Chapter 7
L eandra’s head felt like the grenade went off inside it, not in the elevator. Her knees stung from the scrapes that had ripped her flesh as she and Nick slid across the floor, slashing open her jeans.
Her entire body ached.
But not as much as her heart did.
A thud on the ceiling caught her attention. “Please, no more grenades.”
Another thud.
Then three more.
“We’ve got company,” Nick said before whistling three times.
Whoever was above them whistled back.
“Baby Dyl to the rescue,” Nick said, pointing to a door at the end of the corridor. “Let’s check that out.”
She let out a long sigh of relief as she made her way down the hallway. She stood behind Nick, since he pushed his arm out and tucked her back there, while Logan opened the door and did a quick scan before giving them the ‘all clear.’
Stepping into the room, her eyes immediately focused on the prison-like cells that occupied the room.
She gasped, sucking in air that tasted like three-day-old piss left in an unflushed toilet.
Coughing, she took a few steps forward, reaching out to one of the cells, letting her fingers glide across the cold metal bars. Tears stung the corner of her eyes. Bare cots lay on the cold tiled floor, a single dirty, thin blanket in each cell.
That was it.
“We have to find them,” she whispered as she counted the cells.
Thirty-two.
A powerful arm skimmed across her lower back. The strength it offered rolled into her skin, entering her bloodstream, racing to her heart.
She sucked in as much of that strength as she could.
“Ramos couldn’t have moved them far.” Nick pulled her against his body. “We’ll find them.”
She turned her head. “And Skyler. Or at the very least, find out what happened to her. Her family needs closure no matter the outcome.”
Nick nodded.
The door behind them rattled. Instinctively, she gripped her weapon, pulling it from the back of her pants and aimed it .
Three whistles.
Nick grabbed her wrist, lowering her arms. “That’s my brother and his team.”
The door opened, and Dylan and five other men, all dressed in dark clothing, all carrying rifles, strolled through the door as if they owned the place.
“Glad to see you’re still standing,” Dylan said with a smile. “Heard the blast and felt it, too.”
“What took you so long to get here?” Nick said with a sarcastic tone.
“Ran into Ramos and his goons loading the hostages into the rig and thought we should deal with that before finding out if he’d successfully blown up your ugly asses.” Dylan turned his attention toward Leandra. “And by that, I certainly don’t mean yours, because your ass isn’t ugly at all.”
“Don’t be commenting on her ass, or I’ll have to beat the crap out of you,” Nick said.
She rolled her eyes, then reached out and grabbed the fabric around Nick’s waist and tugged.
He groaned.
She pointed to Dylan. “And my ass is out of your league.”
Dylan’s expression turned serious. “Ramos is in custody, and all the hostages are safe. We’re going to transport them to a private hospital for medical attention and contact all their families.”
“Thank you.” She glanced around the room again. “I want to talk to Ramos.” Her fingers itched to curl around his nuts and twist so hard they snapped .
“I doubt Fielding will let you,” Dylan said, stepping to the side, giving her access to the door. “But I’d love to see you in action.”
“Back the fuck up little brother,” Nick said, taking three large steps.
“What did I tell you?” Logan laughed.
“He’s so far gone, it’s pathetic,” Dylan said.
“Motherfuckers,” Nick said under his breath.
Leandra opened her mouth to yell at all the brothers, but nothing came out. She cleared her throat. “I’m going to go talk to Ramos. You all are going to find me a paper trail that helps us find the others that Ramos has sold into a living hell.” She pointed at each one of them. “Got it?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Logan and Dylan said in unison.
“I’m going with you,” Nick said.
She glared at him with her best scowl.
He pointed to his side, blood trickling from the soaked fabric. “I’m gonna bleed out if I don’t find something to cauterize this hole or stitch it up.”
“Fine.” She noted the sweat beading on his forehead. “You can come with me,” she said, trying to keep her tone more frustrated than concerned. She didn’t want him or his damn brothers thinking she cared that much. “Put pressure on that wound, please.”
“I’ve got a military grade first aid kit in the van,” Dylan said.
“Good to know.” She nodded.
They made their way back up the blown elevator shaft in silence. Once on the main floor, she looked down at the gaping hole and all the rubble. The reality of how close she’d come to death hit her senses like gale-force winds.
But the idea she could have lost Nick twisted her emotions so tight in her gut, it felt like a tornado had touched down and all her insides were about to be tossed outside.
She glanced at Nick. His skin had taken on a white-gray tone.
“Come on.” She wrapped her arms around his middle, putting more pressure, feeling the tacky blood stick to her fingers. “Let’s get you stitched up.”
He leaned against her, his arm draped over her shoulders. “I’m sorry about the hon, thing. I’ll be more conscious of it in the future.”
“What future?” She hadn’t meant to say that out loud, but now that it was out there, she might as well deal with it.
Her heartbeat slowed as she wondered what it would be like to walk away from Nick Sarich the moment she completed her job.
The thought felt like fingers reaching into her chest and squeezing her heart until it stopped beating altogether.
“We both know whatever this is, it isn’t real. ”
“I almost wish that were true.” His lips pressed against her temple with the gentle touch of a feather. “For the first time in years, I find myself wanting to be with someone more than once or twice, and I’m not just talking about mind-blowing sex.”
“I don’t want to want somebody.” She glanced in his direction, catching his gaze. “Not even you. ”
“I know,” he said, pushing open the door with his hip. At least ten FBI vehicles had positioned themselves around the tractor trailer. Dozens of agents wearing FBI jackets filled the parking lot. “I understand.”
