Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
It was official. Bree was seasick. She felt awful.
Escaping was the last thing she was thinking about.
Since she no longer had anything in her belly, all she could do was dry heave…
which might’ve been a blessing in disguise, because her captors wanted nothing to do with her. She was grossing them out.
They left her alone, for the most part. Preferring to stay out of the small cabin where her cage was located, which now smelled like vomit and body odor.
To her surprise, they’d also left her water, which was more than they’d done for her and the others when they were in that damn truck filled with chickens.
But she couldn’t even really appreciate it much.
She tried to drink, but it usually came right back up.
Bree was weak, disoriented, and so sick of being on this boat, she was actually looking forward to when they arrived in Ecuador.
And that was just sad, because arriving in the country meant her suffering would really start.
Mateo would be there, and he probably wouldn’t care that she was seasick.
The only thing that kept Bree from completely giving up was the thought of Smiley.
And of Fiona and Julie being rescued. She had no way of knowing that they’d gotten away, but given the way the men who’d beaten her had been acting, and the snippets of conversation she’d been able to translate, they seemed scared shitless to see Mateo.
And she hoped that meant the other women hadn’t been found.
Surely the SEALs would’ve gotten to them by now. Maybe Julie and Fiona had found someone who’d let them use a phone, and they were able to call Wolf, or Tex, or somebody to come get them. The thought made Bree smile, even though it hurt her face to do so.
She was swollen and bruised all to hell.
Maybe her appearance would be a turn-off to Mateo’s employees.
Then she huffed out an exasperated breath.
No, it wouldn’t. Men who had no problem sexually assaulting women being held against their will wouldn’t give a shit if said woman was covered in bruises or begging for them to leave her alone.
They’d take what they wanted, damn the consequences.
Turning her mind away from that, Bree’s stomach tightened once more as they dropped off another big wave, and she began to dry heave again.
She was a mess. Tears leaked out of her eye that wasn’t swollen shut and rolled down her cheek.
Right about now, she’d kill for a toothbrush. And for the room to stop rocking.
Time had no meaning. Bree had no idea how long she’d been on the boat, or how much longer they had to go.
She could only close her eyes and pray this torture would be over soon.
Of course, she had to be careful what she wished for…
because what was waiting for her on dry land was most likely a hundred times worse than what she was experiencing right now.
Not able to wrap her mind around the fact that she could ever feel worse than she did right now, Bree did the only thing she was capable of at the moment. She closed her good eye, curled into a ball, and prayed to sleep. To escape the hell she was in. Even if just for a moment.
Smiley was nervous. No, he was internally freaking out. He and Kevlar were in Ecuador. The city of Guayaquil, to be precise. It was where Tex thought Castillo would most likely be waiting for Bree. But if he was wrong…
Smiley didn’t want to even think about that possibility.
Guayaquil was the largest city in the country, with about two-point-two million inhabitants.
But it was also where most of the import and export trade was conducted.
It was home to the country’s chief port, where the majority of the ships entered and exited.
Making it ideal for Castillo. It was likely many of the workers had been given bribes to ignore anything illegal they might see or hear.
Port Guayaquil itself was responsible for ninety percent of the commercial flow that affected the national economy, but there were also other, smaller seaports and marinas. They had no way of knowing where the boat Bree was on would be docking.
When Smiley and Kevlar had arrived, it was almost three in the morning, and they’d met up with Tex’s contact, waiting for them outside of customs as promised.
The man didn’t speak much, simply nodded at them and led them out to his truck.
As he drove them through the city, it was obvious the country was in the middle of a crisis.
Men with rifles openly prowled the dark streets and signs of recent violence were everywhere. Very few people were out and about, owing to the late hour…and likely the state of nervousness from civilians.
Their contact drove into an underground parking area beneath a large building, after someone appeared out of nowhere to pull back a metal gate.
Smiley had the thought that it was possible he and Kevlar would disappear themselves, become a casualty of the violence the nation was facing, but at that moment, he’d take his chances.
He’d risk anything for a chance at finding Bree.
The man got out of the vehicle and led them through a door. The hallway they entered was dark, and Smiley couldn’t help feeling uneasy. But nothing happened, other than their contact opening another door and gesturing for them to enter.
Inside the room was a virtual treasure trove of weapons.
“Choose,” the man told them.
Kevlar and Smiley didn’t waste time. They found serrated knives that they immediately strapped to their thighs by the included holsters.
Pistols went in every available pocket, and they slung as many rifles over their shoulders as they could carry.
They needed enough weapons for both themselves and the rest of the team, when they arrived.
And if the men on the streets were any indication, they’d need all the firepower they could get.
Their escort nodded at their choices, then picked up a crate Smiley had noticed when he’d been inspecting the weapons. It was full of ammunition, which was also vital if they were forced to storm Castillo’s compound.
From what Tex had shown them, Castillo had set up his operation in the jungle.
The closest city was Coca, which had a small airport.
If they weren’t able to find Bree in Guayaquil, Tex had already arranged for a flight to the Francisco de Orellana Airport.
From there, they’d trek to Castillo’s compound.
Smiley wasn’t looking forward to heading into the jungle, but he’d literally go to hell and back if it meant finding Bree.
Once they had as many weapons as they could carry, they were led back to the parking garage toward what looked like a freaking tank.
It was an SUV on steroids. The tires were larger than normal, and Smiley realized the outside had been reinforced with steel plates.
Someone had outfitted this vehicle to withstand almost anything.
He was impressed.
They swiftly loaded the weapons, their bags, the ammunition, and a large crate of food.
Smiley wasn’t sure what their contact thought they’d be doing or how long they’d be gone, but he wasn’t going to complain about the latter.
Neither he nor Kevlar had stopped to eat since arriving in Ensenada.
They’d been too focused on searching the shipyard, then planning and trying to anticipate where Castillo’s boat would make landfall.
It would be easier—from a human trafficking standpoint—to come into the country at a small city like Manta, travel to Quito, then to Coca from there.
But Guayaquil had the benefit of being a city of unrest at the moment.
Castillo likely had connections who would look the other way when an unwilling woman, or women, were unloaded from a boat.
For all Smiley and Kevlar knew, Castillo had arranged for a few others to be picked up on their way south. There was no telling how many women he may have kidnapped for his nefarious purposes.
Just as they were done loading the vehicle, the sound of the metal gate opening had both Smiley and Kevlar whipping around, each with a hand on the pistols at their hips. But since their escort didn’t seem surprised at the van arriving, Smiley did his best not to jump to conclusions.
When the doors opened and the rest of his team hopped out, Smiley was incredibly relieved.
Blink made a beeline for them—and shocked the hell out of him by pulling Smiley into a long, tight hug. Then he pulled back, grasped his shoulders, locked eyes with him and said, “We’re going to get her back. She’s ours, and no fucker is going to take what’s ours.”
Some people might’ve questioned Blink’s choice of words, but Smiley was having a hard time keeping control over his emotions. He’d felt the same way about Josie when she’d disappeared. About all his friends’ women. They were as much a part of his family as his team.
“Thanks,” he choked out.
Then the rest of the guys were there. They’d circled around, and all of them had at least one hand on him.
His shoulder. His back. His arm. No one said anything, but their support at that moment was what Smiley needed.
Together, no one was better than their team.
They’d been through hell and made it through to the other side.
They would find Bree and kill that motherfucking Castillo so he couldn’t ruin any other women’s lives.
“Pistols and knives are in the SUV,” Kevlar said after a long moment.
Safe, MacGyver, and Flash nodded at Smiley, then turned their attention to the vehicle. Once everyone was armed, they piled inside.
“Where to first?” Safe asked.