Beautiful Chaos

by Keta Kendric

  A few minutes after Tywin’s alert, he strolled into the study, took one look around the destroyed area, and shook his head. I had stacked the broken furniture in one corner, but cotton, feathers, and chunks of wood and broken glass remained scattered all over the floor.

  Arjen had gone straight into investigation mode as soon as the idea of killing me no longer appealed to him. He had turned his staff away when they had approached, wanting to clean up the mess we had made. The remnants of our rage crunched under Tywin’s feet as he walked across the floor.

  A teasing smirk creased his face after he was done scanning mine and Arjen’s battered and bruised bodies. “Arjen. Khane,” he spoke, stepping over a pile of glass as the smirk he held never dropped from his face. We acknowledged him with subtle head gestures in reply.

  Tywin didn’t speak a word in response to what he saw as he set up his laptop next to mine and pulled up a chair he’d had to prop up with a stack of books. He had already warned me that this would be the outcome of me entertaining my feelings for Desiree, so when he gave me the I-told-you-so-look and shook his head at me, I didn’t comment.

  We had contacts around the city and surrounding towns, who provided us alerts, whether it was in person, over the phone, or with their surveillance equipment. Tywin had the digital footprint of nearly every eye around the area.

  “If you two are back to speaking to each other, I think I know who the crew is that may have your girl,” he stated, keeping his gaze aimed at the laptop as he typed. The way he had said your girl in a teasing tone, not pinpointing exactly who Desiree belonged to, wasn’t missed.

  Like me, Tywin appeared to be muscle. The kind of muscle that fought and did nothing but workout. However, he was only muscle when we needed him to be because he was also one of the smartest men we knew.

  He’d started out nerdy, tall and skinny, and always getting picked on. Obtaining degrees and certs came easy for him, his brain a network of well put together circuits. His physical transition started to take shape when he was attacked in college and taken for ransom.

  His father, my Uncle Leelyn Vallin, possessed power in the syndicate as well. He was the money man who had the ability to clean money so fast and efficiently that he handled several high-profile clients inside and outside the organization.

  Our family situation had put Tywin’s life on the line, same as Desiree’s family life had gotten her thrown to the wolves a few times. Instead of complaining about being beaten nearly to death before the exchange for him was made, he had asked Arjen and me to help him learn how to protect himself.

  Four years ago, a new Tywin was born: a bigger, meaner, scarier one. His transition sharpened his confidence as he became as much of a beast mentally as he was physically. I taught him how to handle weapons, to fight and track, and how to enforce death when an order was put in. In return and ignoring my protests, he taught me about computers, money, and investing.

  He handled some of our family’s finances along with Arjen, but he was who we went to when we needed a digital spy. He dealt exclusively with high-level tech people who pulled off impressive jobs in the digital world that could lead to serious prison time if executed by the wrong person.

  His planning and efforts allowed us to have eyes in the back of our heads, so to speak. If someone we didn’t know entered our town, we would know about it.

  He was the first to be notified of the two that had been spying on Desiree and Mecca. It was how I knew how to get into their car without being discovered until it was too late.

  Despite his ability to get us eyes, Tywin hadn’t found a trace of Desiree’s car inside our viewing zones. He, along with his team, had been working on finding her for the past few hours. I’d gone out with my brother’s guards and scoured the local area, but hadn’t found a trace of her anywhere.

  Tywin pointed at the screen. He had downloaded the recordings of the cameras at the spa, replaying footage of me killing the five men that were crazy enough to think they were taking Desiree.

  “The savagery,” he whispered under his breath when he viewed the brutality of the killings I had unleashed. After seeing Desiree get slapped, it had spiked my rage and turned me into the animal they liked calling me.

  Since most of the world was being recorded in some way or form, it was usually Tywin that kept us from a prison cell by working with his spy network to sanitize our digital pathways, clearing them of the blood and bodies we had to drop from time to time.

  “You see that crest?” He froze the frame and pointed at the arm of the man who I had stabbed twelve times. It was hard to believe Desiree had been able to look me in the face after she witnessed a second glimpse into my darkness.

  The spa owners were in our network, so they hadn’t called the cops and had willingly given us the footage from their cameras, not that we wouldn’t have gotten it anyway. They would be compensated well for damages and any mental anguish they might have suffered.

  I drew closer to the screen at the sight of the crest when Tywin sharpened the view. Arjen’s dark presence appeared at our backs. We had gotten over beating the shit out of each other, and it appeared he had finally finished taking out his aggression on his men.

  “That’s the fucking Fallen Angel’s crest,” he stated, squinting at the screen. “We’ve never had beef with them. Why the fuck would they start shit with us? Why the hell would they take Desiree?” Arjen was spitting out the same questions circling like a pack of ravenous vultures in my mind.

  “There is only one place they are taking her,” I added, glancing back at my brother. “To their boss’s big compound that no one is supposed to know about.”

  “They will see us coming a mile away. They will be expecting us,” Arjen continued, pacing and thinking, his fingers tapping the side of his head. We remained silent, attempting to piece together the reason for such an uncharacteristic move by the FA.

