Page 79 of All Twisted Up
“It’s from my nose, Nash. He hit me and then told me to clean up. That’s when I remembered the knife you gave me.” He let out a little sob as he glanced back at the car. When he met my gaze again, his eyes were filled with tears. “I killed a man, Nash.”
I shook my head, then pulled him back into a hug, kissing his soft hair. “You did good, baby. You stayed alive.”God, he was alive. “You did so good.”
“You’re alive too, Nash,” he said again. “Turley said he killed you.”
“Well, I’m right here and the only people dead, are the sicarios Rojas and Turley brought with them.” I held him close and looked across the top of the Land Rover at Mickey who stood at the open driver’s door.
“It’s Rojas. He’s dead,” my best friend said, confirming that by some miracle the head of one of Mexico’s biggest cartels was dead and no longer a threat to Joshua and his family.
I nodded and looked down at the man in my arms. He was wrapped around me, hugging me tightly, still trembling.
I couldn’t believe he was in my arms and unharmed. When I’d woken to Candy squatting over me in the safehouse and realized that Turley had knocked me out and taken Joshua, I’d panicked. The several minutes it took for us to find the maggot’s body in the neighbor’s yard were the longest of my life. When we’d found Turley, I’d instinctively known Joshua had been given to Rojas.
I had to admit that even now, I was glad the agent had been double-crossed and murdered by the cartel boss. A slimy defense lawyer might have given the agent a slim chance of getting away with his crimes, but dead was dead. Turley had paid the ultimate price for getting in bed with the cartels. He wasn’t coming back.
“How are you alive?”
I looked down at Joshua, gently taking hold of his chin as I stared into his eyes. “Turley knocked me out and when I woke up and found you gone, I—” My throat closed up at the memory of the terror I’d felt. I shook my head, feeling tears burning behind my eyes. “I thought I’d lost you.”
“Turley gloated about killing you.” Joshua looked around at the circle of my brothers who surrounded us protectively.
“Turley was a coward, Joshua. Anyone who could pretend to be one of the good guys, only to turn around and allow a cartel to send out a hit squad to kill a whole family, is the worst of the worst. We found his body at the neighbor’s house. We heard the shot, but couldn’t work out the direction, must have had a suppressor.” Joshua nodded. “Did Rojas do that?”
“Yes,” Joshua nodded vigorously. “And I-I—” He sobbed, looking away.
I reached up to cup his cheek to bring him around to face me. The sadness thrumming through him was palpable. “You killed a bad man, Joshua.” He was in shock, repeating himself as he relived the trauma of what he’d done. “You had no choice.”
Joshua swallowed, nodding as I brushed tears away. His eyes searched my own. “I had to stop him.”
I pulled him into me, wrapping him in my arms and holding him while he let go and sobbed his heart out. “He was an animal and if you hadn’t killed him, he probably would have killed you and your family.” He nodded against my chest.
“Hampstead?”
I looked over as Candy walked toward me with Snow, Prince, and Dr. Reeves. Joshua pulled out of my arms as we faced my boss. He bent to look into the window of the car then straightened, turning to us and reaching out. I shook the hand he offered and then watched him squeeze Joshua’s shoulder, gifting him with a broad smile.
“Did you do that, Mr. Calder? Did you kill Juan Rojas?”
Joshua bit his lip, glancing over at me. When I nodded, he straightened a little, facing Candy. “Yes, Captain. He was—I guess he was trying to kidnap me?” Joshua looked at me again and sighed before glancing back at Candy. “He said his men weregoing to have fun with me, but in the end, he was going to kill me.”
“Well done, then.” He reassured Joshua with a pat on the shoulder. “I know it was a very hard thing to do, but you did the right thing. You and your family should be safe now that the heads of two cartels along with their DEA moles are deceased. There’s no reason for either cartel to come after you in the future.”
Joshua looked over at me. There were dark circles under haunted, gray eyes. I knew he was tired but there was so much pain and regret in his eyes. He’d never killed a man. He wasn’t built for it. I wished I could get him to a bed right away, but protocol dictated that his next stop was the Federal Building and FBI headquarters where he would be put through a thorough debriefing. I wrapped my arm around his shoulders and pulled him against my side as Candy went on.
“We need to sit you down at the office to take a report…but honestly, you look dead on your feet…not to mention you may have a broken nose.” He frowned. “Do you want to see a doctor?” Candy pulled a radio off his belt. “I’ll call an ambulance.”
“No, Captain.” He lifted his hand to his face, wincing as he gingerly tested his nose. “It’s not broken. I’ve had a broken nose, and this is different.” He dropped his hand and looked at me. “I could use a shower and a long nap, though.”
“Good enough then.” Candy glanced at me. “The safehouse is a crime scene, Hampstead. It’ll take all night to sort things out here. Joshua won’t be able to sleep here, so if you don’t mind, why don’t you take him to your place and let him get a solid night’s sleep? Bring him to the office tomorrow and we’ll do the debrief then.”
“Will do, boss, but first…there’s something I need from the safehouse.”
“What?” Candy frowned at me.
“Did you lose something, Hampstead?”
We all turned to see Rex sauntering toward us with the cat carrier in tow. An angry howl was coming from inside. I smiled.
“I reckon, he’s pissed as all hell,” the tall Texan drawled, grinning as he handed Marvin over to me.
