Chapter 9 #2
The men were much stronger than she was. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t work herself free. They only tightened their hold on her until she was certain they would break her arms. She’d have bruises where they’d held her.
One man lifted a metal latch, opened the door, and together, the two men shoved her inside.
As soon as she got her feet beneath her, she scrambled toward the door and pushed against it.
She was too late. The door closed, the latch slid into place and she was trapped in a dark, cool cell beneath a killer’s lair.
“Where’s my daughter?” Dwayne Neal asked as soon as Chase, Trevor and Carson entered the hotel room without Alana.
“Have a seat, Mr. Neal,” Chase said.
“I will not sit. I demand to know what you’ve done with Alana.” He stood his ground, his face a mottled red, his brow deeply furrowed. “Where’s my daughter?”
“Oh, my God.” Gina’s eyes filled with tears, and she walked into Carson’s arms. “He got her, didn’t he?”
Chase nodded. “The cab driver took off with Alana before any of us could get into the vehicle with her.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket, preparing to dial the only man he could think of who could help.
“What are you talking about?” Mr. Neal asked. “Why did the cab driver take off with her? Where did he take her? Who has my daughter?” He stalked across the room, grabbed Chase by the collar and got in his face. “I want answers. Now!”
Chase held stock-still. He understood the man’s rage. He deserved it. “Mr. Neal, your daughter has most likely been taken by Raul Delgado, the leader of the Jalisco cartel here in Cabo.”
“The leader of a cartel has my daughter?” Mr. Neal’s face grew redder. “You said you’d protect my daughter. How’s that working out for you? My daughter could be killed because of your incompetence.”
Chase couldn’t refute the man’s accusation.
He felt the same way. If he’d gotten in first, he wouldn’t have been hit by the taser, and he’d at least have had a chance of saving Alana.
Now, he had no idea where they were taking her or what they’d do to her.
His chest was so tight, it hurt. “Excuse me, sir,” He pushed past Mr. Neal and hurried to the bedroom where Alana had slept, closing the door behind him.
He hit the phone number for Hank Patterson, praying he’d already come up with a solution to his problem.
Hank’s phone rang and rang. He didn’t answer. Chase stared at the phone.
Out of options and with no help coming, Chase couldn’t stand around and feel sorry for himself. It wasn’t his way. He had to take action. If they had only three Navy SEALs, they had to come up with a solution involving just the three of them.
A knock on the door made him stop in the middle of pacing the floor.
Gina pushed the door open and stuck her head inside. “We need a plan.”
“I know,” Chase said.
“Any ideas?” she asked.
He nodded, a plan starting to form, but it depended on information they didn’t have. “We need to find where Delgado lives. I bet that’s where he’s taken Alana. If we can find him quickly, we take the fight to him.”
“I’m in,” Gina said. “I can fire an AR-15. I qualified on an M4A1 rifle in Army Basic Combat Training. I shot expert every time we qualified. That brings our number up to four.”
“Against potentially one hundred cartel members?” He shook his head. “It’s a suicide mission.”
“Yeah, but you can’t go it alone,” she said.
“No,” Trevor pushed through the door, “you can’t go it alone. So, you’ll have to take us along with you. Carson left a few minutes ago.”
A stab of disappointment ripped through Chase. He’d thought the Navy SEAL would stand with them.
Trevor grinned. “Carson went to check with his contacts. They should have a good idea of where to find Delgado. As soon as he gets the information we need, he’ll be back to take us to his place to pick up the contraband weapons he’s stockpiled.”
A wave of hope washed over Chase. Since seeing the cab drive off with Alana inside, he hadn’t been sure he’d ever see her again.
But with the help of his fellow SEALs, he began to think it might be possible.
“Whatever we do, it has to be at Delgado’s place, not at La Casa Loca.
I can’t imagine he’s taking Alana to the bar.
He probably has her locked up at his place.
We have the rest of the day and into the evening to make this mission happen. ”
“God, I hope Alana is all right,” Gina said. “I can’t imagine how she felt being kidnapped and driven away by one of Delgado’s thugs. She has to be terrified.”
Chase knew how it felt to lie in the street, helplessly watching the woman he’d married on a whim being driven away to God knew where.
It felt like crap. He’d failed her completely.
All his focus now was on getting her back.
Whatever he had to do, even if it meant giving himself into the hands of a murderous cartel leader, so be it.
Dwayne Neal pushed through the door into Alana’s room. He poked a finger into Chase’s chest. “This is all your fault. What the hell did you do to piss off the leader of a god damn cartel?”
“I defended her when Delgado tried to leave the bar with her.”
“Defended her?” Mr. Neal’s anger was plain to see in the ruddy red his face had turned. “How did you defend her?”
“I threw a few punches. Apparently, I humiliated him in front of his men, and if I don’t show up at La Casa Loca at midnight, he’ll kill Alana.”
Neal’s brow dipped low, his eyes narrowing. “If he tried to leave the bar with her before, what makes you think he’ll let her go if you show up?” Neal asked.
“That’s just it,” Chase said. “We don’t think he’ll release her.”
“Mr. Neal, if Chase meets with Delgado, the cartel leader will have all his gang members there,” Gina said.
“They’ll kill him,” Alana’s father said. “Not that I’m against that. However, will that get Alana back?”
“It won’t,” Chase said. “That’s why we have to come up with a better plan.”
“And what is that plan?” Mr. Neal demanded.
“We go to Delgado’s compound and get Alana before the midnight deadline.”
“And how do you propose to do that?” Neal asked.
Chase lifted his chin toward the door. “First, we have to find out where he lives. Carson just left to tap into his contacts for information on the location of Delgado’s compound. We’ll form a plan once we know more.”
“If they know Alana is my daughter,” Mr. Neal said, “perhaps they’ll negotiate a ransom for her.”
“I’m not sure they know she’s the daughter of a wealthy man,” Chase said.
Mr. Neal pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. “I’m willing to pay a ransom to get my daughter back safely.”
Chase held up his hand. “If they don’t know she’s worth a huge ransom, let’s not complicate the situation by giving them that information. Delgado is known for human trafficking. If he kills me, he won’t kill Alana.”