Chapter 40
W arped floorboards creaked under Kane’s boots as he followed Chris out of the old house. The wind blew snow under the small awning and whisked away the lilac scent trailing him through the rooms. He didn’t feel the icy flakes hit his skin as he followed Chris down the steps and met Linc and Nic at the curb.
“Perimeter is clear.” Linc eyed a group of teenagers on the porch across the street. “Those kids said they saw a group of people hurry into a van parked in the driveway and take off a few minutes ago.”
“Fuck.” Although their intel indicated the Diablos hadn’t taken Dr. Sable to Mexico to extract what she knew about Triple X, that didn’t mean they weren’t planning on taking Beth there. “ Scarlett, did you find a tracker in the medallion?”
“Yes. Ryan is working on reverse tracking it. He just got a report from his analyst who did a deep dive into Evangeline and the company Henry Richardson referred her to in Dubai. There’s speculation that the organization bankrolls the Diablo cartel. Intel suggests that Henry and the CEO have been communicating recently. ”
“We need to question Evangeline.”
“We’re working on contacting her.”
“Work fast.” Images of what could happen to Beth assaulted his mind like a flash bomb. The need to shoot something sizzled through his leg. What was the point of being a super soldier if he didn’t have an enemy to obliterate on his way to get his girl? “Any word on Chavez’s brother?”
“We’ve got a team working on it,” Scarlett said . “Wait—Ryan got a location. Beth is being held in a warehouse near…son of a bitch. She’s near the same private airstrip my stepfather kept his jet at.”
Chris clapped him on the shoulder. “At least we know the area. Let’s go find your woman.”
As Kane ran toward the SUV parked in front of the church, wedding bells rang in his mind. Curse or not, he was going to marry Beth in front of that altar someday. But before he could take his bride to heaven, he had to send two brothers to hell.
The pounding inside Beth’s head reached a deafening level as the van stopped. A minute later, the vehicle slowly crept forward.
“Where are we?” She prayed her question sounded demanding instead of terrified like it did in her ears.
“A building guarded by an army, where we can talk in private before we head to Mexico.” The enforcer hauled Beth up and handed her to his brother.
She winced as he cupped her elbow. “I heard about what your mother wants for Christmas. I’m no present.”
“But you are, querida.” He lowered his head to her ear. “You’re the gift I’ve been waiting for. I know you love Christmas. By tomorrow, you’ll be sitting under the largest tree you’ve ever seen.”
Tomorrow? That meant she had time before she left the country. She didn’t know how long she’d been out in between the tunnel and regaining consciousness in the van, but they’d arrived at this destination only a few minutes after she’d woken up. “Is it midnight yet?”
“It’s not even six.”
“Glad I didn’t miss Santa.”
Her stalker dipped his head to her ear. “There’s plenty of time to tell me what you want for Christmas when we get home.”
She jerked her arm away from him. “You’re not my home.”
Kane was her home. He, along with the nation’s strongest and smartest, was looking for her. She’d fight with everything she had to buy Kane and her friends precious minutes to storm in with their V-Strikes blazing.
The back of the van opened. The devil brothers hauled her out of the vehicle and into a dimly lit warehouse. Little light shone through the high windows that touched the ceiling. The cold air sharpened her will to fight.
Biceps and his buddy pushed Evangeline out of the van. Another thug appeared from around the side. Beth thought Biceps was big, but this guy looked like he snacked on steroids.
He caught Evangeline with one hand before she fell face-first onto the concrete floor. “What do you want me to do with this one?”
“Merry Christmas.” The enforcer extended his arm with the flourish of a game host presenting the grand prize. “Have fun and then kill her.”
Evangeline’s scream echoed through the long, cavernous space .
“Don’t touch her.” Beth coiled her thigh muscles. “If anyone is going to kill her, it’s me.” She pulled away from her stalker and charged. Evangeline’s breath huffed out as Beth’s shoulder rammed into her ribs. Steroids jumped back as they fell to the ground. With speed and agility born from desperation, Beth managed to straddle Evangeline’s waist.
“Please,” Evangeline cried.
“You psychopath,” Beth snarled as she punched her with bound hands. Evangeline didn’t try to fight back. Grabbing Evangeline’s neck as best she could, she leaned closer to her. “If you want a chance to live, fight me.”
A heartbeat later, recognition flashed in Evangeline’s eyes. With a grunt, she headbutted Beth and reared up her hips.
Beth went with the movement and rolled off. She allowed Evangeline to straddle her chest. Panting, she called her ex-friend every nasty name she could think of and meant every one as she pulled her hair and scratched her face.
