6. Veronica
“Get off me!”
What was this asshole’s issue? He had no way of knowing I’d recognized him. I’d given nothing away. We should have just made a run for the Jeep. Fuck!
His hand tightened around my arm, pinching. This was not happening. Trying to calm my roiling nerves, I jerked my arm free of his grasp and turned, bringing up my foot. I took immense pleasure in nailing him in the nuts. His pained grunt was followed by him hitting the ground, his hands cupping his balls.
“I said, get off…”
I had only just got off the ground, trying to get my spinning head to let my eyes focus, when someone else grabbed me. I was really tired of this cat and mouse shit.
“Where you think you’re going, bitch!” His hot breath washed over my neck. I tried to pull free, but unlike his counterpart, his grip was solid.
My head jerked up when the girls started to scream. The man I’d taken down was staggering into the tent.
“Get away from them, you baboon!” I fought to get free, spinning, trying to kick out at any part of him that would allow me to hurt him. “Girls, run!”
“Why must you be so stupid!” He shook me, rattling my marbles good. The ground stopped my sudden fall by knocking the wind out of me. The man came out of the tent, rage on his face as he moved toward me. I caught a glimpse of the girls running away from the back of the tent. My heart was racing a mile a minute.
Everything happened so fast. The angry man charged me, I rolled to my feet, pulled my service weapon out, aimed and fired. In a split second, I double tapped him in the chest. He stumbled before falling to his knees. Hands pressed to the blossoming red marks, but it was no use. I could see it in his eyes as he swayed and fell over.
Dead.
One down.
“You stupid bitch!”
I felt the pain of a fist hitting my cheek. It registered, but my focus was on the girls. I was no help to them though. I could only hope Cora and Kenzie were safe and could get to Bree and Gwen. They’d have to stay strong until—until what? No one knew we were in trouble. No one would miss us for a few days still.
We were completely fucked.
Another blow struck me as my world flipped upside down. The lights around the camp faded to nothing.
This was not good at all.
“What do we know?”
My head jerked up at the sudden sound of moving footsteps thundering into my dining room. My focus had been on the map and forming a plan to get to my girls—I forgot everything else.
“Kenz called, frantic. She used her code word. The line went dead, and I haven’t been able to get her again.”
“No details? Fuck. Where are they, do we know?”
“I’ve got an updated map that Roni sent Sarge last night. They should be here, somewhere in this general area.” Bones pointed to the map. “Roni was moving them there this morning.”
“We can go in here, take this main trail to the parking area, then split up. One team can go up, and the other can go straight in,” Sliver suggested.
It sounded like a solid plan to me. The guys went back and forth, trying to pinpoint the optimal course. I didn’t care how we did it, we just had to get in and get them out.
Once a plan was in place, I grabbed my rucksack. “Let’s go. Two vehicles. We need to be ready for anything.” I moved around to the front door and headed for my truck. There was no way to get to them any faster. This was a fucking disaster.
“Hey, Casper,” Bones called out. “Head to the base. I called in a favor. There’s a helo waiting. They’ll drop us off as close to the coordinates as possible.”
“Thank fuck.” I was in the truck and pulling out of my drive before the others were piled into Sliver’s Jeep.
I was trying—and failing—to get my mind on the mission. My daughter, Roni, the other girls—they needed our heads in the game. We couldn’t afford to fuck up now.
My cell rang through the truck’s Bluetooth, jerking me from my thoughts when I saw Kenzie’s name pop up on the screen.
“Kenz!”
“Daddy—Daddy, they hurt her…” Her sobs broke my control. I punched the dashboard.
“Hey, hands on the wheel. Keep it together, man,” Bones barked his order my way.
“Kenz, baby girl, it’s Uncle Bobby, what’s happening?”
“Some man hurt Roni…”
“Where are you?”
I could tell she was trying to not cry again, to be strong, but damn! She was only eight. This should not be happening to her. Or any of them. They’d just gone camping for fucks sake!
“Kenz, baby girl, deep breaths. I need you to tell us where you are. We’re coming to help.”
“Me…and Cora…ran. I dropped my phone. I couldn’t find it…”
“You have it now, it’s all right.” Bones kept her talking all while taking his cell out and calling the others.
“Sliver.”
“Kenz, Daddy’s coming, okay? I need you to tell me where you are. Are you and Cora okay? Where are the other girls?” My voice was steady even if my gut was churning. Whoever had done this—hurting Roni, scaring the girls—I made no promises they’d make it out of the wilderness alive.
