by Jami Gray
Determination reset, she opened her eyes and rolled over, stifling her groan as her body protested. Pride went by the wayside as necessity kicked in. It wasn’t pretty, but she managed to crawl to a nearby pillar, dragging the rope leash behind her. A few gasps and maybe one soft moan escaped before she found her position. She folded her legs Indian style to give the soles of her feet a break, then leaned back against the pillar in an effort to ease the tightness along her ribs.
She took in her surroundings, noting her half-ass guard was busy smoking a cigarette at the gaping hole where the front door used to exist. If her feet weren’t so mangled, she’d take off just to teach his lazy ass a lesson. Since that wouldn’t get her what she wanted, she’d stick around. For now.
From what she could see, she was guessing they were in some kind of lobby. Early morning light sifted through the varied openings, and a chill breeze brought a whiff of decay, stronger here than before, so wherever they were, they had to be close to the lake. Closer to the lake meant they were in the Warren. Not a surprise. The choice made her wonder who picked it—Michael or Felix. Since it was the perfect spot for, say, an ambush or if you wanted to get rid of someone without leaving behind pesky incriminating evidence, she was betting on Michael. Besides, no way would he meet Felix some place he’d risk being recognised. Plausible deniability and all that shit.
Turning back to the building, she noted the halls branching from either side, probably hiding stairwells. Hmm, if good old Mike was looking to take Felix unaware, he’d have men stashed in those stairwells. Which was probably where Felix, despite being an arrogant asshat, was crawling around right now. She shifted to the side of the pillar, trying to see around the wall blocking her view to the back. It was thick enough to make her wonder if there was an elevator shaft behind it. She looked up and angled, trying to see through one of the many holes in the ceiling. Two, maybe three stories, so maybe.
She sat back and did another guard check (still puffing away). Good. It was time to even her odds. Since Felix had disappeared about five minutes ago, she wouldn’t have much time before he came back.
Slowly, she shifted her legs, first stretching them out, then wiggling her toes. Hot, sharp needles whipped up her legs and woke a throbbing ache in her abused soles. Gritting her teeth, she shoved the pain aside and kept moving, bending her knees before gingerly setting her feet on the ground. Thankfully, the dipshits had left her hands bound in front, so she looped her arms over her knees. Dropping her head, she rested her check on her knees to keep an eye on Smokey, as she forced her stiff fingers to work out the thin blade hidden in the pant’s seam near her calf.
The shittiest thing about this particular hiding place was the fact that thanks to her dance with electricity, she now had burns along the outside of her calf. Which was fine, except every time her pants moved, the material rasped against her raw skin. She got the blade free just as Smokey turned back to look at her. Hiding it between her palms she watched him, through half-closed eyes, as he stared at her. She waited, trying to figure out what was going through his tiny brain. Before she could come up with anything, he brought his half-smoked cigarette to his lips, stalked back inside and headed to the corner, muttering to himself. When she heard the distinct sound of a zipper going down, she didn’t know if she should laugh or curse. Instead, taking advantage of his inattention as he took a piss, she angled the blade and with tiny movements began working the blade’s edge against the rope wrapped around her wrists.
The razor sharp edge made quick work of the rope, and she felt the last strand give as Smokey turned back around. Tensing her arms against her shins, she kept the cut rope in place. No sense in being obvious. With her lashes at half-mast she watched him close in, keeping her breathing even and her pulse steady. Training kicked in, shutting away the aches and pains, shifting her grip on the knife, and allowing her body to prepare for action.
Smokey crouched beside her, pulled his cigarette from his lips and exhaled in her face. There was no stopping the cough as the smoke hit her. She opened her eyes, and met the muddy depths of his gaze.
He grabbed her hair and yanked her head. She didn’t bother hiding her wince as it pulled at her neck. He leaned in and brought the glowing tip of his cigarette to hover just below her eye, close enough to feel the heat. Primitive instinct made her lashes flutter. His lips curved into a cruel, satisfied smile. ‘Not such a tough bitch now, are you?’
