Chapter Three #3
I hold her tighter and start moving toward the stairs, stepping over bodies and shell casings as the rest of the team fans out around us.
Sin stays close, scanning for signs of another wave, while Mace, Koa, and Nitro clear the path ahead.
Ghost’s voice crackles faintly through the comms, confirming the rooftop is still secure, but even that doesn’t quiet the storm still rolling inside me.
Clover’s fingers toy lazily with the chain around my neck, her body warm against mine, head tucked under my jaw like it’s the safest place in the world. She brushes a kiss to my collarbone, featherlight, then trails her lips up the side of my throat until I feel her breath against my ear.
“You’re my hero,” she whispers.
I tighten my grip around her, unable to stop the rush of emotion that hits me. Her voice is soft now, less manic, more slurred, and there’s something about the way she says it that lodges deep in my chest and refuses to move.
I press a kiss to her temple, holding her close as we step out of that room and into whatever comes next.
“No, Clover,” I whisper against her skin. “I’m not a hero. I’m your husband.”
We reach the warehouse corridor, the midday air beginning to bleed through broken slats of steel as we close in on the exit.
Clover rests in my arms, her body limp with exhaustion, her breath warm against my throat.
She murmurs something incoherent, fingers still tangled in my chain, and presses another kiss to the side of my neck, like it’s the only thing grounding her.
The others close in behind us. Sin to my left, Mace, Nitro, and Koa forming a perimeter.
That’s when we see him.
A twitch. A groan. One of the Cartel soldiers slumped near a collapsed beam, half in shadow, his body riddled with shrapnel, but still breathing.
Sin doesn’t hesitate. He drops to a crouch, reaches into his gear, and pulls out a small capped syringe filled with amber fluid.
“What is that?” I ask, shifting Clover slightly to keep her covered but alert.
“Same shit they gave her,” Sin replies grimly, thumbing the cap off. “Truth serum. Figured we can return the favor.”
He plunges the needle into the man’s neck without fanfare, pressing down the plunger slowly until every last drop disappears.
The man groans, muscles twitching. He tries to roll, then slumps against the wall again, eyes fluttering open, unfocused and bloodshot.
“Give it a minute,” Sin mutters, rising.
I crouch down beside the Cartel soldier, my voice steady. “Start talking.”
The soldier laughs weakly. “You gonna offer me a cigarette first? Maybe some water?” His words slur at the edges, the drug already beginning to unwind his defenses.
“No,” Sin says behind me. “You don’t get kindness. You get questions. And if you want a painless death, I suggest you start cooperating.”
The man breathes heavily, swallowing hard. “I’m not gonna say nothing to you cabróns.”
Sin chuckles, tilting his head. “Sure, sure… and ah, who do you work for?”
The guy smiles brightly, his eyes glassing over, the serum clearly kicking in.
“Oh, I know this one. Javier Rojas.” His eyes widen, and he sits taller.
“Shit, no, I don’t.” He grimaces like he is trying to hold it in, but then he bursts out.
“Ahhh, that was a lie. I do work for Javier, and he’s a real fucking asshole!
Sheesh, that was actually really liberating to say. ”
I smirk at Sin as he waves his hand through the air at me to take the lead now that this guy is plastered up and ready to roll. “So, Javier, we know he’s planning something big, right? Where is his main operation?”
The guy purses his lips like he is trying to fight the urge to talk, but then he spits it out, “It’s in the prison,” he murmurs, blinking slowly. “That’s where they keep them. Where it aaall happens.”
Sin shifts closer, crouching again. “Keep going. What happens in the prison?”
The man gives a half laugh, his head tipping back against the wall. “You think the prison’s the bad part?” he mumbles. “The real shit! That’s buried beneath it. No cameras. No records. Atlas made sure of that.” Then he suddenly bursts out laughing, the serum hitting full force.
But that name slams into me like a blow.
Atlas?
“What did you say?” I ask, my voice quieter now, tighter as Clover continues to run her fingers all over like she’s tracing lines on my skin in her high state.
The man chuckles, unaware of the punch he just threw.
“Atlas wasn’t just part of it, he helped design the whole damn system.
Before he died, he laid the groundwork from the inside.
Delivered the drugs. Used the adult birds to distribute them among the female inmates.
Not just to get them hooked, but to keep them numb.
Obedient. Easy to control.” He relaxes back against the wall, quietly chuckling to himself as he continues, “It turned them into walking wombs.”
I stare at him, my pulse roaring in my ears. “Atlas ran the prison drug trade?”
He nods, a lazy, floaty motion. “Yeah. He laid the groundwork. Rhonda picked up where he left off. She’s in charge now. She runs the lower levels. Schedules the visits.”
“What visits?” Sin demands.
The soldier’s smile slips, just a little. His eyes flicker like he wants to stop talking, but the serum won’t let him. “They bring in men,” he says softly. “Powerful ones. Politicians. CEOs. Judges. Big names. They all pay Javier to gain access to women. To… impregnate them.”
Clover shifts in my arms, frowning in her hazed-out state.
“What the fuck did you just say?” My stomach turns.
He breathes out a laugh that sounds closer to a sob. “It’s an organized breeding program. The inmates are kept drugged so they’re easier to manipulate. Rhonda oversees the logistics. Tracks who’s pregnant. Then the babies are taken.”
