Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
Nick
“Get over there now,” I ordered. Granted, the person on the other end of the call wasn’t used to taking orders from me. “Papá, you’re closer. Em and I are on our way. Get to the apartments.”
“El Patrón doesn’t want me there. If he did, I’d still be in charge.”
My teeth ached under the pressure of my jaw. “Em and I are twenty minutes out. We were sent on a fucking diversion near the shipyard. Cabez?n’s men are threatening the apartments. We have our regular guards. The more power we can get, the better.”
“They’re fucking whores. If Cabez?n thinks we’ll sacrifice soldiers for whores, he’s wrong.”
“What the fuck?” I turned to Em who was now driving. We’d left my car stashed in a parking garage as soon as we heard what was happening at the apartments. My father’s voice was coming through the speakers.
“Hang the fuck up,” Em said. “Mí padre is en route.”
“I’m on my way,” my father acquiesced. “I just saw a text from Andrés.”
“Go now,” I said before disconnecting the call. “Fucking Cabez?n.” The two soldiers they dumped were a way to lull Em and me away from the apartments.
“They’re not all whores.” Em’s fingers blanched on the steering wheel as he maneuvered his way around the midday traffic. “Isabella is safe. I have to fucking believe that.”
My thoughts went to Liliana.
Em spoke. “If Liliana hadn’t said she was going to stay, Izzy would be safe at my parents’.”
“They’re both going to be safe. They have Horace with them, Javier, and half a dozen soldiers.”
The muscles pulled tight in the side of Em’s face. “How did Cabez?n find the location of the apartments?” He turned toward me. “Do you think we have traitors feeding Cabez?n information?”
“Liliana said something this afternoon about the way the residents obtain information from clients. It probably goes both ways.”
“Damn whores.”
I braced myself as Em took a turn at an intersection on two wheels. “I’m not saying they said anything maliciously. They talk.”
“When there isn’t a cock in their mouth.”
Fuck, was that the way I spoke about the residents? If it was, Liliana had every right to call me out. “It’s a theory. I think el Patrón should consider utilizing the residents’ undercover skills more than we do.”
Em pressed his lips together and arched his eyebrows. “Undercover.”
“Spy network, asshole. Think about something like the Russian Red Sparrows. We’re struggling to determine loyalty—who is faithful to Roríguez and who’s behind Cabez?n? Those women hear things. Men like to talk especially when they’re showing off.”
Em hit the button on his dashboard, trying to call Isabella again. The line rang twice.
“Em, oh, Em,” her whisper came through the speakers.
His chest deflated as he let out a breath. “Fuck, Isabella. Are you all right? Are you safe? Where are you?”
She took a staggered breath. “Horace told me to hide in Mia’s office bathroom. The door’s locked, and I believe all the doors to the office suite are too.”
“Can you hear anything?” he asked.
“No, it’s quiet. Too quiet. The alarms were ringing, and the emergency lighting was flashing. Now nothing. Everything is dark.”
“Stay there. We’re on our way.”
“Isabella,” I said, “is Liliana with you?”
“No. She told Horace she wanted to be with the residents.”
Heat boiled beneath my skin.
“Where did he take her?” I asked. “Where are the residents?”
“In the big lecture hall. It’s reinforced. I don’t know for sure, but I think all the women are there.”
“Isabella,” Em said. While the strain was evident in his expression, his voice was silky sweet, a way of reassurance. “Honey, you’ll be all right. Stay there. I’m coming. I promise we’re almost there.”
“I love you.”
“I love you. Now stay quiet.”
The call ended.
Em pounded the steering wheel with the butt of his hand.
Andrés’s name, Em’s father, appeared on the screen.
Em answered, “Qué pasa?”
“Three of Cabez?n’s men are down. We captured another. He’s not being forthcoming with information, but from outside footage, we believe there are at least two more inside the apartments.”
“Inside,” we both exclaimed.
“Who do we have on the inside?” Em asked.
“Horace and Javier are unaccounted for.” Andrés’s voice lowered. “Hijo, dónde esta Isabella?”
“Mia’s office, in the bathroom. Fuck, get to her.”
“Tío,” I said. “The other women, including Liliana, are most likely in the shelter room, the big lecture hall at the back of the building. They’re all our priority.”
“Sí,” Andrés replied. “My daughter-in-law first.” The call ended, filling the car with silence.
“The hell?” Em growled. “Isabella is more important than all of them.”
“They’re all important.”
We were only minutes away.
The metaphorical wheels were turning in Em’s head. He wasn’t happy with my prioritization. I was afraid he’d go off half-cocked if he thought he could rescue Isabella. “I should tell you something before we get to the apartments.”
“If it’s about my wife being equal to whores, I don’t want to hear it.”
“It’s about Liliana.”
Em clenched his jaw and nodded.
“I asked her to marry me.”