Chapter 19
Chapter nineteen
Lex landed Spitfire on Isla Esperanza’s small, dirt runway, and Xander squeezed Essie’s hand.
Outside the window, he saw an SUV and a group of armed men already waiting.
No weapons would be allowed, but that hadn’t stopped him from hiding a switchblade in his boot.
He was nothing if not consistent with his chosen hidden weapon of choice.
It had come in handy far too many times.
“Let’s do this.” Xander led Essie up the aisle, and Lex stepped out of the cockpit.
Each man placed a tiny comms unit in his ear.
They’d decided it was best not to give one to Essie.
If Barrera discovered it, he might get suspicious and search her further.
And they couldn’t let him find her tracker.
It was Xander’s only connection to her once she left his side after the exchange.
“Hey, Essie, I don’t suppose you have a sister, do you?” Lex asked, all nonchalant charm. “Since it looks like I’m the last man standing, I figured maybe I should see what all the fuss is about.” He sent her a megawatt smile and Xander narrowed his eyes. Alexander Battle was a ridiculous flirt.
“Um, no, sorry.”
“Find your own woman, Battle,” Xander murmured in annoyance. “Now open the damn door.”
With a chuckle, Lex lifted the handle, swinging the door open. A set of stairs had been set up already, and five men holding machine guns waited at the bottom. “Vamos!” A man with a serpent neck tattoo motioned for them to come down.
The moment their feet hit the dusty runway, several soldiers patted each of them down. “All clear,” they reported.
Xander kept his face straight, inwardly thrilled they’d missed his knife. Just like the last time. Amateurs.
“You two, follow me,” Serpent ordered. “The pilot stays here.”
Xander met Lex’s look and gave an imperceptible nod. Already their plan was deviating, but Xander had figured they wouldn’t allow Lex to tag along. Being one man down wasn’t ideal, but on the plus side, they also knew no one would be tampering with their escape route.
Turning away from the plane, he and Essie followed four of the men over to the SUV. The other stayed to keep an eye on Lex.
They climbed into the backseat, and Xander was relieved that the drive to the Barrera house was quick. He didn’t like the way Barrera’s men were openly ogling Essie. Putting his knife in one of their eyes wouldn’t be the smartest way to launch their surprise attack.
The island wasn’t very big, and Essie had said it had been her family’s private getaway. She and her siblings had been born into wealth and privilege. But apparently, that hadn’t been enough for José, and his greed and lust for power had spiraled after Fernando Lazaro took him under his wing.
The SUV turned into a long driveway lined with palm trees and other exotic foliage.
Tropical flowers bloomed and jungle creatures chattered.
A warm breeze blew through the open windows.
He couldn’t see much of the approaching house through the dense landscape, but when they broke free and slowed to a stop, he did a doubletake.
“I thought you said it was a little summer house,” he murmured, and she shrugged a delicate shoulder.
Calling it “a house” didn’t do the place justice.
It was a mansion, one reminiscent of something you’d see in New Orleans’s Garden District.
Painted a light pink, the home looked deceptively welcoming.
A decorative, wrought iron balcony wrapped around the second level, adorned with hanging potted ferns.
The perfect spot to enjoy an ice-cold drink while the paddle fans above spun lazily.
But there wouldn’t be any time to sit in the shade and sip iced tea. The clock was ticking, both on their rescue and extraction mission, and Barrera’s life.
The men led them inside and straight to a large sunroom.
More plants, comfortable-looking furniture and lots of light made it pleasant.
Another inviting area to lounge. Xander could imagine sitting there with a book and a glass of fine whiskey.
Not that he’d ever had the time to actually do something so leisurely.
No, his dangerous line of work constantly kept him on the move and looking over his shoulder.
Hell, he’d be lucky if he made it to his golden years still in one piece.
“Where are my brothers?” Essie demanded, placing her hands on her hips.
Xander’s lips twitched. His Latina spitfire had just announced herself. As sweet as Essie was, she possessed a spark of wildfire in her soul that he admired and adored. One he would gladly let consume him.
“Essie!” A boy ran into the room and threw himself into her arms. Xander knew it could only be Tomás. They hugged each other hard, and he noticed how Essie checked him over.
“Are you okay?” she asked, hands on his arms, searching his face. “No one hurt you, right?”
“No, I’m fine. Why would anyone hurt me?”
