Chapter 11
CHAPTER 11
When Jacob reached the top of the stone steps, he pushed through a clear, plexiglass gate onto a massive, tiled deck overlooking the ocean. A bright moon shone. He’d just passed through the gate when a man bearing a semi-automatic rifle stepped out of a sliding glass door. His attention was on the ocean, not the steps, the gate or the men easing up the steps in the darkness.
Jacob raised a closed fist and froze. Hank stopped behind him, and the rest of the men slowed their ascent.
The gunman walked to the wall and spit over the side.
Jacob eased across the tile, sneaking up on the man, hoping he didn’t turn until he was close enough to take him down.
When he was within six feet of the guard, the man turned back to the house and blinked, his brow puckering.
Jacob took advantage of the man’s momentary surprise and brought up the butt of his rifle in a lightning move, hitting the man in the chin and knocking him backward.
He stumbled and fell on his back.
Hank was on him in the next second, slamming the butt of his rifle into the man’s temple. He didn’t move.
Pulling zip ties out of his back pocket, Hank rolled the man onto his belly and secured his wrists behind his back, then tied his ankles. Reid slapped a piece of duct tape over the guy’s mouth.
Reid and Jacob dragged him into the shadows. Apparently, with the lights off on the deck, the people inside couldn’t see out. So far, the odds were in their favor.
With one gun-toting man down, Jacob was feeling more confident they were in the right place. It was highly likely they were in the presence of a drug cartel. Hopefully, the one that was holding Hawk.
All the men had made it to the top of the steps and onto the deck, hunkering down in the shadows thrown by the brilliant starlight.
Reid stood at the nearest floor-to-ceiling window, peering inside. “There are six men inside, all armed, and one female,” he whispered into the mic. “Looks like our party crasher from the Big Wave.”
Jacob’s fists tightened around his weapon. Had he known Camila would have caused this much trouble, he’d have had her arrested for assaulting him. Maybe she would have had to stay a couple of nights in jail—at least until after the wedding.
“Got two more men coming out of the hallway. There’s a man between them, dressed in a black tuxedo.”
“It’s Hawk,” Jacob said.
“Roger that,” Reid said. “He’s struggling to be free, though his hands appear tied behind his back. They’re bringing him out into the room with the others.”
Maddog’s voice came in through Jacob’s headset, “Got a side door to the south.”
“What’s it to be, Hank? Go through the patio door or sneak around to the side door?” Jacob asked.
“With six guns pointed at Hawk, we might want to get half of us inside before they notice us,” Hank said. “Jacob, you and Maddog take some men around the side. Check out the front as well, before you commit to going in. Give me a headcount of bogeys, and let me know when you’re ready to breach.”
“Roger.” Jacob grabbed Rex, Teller, Levi and Boomer and headed around the side of the building. They met up with Maddog and spread out. Teller and Levi stayed at the side door. Rex, Maddog and Jacob continued around to the front of the building, again, Jacob on point.
As he neared the front of the structure, he slowed and eased his head around the corner.
Two men stood guard at the front entrance made up of a massive, arched double door. The concrete and stucco wall had a wrought iron gate that was closed for the night.
The guards at the front of the house walked out to the gate and spoke in Spanish to two more guards on the other side. One of them offered a guard on the outside a pack of cigarettes. The man took them, shook out two and handed back the pack.
A match illuminated the guard’s face as he lit his cigarette. He said something, laughed and returned to his post on one side of the gate. The other guard stayed to talk with the inside men for another moment before he lit his cigarette and went back to his post.
Jacob slipped around the corner and spoke to the men with him and into his headset. “Two guards on the front door. Two more on the exterior gate. Maddog and Rex, get over the wall and take the exterior guards. Boomer and I have the doormen.”
“Careful not to alert the others,” Hank warned. “We don’t want to give the guys inside any reason to start shooting.”
“Roger,” Jacob said.
