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Rafael
My phone vibratesin my pocket, but I ignore it.
“Twenty-five percent,” Jimmy’s replacement says.
I glance at Samuel who is standing beside me. His lips twitch, and I laugh. “The balls on this little fucker.” These little street gangs. Honestly, they run a few drugs, make some money, kill a few guys, and they think they’re the shit. Irritatingly, this particular gang makes up fifty percent of my Juarez revenue. Hence, I’m dealing with this shit myself.
Sam shrugs. “No respect, boss.”
My phone vibrates again, pissing me off. I look at the kid sitting across from me, the shitty tattoos up the side of his face, some crap scrawled illegibly over his forehead. “You’ll get fifteen, the same as I agreed with Jimmy, and if I get any shit on your patch, you’re out.” He frowns, eyeing me up and down before he reluctantly nods his head. “Good. I now own you.”
Samuel turns away from us, taking his phone from his pocket and glancing at the screen. “Boss, we have to go.” There’s urgency to his voice, an undertone of panic that no one else would hear, but I know him.
“We’ll be in touch,” I say to the kid, pushing to my feet. I don’t wait for a response before I’m striding from the shitty little bar, fastening the buttons on my jacket. Samuel falls into step beside me.
“Anna’s been taken.” My heart seizes in my chest, and everything around me fades to nothing more than a low hum. Anna’s been taken. A fear unlike anything I’ve ever felt grips me in its clutches, squeezing the air from my lungs. I force the impending panic down and close the lid on it. In its place is nothing but icy focus, and that’s exactly what I need. My heart rattles against my ribs like a caged animal hammering at the bars I’ve just erected around it. I can’t think with anything other than my head right now.
I stride outside and yank the back door of the car open. “Who has her?” I get in the car, and Samuel slides in behind me, slamming the door.
He presses a few buttons on his phone, and a dial tone fills the car.
“Yeah.” It’s Carlos, and he sounds…fragile.
“Tell me everything,” I say.
There’s a pause. “I…Lucas got shot,” he chokes.
I close my eyes and inhale a deep breath. Carlos is family, which makes Lucas family. I bite the inside of my cheek hard enough to draw blood. “Is he…?” Samuel can’t speak the words.
“I’m not sure he’s going to make it. They took him to the hospital,” Carlos whispers. Samuel glances at me, and I shake my head. All I can think about is Anna. “They shot Michael and Enrique as well. They’re dead. Anna’s gone.”
My fists tighten until my knuckles crack and ache under the strain. “Who?”
Carlos is silent for a second. “She called me. Before they took her. She called from Lucas’ phone to tell me he’d been shot.” Of course she did. How many fucking times did I tell her to run? “I heard muffled voices over the phone, but I couldn’t make anything out. Maybe an accent?” That doesn’t mean shit.
“It’s Dominges,” I growl.
“I don’t know, Rafe. They got in and out without anyone else seeing them. I can’t work out how they even got near the place without being seen. The bullet I just pulled out of Enrique is a 25. cal bullet. Rare. Specialized. These aren’t some street gang bangers.”
“He’s hired men before. It’s him.” I know it is. I can still picture his face—the way he looked at Anna like she was the goddamn Golden Fleece.
“What do you want to do?” Samuel asks.
I tap my index finger over my bottom lip, willing my emotions to take a back seat. “Carlos. Gather some men. Go to Dominges townhouse. Kill everyone. Bring the woman.”
“Yes, boss.” The phone cuts off, and I clench and release my fists as the unfamiliar feeling of helplessness consumes me.
I don’t look at Sam as I speak. “Call in everyone. Send word to our guys on the border. They’ll probably try and get her out of Mexico.” Out of my reach.
He starts tapping over the screen of his phone, rallying the troops.
“Rafe, you have to call Nero.”I glare at him. My mind is a complete mess, and I can barely grasp hold of a coherent thought. All I can see is Anna, and the worst thing is that when I think of her with some strange men, I don’t see her crying or begging. I see that glazed, non-existent look in her eyes as she slowly loses herself. I’m terrified that everything she’s become will be lost to me forever if I can’t get her back fast enough.“You have to,” Samuel repeats.
“I know!” Fuck, I don’t want to call Nero, but Una needs to know.Dominges knows who Anna is. He wants herbecause he knows it’ll get him Una. I can handle Dominges. I can get her back, but Una is my best back up.
Taking my phone from my pocket, I dial his number and wait impatiently as it rings. I don’t want to be the person who has to tell Una Ivanov that I lost her sister, but I’m running out of options, and I’ll do whatever it takes to get Anna back as quickly as possible. It goes to voicemail.
“Fuck!” I call again, listening to the dial tone drone on and on.
