Retribution (Moonstruck Genesis #4)

Chapter 8

NATE AND Rudy returned from scouting the god-forsaken town. They shifted and dressed before reporting to Mac and the others. San Rios consisted of a handful of buildings around an old-fashioned plaza, complete with an artesian well. A Catholic church, slowly crumbling into disrepair, stood mute sentinel to the changing fortunes of the place. A long, low adobe building spilled loud music and crass conversations. The cantina. Across the square, another single-story building had once been the police station. Considering the expensive, pimped-out SUVs parked in front, it had become the Los Malvados headquarters. The last building facing the square looked like it had once been a grocery store, the building locked and shuttered now.

On the north side, a boarded-up gas station perched on the one road into town. A scattering of fifties-style motor court cabins formed a horseshoe behind it. More vehicles were parked there. The two Wolves had located about a dozen homes still occupied by locals. Mano planned to sneak back into town after dark to tell the Artezes and Dasher Fox that he’d returned with help.

“The girl is still at the Cantina,” Rudy confirmed. His eyes glowed with a red spark not put there by the setting sun. “Her mate is not fit to claim her.” He spat, creating a puff of dust before the thirsty earth swallowed the moisture.

Mac counted to ten before speaking. He felt the same way but needed to stay fair. “He’s human. And scared.”

“We’ll need to do something about him before it’s all said and done.” Lightfoot’s unblinking gaze dared Mac to argue.

“I know. First we rescue the girl.”

“And my town? What of the people left there?” Mano spat out the questions.

Nate shrugged. “That’s up to them. They should leave.”

“How?” Mano clenched and unclenched his hands and jutted his jaw. He was looking for a fight. “They have no money. No cars. Do you remember how you found me? On a horse. We are lucky those bastards had enough beef after slaughtering our cattle or I would have been walking.”

They’d stripped the horse of saddle and bridle and turned it loose. With luck, the animal would find its way home. Or it would find a ranch or wild herd.

Mac rubbed at a spot just above his heart. He missed Hannah and Liam. It was Christmastime, dammit, and Liam had hit puberty. While they laughed about his changing voice, that wasn’t the only change his son would soon experience. He had to be there. He’d promised. He glanced up to discover Rudy’s knowing gaze on him.

“We need to get in, get the girl, get out, and get home.” Mac’s expression challenged the others to disagree. None of them did.

Mano opened his mouth to argue, but after one look at the men surrounding him, he snapped his jaw shut. Still upset, he continued to glower at them and mumble under his breath.

Sean stabbed the map Nate had drawn on a piece of paper. “Detonation here, here, here, and there. That’ll divert them so a team can hit the cantina, snatch the girl, and get the hell outta Dodge.”

Mac nodded. “Team two will lay down cover fire from here, we’ll regroup, and head north. Sean, we need to disable their vehicles so they can’t follow.” He stared at Mano. “How many people are left in town who want to leave?”

“Do you not understand? My people don’t want to leave. We want our lives back. Our homes. Why will you not just kill them all? We have money.” He tossed the heavy leather bag onto the map. “That is all yours if you make the Los Malvados go away.”

The Wolves stirred. Mac knew what they were thinking. He felt the same way. There was only one problem. “And what happens when the rest of the gang comes back? We can’t stay and fight, Mano. We have families waiting for us. Our own wives and children.” He pushed the bag of money and jewels back toward the other man. “We don’t want your money. We’ll do what we can, but then you—”

A branch cracked. The Wolves shifted into action like the trained soldiers they were. Rudy and Nate disappeared to the right. Lightfoot and Sean did the same on the left. Harjo knelt beside Mac, Mano forced to the ground between them, while Danny faded back to cover the rear. Something—or someone—shuffled through the sparse desert grass.

Mac glared at the man crouched beside him. “If this is a set-up, you’re dead.”

Mano’s eyes widened in fear as he shook his head mutely.

Cloth brushed against dry wood, the sound brittle and sharp like a rattlesnake’s warning, followed by an oomph and a thud. A shrill squeak was cut-off mid-cry. Moments later, Rudy’s quiet laughter echoed in the silence, followed by raucous braying.

“I think you’ve tackled a wild cat, Nate.” Rudy, still holding the reins of a donkey, bent over to snag a wildly swinging arm. He hauled the indistinct figure to its feet as Nate scrambled to his. “What have we here?”

