner of his eye. He was tied up but I checked his pulse, something useful I’d learned at John’s training camp. He was alive. His pulse was strong. Then I turned to her.

  “How could you,” I said, seething. “He’s your grandfather. Your blood.”

  Catherine’s face was badly swollen and bruised; she was barely recognizable. “You think I did this to him?” she asked, and laughed again. It was only then I realized that her laughter was completely without humor, bordering on hysteria. It was the hollow laughter of someone who’d seen the devil, who knew what was coming and wasn’t at all excited about it.

  “Didn’t you?” I asked, sitting up. Interestingly enough, she’d left me my gun. I looked at it, curiously, as if seeing it for the first time.

  “No, you fuckwad,” she said, finally sounding a little bit like her former bold, self-satisfied self. “I would never hurt Ian. This is a message,” she said, rolling her eyes in her swollen head. “It’s from Angel.”

  “Is it the same message he wrote on your face?” I asked, unable to gauge her feelings.

  “It is, Liberty. Who knew you were so smart? Putting together all the pieces,” she said, sarcastically.

  “What’s the message?” I asked weakly. “I can’t pretend I’m so smart that I understand it.”
<
br />   Catherine frowned at me; it looked like frowning hurt. “The message,” she said, “is that no one can be trusted. Not even one’s wife,” she said, her eyes spilling over with unexpected tears.

  I gaped at her. Angel did this because he didn’t trust her?

  “You didn’t do anything, though. We kidnapped you,” I said. “He can’t blame you for that. You came back as soon as you could!”

  She looked at me for a beat and I struggled to find her normal face amid the bruised puffiness. “He’s so paranoid, Liberty: I could still be a spy,” she whispered. “I could still be selling him out to someone. The American government. Another cartel. Someone.”

  “But you’re not,” I said, sitting up and looking at her. “Didn’t you tell him what happened? That we tried to make you stay, but you couldn’t wait to get back? That you threw your whole family over for him?”

  Her tears streaked her awful, bruised, puffy cheeks. “That’s not good enough,” she said. “Not when you’re running one of the biggest drug companies in the world. And I kept trying to call my mother,” she whispered, tears streaming down her face. “He forbid it, but I didn’t want to have to say goodbye. Not again.” She broke down in sobs then, and I would have gotten up to comfort her, but I didn’t want to leave Ian’s side.

  “So he told me he had to test me,” she said, forcing herself to calm down. “He tied me up and beat me, asking me if I was a traitor. Then he told me that he’d gotten Ian, and that I had to kill him to prove my loyalty.”

  “But you didn’t do this?” I asked, motioning to him. I needed to know the truth.

  “Of course not!” she snapped. “I already told you! Do you really think I’d do something like that?” I looked at her for a beat and neither one of us said anything. “Did you really think you were so much better than me?” she asked, finally.

  “I was hoping I was,” I said.