Loud shouts and hoarse whistles sounded over the name-calling and grunts of pain. The more the thugs encouraged violence, the harder Beth fought to entertain.
“Enough.”
Somebody pulled them apart. Beth wiped blood from her cheek where Evangeline had sunk her claws. She was sure her forehead had the impression of Evangeline’s skull, along with the imprint of the enforcer’s hand on her cheek. She’d endure more pain if it bought time for Kane to find her.
The enforcer yanked her to him and glared at the thugs. “This one isn’t here for your amusement, but have a merry time with the one I gave you.”
Beth struggled in his grip. As much as she wanted to drive a knife through Evangeline’s dark heart, she deserved to face justice for her sins, not die. “No. Don’t kill her. I’ll tell you everything you want to know.” She’d figure out how to avoid that last part later .
Chavez dragged her to one of the metal doors set in the dingy white wall. “She’s not the one whose life hinges on your cooperation. I have men standing by to make your boyfriend number four at my command. Shooting at him at the cemetery was fun, but this time, my bullet will find his flesh.”
Beth’s jaw dropped. Kane had been right. Someone had known exactly where to shoot him.
The enforcer snickered. “Surprised I know about his bionic leg? Henry Richardson was more than happy to share his firsthand knowledge about VIPER. And we learned a lot more about what your boyfriend’s capable of last night. He took out six of my men without raising a gun, according to my driver, who witnessed the fiasco going down.”
No. If they knew VIPER’s secrets, they could exploit them. She quickly masked her bone-deep worry with false bravado. “I shot two of your men, you know.”
Fury darkened the enforcer’s eyes. “I underestimated both of you. That won’t happen again. You have five minutes to tell us every Triple X secret you know, or Kane Darren will be the next member of your Dead Boyfriends Society.”
Beth kicked and clawed the entire way through the door and down a long hall to the back of the building. Her actions cost her another slap across the face, but it bought Kane and the VIPER team another thirty seconds. The enforcer wouldn’t kill her until he got the formula, and he wouldn’t kill Kane as long as he needed him for leverage.
Well, he could try to kill him. Even if he knew some of VIPER’s capabilities, he didn’t understand the full extent of their power. After the show Kane put on at headquarters, she did. He truly was invincible.
And so was her love.
Nobody with eyes as soulless as Chavez could understand that.
Despite her impossible circumstances, the black shroud she’d been dragging around lifted as the enforcer yanked her down the hallway. She’d never been a black widow. She was just a girl who’d had the privilege of loving three wonderful men who were called to heaven way too early. She had to let Kane know she truly didn’t believe in the curse any longer. That if something happened to him, she’d grieve but wouldn’t stop living, and there wouldn’t be any guilt because it wouldn’t be her fault. She’d divulge the formula to the Diablos and risk dying to keep him safe. She loved him that much, that deeply and wished she had told him.
The enforcer shoved her through a doorway in the rear of the building. Her stalker steadied her. Blinking against the harsh overhead light, she shook off his touch and fought for balance. Her ribs screamed in pain from a hard kick Evangeline had landed.
Her stalker grabbed her hands. “That’s no way to treat your fiancé, querida.”
She tried to pull back, but he was stronger than she’d given him credit for. “I’m not anything to you.”
“Give it time, mi amor.” He tugged her to the center of the small space facing another door in the back of the room. “Soon, you will call me your love.”
“The hell I will.” Other than a scarred desk and the laptop waiting for her to betray her country, the room held nothing else besides a wooden chair too bulky to wield as an effective weapon. The laptop and the power cord plugged into the wall might be effective though.
The enforcer pressed her to sit and pushed her to the desk. He hit a key on the laptop. A screen with a blank document came up. “Type everything you know about Triple X, and don’t think about making shit up. Once you’re done, I’m going to send this to mi madre. You don’t want to know what will happen if my mother suspects you’re fucking with us. ”
Crap. There went her plan to share everything she knew about ibuprofen. She’d give up the Triple X formula to save Kane’s life, but that was a last resort. She needed to stall until the VIPER boys busted in and neutralized every Diablo in the building.
She held up her hands. Blood dripped from where the zip ties cut into her flesh. “I can’t type with my circulation cut off. And I’m shaking too much because you’re scaring me.” She swiped her wrists along her cheek and let hot tears fall into the smears of blood on her skin.
The enforcer snapped a photo with his phone. “I’m happy to give you a few minutes to collect yourself.” He walked to the door in the back of the room and shoved it open with his boot. “Maybe hanging out with your friend might help.”
Thick, hot vomit erupted up her esophagus as she took in the scene. This time, she couldn’t stop it from spewing out of her mouth and onto the floor.