Maddog and Rex were already at the side fence. Rex cupped his hands, Maddog stepped into his palms and pulled himself onto the top. Before Jacob or Boomer could assist, Maddog reached down and pulled Rex up beside him. The two men disappeared over the top, landing softly on the other side.
Jacob peered around the corner again.
The men at the door leaned their backs against the wall, their weapons hanging loosely by a strap around their necks. The man nearest to Jacob yawned. His head dipped until his chin touched his chest.
“Closing in on door guards,” Jacob whispered into his mic.
“Closing in on gate guards,” Maddog said.
Boomer touched Jacob’s shoulder. “I’ve got your six.”
With one of his team behind him, Jacob hugged the front of the building, treading as lightly as his water shoes could go. He slipped up on the guard closest to him. When he was near enough, he grabbed one of the man’s arms, twisted it up behind his back and clamped a hand over his mouth.
At the same moment, Boomer launched himself past Jacob and slammed into the guy on the other side of the door. He hit him so hard he toppled over, landing flat on his back, the air knocked from his lungs. Boomer flipped him over and shoved his face into the dirt. “Move, and I’ll break your neck,” he said, hoping the man spoke enough English to understand his intent.
Jacob pulled out the small roll of duct tape he’d stuffed inside his wetsuit and slapped it over the guard’s mouth. With the zip ties he carried in a pocket on the side of his calf, he secured the man’s hands behind his back. He moved to assist Boomer as he bound his captive and covered his mouth with duct tape. Once their captives were immobilized, they dragged them back around the corner, out of sight of anyone exiting or entering the compound.
Sounds of a scuffle came from the other side of the fence.
“Maddog, report,” Jacob said.
“Two bogeys secured,” Maddog said.
A moment later, Maddog and Rex opened the wrought iron gate and joined Boomer and Jacob inside the compound’s wall.
“Check the other side of the structure,” Jacob said.
Maddog jogged to the other end of the front and disappeared around the corner. A moment later, he reappeared. “Clear. No other doors.”
Jacob squared his shoulders. “It’s show time.” In his mic, he reported to Hank, “Going in.”
“Will await your report or cue if you need help,” Hank said. “Let us know if you need a diversion.”
“Roger.” Jacob placed his hand on the door and eased it open.
The front entrance opened onto a marble-floored foyer with a two-story, cathedral ceiling and a sweeping staircase leading up to the second floor. Through a long hallway to the left, Jacob could see to the end where it led into the living area where the drama was taking place. No one stood between the foyer and the living room.
A female was shouting in Spanish.
“What’s she saying?” Jacob asked Maddog.
Maddog cocked his head and narrowed his eyes. “She’s mad because they can’t get her fiancé to agree to marry her. She wants to know why she has to do everything.”
“I’m not going to marry you, Camila,” Hawk’s voice sounded.
Boomer grinned. “I knew he wouldn’t do it.”
“That man would eat glass before he agreed to marry her,” Rex said. “He loves Kalea.”
“Shh,” Maddog canted his head toward the voices in the living area down the long hallway.
The others fell silent.
Maddog frowned.
“What’s she saying?” Jacob’s chest tightened. “Are they threatening Hawk?”
Maddog nodded. “Yes, but not directly. Camila just told her guys to go get the prisoners.”
“Prisoners?” Jacob frowned. “I thought they had Hawk out already. They have more?”
Maddog held up his hand as Camila continued talking. “She says she won’t hurt Hawk, but she will hurt the ladies he loves if he doesn’t agree to marry her.”
“What does she mean, the ladies he loves?” The question was out of his mouth before his brain engaged. Immediately, he knew. “They got Kalea.”
“She specifically said ‘ladies’,” Maddog said. “More than one.”
Jacob’s heart plummeted to his belly. “If she has Kalea....then they also have Casey. We have to do something.” He took off down the hall. “Get ready,” he said into his mic. “We’re engaging.”
When the door to the small, closet-like room opened, light flooded into the room and across the empty floor where they had been lying when they’d been bound and gagged.