  Nothing made sense. What the hell could Angel Ramirez, the head of one of the most notorious cartels in Mexico, want with Desiree?

  35

  Khane

  We burned up the secure phone lines, calling in reinforcements. Going up against the FA wasn’t child’s play, even for a group like us who ate fear like it was a snack.

  Four hours and twenty-five minutes had gone by since Desiree had taken off. We were assuming she hadn’t avoided the FA since her cousin Mecca had called us informing that she had located her car along the interstate, the doors left open, and her purse and destroyed phone on the ground. It appeared my fiancée was just as resourceful, if not more so, than we were.

  Tywin glanced between Arjen and me for the hundredth time, taking in our bruises. “I have someone who’s willing to give up some information on the FA and their compound. The FA shot him five times and threw him in a shallow grave in the middle of the desert. He survived it, and now he plays Russian roulette with his life selling FA secrets. He claims he still has ties to a man on the inside that may be able to confirm if the FA has taken a woman. I’m going to link up with him to gather intel.”

  Neither Arjen nor I replied, only nodded. Until we received confirmation, we had to assume that it was the FA that had taken Desiree.

  “I’m going to the armory,” I informed them, standing and heading out without making eye contact with Arjen. We owned several armories, one inside each of our houses and several scattered throughout the area. The biggest was inside the basement of my house. Although Desiree knew I had a basement, she didn’t know of the multiple caverns it opened to. Only Arjen knew of the arsenal of weapons and incendiary devices I kept there. He also knew that the space was a secret underground prison. He and I had kept and tortured several of our enemy there.

  “Good,” Arjen replied. He didn’t bother asking which armory I planned to crack open. He knew I wouldn’t go too far away in case we received a lead and had to leave in a hurry. “Bring enough to take out a whole fucking army,” he talked at my back as I was walking away. “It wouldn’t be wise to underestimat
e the FA.”

  “Us either,” I called back over my shoulder before exiting the door.

  Later, Arjen and I geared up with ten of our best men, preparing for what could be a one-way mission. The best option was to gas up the plane we rarely used and make the journey to the FA compound to take Desiree back.

  We were prepared to negotiate, but if it was a fight they wanted, we were equipped for that as well. If Desiree wasn’t at the FA compound, our next move would be to capture and torture until we found a new lead. It would also mean we’d started a war with a Mexican cartel on their turf.

  Arjen and I had our issues, but once we were focused, nothing or no one could turn it off. Tywin hadn’t joined us because he had worked tirelessly to get us the confirmation we needed to proceed with our mission. His connect at customs and border control had confirmed that members of the FA had transported an African-American woman across the border into Mexico.

  Our briefing and plans were short, concise, and to the point. We had all been in battle before, in one form or another, so we knew the consequences going in. We also knew what had to be done if we were to get Desiree back in one piece.

  Each of the twelve of us had taken our places near the FA compound, our weapons ready, with backup weapons pressed against various body parts.

  My night vision goggles were strapped on tightly, giving me a glowing view of the men circling the compound with their weapons strapped to their backs, versus being aimed into the darkness like we expected.

  “I have a visual on the package. I repeat, visual on the package.” The voice sounded through my earpiece: Linc confirming that Desiree was inside the compound.

  After we had landed, we picked up the vehicles and additional equipment we’d needed to go up against the FA from members of our secret syndicate team in the local area. Death-dealers, assassins, and hitmen. It didn’t matter what you called us, we were all specialists at dispensing death in some way, shape, or form. Our ability to work together was profoundly empowering, as I believed we all harbored a sick fascination with killing.

  The trip and gathering the additional equipment we needed had taken hours. Therefore, dusk was starting to settle upon our arrival and staging near the compound. The sun continued to peek, seemingly unwilling to let go of the daylight, preferring to shine light on what was about to go down. However, the persistence of night prevailed.

  The screaming harmony of insects enveloped us, singing to the night. Dusk settled down on us like a weight. It flexed its savage darkness, fitting in like it was one of our deadly group members.

  I turned into the direction where Arjen observed the distant view of the compound. “They don’t appear to be waiting for us. Either they’ve underestimated our ability to find this place, or they’re leading us into a trap.”

  “Could be a trap, but it won’t stop me from going in there,” Arjen replied. He was in beast-mode, thinking like a savage animal. And they called me ‘The Kannibal.’ My brother had a savage nature about him too, but people saw a well-manicured man in a suit and were immediately tricked into thinking he was soft and cuddly until they found themselves staring into the eyes of the devil. The enemy rarely saw him coming until it was too late, an advantage he cherished like a family heirloom.

  That Angel Ramirez had the both of us at his door was either his downfall or ours. At this point, someone was dying.

  “I think we should observe their behavior patterns before we go charging in there. They could be using Desiree as bait. We could get her killed if we’re not careful.”

  Even in the dim lighting, I noticed the glaring, angry eyes that Arjen flashed in my direction. I was never the one to suggest hanging back from any fight, but the idea of us jeopardizing Desiree’s life had me stalling for every possible outcome our defensive actions might produce.

