Chapter 27
Hudson
“Still thinking about her.” Gabriel’s voice from the passenger seat didn’t startle me. The four of us had been in deep thought since leaving the house in Jupiter. As we neared our destination, I had a feeling my buddies were contemplating the oaths they’d sworn to uphold.
“She’s about all I can think about.” My answer was nothing if not honest. I was furious with Delgado, Jacob Jones, James Worthington, and everyone else who’d dared to be a part of cover-ups and extortion.
However, everything from the sweet smiles she offered to the briefest of touches when she knew I needed comfort even though I’d never admit it had kept me grounded. Enough to know I still had a choice to make in how I handled what we were about to undertake.
“It’s good to see you back among the living.” Kendrick’s voice and his words stated from behind me might ordinarily irritate the hell out of me.
Not this time.
He was right.
I’d finally tasted what it felt like to be in full control of my emotions. And perhaps my heart. “Yeah, it feels good to be alive.”
“What did the cops say about the goons left on the side of the road?” Maverick asked as he popped Gabriel on the shoulder.
Gabriel took a deep breath. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed he was scrubbing his jaw as if preparing to tell a story.
At least I could still laugh. “They were curiously surprised and highly impressed that a man like me so impeccably dressed and so debonair could handle four horrific bastards all by myself.”
“What’s the real story, bud?” Kendrick pushed.
“You guys are a pain in my ass,” Gabriel answered. “They were surprised, one of the officers telling me two of the men were wanted for committing the recent assassinations ordered by Delgado.”
“I’m shocked they left any evidence,” Maverick snorted.
I rolled off the interstate, the exit just a couple of miles from where Worthington’s mole lived.
I was curious as to whether Worthington had been concerned enough about our interaction that he’d warn all those involved in his alliance with Delgado to lay low or get the hell out of town.
“Perhaps Delgado and our buddy, Mr. Jones are concerned that their days are numbered.” It was much easier to feel somewhat jovial with complete trust in Valentina and Bella’s safety.
“They should be nervous.” Maverick was right. They should be.
“I think taunting Jones had an effect on him,” Gabriel added.
It would seem.
We’d established a tight plan for our actions within the timeframe. By the time the sun came up, debris would litter the streets of Miami.
If what little Chase had said about the upcoming shipment was true, it could be as early as tonight when all hell broke loose in the Gulf of Mexico.
Although I had to admit, if what Valentina suspected about the men who’d killed the police officers outside my home, they’d wanted her very much alive.
That angered me more than anything. There was an aspect of Delgado’s plan that the members of the DEA had overlooked.
“Did you call Camille?” Gabrielle asked quietly.
“That’s something I need to do in person. Plus, I’d rather ensure Worthington will be held accountable for his corruption before I do.”
“She has a right to know.”
“And she will. Trust me, buddy. She will.” Maybe it would give us both some peace. I pulled down the dark street. It was just after midnight. While Miami was an active city, several after-hours clubs open all night, most residential neighborhoods were quiet with little or no activity.
We rolled up to the curb a little over a block from the house.
The other vehicle with the men Chase had already ordained into Raven Intel parked a little further away.
Chase had been thorough. I’d need to give the guy credit next time I saw him.
He’d even stored four nondescript vehicles in an oversized garage at the Jupiter house.
The vehicles were listed in a dummy corporation name that couldn’t be traced.
He’d also thought ahead in that the lights over the back license plates could be turned off.
At some point, I’d have another conversation with him on how long he’d planned Raven Intel without mentioning it to his best buddies.
He’d certainly been eager enough about us joining, already lamenting over missing the first op.
As if we were initiating a highly trained military mission.
Well, in some respects it was, complete with masks to hide our identities.
What we were completing tonight would be in and out without wasting time.
Without further discussion, we rolled out to Steven’s house. Kendrick was the one who exercised his breaking and entering skills, getting us inside within seconds. I was no longer shocked at the various activities we’d all participated in during our youth.
As expected, Steven was found fast asleep.
We stood over his bed, taking a few seconds. Then I tapped him on the shoulder.
“What the…” He awoke with a start, gasping for air as he tried to figure out what he was seeing in the dark.
So Maverick helped him out, shining a bright flashlight in his face.