I gave zero fucks about anything right now except getting to my girls.
“Up the hill. I can see the camp, but they can’t see us.”
“Can you get us pictures from where you are? So we can see the area?” Bones’ voice was steady, but he wore a matching scowl. With him there, I knew I could keep it together long enough to get them all safe.
“Maybe. I can try.”
“Send them to your dad’s phone. Don’t move from where you are though, you hear me? You and Cora stay safe?—”
Gunfire sounded in the background of the call. Cora let out an alarmed cry.
“Kenz, what’s happening?”
Silence. My heart jumped out of my chest.
“Makenzie!”
“Roni…she shot a man... He hit her again.” Her silence started to eat at me before her broken voice sounded again. “Daddy, she’s not moving…”
Her sobs tore at my insides. “Kenz, baby, listen to me. You and Cora have to stay hidden. We’ll be there soon, I promise. We’re coming, baby, you hear me? We are coming to get you all.” I slammed my truck into park as I came to a stop. “Hang up and keep your phone close.”
“Okay… Daddy, please hurry.”
“I will, baby. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
“Be there soon, baby.”
Hanging up—ending that call—I’d rather have been set on fire. But I had to. I hopped out, grabbed my phone and gear, then started off toward the helipad. My gut roiled with each step. I would get to her.
I’d save my daughter, the other girls, and Roni, even if it was the last thing I ever did.
“What’s the plan, Sergeant?”
I looked up from the map to the man across from me. Murphy Jensen, current Master Sergeant of the Delta Force team. He shouldn’t be here. But he and his second, Manny Rivera, had climbed on with my men and refused to get off.
There was no time to argue; my daughter, Roni, and three other little girls were in trouble.
The sun was down now, and we would be working in the dark, hardly any information and unknown assailants—it brought back an onslaught of emotions and fears that I’d pushed into a mental box where I hoped they’d stay.
“Casper, man, breathe. We’ll get her—them—out. We’ve got this,” Bones called out through the headset.
“They’re in this general area. Four girls, eight and nine years old. Roni—” I rubbed my hand against my pant leg.
“Veronica Nash is with them. She’s a Park Ranger in this park. She knows the area well. She wouldn’t just be willy-nilly with the girls’ safety, so whatever happened—We heard shots. Kenz said Roni shot the man. We just have no fucking clue who the man is or why he’s there.” Bones squeezed my shoulder as he spoke.
“We treat the situation as armed and dangerous. We go in, sweep the area, take down the targets, and get everyone out,” I bit out the last words. I was going to get my kid, Roni, and the others out of here. They’d never be in this kind of shit show again. How I could make that promise, I didn’t know, but I’d make it happen.
“Do we call in the Rangers? This is their turf.”
I shook my head. “No time for that. The station in the park is only open until 4:00 pm. We go in and handle this ourselves.”
“We’ll go in teams. Bones, you’re with me. Sliver, Vice, and Toto cover the east. Jumper, Speedy, I want you on the west side. The river trail will be the best way to sneak in without being seen. Be careful, we don’t know enough?—”
“We’ve got this, man. We’ll get them out,” Toto barked into the headpiece. “Get your head in the game, Sarge.”
Nodding, I let out a long breath. He was right. I had to get my mind on the mission and not my worry. No matter how difficult that was at the moment.
When the helo was low enough to the ground, we jumped out and took off toward the trees. I held a hand up, looking out for anything out of the ordinary before using hand signals to let the others know they could head off to their assigned destinations. I was sure anyone in a three-mile radius heard the helo, but since it kept going, maybe, just maybe we had a chance to keep our arrival a surprise.
My phone buzzing against my vest had me halting. Pulling it free, my heart thumped hard enough to hurt.
“Kenzie?” I kept my voice to a whisper.
“Daddy…”
“Baby, we’re coming. What’s happening?”
“I—I had to. I got the girls away. Bree has a hurt arm. She fell…” Her hiccupping cries stirred up something dark I’d been keeping buried down deep. “Roni’s down there…”
“It’s okay, that’s not your fault. Where are you?”
“A big rock on the top of a hill. Behind it. We’re scared, Daddy.”
“Listen to me, baby, please. I need you and the girls to stay there. Can you do that for me? Stay hidden and keep as quiet as possible. We’re here, in the park. Uncle Bobby and I are coming for you. The other guys are here too. We’re going to get you all out of here. Code word: laces. You got it?”
“Got it…just hurry, okay?”
The call ended, and once again, someone’s invisible boot was buried in my gut. I had to pull it together.
