Page 7 of Thaddeus

“Entertainment. The two main dogs will fight over the weaker dog until that one is… you know… then they’ll fight each other. It’s also done for gambling. They take bets on how long the bait animal will live, on top of which dog will come out victorious,” she explained.

“They…um…” Sidney paused and looked over to Gumby. When he gave her a solemn nod she continued, “There will be people guarding the dogs in the crates that are waiting to fight. And also when a dog loses if it’s not already, they’ll take it outside to…” Sidney’s eyes welled with tears. “Anyway the point is, there’ll be people outside of the building where the dogs are fighting. But when you’re in the area where the actual dog ring is, it’s loud and there’s a lot of commotion.”

“How do you know?” I asked. “Have you been to one?”

Sidney’s haunted gaze came to me and I wished I could withdraw my question. The pain it obviously had caused her was unbearable.

“Sidney was kidnapped by the man, Victor, who she rescued Hannah from. Let’s just say she has firsthand experience what it means to be used as bait and leave it at that. Sid spent weeks in the hospital recovering from her injuries.”

My gut twisted and the vibe in the room had turned menacing.

“Please tell me I’m misunderstanding,” Declan growled.

“’Fraid not.” Gumby pulled his woman close and tucked her to his side. “Thankfully the team got there in time, but what we walked into was nothing short of disturbing. We see a lot of bad shit but I’m warning you, when you breach that building it will be some of the worst. You’ll need to be prepared; the smell alone is overwhelming. And these men will not give up easily. They’ll fight to keep their dogs as well as the money and drugs flowing. Best advice—get in, take out your target, and get out. Don’t try and rescue the animals. Not with only five of you going in with no backup.”

“He’s right,” Faith said. “And it breaks my heart to have to agree, but if you don’t have the manpower to save the dogs, you’ll be in extreme danger if you try.”

My mind spun with the information Gumby had given us. It seemed I needed to dig into dog fighting rings on the plane ride down to Venezuela. I knew it happened, but I’d always thought dog fighting was simply low-level underground gambling.

“’Preciate your help, especially knowing what it cost you to talk about it. Glad you’re okay, Sidney,” Declan said. “Faith, thank you for allowing us to stop by.”

“Anytime. And, Tatiana, it was nice to see you again. I was so sorry to see you leave, we miss you around here. But I’m happy to see you smiling again.”

“Thanks, Faith. I miss you, too.”

“Did you volunteer here, too?” Sidney asked Tatiana.

“I did. Not with the dogs, though. I just swept up, cleaned the rooms and kennels, and hauled dog food.”

“That’s great. So are you living in the area again?” Sidney continued.

“No.” Tatiana shook her head.

“I wish I could say if you guys needed anything to call, but we’re headed out in a few days, too,” Gumby said. “But if you have time for lunch today before you head out, I could call the team.”

“Wish we could, but our flight leaves soon. We’ll catch you when you’re back,” Declan answered.

“Maybe when you get home, you’d like to have dinner and drinks with my friend Caite and me?” Sidney asked Tatiana.

“Yeah, I’d like that. Though, I don’t know when we’ll be back in the area,” Tatiana answered.

Gumby groaned and Sidney’s gaze slid back to him. “What?”

“Nothing.” Gumby’s lips twitched before he broke out in a full-on smile.

“Why’d you make a noise?” Sidney continued.

“No reason. Just that the last time you and Caite got together you polished off a bottle of rum.”

“That was one time, Decker.”

“Still happened,” he gently teased.

How many times had Emerson and he finished off a bottle of rum—making fruity drinks he didn’t even like but still made them—then drank them because they were what she liked?

What amazed me, was all it had taken was a single glance at Emerson in Mexico and now I couldn’t stop reliving our life together. Everything reminded me of her.

I had to get my shit straight. In less than ten hours it would be go-time.