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“Don’t worry about your clothes, we’ll be dumping it at our next stop.”
I got in.
Maybe I should have run, but where the fuck would I have gone?
I flinched as he reached toward me.
“I’m just getting something from the box.”
He extended his arm over me, rummaged in the glove compartment, and pulled out another gun, pressing it into my palm. I immediately made sure the safety was on, then checked the magazine and pulled the barrel back to chamber a round. He gave a nod of appreciation, and the engine roared to life as we drove away.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
“Juan,” he replied.
“Tell me, Juan. Why did you put your life on the line to get me out of there? What’s in it for you?”
“I go where my boss tells me to go,” he responded.
“And who is your boss?”
“I think that’s all the questions for today. All you need to know is that I was told to keep my head down and my mouth shut. I was supposed to stay with you as much as I could to ensure you were as safe as you could be without me blowing my cover. Then, when I received a call, I was supposed to get you out of there and hand you back to your family.”
“So that’s where you’re taking me? Back to my family?”
“Yes,” he replied.
“I’m only going to say this once. What I did to those men in that house will be nothing compared to what I’ll do to you if you’re lying to me.”
He smirked, and without saying a word, he reached over and cranked up the radio, drowning out my voice. We were in an isolated area and I had to rely on a stranger I barely knew to get me to safety.
Taking a deep breath, I decided to do the only thing I could do.
I settled into the seat, the gun heavy and cold in my lap, and the knife tucked into the side of the seat. Despite him handing me two of his weapons, I’m still apprehensive. Against my better judgement, I remained quiet, not asking questions. We had to keep our minds sharp, anticipating that they could be trailing us from the house.
* * *
After a rushedsixty minutes of driving, we made a turn onto a gravel road, leading us far away from civilization. There were moments along the journey where I had to take a deep breath and remind myself I was going to make it. After all, why would he take the time to find out our family creed just to turn around and kill me?
When we pulled up to the private airport in the middle of nowhere, the vast openness of the landscape surprised me. When Juan pulled the vehicle to the side of the runway and I saw the familiar face of my brother, I felt a surge of excitement and almost leapt out of the car.
I surveyed the area, my breath catching in anticipation at the thought of seeing the guys, only to be filled with a mixture of emotions when I realized it was only Erik. Both of us stepped out of the car, my feet hitting the hot tarmac with a thud.
“West, I would have delivered your sister straight back to you,” my rescuer said as he shook hands with my brother.
“You’ll have to forgive me if I doubted your intentions, but she’s been gone from my sight for too long. I needed to see her home safe myself,” he responded coolly. “Moreno spoke highly of you. However, if I find out your involvement in my sister’s abduction was the opposite of what I was led to believe, I will put a bullet between your eyes.”
Juan swallowed. “Of course, sir, I understand.”
Erik was not one for outward signs of affection, rarely allowing his feelings to show on his face. Yet when I saw him standing at the bottom of the private plane, his eyes glimmered with a hint of emotion, despite his tough exterior. He could have chosen any of our brothers to come and fetch me.
But he didn’t.
Instead, he was standing in the middle of nowhere, waiting for me to arrive. When he put his arms around me, I was grateful for the warmth of his embrace, despite the pain from the cuts and bruises on my body.
“Are you okay?” he asked as he held me at arm’s length and examined me from head to toe.
“Yeah,” I answered. “I think so.”