“You’ve been a very bad boy,” I told him, only mildly attempting to disguise my voice.
“Who… Who are you?”
“Call us ravens because we’ve come to punish you for your sins,” Gabriel said, laughing, the sound something I’d never heard coming from his throat before.
We allowed him to stew in his fear for a few seconds.
Finally, one of them flicked on the overhead light.
“What?” Steven was wide-eyed and horrified, already slobbering on himself. He was even more panicked than before now that he could see several masked men standing in his bedroom.
I planted a booted foot on the side of the bed next to him.
“You see, you’ve been playing both sides of the law, Steve.
Playing footsie with James Worthington isn’t in your best interest. Now, since you obviously aren’t intelligent enough to know who your friends are, we’re going to give you something to think about the next time he contacts you asking for a favor like providing classified information on witnesses, jurors, and cases pending Luis Delgado. ”
“I would never do that.”
His insistence made Maverick laugh. “Yeah, buddy. You would.”
I was the one who dragged him out of bed. Gabriel was the one who issued the first punch, Kendrick followed.
After a few minutes, he was all mine. I tossed him around, issuing a few brutal jabs of my own. The intent wasn’t to kill him. He deserved to live so he could face a jury of his own. It was amazing the evidence that could be collected when you knew the right people.
“You can’t fuck with me.” He slurred the words since his lip was busted.
“Oh, yes, I can. Now, you on the other hand, you fucked with the wrong people. The murders of those jurors are on you. Blood on your hands.”
“Yeah? Just wait until you see what happens to that pretty little witness.”
Ice tore through my veins. I yanked him off the floor by the throat, getting in his face.
“Take it easy,” Kendrick hissed.
“What the fuck did you say to me?”
“What’s wrong? You want a piece of her too? Maybe I can arrange that before she’s sold.” He didn’t just spout off the words. He laughed. As if this was all a joke. As if he was bigger than the law.
For a man who’d learned early in life that control was necessary, I was certainly quick to lose all sense of it. I didn’t even realize how many punches I’d thrown or that his face and mine were covered in his blood.
Or that he was no longer laughing.
And maybe not even breathing.
Until hands were jerking on both arms, trying to pull me away.
“Hey. Stop,” Maverick hissed in my ear. “Don’t do this.”
“And why the fuck not?” I snapped back. “Don’t you dare tell me that because this isn’t me. Guess what?” After tossing Steven against the wall, I took a deep breath while he slid to the floor. “Now it is.”
Gabriel groaned, but backed away from me after I threw my head in his direction. He held up his hands and I didn’t need to have any decent light in the room to know he was glaring at me with concern.
“What the fuck do you mean about the witness being sold?” When he didn’t answer, I leaned over, yanking him up and prepared to smash my gun against his face.
“Goddamn it. Just stop,” Gabriel snarled, moving to where I could see him. “He can’t answer you. You broke his jaw.”
As if I should feel bad about it.
Then I stood over him one last time. “Maybe you’ve learned your lesson but trust me. We’ll be watching.”
With that, we left his house, only I had one last thing in mind. His prized Corvette, a recent purchase made and impossible on his salary, sat in his driveway. All pretty in red.
“You have the can of spray paint?” Kendrick asked.
“I’ve got it,” one of the other men said as he approached, handing it to him. With a grin on my face, I watched as my buddy spraypainted the front of Steven’s house.
Our new mantra.
After opening the garage door to Steven’s home, I found what I needed. Just enough gas to douse the car. The others stood on the sidewalk and I could hear Maverick chuckling.
I’d brought a pack of matches with me. As I walked toward them, I pulled out the slender pack, striking a couple. Then I tossed them behind me.
As the car went up in flames, a feeling of limited satisfaction hit me.
But this was just the beginning.
The warehouse had been well hidden, creatively disguised by the fact it housed seafood that had just come off ships. Given Delgado had never been involved with the seafood industry, no one had picked up on the location.
It was true that having a trusted informant was helpful. Only if they were right. We were also doing Chase and the entire DEA force a favor by exposing one of four hidden warehouses. If what the informant had said was true, there were millions of dollars of cocaine and fentanyl locked inside.
The catch was there were four goons playing security.
Fortunately, they didn’t see us coming.