“Thank you, for everything.” Lame response, but it was all she had at the moment.
“Save your thanks for when we find Skyler.” He groaned as he pointed toward a grouping of agents around one particular vehicle. “Let’s talk to Ramos, then find that first aid kit.”
“Other way around,” she said.
“No. If we don’t do it now, we might lose our opportunity. I’m not going to drop dead in the next fifteen minutes.”
She took his hand and pushed it hard against his side. “Keep the pressure on, okay?”
“Will do.” He leaned up against a car not far from where Fielding stood over Ramos, who had been handcuffed and sat in the back of one of the SUVs.
Alicia wasn’t too far away, also handcuffed.
Leandra had never met anyone like Nick before. He was a complicated man, with so many different aspects to his personality. Loyal to the bone. Passionate about helping others. Fiercely protective of those he cared about.
And he did care about her.
Lying to herself about her own feelings toward him had become impossible.
But those feelings were connected to a shared loss. A commonality so deep, it bound them together in a way no one else could understand.
At least she knew they’d walk away friends.
“Go get the information we need,” he said.
A rush of adrenaline tickled her fingertips, building speed across her body like a raging river. She turned toward Ramos, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw Logan and Dylan moving quickly across the parking lot, waving her over.
She patted Nick on the chest before meeting his brothers halfway.
“What’s up?” she asked, planting her hands on her hips, glancing over her shoulder at Ramos, who had the audacity to smile.
“We found something.” Logan handed her a file. “Certain types of girls seemed to have been flagged for one specific buyer.”
“Girl’s like Skyler.”
Logan nodded. “In the file are pictures of all the girls. Sixteen girls to be exact.”
“Do we have the buyer’s name?” she asked.
“Just a code name.” Dylan tapped the file. “Hollywood.”
She swallowed. “That could mean the buyer is in Hollywood or looks like a Hollywood type.”
“There are other files, categorizing the hostages, so we’ll need Fielding to get his team down there,” Logan said.
“Thanks.” She turned on her heels and marched over to where Fielding stood, just a few feet from Ramos.
Fielding held up his hand. “Oh, no, you don’t.”
“Oh, yes, I do.” She took one step past Fielding before he grabbed her arm. “Let go of me,” she said in a dark tone behind gritted teeth.
“You’re not going near him.”
“I need to ask him about this.” She shoved the file at Fielding. “The girl I was hired to find is in that file. I need to know who the buyer is.”
Fielding stepped closer, encroaching on her personal space. “You’re a low-life PI, and you have no authority to talk with anyone at this crime scene, and unless you want me to slap a set of handcuffs on you—”
“You’ll do no such thing,” Nick’s voice boomed across the night sky.
He stood between his two brothers, who helped him stand.
“You’re going to give her five minutes to find out what she wants, and then we’re going to deliver that buyer to you on a silver platter, along with credit for this takedown. ”
She wanted to slap Nick for jumping in when she was perfectly capable of handling this situation, only it felt too damn nice to know someone had her back. She knew he hadn’t stepped up because he didn’t think she could handle it.
No. She knew him well enough to understand he only jumped in because he knew something she didn’t.
“I’ll handle my own interrogation,” Fielding said, puffing out his chest.
“Don’t make me sic my boss on you again,” Dylan said with a smile, holding up a military grade phone. “Shall I call him?”
Fielding narrowed his eyes. “Five minutes,” he said with a snarl.
Whatever Dylan did for the United States Army, it had to be damn important.
Leandra didn’t waste a second as she bolted toward Ramos.
“I’m going to fucking kill you.” He stood, but the guard pushed him back down.
Her heart pounded so fast it hurt. Staring into the eyes of a man she knew for sure would kill her, if given the chance, made her pause for a moment. She’d gotten herself in some pretty crazy-ass situations, but this by far had been the most dangerous.
“Who is Hollywood?”
“You think I’m going to tell you that?” Ramos laughed, leaning in. “Better watch your back, sweetheart, because I’m coming for you.”
She swallowed. “Where does Hollywood take the girls?”
Ramos shook his head. “You and your husband, or whoever the fuck he is, aren’t going to live to see daybreak, much less find out anything about Hollywood.”
Ramos was never going to tell her anything. She clenched her fist. “You’re a piece of shit.” She bent down, leaning so close to him she could feel his breath on her skin. She reached between his legs, gripping his testicles with all her might, and twisted .
He cried out like a cow being castrated.
“If anything happens to me, my husband is going to reach down your throat and grab your nuts.” She squeezed harder. “And pull them out through your mouth.”
She let go and spun around, making a beeline for Nick.
“Feel better?” Nick asked as she moved between him and one of his brothers, putting her arm around his waist and applying pressure to his wound again.
Nick groaned.
“I feel fucking fantastic.” She tugged him across the parking lot, following one of his brothers toward a van. “But we have no idea who Hollywood is.”
“Actually, we have a tip.”
She glanced up at him, staring into his warm blue eyes. “Logan took pictures of the files and sent them to his fiancée who worked her computer geek genius and got us a lead.”
“Then come on, Batman, let’s get you fixed up and ready to roll.”
“Whatever you say, Cat Woman.”
“Rrrrroahhh.” She laughed, shaking her head. “I have no idea how I’m going to repay you.”
“I can think of a few ways.”