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RHYS
Ghost had set us up with topnotch comms thanks to X, so we’d been able to easily communicate during our long wait through the night. As dawn approached, I began to worry we’d missed Franco’s arrival. I could tell TJ was worried too, though neither of us had spoken in a long time. Then a message came over the comms from Colton. “I’ve got him. I’m pulling out behind him on Abbot Creek Church Road.”
TJ responded that we were on our way. We were the closest team to the area, which was good because TJ would have done anything, no matter how dangerous, to be first on the scene.
“Did you see Arturo?” he asked.
“I did.” Colton answered. “He was lying on the backseat.”
I laid a hand on TJ’s thigh as he increased our speed and jerked the wheel, taking us out across a field. “Fall back but keep him in sight. He’s mine.”
After a wild ride, during which my life flashed before my eyes several times, we pulled onto the road right behind Franco’s car, well in front of Colton and Rogue. Franco sped up, but we kept up with him easily. I pulled my gun and leaned out my open window.
Following the plan TJ and I had devised, I aimed for the back driver’s side tire and got it on the first shot. Franco swerved, trying to keep going. The car veered off the road and headed right for a tree.
“Fuck!” TJ yelled as we slowed and pulled over.
“Arturo’s in the back. He’ll be okay.”
Franco must have tried to brake because the impact wasn’t as hard as I’d expected. We jumped from the truck and ran, weapons drawn. Colton and Rogue weren’t far behind us. I heard their car on the gravel road.
Franco was slumped over the steering wheel, and I saw Arturo on the floor of the backseat. I prayed he was alive.
I knew what it must have cost TJ to go for Franco first. He wrenched the front door open and yanked a dazed Franco from the car without checking on his brother. He was in soldier mode, focused on eliminating the primary threat first.
I knew he’d want me to see to Arturo, but I was going to have his back. Right now, Franco didn’t look threatening, but I wouldn’t trust that until he was secured.
Franco rallied and reached for his gun.
TJ slammed the butt of his pistol into the side of his cousin’s head.
Franco stumbled but managed to catch himself before he went down. He clung to the side of his car and managed to get his gun aimed toward Arturo.
No way in hell did we get this far to have him kill Arturo after all. I put a bullet through his right arm. He screamed, dropping the gun. TJ wrapped his hands around Franco’s throat, cutting off his air until he slumped to the ground.
By then Rogue and Colton were there, lifting a still unconscious Arturo from the car. Rogue pressed a hand to Arturo’s neck to check for a pulse.
TJ gripped my hand. “Is he…”
“He’s alive.”
There were no obvious injuries. TJ and I knelt, and he gently shook his brother’s shoulder. “Arturo. Wake up. It’s okay now.”
His eyelids fluttered open. “TJ?”
“Yes. It’s me.”
He closed his eyes again, and we didn’t try to wake him.
“He’s probably been drugged,” I said. “We need to get him to a doctor.”
Colton was kneeling by Franco, using zip ties to secure Franco’s wrists and ankles. “I can take care of this fucker if you want to stay with your brother.”
TJ considered his options, then shook his head. “No. The sooner I get answers from this piece of shit, the sooner I can put him in the ground where he belongs.”
He turned to me. “Will you take care of Arturo?”
Rogue laid a hand on my arm, and I knew that he’d as good as read my mind. “Rhys isn’t going to leave you, but I swear to you, I will protect your brother and see that he’s given any medical care he needs. I’ll make sure he’s comfortable and has whatever he wants.”
