Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Joey
Ink dropped his cigarette to the ground and stubbed it out with the toe of his boot. “We ready to do this? Most are down for the night. Whiler said he’s got eyes on Yeller. Everyone is ready to mobilize when you are.”
We’d been holed up for hours waiting for everyone to settle in for the night.
But despite how much waiting we’d been doing, we’d hit the jackpot when we’d rolled up, which helped ease most of our frustrations.
Most of the big players seemed to be there after holding some kind of meeting.
There’d been a party, where they’d shared women—none of them looking willing and most looking drugged out of their minds.
And while I wanted to barge in and put an end to it, I didn’t want to accidentally hit a woman in need when gunfire undoubtedly ensued.
I’d already put in a phone call to Miguel so he could have transportation organized for all the women we’d be rescuing tonight. As soon as I put in the call to River that we were on for the night, he mobilized and was camped out nearby for backup.
I didn’t think these mother fuckers would be a problem though.
Most of them were just a bunch of old rich men with more money than brains.
The only people I was concerned about were Yeller’s men.
They outnumbered us by a good bit, and I knew Yeller was also heavily involved in the gun trade.
His men would have weapons on hand, and they would more than likely be well-trained.
We would have to play this safe and quiet. Silently infiltrate the building. Slice throats. No guns. Only knives.
It would be the trickiest—and most dangerous—mission we’d ever pulled off.
“We’re ready,” I told him.
He nodded once, then turned on his earpiece.
I turned on mine as well. Whiler should have already had his turned on since he was on the other side of the compound.
“We’re ready,” Ink announced. “Whiler, your job is to get Yeller, gag him, tie him up, and prepare him for transport after we’re done.
York, clear out the east side of the building.
I’ll take the west. Joey will gather all the women. ”
“Understood,” they both said at the same time.
“Go,” Ink commanded.
We separated, and I headed for the shipping container, where we’d seen some of Yeller’s men put away the girls about an hour ago.
A thick chain and a heavy padlock held the doors closed, and I grunted in annoyance, reaching for the pick locking tool in my pocket.
Checking my surroundings to make sure no one was lurking, I quickly inserted the tool in the lock, listening as Ink and York began dropping bodies.
Everything was silent on Whiler’s end, but I knew he would get the job done. The man never let me down. None of them did. We were a family, and being a family would be what got us out of here alive.
The lock finally clicked, and I slid the tool back into my pocket. After sliding the lock off, I dropped it into my pocket as well, then slid the chain free.
Seeing those girls from afar had been hard to witness, to see how they were being abused and raped, but seeing them up close? How starved they were? The pain they were in? The fear in their eyes?
Nothing prepared me, and for a moment, I saw Adelaide. I saw Elaina. I saw my sister. I saw all my failures staring me in the face.
I wouldn’t fail them.
“Easy,” I said softly, keeping my voice low and soothing. “I’m not one of them. I’m here to save you. I promise. I’m going to get you back home.”
Some of the girls were so young. Fuck, this was going to haunt me for the rest of my life. I didn’t know where the boys were, if there were even any around. But I’d figure that out once I got these women and little girls out of this shipping container and into the transport van Miguel had waiting.
“I found the boys,” Ink suddenly spoke into my earpiece. “I need backup. And we’re going to need another transport van.”
Fuck.
“Get them out,” I commanded. “Meet me at the rendezvous point with them.”
“Got Yeller,” Whiler announced, sounding a little giddy, like the little psycho he was. “Getting him to the van now. Will meet back at the clubhouse.”
I looked at the women. “We need to move,” I told them. “But you have to be very quiet. I’m going to get you out of here and somewhere safe.”
They nodded, eyeing me with caution, though it was clear they’d deemed me the lesser of two evils.
I’d just stepped out of the container when a bullet whizzed right past my ear.
Cursing, I slammed the door shut again to protect them, then slid my rifle around and took cover.
Scanning the area, I pinpointed three men near the clubhouse.
One was behind a burn barrel, another was in the clubhouse shadows, and the last was kneeling behind a car.
Aiming, I put a bullet right between the eyes of the one standing in the shadows, then before the one behind the car could move, I took out his kneecap, handicapping him.
His roar of pain filled the air, and while the one behind the burn barrel was distracted by his club brother, I put a bullet right through his ear, dropping him to the ground.
“You good?” Ink barked into the earpiece.
“Fine,” I snarled. “Get the boys out. I’ll handle the women and kids.”
“Kids?” Ink snapped. “Joey—”
“Just do it!” I barked, moving toward the crippled man behind the vehicle.
He raised his gun, firing at the same time I did.
My bullet went through his skull, and his tore through my side.
I ignored the burning pain near my ribs and hurried back toward the shipping container, all while warm, sticky liquid trailed down my side.
“Let’s go,” I rasped, swinging open the door. “We have to get out of here.”
“You are bleeding,” a teenager with a thick accent said, looking at my side.
I shook my head. “I’ll be fine. I need to get you out of here.
” I scoped the area, finally noticing an old box truck.
I jerked my chin toward it. “Go. Silently. Single file line,” I commanded, ushering them out of the container.
I hurried over to the driver’s side of the truck, grunting when I didn’t see keys.
Muttering a curse under my breath, I slid into the driver’s seat, then worked on hotwiring it, my shoulders dropping a little in relief when the engine finally rumbled to life.
“We are ready,” an older woman said, coming around to the driver’s side of the truck.
“Get in the back,” I told her, forcing my voice to be gentler for her sake—and to hide the pain pulsing through my side. “I’ll close it.”
She nodded and hurried to the back. As soon as she climbed inside, I slid the door shut and locked it before rushing back to the driver’s seat.
I was losing a lot of blood and was growing more tired by the second, but I had to get them at least to River’s crew so someone could get them to Miguel or someone Miguel appointed to take over their care.
“What do you need from me?” River asked when he answered my call.
I turned the truck onto the highway, my vision wavering. “Location,” I snapped. “And then a ride. Got a truckload that I need someone to get to Miguel. And I need help.”
“Jesus fuck,” River snapped. “I’m at the rendezvous point. Ink and York are already here. Miguel has already taken the boys. Get here, and I’ll get someone on the route he’s taking.”
“Thanks, brother.”
He sighed. “How bad is it?” he demanded
I just grunted in answer, which was answer enough in itself. It was pretty fucking bad.
“Adelaide is going to have your ass for this, Joey,” River growled, frustrated with me.
I just grunted again and ended the call. I wasn’t worried about Adelaide. I was worried about Elaina. She was going to absolutely lose her shit as soon as she saw how bad off I was. Because there was no doubt about it…
This wound was pretty fucking bad. There was even more blood than there’d been when Alejandro had been shot.
I pulled onto the gravel road, where River and his crew were waiting for me, and I barely got the truck thrown in park before I slumped forward, my vision spinning before going dark. I was barely aware of the door opening and River snapping my name before I completely blacked out.