71. Chapter 71
There was no time to go back to the clubhouse for more gear, so we had to use what we had on us and with us in the vans.
Double checking my guns, extra magazines, and knives one more time, I get out of the van and close the door. Antonio said a service trail on his property would get us close to the north side of Diego’s wing of the estate. He and Mateo decided to go around the front. They had called Lorenzo when we were still at the warehouse, and everything was business as usual in the main section of the house. The plan is that we enter the tunnels through the entrance in Diego’s study, which is in the northern section of the estate. Then, Antonio and Mateo are going to lock all the exits to the tunnels and panic rooms except for the ones we want to be open. Locks that when triggered, only he or Mateo can unlock. They are going to meet up with some of their most trusted men and work from the south toward us. No one will be able to slip by us.
This shit ends tonight.
As we sneak through the property, I give a silent thanks, yet again, to Levi for having bought our fancy ass communication devices. They’ve come in handy in so many fucking times that they’ve already paid for themselves in my mind. Which is a sobering thought.
For the first wave, we had already decided that Ryder, Bear, Bones, Beast, and I would go first. The others will have our back just in case. Once we have the main door secured, the rest will come out from where they’re hiding and join us.
My group makes a break for some shrubs a bit behind where Diego’s goons are guarding the door. I know Smoke is watching with his drone overhead, but it does little to ease my worry about sneaking up on two men from one side. It would have been preferable if we could have been on both sides, but that’s not possible with this layout. Though, hopefully the fact that we’re using dart guns will help in this instance. It’s the quietest and quickest way to take these assholes down. Mateo gave Doc and me as much information as he could about their men, and we think the doses that we came up with will knock Diego’s men out for at least a couple of hours. Of course, we always have our guns with silencers attached to help with noise, but they’re for when push comes to shove. However, a couple of hours should be enough time for us to get them wherever the hell it is that we’re going to question them, though my guess is it’ll be somewhere here in Antonio’s house.
Bear and Beast go first. If the darts don’t knock them out right away, they’ll be able to finish the job the fastest, since they are the biggest of us five.
Thankfully, the darts do the trick without them making a single sound, and we quickly disarm them. I pull out some zip ties, securing the wrists and ankles of goon one while Beast does the same to goon two.
Smoke’s voice filters through our earpieces. “Hallway’s clear. You can lock them in the bathroom. Two doors down and on your left.”
Standing, I drag my guy inside and when we get in the bathroom, we pat them down, pocketing their weapons before taking off their own earpieces, watches, belts, and shoes. Mateo had warned us that their men often hid tools on themselves to get out of situations like these, and we really don’t want them getting away. Grabbing some more zip ties, I loop their wrists together around the base of the toilet and then I hook their ankles together. Tight.
Bones stays behind to guard the assholes as well as to be our backup as he watches us on the monitor. The rest of my brothers that aren’t on perimeter watch enter the now guard-free door to Diego’s wing and meet up with us.
We follow the quickest path that Antonio said would lead us to the tunnels. The entrance is in Diego’s study, and unfortunately, the doors are shut. I press my ear to the door, but I can’t hear anything.
“Move,” Smoke whispers and I back away as he tests the door, but finds it locked.
He slips off his backpack and pulls out a small metal case. My eyebrows go up when he pulls out something that looks like a lock picking kit… but different. He slides the lever into the keyhole, followed by the tricked out-looking pick. Normally, you’d hear each of the pins disengaging, but I can’t hear anything. It’s only when I step a little closer that I hear a very soft little ‘click’ of one of the pins disengaging. I cock an eyebrow at him, but he just smirks and shakes his head. I wonder if this is his invention, one of his buddies from the government, or if this is another Levi surprise?
