Chapter 23
N avarro
Danger surrounded us, the darkness creating ominous shadows. Even with the bright moon overhead, the eerie effect of headlights ghosting against dozens of insects was the perfect backdrop for a massacre.
I was in the mood, my skin crawling with the need to soothe the anger that continued to build like bottled, ignited rocket fuel.
With the outskirts of the compound property only a few hundred yards away, Jago motioned for the group of soldiers to fan out. We’d parked far enough away even if there were cameras positioned in strategic locations, the dozens of vehicles wouldn’t be seen.
“Stay right beside me,” I told Fallon as I handed her a pair of night vision goggles. One good aspect about modernizing was the technology available. With the right amount of money, anything could be purchased, including military grade weaponry and tactical equipment.
Why not take advantage of it?
At least I knew she was trained to a point, but my reservations about agreeing to allow her in on the operation remained.
She said nothing, remaining close as we headed in the direction of the main house.
If you could call it that. I could smell her fear, which kept me more on edge than necessary.
Fear could be useful, but not in this regard.
She wasn’t a killer, and any hesitation could provide enough time for a monster to lunge from the shadows.
She was mine to protect.
Hell, she was mine to discipline.
Bad timing, but the thoughts brought a smile to my face.
According to Google Earth, there were dozens of structures that had been cobbled together.
There were two concrete structures close to the house, and a corral and massive yet dilapidated barn a couple hundred yards away.
From the heat source, it appeared that’s where the wild animals were being kept.
From what I’d read and heard about Javier Bandoles, he spent half his time at the compound and the other half at his beach house in Cancun with one of four mistresses. So much for his claims he was one of the people.
He couldn’t care less about those who worked for him.
Not my business. Not for me to give a shit about.
The one thing I could say about the man was that his rise in power had been phenomenal, which added credence to why Fassi would choose him to pave the way for the Moroccans to enter the country without typical difficulties.
But Fassi wouldn’t stop there, nor would he pave the road through Mexico on his way elsewhere in gold.
The Moroccan was merely playing a game, attempting to set a trap while homing in on his real intentions.
In other words, he was toying with Bandoles, who was way too arrogant to realize he and his men were nothing more than collateral damage.
We were simply starting the bloody party early.
Getting in, rescuing the girl, destroying the man’s livelihood, and eliminating a significant portion of the man’s army were the only things on the agenda.
Even if I didn’t completely trust Eduardo’s men, they were well enough versed in the act of a surprise attack that only basic direction had been needed. Santos was in charge, directing Eduardo’s men to head around to the back of the property.
Kruz and Silvio were taking the front with another group of soldiers while Jago, Fallon, and I were checking the two compounds.
The drone had snapped a photograph of a girl who appeared to be Brooke Baldwin being dragged toward one of the two concrete structures.
Was it possible the girl in the picture wasn’t who we were hoping to find?
Absolutely, but Fallon wouldn’t rest until we knew for certain.
A savage growl followed by several howls drew our attention.
“What the hell was that?” Fallon whispered.
“Pets,” I told her. The animals were already restless, the sound of several slamming against the fence a reminder we were in a precarious position. Damn, I hated these barbarians. They were a pain in the ass.
We broke off from the others, maybe twenty soldiers trailing behind as we moved stealthily toward the concrete hotboxes. Ordinarily, we wouldn’t waste time or effort in using a military-style tactical approach, but the entire objective of the mission was entirely different.
Which also pissed me off.
Yet I’d made a promise I intended on keeping. Jago took one building while I took another.
I moved to the door, noticing the old-fashioned padlock immediately. With a nod of my head, one of Eduardo’s men approached with a bolt cutter in his hand. As soon as the lock was free, I quietly opened the door.
The stench inside was repulsive and I immediately pushed Fallon aside.
“Stay here,” I gritted out.
“What is that smell?” she countered.
“Death. I mean it. Stay right the fuck here.” I moved inside, retrieving the flashlight. As soon as I popped the beam, I wished I hadn’t.
The slight shriek from behind me forced a quick reaction.
I slapped my hand over her mouth, dragging her against my chest as I turned her away from the carnage.