Well, actually … She didn’t hesitate. Her arm whipped up and her blade sank into his neck. She twisted her wrist as she yanked it out. He jerked back taking a handful of her hair. His cigarette tumbled to the floor as his hands scrambled to cover the spurting wound. His hoarse shout echoed in her ears as she shifted her aim and drove the slim blade into his eye socket. His scream rang through the lobby as he fell back, ripping free of the blade. She followed him down, teeth bared in a silent snarl as she switched her grip on the blade and sliced through his throat. She rolled away as Smokey’s body did a jerky death dance. She got to her feet, bloody blade clenched in her fist, and watched the life fade from his eyes.
‘Now that was beautiful to watch.’
Spinning around, Mercy felt her body lock into place as a woman stepped out of the shadows of the hall, a furious Felix at her side. Mercy gave the other woman credit, dressed head to toe in black, including shoulder holster, she wore intimidation well. The ink black of her mohawk matched the intricate designs etched on the bare sides of her skull and her ears were lined with metal. Add in the angled cheeks narrowing to a pointed chin and kohl darkened eyes of startling blue, and you got a compelling layer of dangerous beauty that just dared you to touch. The air of power she wore like a familiar coat, triggered a faint sense of recognition to Mercy’s wary brain before it slid out of reach. ‘Glad to entertain. I’d be happy to provide an encore, but I’d need to borrow Felix.’
‘Yes, I’m sure you would.’ The woman moved further into the room with a fighter’s grace. ‘Unfortunately, I’m going to have to deny you that pleasure.’ From the surrounding shadows behind her dark forms armed with the distinctive shapes of handguns appeared. With a telling methodical choreography they spread out, some disappearing down the halls, four staying behind to take up guard positions.
Great, instead of Michael, she got the wicked witch and her flying evil monkeys. ‘Too bad,’ Mercy murmured, trying, but failing to keep everyone’s position in sight. Faced with four armed men, a pissed off Felix and the armed mystery woman, she was outnumbered and out gunned. She should be shitting her pants scared, instead a strange, detached calmness set up shop.
‘Oh don’t apologise.’ The woman’s smile didn’t reach the chilling depth of her eyes. ‘I’m sure you’ll prove more than useful soon.’
With that bit of verification, Mercy knew she wouldn’t be facing Michael. Bitter disappointment swept through her as two armed guards closed in. She held her position, her hand tightening on her blade. ‘I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I think you may be bound for disappointment.’
The woman’s gaze didn’t waver, neither did her smile. ‘No, I don’t think I will be.’ Her hand flicked and the two guards, moving in tandem with unsettling speed, disarmed Mercy with a merciless twist that left her fingers numb and forced her to her aching knees, arms held high behind her. ‘Felix, here, promises you’ll bring me quite the unexpected gift.’
Shitdamnfuck! That fast Mercy lost her chance at fighting her way free. Catching Felix’s smirk, she forced her rising panic and grinding disappointment to the back of her mind. Despite the fact that Felix’s partner wasn’t who she expected, she stuck with her plan. Divide and conquer. First up—divide.
Shaking her head as she heaved a big sigh. ‘Oh, honey, I don’t know if you’ve figured it out yet, but Felix is real good at making promises he can’t keep.’ She cut a hard look to the now red-faced Felix and took aim. ‘Like the promise he made to take out the dam.’
Felix lunged forward, only to draw up short when one
of the guards shifted to block him. His face washed from red to white and back. ‘Shut up, puta!’
Obviously he didn’t like her pointing out his shortcomings to his partner. Too damn bad. She turned back to the woman and forced her lips to curl insolently. ‘Yeah, that didn’t quite work out.’
Other than a slight tightening around the woman’s mouth, she barely blinked. ‘My understanding was we have you to thank for that.’
Despite the guards’ hold, Mercy managed to shrug. ‘Maybe, maybe not, but it was only because he didn’t leave me a choice.’
Felix growled, his hands curled into fists at his side as he glared at her. ‘You s—’
The woman held up an imperious hand, shutting Felix down, while keeping her disconcerting attention on Mercy. ‘Do share.’
Oh Mercy was more than happy to, just to see how far off plan Felix had wandered. It was a hell of a risk and could easily backfire, but if Lady Luck was paying any fucking attention, it might buy her time. Time she could use to widen the tiny fissure between Felix and his partner. ‘If Felix hadn’t killed Suárez’s son, then this—’ she rolled her eyes to indicate the three of them, ‘—wouldn’t even be happening.’
