“No hay puertas aquí atrás. Las ventanas están en el segundo piso. No hay acceso.” No doors back here. Windows are on the second story. No access.
“Regresar.”
I give the order for them to come back. We use a tool that looks a lot like a crowbar to force the door open silently. There’s no light, so we all flip our NVGs down. I enter first since I’ll never send anyone ahead of me when I command a mission.
My woman’s family, my mission to lead.
Joaquin follows me in. We both have thermal imaging binoculars, so we peer in different directions once we move the NVGs out of the way. Annoying, but both are necessary. We look at each other and shake our heads. I point to a stairwell that goes up and down. Our men know what to do without verbal or hand commands. Four go downstairs with Joaquin, four remain on the ground floor with Alejandro, and I take the last four upstairs.
“Nada.” Nothing.
I hear Joaquin’s hushed voice in my ear. I’m almost to the top of the stairs with my men behind me, rifles at the ready. I’m the next one with an update.
“Tres.” Three.
I can’t tell from the heat-seeking binoculars whether any are Gunter. My men and I move toward the door, making room for Joaquin and his men to pass us. They go up to the next floor.
“Duos.Subiendo.” Two. Going up.
We all wait for my brother to give us a report from the last story.
“Nada.”
I breathe a little easier while Joaquin and his team come back down a floor. Alejandro and his men join me. He sticks with me while half his team goes up to join Joaquin.
“Tapones para los oídos puestos.” Earplugs in.
I give everyone a chance to slip them in. My brother and I have devices to burst the doors open. I know Joaquin’s ready when I hear him practically whisper.
“A las tres.” On three.
It’s on my count. “Uno, dos, tres.”
The moment the doors swing in, Joaquin and I lob our flash bangs inside. I know his works because even with earplugs, I can hear it. We’ll only use our smoke grenades if we have to.
“¡Él está aquí!” He’s here!
It’s one of the men with Joaquin. The men with me still sweep the expansive space. I don’t know what it once was, but it looks like a flop house now. Only one man looks intelligent enough to know what the fuck is going on, but we won’t underestimate the others. Rather than killing them on the spot, we zip tie them. I check in with the men upstairs.
“¿Cómo está él?” How is he?
“Ambas manos.” Both hands.
What the fuck did Joaquin say?
Leisel spins around on the sofa as I enter the house. He eyes widen as she watches me help her father inside. Her expression screams it’s one of the most joyous moments of her life. She and Heidi sprint to their father, and his arms engulf them probably the same way they have since they were little. I bet he was a bear of a man back then; he still is now.
The sisters look at each other as tears stream down their faces, but they let go sooner than we probably want. Their mom’s desperate to hug him too. Leisel steps back and reaches for me but gasps.
“Papa, your hand!”
“I’ll explain everything, but?—”
Gretel practically throws herself into Gunter’s arms, and he wraps them around her, lifting her off the ground. The hand we thought he lost is precariously close to her ass as they kiss in a way that makes me think Heidi and Leisel have never seen—in a way they could’ve gone their entire lives without seeing. Liesel’s nose curls instinctively just like her sister’s. They look away. Heidi clings to Friedrich as I pull Liesel against me.
She inhales my scent. Each breath filled with my cologne seems to calm her.
“Daddy.” She exhales the word before she kisses my neck.