The other six Wolves stared at the woman as she struggled against Rudy’s grip. Nate cursed softly under his breath and muttered, “She bit me. Hellcat is more like it.”

Her white habit was dirt-stained and her wimple tilted precariously. Dark brown eyes spit venom at all of them. She aimed a kick at Rudy’s shins, but he deftly maneuvered out of her reach. “Be still, sister. We will not harm you.”

A string of broken Spanish, half of which involved invectives most nuns would blush upon hearing spewed from the young woman’s mouth. Nate and Sean exchanged bemused looks as they took turns translating.

“Damn, bossman. If I didn’t know better, I’d say this one is kin to Hannah.” Sean stepped closer but stopped out of range of her feet. “And if she’s a nun, I’m Pope Francis.”

“Bastard.”

“Yes, ma’am. I truly am. But you damn sure aren’t a nun so why the get-up?”

She clamped her lips shut and they formed a tight line separating her chin and nose. Her gaze flicked across each of them, located Mano, and she blinked—a momentary crack in her facade. His mouth gaped briefly then he, too, clamped his lips.

“Seems like these two know each other, Sergeant Major.” Danny joined the circle.

The woman’s whole demeanor changed. “Wait? What? Military? You’re military?” Hope washed across her features as she stared at Mano. “Manuel, how did you get the military involved?” She all but danced in place. “This is wonderful. They can run off those bastards and we can get San Rios back.” She pulled on her arm, but it didn’t budge from Rudy’s grip. She slowly recognized the somber expressions and her elation leveled out. “That is why you’re here, isn’t it?”

Mano shook his head. “No, Lucy. Not exactly.”

Her expression wary again, she looked around. “I don’t understand.”

“Why are you dressed as a nun?” The hair prickled on the back of Harjo’s neck. He didn’t like this situation, not one damn bit.

“Safety. I’m Lucia Fox. When the Los Malvados first started sniffing around, my grandfather figured I’d be safe from those assholes if I pretended to be a nun.” She reached up and pulled off the wimple with her free hand. She jerked against Rudy’s hold again. “You can let go. I promise to behave.”

Rudy looked to Harjo and Mac for confirmation before loosening his grip. He still crowded the girl—not that she’d get far if she ran.

Mano watched Mac and Harjo, his gaze bouncing between them. “She’s telling the truth. Her grandfather put up the cash, the Artezes the jewelry and coins. There’s only about thirty people left. The gang, they use us for drug mules. If we get caught by the Border Patrol or DEA, they don’t care. We’re all legal so INS don’t come sniffing around.” His expression hardened. “Nobody cares about us.” He glared before the hard lines on his face softened as he looked toward Lucy. “These men, they’ll help us a little. The girl at the cantina. They came here for her.”

Lucy scrunched up her nose like she smelled something bad. “They don’t look like Border Patrol.”

“They aren’t. They’re some sorta paramilitary group or some such shit.” Mano spat but was careful where he aimed.

“The girl is family.” Mac’s voice sounded like gravel in a bucket.

“And we’re strangers. I get it.” Lucy’s face fell. She tucked her hair behind her ears and prepared to put the wimple back on. “I have to get back. They’ll know something’s up if I’m gone too long.”

Reaching for her, the gesture an unconscious one, Mano shook his head. “It’s too dangerous.”

The Wolves stepped back, somewhat amused by the exchange. That these two had feelings for each other was obvious to anyone with half a brain. With the Wolves’ sense of smell, they didn’t need a brain. Gathering around the map, they gave the kids some privacy. Kissing noises, sighs, and whispered murmurs soon followed. When they broke apart, Mac cut his eyes to Danny.

“I’ll take you back to the edge of town,” Danny offered. When Mano started to bristle, Danny rolled his eyes. “Jeez. Mate…er…married with a kid. I’m just an escort to make sure she gets back safely.”

“I can take her.”

Mac shut that idea down in a heartbeat. “You’re with us until after we retrieve the girl and this is over. We clear on that?”

Mano actually looked hurt. “You don’t trust me?”

Clapping him on the back, Sean chuckled. “Don’t feel special, son. We don’t trust anyone.” After Danny and Lucy, remounted on the donkey, disappeared into the darkness, he turned to the others. “Do we wanna make a noise they can hear all the way to Albuquerque?”