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“What did he tell you, puta!”
She shook her head, as much to clear it as to tell them she wasn’t going to say anything.
Whap!
Blood flew from her nose and mouth, and one of her teeth felt loose. Why did that bastard have to be wearing a ring?
“Tell me what he said, bitch!”
“No.”
Whump!
He punched her in the gut, and it wasn’t the first time. She leaned forward against her restraints and gagged, spewing up spittle and foam.
Cal, where are you? This is going to go on and on, and I know I’ll eventually talk.
Whap!Another slap.
Her head reeled on her shoulders.
“Talk bitch, or you’re gonna die.”
She believed him. If help didn’t come soon, she’d be dead.Oh God, I don’t want to die. It’ll kill my parents, and I never got to get married, have children. God, I should have my whole life ahead of me.
Boom! “FBI!”Suddenly the door was breached, and figures in full combat gear burst in.
Her tormentor raised his gun—and took a bullet between the eyes. Vic dove sideways, tipping herself and her chair over to present less of a target as gunfire boomed all around her.
The guy shooting from the hallway yelled, “We know who you are, bitch. Don’t think this is over.”
Then she glimpsed Cal, and tears sprang to her eyes.
The guy from the hallway cried out. He was down.
Gunfire raged throughout the house as the men in black found their targets.
Suddenly the gunfire stopped. In the silence, Cal ran to her as two figures in black made their way through the house. The acrid smell of gunpowder filled her swollen nose.
“God, honey, what did they do to you?” He heaved her chair back up again and took out a knife. “Here, let me free your hands.”
Her mouth and nose were still bleeding, and he took out his handkerchief and started blotting at them. She wanted to smile, but she knew it would hurt too much.
He helped her to stand up, and she hobbled with him from the dining room to the living room and groaned. They’d also been torturing Hector, and he’d taken a bullet to the head. Obviously, the cartel wasn’t taking a chance on the DEA getting their hands on him again. “Well, there goes my star witness. Dammit. At least he got what he damn well deserved.”
Arm around her shoulders, Cal led her outside. “We have a mole.”
She licked her lips and then dabbed them with the handkerchief. “So I gathered. What a shit deal. Do you have any idea if it’s my guys or yours?”
“No. I wish I did. Neither one of us is safe until we figure out who the leak is. I’m sure the cartel knows that both of us interrogated Escareno.” He led her to the table and chairs on the shaded front patio. “Listen, you rest here while I go get my truck. I’ve already called for an ambulance to check you out. It should be here soon.”
She nodded. “I’m not going anywhere.” God, it was good to have Cal here. She should have slept with him again when she had the chance. She damn sure wouldn’t make that mistake again.
***
Cal jogged back towardhis truck, his mind still buzzing with everything that had gone down and with the fact that Vic was alive. Thank God they’d gotten there in time. She’d definitely taken quite a beating, though. It broke his heart to see her face so bruised and swollen. He hoped that she didn’t have a concussion or a broken jaw or cheekbone. For both their sakes, he wanted to get on the road as soon as possible. He had a plan, and being a sitting duck in the hospital wasn’t a good idea.
When he pulled up at the safe house, she was still sitting where he’d left her. Her head was bowed, and she looked so lost and forlorn that he swore. As he opened his door, he heard the faint wail of a siren. A few moments later, an ambulance pulled up to the house.
