Chapter 15
Three days.That’s how long it took to get a beat on the exact location of Lipovsky’s compound in South America. And now… I felt like I was melting. The Colombian sun was merciless, a fiery beast in the sky that didn’t care if you were on a quest or just trying to get by. It was the kind of day that made you believe the earth could catch fire. But the heat was nothing compared to the inferno burning inside me. I never in a million years thought I’d be back here—yet here I sat, waiting to go in and get my girl.
It had been a massive fight with Carmela’s brothers about who would come to Columbia. Massimo wanted one of them here—but with the new addition of his children and pregnant wives, Antonio nor Vincenzo could bring themselves to risk their lives. It hadn’t mattered; I was coming regardless of their decision. When Lorenzo and Sofia volunteered to once again make the trek to Columbia, I knew these people would do anything for the people they considered family. Massimo had been shocked when Miguel volunteered to escort us as well. Though I wasn’t. I suspected he had a personal stake in being here—one that would create a different kind of problem.
“We can’t just go in for Carmela,” Lorenzo spoke, his voice slicing through the air. “There are others, others like her, who need us. We can’t turn our backs on them.”
I nodded, knowing he was right. Carmela, the woman I loved, was inside that hell, but so were many others. We couldn’t just pick and choose who to save—and Carmela wouldn’t leave them behind either.
“Remember, her friend, Harlan Drago, is on the inside,” Sofia continued, her eyes alight with a fierce determination. “He’s someone Carmela will recognize. He’ll let her know she’s not alone, that we’re coming for her.”
Miguel pushed off from the wall, stepping into Sofia’s path. “And what about you, huh? You plan on prancing in there, making yourself a target?”
The air crackled with the intensity of their stare-down. Sofia’s cheeks flushed a deep crimson, not with embarrassment but with anger. “Prancing? Really, Miguel? Because I’m a woman, I’m supposed to sit on the sidelines while you play the hero?”
This wasn’t a new argument. When we decided in Vegas that only the four of us would make this trip, Miguel hit the roof. He was pissed that Lorenzo and their father would allow Sofia to take part in something so dangerous.
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it,” Miguel shot back, frustration edging his words. “I just don’t want you getting hurt.”
Sofia’s laughter was sharp, bitter. “Oh, I see. Because I’m a woman, I’m automatically more fragile, is that it? Spare me your sexist crap, Miguel.”
Lorenzo stepped in, a calming presence between the storm. “Enough,” he said, his voice brooking no argument. “Miguel, you know better than to doubt Sofia’s capabilities. She can take care of herself, as she has proven many times already. I, for one, wouldn’t want to be on her bad side.”
Miguel’s jaw clenched, but he held Lorenzo’s gaze, an unspoken understanding passing between them. Lorenzo was right, and we all knew it. Sofia was not one to be underestimated, which is exactly why she was his second in command in Reno. She was as beautiful as she was deadly, and men loved her nearly as much as they feared her.
I cleared my throat, feeling the weight of leadership heavy on my shoulders. “Look, I get it. We’re all tense, all worried, but we’re here for a reason. To save Carmela, yes, but Lorenzo’s right. There are others in there, others who need us just as much. We can’t lose sight of that. You two need to get your shit together and save this sexual frustration for later.”
Miguel started to speak, but Sofia held her hand up, silencing him.
“Then it’s settled. We’ll all go in for all of them. No one gets left behind.”
Miguel met Sofia’s gaze, a silent apology mixed with something that resembled fear in his eye. Sofia accepted it with a small, acknowledging nod, the tension between them shifting, morphing into something that crackled with an entirely different kind of electricity.
“Alright, then.” Lorenzo clapped his hands together, the sound sharp and commanding. “Let’s get to work and stop fucking around. We have a plan to finalize, women to save, and a man to kill. And I’d really like to get home sometime this month.”
With that, we dove back into the fray, our resolve strengthened, and our mission clear. We were a team, a family forged in the fires of adversity. And nothing, not arguments, danger, or even our own uncertainties, would stand in our way.
So, we waited, tucked in the shadows of the Columbian forest just outside Lipovsky’s compound. When she told us that she’d found someone who could help us, I was skeptical. Until she explained who he was. This man had saved Carmela, then turned her into a weapon. His initial focus was to use her to find his own daughter, who’d been stolen and sold into the skin trade, but that had morphed into a friendship, which Sofia explained as being solid. Now, he was here, helping us save her.
Anxiety riddled my body as I watched men go in and out of the front gate. I desperately wanted to get inside the brick walls and wrap Carmela in my arms, but as Lorenzo has mentioned many times, the timing had to be perfect. Waiting for the perfect moment was torture, but we’d finally managed to get beyond the gated front.
