“Ready for what?”
The sound of heavy footsteps thundered above paired with angry voices speaking Spanish.
“I must go. I will be back to check on you again soon,” she promised as she quietly scurried out, locking the cell behind her. I wanted to call out to her, beg her to help me escape, but I was too weak and besides, I couldn’t leave without Max.
Please hurry, Reid. Please.
By the time we finally arrived at the remote location, exhaustion had been replaced with adrenaline. It seemed like it took a lifetime for us to get here, even though it had only been fourteen hours since Cassidy had been taken.
Fourteen of the longest hours of my fucking life.
Not only because I was worried sick about her, but being in this close of a proximity to Bodie without killing him had been tough. I had so many questions but my only concern was getting to her.
The rest could fucking wait.
After coming up with a plan of action with Ryder, Bodie and I caught the first flight out of LAX. We arrived in Dallas three hours later where my brother Justin picked us up and drove us to the border. We were able to get across undetected thanks to a friend of Justin’s who worked for Border Patrol. Staying under Del Marco’s radar would be difficult but necessary in order to get to where we needed to be. He had men scattered all across the area. Sometimes even setting up random checkpoints. So we’d enlisted the help of Brother’s Keeper to get us to the rural destination just outside of Monterey, Mexico.
Sweat trickled down the back of my neck. Even at night the humidity was stifling. We were about a hundred yards out, hunkered down behind some large bushes as Bodie peered through the binoculars.
The house was surrounded by a squatted stone wall that lined the property and armed guards standing post at every corner. My stomach knotted, the tension in my muscles coiling tight.
If any of those men hurt her in any way, I was going to slit every one of their throats.
“There’s six on patrol tonight.” Bodie lowered the binoculars. “There’s usually only three, but I’m not surprised. He’s expecting me. Which means he’ll be heavily guarded on the inside, too.”
“Yeah well, he may be expecting you but he sure as shit ain’t expectin’ all of us.” Justin released the safety on his AR-15. “Let’s get your girl, brother,” he said, clapping his hand on my shoulder.
Bodie’s head swiveled, his hard eyes crashing to mine. “Hold up,yourgirl? You’re fucking my sister?”
Anger swelled in my chest. “Yeah, asshole,mygirl. And you keep your goddamn mouth shut about it. You lost the right to have a say when you walked away.”
His face moved in, inches from mine. “Do you really think this has been fucking easy for me?”
“Listen, we don’t have time for the two of you to have a pissing match right now,” Justin harshly whispered, leaning in close. “We need to have each other’s backs when we go in. So you two have to play nice. For Cassidy.”
He looked at us both expectantly.
I sucked back a deep breath, knowing my brother was right, but I was too pissed to offer anything more than a grunt before turning away.
Dressed in full tactical gear, we stayed crouched to the ground as we moved behind the trees along the east side of the property, stopping behind a small metal building. Bodie handed me the set of bolt cutters we’d brought along for just this purpose. Once we had the lock off, we quietly slipped inside, closing the door behind us.
Bodie moved to the corner, unstacking several crates and handing them off to us. A piece of worn plywood covered the dirt hole buried beneath them. Justin lifted it up, shining a flashlight down into the darkness.
I was the first to climb down the ladder, the rank air smacking me right in the face. Bodie and Justin fell in right behind me.
This was one of Del Marco’s many elaborate escape tunnels. He had several on the property, according to Bodie. This being the closest and least used. He assured us this would be the easiest way in. We crept through the many dirt channels, where we even had to get down on all fours and crawl in some places.
Slowly cracking open the door at the end of the tunnel, I peered inside and found a vacant room with a few cots scattered about. There were some personal items here and there, clothes, cell phones, guns, letting us know that this was likely sleeping quarters for some of Del Marco’s men.
The door to the right opened and we all three took aim at once. A small Mexican girl, who didn’t appear to be a day over eighteen, came into view.
“It’s okay, guys, she’s cool,” Bodie said, pulling her farther into the room. We lowered our guns as she wrapped her arms around his waist for a hug.
Selena was Del Marco’s daughter. I’d been apprehensive about trusting someone so close to Del Marco to help us get to Cassidy, but when it all came down to it, I had no choice.
“Thank goodness you are finally here,” she said, pulling away. Her breath came in hurried pants as she spoke. “Cassidy is very sick. I have tried to help her the best I could.”
My heart sank, a thick knot of dread forming in my throat. “Please take us to her, now,” I gritted.
