Page 86 of Beast

The guards barely have time to react before Alejandro and Miguel put bullets between their eyes. The silenced shots make a sound barely more than a cough, while the bodies slump onto the table, blood gathering in a pool.

That’s four down. But Estrada will have more men guarding Blake. I steel myself, my grip on my gun tightening. We continue, all our senses heightened for any sign of the remaining guards.

The hallway opens into a larger room which is empty except for stacked crates on one wall. We scan the area, but it appears deserted.

Where is everyone?

The cocking of guns makes us all freeze. “Drop your weapons!” A voice barks.

We spin to see six of Estrada’s men emerging from behind the crates, weapons trained on us.

A trap.

My heart pounds, staring down the barrels of six guns.

How could I have been so stupid? Estrada must have a rat in my organization feeding him information. He knew we were coming.

“Drop your weapons, now!” the leader repeats.

I raise my hands slowly, signaling for my men to do the same.

“Take it easy,” I say evenly. “Let’s talk about this.”

The leader spits on the ground. “The time for talking is over, Marques. You should have stayed away. Now drop your guns before we drop you!”

I bend slowly, placing my pistol on the ground. Alejandro and the others follow suit reluctantly.

“Good, now kick them over,” the leader orders.

We comply. Two of his men come forward, patting us down roughly for any other weapons, before shoving us to our knees.

“Where is she?” I ask through gritted teeth.

The leader smirks. “Wouldn’t you like to know. Don’t worry, we’re taking good care of her.”

My blood boils at the thought of any men touching her. I should have killed Estrada when I had the chance at that fucking charity gala.

“What do you want?” I force out.

“It’s simple. Pablo wants the land for the girl’s life,” he replies. “An even trade.”

I shake my head firmly. “Let me see her first.”

The leader shrugs. “Suit yourself. We’ll just kill all of you then.”

“Stand down, Jorge!” Pablo’s voice slices through the air. “I think it’s time that Gaston and I had a level-headed discussion in my office.”

The audacity. Nothing about this fucking mobster is level-headed. He’s an idiot, but I can’t deny that I’ve been blinded on this occasion, walking straight into a trap. Normally, I’m more meticulous.

Jorge looks to Pablo hesitantly, but steps aside when Pablo says firmly, “I will handle this personally.”

I want nothing more than to put a bullet between Pablo’s eyes, but I force myself to remain calm. Killing him now won’t get me any closer to Blake. It’ll get me killed.

“Fine, Let’s talk.”

Pablo clears his throat. “Stand!”

We all stand and his men prod us with guns and force us down the corridor toward another room.

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