Smoke puts the kit away and pulls out his tablet. He checks the cameras and there are still four men lazily standing around the room. Lex and Gunner both step forward to look at the men closer on the screen. While all of us are a damn good shot, they are our best marksmen that we brought with us. Since we knew there were four men in this room, our hope is that they’ll be quick enough to dart them and that no one can shout, raising an alarm. Especially since none of us are particularly small and it’d be near impossible to have four large men crowding a doorway without sounding an alarm even sooner. We just wouldn’t fit.
Lex and Gunner step close together and after a beat, they open the door enough that they both can see in and quickly fire.
“Ahh!” one of them cries out and I silently curse, but we knew this was a possibility.
When all four are down, we file into Diego’s study and lock the door behind us. Lex and Gunner are already getting to work securing and disarming the men and I can tell both of them look guilty as fuck that they weren’t quicker.
I walk over and give them chin lifts as I work on securing another guy.
“It’s alright. If any of the rest of us would have done it, I’m betting there would have been more noise.”
While I can tell my words help a little, it doesn’t erase their guilt because they know the men coming for us won’t be packing dart guns.
This just got a whole lot more complicated a little sooner than we would have liked.
“The next three are aware that something is amiss, though our mystery guy is actually trying to persuade the other two that it was nothing,” Bones says through our earpieces.
Well, that’s surprising, but how does he know we’re coming? Is this a trap of some sort?
Shaking off that thought, we finish securing the men, but since there really isn’t much in here to tie them to, we just zip tie their hands to their ankles and move to the entrance. I feel around for the pressure plate Antonio mentioned and then I push in the code he and Smoke created for the club.
The door slides open and I’m once again surprised that the tunnel is actually more like a hallway. Judge stays behind with Loki to guard the men in case they wake up or someone happens upon them. Or if more of Diego’s men come looking for the others.
“As a reminder, go straight, right, left, right, and then you’ll find the assholes. The mystery man is in a fancier suit than Diego’s goons. Use your discretion with him.”
“Any sign of Isaac or Carlos?”
“Not yet, but they could be in one of the few rooms that don’t have much camera coverage. Antonio said there were a couple of storage rooms where the cameras were outside the doors, but not inside. Something he said will be changing after this.”
Looking up at a camera, I nod silently to acknowledge that we heard him and then we creep through the hallways. All too soon, we come up to the junction that will lead us to Diego’s men. Gunner peeks around the corner before whipping back.
“Fuck,” he mouths and then looks around for a camera, raising an eyebrow in question.
“It was mystery man that noticed you. He got the attention of the other two. So far, I think he’s on our side. When I tell you to, Gunner and Lex, you reach around the corner and dart the two, but I think we should wait and see what mystery man says.”
Lex crouches on the ground at Gunner’s feet as they get into position.
“Now!”
Both of them lean around the corner and shoot.
“Ahh! Diego! Car—” one of them cries out before I hear the sound of flesh hitting flesh.
We all round the corner just in time to see one of the goons falling from being hit by our mystery man. He sees us and straightens before holding his hands up.
“I assume you are the Steel Archangel’s MC?”
I narrow my eyes at him and Thor comes up to stand in front of us.
“Who’s asking?”
“Matthew Baker, bodyguard for Miss Alexis Sanchez. I am on your side, as is Miss Sanchez.”
I step forward. “How did you know we’d be here? What are you two doing here?”
“We are here because Mary’s mother has sold her to Alejandro,” he says as he curls his lip. “We are here to ‘escort’ Mary, but we were never going to deliver her to Alejandro. Though Miss Alexis figured you’d show up at some point.”
I thought Eileen’s plan was for X to get Mary before selling her off? Something isn’t right here.
Shouts from down the hall reach us and we immediately slink back so we’re out of sight, guns at the ready.
“Shit! Carlos and Isaac were hiding somewhere down there. Carlos is on his way toward you, but Isaac split off from him and I’ve lost sight of him again.”
“Is Carlos alone?” Thor whispers from behind me. Matthew raises an eyebrow in question, but instead of answering, I just point to my earpiece. He gives me a curt nod as he double checks his weapon.
