Page 72 of Escape You

After that, we would be on our own to get all these people across the woods to where their ride awaited to take them away from here. According to Vic, the bus would take everyone to the Venezuelan embassy in DC. Mia had called them and made arrangements with them to find accommodations and jobs for all sixty people until they figured out how to return them safely to their country.

She’d thought of every detail and considered all angles. Her main goal was to save all those poor souls who were tricked into coming here for a better life, not realizing they were being sold into a life of servitude with no way to ask for help or go home. But even if she hadn’t said it, she had a second reason for getting us involved in this rescue mission.

She knew Rossi would never stop coming for her. Even if he went to jail for his crimes, he would find a way to run the New York faction from prison. Many bosses had done the same through the years. It would be so easy for Rossi to give the order to kill Mia. The thought made the lump in my stomach churn.

I also had to consider that her plan to use public embarrassment to force Clifton’s hand into going after Rossi might not work. The FBI didn’t care if the people were happy with their work. They were not elected officials, which meant we were on our own on this one. I had to protect my family, Mia, and the baby. There was only one way to do that. Jac Rossi had to die tonight.

“Beta team, move in now.” Manny’s voice came through the earpiece loud and clear. He was our eyes and ears since Vic had gone missing. I climbed into the vent access and crawled as fast as I could. About sixteen feet in, I turned left and ran into the end of the tunnel. “Go ahead. They’re alone.”

I gently removed the aluminum cover and creeped up into the room. The stench of human waste assaulted my nostrils. This warehouse was meant to store guns and ammo; it wasn’t equipped to house sixty people for so many days. Would Clifton change his mind about Rossi if he saw any of this? I bet he wouldn’t. He’d known about Rossi’s new operations for a while and chose not to do anything.

The eight hundred square feet of space had tall ceilings and no windows. The air conditioner cranked out a breeze that did nothing to cool the room. In the corner, they kept a bucket that I assumed was the source of the fetid smell. This was what Mia had seen in her video feed. Rossi had these people in here like cattle.

Bullets pelted all around us with a far away and muffled sound. The ruckus outside had everyone on their feet, their gazes darting from one corner to the other. Some people huddled together in small groups, whimpering every time a round went off.

“Please don’t be afraid. We’re here to help.” I put my arms up and winced when my shoulder throbbed from the effort.

They all stood still with a blank look on their faces. Shit. They didn’t understand me. I turned to Wesley, but he beat me to it, explaining to everyone in Spanish that we meant them no harm. When he finished talking, he didn’t give them time to respond. Instead, he put his arm around two women and ushered them to the vent access as he spoke to them in a gentle tone.

This felt too much like the Maracaibo operation, right before it all went to shit. Back then, our childhood friend Charlie had gone off on his own to kill Smith. He bought us time to get Rebecca out of the compound where her boss had kept her since her parents died. Smith died that night along with Rebecca’s brother, who had been the only reason why she’d agreed to betray her boss.

No, tonight couldn’t be like that night. Rebecca would be happy to know that her sacrifice helped all these people. What we did in Maracaibo hadn’t been for nothing. Charlie would be glad too.

I followed behind the women, as Wesley and Matt stayed to get everyone organized to file out of the room as quickly as possible. Outside, the shots rang out at intervals. Mia had gone quiet on her end.

“Mia, are you still there?” I showed the women the way to the bus. They headed straight for the tree line, which told me Wesley had explained to them where to find the bus that would get them away from here safely.

My heart pounded harder as time went by and she didn’t respond. I shook my head to stay focused and offered my hand to help a boy crawl out. He couldn’t be more than twelve years old. He had a bloody lip, and his eyes were brimmed with tears. I hugged him because I didn’t know how to tell him he’d be all right. After a few beats, he turned to help the next person out. A young woman wrapped her arms around him. I couldn’t tell if she was his mother or sister.

“Go on.” I pointed in the direction of the trees.

With a quick nod, they bolted toward the woods. Every person who came out of the building had cuts and bruises on their faces. No doubt as soon as they realized what they’d gotten into, they tried to fight back. The more I saw of them, the more I hated Clifton for letting Rossi’s operation go on for so long.

“Did I lose you guys?” Mia finally answered. Her tone sounded urgent. “My earpiece is crapping out on me. I think my signal is getting jammed. Please tell me you got everyone out. We’re out of rounds.”

“Not yet. But you need to stick to the plan. We’ll figure it out.”

“I can’t leave you.”

“You have to. Get your crew out of here.”

“Tyler...” She gasped for air as if she’d been running. I held on to the sound of her breathing in my ear while I helped more people out.

“Mia, your window of opportunity is closing fast.” Manny cut her off and yelled-

. “Drive.”

“Dammit. Let’s go.” She issued the command. “I’m sorry, Tyler.”

“I’ll see you soon.” I glanced toward the dark sky and let out a breath. Mia said something, but the loud static garbled her words. “I think we lost her again.”

“We did.” Manny typed on his keyboard. “Let me see if I can find the jamming signal.”

“Get her back. I want to know she made it out.” When I hunched down to help the next person, Matt grabbed my arm. “Is that everyone?”

“Yeah. Time to go.” Matt started toward the bus.

“Wait. Where’s Wesley?”

---