Page 35 of Under Control

He didn’t like the implications of what would happen afterwards.

Chapter 11

Iglesias’s place looked like any old dingy apartment complex from the outside, but something about the layout and the streets threw Alex off and put him on edge. He didn’t see any cameras, but they probably wouldn’t be visible anyway.

“Let’s just call security. We know where the captain is now—”

“We don’t know anything,” Alex said. “He’s probably in there. But they coulda moved him, or they decided not bring him here, or… whatever. But I’m gonna find that Iglesias guy and beat him to a pulp either way.” He glared at her. “Why do you want the captain in trouble so bad?”

“I don’t! I don’t want him in trouble,” Espinosa said. “I just don’t think we’re the best ones to solve this issue. And anyway, if…if he knew about the smuggling, and that gets out during the investigation, maybe he…maybe he deserves whatever the consequences are.”

“Seriously? This is what you’re gonna get high and mighty about?”

“One of the things I’ve always admired about the captain was his integrity. He always did everything according to the law, he always valued the ship and the business above all else.” Her eyes narrowed. “And then you came along, and suddenly…”

“Suddenly what?” Alex couldn’t see where she was going with this, and anyway, he didn’t give a fuck. He needed to get into that building and find Iglesias. He clenched his gloved hands.

“Suddenly he’s ignoring what’s important,” Espinosa mumbled. “But I don’t want him dead. How do we get in, if you aren’t going to let me call the authorities?”

“Next person who tries to go in, we just go in too,” Alex said. “That usually works.”

“There are protocols to prevent that. You’re never supposed to allow a follower in. Even if you know the person—”

“Come off it, nobody listens to that crap. Watch.” Alex pointed at a woman heading towards the building. He put an arm around Espinosa and led her towards the entrance. Just a loving couple, casually heading into their apartment.

Alex kept his head low, and he covered as much of Espinosa as he could, so any cameras would hopefully not be able to recognize them. Good thing he’d zipped up his leather jacket and hidden the bondcollar too.

Maybe they coulda pulled it off anywhere else, but the woman noticed them at the last second and frowned at them. “Who are you? You don’t belong here.”

Okay, Alex had been right. This clearly wasn’t just some mid-tier apartment complex. The lady’s stance showed her ready to attack, and the way she was dressed, she had to be involved. Alex didn’t bother to answer, he just sprang forward and punched her straight in the face. She stumbled backward, and Alex followed her through the entrance. Espinosa hesitated for a second, but she made it through before the door slid closed.

Yeah, definitely not apartments. Just a long hallway leading to an elevator, with a single door along one wall. They were completely exposed where they were. Hopefully whoever this Iglesias was, he didn’t have a lot of security staff.

He grabbed the woman and shook her hard. Blood had burst from her nose and was dripping onto his gloves, and she was blinking really hard. Good. Alex hoped she had a massive headache.

“Espinosa, go through her pockets. Find her keys and tablet and shit,” Alex hissed. It took Espinosa a few second to comply, but then she was rifling through the woman’s clothes and pulling everything out.

“Where you keeping him?” Alex snarled at the woman.

“What? Who?”

“Tracht. Where are you keeping him? I know you guys have him,” Alex said again, this time shaking her harder. She clutched at his arms.

“Fuck—I—third floor! I think,” she mumbled. Good enough. Alex pulled one arm back to punch her again.

“Alex! Stop that and look,” Espinosa hissed, pointing at the woman’s neck.

Only thing there was a bondcollar.

“What am I supposed to be looking at?”

“The bondcollar, you nitwit! She’s not here willingly,” Espinosa said. “There’s no need to beat her up.”

“Yeah, whatever. She signed the contract of her own free will, and she still works for these fuckwads who took Tracht.” Alex followed through on his punch, and he loved the satisfying crack he heard. One of the woman’s teeth popped out.

Alex dropped her to the floor and looked at the stuff Espinosa had found. Nothing that looked like a key, until he realized that it must have been a system like on the ship, tied to the collar. Alex pulled on the collar, expecting it to snap easily. He got a gush of blood for his trouble, and a chunk of the woman’s flesh ripping out with the collar.

“Fuck! What the fuck?” Alex let go of the collar and jumped away. Shit. He was suddenly really glad he was wearing all the dark leather. A few drops of blood ended up on his jeans.

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