“No, he has one other man with him and they are both armed. However, Antonio and his men are closer to them and might get to them first. If he comes your way, Patch, you’re in position to be able to dart him when I tell you to.”
“All other hallways are clear?”
“Yes. And it looks like you’re in the clear for now as well. Antonio and his men have confronted Carlos. Ah, it looks like he had Phillip Cole with him.”
I turn toward Matthew, and then to Thor, waiting for his decision.
“Fine, but if you are lying, I’m putting a bullet through you.” Thor pauses as he checks his weapons. “Bones, how does it look in there?”
“Leon, Carmen, Eileen, and Diego are arguing over something, and Alexis is slowly inching her way toward the door that leads to the cells. I still haven’t found Isaac yet.”
Thor repeats the information for Matthew’s sake before he turns toward us. “Lead with the darts, but use your guns if you need to. Just fucking try not to make a kill shot,” he grits out through clenched teeth. “Matthew, do you have another weapon?”
Matthew pulls back the side of his suit coat to reveal another glock holstered at his side. “I also have extra ammo.”
“Since we’re trying to use just darts, you open the door for us on my command.” He looks over his shoulder and continues. “Same formation and don’t get fucking shot.”
We get in place. Thor, Ryder, Bear, Beast, and I ease forward and get into position.
At Thor’s command, Matthew opens the door and we rush in and come to a halt at the same time Bone’s voice comes over the earpiece.
“Fuck…”
And I agree. Fucking Isaac has Mary tied up on the ground in front of us with a gun to the back of her head and Leon, Carmen, Eileen, Diego, and the person who I’m assuming is Alexis Sanchez, all have guns trained on us.
Eileen snarls. “Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in. You’re too late. The transaction has been finalized.” She pauses and smiles smugly. “I guess one positive is that you get to see her fat ass one last time before I ship her off to her new owner.” Eileen runs a manicured nail down Mary’s cheek but Mary jerks away from her touch, glaring at her.
Eileen sneers and backhands her hard enough that the slap echoes in the room. My body goes tight at the sight, but I force myself to not move. I don’t want them to hurt her further.
She looks up to Alexis. “Plans have changed. Get her out of here and deliver her. X will have to come to you for his allotted time with her.”
Aside from a muscle ticking in Alexis’ jaw, you wouldn’t even be able to tell that she has emotions underneath the hard mask that she’s wearing.
I look down at Mary to find her staring up at me, eyes pleading for me to do something. I decide to do the only thing I can right now. Here’s praying I remember the words correctly.
“ Ε?ναι εντ?ξει (It’s okay). E?ναι στο πλευρ? μα? (She’s on our side). Πα?ξτε μαζ?, εντ?ξει (Play along, okay)? Σε αγαπ? (I love you).”
Tears mist in her eyes as she gives a slight nod. “ Κι εγ? σ’ αγαπ? (I love you, too).” Then she cries out as Eileen hits her yet again.
My chest tightens as I’m forced to watch Eileen hurt Mary.
“I told you, Bitch, you are to only speak English! Can’t you learn anything?”
Alexis steps forward and catches Eileen’s hand as she goes in for another strike.
“She is not to be harmed anymore,” Alexis snarls at her and Eileen rips her hand from her grasp before smiling that smug fucking smile at her.
“Then you should have read your contract closer. In the fine print at the end, it says I can punish her however I want to before she’s delivered. I’m the one that shat her out, so I control her pain and blood.”
“Not anymore,” Alexis replies in a rather sweet voice, but then my gaze is drawn down to her hand as she gives a signal.
Matthew is immediately at her side with a gun to Eileen’s temple as he yanks Eileen’s head back by her hair, whereas at the same time, Alexis jams the handle of her gun into Isaac’s temple with enough force to send him crumpling to the ground.
Well, shit.
Warily, I eye Leon, Diego, and Carmen, who seem… pleased with this development?