  “And we could get her killed if we don’t go and get her. It’s been twenty-four hours,” he replied with a devious side-eye that bent the moonlight to reach me. “Since the two of you have fucked, I’d think you would want to get her back as soon as possible. All she is now is an investment. A ten-million-dollar fucking investment that managed to turn my own brother against me.”

  “I’ve not turned against you, Arjen. I slept with a woman that you keep calling an investment. One that you don’t love, and only wanted to marry because of what her family could bring to the table.”

  “It doesn’t matter why I was marrying her. I would have liked the fucking chance to see if we could have become something more. She was the only woman that I wanted to do more than fuck, and you took that opportunity away from me.”

  There was no need for me to reply because he was right. As much as I cared about Desiree, I was wrong to cross the line with her.

  “We’ve got movement on the south side,” came the voice in my earpiece. The men hadn’t complained about Arjen and me bickering back and forth even though we had been going at it like two heart-ravaged teens since leaving Colorado.

  We didn’t keep secrets from each other, no matter how embarrassing or deadly. Therefore, the men had been caught up on why we weren’t as solid as we normally were.

  “Motherfucker’s jerking his shit off,” I spoke between clenched teeth. I spotted the asshole, standing there stroking his dick near the tall metal fence without a care in the world.

  “They are not expecting us,” Arjen stated so that everyone could hear him. Let’s proceed with our plan,” he continued, standing from his prone position.

  I stood, readying my weapon, and fingering the sheath carrying my hunting knife.

  If the FA had set a trap for us, the men were good actors.

  Ten of the twelve of us were going into the compound because they would expect us to attack with an army. We would have to use guerrilla war tactics, and I, along with everyone on our team, was confident enough to believe we’d get in and come out with Desiree. After confirming there were ten protecting the outside of the compound and five additional inside, the task would go smoothly if we followed the plan.

  We had no intention of leaving anyone on the compound alive. There hadn’t been any signs of Angel Ramirez, their fearless overlord, which may explain why the men were so relaxed.

  “Be careful,” Arjen warned as we prepared to trek towards the compound. He wanted to kill me because of Desiree, but he wanted me to be careful at the same time. “I will,” I replied, unable to keep a smirk from my lips.

  When two distinct flashes appeared, the sign we had been waiting for, made it back to us, I stepped into the darkness, the beast in me ripping through my bones and taking over.

  The first unlucky bastard I encountered was introduced to the thick metal of S. Ripper that tore through his veins and tendons until it sucked the marrow from his bones. The man was unable to call out before his body caught the silent bullet from my HK45. A large portion of his mushed head contents beat his body to the ground. The sick sound drew the attention of the one who lifted his wrist to his lips, preparing to call for back up.

  However, his voice was cut short when a chunk of his face was shredded and forced through the back of his skull, Linc adding a body to his weapon. Under the dim lighting, it appeared that grade-A ground beef was oozing from the hole in the man’s head.

  The sight gave me pause as he stumbled around with a chunk of his head missing, an eye dangling from its socket, and a mix of blood and shredded meat continuing to siphon from his cracked open skull. The sight proved that Linc was just as sick as me as he lingered in the darkness watching his handiwork.

  I watched the gruesome scene while my knee sat buried in the upper back of the one who was taking too long to bleed out. “Shhh,” I whispered to the man choking on blood and fighting shock. I’d had to subdue him, stabbing him multiple times in the neck and back to keep him quiet and still.

  “Movement coming from the south,” Arjen’s voice sounded in the earpiece. “Not anymore,” Cass’ voice sounded, replying within seconds, the amount of time it had taken him to p
ut a man to death.

  This all seemed too easy. I’d had tougher times hunting down two-bit criminals than this supposedly high-profile team tasked with protecting one of the most notorious criminals in Mexico.

  Why would they take Desiree and leave her at this compound with a group he should have known would be easy for us to take out. Something wasn’t right.

  A gleam of light dancing along the wall caught my eye before I turned and fired. I’d spotted the man at my back, allowing him to think he was sneaking up on me. His guttural moan sounded and was followed by the sound of his heavy body thumping to the ground.

  A big knife embedded deep in his chest had him clawing uselessly at the area. With his mouth open in shock, his throat made a clucking sound as he attempted to scratch the knife out.

  By the light shining from the house’s window, I noticed that the blade had pierced his heart. Therefore, each breath he took edged him closer to death. Arjen appeared from the shadows and stood over the struggling man. His authoritative gaze was locked on mine, even as his boot ended up on the hilt of the knife in the man’s chest, shoving it deeper.

  “I told you to be careful,” his tone was low.

  “I saw him. Look closer. Your knife wasn’t all that went into his chest.”

  Arjen glanced down, noticing I had also shot the dying man. The tiny smile on his lips flashed his pride. He knew all too well that I was an efficient killer, but his big brother gene would often kick in, and he needed reminding.

  He’d never said it, but I think he believed my limited vision impaired me when it did the opposite, making me that much more aware of what surrounded me.

  “We have an opening. East side,” came the voice of Webs, informing us we were free to enter the house through an opening he had secured.

  “Doesn’t this seem too easy?” I questioned Arjen as I planted my gaze on the view of the inside of the house. From my vantage point, I saw parts of the living room area, well-lit, and showing no movement inside.