Page 62 of Freeing Camila

“Any special plans for tonight?”

He knew his friend wasn’t talking about the intimate plans he had for Cammie, but he couldn’t stop his brain from going there anyway. “Probably dinner at Hooch and Harmony,” he answered instead.

“Sounds good.” Spark’s ringing phone interrupted them. He answered with a greeting to his sister, Kali. Jeeves continued toward his truck when Sparks called out to him. Punching a button on his phone, he said, “Say that again, Kali.”

“Kaia and I were walking by the bakery. Kaia got one of her woo woo feelings. We looked through the window and saw someone with a gun on Cammie.”

Before Spark’s sister had even finished speaking, Jeeves was already in motion.

“I’m driving,” Sparks said, taking the keys from Jeeves’ hand. He didn’t argue. “Stay out of sight, Kali,” he told his sister. “We’re on our way.”

With a roar of the engine, Sparks sped out of the parking lot and quickly used the Bluetooth system on the steering wheel to call Haley. “Hey, Jeeves,” she answered. “Miss me already.”

“Cammie’s in trouble,” Sparks said, wasting no time.

“On it.” They heard typing in the background then a quickly in drawn breath. “Shit. She’s being held up at the bakery. A woman. Alone. With a gun. Nobody else present.”

“Good. Call the others.”

“Copy that. Be careful. I’ll keep watch and let you know if anything changes.”

“Thanks, Halestorm,” he replied, using her online moniker. They all slipped into using that name while in mission mode.

“You armed?” Sparks asked, prompting Jeeves to reach into his glove box for his weapon.

“Am now.”

“Front or back.”

Jeeves thought about it for a moment. The front was mostly glass. Too exposed. “Back.”

“Got it.”

Since the alley to the back was out of view from the inside of the bakery, they didn’t bother parking farther away. Their training was instinctive and immediate; they were out of the truck and had jimmied the lock on the back door in a matter of seconds.

They could hear talking as they entered the kitchen. Jeeves’ stomach dropped as he recognized the voice. It lived in his nightmares, after all.

“That’s Valeria Hurtado,” Jeeves told his teammate.

“This just became more than a simple robbery.”

“Fuck.”

They listened for a few moments as Valeria ranted about El Sombra’s death. The second she uttered the phrase ‘a life for a life,’ Jeeves couldn’t wait any longer.

With his weapon raised and aimed at the woman he despised above all others, he boldly stepped through the swinging door. “Drop it, Valeria.”

Of course, the woman didn’t listen. “Oh, Jeeves. Good of you to join us.”

“I said drop it.” He didn’t dare take his eyes off Valeria to check on Cammie, but he could sense her fear.

“No. She pays. Today.”

“Not gonna happen.”

“Someone pays. Her. You,” she moved her aim to him, which he much preferred. “Me vale mierda.” In other words, she didn’t give a shit who died as long as someone did. And by her hand, he had no doubt.

“No one dies today.”

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