Before she could respond, José Barrera himself walked in to join them, flanked by Manuel and Joaquín Cardenas.
Xander tensed, hands curling into fists, his gaze clashing with Barrera’s.
As usual, the drug kingpin wore a fancy suit and far too much gold jewelry.
Clenching his back molars, Xander fought the urge to grab Barrera’s silk tie, wrap it around his neck and strangle the sonofabitch until his eyes popped from his skull.
“It’s a family reunion,” Barrera murmured, and Essie glared at him over Tomás’s head.
Holding himself in check, Xander looked from one sibling to the next, unable to deny a family resemblance.
They all had dark hair and eyes, shared facial features and structure, but that’s where the similarities ended.
Essie and Tomás had an innocence and warmth about them.
José? All he exuded was cold calculation.
Essie’s hands held onto her younger brother’s shoulders, and Xander didn’t miss the protective gesture.
Hell, he wanted to do the same to her. But he couldn’t allow José to know just how important his sister had become to him.
Not long ago, he’d vowed to kill them all.
And that was what he still wanted José to believe.
“And then there’s you, Hawke.” José sent him a hard smile.
“Please explain to me how you and my dear, virtuous sister left together. Did you force her to aid your escape?” He turned his attention to Essie, eyes narrowing.
“Or did she go quite willingly? Maybe even instigate the whole thing? I’m dying of curiosity. ”
Oh, you’ll be dying alright.
Keeping his emotions locked down, Xander bit his tongue and sank his nails into his palms.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Essie asked. “You were going to force me into a marriage I didn’t want.”
“And now here we are again.” José made a tsk tsk tsk sound. “Be more respectful to your future husband, hermana. I wouldn’t blame him if he decided to teach you a lesson.”
The Cardenas brothers smirked. “We know how to inflict punishment while keeping the scars well-hidden,” Manuel assured them.
“Wise not to ruin her beauty,” Barrera agreed.
“Let’s get on with the exchange,” Xander interrupted. If he heard one more remark about them hurting Essie, his carefully maintained control would snap.
Essie pulled her younger brother in for another hug, her hand reaching up to lightly squeeze the back of his neck as she whispered something in his ear. Then she straightened up and gave him a little nudge toward Xander.
Before he could safely navigate to Xander’s side, José reached for Tomás, pulling him back. “I’ve decided things aren’t going to happen the way Mitchell Evans wants,” Barrera sneered. “If it were up to me, I would’ve slit that bastard’s throat when Lazaro imprisoned him last year.”
No one moved. Was Xander surprised Barrera was changing the plan? Hell no. He’d expected it. That’s why Essie had just stuck a tiny tracker on the back of Tomás’s neck, right beneath his collar. His team would extract them both while Xander dealt with Barrera.
“Tomás stays here, with me. Estrella, you go with them.” He tipped his head toward the Cardenas brothers, then nodded to one of his men who immediately escorted Tomás from the room.
“That wasn’t the deal,” Xander pretended to be pissed.
Jesus, Barrera is so predictable.
They’d all assumed he would do exactly what he was doing. Renege on his word like the lying, sneaky bastard he consistently proved to be.
“Is the boat ready?” Manuel asked Joaquín.
Boat? Xander’s head swiveled over to the brutal brothers. What fucking boat?
“The captain said he’s ready when we are,” Joaquín confirmed. Then he reached for Essie, yanking her between them. Xander didn’t miss the slightly panicked look that crossed her face. “We’re going to have so much fun breaking you in, nenita.”
Motherfucking sonofafucker. It took every ounce of his strength not to launch himself at the disgusting duo and crack their skulls together. Xander hated how the asshole was touching Essie, and he itched to break every one of his fingers.
Keep it together, he warned himself. Things were going to shit fast, but the first opportunity he had, he’d report back to his team. They would reset on the fly, divide and conquer, getting both Essie and Tomás.
But looking now at Essie with her head held so high, doing her best to be brave, sent Xander into a fucking tailspin. He didn’t want her alone with those bastards for one goddamn minute. But he had to stick to the mission. Kill Barrera. Get revenge. Save his girl.
“You’ll finally prove your worth, Estrella, and embrace your fate.” Barrera’s lips curved into a smug smile. “By uniting our families. Once the Barrera Cartel is formed, I’ll be able to crush the Villarreals.” His obsidian eyes filled with a vengeance so palpable it radiated from him.
