Looking around the dirty shithole he’d been forced to call home for the last thirty-five days, he could admit he’d made a piss-poor decision when he’d split from Corey after infiltrating Barrera’s mansion in Sinaloa. But then the Villarreal cartel showed up like an angry mob armed with RPGs, and chaos ruled supreme, Xander knew Barrera would go underground. Go into hiding like a rat. And then he’d never be able to find the fucker.
And that was a chance he couldn’t take. The monster who’d raped and murdered his baby sister wouldn’t get away unscathed. He’d promised himself he wouldn’t rest until José Barrera and the people he loved most were six feet under.
According to CIA intel, Barrera’s parents had been killed in a car bombing by the rival Villarreal clan. Then Miguel, the second oldest son, was shot down in a hail of bullets meant for José. That left another brother and a sister—Tomás and Estrella María—and the bastard himself, José, on Xander’s hit list. Wiping the Barrera family from existence would give him great pleasure. And he’d do anything to achieve his goal.
At the time, it seemed like a good idea to get captured. Infil fast without having to search out multiple locations, take out his enemy, exfil himself the fuck out. Now? Not so much.
Way to think things through, Hawke.He’d let his passion for vengeance override his common sense, and where had it gotten him? Locked up and forgotten. But after three years of searching for José Barrera and encountering endless dead-ends, he couldn’t let the fucker get away again.
Xander wasn’t fucking stupid. He knew this would probably turn out to be a suicide mission. But if he could destroy the man who killed his sister—and everyone important to him—then he could die in peace.
Mission fucking accomplished.
Running a hand over the beard covering his face, he pushed off the cot, dropped to the ground and began doing pushups. He’d lost a good amount of weight since meals were sparse, but he could survive on very little food. Hell, Darla Hawkings had prepared him for it. But the one thing he couldn’t lose was his strength.
A sweat broke out on his brow as he pushed himself. Up, down. Up, down. Refusing to stop until his trembling, burning muscles threatened to give out. He was a stubborn, focused bastard, and not much could derail him once he set his mind on something. Unfortunately, he wasn’t still twenty-five, and his forty-two-year-old body didn’t bounce back quite as easily as it had once upon a time.
But he still had it where it counted. And the tunnel vision he’d possessed since learning Alyssa died at Barrera’s hands kept getting narrower and narrower.
Now, even after more than a month in captivity, Xander couldn’t be more focused.
And Barrera couldn’t be more dead.
Jumping up, he grabbed onto an iron bar lodged into the low, rocky ceiling. It ran from one side of his cell to the other and he’d been using it to do pullups. He wasn’t really surprised he wasbeing held in an old mine. He was frustrated with himself for not considering that avenue earlier in his hunt for the man.
The Tierra Caliente region of Mexico was rich in gold, silver and copper. Abandoned mine shafts were abundant. Hiding out in one was smart. It was cooler underground, and they were probably in the middle of nowhere, practically undetectable.
The sound of male voices speaking Spanish echoed from down the hall and into the cell, and Xander dropped down, brushing the rusty flecks from the old bar off his hands. All this time down here, and he’d only seen the object of his revenge pass by twice.
Being ignored by a fuckhead like Barrera pissed Xander off to no end.
Today, the rat himself appeared, flanked by two guards. José Barrera wore a designer suit and enough gold jewelry to rival any of the OG rap artists his buddy Jayson always listened to. But no amount of wealth or fancy clothing could hide the man’s true nature. Xander felt the ruthlessness he emanated. Saw the ice in his black eyes. Knew his cruelty was renowned for very good reasons.
“Well, I think it’s about time we talk.” Barrera gave him a serpentine smile that immediately put Xander on edge. As far as he knew, Barrera had no clue about his identity.
And he damn well wanted to keep it that way.
“You know, I almost killed you,” Barrera continued thoughtfully, twisting a chunky gold ring on his index finger with the edge of his thumb. “But something told me not to. Call it a gut feeling. Now I’m glad I didn’t… Xander Hawke.”
Fuck. Me.
Chapter three
Xander kept his face carefully blank, neither confirming nor denying his identity.
“Imagine having you locked up here all this time, right under my nose, and not knowing I had the fucker who’s been trying to kill me. Irony at its best. Am I right?” Barrera chuckled.
Xander’s back teeth clenched. He supposed he could deny it, but someone must’ve figured it out and told Barrera. Lying would be pointless. He wasn’t exactly unknown to the cartel. When he worked for the CIA, destroying Fernando Lazaro and his soldiers had been Xander’s job, and he’d been ruthless in his pursuit of that endeavor.
His sister had ended up paying the ultimate price when they kidnapped and murdered her as a message to him.
Needless to say, shit got real fucking personal real fucking fast after that. Xander had vowed revenge. Since the CIA never would’ve sanctioned a revenge mission, he’d faked his death and gone off grid. Became one thousand percent focused on killingthe man responsible for destroying the only bright light he’d ever had in his life.
José fucking Barrera would pay.
While moving around in the shadows of Mexico, he’d discovered Mitch Evans, an old friend, was being held prisoner by the cartel. He’d informed Julia, Mitch’s daughter, and she, along with Brandon Ward, had traveled down to meet him for further intel. Xander had no problem telling them where Mitch was being held. Or showing up to help after Brand and his crazy crew blew up Fernando Lazaro’s compound.
With smoke rising and the building crumpling in on itself, Xander had picked his way through the wreckage and rescued Brandon, who’d been trapped under a beam. Once they found Julia, they’d run straight into Fernando Lazaro, the drug kingpin himself.