The last thing she needed to see was dumping grounds for enemies who’d found their way on Bandoles’ shit list. Body parts littered the dirt floor, blood and gore scattered across the walls and table.
I dragged her out, planting her against the far corner of the building.
She took gasping breaths, clawing at my hand even as I dropped my head so I could whisper my words of disapproval directly to her.
“What the fuck did I tell you? To stay outside. You have to follow directions, Fallon. This is dangerous. This could be a death trap and from the looks of what’s inside that building, we could be dessert for the friendly beasts over there. Stop fucking with this. Follow directions.”
She nodded several times, taking several deep breaths when I removed my hand.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” she whispered. She was shaking uncontrollably, almost gagging as the stench rolled through the open door.
“Close the goddamn door,” I hissed to no one in particular.
“Yes, sir.”
Movement of any kind no longer startled me. It simply proved to be a stick driving the training back into the forefront of my mind. In this case, I handled two tasks at once, pushing Fallon to the ground while yanking my Sig Sauer from my holster.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
Gunshots rang from every corner, the noise of men shouting echoing in my ears. Telling Fallon to stay down was a waste of time even as three soldiers appeared from the shadows, pointing their weapons in our direction.
One of Eduardo’s men was hit in the shoulder, but before he dropped, drove a bullet in the eyes of one. I snagged the second, firing off two shots into the man’s skull.
The roar of continuous gunfire, boots on the ground, and obvious sounds of fighting permeated the air.
Fallon’s second sharp scream dragged me to the side.
One of the fuckers had her around the throat, the barrel of his gun pointed at her head.
Before I had a chance to react, she elbowed him brutally before bending over and tossing him to the ground.
With a sharp smash of her foot to his neck, I knew the soldier’s windpipe had suffered a blow.
She huffed, blowing hair from her face before kicking him in the ribs.
But she hesitated to use either weapon provided, moving away as if her actions were enough. The soldier grabbed her foot, but before he could lift his weapon, I finished the job. The stream of moonlight was enough to highlight her arrogant defiance.
“I had it under control,” she insisted then spun in a circle, kicking first one asshole in the gut, spinning again to catch a second.
I finished them both off before either man hit the ground, this time kicking their weapons away. “You sure about that?”
We both lunged forward as a string of enemy soldiers headed in our direction.
She pummeled her fist into the face of the first with enough punches, she smashed his nose, the sound of bones breaking heard over the continued melee.
As he slowly started to fall, she tossed her head in my direction.
“Yeah, I’m sure. Kill him for me. Will you? ”
We were in the middle of a freaking massacre and she could still make me think about the sinful intoxication of her sweet pussy. “Gladly, my halcón seductor .”
Enemy soldiers were scattering on all sides, yet she was calm about choosing which man to pick on. To say I was impressed was an understatement. However, this wasn’t the right time to admire her form or technique in punching the shit out of anyone.
Suddenly, we were a team. Her brutal punches matched by my follow-through without a second of hesitation. Some would say we were a match made in heaven.
At least in my line of work.
I would contend she needed taming.
That would come with time we had yet to find.
Two more came at us and this time, I threw the first punch, which seemed to delight her. “Not bad. For a rookie,” she countered, showing off her technique as she’d done in the bar when three more raced toward us.
Fallon appeared unstoppable, kicking and spinning, her mastery of martial arts more impressive than before. Yet when she was finally brought down, the fucker holding a knife at her throat, I reacted. Or maybe overreacted, jerking him up by the back of the neck and tossing him by a few feet.
My anger still fresh, I grabbed her knife, grinning before I took long strides, smashing my boot on the man’s chest and slicing his throat.
She pressed her hand against my back, snagging her knife and wiping the blade on my cargo pants. “I’ll give you a passing grade.”
“I could say the same about you. Although maybe you need a few lessons in anticipation.”
“And maybe you continue to underestimate me.”
When I heard a loud growl along with a slam of metal against metal, I realized we’d found our way closer to the fencing. Someone was tossed over. The animals went wild.
The scream of the man was full of terror. It was one I’d remember for some time.