Any sign of pleasantness disappeared as the woman’s face went stone hard. With chilling precision she turned to Felix and her ice-cold question made even Mercy brace. ‘You killed Suárez’s son?’
Not missing the underlying threat before him, Felix’s swarthy skin went pasty and his eyes widened before he fell back a step, straight into the guard behind him. Jerking away, he straightened his shoulders and did his best to deflect, a move Mercy could’ve told him was fucking pointless. ‘She set Tavi on my ass. He started snooping around, and when he found the plans for the dam, he threatened to expose me. He left me no choice.’
Bookended by her two guards, Mercy couldn’t enjoy hearing Felix’s confession, not just because there was no-one around who would willingly witness it for Suárez’s benefit, but because the air around the woman went beyond cold and straight into bone-chilling. Even the lone guard by the elevator reacted, coming further into the room.
Instincts screaming, Mercy stilled.
Felix braced.
The woman moved. ‘You fucking idiot.’ Her fist swung out, and the impact sent Felix stumbling back into one of the guards, who helpfully shoved him back at her.
When Felix raised his head, he tried to stem the blood pouring from his now crooked nose.
The furious woman got in his face. ‘What the fuck were you thinking?’
Felix couldn’t stop his flinch, and at the revealing movement, his cheeks flamed and his eyes went hard and bright, fury wiping out any semblance of intelligence as he unwisely defied his furious partner. ‘If I hadn’t, he would have squealed to his father. I go down, you go down.’
‘So you decide to kill his son, which guarantees Suárez’s attention?’
Felix swiped his grimy hand under his nose and wiped it on his pants, before sneering, ‘I didn’t know she’d run straight to the fucking Vultures or get a chance to warn the damn Indian.’
Obviously done with Felix’s excuses, the woman reached to her shoulder holster, pulled out a gun, and then dug into a pocket. When she brought out a silencer and calmly began screwing it in place, Felix started losing his shit in a flurry of panicked Spanish. Unfazed, she aimed and pulled the trigger.
Chapter 25
The biggest drawback to using bikes was there was no quiet way to make an approach, especially early in the morning when the only thing awake were the damn birds. Havoc tailed Dog around the lake’s reach and into the flat expanse of an old parking lot. They drove right through the wide openings no longer guarded by doors and stashed their bikes. Before they headed out to make the rest of the way in on foot, Dog explained he was keeping his boys back. Havoc didn’t blame Dog for making that call. There was no telling who or what they might be walking into.
As much as he wanted to rush, it was slow going as they picked their way over the unstable ground. Between the lake and underground rivers, it was a crapshoot if the seemingly solid piece of earth wouldn’t swallow you whole. It helped that the area wasn’t currently sitting underwater. Not that it would last long. If one good storm blew in, it would be a completely different story. For now they had wind but clear skies so they crossed the remains of the Beltway, staying north of their target, and picked their way to the old Railway building.
Felix’s choice wasn’t a surprise. Not only was it way the hell out of the way so any comings and goings could easily go undetected, the building was in a prime position to keep an eye on any possible unwanted approaches. The Railway was a squat, two-storey brick structure sitting in the middle of a lot surrounded by the pitted remains of large satellite dishes. As they came in from the north, they hit a couple of ramshackled outbuildings and a dilapidated fence. Normally, Havoc would have a shit ton of issues about making such a bold approach, but since Felix had his hands full with Mercy and was down to one guy, their chances of arriving undetected were high. Well, so long as he was alone.
He, Math, and Dog ducked inside a small shed, which was miraculously still standing, to discuss their options.
Dog started. ‘So how do you want to play this?’
Havoc knew what he wanted to do—kick his way in, gut Felix, and drag Mercy’s ass out of there. Since that couldn’t happen, he said, ‘Depends.’ Then he turned to Math. ‘What’s important to you?’
Math’s face went hard. ‘Fuck you, Havoc.’
He ignored Math’s fury. ‘It’s a legit question. Who’s your target—Mercy or our mystery guest?’
‘If I say Mercy, you going to let me have that?’
