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He nodded. “We’re not heroes. We’re criminals.” Boxer paused. “But even we have lines in the sand. Even we have hills we’re willing to die on. People we’re willing to die for.”
My heart drummed in my ears, and my hands turned clammy. I wasn’t sure I was ready to hear the truth. I wasn’t sure I was ready not to.
“We had a tip off about a van heading for the Mexican border. The info was from a solid source, so we intercepted it. There were five women of various ages, bound and gagged in the back. While we were trying to untie them, the driver and passenger from the van fought their way free and ran into the brush. They circled back around, and I took a bullet.”
He paused, gauging my reaction.
I exhaled slowly, trying to process everything he was saying. It was a lot, but he wasn’t done yet.
After a moment, he went on. “ We put them down, and then examined them. They were both marked with cartel ink. This is as serious as it gets. We just fucked up a shipment of human cargo for a cartel and nuked two of their guys. Do you understand, Linden?”
“Human trafficking,” I murmured.
“Yeah.”
I suddenly felt detached from my own body. My head and my heart severed from one another. “Where did they come from? The women?”
“We don’t know exactly. This is as bad as you’re imagining right now. They were abducted. If we hadn’t gotten to them, then—”
“Where are the women now?” I asked, my voice soft.
“Acid dropped the van off at the ER entrance of Dallas Methodist and then had Crow pick him up a couple of blocks away. Gloves while driving the van, hooded masks, and sunglasses for the cameras and plate covers for the bikes, plus they took the back roads.”
“Why didn’t he stay with them?” I asked before I could stop myself.
“How the fuck would he explain that? Bikers rescuing kidnapped women and having a shootout with their abductors? We’re supposed to stick around after we dropped them off at a hospital for the police to ask questions? Come on, you’re smarter than that. The fact that we got to them before they crossed the border is a miracle. Their families, the hospital, and the police have to do the rest.”
He fell silent, his eyes still on me, but they were struggling to remain open.
My curiosity hadn’t abated. I wasn’t done trying to piece it all together, and my mind raced with emotion and fear. “Why did you drop them off in Dallas? Why not Waco?”
“They were closer to Dallas. Besides, there’s less of a chance they link us to this because we dropped them off in Dallas.”
“And Zip was in Dallas already,” I guessed. “Which is why he was able to pick me up quickly.”
“Yeah.”
“What happened the other night? Was it something like this?”
Boxer was quiet for so long I was sure he wouldn’t answer, but he finally replied. “That night, we found children.” His gray eyes met mine, bright with anger. “We rescued three, but we were too late to save one of them.”
Chapter 20
Boxer fell asleep soonafter his pronouncement. I sat with him for a bit, listening to the sounds of his breathing.
I rose from the bed and went to turn off the light. I crept from the room, shutting the door behind me. As I leaned against the wall, I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to keep the bile in my belly. I breathed deeply a few times, trying to get my feelings under control.
There was a special place in hell for people who hurt the innocent, especially children.
Boxer and the Blue Angels saved women and children. I let out a snort.
Oh, the irony of their club’s name.
I pushed away from the wall and trudged downstairs. The mood was somber, and no one was talking. Three Blue Angels lifted their bottles of booze toward me.
I took Colt’s because he was the closest. Lifting the bottle to my nose, I then gave it a cautionary sniff. It made my eyes water.
“Moonshine,” Colt supplied.