I shoot an alarmed look at Thor, who ever so slightly nods. He noticed it as well.
What the fuck is going on here?
“Why aren’t you three doing anything?” Eileen screeches. “Why are you just standing there?”
Carmen shrugs. “We let you believe you were in charge, but you weren’t, Eileen. If you weren’t so focused on your own revenge plans, you might have noticed. And maybe you should have taken your own advice and read the fine print of your own contracts.” She saunters forward, a fake, smug smile on her lips. “I have funded you since the very beginning. Everything you have done belongs to me. Every contract you signed, every deal you made, every club you created, every sale you’ve made. All of it leads back to me. If you had read the fine print of every single contract you’ve finalized, you would have realized that you were given authority to act on my behalf , and that was the only authority you were given. The empire that you thought you created for yourself? It’s mine and mine alone. You only get percentages of what’s made.”
Eileen’s eyes blaze with anger as she struggles in Matthew’s hold, who is now restraining her arms behind her back while Alexis holds the gun on Eileen.
“And you?” Eileen spits out at Diego, who just shrugs.
“If you were a man, I would have made you my business partner. You grew my business tenfold, but you’re just a woman.”
Alarm sparks in Carmen’s eyes and before she fully turns, Diego pistol whips her against the cheek and she goes down in a heap.
At the action, my brothers and I all aim at Diego. Even Alexis aims at him, apparently trusting that Matthew has Eileen restrained well enough.
Eileen stares at him in shock and starts sputtering nonsense, but Diego cuts her off.
“Again, you both are woman. Neither of you thought you’d ever be double-crossed. You should have realized who you were dealing with when I aligned us with Oasis. A woman’s place is beneath the men around her,” he sneers at her, which just has her fighting Matthew’s hold even more.
He and Leon share a condescending look. Fuckers think they’re still going to be able to walk out of here.
Diego turns and smirks at me. “So, you’re the pathetic gearhead who has been disrupting our plans all along. You think you have what it takes to take down the next Don of the Vasquez family? You don’t have the guts.
“If he doesn’t, I do.”
Slowly, the smile fades from Diego’s face as it changes to a look of shock as Mateo steps out from behind us, gun raised at him. In an instant, Diego changes as his eyes blaze in anger as he glares at his twin.
Mateo smirks. “What? Didn’t expect that I’d still be alive?”
“You should be dead by now. These imbeciles should have put a bullet in you as soon as we dumped you at their gates. I knew I should have killed you when I had the chance,” he seethes.
Mateo shrugs. “But you didn’t, and here we are.” He pulls the trigger and fires a dart at Diego. Leon’s eyes widen and as he watches the dart fly through the air, he raises his gun, but I fire first, shooting him with a dart as well. He stares dumbly at it for a moment, gun half raised in the air, before crumpling to the floor.
Diego looks down at the dart sticking out of his arm in confusion before groggily looking back up. “Guess you didn’t have the guts after all.”
The look Mateo gives Diego sends chills down my spine as Mateo reveals a side of him I’ve yet to see. Diego’s face pales.
“Your fun is only just beginning.”
Diego’s eyes roll back as he crumples to the floor.
Ryder, Bear, and Beast step forward and start securing the others with zip ties.
Striding toward Mary, I pull out my knife and start cutting her ropes around her ankles and then her hands.
“You came. You actually came,” she cries and when her arms are free, she wraps them around my neck. Instantly, I can tell she’s freezing as I can feel her hard nipples and since I know she doesn’t wear a bra to bed, I pull back. Taking off my cut, I shirk out of my hoodie before pulling it down over her head.
‘Thank you,’ she mouths as she makes sure it’s down all the way and then pulls her hair through. I cup her cheek and her eyes mist over.
“Of course, I came for you, Siren. I love you, you’re my Old Lady.”
“But…”
I put my finger to her lips, silencing her. “We thought we had a mole in the clubhouse. You know I’d never keep you from your family.”
