I ran in the darkness, soaked to the skin from the deluge that rained down on us. I had my gun at the ready. I heard some harsh comments in Spanish. Men were gathering near the side entrance of the warehouse. I heard them give an order to kill anyone approaching the warehouse. I didn’t give them a chance to carry out those orders. With silent hand signs, I ordered my own men to kill them.
Six men fell into a mud puddle. They never even saw us coming.
“They looked as high as a kite,” Felix grumbled, pushing one of the bodies onto its back.
“Probably, because they are,” I snorted, replacing my clip. “Eyes open. No one walks out of here alive except my wife.” We plastered ourselves to the wall, making our way to the door. Just as I was going to open the door, more of Ricardo’s men poured out of it. They didn’t even get a chance to react to our presence. They were picked off quickly, blocking the door as they fell to their death, cut down with the bullets from our guns.
We pushed our way into the warehouse. It was dark and dingy with the distinct odor of cocaine, with an undercurrent of body odor and terror. It was flowery and metallic with a chemical burn to our nostrils. Bricks of it were stacked, marked with a modified brand mark of Los Muertos. This appeared to be a home base for the newly allied gangs.
“Boss, should we …?” Felix asked, blinking to the drug stash. I knew he wanted to take it into our possession, using it to pad our wallets. Any other time, I’d agree to seizing the drugs but we had other things to attend to. Now was not the time to focus on profits. My wife was out there. She needed me. I needed her. Charlie needed his mother.
Period.
“No,” I answered curtly. “Our focus is Bella. We need to find her and recover her.” I shook my head. “If I had my way, this place would go up in smoke.”
Over my earpiece, my father chimed in, “We entered the building at the rear. We have about ten DOA’s.”
“Did you see Ricardo? Renee?” I asked.
“No,” he responded. “This building is easily the size of three football fields.”
“More like five,” Esteban grunted. “This used to be a hub for Los Muertos. A processing station for …” He trailed off as he made the shape of a woman with his hands. It indicated that it was a stop for their human trafficking ring. “It’s also used as storage for drugs and weaponry before distribution. Lots of locked rooms.”
“God damn it,” I snapped, looking to the right and trying to see if there were any approaching men. “Partner up and spread out. Kill anyone you see.” I blinked to Jasper. He nodded and we separated from Felix, Emmett and Esteban’s team. On our phones, Felipe had sent an infrared overview of the warehouse. Jasper turned off his earpiece and told me to do the same. “What, Jas?”
“I don’t trust Esteban or this alliance. This place is too big and too obvious for Renee and Ricardo,” Jasper said, his voice tense.
“I agree, but it’s the only lead we have at this point,” I muttered.
Esteban Sanchez
