Chapter 37 #2
She maintained cover, displaying her expert marksmanship by leveling her weapon and killing three on one boat, then at least one more. One enemy boat veered off, the engine still revved although the captain was dead.
The other captain sped up, moving elsewhere, but they would be back.
We had seconds to spare and I jumped onto the ladder first, immediately reaching for her. She swung her body onto the edge of the boat, stretching out her arm. The full moon told no lies. Terror accompanied a rush of adrenaline. I could see it in her eyes.
But her determination won out. I managed to grab her arm and together we climbed the ladder, other soldiers following.
“Benito, toss squibs onto the enemy boats,” she called out. “It looks like a stick of dynamite.”
The woman had no fear.
Once on board, in a matter of seconds we were faced with enemy fire.
I dropped and rolled, yelling at her to do the same. I shouldn’t have bothered. She’d obviously been trained very well.
There was shouting. More gunfire.
Navarro and his men appeared, rushing toward us.
Suddenly, there was a massive explosion off to the side as one of the enemy cigarette boats went up in flames.
I backed her against the boat’s hull, glancing to make certain she was okay before motioning to my men. “You’re brilliant, baby. Your squib worked.”
“Told you.”
Navarro took his soldiers in the other direction.
We took off running the other way. When a soldier jumped from the shadows, Genevieve immediately reacted, yanking out her handgun and shooting the man before he had a chance to put a bullet in my head.
Laughing, we continued as I mentally took count of the number of soldiers we’d hit. Minutes ticked by.
More gunfire.
More yelling.
We were close to the bridge.
Pop! Pop!
Two more went down who were trying to break in. The captain had kept them from doing so.
Suddenly, the gunfire stopped. Now only the sound of the engine could be heard.
We both leaned against the hull, glancing at the water.
“We got nine,” I told her.
“Six left,” she said.
“One left,” Navarro corrected. “We exterminated five.”
“We hunt until we find him.” I pulled her hand, forcing her behind me. We moved into the first of two cargo holds, fanning out.
Three minutes later we’d determined the soldier wasn’t hiding. Very cautiously we moved to the second, this one containing at least forty percent more crates than the first.
As we moved around the containers, we remained silent.
There was no mistaking the whispered sound of a gun being cocked. It was just enough I located the direction. With no time to wait, I spun a full one hundred and eighty degrees, pulling both Genevieve and myself to the deck just as I took a single shot.
And hit the enemy soldier right between the eyes.
Exhaling, Navarro and the others raced around a line of crates, flanking us on both sides.
Her breathing was heavy and I peered down at her. “Are you okay?”
“Uh-huh. But I don’t think I want to do this again,” she murmured.
“Don’t worry, baby. New sets of rules and you will not break them.”
I helped her to her feet and wrapped one arm around her, pulling her tightly against me, both breathing heavily.
“The other boat is floating in the water,” Navarro breathed. “Unmanned.”
“Good. We need to get to the other boat. Check with the captain about his men and make certain there are no mechanical issues.”
“Not a problem.” He glanced at Genevieve and there was an entirely different look in his eyes than before. “I mean no disrespect, Madame Morales.”
“Torres,” she corrected, a wry grin on her face.
“Torres,” he repeated. “But you kicked some goddamn ass.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” she told him.
I shook my head. “Yeah, you did.”
We headed from the cargo hold and carefully made it back onto our boat with Benito’s help. Remarkably, the MTI hadn’t been damaged or taken on water. Maybe the gods I’d prayed to had smiled on us.
She slumped down in one of the seats, dropping her head into her hands while I tried to contact Kruz. “Are you in control of the boat?”
Kruz didn’t respond right away.
“Kruz. What’s the status?” I tried again.
When there still was no response, Genevieve moved beside me.
“Kruz. Report.”
“Boss. I’m here. Jesus. I had a bit to take care of.”
“Which means?”
“Rough crew, but they’re under control.”
“Crew origin and destination.”
“Moroccan and destination is the same port we were headed into in Rome.”
I chuckled again and turned to face my lovely bride. “What is their cargo?”
“A few party favors and women in cages. Several crates of military grade weapons.”
“Fuck,” she hissed.
“What else?” I threw out.
Kruz laughed out loud. “You were right. Diamonds.”
A slow grin formed across her face. “How many?”
“Oh, let’s just say enough to put every jewelry store in Europe and the United States out of business. Forget the diamond exchange. We’re talking hundreds of millions.”
Kruz’s answer tickled her.
“What do you want me to do? Reroute them?” he asked.
Neither Genevieve nor I blinked. I could tell exactly what she was thinking. “Hold on, Kruz. Let me discuss this with my partner.”
“Yes, sir.”
“So what do we do?” I asked her.
She glanced at the cargo ship. “We could be rolling in dough for the rest of our lives.”
“We could.”
“I could have diamonds as playthings.”
“As many as you wanted,” I told her, still grinning.
“Tough decision.” She looked me in the eyes once again and placed her hand on my chest above my heart.
“You’re going to do the right thing. The women will be returned home, the diamonds back to whatever people they were stolen from, and the firearms won’t be used to kill innocent children.
The drugs? Well, that I can’t speak to.”
“The right thing. You’re sure that’s what should happen? That’s what you want.”
“Yep. I’m sure. And do you know why?” she asked.
“No, but I’m sure you’re going to tell me.”
“Because you’re a decent man, someone who is crusty on the outside, but all marshmallow goo inside.”
I coughed and glanced toward the other soldiers, who were trying to act as if they weren’t paying any attention. “Hardly, darling. But that’s something we’ll discuss when we get home.”
“Home. I admit I like the sound of that.”
“Yeah, me too.” I returned to the radio. “Kruz. I’m contacting the coast guard. Make certain the women are freed and given whatever they need until they’re taken to safety.”
“You sure, boss?”
“Yeah, I’m sure. It’s the right thing to do.”
The right thing. My father would call me a fool, but it wasn’t every day that a man in my position was capable of doing something good, something that wouldn’t haunt me for years to come.
I was a brutal bastard, a man with no conscience, but I’d been lucky enough to see the world entirely differently through the eyes of a woman I’d come to… love.
What would happen in the future?
Who the fuck knew, but we’d climb that mountain when it came.