Page 73 of Wrath

“So, let me get this straight.” Rooster looked over to Bones and then to Stitch. “You’re telling me that Mia has been working with this Antonio Demarco for all these months, and he’s not only cartel, but he’s a sex trafficker with his own fucking website, and none of us were the wiser?”

“Afraid so.”

“That’s some crazy shit.”

“Yeah, but in our defense, Mia didn’t want us to have anything to do with her work. She didn’t even want us coming by the office,”

Bones explained. “She said he was a private guy, and she didn’t think having us coming and going would make a good impression on him… She’s always been one to keep her personal life separate from her business life. It made sense, so none of us questioned it.”

“Okay. That makes sense.” Rooster sounded just as appalled as I had been when he asked, “But damn, brother. You didn’t even do a fucking Google search on the dude?”

“It was a mistake,” Stitch answered. “One that ended up being very costly.”

“I can’t disagree with you there.” Rooster looked over to me as he said, “So, you claiming her or what?”

It seemed all my brothers were curious about my intentions with Mia. I couldn’t blame them. They all knew something was going on between us. It had only been a few weeks, but I could see a future with her. “And what if I am?”

“Can you please keep track of your woman and make sure she doesn’t get tied up with the fucking cartel again?”

“Yeah, I’ll do my best.”

“Are you two done?” Stitch growled.

“Hey, you might wanna look at this.” Bones pointed at the computer screen. “Over half of these women are listed on the FBI’s Missing Person’s website. Some date back over a year ago.”

“So, the women in those pictures are the ones they’ve been trafficking?”

“Apparently so, and they’ve got more coming,” I answered. “My little chat with our guest was short but informative.”

“Oh, yeah?” Cotton asked. “What’d ya get out of him?”

“They know Mia took the laptop, and they know she knows what’s on it. And they’re on their way back, and they’re coming for her.Us, too.”

“So we’ve officially lost our upper hand,” Savage announced as he stood in the doorway. “The element of surprise has come and gone.”

“I don’t give a fuck. Let ‘em come here,” Rooster snapped. “I’ll put a fucking bullet right between their eyes.”

“I’m with Rooster.” I looked to Cotton as I told him, “We don’t need the element of surprise to take these assholes down. We just need to keep an eye on those fucking cameras of his and be sittin’ on go. The second their feet touch the property, we hit ‘em, and we hit ‘em hard.”

“Wrath’s right,” Stitch agreed. “We need to hit fast and hard. Don’t give them a chance to gather resources.”

“That’s if they haven’t already gathered them,” Rooster warned. “Sounds like these guys have the means to do just about anything.”

“There’s one way to find out.” Bones turned his attention back to his laptop. Seconds later, he’d pulled up the Demarco security system. “Let’s see what they’re up to.”

We all leaned in for a better look, and I was pleased that we could see everything. And I mean everything. The Demarco brothers had a state-of-the-art security system. They had cameras strategically placed throughout the warehouse. Each offered a comprehensive view of a specific area, minimizing blind spots and maximizing coverage. We’d hacked into the system weeks ago, and because of that, we had our hands on real-time monitoring and could identify anyone entering or exiting the warehouse. They also had motion detection technology which would pick up on any movement within the monitored zones.

It seemed a bit excessive, but it’s what you have to do when you’re trafficking human beings on and off the premises. The thought sickened me, but because of that stupid security system, we had eyes on them—every single one of them. And not only that.

We also had recorded footage, enabling Bones and Big to go back and review every moment of every day—including the moment Demarco’s men were sent to get Mia. Other than that, there wasn’t much to see. Just a couple of guards at each location. They were monitoring the grounds, but none of them looked like they were preparing for an attack.

Bones leaned back in his chair with a disappointed huff. “Where the hell are they?”

“Their charter flew them to Mexico. That’s a five to six hour flight. Depending on when they leave...”

“And that’s if they fly in. It’ll be tricky with the cargo they’re carrying.”

“He’s got a point there.” Cotton let out a breath, then said, “We’re gonna have a long day ahead, and I’m gonna need you boys at your best. Go get a couple hours of shut-eye, and I’ll keep watch.”

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