Page 47 of Her Faithful Protector

“I’m looking at the west.”

“I’ve got five closed doors to the east,” Cullen explained. “No real windows, they’re all shuttered shut.”

“Mine too.”

“Each house is going to require two men as we search,” Max said.

“Asher and Raiden, you continue with the church. Zed, stay in position in the tree, I want eyes on the church situation; it’s fluid.”

“Leo, you and Nic pair up and take the west doors,” Max commanded. “Ezio, come on down and pair up with Kane. You two take the first three east doors.”

“Gotcha,” Ezio responded.

“Cullen, you’re with me on the final two east doors. Let me know when everybody is in position, then we’ll all go in at the same time. Get there fast.”

Nic shut down all thoughts of the church and concentrated on his current assignment. He was sick to his stomach as to what he might find behind those closed doors after what those animals had done to the men in the village.

He ran over to the three close small homes. The first one’s door was off the hinges. He had to wait for Leo—just because there wasn’t a door, didn’t mean that one of the damned kidnappers couldn’t be in there hiding. Nic stood with his back flush up against the wall next to the door, waiting. The sun wasn’t quite yet up, and he would need to be looking into small dark spaces so he engaged his night-vision goggles again.

Nic heard a subtle noise, then Leo appeared on the other side of the door. Nic made a motion to indicate that he should go in high. Leo nodded and Nic crouched down, ready to go in low. He put up three fingers, started counting down, then…in!

Holy shit!

14

Every single young man in the group now had their hands zip-tied behind their backs, and zip ties around their ankles. El Jefe was having a grand old time. When he was done, he sat down beside Lisa. Once again, Lisa had that dead man’s stare. She was looking at something miles away that nobody else could see as El Jefe draped his arm casually around her neck, then pressed her body in close to his.

“Maria, which one of these pretty girls would you like to have as your human shield to get the fuck out of here?” El Jefe asked in Spanish.

“I don’t know. Then they get to live longer. The others will go up in smoke when we blow the church.”

It finally clicked for Camilla—that’s what the other man was doing as he ran around the perimeter of the church setting things down. He was setting charges.

“Yes, but it will be an easy death. Our human shields will die hard, mi corazón.” He stroked the back of his fingers down Maria’s cheek. She leaned into the caress. Camilla thought she might vomit.

“Are you choosing her?” Maria asked, pointing to Lisa.

“I think I am,” he said with an oily smile. He pushed his thumbnail deep into the cut in Lisa’s arm and smiled wider at her moan of pain.

Maria turned away from the pair and started to meander down the middle aisle of the church. She stopped in front of Camilla, then crouched down. “Oh, how are you, mi pequeña? How is your arm doing?” Maria tried to rip the cloth away from Camilla’s shoulder but she held on tight, refusing to let go.

Maria slapped her across the face and Camilla lost her grip.

Maria laughed when she saw the top of Camilla’s bruised breasts. “Somebody’s been having fun with you, how nice.” Then her avid glance turned to her bruised shoulder. She knocked her arm off the pew and Camilla cried out in agony.

“This one is defective,” she said in Spanish to El Jefe. “Not her.”

She got up and continued down the aisle.

Even through her misery, Camilla could hear Roxanne’s pleading voice. “Please don’t hurt me.”

Camilla tried to stand up, tried to prove that she would be the better shield, but her legs just wouldn’t seem to work.

“Shut up and come with me,” Maria said harshly.

“No.” Roxanne was damn near hysterical.

Camilla tried again to get to her feet. She clearly heard the slap. Roxanne let out a wail.