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“Let’s go in prepared for the worst,” Cam said. “But they could just be Benny’s. Don’t make any noise, and Rosalía, for God’s sake, stay with Enzo.”
This time she gave a terse nod and gripped Enzo’s hand tight enough to almost make him yelp.
They secured the boats on the beach and hurried under the light of the moon into the mouth of the cave. With just the three of them, Butter, and Rolly, they would have to make sure to make a clean escape; they couldn’t afford a fight. They had space in each dingy for the fifteen cases, but it would take multiple trips to get them out of the warehouse. To help with that, Enzo had brought a dolly, which they’d hidden behind the gate.
When they reached the gate that guarded the tunnel, they found a very unwelcome sight. The two men who were supposed to give them access to the rum were on the ground, each with a bullet through their forehead. The gates were open, but there was no one around.
“Oh Díos,” Rosalía gasped in horror, her hand cold in Enzo’s. Cam, who was at the head of their small group, pulled his pistol out and waved a hand toward Rolly and Butter, then pointed to Enzo.
“Take her back to the boat. We’ll check what’s happening here,” the captain ordered in a tone that brooked no argument. But Enzo would be damned if he let Cam walk into whatever was happening in there by himself. There was no use pretending they could somehow shelter Rosi from whatever danger loomed in there either. They were all in on this.
“Think, Cam,” he whispered desperately. “They’re probably doing the same thing were are. Maybe we can reach an agreement. All we want are our bottles.”
Cam glared at Enzo, but Rosalía was already slipping out of his grip and walking to their captain.
“They may want the same ones we’re after,” Cam said through gritted teeth.
“We can’t give up now, Cap,” Rolly announced brazenly.
“We won’t,” Enzo heard himself say. The statement was echoed by Butter and Rosalía.
“All right.” Cam looked at Rosi. “You stay here.”
“You need me in there,” she reminded him and pulled out her small pistol. She looked fearsome with her hair pulled back from her face, her lush mouth set stubbornly. “I’m an excellent shot.” She informed them with her nose in the air. His belleza, so damn brave. “I will shoot to kill.”
After a moment or two of sending them all mutinous looks, Cam relented.
“Fine, but the moment we spot those bottles, you need to get out of the way. I do not want you hurt.” The last words were so quiet, Enzo barely heard them from a few feet away. Rosalía must have heard them clearly since she pushed up to kiss Cam with a rueful smile on her lips. It was short and sweet, and the moment it ended, both of them turned to Enzo with a look that, to anyone paying attention, declared to the world what the three of them had been up to.
They were going to have to talk about being more discreet in front of the crew, unless they wanted everyone to know they were lovers.
“Let’s go,” Enzo urged, more than a little breathless, his face hot with want and gladness for what he’d found.
They moved into the tunnel as fast as they could without making much noise. Enzo was at the rear, with Rosalía walking in front of him. They could hear men talking in the distance, but it was hard to make out the words.
“Spanish,” Rosi whispered, confirming his suspicions.
“Guns drawn,” Cam ordered. They pushed into the light in a blur and found three men hauling crates into a small wagon.
“Manos arriba,” Cam shouted, and the three men froze. The two who were moving crates didn’t have weapons on hand, but the third one did, and he fired before Cam could confiscate his gun. He got Butter in the leg, and the cook fell to the floor with a yelp. Cam shot back with a roar. The bullet hit the man in the chest. The other two scrambled for their knives, but Cam launched himself forward with a pistol in each hand.
“Rolly, help Cam,” Enzo shouted, then pointed to the towers of crates. “You come with me, love. Let’s find this fucking rum.” Rosalía rushed forward after sparing a worried glance in Cam’s direction. Her face was serious as she moved between the aisles, scanning the labels. Behind them there were more shots and a bloodcurdling scream.
“Here,” Rosi said, after a minute, pointing to a stack of cases standing on their own. “There they are. See the blue-and-gold seal?”
“Butter will be fine. It was just a graze,” Cam said, the moment he reached them. He sounded winded, and his chest was heaving, but he seemed intact.
“She found them,” Enzo informed the captain, who widened his eyes, clearly pleased.
“We need to get moving,” he told Enzo before whistling for Rolly. “Two of the guys are dead, and we tied one to the gate,” Cam said, with a wince. “I suspect there are more of them.”
They made quick work of getting the crates to the entrance. Rosalía picked them up and stacked them on the ground, and the three uninjured men took them two at a time to the wagon the others had been using.
They were about halfway done when Rosalía screamed in horror. Cam and Enzo rushed to her with Butter hobbling behind with Rolly’s help.
“I’ll shoot her if you get any closer,” a man threatened as he pressed a gun to her temple. Her eyes were wide with terror, but the man was smiling wide, seeming pleased with himself. “Imagine my surprise when I found my whore of a sister here in the caves.” He wrenched her hair back hard, and she cried out in pain. “Are you spreading your legs for these lowlifes?” he asked, furious, and tipped his chin in Cam’s direction. “You let this one fuck you?”
“Let her go,” Cam demanded, his voice deadly.