Xander took an unsteady step back as the ugly look on Barrera’s face hit him like a brick to his head. Or like he was looking at his own twisted reflection. Is that how I look? Like a monster, consumed with nothing more than rage and revenge?
He’d been willing to give up everything in his tenacious pursuit of vengeance.
But now, for the first time, he considered what his baby sister would want.
Wherever she was, certainly some kind of heaven, had she been looking down at him the way Xander was now staring at Barrera?
With contempt. Disgust. Knowing he was beyond redemption.
His gut churned. It was the last thing he’d want. All this time, holding on to his anger had been like clutching a thorn—it only hurt him. As the fog of vengeance clouding his head began to lift, Xander knew what he had to do.
Only one thing truly mattered.
If he was going to die, it wouldn’t be while trying to kill José Barrera. It would be while protecting Essie.
The woman Xander was falling madly in love with.
Essie tried to remain calm and subdue her panic when José ordered two of his men to haul Xander away. Then he moved closer, focusing on her. “Leave us,” he told the Cardenas brothers without so much as a glance in their direction.
They silently exited, and other than one guard, she was alone with José.
“You’re lucky I don’t kill you for disobeying me, hermana.”
She lifted her chin, trying to appear strong, but fear nipped at her. What if Xander and his friends couldn’t save her little brother? Desperation clung to her. “Promise me you won’t hurt Tomás.”
He shrugged. “We live in a dangerous world, Estrella.” His passive, unfeeling tone sent terror careening through her. “Anything could happen to poor Tomás.”
“Send him back to school,” she pleaded. “Tomás has done nothing. He isn’t a threat to you—”
“Everyone is a threat to me,” he hissed, swooping in close until they were practically nose to nose.
His black eyes churned with hate, and a shiver ran down her spine.
“Everyone is jealous of what I’ve accomplished.
All they want is to steal my empire. But I won’t let that happen. It’s mine. All fucking mine.”
“You are the devil!”
He tossed his head back and laughed. “Oh, Estrella. Always so pious. More devoted to her saints and angels than a nun. Every day, down on her knees, saying her prayers.” His lips curved up, twisting his features into an ugly mask.
“I’m sure the Cardenas brothers will enjoy having you on your knees. ”
Essie slapped him across the face. Faster than a striking snake, José grabbed the side of her neck and drove her down to the floor. She cried out when her kneecaps slammed into the hard wood. “You need to learn some respect.”
Staring up at him, unable to move because of how he held her, she gasped as his fingers dug deeper, bruising her skin. “You’re a monster.”
“I’m the most powerful monster you will ever meet, hermana.” He sent her a chilling smile. Then he grabbed her necklace and ripped it off.
No! It had the tracker on it. The cross was the only way Xander and his team would be able to find her. She made a grab for it, but he pulled it out of her reach, dangling it between them.
“I never understood why you wasted so much time praying to a higher power when I’m the one with all the sovereignty and influence. The one who always held your fate in his hands. You should’ve been worshipping me, hermana. Begging me for mercy.”
“Please. Give it back.”
Instead, he threw it across the room. Essie’s heart fell, along with her hope of ever seeing Xander again.
“I think I’ll melt it down. Add it to my pile of gold.”
“José, please—”
“Time to go, Estrella. Your groom is waiting.” He grabbed her wrist and tugged her toward a future she wanted no part of. One far away from the man she was falling for so completely that it should’ve scared her. But it didn’t. Not even a little.
Xander Hawke may be a moody, brooding man who tended to be more than a little bossy, but she preferred him exactly the way he was.
He encouraged her to be herself. Accepted every single part of her, even the flawed pieces—just as she accepted him.
She refused to let their story end when it was just beginning.
José dragged her out of the sunroom, and she dug her heels in, trying to twist away.
“Is there a problem?” Manuel asked, eyeing her struggle to break free.
“My sister can be a bit strong-willed,” José ground out, squeezing her wrist so hard, she let out a pained yelp.
“We will teach her submission,” Joaquín promised.
No, no, no. Essie swallowed hard, wishing she could unsee the way the brothers exchanged wolfish looks. Like they couldn’t wait to tear her apart and eat her up.
She had to get her necklace. It was her only way back to Xander. The only way she could escape her hellish fate. And maybe find one she never knew she wanted but now couldn’t imagine living without.