Fuck no. ‘She’s mine.’ Hearing the claim from his own mouth settled something shaky deep inside, but he stayed on task. ‘I’m asking your target to determine our approach. You want the mystery guest, we get in position, and wait.’
Math’s eyes narrowed. ‘You sound sure there will be a meet.’
‘Because I am.’ Before Math could press for more, Havoc gave it. ‘The Cartel aren’t the most intelligent beings especially when their dicks get involved. He and his man messed up a woman in Page, let it slip they had to hit the road or risk missing a meet. You decide to pass on your chance at the mystery guest, that’s on you. But I’m taking Mercy out now.’
Math studied him, his face impassive. ‘And Suárez?’
Havoc shrugged. ‘He can make do with a corpse.’
‘Not sure that will pull the bounty.’
‘I’ll deal with that shit later.’ They both ignored Dog, who was silently taking in their conversation. No sense in trying to hide shit now.
Math cocked his head. ‘You know, either way it plays out, it’s a trap. She’s breathing, she’s bait.’
‘Yeah, figured that when Felix kept her alive.’ And right now he was grateful that Felix was a greedy asshole. ‘Thing is we’re not sure which one of us he wants. I’m thinking better me than you. So I’m asking—where’s your head at?’
Seconds ticked by as Math watched him with an unblinking intensity. Finally he answered, ‘We go in and wait.’
Decision made, Havoc turned to Dog. ‘Need you keeping eyes out, make sure we don’t get blindsided.’
Dog gave him a fierce grin. ‘Gotcha covered, my man.’
He moved with Dog towards the door, stopping when Math’s hand clamped on his arm. Havoc let Dog go and turned his head to Math. ‘What?’
The other man moved until they were facing each other. There was something at work in his eyes, but Havoc didn’t know him well enough to understand it. ‘Michael shows, he’s mine. You get Mercy out.’
Not in the business of making promises he couldn’t keep, Havoc clarified. ‘If she gets a shot, I’ll help her take it. You go down, and there’s no way I’m going to be able to hold her back.’ Nor would she forgive him if he tried.
Math’s mouth tightened, obviously not a fan of Havoc’s answer, still he bit out, ‘
Fine.’
Done pissing around, Havoc headed out. ‘Right, let’s move.’
* * *
Using a pile of rusted out machinery and rubble as a makeshift ladder, Havoc and Math climbed in through an opening on the backside of the building and dropped into a large room, the rising wind nipping at their heels. It swept through the building, adding a hollow echoing wail that rose and fell in a haunting wave. Havoc grimaced. Listening for others was going to be a bitch.
Turning his attention back to the room he noted what walls remained were covered in grey, peeling paint. There were a few crumbling support posts left holding up a strange collection of shattered light fixtures and one or two ancient ceiling tiles inside a metal grid. He prayed that the pitted supports didn’t decide to give up the ghost while they were still inside. None of them looked as if they were in imminent danger of falling, so he began carefully making his way towards the door leading deeper inside. He inched past metal racks lining one side, and the rusted out shelves decorated with faded graffiti, taking care where he stepped since there were entire sections of the floor missing. When he looked closer he realised the missing sections didn’t open to the floor below. Instead, it was as if the floor had been laid a couple feet above another floor creating a hollowed out layer. Weird.
Shaking off the architectural mystery, he and Math made it to the door. Havoc cautiously peered around the edge, making sure they were alone before moving out into the hall. This far into the interior the sunlight had a tougher time penetrating, leaving it shrouded in dim shadows. Not wanting to give away their presence, Havoc used hand signals to send Math out to clear one side of the floor, while he worked the other. Math slipped away, fading into the gloom.
On his own, Havoc ghosted through the offices lining the hall. Even though he was sure Felix wouldn’t be on the top floor, he did it for peace of mind. No sense tempting fate by being arrogant about shit now. Tedious though it was, it wasn’t hard. Most offices didn’t have functioning doors, and the ones that did, proved not to be hiding anything more dangerous than rats. He found a set of stairs, blocked by a mound of what once was part of the ceiling above it. Since he hadn’t planned on using them, he kept going until he made it to the end and found the elevators. He grinned. Elevators meant elevator shafts.
