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I’m not an idiot, Mr. Colter. Besides, I’ve been where you are. You need me.”
“I’m leaving you here.”
“No you’re not.” Gaige’s eyes locked to mine. “Elle, my wife, was kidnapped and trafficked by the Mexican Cartel when she was in high school. By pure miracle, I found her when I was undercover, investigating the husband she was forced to marry. I rescued her from his estate, but that didn’t stop him from coming after us. These men, these cartels and mafias, they’re no joke. It took me a while to make the right connections, but I did, and I’ve managed to bring a lot of them down. I saved my wife, and others as well. I can help save yours too. I need you to trust me. Your building is locked down. Without me, you’ll never make it past the fireman or police standing guard. How do you plan to cover your ass legally if those bastards are still outside your place?” At my pause, he gave me a look. “Exactly. You need me, and me, I need your keys. I’ll be driving. I’d like to make it back to Elle and my two kids if that’s alright with you.”
“You’re pushing it.”
Gaige smiled. “You’ll be thanking me when this is over.”
“Yeah, we’ll see.”
I took out my keys, handing them over. When the doors opened, we both jogged towards my SUV. Gaige was on his cell, and I was cursing myself for the millionth time that I hadn’t checked my phone sooner. Had Kody tried to call? Was she okay? Just because I assumed they couldn’t get in didn’t mean I was right.
Gaige unlocked the car and I slid in, immediately grabbing the charger to plug in to my device. He was still talking to someone, but it wasn’t hindering how fast he was moving. He turned over the engine, not hesitating to pull from the space and get on the road.
“That’s not too far away. What are you hearing?” He nodded. “How much smoke?”
I grabbed my own phone, cursing as I waited for it to charge enough to power on.
“That doesn’t sound good. And you’re sure?”
Tires squealed as Gaige took a corner, pushing the SUV even faster. He wasn’t buckled, but I sure as hell grabbed my seatbelt and put it on.
“No. Wait for me to get there. This isn’t the first stunt he’s pulled today. Vitor’s going after them hard. There’s bound to be mistakes. We can’t risk missing anything. Yeah. Let me know.”
He hung up just as my screen lit up. My heart nearly stopped as the notifications began pouring through. I turned up the volume for the speakers, waiting as the message began to play.
“Jase, we’re in trouble. Dominguez and the other guards are dead. There’s five men outside. They’re trying to get in. They set a fire and the alarm is going off. Jase, I don’t know what to do. They’re banging and shooting at the door. I think they’re going to get in. Please—”
The phone disappeared from my hands at Kody’s scream. I didn’t see the device I held. I didn’t even feel as though I were in the SUV anymore. The rolling riptide of wrath sucked me under, feeding flames the devil himself couldn’t extinguish.
“Drive. Faster”
Gaige didn’t speak. Maybe he knew better as he pushed us to the limits. We flew through traffic. He made another call. Me…I lived in my head. I killed and tortured Vitor every way I could imagine by the time we finally drove through the barricade and approached the front of the building. Gaige parked, flashing his badge at an officer who approached.
“Supervisory Special Agent Sullivan. I’m looking for—Nevermind, there he is.”
A man in a suit, stepped around a firetruck, waving us over. Didn’t Gaige know I didn’t have time for this? I needed inside. I had to check on Kody.
“There you are. You’re late.”
“Richards don’t give me that. I was flying. What do we have?”
His stare cut to me, but he gestured with his head for us to follow him towards the entrance.
“The fire was contained outside the front door of the penthouse. It’s been fireproofed so they weren’t able to burn down much. It looks like a fucking war zone up there though. The hotel’s security was pretty on top of it once the alarms went off. I think they may have even saved the penthouse from going up in flames. We do have three dead bodies that were posted in the front of the main penthouse door, security guards—”
“Whoa.” My head sliced back and forth at the shake. “Those were certified protection specialists. Veterans trained in war and protective operations. Those bodies were my friends.”
“I mean no disrespect…
“Colter. Jase Colter. And that penthouse is mine. Where’s the women that were inside? Do you have them? Are they safe?”
The agent came to a stop, his brow wrinkling as he shook his head.
“Sir, there was no one inside.”
“But you were able to get in?”