“To who?” I ask through gritted teeth.
He looks at me like I’m missing the obvious. “To The Nest… dah!”
Sin stiffens beside me, at the same time I go completely still.
“They only want the females,” the man continues, the words coming too easily now. “They’re taken at birth. Sent to the camps. Raised in isolation. Conditioned for obedience. Submission. Total control.”
“And the male children?” I ask, though I am pretty sure I already know.
His voice is barely audible as he sinks against the wall. “They’re useless to the system. They don’t get trained. They get… disposed of.”
His smile flickers again, but he can’t hold back his laugh. “Fuck! Why am I saying this? I don’t want to say this. But it just keeps coming. I can’t stop. And it feels so fucking good. I’ve been holding this in for years, and now it’s just pouring out.”
“You’re confessing to a nightmare,” I snap. “And laughing through it.”
“I k-know,” he says, his voice cracking. “I hate it. I hate myself. But it’s so light, like my chest is hollow. Like I can breathe for the first time in years.”
Sin steps forward, expression unreadable. “Is that everything? Everything we need to know about the prison? Is there anything else we need to know about Javier?”
“I told you everything I know,” the soldier says, nodding rapidly. “I swear. It’s all true. Atlas started it. Rhonda runs it. The Nest profits from it. It’s all there. Hidden in plain sight.”
I rise to my feet slowly, shifting Clover higher in my arms. “Then you’re done.”
Sin doesn’t say a word. He simply raises his pistol, aims cleanly, and pulls the trigger. The sound is quick and sharp, then the soldier’s body slumps to the side. Blood pools beneath him.
Clover giggles in my arms, her voice skittish, but sweet. “Whoa. That was so loud. Did his brain just pop?”
Sin glances at me, his brow raising. “She’s still high.”
“Yeah,” I mutter, adjusting my grip on her. “We need to get out of here before she starts asking to keep a body as a souvenir.”
“Phoenix?” she whispers, her voice curling up like cotton candy. “Can you carry me forever? This is super cozy.”
Sin exhales and pulls out his phone. “You call Maverick yet?”
I wince. “Not yet.”
“You might want to rip that Band-Aid off fast.”
I nod, knowing that my cell has been blowing up for the last hour with a crazy amount of missed calls from Maverick. So I swipe to return his call. Sin steps closer and hits the speaker button before I can stop him.
It rings once.
Twice.
Then Maverick answers, “Phoenix,” he snaps, his voice already tight. “What the fuck happened?” he growls. “Clover’s heart rate’s been spiking for hours. The tracker went crazy. I’ve been calling nonstop. What the hell is going on?”
Letting out a long breath, I figure it’s best to just tell him straight. “She was taken from the hotel this morning. The Cartel… Javier’s guys. They drugged and grabbed her while I was out getting us breakfast. So, I called Sin. We handled it.”
“You handled it?” Maverick explodes, his voice thundering through the speaker. “You’re telling me someone kidnapped my sister, my fucking sister, and instead of calling me, you played goddamn vigilante? Are you out of your fucking mind?”
“I had to move,” I state. “There wasn’t time—”
“There was time,” he shouts. “There was time to call me. I should have been there. I should have at least known.”
Clover giggles in my arms, her finger coming up to trace the frown lines on my face. “He sounds mad. He should take a chill pill.”
I glare at Clover as Maverick huffs down the line, “A chill pill? A fucking chill pill, Clover! How’s this for chill?
You’re not safe in Las Vegas if the fucking Cartel is coming after you there.
Phoenix, I want you to pack your shit and get your asses back home here to LA, where I can keep a fucking eye on my sister.
Because Lord knows you clearly can’t protect her. ”
Gritting my teeth, I keep my cool because I understand he’s angry, and my guilt of not protecting her is definitely kicking in right now. “All right. I’m bringing her home. We’ll pack up and head out as soon as we can.”
Sin cuts in calmly, “Hey, Mav, it’s Sin. We’ll send an escort. Two brothers riding tail. They’ll be protected. You have my word, brother.”
Maverick goes quiet for a moment, but he’s distinctly still breathing hard. “Good,” he finally grumbles, voice cold. “Because if anything else happens on the drive home, I swear to God, I will kill you myself, Phoenix. And it’s not an idle threat this time. You hear me? I trusted you.”
“You can still trust me,” I tell him, meaning it with every part of me.
Clover, still curled against my chest, lifts her head slightly. “Hey, Mav, you’re my favorite brother,” she says dreamily. “Oh, and did I tell you? Phoenix and I totally got married by Elvis. I’m a wife, and Phoenix is really good in bed.”
My eyes widen, my breath catches as Clover giggles through her fucking delirium.
We haven’t told Maverick about us getting married.
He knew we were together, but definitely not about the marriage, and I’m sure he did not want to know about me fucking his sister.
Maverick doesn’t reply.
He just growls down the line and ends the call.
Oh fuck!
Sin whistles low under his breath. “You’re gonna need more than an apology when you get home.”
“Yeah.” I sigh, adjusting Clover again as she giggles, planting kisses against my neck. “Thanks for your help, Sin. But I need to get us the hell outta Vegas.”