She debated calling 911 but what was she supposed to tell them? Three men inside an apartment that she was spying on were beating the shit out of fourth man?
“Let me make this easier for you,” said the first man. “You’re not leaving here alive, no matter what. I’m going to put you on a boat and drop your ass in the pacific. No one will find you. But. You could do yourself the favor of no more beatings and just tell me what they know and who knows.”
The young man actually laughed. Lennon couldn’t believe it. He was laughing.
“You’re fucking delusional,” he scoffed. “They know everything and you’re going to be court-martialed or die. One of the two. If I die, so be it. It’s one more murder on your head. One more to add to the seventeen.”
The three men froze. Seventeen was the number. Exactly. Three of their military peers and fourteen of the cartel. No one gave a shit about them, although the murders were gruesome.
They all admitted they got carried away but damn it felt good to win one for themselves. Maybe they’d gone overboard with the beheadings. But the way they looked at it was that the cartel would have done the same to them if the roles had been reversed.
“Kill him and dump his body. Make sure that little fucker is never found. I’m not screwing around anymore.”
“Bora, we can’t. He’s one of ours,” said one of the men.
“I don’t give a fuck if he’s your own son. He knows too much.” The other two men hesitated for a moment too long and Bora just shook his head. Lennon dared to peer over the edge of the window, watching as he attached the silencer and held it to the young man’s head.
She didn’t mean to make a sound but it just came out. She couldn’t help it. It was a soft gasp but the men were trained to hear everything. And they damn sure heard her.
“What the fuck was that?” growled Bora.
Lennon crawled on her hands and knees, racing toward the side of the apartment complex. She spotted the two men behind her looking up and down the street. She ducked behind the next building, and then the next.
When she reached the side street, she casually walked down the sidewalk, slowly, as if she had nowhere to go. Finding her car, she tried to drive calmly toward her own small home on the island but her hands were shaking so badly, she nearly hit two guys hauling surf boards across the street.
“Whoa!” said one of them. She stared at him, then the guy with him and realized they were identical twins.
“S-sorry,” she said shaking her head. She wiped the tears streaming down her face and the two men started to walk toward her window. “I-I’m okay. I’m okay.”
As she sped away, she had no clue that she might have just met the only two people on this earth that could help her.
CHAPTER FOUR
“She was hot,” smirked Mitchell.
“Yep. And emotional. Bet she just got dumped and is looking for someone to fill her dance card. No thanks. Besides, we’re leaving here tomorrow and probably won’t be back for a long time.”
Mitchell and Brooks surfed for hours, in and out with the cold pacific waves. It was something they’d taken up when they were stationed in Coronado. Now, with just two more days before they were to head home, they were soaking it all up again.
“Brooks. Brooks!” yelled Mitchell.
“What? Sorry,” he frowned. “I was just thinking about something.”
“Something or someone?” grinned his brother.
“Something. I don’t have a someone in my life and as my triplet-brother, you would know that. Speaking of, have you spoken to Marilisa or the young ones?”
Brooks always referred to their younger triplet siblings, Cooper, Levi, and Caleb, as the young ones. Saying all the names was a mouthful sometimes.
“I spoke to Marilisa. She said Finn and Willa’s wedding was beautiful. It was cool the way they incorporated it into Mardi Gras with all the floats and everything.”
“Yeah,” nodded Brooks. Mitchell frowned at his brother once again. Something was on his mind but he wasn’t talking.
“Brooks, I know something is wrong. Is it about leaving the teams? We both agreed that it was probably time.”
“No, no, it’s not that. I promise, Mitch. It’s not that.”
“Then what is it?” asked his brother. “Brooks, you can tell me anything. You know that I’m here for you, to support you. What’s going on?”