At least the darkness shadowed the horror. Instead of turning away immediately, Fallon took several deep breaths. I could tell she was rattled but was holding her own.
“What the fuck?” Jago said as he flanked my side.
“Eduardo’s men. We need to get to Brooke before—” My words were cut off by a sharp, strangled cry.
A woman.
Fallon didn’t hesitate, or worry about her safety or that of anyone else. She flew toward the sound. I raced after her, Jago following. Trees surrounded the concrete bunker, the sweltering heat even at night creating a stench of mold and piss, stale liquor and tobacco.
The door was flung open, a fucking asshole dragging a woman across the threshold. She was kicking, but her movements were slow, disjointed. Yet her anguish was evident by every sound she made.
“No!” Fallon screamed, the high-pitched yell somehow managing to echo.
The first things I learned when being trained as a soldier was never to hesitate. The second was never to underestimate the enemy. It would seem Fallon had a much better warrior instinct than I’d given her credit for.
She threw herself toward the soldier but expected him to immediately retaliate. As soon as the blade was driven into his throat, she wrapped her arms around the shaking girl, pulling her away by several feet and to the ground.
Both Jago and I reacted as other soldiers rushed from the darkness.
Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!
There was also no hesitation on our part.
When the bodies slumped to the ground, I turned in a full circle, ensuring there weren’t additional men hiding in the bushes.
Jago turned toward me, shaking his head. “I’m burning the shit down for what the fucker did.”
“You still give a damn about Eduardo.”
He half laughed. “He is family, Navarro. One day you’ll realize that blood truly is thicker than water. Let’s get the women out of here.”
“Yeah. I have no intention of hanging around for seconds.”
“Andres,” Jago instructed one of his men. “Make certain there’s no one else inside.”
“Yes, sir.”
I headed toward where Fallon was crouched, hovering over her sister and even rocking her. As I couched down, Fallon lifted her head. Seconds before, she’d been one of the strongest and fiercest warriors I’d worked with. Now, with tears in her eyes, she appeared so vulnerable.
“How is she?” I brushed hair from Brooke’s face and grabbed the flashlight, turning it on, but keeping the beam a few inches away.
Her face was ashen, her lips almost blue.
What bothered me almost as much were the bruises on her face.
Her right eye was swollen, her clothes tattered. Fuck me. I wanted to kill the bastards.
“She’ll be in a coma soon. She’s bruised. They beat her, Navarro. They beat my sister.”
“Do you trust me, Fallon?”
She bit her lower lip, darting a look over my shoulder to where Jago stood. When she finally nodded, I offered a comforting smile.
Andres returned, showing items he’d retrieved from the bunker. A vial, a pill bottle, and what I knew was an insulin bottle.
She reached for what he had, her hand shaking the entire time. A slight gasp left her lips. “They took her medicine. She’s had several days of medicine.” She peered up at me with a certain amount of hope.
“Let’s go. We need to get to the hospital.”
After handing Fallon the flashlight, I slipped my arms under Brooke and rose to my feet. With the frail girl pressed tightly against me, for the first time since I’d allowed the darkness to strip away my humanity, I understood the importance of having a family.
There were so many memories, some laced with laughter and joy while others were too dark to tolerate. Having Brooke in my arms and Fallon by my side was the closest thing to a true family I’d experienced in over twenty years. Even though Rafael had done his best to make me feel like one of his own.
With soldiers flanking our sides, we made it out of the compound without issue.
Yet with every step we took, the howls and snarls of the beasts behind the fence were a continuous, damning reminder this was no life for anyone of Fallon’s talent and beauty or Brooke’s innocence.
Yet in the back of my mind, I knew both women would be considered cartel aristocracy with targets forever placed on their backs. The way of every crime syndicate. The blood was royal, heirs worth money.
It was too late for me, but the two women who hadn’t asked to be brought into a world of violence had their entire lives ahead of them. If there was one decent thing I could do in my life, it was helping them return to what they loved.
That would all depend on the Brain and Farid Fassi.
For now, both women would be placed under my protection.
Where they would remain.
At least I’d made my decision about Barcelona.
They were both coming with me.