Page 149 of More Tricks

“So I found a surprise that we will be taking with us,” I mentioned as we headed for the basement. Dax cocked a brow at me, waiting for me to continue. “Seems that Diego’s wife, Mariana, is actually Marco’s little sister, who he uses to make profitable deals. She’s fucked in the head, but I think there’s a chance we can get some helpful inside information from her.”

Dax came to an abrupt halt. “She’s what? How did Wes miss that major piece of information?”

“My guess would be that since he didn’t want just anyone to know the connection, he kept it secret. Possibly even changed her last name or left their mothers, something like that. No one knows much about Marco’s family outside of him and his father,” I reminded.

“Sounds like an incredible Marco thing to do,” she grumbled. “Come on. Now we need to move faster if we have to get two people out of this alive.”

The basement wasn’t really a basement to normal people’s standards. It had a wine cellar, movie theater, and bar with a seating area. The panic room was near the wine cellar, which was smart, I suppose because I would want to grab a few bottles to drink as I waited for all hell to come after me. To my surprise, the triplets were already down there working on how to get through the door.

“We can’t use that. It will blow the whole goddamn house up with us in it,” Magnus argued. “Where are the plastic explosives that we can pinpoint to where we need them?”

Ghost all but pouted as he dug through a bag and handed him a brick of something that looked like clay. “You always have to take the fun out of everything, don’t you, Maggie?”

Glaring at his brother, he got to work molding the explosive material around the door hinges and the center of the door where the vault lock was.

“What was your first idea, Ghost?” I asked because I was far too curious to know what else he had in mind over using explosives.

He perked up at being asked and grinned at me. “Rocket launcher, I feel like it had to do some damage to the damn thing if it can take out a tank.”

Dax burst out laughing and yanked the man into a hug. “Fuck, you have some of the best ideas, Ghost, but Magnus is right. We need to be able to walk away from this.” She released him and stepped back, clapping her hands with an idea. “I know. Once we get everyone out, you can use it to blow up the place. Then it will cover our tracks, and no one will know who’s alive or dead searching through all the rubble. It will make my surprise at the fight even better.”

“Oh Dax, you delightful little pixie, you,” Ghost gushed, shoving her shoulder. “That’s a brilliant idea and makes lugging it all the way over here worth it. I forgot it when we first made the trek. Then I remember we had to get into this thing and thought it was the better option.”

“How you’re still alive is astounding,” Wes muttered as he clicked away on his laptop. “That should do it. All the feeds have been looped to cover our entry and everything that’s happened since entering the house. So that won’t tell the authorities anything or Marco if he should decide to investigate.”

“So boom time?” Jaxson asked, holding up the detonator.

“Why don’t we step out of here first so we don’t get blown up?” Wes suggested. “Maybe you can pick out a nice wine to bring home to Harper.”

“Fuck, you’re so smart. It’s not like he’s going to need it,” Ghost said as he headed out to do just that.

Shaking my head, I moved into the bar area, giving plenty of space between me and the explosion. Jaxson looked at us and grinned. “You might want to cover your ears.”

Doing as he suggested, I watched as he gave a three-finger count down, and the ground shook, almost knocking me off my feet. A bright flash of light came from down the hall, ensuring us that it had indeed gone off. Working with Dax sure was far more exciting than the FBI ever was. God, I was so glad she forgave me enough to keep me around. We still had things to work on but wasn’t that part of relationships, always working to improve?

Musings for another day, now it was time to collect our prey and settle the score that had been a long time coming.

Chapter twenty-six

Dax

The door to the safe room lay on the ground, bent and scorched from the explosives. Inside was a swanky sitting room with everything a person could possibly need to spend time comfortably inside. There was even a toilet and sink available if the need should arise. Finally, my eyes settled on Diego De León sprawled on the floor, having been knocked on his ass from the blast.

“You are a hard man to find,” I commented. “Here I am stopping by for a visit, and I have to demolish an incredibly lovely panic room. Gosh, it makes me think you didn’t want to see me, but that can’t be the case, not after you practically invited me to come.”

“I did no such thing,” he spluttered, his words thick with his Latin accent. “You’re the one who broke into my home, coming after me.”

Coming to a stop right in front of the man, I looked down at him. “No such thing? Oh, Diego, they didn’t tell me you were losing your memory in your old age. How frustrating that must be for you. Here let me jog it for you.” I offered, taking a seat in the other armchair that was still upright. “Should we start with how you’ve been trying to cut me out of the business since the day I got started? Oh, then there is the fact you blamed me for killing a son I knew nothing about just to get my people not to trust me. Hmm, I feel like I’m forgetting something. Ah yes, the assassins were a nice touch, but the real clincher was the fucking with family.”

Diego slowly picked himself up, brushed off his clothes, and righted the chair so he could sit, ignoring the six men with guns trained on him. “You started it all when you cut off access to Mexico along with any ports on the West Coast. It was bad for business having to bring it all the way around into the gulf or New York itself. The customs are so much stricter, and I had to bribe the whole customs office here. Taking you out was the smart thing to do, but like a cockroach, you just won't stay dead.”

“Oh, am I supposed to apologize for that?” I asked, pressing a hand to my heart like I was truly worried about offending him. “Goodness, I seem to have lost my manners. Let me give it a try.”

I sat up straight, cleared my throat, licked my lips, and folded my hands primly in my lap. “I’m so incredibly sorry that you feel so victimized by little old me. My heart is just broken over the fact that you will never be able to beat me. In the end, you’re just a sad, old man, who had been led by the balls because Marco didn’t think you’re man enough to rule your own empire. Seems you needed a good woman to show you how it's done.”

Diego’s face turned purple with rage as he flew out of his seat to attack me. I didn’t bother to sit up. Instead, I grabbed my gun, swung, and hit him in the head with the butt of it. He dropped like the sack of shit he was, falling into my lap. I patted him on the head. “That’s a good boy. You sleep for now. We need you to be well rested for your performance tomorrow night. It’s going to be a real showstopper.”

Shoving him off my lap, I stood and faced the guys who were all trying to stifle their laughter.