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“Not Gabi?” she asked with surprise.
“Oh, well, Gabi is good, but she can be a bit direct,” smiled Tinley. Londyn nodded, smiling at the mother of the man she loved.
“This all feels so fast,” she whispered. “I mean, I came here to be your dentist just a few weeks ago and was just getting to know Ty. Then I’m attacked, beaten, raped, and now he tells me he loves me.”
“Londyn, I’m going to give you some advice that Erin gives all the women who come here. It’s good advice, so listen carefully.These men protect so fiercely, so devoutly it’s all-consuming. And they love the same way. All-consuming. It’s remarkable to watch and a blessing to be a part of it. If you want my advice, don’t question anything. Just let yourself feel. These are special men, and if you don’t mind me saying so, it will sound a bit conceited on my, on our part, but it takes special women to be with them.
“Our men recognize special women when they see them. They know how precious and perfect a woman has to be to be involved in this lifestyle, to tolerate the missions, the danger. We are all those perfect, precious women. At least in their eyes,” she smirked.
“So, I’m just supposed to let this happen?” she asked, looking at the women, then at Tinley.
“Do you love my son?” she asked.
“I love him more than I thought possible,” she whispered.
“Then that’s where you start. Love one another. Sex will happen, lovemaking will happen. But just love one another for right now. Hold one another. Know that he’s there for you and won’t desert you. Start there,” she smiled at the young woman.
“Now, what do you say we do a long walk through the gardens and around the paths?” said Rachelle. “I’m very proud of what my Mama and the others have done with our gardens.”
The women walked casually through the maze of the gardens, then toward the paths leading to all the smaller gardens. They laughed, chatting with one another. Irene stood behind the hedge, barely visible, watching them.
“She’ll be just fine,” she said to Martha.
“They will all be fine, Irene. You have to let them go sometime. It doesn’t have to be now, but sooner or later, people are going to become suspicious of you and Matthew and the others.”
“I know, I know,” she said, waving her hand. “For now, we’re makin’ ourselves scarce. I can’t leave ‘em yet, Martha. It’s too soon.”
Martha nodded at the other woman and faded back into the shrubs, Nathan waiting to take her hand. It would happen. Sooner or later, they would all need to disappear.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“We need to find Perez and his men,” said Luke.
“I agree, but I think we need to hit his gang while he’s out of Houston. Find where they are, identify who they are, and destroy them. Then he has nothing. He’s here with one other man that we know of, maybe more, but the home team will be destroyed,” said Bone.
“Taking on a gang is different than taking on a cartel or a military branch,” said Eli. “These guys fight dirty, and they come crawling out of the woodwork like cockroaches. Identifying them, finding them will be the hardest part.”
“Londyn said they extorted money from the local businesses. If we could get them to speak to us, we might be able to figure out who they are,” said HG. The doors opened, and Cruz and the team returning from Dallas walked in.
“Chavez is sending a list of the men he believes are in the gang, but I think we can get them to come into the streets,” said Torro.
“How do we do that without causing an all-out war?” asked Bone.
“It will be an all-out war. We’re going to need to challenge them. Literally, pull up to the barrio and claim the territory as ours. I think if we take the four Hummers and six SUVs that Melanie modified for us, we’ll be protected.”
“The other way we identify them,” said Cruz, “is that they all have the gang symbol on their hand. If you see that, they’re one of his.”
“Then why did he get the tattoo with Callan?” asked Bone. “I mean, if he was supposed to have that symbol on the whole time, why did he just now get it?” Callan chuffed, smirking.
“That’s easy. He was terrified of needles. I almost refused the tattoo because I could tell he’d been drinking. His friends said that he was afraid of needles and had been putting it off long enough. Bastard forced his men to get it done, but he hadn’t done it yet.”
“Hey, Luke?” called Code from the communications room. All eyes turned to the man, expecting bad news. “I think we can confirm that Perez is in the city. I was scanning police reports for the last week. A dozen tortured dogs were left to die by the river. Three women were taken after leaving their kickboxing class. Raped, beaten, two died. One is still in critical condition at Tulane Medical.”
“Shit,” he muttered. “Wilson? Doc? Do you have time to go up and talk to her? Maybe see if she’s willing to transfer here if she doesn’t have anyone.”
“Sure thing,” said Wilson. “What’s her name?”
“Sheila Levine.” The two big nurses nodded, leaving the others in the room. Luke looked at the seniors seated in the back two rows.