Tears roll down her face as relief fills her eyes, and I wipe her tears away with my thumb.
“I thought you were distancing yourself to get rid of me and the kids after this was done. You all were so distant. It was so weird.”
“Siren, I’m so sorry. I guess we were all just so stressed about pulling this off right that we kind of ignored everyone else. I’m so sorry, Mary. And I never want you or the kids to leave—you’re my heart. I can’t live without you.”
Leaning down, I kiss her and fuck do I wish we were somewhere else because I need to do a whole lot more than kiss her right now. If she was doubting me, I need to remind her what she means to me.
Suddenly, she pulls away, pointing behind her. “Claudia and Cici are in one of the cells. Cici was just waking up when Isaac came through a secret walkway and I think Claudia needs help. It was hard to tell for sure without my glasses, but I think they starved her or something. She sounded so weak. Also, six of de mi abuelo (my grandpa’s) men are in a cell, too.”
“We know, Siren. Antonio gave Smoke access to his cameras. It’s how we knew who all was here and where they were. We’ll get them the care they need.”
I help her up and she leans against me.
“So, what now?” she asks before looking over at Alexis and frowns.
Alexis steps forward. “As you’ve probably heard, I am Alexis Sanchez and yes, my father is, unfortunately, Alejandro Sanchez.” Mary’s body tenses in my arms and when Alexis notices, she gives Mary a soft smile. “Don’t worry, the plan was never to deliver you to my father. We were going to get you out and then call the club to have them ‘intercept’ us. However, now, I think I will need to take my FBI contact up on his offer for WITSEC. I know my father has his suspicions already, but after this, he’ll know for sure.”
Matthew steps forward. “You know the men and I will follow you wherever to ensure your safety.”
She smiles affectionately at him. “I know, Matty. Don’t worry, it’ll all work out.”
Smoke steps forward, frowning. “Who is your FBI contact?”
“Weber. Agent Creed Weber.”
“Well, it just so happens I’ve got a shit ton of information to talk to him about. Come, we can tell him about your situation first. I’m sure he’ll want to know about how we ended up at the same place anyway.” He turns to Antonio, who just walked in. “Can we use the control room to the east of here?”
Antonio tips his head. “ Sí (Yes), of course.”
Alexis pauses and turns toward me, then Mary, and finally to Thor. “Just so you know, beware of Dr. Olsen in town. Oasis has brought him and his daughter on as new suppliers for their drug, Aphrodite’s Kiss. My father also utilizes him from time to time to get certain drugs to make his victims more compliant.” With that, she turns and leaves the room as if she hasn’t just dropped another bomb on us. Smoke shakes himself out of his shock and follows after her.
Rage fills me at what these assholes have been doing and how close Mary came to them not that long ago. Over her head, Thor and I share a look. We’ll definitely be taking care of those two.
They leave and when Antonio comes over to us, Mary leans away from me to hug him.
“I’m so glad you are safe, mi precioso capullo de rosa (my precious rosebud). I’m so sorry that this happened to you and in my own home.”
She shakes her head as she pulls back. “It’s okay, Abuelo (Grandpa). None of this is your fault. It’s theirs,” she says as she gestures to the prone figures of her ex-family and Leon.
Antonio nods, but I can tell he’s going to be blaming himself for a long time.
Stepping back, he turns to Thor. “It’s late, or I should say early since it’s just after dawn, and I figured you would all like to be present for our little talk with everyone. Would tonight work for you? Let them sit and stew for a while?”
Thor smirks and after we both share a look, he nods.
“Tonight will be perfect. I take it you want to handle things here?”
Antonio’s lips purse. “Yes. We need to handle the final blow family style as well as the handling of the bodies.”
“Then we’ll bring our guests to you. I’m sure you have further questions for them.”
My chest aches for Antonio and when Mary leans further into me, I know she’s feeling it as well. Two of his children, his grandson, and his wife, will not live to see another sunrise.