A man cursed in Spanish and stepped through the door.
Casey threw the blanket over his head, like a lasso, grabbed it tight and pulled hard, dragging the man over the threshold.
At the last minute, she stuck out her foot, tripping him.
He fell to the ground, landing hard. Casey jumped onto his back, grabbed the back of his head and slammed it against the tile.
The man behind the first guy rushed in, also cursing.
Kalea was ready for him, swinging the small, wooden tabletop so hard it cracked over the man’s skull and split into two pieces.
Casey dove to the side as the man fell like a tree, landing on top of his counterpart.
Scrambling to her feet, Casey grabbed the handgun the first guy had dropped on the floor. Kalea pried the gun out of the second guy’s hand. As she was pulling it free of his fingers, he grabbed her wrist and yanked her to her knees, growling a low, feral sound.
Kalea fought to free her wrist, but the man held on, refusing to let go.
Casey took the gun in the palm of her hand and smashed it against the man’s head, where he’d already been hit with the table.
He growled and rolled over, backhanding Casey and sending her sprawling on her backside. She pushed to her feet again and came at the guy with one of the legs from the broken table, afraid to fire the gun and make the others in the house aware that their guards were under attack. She cocked her arm, ready to swing, when another man appeared in the doorway with a military-style rifle in his hands, pointed at her chest. He gestured with his weapon and shouted an order in Spanish, “Drop it, or I’ll kill you.”
Casey had to drop the table leg and the handgun, or he’d shoot her. When she hesitated, he aimed the rifle at Kalea, who was still struggling to free her hand from the grip of the man on the floor beside her.
Having heard how ruthless the cartels could be, Casey didn’t doubt for a moment that he would shoot Kalea if Casey didn’t give up her weapons. She could risk bringing up her handgun and firing into the man’s chest, but he was in position with his finger on the trigger. She had at least a couple of moves to get to a point where she could fire. By then, he’d have pulled the trigger and killed her best friend.
Casey tossed the jagged table leg to the side, dropped the handgun on the floor and kicked it out of reach of the other men lying on the tile near her. No use giving them more ammunition with which to kill her. It was likely they’d kill her anyway—if the Brotherhood Protectors didn’t get there soon.
Hawk’s team was their only hope for getting out of this situation alive.
The man holding the rifle barked a command.
The guy on the floor released Kalea’s wrist and rolled to his feet with his pistol in his hand.
Kalea stood, squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. When she moved toward Casey, the man she’d hit in the head with the tabletop stepped between the two women. Blood oozed from a break in his skin on top of his head, matting his dark hair.
Kalea had hit him hard enough to bring down a two-ton bull. How could they have known the man had a seriously hard head? He grabbed Kalea’s arm and pushed her through the door.
Casey started after her but was stopped by the man with the rifle. He waved the gun at her, indicating she should move back into the room.
Kalea was being dragged away down a hallway. Casey couldn’t let them take her friend. She had to do something, and quickly.
Her captor had leaned forward, his weapon tipped toward the ground, reaching for the door handle.
Casey dove for the door, slamming it into the man’s face. He yelped, one hand leaving his weapon to clutch his nose. Blood ran through his fingers and dripped onto the floor. His eyes were watering, and he wasn’t concentrating on her.
Casey leaped over him and out of the room. She turned, planted her foot in his backside and shoved hard, sending the man sprawling onto all fours in the room. Then she reached in, snagged the door handle and pulled it closed. The key was still in the lock. She twisted it and flung it to a corner. It slid behind a large potted plant.
She looked around, frantically searching for her friend. Voices sounded at the end of the hallway. Casey followed the sound. Without a weapon, she wasn’t sure what good she would be, but she had to do something. They’d use Kalea to get Hawk to agree to marry Camila. Once he agreed, in hopes of saving her life, they’d perform the wedding and then kill Kalea anyway.
All Casey could hope to do was provide a distraction to keep things stirred up until the Brotherhood arrived to save their asses.
Please, Jacob. Hurry.