The inside of the compound was worse than any of us had imagined. The air was thick with despair, the walls echoing with the ghostly whispers of lost hope. Nothing could have prepared us for the reality of it.
We found the first four cages hidden away in a dimly lit corner, a small, cramped space that reeked of neglect. Inside, women huddled against the bars, their eyes wide with a mixture of fear and hope. Without a word, Lorenzo set to work on the first lock, his tools whispering against the metal until it clicked open. He repeated the process with the remaining three cages, shoving the door open and granting the prisoners their freedom. The women were shells of despair. We had to help them out of the tiny prisons—the drugs they’d been plied with weighted them down, making it impossible for any of them to walk out on their own two feet.
“We’re going to have to stash them somewhere. Half of them can barely walk, Alex.”
Scrubbing my hand down my face, I sighed. “Fuck. I don’t know what to do. We can’t leave to get them to safety, but I don’t want to leave them here either. Carmela would have my ass if she knew we left them here to die.”
“I’ll take them out,” Lorenzo spoke as he pushed further into the room. “The three of you can keep moving forward.” Lorenzo tucked the tools back into his backpack and slung it over his back. “Can you four walk?” He spoke to one of the girls cowering in the metal prison. Despite the haze coating her eyes, she nodded.
“Are you sure, brother?” Sofia furrowed her brow, a look of worry crossing her features.
“Why don’t you and Miguel help him?” I glanced between her and Miguel. “I’ll keep looking for Carmela, and you can come back once you get them in the van.” We’d left our transportation tucked in the woods not too far from the compound. Seeing the state they were in, I didn’t have any concerns that they would try to steal the vehicle. Besides, Sofia had the keys.
Sofia glanced at Miguel, then at her brother, who both gave a quick nod of agreement. “Okay. Don’t get yourself killed, Alex. Carmela would gut me if something happened to you.”
The shuffling footsteps of the departing women faded into the distance, and the silence became a thick blanket, suffocating in its intensity. I waited, my breath shallow, listening for the echo of voices or the telltale creak of a floorboard that would signal I wasn’t alone. Seconds stretched out, each one a lifetime until I was certain—the corridor outside was mine, if only for a moment.
Slipping into the shadows, I made my way through the dimly lit hallway. We had some idea of the layout thanks to the man on the inside. The sounds of voices slowly ebbed from the doorway I was approaching. Easing through the wooden barrier, I pressed against the far wall. Hidden among the men, I took several deep breaths to quell the burning rage inside my chest as I watched them parade drug-laden women onto the stage.
“And now, gentlemen, what we have here is a true-blue princess,” announced the man in the center of the room with a sneer. “This spirited lady requires someone who can break her defiant spirit. She’s got a taste for the rougher side, making her catch for any man with a taste of the darker depravities. Bidding starts at half a million dollars.”
Paddles went into the air as men vied for her ownership. With every hand that held up the wooden number, my mind cataloged the faces of the walking dead. As the commission for the newcomer’s body rose, a final call of one and a half million dollars bellowed into the room. The man’s Cheshire-like smile made my skin crawl. But just as the auctioneer made one last call, a new voice carried above the noise.
“Three million dollars.”
The room was blanketed in silence as men turned to see who had entered the game with undoubtedly the largest bid of the night. He stepped out of the shadows and spoke again.
“Three million dollars.”
Shifting my gaze, I scanned the room. I waited with bated breath to see if anyone dared to go against his offer. When the last call for any other bidders was uttered, I moved closer, trying to see who had made such a ludicrous offer for the woman on the stage. Unable to get a clear look at the bidder, my focus shifted to the woman. Nothing could have prepared me for who I found clutched beneath the fluorescent lights. Carmela wobbled to her feet, clearly under the influence. But what had my blood boiling with fury were the fresh bruises and cuts covering her once flawless skin.
“Looks like you’ve got a home, Princess.” He pushed her down the steps and forcefully guided Carmela into a small room off the main auction room.
I was about to move forward when a man pressed up behind me, stopping me in my tracks. “Don’t. You’ll only put her in more danger if you react now.” I threw a glare over my shoulder at the man who had issued the warning. “I’m here to help her,” he said firmly. “I’ve just paid a handsome sum to secure your girl’s release. Just give me a little time, Alex, and soon enough, she and I will be walking out of here together.”
Before I could react, he disappeared into the throng of men gathering for the next auction. I could only assume this was the friend Sofia had mentioned. If not… he was going to be the next person I put a bullet into.