Page 37 of Liberator

“I’m not leaving without Vikki,” I declared.

“You don’t know if she’s even here,” Sweet said. “Her phone is, but that doesn’t mean much. Aguilar may have taken her somewhere else, or she may not have ever been here to begin with. Just because her phone pings at this location doesn’t necessarily mean she’s the one that brought it here. She could have lost it and one of Aguilar’s men picked it up,” Sweet answered.

I gritted my teeth and replied, “I don’t have time for arguments. Get to looking for a weak spot between the guards’ stations, preferably in the darkest areas. Spread out.”

Too many minutes passed, time during which Vikki could be tortured or killed if she wasn’t dead already. If that turned out to be the case Petrov was going to pay for it with his own life. I didn’t care what would happen to me after I killed him.

The trill of a bird came from my left. It was Sweet. He was using an old signal from another raid. It made me smile despite the gravity of the situation. His imitation was spot on. He’d also found a way in.

By the time I’d retrieved the two prospects to my right, Sweet had gotten the one on his left and we all met in a place where the dirt was soft and someone, or possibly some animal had dug under the fence. The space was large enough for us toslide under. Luckily, the fence wasn’t electrified. Aguilar was too cocky to think anyone would dare come in.

We moved from building to building using hand signals to communicate. The small, unlocked ones were quickly searched even though we knew we wouldn’t find anyone in them. Anything important would be under lock and key and guarded.

We skipped over the guards’ bunkhouse where there was a drunken party going on and paused momentarily when we spied what appeared to be the main office. Our goal was a dormitory style building near the center of the compound where the most lights lit up the night.

Dripping with sweat and knowing we’d been lucky up until this point, I studied the building and watched its guards pacing along all four sides. We had to take out all four at once to get any chance of getting inside. I waved my arm in a circle over my head to tell my men to surround the building and remove the threat quietly. I headed straight for the door.

The luck that had kept any shots from being fired until then ran out as a spotlight hit me. A shot was fired from one of the towers, barely missing me. All hell broke loose after that. Men rushed from the guard house with their weapons already firing. The men were drunk just as we’d thought, so the shots went everywhere, randomly bouncing off metal poles and narrowly missing us.

We gathered back-to-back in an effort to keep each other alive. Slowly, we backed our way toward the door I’d been intent on reaching, dropping our enemies all over the ground. I hit the lock with a shot, and we burst through it. I slammed the door in hope of it giving us some protection, but we weren’t alone inside either.

Shots came from every direction. I feared for the safety of the captives I caught a glimpse of hiding under beds and huddled together in corners behind the rickety furniture. I didn’t seeVikki among them. I forged ahead, breaking down doors and searching rooms as I went.

Sweet was shouting at me but I couldn’t understand what he was saying with all the gunfire and the ringing it caused in my ears. I started to choke as smoke rose in the corridor. Someone had set fire to the building.

I nearly fell over a body, thankfully not one of my groups. I slid on his blood and had to grab onto another body slumped by the wall to keep from falling. I coughed and my eyes watered, but I kept going. If Vikki was here I was going to find her and get her out no matter what it cost me.

Sweet’s large hand clamped down on my shoulder. He demanded, “It’s time to retreat. She’s not here. We have to get these boys out and back to the clubhouse. They’re not trained for this, and they’re starting to freak out over all the blood and death. We’re running out of ammo and Aguilar’s men keep multiplying.”

“Take them and go! I’m not leaving until I’ve checked everywhere. I’m sorry, bro. I never should have brought any of you into this. It’s my fight. She’s my woman. Just get out!” I yelled back.

“Don’t be a fool. If Vikki was here she’d have come to us by now. She wouldn’t be cowering somewhere while we fought. Get a grip and come on!” he shouted back.

“No fucking way!” I screamed.

He might have argued, but one of the prospects screamed, an agonizing sound that meant he’d been hit. Sweet turned his back on me and ran to find him.

Alone, and only responsible for myself now, I moved forward. I discovered a locked door and my heart said Vikki had to be behind it. I hit it with my shoulder, but it held sturdy. I backed up and gave it a kick, splintering the wood. I was ready tocharge inside when something heavy hit the side of my head and everything went black.

The scent of blood and urine reached my nostrils when I came to in a room made of concrete. I was dizzy and nauseous. My arms were numb, and I tried to shake them awake, then realized they were chained over my head, stretched as high as it was possible. My feet barely touched the wet floor. My ankles were tied together. Blood trickled down the side of my face, and I could feel it crusted in my hair.

“Aw, I see you are awake. I have waited and grown impatient while you simply dangled there oblivious to the world around you,” a deep, authoritative voice intruded on my pounding head.

“He smells. Wash him down,” the voice ordered.

Ice cold water was thrown over me, taking my breath away. I lost my footing and hung just from my arms. I felt my shoulder pop out of place and screamed. My feet found the floor again, but it was too late. One arm was now useless and the pain was excruciating.

“I know what the cracking sound meant, but I do suggest you find a way to remain awake despite your pain. Otherwise, I will be forced to add to it. I need information from you, and I will get it. There is no way out of here unless I allow it,” Aguilar announced as he stepped in front of me.

“There is surprise in your eyes behind the mask of pain. You did not expect to see me. Truthfully, I did not expect to be called to such a small holding either. I usually leave these places to my soldiers. However, I am told this is a special circumstance.”

“You can go back to your tower. There’s nothing for you to see here,” I grumbled.

“I wish that were true. I do not care to get involved with torture. It is dirty work and beneath me now that I have taken control of the cartel. Yet, because you have made a disaster of my encampment and murdered quite a lot of my men, I becamecurious about what you had come for. I thought I would enjoy a small diversion from the mundane days I have endured in what you called my tower,” Aguilar explained.

“You’ve seen what destruction one man can do to your property despite your security measures. I think you’d be too embarrassed to face me,” I dared reply.

“I do find your bravado amusing considering your current position. If I did not, I would shoot you myself for speaking so rudely to me. I am also aware that you were not alone. Alas, the others managed to get away, although I believe one may not live if I have been told the truth. I am not concerned over their escape. You are all I need,” he confidently said.

---