“What’s happening, Sarge?”
“Fucking hell!” I slammed my fist against the closest tree to relieve the build-up of utter fear in my chest.
“What’s going on? Talk to me?” Bones got in my face, meeting my gaze.
“Roni’s hurt. Kenz and the girls are hiding behind a big rock on the hill. One of the girls fell, she’s hurt too. This is a cluster fuck.”
“Come on, head in the game,” he said, gripping my helmet. “Let’s get in, put the enemy down, and get them all out.”
I nodded and hit the button on my collar. “Jumper, Speedy, the girls are hiding at the top of a hill by camp. One of them is hurt. Kenz is trying to keep them calm.”
“Copy, Sarge. We’ll get the girls; you and your team focus on camp and your girl.”
“If—when—you find them, don’t spook them. They’ll run like scared rabbits.”
“Or Kenz will brain him with a rock,” Bones muttered.
I had to crack a smile at that. She just might.
“Copy, we’ve got this, man.”
“Tell Kenz your friends of mine. She’ll ask for a code word. It’s laces. Don’t fuck this up.”
If he got my daughter away from danger, I’d give him anything he wanted.
“Roger that.”
We moved through the underbrush and trees silently. We had our night vision goggles on to keep us from breaking our necks. Guns at the ready. We had no idea what we were walking into. It was Deja vu at its finest.
I kept picturing Roni on the ground, unconscious. I’d not let my mind think she was any worse. I couldn’t handle it. This made me wish I’d moved faster in our budding ‘not’ relationship.
The last barbecue we’d had, our families laughing and enjoying the night around us, I’d kissed her. It wasn’t because of alcohol or pure lust. No, it was because she was Roni. I should have told her then that I wanted more, but I’d been afraid that I’d scare her off.
Fucking regret! It was the bane of existence.
Stopping yards from the campsite, I pulled my NVG’s off. The lanterns hanging around the tent gave us just enough light to see. Two men—one squatting down, the other pacing—were talking in rapid Spanish.
I slid behind a tree and listened.
“The Jeep is over there, but the tires are flat. No air, man. What do we do with her? What about David? She killed him!”
“If you hadn’t come back, none of this would have happened! I’ve been out here on my own for three weeks. It’s not until you show up that this happens! Idiots!”
I saw her face when she looked at you. She recognized you. We couldn’t have her saying anything.” He stood, holding out a hand to the older man. “She’s policía.”
“Park Ranger is not police.”
“Sì, policìa para esto—” He waved a hand around them. “What do we do with her?”
“I have a visual—the older man.” Bones’ voice was low in the headset. “That’s Julio Cardozo. He’s wanted for a laundry list of charges. He’s part of the cartel. There could be more people surrounding them. Watch yourself.”
I jerked around, my eyes actually taking in the men at the camp.
“Son of a bitch!” I growled out the words. That motherfucker has been evading us—everyone—for weeks. Dammit! It’s no wonder we couldn’t find him.
I had to keep him alive; he already had a lot to answer for as it was.
The man pacing around had a tattoo on his neck, though it was hard to see. I’d bet my next paycheck that it was the wilted rose with fang marks on the last petal. The Cardozo mark. Pretty stupid to brand yourself, but I was glad they had. Without that tattoo, they may have gotten away with everything.
I pulled my cell out, typing a quick message to Roland Rivera, a fellow Ranger. I gave him a quick rundown. Keeping it to facts only. He needed to call in the cavalry and get ready to load up this maggot.
Bones looked back to where I stood, and I shook my head. I’d explain later. We had more important fish to fry.
“Sarge, we’ve gotten the girls. I repeat, we have the girls. Staying out until it’s clear.”
“Daddy…”
Tears stung my eyes at her voice over the com. “Yeah, baby.”
“Save Roni so we can go home, okay?”
“On it, princess.”
With the knowledge that my daughter was safe, I moved closer to the tree line. I could see Roni’s prone body. She was lying still, but her fingers were twitching. I had a feeling she was just waiting for a chance to react. So why not give her what she wanted?
“Jumper?”
“Yeah, Sarge?”
“No matter what happens next, you keep my daughter up there. You hear me?”
He hesitated before replying, “Copy that.”
I flipped my rifle behind me, quickly shifting from soldier to detective, and pulled my pistol from its sheath. Taking in a deep, calming breath, I said a quick prayer and called out, “Texas Ranger, hands in the air, you’re surrounded!”
The men jumped, both going for the guns on their hips.
Roni, as I suspected, was ready for the distraction.