CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
“We’ve got all the roads blocked, we’ve got drones up, and we’ve activated their trackers,” said Hiro. “Right now, something is interfering with them but we think it could be radio waves. They may be near a tower.”
“A tower?” frowned Ernie. “The only tower is one county over. It’s in the middle of nowhere near the old, abandoned silo farm.”
“Take us there,” said a bass voice that reverberated through its own chest.
Ernie and Pat turned, seeing the older men standing in the doorway of the barn.
They looked nearly identical. Same hair color, same eye color, and same ‘get out of my fucking way I’m going to kill you’ looks.
One other man with salt-and-pepper hair stood out.
He was covered in tattoos and the thick silver rings on his fingers said this man knew how to ride.
“Ernie, Pat, these are the Robicheaux brothers and Ghost,” said Sebastian.
“Holy shit,” whispered Pat. “Like, like the real deal Robicheaux Rangers? Ghost. The famous SEAL.”
“Yeah, like that,” frowned Baptiste. “Alec is on his way with Tailor. They left the other farm and we put two other men in charge. What do we know?”
“Hiro was just saying the trackers are getting interference from what we believe is a radio tower. Ernie said it’s not far from here,” said Christian. Chief was sitting in the corner, his head in his hands.
“Chief. Chief?” yelled Ghost snapping him out of his stare. “Son, look at me. It’s not your fault. Rachel is strong and she’ll be fine. Don’t worry. We’re going to get her and Lucy back.”
“It was my fault. I should have sent her home. We would have figured all this out sooner or later. I shouldn’t have let her come.”
“Listen to me,” said Ghost. “You’re not doing her any good by pissing and moaning about what should have been done. Your wife has been taken and we’re going to fucking get her back.”
Chief stood, nodding at his father. Although old and gray, he was not a man you wanted to fuck with.
Following the others out of the barn, the armored SUV’s were waiting for them, fresh off the custom plane that flew them there.
No doubt they were armed to the teeth and Santori’s men were about to experience hell.
“We turned off the radio tower,” said Hiro. “No one is getting anything except us right now, which is good. They are directly beneath that tower just like we thought. Drones are picking up one small SUV and five heat signatures inside. We’ll be watching.”
“On our way, brother. Do not let them leave,” said Gaspar. “Let’s go. We’re going to get them and take them home. Then, you’re going to end this shit.” Chief nodded at the older man, then took a step back as he stepped forward. He honestly thought he was going to punch him.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
“Chief. Son, look at me. You didn’t do a damn thing wrong. We’ve all made mistakes like this and we’ve all had shit like this happen to us. We’re going to help to solve this issue. They’ll be safe. I promise you. Come on. Hug your wife before we take her home.”
“You guys are really stupid. Aren’t they stupid, Lucy?” said Rachel.
“Seriously stupid,” she smirked.
“Shut up!” yelled one of the men.
“What is Santori paying you? Five grand? Maybe ten. He’s got millions and the whole reason he’s doing this is he wants more. But you’re the one risking your neck and he’s not even paying you enough for your family to bury you.”
“Bury us?” asked one of the other men. “Do you really think you’re going to get the better of us? You’re the one tied up, bitch.”
“Don’t call me bitch,” smiled Lucy. “No, no. I don’t think I’m going to get the better of you but our family will. Why do you think he sent you guys and not someone higher up in the chain? We’re so important to him but not worth risking men that he trusts more than you guys.”
“Let’s see,” said Rachel staring at the men. “Nice cowboy boots, a bit out of place in Nebraska. I’m guessing custom-made in El Paso or McAllen. Definitely on our side of the border. You have a hint of a Mexican accent but not fully, which means you’re probably fluent but born here.”
The men stared at one another, then back at the women. One of them was starting to sweat, his face showing the signs of fear and exhaustion.
“I said shut up, bitch!” yelled the first man.
“Again, don’t call me bitch,” said Lucy in a sing-songy voice. “It’s just very disrespectful. You didn’t need to shoot the dog by the way. We would have come without you hurting him. Now you’ve only pissed him off and probably the whole family. We love our dogs.”
“God, what do I have to do to shut you up!”
“I told you, we don’t generally take orders very well and we won’t be shutting up.
It’s important that you understand your situation.
Within a few minutes, maybe less, there will be a group of men storming through that door.
You won’t hear them, you won’t see them, and you damn sure won’t identify them.
“When they have safely removed Rachel and me, they will proceed with killing you in the most brutal ways possible. If you think Santori owns the book on that, you’re wrong. See, one of the men that will come through that door will be my father. He gets angry a lot. Chaos was his dog.”
The men stared at one another, then back at the women.
“Lucy and Rachel. Keep talking we’re almost to you.”
“It’s obvious that Santori didn’t tell you who our family is. I mean, why would he? You’re dispensable. He’s trying to get a rise out of our family and I’m guessing, he wants something we have,” said Rachel.
“He wants his fucking worthless nephew,” said one of the men. “Tell us where he is and we’ll let you go.”
“No, no, that’s not how this works,” laughed Lucy.
“Good girls. Keep talking. When I count down, hit the floor.”
“You’re going to have to play nice with us and let us go before you get any cooperation with our family.”
“I swear to fuck if they don’t stop talking,” started the second man.
“Three, two, one!”
Lucy and Rachel rolled to the floor curling into a ball as the men stared at them. The front door shattered into a million pieces as Tailor and Alec stormed through, splintered the wood frame as they did.
Behind them were Gaspar and Ghost. Antoine and Luc kneeled beside the two girls, lifting them in their arms and calmly walking out.
“Hey, Uncle Antoine,” smiled Lucy.
“Hi, honey. You good? You good, Rachel?”
“I’m good now,” she smiled. Antoine set her down by the car, Chief and Sniff waiting for their wives. Luc cut the zip ties and both women fell into their arms.
“Sorry,” said Rachel. “We knew you would come for us. How is Chaos?”
“How is Chaos? Rach, I don’t give a shit right now about the fucking dog,” said Chief with tears in his eyes. “How are you?”
“Us? We’re fine. We were annoying the crap out of them. I think they’ll be happy to have us out of their hair.”
Sniff held Lucy tight to his chest, kissing her face over and over again.
“It’s okay, honey. We’re fine. We knew you’d track us. We pressed the buttons immediately. Honestly, I thought you’d be here sooner.”
“The radio tower was interfering with the signal. Hiro finally shut it down,” said Sniff. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“We’re perfect,” she said kissing him again. “Thanks Uncle Antoine, Uncle Luc. Love when you sweep me off my feet.”
“Don’t make it a habit girl. I’m old and can’t afford to have years knocked off my life.”